Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 172

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Side Story 1, Part 10, Episode 1
“Haa….”
That day! I grasped Auredhian’s wrist as he lowered himself before me, his eyes searching my face.
“That day, that day!”
“Mm….”
“We, we didn’t….”
It felt as though someone had struck the back of my head with a massive hammer. I blinked, and only then did my entire body register the transformation that had befallen me. These past few days, my body had felt strangely languid and heavy. I’d attributed it to spring lethargy and pushed myself harder to fight the exhaustion, yet somehow I’d grown weaker instead. My menstrual cycle had always been irregular, so I’d never given it a thought. And before that, my husband had been so meticulous about contraception—as if bound by some sacred taboo—that it was only natural I hadn’t considered it at all.
That night, whether from the influence of alcohol or not, when I sensed him pressing forward differently than usual, I should have grown suspicious…! I went pale and gripped Auredhian’s arm more tightly. If this is real!
“Edi, I, I….”
“What am I supposed to say, Yeni? After I said it with my own mouth-.”
“I, I haven’t eaten anything strange this past month, have I?”
“Huh? What?”
Auredhian, whose expression had been impossible to read—caught between a smile and a grimace—suddenly went blank. But I paid that no mind. I ransacked my memory frantically, babbling without coherence.
“Like chocolates with alcohol in them, or coffee, or something…!”
Wine or champagne-filled chocolates. I had no memory of eating those. I hadn’t touched alcohol since that night. The problem was coffee and tea. I felt the blood drain from my entire body as I grabbed Auredhian and asked desperately.
“Tea! What tea did we drink yesterday?”
“Ginger mint….”
“The day before? Four days ago? Tell me every type of tea I’ve drunk this past month!”
“Ginger mint, warm grapefruit tea, raspberry leaf, rooibos….”
And Auredhian seemed ready to recite every tea I’d consumed over the past month. But he quickly realized that wasn’t the point, and he gripped both my shoulders.
“Wait, Yeni.”
“Caffeine, caffeine wouldn’t be good, would it? Right? Have I ever drunk green tea or black tea….”
“No. Not once this entire month.”
Auredhian cut me off with a somewhat impatient tone.
“You can trust me. I’ve been careful about everything. But your reaction right now….”
Careful about what? I frantically retraced the past month, then my thoughts came to an abrupt halt. My eyes narrowed involuntarily.
“Ah….”
Only when I lifted my head did I finally see my husband’s face clearly.
“…?”
Since marrying this man, I’d spent nearly every single day attached to his side for two years. On days when we were both in the Imperial Palace, from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until I fell asleep at night—every day, every hour. So I could say with absolute certainty that no one in this world could read Auredhian Belgot’s expressions as well as I could. And right now, Auredhian’s face was, in a word, utterly chaotic.
I asked, bewildered.
“Why do you have that look?”
He seemed unable to even decide what to say first. His crimson eyes couldn’t look directly at me and kept wandering aimlessly. I’d never seen my husband so flustered. I grew flustered too, staring at him blankly.
Auredhian’s mouth opened after a long moment. But what came out was….
“Is it okay if I’m happy?”
——that.
“…? That doesn’t make sense.”
I touched his cheeks, which were strangely flushed, and asked.
“Wasn’t this something you desperately wanted?”
“Yes. No. I mean, that’s not….”
“Then why? Ah, because of my body?”
“That’s part of it….”
His gaze kept sliding away. I finally took hold of both his cheeks firmly and turned his face toward mine. Only then did a proper answer come stammering out.
“It’s… because you said you weren’t ready yet.”
“What?”
And this time, I truly felt as though I’d been struck squarely on the back of the head with a club. When had I ever said such a thing? The memory surfaced without hesitation.
“I didn’t seem ready yet….”
That’s it? There was nothing more I’d said?
“Ah….”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t. Of course not—I’d only decided just days ago to properly discuss having a child with Auredhian. I’d planned to tell him after returning from the Eastern Region!
“Ah.”
Then I understood. This man had truly dug deep. I barely suppressed the laughter threatening to burst forth, gently brushing aside the silken silver strands scattered across his forehead.
“So, you were worried I might blame you?”
“….”
That was it. No answer came, but his expression told me everything. I chuckled softly and pressed my lips to various points on his now-pale face.
“Ah, I was so scattered that day—I couldn’t even remember whether I’d taken contraception or not. Yet you remembered so clearly.”
“….”
“Is that why you followed me around so closely these past weeks? Worrying over every single thing I consumed?”
How adorable. I finally surrendered to laughter, letting it pour out freely. As I nuzzled my nose against his with affection, I felt the tension gradually drain from his face. Auredhian carefully took my hand and drew it down.
“Yerenika, is it really okay for me to be this happy?”
“Are you still going to say things like that?”
“But if there’s any danger….”
Seeing him unable to let himself simply be happy tugged at my heart. I answered with deliberate brightness.
“Well, if our baby takes after his father even a little bit, surely he wouldn’t cause me pain?”
The moment I said “our baby” directly, the anxious red of his eyes suddenly blazed with light. Seizing the moment, I pressed forward with spirited determination.
“I’ll really be careful, so you can be honest now. If you keep reacting like that, the baby will feel left out….”
And before I could finish, I was pulled into his embrace. I laughed brightly and patted his back.
“Hehe. You should have done this from the start.”
“Why do you… keep lifting me up and putting me down like this? Really.”
His voice came in tight, fragmented bursts. I laughed sheepishly.
“I wasn’t doing it on purpose. I actually planned to tell you properly after returning from the Eastern Region….”
How did he know my heart so well, and why did it sprout at precisely this moment? It was a wonder.
“This isn’t a lie, right? It’s not?”
“I bled so much from my nose. It can’t be a lie!”
I answered playfully and struggled to lift my arms. Instead of pushing away the arms that held me as tightly as if binding me, I embraced him in return. Auredhian drew in a deep breath and murmured.
“Ah… really. I’m really happy.”
“Look at you. You’re happy but still watching my expression.”
“I was worried. I’m still worried….”
“Don’t say things like that. There must be other words you know that I like better?”
“Thank you. I love you.”
Hearing his voice now, excited and breathless as he spoke, I felt an incomparable sense of fulfillment. An infinite tenderness poured forth ceaselessly—an affection that erased even the faintest traces of anxiety that had lingered within me.
And so, our precious seed finally began to take root. In the spring, two years after we were married. It bloomed forth radiantly, more beautifully than anyone could have imagined.
* * *
My words proved accurate. The child did not cause me excessive hardship. The difficult period during pregnancy lasted only the first three months.
For those first three months, the child drained my divine essence with remarkable vigor. But the moment three months passed, it reversed course entirely—returning to me several times over what it had consumed. Certainly, those first three months were grueling enough to feel deadly, but the remaining seven months were excessively easy by comparison. Well, good is good, after all.
“Truly, just like his father’s son.”
I held the tiny hand—less than half the size of my own—and gently swayed it, gazing at my child with eyes dripping with affection.
“Isn’t that right? My little walking divine essence factory, version two.”
“Goo goo!”
“Ah, should I call you a mini factory instead?”
The moment my child was born and I saw his face, I knew. This was the child who never would have been born had I not altered fate in the middle of events. The child destined to become the protagonist of this world, yet who saw the light of day four years too late.
Decarve Belgot. My son’s name could be nothing else. I caressed his plump cheeks and whispered to him.
“You know, Dev? Mother doesn’t believe in things like destiny.”
A protagonist, yes, but one fated for a tragic end—a villain nonetheless. A significant supporting character bearing the world’s evil. But now, everything would be different from the very beginning. The infant, not yet half a year old, giggled and squirmed with delight. I pressed my lips softly to my beloved child’s forehead and whispered.
“You will live your own life as your own protagonist, Dev.”
Because I have remade it so.

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