ITMWG 119

Chapter 119…

Their house.

“…I can definitely see that this is reality.”

Altair lightly touched his cheek, where her lips had touched.

Fortunately, she felt a little relieved because he didn’t seem angry that she had hidden her pregnancy and left.

But…

When she observed Altair’s face to check his mood, she felt that his complexion was worse than usual.

His under-eyes were hollow and his face was dark. He looked very tired.

Even so, his skin was clear, so he was still as handsome as ever.

“Your complexion…”

As she was about to ask why he looked so bad, the tightly closed door opened and Blan barged in.

He covered his mouth with his hand as if he was touched when he saw her sitting on the daybed, and then ran towards her.

“Madame!”

Blan, who was kneeling on one knee and holding her two hands tightly, looked up at her as if he was about to burst into tears of joy.

He looked much more excited than usual.

“Do you know how surprised I was when I heard the rumour? I thought it was all over now… but now you have a child… ugh!”

Before Blan could finish, Altair hit him on the back of the head, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and dragged him back.

“What’s the fuss about? If someone saw this, they’d think you were the father.”

Blan grumbled and waved his hand, resenting the fact that he couldn’t express all his emotions.

“Why are you so calm, my lord? If it were me, I would have already carried my wife on my back and walked around the neighborhood bragging.”

“Calm, you say….”

Altair glanced at Nadia and let out a small sigh, but Blan, seemingly did not notice, shrugged his shoulders, feeling frustrated.

“While you were gone, the lord was in such a bad state. He couldn’t sleep properly, he didn’t eat… and he was working like crazy…”

Blan shook his head with a tired expression, unable to continue.

“Anyway, since he is the lord, he managed to hold on, but if he were a normal person, he would have collapsed.”

Nadia’s eyes widened at his words, and she instantly turned to Altair. In return, he lightly shook his head with a flustered expression.

“He is just exaggerating.”

“I am not Cain. I’m always objective.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

When Altair glared at him fiercely, Blan shut his mouth tightly and came over to Nadia as if asking for help.

“Sir!”

This time, a woman’s voice interrupted Blan’s words.

When he turned his head, Marie and Cain looked at Blan with eyes that looked like they were looking at a pitiful child, and quickly grabbed his arms.

“Why are you so clueless? It’s been a long time since the two met, so you shouldn’t be interrupting!”

“That’s right. You are not sensible at all. Tsk tsk.”

Blan, whose arms were grabbed from both sides, was dragged out without a chance to protest.

Just before the door closed, Cain winked at Nadia as if to encourage her, while Marie seemed to have a lot to say to Altair but just sighed.

Anyway, thanks to the two of them dragging Blan out, the space became quiet again.

Thinking the situation was somehow funny, Nadia burst out laughing.

“Fortunately, your acting skills were better than I thought.”

“Acting skills?”

Since she had told him the reason for leaving and where she was staying when she left the duke’s residence, there was no reason for Altair to be noticeably shaken like Blan said.

So he must have acted appropriately for the situation.

“Yes. I was worried even when I left the note. Since your acting skills weren’t that good… I was worried that they’d find out that I had delivered the news.”

“You think I was acting?”

“You weren’t?”

“…I’m not that good at acting, as you think. I was just really worried about you.”

“But…I told you the reason and where I left to…”

“Still.”

Altair cut her off firmly and looked straight at her.

“Still, you weren’t in front of me.”

“…”

“I understood the situation, but I was still anxious. You could recover, but the fact that you were poisoned still remained. If it weren’t for your request, I would have rushed over and watched you recover.”

“But you did as I requested.”

“How could I refuse? Someone who doesn’t usually ask for favours said something so sincere.”

Altair sighed as he approached her.

From head to toe, his eyes were searching.

As soon as their eyes met, his gaze became so persistent that it felt like he urgently wanted to check her whole body himself.

“Why-, why are you looking at me like that……”

Nadia lowered her head in embarrassment, and this time his hands came up and cupped her cheeks.

She lifted her head following Altair’s touch, and her gaze met his wavering pupils.

“Are you really okay now?”

She nodded with a smile to his serious question, reassuring him.

“Yes. I’m currently pregnant.”

“What I’m saying is, is your health fine? Your body must have weakened from the poison, so are you okay with having a child? I heard that having a child is very hard on a woman’s body…”

Altair stroked her cheeks with worried eyes.

“Having a child with this small and weak body…”

Nadia felt strange listening to Altair’s concerned voice.

She had imagined Altair’s reaction to hearing the news of her pregnancy many times, but this reaction was never one of them.

Either get angry that she hid the truth, or be so happy that he forgot about it.

She thought he would react like that.

Nadia felt a tickle inside at the fact that he was more worried about her than the child, so she lowered her head again.

“…I’m-, I’m not that weak. It’s because Altair’s only seen strong people.”

“You’re weak compared to Marin and Anna.”

“That’s not true…”

“It is. So now I’d have to keep an eye on you. I have to keep watching to feel at ease.”

Altair said firmly and released the hands that were covering her cheeks.

“By the way, we caught the culprit. The guy who killed that doctor’s parents.”

“Really?”

When Nadia raised her head in surprise, Altair faintly lifted one corner of his mouth.

“I’ve secured enough evidence that even the suspicious doctor can trust, so I think we can clear up the misunderstanding.”

“Thank goodness. We can keep Leon by our side now.”

“I guess so. But…”

Altair narrowed his eyes and trailed off. His face was somewhat displeased.

“Is it that important to you to have that doctor by your side?”

“It’s important to you and Aylesford, not me. Oh, now that we have a baby, it’s important to me too. If it weren’t for Leon’s antidote, I would have really lived like the woman in the rumours…….”

Now he’s also her benefactor.

“I can’t tell you how lucky I am to be able to fulfill my duty.”

“Your duty…?”

“Yes. My duty as a wife. Altair really needed a child. I’m glad I can give you what you want.”

“What I want…”

Altair’s face became more and more confused as Nadia continued.

It wasn’t wrong, but his face seemed somewhat uneasy.

“Altair?”

“Oh.”

When she called Altair worriedly, wondering if there was a problem, he shook his head, signaling it was nothing.

However, there was still a sense of unease on his face.

“Anyway, what I mean is, there is no reason for you to be far away anymore.”

“Right. Then I will go back to the dukedom…”

“Is that necessary?”

“Pardon?”

When Nadia blinked, wondering what he meant, Altair shook off the uneasy expression from before and smiled.

“You can just stay at your house.”

“…my house?”

“Yes. At the Vine estate. That is your house now.”

Melissa Vine went to Balstead, incurring the Emperor’s wrath.

Now, she was the only one left to become the next head of Vine, so she would naturally receive the title, and the family’s wealth along with it, so the Vine estate would become her house, just as Altair said.

My home.

She was born there and spent her childhood there.

Because of her timid personality, her parents were worried about her, but at the same time, she was also loved.

After her parents passed away, she was oppressed in that extravagant place and her good memories faded…

Now, she would be able to erase the darkness of the past with beautiful stories.

But…

“It’s not just my home.”

“Then?”

“It’s also Altair’s home. It’s ours.”

Altair, who was momentarily taken aback by her firm words, let out a small laugh.

“That’s right. I made a mistake. It’s definitely our home. Just as Aylesford is my home, it’s also your home.”

Altair lightly patted her head, seemingly having gained a precious insight.

“You just need to rest comfortably in ‘our house’. I will solve the annoying problem that remains. Since it is related to both of us, I have a duty to solve the nuisance too, right?”

“Argh! Let go of me! Where are you touching?”

A screeching voice echoed through the deep and dark Balstead Prison.

Someone could have protested this commotion, but the prisoners who had lost their will after being imprisoned for a long time did not seem to have the energy to do so.

Except for one person, the former Marquis of Vine, Avar Vine, who knew the owner of the voice better than anyone else.

Could this voice be?

“Melissa? Could it be you who came here?”

Avar shouted in surprise, and the answer was quickly known.

The door to the space he was trapped in opened and Melissa, looking disheveled, rushed in.

“Ah! How can you treat a lady like this! Do you want to die?!”

Melissa, who was thrown inside, started to swear.

Avar stared blankly at her, then ran to her side as the reality struck.

“Melissa! Why were you dragged here?! You-, you shouldn’t be here!”

“Father?”

Melissa, who had been screaming loudly, frowned and covered her nose with her hand as she looked at her father, who had not washed properly and looked like a beggar.

“Get away from me. You smell rotten.”

“Ha. What’s important about that! Why are you here?”

“I don’t know!”

Melissa roughly pulled away from Avar’s grab, who was shaking her arm, and tried to sit down on the floor, but when she realised that the floor was full of filth, her shoulders shivered in disgust.

“This is all because of you! I thought that girl Nadia was infertile!”

“Yeah! I set it all up so that I could use that to turn the situation around!”

“What did you set it up for? Nadia Vine is pregnant! Because of your false information that I was dragged here!”

“What are you talking about? Pregnancy? There’s no way that Nadia Vine could be pregnant…”

“The palace doctor examined her in front of His Majesty the Emperor himself. That girl is pregnant, and I’m the one spewing nonsense! What am I going to do now? How am I going to get out of here? I can’t stay here even for a day!”

Melissa’s dreadful voice, almost a scream, echoed through Balstead.