A Contract Marriage with My Child’s Father - Chapter 59

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

Chapter 59

Captain of the Knights Morden rejected with a tone as cold and sharp as an icicle.

At such a firm rejection, I was left speechless and stared up at him blankly.

‘His gaze is too murderous.’

I had thought this when passing by him before, but his eyes were so menacing they made my knees weak. It was too obvious that he openly disliked me to simply blame it on his appearance.

‘What did I do wrong? We’ve had no contact.’

I was slightly intimidated, but I couldn’t back down like this.

“Couldn’t we work something out? I won’t get in the way. Young Master’s treatment isn’t completely finished yet, so I want to monitor his condition.”

I gathered my courage and pleaded earnestly.

However, the response remained unchanged. As if he didn’t want to exchange another word, he turned and headed toward the training grounds.

It felt like talking to a wall.

Hmm, what to do… He doesn’t look like he’ll change his mind at all.

But since the lessons were his responsibility, he had a point, and I had no more words of persuasion. Just as I was stamping my feet in frustration.

Pat. A small, warm touch enveloped the back of my hand.

“It’s okay, Viola. I’ll keep my promise well.”

Jayden looked up at me with a bright smile.

Jayden must have been more disappointed than anyone at this unexpected situation.

Yet seeing him try to reassure me instead was both admirable and heartbreaking.

I smiled back at him too.

“Alright. I’ll trust only you, Young Master. Our Young Master is a child who keeps promises well.”

“Yes! Don’t worry!”

“You absolutely must not overdo it. Do exactly 30 minutes and come back. Understood?”

“Got it.”

Jayden answered energetically, then immediately turned as if to leave, but soon stopped. As if something was bothering him.

“…Viola will wait for me until I come out, right?”

“Of course!”

When we hooked our pinky fingers together, relief spread across Jayden’s face. His small steps toward his teacher somehow overflowed with solemn determination.

I waved at his retreating figure.

‘What a shame.’

I would have liked to watch if possible. That way I could stop him if I saw signs of him overdoing it.

If the lesson had been at the training grounds, I could have at least secretly peeked.

As if he could see right through me, Morden headed toward the indoor training hall with Jayden.

It was a place where I couldn’t see inside because the door was closed.

Just as I was blankly watching Jayden disappear into the entrance.

Morden shot me a chilling look, then roughly slammed the heavy door shut.

I tried to suppress my uncomfortable feelings and settled on a bench near the training grounds.

* * *

Jayden stopped himself from looking back toward the closed door and just swallowed hard.

Though it was the sword lesson he had begged Viola for, Jayden wasn’t actually looking forward to the lesson itself.

Rather, he was feeling burdened by it.

Facing his teacher made him naturally shrink back. But still, he had to keep his promise with Viola.

“Teacher. About Viola. I mean, my personal healer… She told me to be careful today.”

Jayden barely finished speaking and watched Morden’s reaction.

Morden clicked his tongue audibly.

“Young Master. Do you not trust this teacher?”

“Ah…”

“Don’t worry. I know better than that healer what Dragon Blood needs.”

At Morden’s words, Jayden obediently nodded.

But the strict teacher ignored the mere healer’s advice and would never bend his will.

“Huff, huff…”

It was quite some time after training had begun.

Jayden clutched his bursting heart and collapsed to the floor.

His lungs felt like they were tearing from the heat, and he tasted metallic blood in his throat. His legs were shaking so much he couldn’t possibly stand.

Far from holding a sword. He had no idea how many laps around the training hall he’d done with heavy sandbags tied to his ankles.

“J-just a moment… I can’t breathe, huff.”

Jayden barely lifted his head to ask. The forced march without even a sip of water allowed was making his head spin.

But perhaps that was a mistake. Teacher Morden’s gaze toward Jayden was colder than ever.

“Are you whining over just this much?”

Morden clicked his tongue and sneered coldly.

“Do you think you can become strong enough to match the Dragon Blood name while being lazy with just this level of training?”

Jayden’s eyes wavered as he gasped for breath. Viola’s advice echoed in his head.

“You absolutely must not overdo it. Do exactly 30 minutes and come back. Understood?”

But I promised Viola. That I absolutely wouldn’t overdo it. She’s probably waiting outside with her neck craned by now.

As Jayden hesitated and moved his lips, Morden, who read his expression like a ghost, took a step closer. He muttered in a low, grinding voice.

“Your eyes are full of hesitation today. Is it because of that healer?”

Morden’s eyes twisted with disgust.

“You say you’ve recovered from taking medicine, but you’ve only become more weak. I can’t find any trace of Dragon Blood pride. That woman has ruined you, Young Master.”

Jayden gathered courage to object.

“N-no! Viola is…!”

However, Morden firmly cut off Jayden’s words.

“Not only making you dependent on mere medicine, but telling you to rest when it’s hard? Ha, why don’t you understand that’s the path to ruin? You’re making Young Master, who has Dragon Blood, as weak as an ordinary human!”

Jayden bit his lips hard.

That’s not it. Viola is only genuinely caring for me.

Objecting to Morden, his teacher, wasn’t easy for young Jayden, but he couldn’t stay silent at this moment.

No, he didn’t want to stay silent after hearing insults about Viola.

Just as Jayden was squeezing out courage to open his mouth.

“…Do you want to repeat the same thing again? I’m talking about what happened three years ago.”

His mouth closed automatically. Jayden’s eyes became clouded in an instant.

No. I can’t. I absolutely hate that.

Jayden repeated the same words over and over like someone possessed.

His unfocused eyes were filled with terror.

Only then did a chilling smile cross Morden’s lips.

“Stand up.”

There’s still much training left to become true Dragon Blood.

The low voice that followed grabbed Jayden’s ankles like a curse.

* * *

Thirty minutes had passed.

‘The lesson should be ending soon.’

I got up from my seat and peered toward the training hall. But the door was still tightly closed.

‘Is the wrap-up taking a bit long?’

Generally speaking, it was likely the lesson had run long.

But strangely, an inexplicable uneasiness clung to a corner of my chest and wouldn’t let go.

I waited another 5 minutes, trying to calm my anxiety. But Jayden didn’t come out.

This time I waited a generous 10 minutes. Still, the door showed no sign of opening.

‘What on earth is he doing in there?’

Due to the thick walls, no sound leaked out from inside, and it was eerily quiet.

That silence made me even more anxious.

‘…This is strange.’

The odd sensation that had been brushing against my back since earlier.

Rather than simple worry, I felt as if I was missing some very important fact.

‘Jayden isn’t a child who would break promises.’

If it wasn’t simply running late, perhaps something had gone wrong inside.

I couldn’t just stand there waiting any longer. I was pacing restlessly in front of the training grounds door when—

“Lady Viola, what’s wrong?”

Having been watching me anxiously guard the training grounds door, Craig and several other knights approached.

“Oh, Sir Craig! It’s nothing serious, but could you possibly open this door for me?”

“The training grounds, you mean? It’s possible, but…”

For security reasons, only the knights had keys to the indoor training hall. Craig looked puzzled but obediently opened the door for me.

Creak. As soon as the heavy iron gate opened, I forgot my manners and rushed desperately inside.

Please let my premonition be just groundless worry.

But…

My heart sank at the sight that unfolded before my eyes.

In the middle of the empty training grounds, Jayden lay collapsed helplessly on the cold floor.

“Young Master!”

I ran frantically toward Jayden.

The child’s condition up close was much more serious than I had thought.

“Huff, gasp, urgh…”

It wasn’t simply being out of breath from exercising after a long time.

His face was burning red as if about to burst, blotchy with blood rushing to it, and his irregular breathing sounded precarious as if it might stop at any moment.

The balance of power within his body that had been carefully maintained with medication had completely collapsed due to excessive training.

“Vi, Viola…”

Unable to properly open his eyes yet somehow recognizing my presence, Jayden called out to me with difficulty.

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