My Ex-Boyfriend Gave Birth to My Child? What Does That Mean? - Chapter 65

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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 does that even mean? Episode 065
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What on earth was I supposed to do with Emil?
This was a problem that had tormented me for a long time.
The fact that he was Lea’s child, or that I’d ultimately died by poison at his hands — none of that mattered quite so much to me. What made me unbearably uncomfortable was simply the matter of his size.
‘……Emil was a man in his twenties to me!’
Connecting the small child squirming in my arms, babbling soft sounds, to Emil as he’d been — a handsome man with a sturdy frame — was genuinely an impossible task for me.
“Meow.”
The homely cat, who had been softly rubbing its head against the baby’s plump cheek, let out a small cry toward me, then hopped down from the crib and padded slowly toward Peron and myself.
“Purr.”
The nursemaid, who had been watching the cat circle softly around my feet while it made a throaty rumbling sound, opened her mouth in a hushed voice, her eyes wide and round.
“Goodness, how well that fierce cat follows you! I thought it only behaved that way toward young Master Lucian.”
“What are you talking about? Vallemond II is a very good cat.”
As if understanding my words, the cat’s small head drew near my foot and gave a soft, gentle butt.
“Wait, the baby goes first today.”
I soothed Vallemond II with words and drew closer to Emil’s crib. The child I held was, as expected, remarkably light and very small.
Emil was such a quiet baby.
Usually, babies cry grandly and fuss constantly throughout the day, but this little one, meeting my eyes, simply reached out to touch my fingertips and cheeks, his bright eyes sparkling.
I played with the baby’s fingers and posed a question to Peron.
“You said there was something unusual about Emil?”
A mage just beginning to learn magic typically wants to read everything in the world through Mana Fluctuation Sensing. I spoke carefully, mindful not to dampen a genius mage’s enthusiasm while his studies were in full swing.
“I don’t see anything wrong with him.”
From what I could tell, Emil seemed perfectly fine. There was nothing different about him from usual.
Peron tilted his head as if puzzled that I hadn’t noticed immediately, then extended a finger to touch Emil’s cheek. I could see a delicate Mana Fluctuation flowing from Peron’s fingertip into the baby’s body.
“There is something inside Emil’s chest.”
“What?”
I immediately sent a Mana Fluctuation as Peron had done. After probing for some time, I caught something on the delicate edge of the mana.
Something infinitesimal and small — like the breathing of a baby rabbit, something so soft and insubstantial it would scatter at a single heartbeat, hovering faintly near Emil’s heart.
I whispered without thinking.
“Peron, you really are amazing! I can barely sense it at all.”
Is this what a genius is?
How could someone possibly perceive such minute mana?
Peron flushed slightly, a little embarrassed, and replied.
“At first it was so small I couldn’t be certain…… but it’s growing along with Emil. I don’t sense this from Lucian, Noah, or Evening. I was worried perhaps the baby was suffering from some illness…….”
“It’s growing along with the baby?”
“Yes, I’m certain of it.”
I reached out and kneaded Emil’s cheek, channeling mana through once more. Certainly, it felt somewhat different from the mana of a young mage. More hidden, more compressed, more hardened…….
‘No way.’
I looked at Peron and spoke.
“To be honest, I’m not quite sure. I’ll ask Leon again about this. Thank you so much for telling me! Without you, I would never have known.”
Peron answered as always with propriety.
“It is my joy to be of help.”
* * *
I decided to visit the Ducal Estate.
Since I’d be traveling by carriage anyway, I needn’t worry about the baby catching a chill, and the Ducal Estate always had attendants ready for the children, so they wouldn’t be alarmed at Emil’s sight.
Most of all, I remembered Leon’s complaints that it had been quite some time since I’d come to see him.
‘Perhaps it would be nice for me to visit him sometimes.’
To put it simply, my thinking was too hasty.
The moment Leon saw Emil in my arms, his brow furrowed deeply.
“……Why did you bring that here? Where is Lucian?”
“Lucian is naturally at the Otreha Estate. He’s playing house with Noah and Evening. He said he hasn’t gotten to play with me in ages.”
“Close with them?”
“Lucian adores them. He keeps calling ‘sister, sister, brother, brother’ every day and won’t step away from them.”
“Fine then. So why did you bring that here?”
Leon looked as if he might sneer at any moment. Even when I offered to let him hold Emil, he only clamped his mouth shut and stepped back a pace.
“Really, you of all people — to react that way to a child!”
“You don’t remember? I have a grudge against that thing.”
“I won’t make you hold him, so just check once. There’s something odd about this child, and I came to ask you about it. Near his heart…….”
Before my words were finished, Leon’s eyes were already reading the child. A faint crease appeared in his beautiful brow.
He spoke in a calm voice, uttering something shocking.
“There’s a Magic Stone.”
Leon regarded Emil with a cool gaze, then reached past my arms cradling the child. His long, elegant fingers traced across the infant’s chest. For the first time, the docile Emil trembled softly and burrowed deeper into my embrace.
“This is a very special constitution.”
My thoughts came to an abrupt halt. I looked between the baby in my arms and Leon, then my jaw fell open of its own accord.
A Magic Stone near the heart?
Within the limits of my knowledge, that could mean only one thing.
“Wait—are you saying he’s a Demonic Beast?”
“Not the precise term, but if we must split hairs, yes. Exactly the same as before.”
“In my previous life too?”
“Then as well.”
Leon’s icy voice churned through my mind.
“He takes after his father.”
* * *
After entrusting Emil to the nurses always on standby at the Ducal Estate, Leon and I remained alone in the Reception Room. I hesitated briefly over the confidentiality of our conversation before remembering exactly where we were, and my concerns eased.
This mage possessed an uncanny talent for raising and managing his people. No secret would ever escape the walls of Duke Voltein’s Residence.
I opened my mouth while eyeing the attractive tree sloth that kept attempting to sprawl across the sofa.
“…There’s something I’ve wanted to ask for a while now.”
At my question, Leon—fully reclined on the opposite sofa—tilted his head slightly. A signal to continue.
I leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone.
“You know something about Emil’s biological father, don’t you?”
He opened his eyes to narrow slits, fixing me with a stare. The expression clearly read: *You’re actually going to ask me that?*
I gave him a look that said: *Well, what are you going to do about it?*
“You were furious when you saw that man in Cage 2.”
“He’s a bad man.”
“Stop lying. There’s no way you’d be angry over some normal reason like him tormenting innocent people.”
“Caught.”
Leon reached up and tousled his beautiful dark hair. The annoyance at something displeasing was palpable in every line of his expression.
Suddenly, I recalled Lea Ocker’s voice.
The despairing confession that after I became engaged to Leon, she could no longer see the child’s father.
“…You did something, didn’t you?”
“What?”
“You’d already begun moving against Emil’s biological father, haven’t you? Since after the ball with Isabella and me.”
“…That’s right.”
Leon continued with languid ease, as if drowsy.
“From the day I regressed, to be precise.”
He smiled brilliantly, propped his chin on his hand, and looked up at me.
“I did a bit of rat-catching.”

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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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