A Contract Marriage with My Child’s Father - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 52

 

“Oh…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Gloves!”

 

I shouted out in joy without realizing it.

 

It was too dark to notice earlier, but those were definitely the very gloves I had forcibly given him as a “bribe” not long ago.

 

‘Honestly, I didn’t think he’d actually use them.’

 

I even wondered if I had done something unnecessary. Cain probably already had much better things.

 

Contrary to my worries, it seemed they were to his liking.

 

Seeing that he wore them out for his walk.

 

The corners of my mouth naturally lifted high. I squinted my eyes and smiled brightly.

 

“I’m so happy! You’re using the gloves!”

 

Viola smiled cheerfully. At her voice dripping with pure joy, Cain unconsciously cleared his throat.

 

“Ahem. Cough.”

 

Cain subtly averted his gaze, but she looked back and forth between his gloved hand and his face with curious eyes, her eyes sparkling.

 

Even in the darkness, her sprout-like eyes didn’t lose their light and continued to twinkle.

 

‘This is troublesome.’

 

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t expected this kind of reaction.

 

At some point, Cain had started to find himself at a loss for words whenever he met that straightforward gaze.

 

When Cain couldn’t continue speaking, Viola moved her plump lips.

 

“Actually, I was a bit worried. I did choose thin gloves to match the weather, but…”

 

“Worried?”

 

“You must have so many fine things. I was afraid something like this wouldn’t be to your liking.”

 

To some extent, that was true. In Duke Ashern’s dressing room, there were naturally piles of gloves from the finest leather ones to magically treated ones.

 

But…

 

Cain looked down at his hands.

 

What was covering his rough hands was none other than the silk gloves she had given him as a gift.

 

“That’s not the case.”

 

If they weren’t to his liking, he wouldn’t be wearing them now.

 

Cain stated the plain truth matter-of-factly.

 

“Really? That’s such a relief…”

 

Viola smiled cheerfully with relief.

 

“So this is the first time you’ve worn them today?”

 

“…”

 

Cain closed his mouth for a moment.

 

The first time. Actually, he had been faithfully wearing these gloves every time he strolled through the night garden alone for the past few days.

 

He didn’t know the reason himself.

 

The reason why, setting aside countless gloves, his hand had specifically reached for that small box placed in a corner of his desk.

 

“Just, I remembered you wearing gloves before… It’s still quite chilly when taking walks at night…”

 

Perhaps it was because her words kept echoing in his ears.

 

In the end, Cain had immediately unwrapped them as if enchanted.

 

An item she had probably carefully chosen while thinking of him. When he tried them on just to see, they provided more warmth than expected and weren’t bad.

 

No, they seemed quite good actually.

 

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have continued using them last night when he walked through the garden alone, or the night before that.

 

Cain decided not to voice all these detailed circumstances.

 

For some reason, he just didn’t want to say it.

 

“Let’s say that’s the case.”

 

Cain, who had glossed over it appropriately, deliberately turned his gaze away while pretending to be nonchalant.

 

However, seeing the woman who kept looking at his hands with satisfaction made Cain’s throat feel dry.

 

There was a need to change the atmosphere.

 

“More importantly.”

 

Just then, an important matter he needed to tell her came to mind.

 

“About Melody.”

 

“Ah, yes!”

 

Fortunately, she quickly focused on the new topic. She was like someone who would jump up from sleep if it concerned her daughter.

 

“I was thinking we could start her holy power training in earnest starting about a month from now.”

 

Even at the sudden proposal, Viola wasn’t surprised. Rather, she slowly nodded as if she had been waiting for it.

 

“Ah, I was actually going to bring it up first. Melody has adapted quite well to the manor by now.”

 

Since the death of the last saint, the temple had been searching for the next saint for 23 years.

 

A saint referred to a woman who possessed God’s mark. A being with overwhelming holy power.

 

And that God’s mark would only reveal itself when touching a specific holy relic.

 

Thus, while the temple had found candidates for sainthood with strong holy power, they had never found a true saint.

 

This was because the saint’s mark had never appeared even once.

 

In such a situation, what if they discovered Melody, who possessed unprecedentedly overwhelming holy power?

 

It was obvious how things would unfold. They would be convinced she was the saint they had been searching for and would try to obtain her.

 

‘Especially since Melody is only four years old.’

 

It was the perfect condition for the temple to exploit.

 

That was precisely why Viola had requested protection from Cain.

 

Therefore, Cain’s role was twofold.

 

To protect the child from the temple.

 

And to help her build the strength to protect herself in the future.

 

The holy power training was part of the latter.

 

‘Once she can handle holy power, it will help that little one too.’

 

However, they couldn’t start training immediately.

 

First, Melody needed to adapt to the manor, and the bigger reason was that the right person for the job was away.

 

But coincidentally, today a message had arrived from that very person. The individual Cain had his eye on to help Melody was none other than Vice Knight Commander Ernst.

 

“The Vice Knight Commander will return from his mission in a month. I’m thinking of having him take charge of the training as soon as he returns.”

 

But then.

 

“Oh? By any chance… is that the person who uses holy power? Sir Ernst?”

 

“…How did you know?”

 

Cain’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t remember telling her about it.

 

Had she heard it from Conrad first? To Cain’s puzzlement, Viola answered with an awkward smile.

 

“Ah, well. I’ve become quite friendly with the knight order members lately… Haha.”

 

The knight order? The faces of burly men flashed through Cain’s mind.

 

Her temporarily taking over knight order duties was definitely something he had approved.

 

But what was this strangely irritating feeling?

 

He already knew through reports that the sociable Viola had become somewhat close to the members.

 

So it was natural that they would build enough rapport to exchange trivial stories.

 

However…

 

“The knight order duties seem to suit you quite well.”

 

For some reason, a subtle tone that was neither sarcastic nor praise came out.

 

“Yes! Honestly, it’s quite enjoyable. At first, everyone was reckless with their bodies and neglected their wounds, but now they try to be more careful not to get hurt. When they do get injured, they come right away because they don’t want to hear nagging…”

 

Chatter chatter. Viola excitedly recounted anecdotes from the knight order. That voice would normally be pleasant to listen to…

 

Without noticing that Cain’s expression was hardening, she continued to talk happily and burst into laughter.

 

Cain’s brow kept furrowing. His chest felt stuffy and uncomfortable as if blocked, and he felt bad but couldn’t understand the reason at all.

 

Then he finally realized.

 

‘Instead of focusing on training, they’re all just slacking off.’

 

Clear dereliction of duty. It seemed that this had bothered him.

 

The next day.

 

The Knight Order’s training intensity was raised slightly by the Duke’s command, but no one knew the reason for the sudden change.

 

Even Cain, who had given the order, only understood it superficially and didn’t know the real reason.

 

Cain wasn’t given time to deeply contemplate the cause.

 

He had to head to the Imperial Capital immediately.

 

* * *

 

The Imperial Capital was located in the capital city.

 

A distant place that required riding horses for several days and nights.

 

However, for someone traveling such a long distance, Cain’s attire was remarkably simple.

 

He brought along his aide, but that was all.

 

As if they didn’t need a carriage, the two men prepared two horses and finished getting ready to depart.

 

‘Well, they might not need a carriage after all.’

 

If they took the warp, they would arrive at the Imperial Palace in no time.

 

The Empire had a total of four warps. The warps installed one each in the east, west, south, and north were all connected to the central capital.

 

The warps were thoroughly managed by the Imperial Court. They had been the cornerstone that allowed the first Emperor to establish the Empire.

 

“Viola, what are you doing?”

 

“Ah, Young Master.”

 

I had been looking out the window when I turned around at Jayden’s call.

 

Jayden came over beside me, peeked his head out, and soon said.

 

“Oh? It’s the Duke and Conrad.”

 

“Yes. They seem to be departing for the Imperial Palace now.”

 

The servants were bustling about in front of them, seeing off their master who was leaving for a two-week schedule.

 

I stood next to Jayden and looked out the window again.

 

I could see Cain having a brief conversation with Conrad, both wearing serious expressions.

 

Since coming here, this was the first time the master Cain would be away from the manor, so I felt restless.

 

I suddenly recalled last night’s conversation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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