My Ex-Boyfriend Gave Birth to My Child? What Does That Mean? - Chapter 22

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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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My ex-boyfriend’s child was born to me—what kind of nonsense is that? Episode 22
Herdy Pua, a gaunt man with gray hair, belonged to what people called a “stay-at-home” mage.
In other words, he was one of a rare few Research Mages who refused to enter respectable professions like knight orders or construction labor.
Their advantage was the passion to dedicate their lives to research out of pure longing for discovery; their disadvantage was that sometimes they were found dead of starvation alongside dust-covered research notes.
In my past life, Herdy knocked on the Ocker Trading Company’s door on the verge of starving to death. He’d offered to sell his techniques with an expression of profound shame.
The Ocker Trading Company promptly purchased his techniques for a pittance, with no royalties attached.
‘A filthy bit of business.’
The technology Herdy had sold so cheaply proved revolutionary. It transformed coarse linen into something lightweight and supple by means of Magical Stones. That technique earned the Ocker Trading Company enormous profits.
So I seized the opportunity myself.
Before he could knock on the Ocker Trading Company’s door, I found him first and signed a contract.
Of course, on far better terms than what the company offered.
“Herdy, you need to be clear about this. Camouflage Suit Development is a completely separate matter.”
Herdy Pua, who had been pounding his head against the desk, suddenly snapped his head up.
He shouted again in his rough voice.
“This fabric is merely a byproduct of the camouflage suit project……!”
“In any case, I was the one who discovered the color-changing side effect. Most of the important shares in this invention rightfully belong to me.”
“But I did the Lightweighting and Flexibilization!”
“Which is why I gave you shares for that work.”
“But what about the insult I suffered?!”
“What insult are you even talking about?”
“I will not sell my soul for money!”
Rita, watching Herdy Pua shriek, muttered softly.
“What is he even saying…….”
I couldn’t agree more.
Despite his disheveled appearance, Herdy’s foundational technique was quite practical and sound magic.
But like most Research Mages, he couldn’t envision the so-called “profitable” applications for his own work.
He firmly believed his technique should be used to craft perfect cloaks and robes for knights and mages.
But honestly, why would the knight order’s budget administrator commission garments several times more expensive than standard?
‘If he were making lightweight bags or weapons, that would be another story.’
After providing Herdy Pua with several basements of the Otreha Mansion to use as laboratories, I lent him a subtle hand in his research.
And so, lightweight fabric shimmering with various colors was born!
“I am a military equipment developer! Not a toy maker!”
Herdy shouted again loudly. Fortunately, I knew the magic words that could silence him.
“If I increase the budget for Camouflage Suit Development, won’t that solve the problem?”
“…….”
There now.
Herdy Pua flinched, then gradually sidled closer.
“……How much?”
“I’ll continue to provide the laboratory and living expenses as before. For detailed research costs, you’ll need to submit approval forms each time.”
“What a hassle.”
“If you can’t even manage that, go back to your original home and laboratory.”
“……Will you approve it immediately if I submit the forms?”
Just as Herdy, suddenly well-behaved, was clearing his throat, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell leading to the laboratory entrance, accompanied by a child’s laughter.
“Young Master Lucian! The mistress said you mustn’t run down the stairs—oh my!”
A small figure scurried past the servant’s flustered voice and hid behind Rita’s skirts. It was our precious one, Lucian.
“Mama!”
“Lu? I told you to be careful on the stairs—oh!”
As I moved to pick Lu up, the child’s eyes lit up and he dashed toward the pile of fabrics in the laboratory.
“This one’s so shiny and pretty!”
In that instant, small fern-like hands fumbled with the failed samples discarded in the corner.
“That, that one……!”
Herdy, who had been absorbed in calculations just moments before, suddenly made a strangled sound and pointed.
Almost simultaneously, I understood his alarm.
The fabric Lucian held firmly was shifting to a subtle gray that matched the surrounding laboratory colors—as if it were transparent.
Yet the child’s hand holding the fabric was not passing through it.
“The camouflage suit……!”
Herdy approached Lucian, tearing at his disheveled hair.
“Do that again, just now! Quickly!”
Herdy could not take his eyes off Lucian.
“You corrected the errors in that complex magical formula without even being taught it? That’s too much of a coincidence—this is genuine genius!”
Herdy Pua’s eyes shifted.
“Wait—mother? She’s your child?”
“Is that a problem?”
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“Who on earth does she take after?”
…….
* * *
Herdy Pua couldn’t contain the shock he felt upon learning about the child’s father.
‘That baldheaded lunatic managed to get married, and here I am……!’
Best to pretend I never heard such nonsense.
Yes.
I had more pressing concerns.
My daughter was a magical prodigy.
“Mama, mama! Can I give this to that nice gentleman?”
The generous opinion she held of Herdy Pua suggested she was not merely a magical prodigy, but one with a magnanimous heart as well.
Today I was taking Lucian on a tour of my atelier, which had only recently opened its doors.
Lucian beamed as she held up a Ribbon Brooch I’d crafted as a sample, insisting she wanted to give it to Herdy as a gift.
“Wouldn’t a scarf suit him better than a brooch?”
“But this one’s prettier!”
Lucian gazed longingly at the delicate Ribbon Brooch, its pink base shot through with veins of blue and gold.
I could already picture the shocked expression on Herdy Pua’s face when he received it.
But then again—
Why should I concern myself with Herdy Pua’s feelings?
In the end, I placed the pink brooch in Lucian’s hand and spoke.
“Then let’s give this one to Herdy instead.”
“Yay!”
The atelier’s staff watched our exchange with warm smiles.
* * *
I held Lucian’s hand as we left the atelier, my thoughts turning to the world at large.
There are certain things in this world that cannot be hidden, no matter how one tries.
The fact that I’d struck it rich, for instance.
“We’d like to purchase all the Galaxy Silk you currently have in stock!”
“Wait, we placed our order first!”
“We’re scheduled to supply fabrics for House Chastang’s dress production. We need the fastest possible timeline…….”
“Yes, please form a line! Fill in your required dates and quantities on this form, and we’ll arrange delivery of the fabric.”
I barely managed to slip out of the atelier through the deluge of orders.
‘I should probably avoid visiting the atelier for a while. It’s far too hectic.’
This level of success owed much to the Capital’s newspapers, which had been running daily spreads about the dress Princess Isabella wore to the ball.
Since they kept using phrases like “as if the Milky Way itself were flowing……,” our fabric had acquired the rather grandiose—and slightly ridiculous—name “Galaxy Silk.”
Rita, who had been trailing behind me, muttered in a dejected voice.
“Master, shouldn’t we expand the atelier further? It’s so popular.”
I spoke gently to Rita, who had by now become my right hand in all things.
“For now, it’s better to keep producing far less than demand allows.”
“Why?”
“What one cannot obtain always seems far more precious.”
People who failed to get their hands on Galaxy Silk, peering anxiously through windows every day.
They themselves became the advertisement.
“That’s true! Rice tastes much better when you’re hungry.”
“Exactly.”
As our carriage made its way to the Otreha Mansion, I could observe the market’s shifting currents more directly.
I saw no one dressed entirely in Galaxy Silk—the fabric was far too scarce for that. But among the most refined figures on the street, their clothes or hats were accented here and there with shimmering Ribbon Brooches or scraps of Galaxy Silk in various colors.
Rita, who immediately grasped what I was observing, added a comment with a soft laugh.
“Even jewelry made from scraps is selling out the moment it appears. The accessory workshops are practically screaming with joy every day.”
Anything that sparkled naturally drew the eye—even young Lucian couldn’t take her gaze from the silk brooch in her hand.
“What if we become rich too quickly?”
“If you want to survive being buried in money, now is precisely the time to be cautious. Take no large orders, and control production.”
“Ugh, though I wouldn’t mind being buried in money just once…….”
The business was running smoothly, yet I remained vigilant.
Success inevitably attracts opposition.
‘An attack is coming soon.’
But I still couldn’t know when or how the pressure would begin.
Lost in thought, I found myself already at the mansion’s entrance.
As I descended from the carriage, she approached with quick steps.
“Master.”
Cyril drew close and angled her body slightly, blocking Lucian just as he was stepping down from the carriage. Her hushed voice drifted into my ear.
“There’s an intruder in the mansion.”
“Just have the guards throw them out.”
“That’s the thing…….”
Cyril’s expressionless face flickered with rare discomfort.
“She’s heavily pregnant. And she’s covered in blood, asking for you alone.”

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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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