## Having An Enemy's Baby
"It was something quite meaningful to me," he said. "Did you not like the gift?"
Kaian's question caught me entirely off guard.
"Or perhaps I simply wasn't good enough?"
For a moment, I couldn't trust my own ears.
He spoke as though musing to himself, still watching the wagons fade into the distance, their wheels churning up clouds of dust.
"Even if you were raised as a commoner and became an adoptive daughter, you should have at least learned proper etiquette."
He slowly turned my body around so I faced away from him, then looked down at me with those cold, penetrating eyes.
"It is customary to display and admire a gift immediately upon receiving it."
This was the first time since our wedding that I had stood before him like this.
As for the wedding itself—I had felt like an object being processed. Stripped of my will and autonomy, I was bathed by the servants, undressed and scrubbed clean. When they extracted me from the water, other maids took over: drying me, polishing my hair, powdering my face, and applying rouge to my lips for the first time in my life.
Then came the bridal gown—an unfamiliar, restrictive thing—followed by layers of jewelry passed down through generations of his family. Most pieces were adorned with massive gemstones, each the size of a finger, set in thick gold or platinum frames attached to an equally heavy leather belt.
The belt that supported such an enormous weight of precious metals couldn't possibly be delicate, and wearing it felt like carrying chains meant for a prisoner awaiting execution.
As I was led by the hands of servants through the ceremony, I finally stood before Kaian, who would become my husband. The moment our eyes met—his cold, burning red eyes filled with undisguised contempt—I lowered my gaze.
That was all I truly observed of him on my wedding day. Only his expression remained etched in my memory. Everything else—his clothing, the decoration of the ceremony hall, the words spoken—had blurred into insignificance.
Now, standing before him in the fading sunset, I noticed something different. The raw contempt for Vermont that had burned in his eyes before had vanished.
The expression on his face was not one of dissatisfaction directed at me specifically. How could it be? He barely knew me.
Every person in Valmonde made that same expression whenever Temnes was mentioned—a look of disdain for an enemy kingdom. So I had assumed his coldness on our wedding day stemmed from that same prejudice, not from anything concerning me personally.
Now, studying him as the setting sun turned the sky crimson, I felt I was truly meeting my husband for the first time.
Kaian was considerably taller than me—so much so that I had to tilt my head back and lift my chin just to see his face properly. He wore formal attire without weapons, yet even through the fabric, I could discern the powerful muscles beneath his broad shoulders and thick arms. He looked as formidable as if he wore armor.
*That person... made me...*
As I allowed my eyes to travel across his frame, my thoughts suddenly lurched to the previous night—our first night together.
The size difference between us had been staggering. We might as well have been different species entirely—a rabbit beside a lion.
My cheeks burned as I recalled how that intimidatingly large man had leaned down against me, pressing his entire body against mine.
Kaian's eyebrows twitched slightly as he observed me.
"Can you not hear me?"
"Y-yes?"
"Did you not like the gift?"
"Ah... well, that..."
I felt mortified, realizing I had been lost in thought while standing before him. My mind scrambled for words.
"I... I liked it. Yes."
"Yes? But then why didn't you come to the cemetery?"
"I... I simply didn't think it suited me."
My mind went white with panic. No coherent words came.
"I see. So you said nothing because you were dissatisfied?"
"No—never. It's very pretty and... cool."
"I see."
Fortunately, my stammering answer seemed acceptable. Kaian merely nodded and, without further comment, entered the castle ahead of me.
*Thump. Thump.*
My heart pounded so violently I could hear it in my ears. My body felt weak and tingly, as though all the blood had drained from my shoulders and back, which had been tensed from sheer nervousness.
*Oh, what have I done? This isn't... this isn't right at all.*
I didn't know what to do. The sun hadn't even fully set, and I had already bungled my first real conversation with my husband outside the castle, stammering like a fool.
*How is it that I manage to do nothing properly?*
The disease consuming my body must have finally reached my mind.
Feeling utterly self-reproachful, I hurried back to my chambers.
---
That evening, Hannah was engaged in a heated argument with the castle maids again.
"Are you truly so foolish?" Hannah's voice rose in fury. "Doesn't the head maid oversee such duties?"
The maids of Rowen Castle paid her no mind, turning away and picking at their ears as though a dog were barking somewhere nearby.
"How long has it been since dinner time? Why haven't you brought food to the Duchess?"
One maid responded with thinly veiled contempt.
"Why bother feeding a Vermont wretch? She's not worth even a scrap of bread."
Another servant passing by chimed in.
"Exactly. Even if you set a lavish meal before her, she barely touches it. She emerges from her room without having eaten a single bite."
A well-dressed man added his own jab.
"I'd be happy to bring her something simple—a grain of corn, a side of beans, a corner of bread, and two spoonfuls of broth."
At the limit of her patience, Hannah clenched her fists, ready to resort to violence.
"Hannah... stop!"
I emerged from my room and tugged on the hem of her dress.
"Miss."
"I have no appetite for dinner. You—go rest. All of you, leave."
As soon as I spoke, the maids scattered like shadows, their confrontation with Hannah dissolving as quickly as it had formed.
"You should eat dinner," Hannah said once we were alone.
"Truly, I simply have no appetite."
I moved to the chair by the window and sat down.
Once seated in the candlelit room, Hannah released a long, weary sigh.
"Miss, why are you doing this? Are you unwell? Is your cold worsening?"
She brought me tea supposedly beneficial for my illness, though the castle servants had lied to her, preventing her from calling a doctor.
"No. I'm fine."
But my face must have betrayed my worry.
"Why won't you speak honestly? It seems as though everyone in this castle has lost their senses. The servants who should be caring for you don't even acknowledge your existence. I'm the only one who can truly help you. Aren't I?"
"... Actually..."
Encouraged by Hannah's insistence, I finally opened my mouth.
"He gave me a gift. My first one since the wedding."
"Yes?"
"Earlier, he asked if I hadn't liked it."
"Well then, you should have thanked him and displayed it. That's what one does with gifts."
"He said I didn't display it because I didn't like it."
I couldn't bring myself to tell Hannah that he had even said, *Or perhaps I simply wasn't good enough?*
"He said he gave it to me because it was something meaningful to him."
"You should have told him you received nothing."
"Right, but..."
My expression darkened.
"Without thinking, I answered that it was lovely. I said I couldn't display it because I didn't feel it suited me. That it was beautiful and... cool."
As I recounted the conversation to Hannah, I couldn't fathom my own stupidity.
"What did the Duke say?"
"He simply accepted it."
I clasped my hands together, embarrassed.
"What do we do, Hannah?"
"Why don't you tell him the truth now? When I arrived this morning, there was nothing. When you woke, there was nothing there."
"You're right. Truly, there was nothing. But if I told him I said those things because I was ashamed at having received nothing, wouldn't he think me a complete fool? It would be pathetic."
If he had left behind even a single flower basket, at least a petal might have fallen. But the hallway had been pristine—not a speck of dust.
Hannah fell silent for a moment, as though gathering her thoughts. When she finally spoke, her expression was grave.
"Could this be a trap?"
"A trap?"
"You said he told you it was something meaningful to him. What if he's trying to incriminate you for losing something precious?"
The color drained from my face.
"But even the servants who helped the steward this morning saw that nothing was there."
"There is no one in this castle who is truly on our side. If something like that were to happen, do you think anyone would honestly report it? They would only remain silent to avoid troubling the Young Lady."
Hannah ran her hand through my bright red hair with a sorrowful expression.
"My lady, you are so beautiful and radiant, but when people see that red hair, they rush at you like maddened bulls at a village festival."
Hannah sighed heavily.
"I wish I had red hair instead. I would gladly be bullied in your stead."
"Hannah..."
Hannah was my friend from childhood—from the small village where I had been raised.
Plonne Village.
It lay on the outskirts of Valmonde's territory, nestled deep in the mountains toward the southern reaches. Despite the harshness of the northern climate where half of Valmonde was perpetually frozen, our village enjoyed relatively warm springs and falls.
The mountains provided abundant seasonal harvests, and flowers bloomed in profusion throughout the year, constantly changing the landscape. The village earned its name—Plonne, the Flower Village—honestly.
Hannah and I, born the same year, had clung to one another like true sisters.
That day was the day the merchants had arrived at the small market town at the base of the mountain, and a grand fair was held. My father, Evan, had taken both Hannah and me on an outing we had long anticipated.
While my father sold precious medicinal herbs he had gathered, I sucked on a large candy he had purchased and laughed as I watched Hannah play with a talented little bear that a medicine seller had brought.
That moment was the last of our peace.
While we were away from the village, fire swept through Plonne.
In our careful community, where water was scarce, we had been taught from infancy to prevent fires at all costs. No one could say who had started the blaze or how it had begun.
When the ashes settled, only three of us remained: my father, me, and Hannah.
Shortly after, my father died, leaving Hannah and me alone in the world.
Hannah, with her ordinary brown hair and brown eyes and unremarkable face, had meant what she said when she offered to be bullied instead.
"I will not forgive anyone who causes you pain."
"Thank you, Hannah."
For Hannah, I was the only thing she had salvaged from our destroyed village. The sole remainder of parents, younger brother, neighbors, and memories all lost to ash.
When I had attained noble status at Valmonde Castle, Hannah had chosen to become my servant. To remain close to me, she had even enrolled as a foster daughter in the Pebble family, a ducal vassal household. Yet she was content—more than content—to be at my side as my maid, closer than anyone else could be.
"I will investigate the missing gift," Hannah said with determination.
"Will you?"
"Of course."
She comforted me gently.
"Do not worry too much, Miss. Of all the maids in this castle, save for the Duke himself, I am the strongest."
"Hehe..."
Her words brought me genuine comfort.
---
That night, I could barely sleep.
The previous day's chaos had distracted me, but now, alone in my chambers, I was acutely aware of how vast and empty the bedroom felt. At Valmonde Castle, I had always slept beside Hannah every night. The solitude was disorienting.
Moreover, anxiety over the missing gift plagued my thoughts.
So when Kaian suddenly opened the bedroom door, I was wandering the room restlessly and nearly collided with the door as it swung inward.
Kaian caught sight of me standing in the doorway.
"Were you waiting for me?"
---