A Contract Marriage with My Child’s Father - Chapter 73

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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 73

“Won’t you put one on me too?”

He poked at his wound area with his index finger.

…What? This? On you, Your Grace?

Unlike my flustered state, his eyes, darkened by the disguise magic tool, looked more serious than ever.

There wasn’t a trace of playfulness in that gaze, making me unconsciously hesitate.

Hmm. I was taken aback by the combination of Cain and hearts, but there was no reason I couldn’t put one on him.

It was practically the same as a praise sticker anyway.

“Of course I’ll put one on you! Since you’re a good adult, I’ll give you a special double portion!”

I made a big show of it as I stuck heart tape on the gauze and then on Cain’s hand in turn.

‘But did I treat him too much like a child?’

Even though Cain had asked for it, I felt like I might have been too playful with His Grace.

However, Cain seemed to have gotten exactly what he wanted as he withdrew his arm that had been resting on the table.

Far from peeling it off, he carefully put his glove back on as if trying to preserve the sticker.

Then, looking quite satisfied, he raised the corners of his mouth even higher than when he had smiled after our earlier sprint.

I was happy that he seemed to like it, but…

‘Wow! It really looks surprisingly out of place!’

I marveled as I looked at his arm revealed above his rolled-up sleeve.

How could something look so mismatched?

The cute heart-shaped bandage sitting prominently on his firm, sturdy forearm was completely out of harmony.

His cold-looking features made it even more so.

‘But the more I look at it, the more it seems to suit him somehow.’

Handsome men can pull off anything, after all.

To think I put a praise sticker on him. It was a novel experience.

“This is my first time putting one on an adult.”

When I smiled softly, Cain shamelessly replied.

“Good adults must be rare.”

He chuckled.

Was it because I still wasn’t used to seeing him with black hair?

Or was it because he was smiling so often today? Somehow he caught my attention.

‘It must be because of the bandage.’

The intimidating Duke Ashern.

So right now, inside those gloves, there’s a heart…

I was thinking that Conrad might scream if he saw it, when just then.

The restaurant staff came over and set down steaming bowls on our table, apparently having finished cooking.

The meat stew and freshly baked rye bread in rough ceramic bowls looked absolutely delicious.

I hurriedly picked up my spoon and took a generous spoonful of stew to wash away the awkwardness.

“Oh my, this is incredibly delicious!”

It was a taste that made my eyes light up.

It wasn’t as delicate and refined as the restaurant we had visited before, but the rich meat flavor and savory vegetable taste that filled my mouth was full of charm.

The warm broth seemed to flow down into my empty stomach and warm my entire body, leaving me satisfied.

The bread is really delicious too.

A heartfelt murmur escaped me without realizing it.

But perhaps hearing my voice, Cain, who had been savoring his food, quietly responded.

“Indeed. It’s delicious.”

Oh?

Come to think of it, while I had eaten with him before, this was the first time I’d heard him express that something was delicious.

‘Did it suit his taste?’

I had been secretly worried that I had dragged him to an alley restaurant that nobles would probably never visit.

His positive reaction put my mind completely at ease.

A bright smile unconsciously spread across my lips.

Under the soft orange lighting, we leisurely continued our meal.

* * *

Finally finishing our satisfying meal, we emerged back into the night alley.

After filling our stomachs with warm stew, a pleasant drowsy satisfaction washed over me.

Looking back, it had really been a hectic day.

What with monsters attacking and running around to save a child.

Still, the relief that everything had been resolved without major incident finally brought peace to my heart.

‘I should go out like this from time to time.’

There had been a small city near the Devoroe Count’s household where I grew up, but I didn’t have many opportunities to wander around.

It was because the oppressive former Countess had strictly restricted my outings.

The only moments I could breathe freely were when the entire family was away from the estate.

The former Countess would often take only her own children, Shurin and Raymen, and leave for the town house in the capital.

On days when I was left alone like that, I would look out the window and envy them walking under the lights of the busy streets.

‘Though it’s now a faded old memory.’

The city scenery that had seemed so foreign and distant back then.

The night streets of Winterwald spread before my eyes now had something mysteriously exciting about them.

‘The city night isn’t too bad either.’

In a rural village, everywhere would already be dark as pitch and everyone would be going to bed.

In contrast, this place wasn’t too dark in the alleys, perhaps thanks to the magic stone street lamps installed in each district.

“There are quite a few people out even at this hour.”

I could see people passing by under the streetlights, chatting quietly among themselves.

I liked the peaceful atmosphere.

Come to think of it, Catherine said she worked around here. Maybe I’ll come visit her next time.

I was having idle thoughts as I walked when Cain quietly spoke up.

“It’s gotten quite late. We should head back soon.”

“Yes! Sounds good.”

I answered energetically and took the lead walking.

I need to hurry back and tell Melody about everything that happened today.

‘I think there was a shortcut to the main road around here.’

I searched my memory as I strode deeper into the alley.

But the moment the alley turned and I entered a different path, I saw someone who shouldn’t be here.

‘…That person is.’

Golden hair that shone clearly even in the darkness, reaching down to her waist.

About a finger’s width taller than me, the real daughter of Count Devoroe who had always particularly favored sky-blue clothing.

My heart sank with a thud.

Shurin?

Why is Shurin here?

It couldn’t be.

This is the north.

She had no connections to this place, which required traveling quite far up from the capital.

She should naturally be at the town house in the capital or the Devoroe estate in the east, so why…

Somehow, Shurin, looking exactly as she had in my memory at fifteen years old, was walking this way while conversing with a companion in the distance.

The past I thought I had left behind at the Devoroe Count’s household was unfolding right before my eyes.

My footsteps froze solid.

Beep-

A ringing sound echoed in my ears.

The familiar sight I had seen countless times in my dreams unfolded like a vision under the streetlight.

“How dare you touch my things?”

Thwack.

The cold sensation of being slapped across the face for merely touching her clothes.

Those brutal hands that choked me until I couldn’t breathe.

Memories of the past I thought I had forgotten came flooding back vividly.

‘No. It’s okay. This is just the past.’

It was nothing more than an old story I had overcome.

I shook my head to dispel the lingering traces of memory.

‘Calm down. I might have seen it wrong.’

Even as I tried to clear my thoughts calmly, my turbulent insides wouldn’t settle down.

“Viola?”

I heard Cain calling my name from behind.

I should answer.

But I couldn’t take my eyes off the woman.

‘Get it together, Viola.’

I was no longer Devoroe’s mistreated adopted daughter.

Now that I had left the manor, I had no connection to them anymore.

I repeated this fact over and over in my head, but my emotions wouldn’t calm down.

I couldn’t breathe. My breathing became labored as if a large stone was stuck in my throat.

“Calm down. Breathe.”

Cain’s urgent voice echoed as if I were underwater.

This was strange.

We had just encountered each other.

I thought I had left the fears of the past behind at that place when I met Melody and left the Count’s household.

But I was wrong.

I hadn’t changed at all.

The learned fear weighed heavily on my ankles, clinging to me.

The childhood memories I had desperately suppressed burst forth like a whirlpool. Once the fear erupted, it swallowed me like a flooding river.

Then, the blonde woman began to turn around with the man she was with and started walking toward this alley.

‘No.’

I don’t want this.

It hurts when I get hit. Don’t come.

What if I freeze like this and our eyes meet?

What if she finds out where I’m staying after running away from Devoroe?

Then the Countess too, and Brother Raymen… I might have to see those faces again.

I absolutely don’t want that.

I need to hide. I need to get out of this alley before they discover me.

Like a fool, my legs seemed to have grown roots into the ground and wouldn’t move at all.

“N-no… Ugh…”

It was the moment when even my voice wouldn’t come out properly. The very moment when the woman entered the alley entrance and was about to cast her gaze our way.

Grab.

“…!”

Someone roughly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me, then trapped me in their broad embrace.

My vision was covered by the hem of a black coat.

“It’s okay.”

It was Cain.

He held me tightly in his arms.

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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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