The Baby Isn’t Yours

Lua’s festival was quite well-known in the vicinity.

It was also known as the ‘Loasis Festival,’ named after the purple flowers that bloomed all around the village during the festival.

Lua itself was a small village, but it was surrounded by mountains and the sea, offering beautiful landscapes with rolling plains and meadows.

As a result, their festival gained some notoriety even in nearby major cities, and during the festival, many tourists visited the village.

Especially, the small bell-shaped purple flowers that filled the northern meadows were a sight to behold, especially at night when fireflies danced above them.

The paradise of Loasis. The village where the fairies lived. A place that embraced the sea, mountains, and meadows.

That place was Lua.

In reality, the northern meadows were near the fairy forest, and they were usually closed to the public. However, during the festival, they were opened to the public under the protection of the village guards.

Today, the village was bustling with visitors from elsewhere who had come to see this spectacle. Peddlers lined up to get a piece of the action, and there was a lot of excitement.

Hemmie couldn’t contain her excitement and eagerly pointed at a dessert platter.

“Wow, I think they froze some apples and drizzled syrup on them! It must be delicious! They have strawberries and kiwis too. Kalia, should we buy some?”

Hemmie’s eyes sparkled as she gestured to the dessert platter with her feet shuffling. A lot of people were lining up, indicating that it must be quite tasty.

Kalia silently handed her wallet to Hemmie.

Having acquired Kalia’s wallet entirely, Hemmie ran to the vendor. Kalia watched her joyful figure with a fond smile.

Soon, Hemmie returned with various frozen fruit treats. Kalia handed one to Allen.

“Special treat for the popular Allen of the village.”

Blushing at the specially offered peach, Allen looked dashing.

He hesitated for a moment, then accepted the peach Kalia offered.

“What’s this about?”

“Hemmie said so, didn’t she? That you receive a different gift from the ladies every day. You’re so popular in the village that there’s even an ‘Allen Fan Club.'”

“Really?”

Allen glanced quickly at Hemmie, who was stirring strawberry sherbet, but she paid no attention and continued to eat.

“Isn’t that right? Al-len-Fan-Club! Ugh, if it weren’t for the fact that they think I’m your cousin, I’d have long been dragged into your fanclub by them, Kalia!”

“Hemmie, don’t overdo it.”

“Wow, popular Allen’s piercing gaze. I’m scared, Kalia!”

Hemmie, trembling while waving her arms, hid behind Kalia

She peeked her head out behind one shoulder.

“What shocking charisma! A truly sensitive and delicately sculptured handsome man!”

Hemmie smirked at Allen who was staring at her dumbfounded but her attention was soon caught by a particularly noisy crowd and ran there to take a look.

“Oh, look! Kalia! Allen! Come on, come on! It’s a circus!”

Excited, she stamped her feet in place, gesturing at them to come quickly.

Hemmie, unable to rush Kalia with her bulging belly, ran back to them and pushed Allen forward, hurrying him along impatiently.

“We have to be fast to get a good seat, Allen! Hurry! Speaking of, it’s been awhile since I’ve been to a festival like this, almost five years. It’s the first time since all my family members died.”

Kalia looked at Hemmie, who had just casually brought up her tragic past. At Kalia’s gaze, Hemmie smiled brighter and replied to Kalia’s silent inquiry asking if she was okay.

Kalia observed Hemmie’s behavior with concern, and in response, Hemmie smiled even more brightly and replied.

“I actually love these kinds of events. Kalia, you’ve traveled all over the country, so you’ve probably seen many festivals, right?”

“Nah, not really. I didn’t see many festivals when I was traveling. There wasn’t much to celebrate; it was wartime.”

Come to think of it, when Kalia was traveling throughout the country, it was during the height of the war, so there was little to celebrate. 

Then this was the first festival she’s officially been to.

“…Well, at least I’ve seen a lot of parades.”

Kalia, who spoke calmly and nodded, watched Hemmie, whose eyes seemed to be welling up.

In a way, she was more pitiful than Hemmie.

How difficult must it have been for him to get here with the body of an orphan?

She’s not here just by chance, but with the finest skills, stacking up legendary qualifications.

She has embraced the philosophy of achieving the maximum victory with the minimum death. Hemmie admired and loved Kalia and pitied her at the same time.

Furthermore, she was now preparing for pregnancy and childbirth all by herself in this distant land!

Hemmie suddenly grabbed Kalia’s hand.

“Kalia, let’s enjoy ourselves to the fullest! Watch, have fun, eat, and then come back and have more fun!”

“Hmm?”

“For this time, I’ll pay for everything! I’ve actually saved up a lot of money! I’ll buy something delicious for Allen too! So, let’s create many memories this festival! Look, I have so much money in my wallet…? Huh? Where is my wallet?”

Hemmie’s complexion turned pale in an instant. Her lips, which were previously boasting, began to quiver, and her face, unable to hide her embarrassment, turned bright red.

“Uh…I must’ve left it behind.”

Her muttered voice sent a chill down the spine.

Hemmie’s cheek and the corners of her eyes were bright red, and she couldn’t even raise her head as she fiddled with the pocket where her wallet would have been.

Then, an old leather wallet was suddenly thrust in front of her. Written in scrawled handwriting on the wallet was the familiar initials: A. M.

“Today, enjoy it on my tab. I’ll get it back from Hemmie tomorrow.”

With a slightly mischievous smile, Allen placed his wallet in her hand.

“Allen…”

Overwhelmed by emotion, Hemmie looked at Allen with a face as if she had received the sneeze of a typhoon god.

“If you’re touched, please don’t mention the ‘Allen Fan Club’ or anything like that.”

“Alright, I promise! I won’t mention the Allen Fan Club anymore! Promise!”

Leaving Allen whimpering, Hemmie quickly snatched the wallet from his hand and shouted.

“Let’s just say I’m joining the Allen Fan Club starting today!”

“Oh, Hemmie, please.”

Hemmie was running away while Allen trudged along, holding his head. Kalia, who held her belly, walked behind the two slowly. 

Kalia’s face, which was now looking at them, had a soft smile.

This moment, where she was laughing with these people in an unfamiliar city, among unfamiliar landscapes, was making Kalia’s heart flutter.

Kalia looked up at the sky with a mysterious gaze, her hands resting on her round belly.

Despite the happiness and fulfillment, there was an unexplainable feeling of emptiness.

It felt like she had left something behind in the capital, something she needed to return to. Her heart kept pulling her back to the capital.

“Kalia, come over here! There’s a butter-grilled sea monster over there!”

Kalia shook off the strange feeling for a moment and followed Hemmie into the festival.

* * *

In the silent darkness.

Long eyelashes delicately shadowed peaceful eyelids.

After a moment of twitching, the eyes slowly opened. Soft eyelashes trembled.

In the darkness, a vivid golden glow was revealed. The person, who had woken up weakly, looked blankly at the empty space for a while before lowering their eyelids with a sigh.

“Ahh.”

A quiet sigh, like a small breath, passed through the lips that trembled slightly. A sparkling silver strand of hair was disheveled across the bed.

Simon, who had just woken up, felt the heat on his face, although it had been a long time since he had awoken from the dream.

Simon raised his two hands to cover his face, overcome with grief and frustration.

Although he had awoken from the dream, his face still felt hot.

Simon used his dry hands to gently touch his face, muttering Kalia’s name under his breath.

“Kalia… Kalia…”

Even just calling her name caused a fever to course through his body. His warm breath lingered like an aftertaste, and he moaned in torment.

In the aftermath of the dream, Simon whimpered and curled up his body. He had been wailing for so long that his face had turned scarlet.

Even though he had awakened from the dream, it still felt as if she was in his arms, just as vividly as before.

The warmth he had felt from her embrace with these arms was still vivid. Her warmth had penetrated him, and the feeling of her smooth skin on his palm, the contours of her lips molding gently into his own, even the sensation of their lips meeting… everything.

Even though it was a dream, it felt overly real and was driving Simon to madness.

He sighed deeply, then curled his body into a ball, whimpering painfully.

He stayed curled up with a red face for a long time. Very unlike himself. He struggled to hold onto the pieces of his dream, fearing that the warmth that still seemed to envelop his body and the images of her circulating in his head would disappear if he moved even a bit from his bed.

Hoping to hold onto the afterglow of the dream, even though it was a dream, Simon exerted all his strength.

Simon was desperate for Kalia.

“…Damn it, where are you, Kalia?”

Come back, please.

His throbbing heart tightened and Simon closed his eyes again. He endured through each uncharacteristically dull day, only hoping to see her again in his dreams.

If we meet again, I should cut off our hands and feet and tie them to each other. This is destroying my mind. Can’t someone just put a curse to me and me to her side? If I say I’m about to die, will you come back? But…what if you don’t come back even after I say that?

Just thinking about this made his heart feel as if it was being torn to shreds.

The misery of being abandoned weighed heavily on him… even though he knew she only regarded him as family. It occurred to him that their relationship was thinner than paper.

Yes, the relationship between them was nothing.

It was just a futile relationship that would end when she turned away; he couldn’t blame her for throwing it away.

‘…I need to make our relationship stronger, more certain.’

Titles like Archmage or labels like prodigy were of no significance to Simon.

The title of Duke of Magic was just something suitable for him to be with Kalia.

Without her, there was no joy or happiness.

From the moment she saved his life, Simon belonged to Kalia. He belonged to her alone, even if she didn’t know it.

Kalia, why did you abandon me?

Why did you leave me?

He thought that as long as he was by her side, they would be inseparable under the name of friendship. But if she won’t return, what should he do?

Just the thought made his heart feel like it was being torn apart. Knowing that it was just a delusion, the misery of being abandoned crushed him.

“Kalia…”

Simon’s heart pounded heavily once again.

Another terrible day had passed.