The Baby Isn’t Yours

Riding the horse arranged by the hotel, the two people headed straight towards the annex.

As the manager said, the 20 minute horseback ride was really beautiful.

As the two of them rode their horses as if they were having a light exercise, they reached the building before they knew it.

“We were waiting for you. We will serve you with the best service.”

The servants in the VIP annex welcomed the two with elegance and dignity.

There were not many people, but they all seemed experienced.

Taking in the refreshing scent, the two people were guided to their room.

“Wow.”

As soon as they entered the room, their attention was drawn to the floor-to-ceiling windows that opened up their view.

The mystical, shimmering river sparkled in the purple twilight, and upon entering the door that connected to the bedroom, they found a huge bathroom that led directly outside.

The place was filled with a subtle scent of wood, which mingled with the white mist.

The manager of the annex explained that the hot spring water had been drawn up for them.

“From here on, only the two of us will be here.”

“Understood. If you need anything, please let us know. We will be waiting.”

As soon as the manager politely bowed and left, Kalia stepped out onto the riverbank through the connected terrace.

After taking a few steps, she stepped on pebbles, and soon the wide, clear riverbank was right in front of her eyes.

The water was so clear that she could see the depths of the water intact.

Breathing in the scent of the fresh water, Kalia murmured in delight.

“This is so nice.”

“Do you like it?”

“Very much.”

“Good to hear.”

Simon kissed Kalia’s hair and said.

“In some regions with hot springs, husbands allow their wives to enjoy the hot springs for a few days after giving birth. To rest enough.”

“Oh really?”

When Kalia smiled as if she was interested, Simon spoke firmly.

“Kalia, while you held and raised Sasha and gave birth to a baby until you were about to die, I didn’t really do anything.”

“Well, you couldn’t give birth to the baby anyway.”

“Yeah, since I can’t give birth, it’s a husband’s duty to take care of the wife who gave birth to the baby with difficulty. Isn’t that right? That’s the right duty of a husband, isn’t it?”

Kalia laughed at his question, raising her eyebrows arrogantly.

She said, reaching out and squeezing his beautiful mouth together, shaking it.

“You speak well with your pretty mouth.”

“…If a pretty mouth speaks well, you should kiss it, why pinch it?”

Simon removed Kalia’s hand and grumbled dissatisfiedly.

Kalia laughed at his reaction.

Even until last night, it was hard as if her whole body was rusting from sadness, but Simon released her sadness immediately.

She could be so happy because of one person.

It was touching.

Everything about Simon felt lovely.

“When I think about how you disappeared without a word and caused irritation among people, I suddenly wake up even in my sleep… However, what can I do?”

As if a ghost that couldn’t be kissed was attached to her forehead and back of her head, Simon sobbed without letting go of her lips for a moment.

“I have to live with it because it’s my fault for not holding properly.”

Kalia’s lips felt itchy with the love that was constantly conveyed to her.

He felt like he would go crazy if he didn’t express his feelings right away.

“Simon.”

“Hm?”

“Did I ever tell you?”

“That?”

Kalia whispered softly as she tugged on Simon’s earlobe.

“I think I love you too.”

“…!”

Simon stiffened in shock and forgot to breathe and his eyes widened.

Avoiding the hand reaching out to grab her, Kalia ran straight towards the river.

“Where are you going, Kalia? Say it again, please!”

“If you want to hear it again, come after me.”

Turning around with a smirk, she leaped into the river with a single breath.

With a splash, her body disappeared as if it was being sucked into the river.

* * *

Plop, plop.

The drops of water gently splashed on the baby’s hands.

At the baby’s gesture of catching the drop of water that was floating in the air, the spirit of the water flew among the drops of water on behalf of the baby hunting them down.

A small rainbow followed the bird, and the raindrops flew around and tickled the baby.

Sasha watched with clear eyes, sitting quietly in the bathtub where he was being washed..

“You’re so well-behaved. Very impressive. Really impressive.”

Allen, who was washing Sasha with a careful hand, smiled happily.

After Hemmie collapsed from dizziness, Allen’s job became taking care of Sasha while Kalia and Simon stayed in a separate building.

Although he had offered to look after the baby, he hadn’t had many opportunities, so Allen was happy to take care of Sasha tonight.

“Goo-goo-ga-ga.”

“How are you so clever! There won’t be many babies in the world who can babble with such precise pronunciation. Sasha is really amazing!”

“Hugyaa!”

Laying loosely in a specially designed baby tub and splashing around, Sasha nodded as he hit the surface of the water.

No, it looked like that in Allen’s eyes.

‘Well, that can’t be, can it? He’s only been born for three months.’

Of course, his body development exceeded his age by far, due to his being much larger and heavier than most babies his age.

But still, an 8.7kg baby at just over 100 days old was something Allen had never seen before. Needless to say, his growth was remarkable.

Allen, who was looking at Sasha with slightly mysterious eyes, laughed out loud, dispelling his doubts.

“Now, shall we get dressed?”

Allen wrapped Sasha in a soft towel and set him down on the soft bed.

The baby waited for him to come with the moisturizer, surprisingly calm and dignified.

‘But I can’t deny that Sasha has a special character.’

Even that dignified figure lying calmly on a towel was lovely.

Allen dried a lot of moisturizer on his palm and carefully applied it to the baby’s body. Allen’s hand, which had been rubbing his hands, feet, face, and buttocks, stopped abruptly.

“What is this?”

A faint scars were visible beneath the baby’s back on both sides.

As if it were an old scar, the texture of the skin was strangely different in that area.

“When did you get these scars?”

As Allen applied moisturizer several times, perhaps because this spot was cracked, Sasha struggled, crouching on his back as if itchy.

“It’s strange. I’ll have to ask Kalia tomorrow.”

He was a doctor, and yet he didn’t know about this injury… It was strange.

He applied moisturizer and changed the baby into clean clothes, and Sasha began to drowse as if drowsiness had come.

Allen hoisted Sasha onto his shoulder and walked across the room, gently stroking his back.

The baby’s small and warm body temperature was transmitted to him through his embrace.

“I really wanted to be a good father.”

As if the baby was sleeping well and growing quietly, she shook off his bitter feelings.

“…I wanted to be a good husband.”

It was a hope that was now useless, but he had dreamed of a situation like this in the past.

Allen smiled weakly and looked up at the moon, which was faintly visible beyond the window..

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock knock.

“Allen, it’s me, Derek.”

Hearing Derek’s helpless voice coming through the door like a small whisper, Allen quickly opened the door while holding Sasha in his arms.

“What’s going on?”

Thanks to that, Sasha, who had fallen asleep, widened his eyes with a wink.

Fortunately, the baby didn’t cry.

“… It’s just that, aah, I couldn’t stand it anymore….”

Derek’s face was as white as a sheet as he groaned out the words.

“My stomach is turning inside out as if what I ate earlier is going bad. I feel like I’m going crazy because I’m nauseous and even dizzy. This guy keeps draining my magical power and doesn’t even listen to my healing spells.”

Derek looked down at the dragon egg he was holding in his arms and looked at Allen as if he was in trouble.

“So, by the way, could you keep the egg for one night? Maybe this guy now thinks of me as a storehouse of magic and often drains my magic when I’m around him.”

“Oh, can I just leave it here?”

“Yes please. Hemmie seems to be sleeping, but there is no answer… Oh, and don’t worry, this little guy won’t take any magical power away if there’s not enough of it.”

“All right, got it. Can you leave it over there?”

“Thank you!”

Derek placed the egg on the cushion pointed out by Allen with a relieved expression.

But when he looked at Derek, who didn’t seem to be showing any signs of leaving, Allen wondered why and looked at him.

“Could you give me some medicine? Recovery magic doesn’t work on me…”

“Oh, sure. Well. Wait a moment please.”

As Allen went to the makeshift bed that had been transformed into a baby carriage, Simon’s spirits who had been playing inside it looked up at him.

While he wasn’t paying attention, the children that Simon left behind to protect the baby in case of danger.

“Now guys, look at Sasha-sama. They understand?”

-Ssssssssshh!-

Fuego wagged his tail proudly and sat snuggled in next to Sasha’s head in the baby carriage.

After making sure of that, Allen went to find Derek’s medicine, bringing the medicine bag with him.

Derek, who had pulled up a chair next to him, started talking.

“Actually, right now, Drea is getting closer to its final form, so I thought it wouldn’t need magical power like this. Oh, Drea is the nickname for the dragon egg. I thought it needed a name since it keeps sticking around.”

“Ah, I see. Having a name is a good thing.”

“Haha. Yes. I feel more attached to it now that I’ve given it a name…”

As they chatted, Allen pulled out a few pills from his bag and offered them to Derek.

“Take these first, and if your condition doesn’t improve, take these as well,” he explained.

Crack.

Crackle.

Suddenly, they heard a strange, ominous sound – a creaking and cracking like something was breaking.

The two men froze, turning their heads quickly towards the source of the noise.

“…!”

The two men’s mouths dropped open at the same time.