My Ex-Boyfriend Gave Birth to My Child? What Does That Mean? - Chapter 54

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

My Ex-Boyfriend’s Child Was Born to Me — Episode 54
One thing, at least, was certain.
Schule Otreha and my mother knew about my engagement.
I’d naturally prepared myself for that.
But the information Noah had carefully relayed contained something far more momentous.
Leon, sprawled across the gleaming new sofa we’d just installed in the reception room, let out a dry, measured laugh as he listened to what I told him.
“Those idiots tried to blackmail me?”
“If Lucian stops being our child, there could be problems with his Succession Rights down the line.”
“Ah, so…….”
The way he smiled slightly irritated me.
“……They made the same calculation you did before?”
“That’s correct, but it’s infuriating.”
It was certainly an easy line of thinking even my own family could arrive at.
The Kingdom Succession Law protects Illegitimate Children only in the most narrow circumstances—ultimately, a child born between a future spouse and a recognized partner. Lucian fell precisely into this category.
The reason Lucian qualified for this exception, despite my never having shown myself pregnant to the outside world, was simple.
First, there was the fact that I’d spent several months in seclusion after failing in the final selection for the Magic Tower.
If a woman who suddenly goes into seclusion returns with a child, people tend to assume her belly swelled late and she was recovering.
Of course, the second reason was far more important: the Royal Family had given their approval.
There were complex political reasons behind it.
The current Crown Prince, First Prince Raul, had been consistently advocating for war with foreign powers.
The Nobles’ Assembly, displeased with this stance, had quietly thrown their support behind Second Prince Adrian instead.
They had no wish to push their peaceful kingdom into the agony of war.
So the kingdom was now in a state where First Prince Raul and Second Prince Adrian shared power.
In such circumstances, Isabella—Adrian’s political partner—had approved Leon’s illegitimate child and its birth mother?
The game was already over at that moment.
Someone might suspect it. Someone might object.
But there weren’t many people in this world willing to openly oppose the decision of an influential member of the Royal Family just to meddle in someone else’s family affairs.
‘Except Schule Otreha wasn’t just anyone!’
Terribly true.
Schule Otreha wasn’t merely “not just anyone”—he was the master of the very house I belonged to.
Schule Otreha’s words could become quite the bombshell depending on the situation.
However…….
“Still, those fools aren’t quite that stupid. I’d say it’s unlikely they still believe they share blood with you, though.”
Leon rose leisurely from the sofa and settled quietly beside me. I shifted my hips to one side to make room and sighed.
“Should I be relieved this is all thanks to your terrible reputation…….”
According to Noah, my mother—Lady Otreha—had stopped Schule from demanding a substantial sum of money from Leon using this as leverage.
‘Not knowing who that woman is,’
As she calmed Schule, who was swinging his fists at the air, my mother continued speaking, Noah said.
‘If he went so far as to seek out Irina just to whitewash the child’s status, the Duke of Voltaine must be quite mad with love. For the child’s birth mother, that is.’
What came next was masterful.
‘Irina’s no fool either, so she’ll have extracted a great deal as payment for ruining her reputation. Once the child’s status is secured, the Duke of Voltaine will abandon Irina and remarry the woman he truly loves—so she just needs to collect what’s owed when that time comes. Safely.’
I want to congratulate myself for not shrieking or bouncing about in front of Noah. Because that was, simply, far too…….
Perfectly characteristic of Lady Otreha!
“Mother never compromises when it comes to my brother’s safety…….”
Leon rolled my hair gently between his fingers, his voice dropping low as he responded.
“She treats her daughter’s wealth as the house’s wealth?”
“Well, it’s typical.”
It was only natural that Noah had grown fearful hearing such talk. In her eyes, both the Capital Otreha Mansion and my circumstances must have looked quite miserable.
A seat to be stolen, another’s child, nothing but being used……strung together, it reads like a list of words describing my past life.
Given that my own family had a hand in creating that past life, it was hardly a surprising story.
“In any case, I made it clear to Noah—I swear by heaven that Lucian is my child.”
“Ah. So that’s why he’s been playing properly with Lucian lately.”
“What? You’ve been observing the children?”
“When something seems odd, I can’t just pretend not to see it. Didn’t you know?”
I felt a strange sense of defeat.
“I didn’t…….”
“Dull.”
“So you hate it?”
“So I like it.”
Though he was sitting right beside me, he wanted to be closer. Leon reached out and pulled me by the waist into a light embrace. He kissed my forehead and gazed at me with a smirk—that beautiful, infuriating face revealing exactly what he wanted.
Ha.
I couldn’t help but give my affectionate lover a kiss, even if it meant letting my guard slip for a moment.
* * *
The Garden in midday.
I sat beneath the shadow of a large canopy, sipping tea and watching the children play.
Lucian’s reddish-brown hair glinted almost golden in the light. Noah’s mouth had broken into a clumsy but genuine smile, and the children tumbled through the afternoon dust like puppies, soaked in the warmth of the sun.
From time to time, Evening’s bright laughter as she played with wildflowers filled the air with joy.
Whenever the three children’s wild play grew too rough, mature Peron stepped in. As he scolded them with a serious expression, a crooked flower crown—woven by Evening—sat awkwardly atop his head.
Despite all the tasks piling up before me, I felt as though I’d tumbled into paradise.
A happy moment my former self had never known.
I had to admit, Leon’s taste was impeccable.
Watching the four children get along, I was beginning to understand it myself.
Noah had changed so much from before.
The child smiled far more often now, and that sullen expression appeared only rarely. The weight lifting from his chest was plain enough even to my dull eyes.
Now, as an adult, all I had to do was live up to that child’s expectations.
But before that…….
“Cyril.”
“Yes, madam.”
“There’s someone peering in from just outside the Garden gate. Am I imagining things?”
Cyril’s gaze turned toward the lattice door that divided the Garden from beyond. In Young, who had been watching from outside, flinched so visibly as he hid himself among the rose bushes that it was impossible to miss.
Cyril, who stood behind me, asked in a quiet voice.
“Shall I throw him out?”
“……I have a bad feeling about this. Let’s ask him first. What he wants.”
Cyril had taken a few steps toward him to speak when she suddenly clenched her fist. Given that Cyril expressed herself more through her fists than her face…….
“Wait, Cyril—don’t hit him!”
The moment I spotted Cyril raising her fist, I bolted out and gently grabbed the hem of her skirt. Cyril took a breath before speaking.
“There was no need to come out, madam. I’ll handle this at once.”
“No, but not in front of the children. What is this about?”
I gave the four children, who were peeking over from the Garden, a reassuring smile before turning my gaze to the man.
Before me stood a fair-haired man whose sharp features must have once been quite handsome. Perhaps a few years older than Schule? At a distance, he’d looked like he was dressed as a nobleman, but up close, I could see his sleeves were frayed, his old clothes worn, his shirt stained, and he reeked of cheap perfume.
The man reached out toward me desperately, his voice rising.
“Wait! Don’t misunderstand, Miss Irina! I am your mother’s…… that is, the man who will soon become your father!”
I quietly released my grip on Cyril’s skirt.
Cyril truly is a loyal servant.
‘I stopped her for nothing!’

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