The Baby Isn’t Yours

Simon’s cheeks felt as soft as cotton on her rough palms.

As if impatient, he gently kissed Kalia on her scarred palm. Kalia had no idea what he liked about those ugly hands and why he kept kissing them. But the feeling certainly wasn’t unpleasant.

He seemed to be kissing her true form, hidden behind a huge figure called ‘General Kalia’.

After all, who else in this world but Simon would look to Kalia as their own?

Thinking like that, Kalia felt a little more fascinated by standing in front of him.

It was also surprising that Simon seemed beautiful.

“Since when did you start liking me?”

“A long time ago, to your surprise.”

“What? But why didn’t you tell me?”

Simon smiled bitterly.

“Do you mean the war times? What if my words distract you and you will hurt?”

‘Oh.‘

Simon’s words shocked Kalia, because she hadn’t thought of that at all.

If it was her, if she had such a passionate feeling, she would like to express it, no matter what happens…

“Awesome.”

“So what’s the answer?”

“Answer?”

“Why did you tell me not to laugh? On the other side, your smile warms people’s hearts.”

“Oh, this.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Kalia decided to be frank. Because she chose to be honest with Simon, she also wanted to fulfill her feelings while they were together.

“It’s weird. When you laugh like that, I feel a little strange.”

It was Simon who was surprised by Kalia’s honest statement, which he didn’t expect at all.

Seeing how his eyes widened so that his golden pupils could be clearly seen, Kalia boldly continued.

“You look very cute when you suddenly smile. Of course, you always have a beautiful face… But now, when you laugh, I feel that it is a little ticklish here,” Kalia, quietly confessing, touched her chest with her hand.

It was then that the frozen magician was ready to move his trembling lips.

Knock. Knock.

Someone politely knocked on the door.

* * *

“I brought a rash cream for Sasha.”

Allen, who entered the room with a smile, noticed Simon, who was already sitting there, and stopped for a moment.

Simon, of course, could be here, but what does that cold, accusing look he gave him mean?

‘I think I interrupted something.’

But how was he to know that Simon was here?

And Allen was proud to be here on a very important matter.

Saving Sasha’s soft ass! And no archmage could stop this sacred Allen’s duty!

“You were here too, Simon.” Allen greeted him as politely as possible, but also approached Kalia immediately. “Apply it well here. It’s important to use it correctly so that there are no lumps.”

“The nanny says to use the powder. But is cream better?”

“I prefer this cream. The powders commonly used on the market can dry out the skin.”

“Yeah. Thanks Allen. You said I should change his diaper often when he was born, right? He’s got such weak skin… He’ll be fine now. I need to change him now.”

Kalia went over to Sasha’s bed with the cream she got from Allen. Allen also approached them as she unwound Sasha’s diapers with her clumsy hands.

“Now, while I’m here, I’ll change it. Tonight, Miss Kalia, try it yourself.”

“No, I can change a diaper. The more I practice, the more I get used to it.”

“Still.”

A black shadow fell behind two people arguing with each other about which one of them was going to change the baby’s diaper.

“Ahem,” Simon, who came up with a cough, cautiously turned to Kalia: “Can I do it?”

“What?”

“I want to change it… Will you let me to do this, Kalia?”

‘Uh…’

Allen immediately tensed and looked at Simon.

He happily ran to change Sasha’s diaper. He couldn’t believe his opportunity had been stolen.

‘I wanted to change it. I, I… ‘

Allen looked at Kalia with a sad face, but Kalia couldn’t understand the meaning of his eyes.

“Mm.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she handed Simon the diaper and rash cream that had been arguing over.

“Well. Try it. But be sure to be careful. Babies are so small that they can break from the wrong touch.”

“What are you worried about? I’m not strong enough to break a chair with one hand, Kalia,” Simon replied slightly angrily with a slightly flustered face. He himself was full of emotions.

He unwrapped the diaper with his hand, deft enough even for Kalia. The baby looked more comfortable than when she changed his diaper.

When she looked at Simon with curiosity, he confidently said:

“Actually, I learned about it yesterday from Hemmie and the nanny.”

Sasha moved his tiny hands to see if the diaper was fresh.

The three adults who were watching the scene were so touched that the faces on which their bright smiles flaunted relaxed.

Simon carefully smeared the rash cream on the baby’s blond bottom and placed a new diaper underneath. And he stared with a serious face between the legs of a baby who suddenly began to jerk his legs. Simon froze like that for a few seconds.

‘…Why are you doing this?’

Kalia wondered what he was looking at so seriously, so she looked over his shoulder, following his gaze. Plump, bare thighs exposed in bright light, and white skin between them.

As well as…

Simon’s muffled voice was suddenly heard in the ears of Kalia examining the baby.

“Well, as expected, he is my son.”

‘… What?’

‘Hey, what are you so happy about?’

* * *

Since then, Simon has set his sights on Sasha’s diapers. It got to the point that he himself came to change it, even when Kalia was awake.

One day, while holding the baby in her arms and watching him take the bottle, Kalia nearly fainted.

“Simon takes very good care of the child. Even Sasha looks happy when he hugs him.”

“It doesn’t look like it, but it seems that he really loves children. In fact, our Sasha is very nice. Aren’t you, Sasha?”

Hemmie and the nanny were the first to praise Simon.

Even as Kalia looked after the baby, she thought that Simon really did seem better than her. There were times when her mind wavered, when this perfectionist even perfected child care.

It’s a shame, but on the one hand, Simon, who likes Sasha, was unique, and, again, she was confused and perplexed by what was happening.

‘Simon shouldn’t like kids.’

She glanced at Simon walking beside her.

Now the two of them were heading to the castle parlor, where there was now a connection. They must have contacted someone, having been postponing contact for some time.

Simon looked at her as if he could feel her gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

As if asking for something, he tilted his head slightly and quietly asked a question, to which Kalia flinched.

‘Have you always been a person who can speak so sweetly as if breathing, huh?’

The more Kalia learned, the more she was surprised by Simon’s change. But what was even more surprising was that Simon’s change was becoming more and more familiar to her.

Kalia admired his adaptability as much as Simon’s change, and asked a question that piqued her curiosity.

“As far as I remember, you weren’t very fond of children.”

“Me?”

“I saw children next to you. Don’t you remember telling me that you can’t even get close to them when you hear children’s voices?”

Simon raised an eyebrow at her words and looked ahead, chuckling softly in thought. As if searching for something to say, he paused and admitted the truth in a hollow voice.

“When you see babies, you always look at them in a trance. You always paid all your attention to them… How could I stand and look at this?”

At the words she had never thought of, Kalia stopped walking.

“What do you mean?”

Hearing her question, Simon stopped and looked at her. The golden eyes, which reflected the sunlight, looked so deeply that it was impossible to understand his thoughts.

As if forgetting what they were talking about, Kalia’s heart fluttered as he stared at her intently.

“It’s just,” Simon closed his eyes and smiled, “I’ve loved you since then.”

“…”

“I couldn’t let the woman I love look so devastated when she looked at something she couldn’t have.”

‘Oh, how can I explain this feeling?’

Kalia felt her breath choke as strange emotions surged through her like a storm.

The figure of Simon, standing with his back to the window, was so warm that it seemed that her eyes were closing.

‘Since when do you look at me with such feelings?’

His heart was bigger than Kalia thought. How could she miss how Simon felt looking at her with such a heart?

‘Why didn’t you tell me about your feelings?’

“Ha.”

An exhilarating breath pulled her out of her thoughts.

She gently squeezed her hands, which were itching all the time. Simon looked at her, reached out and stroked her cheek lightly. The tip of his thumb touched Kalia’s cheek and caressed her lower lip gently as she sighed.

Simon smiled slightly and patted Kalia on the shoulder.

“Let’s go. His Highness the Crown Prince will grieve.”

He was the first to turn towards the sunlight, and Kalia looked at his back.

‘Do you have such a hard back?’

She immediately wanted to hug Simon. Agitated by some unknown impulse, she reached for the door to the living room, where they were supposed to enter, and Simon called her.

“Kalia.”

Now Kalia heard Simon’s voice calling her in a different way than before. It was soft and warm. As much as she wanted to respond with her smile, Kalia knew it was evidence that her heart had changed too.

‘Oh, I can’t.‘

She felt that she would go crazy if she didn’t accept this feeling.

“Yes, Simon.”

Without hesitation, Kalia approached Simon.

.