MBSGBC 16

Chapter 16

The reunion between Dominic Chastang and Leon Voltain came much sooner than expected.

To be precise, I ran into Leon Voltain, who was waiting for me at the front gate as I went out to see Dominic off.

The moment Leon saw Dominic, he raised one eyebrow and said:

“Why are you so puffed up?”

I honestly had to admire Dominic’s patience.

If it had been me, my fist would have flown the moment those words left his mouth!

Dominic straightened his back and said just one thing to Leon.

“You haven’t changed at all.”

Then, as if Leon didn’t even exist in this space, he spoke to me.

“Call me anytime. I’ll be staying in the capital for a while.”

“Don’t wait up.”

That was my way of saying I wouldn’t be calling, but he answered calmly.

“If waiting gets boring, I’ll come find you.”

“Nico…!”

Just as I was about to raise my voice, he gave me a formal bow and turned away.

Leaving me alone with Leon Voltain.

Hmm.

An eerie wind swirled past my back.

Is this something I need to explain?

“A nickname?”

Ah. Damn it. So that’s where we’re starting.

“He’s a friend I made at the Magic Tower. That’s just an old habit from back then.”

“Oh, I see.”

Shoving past me and entering, the man leaned against the stair landing, making a deliberately sulky face as he fluttered a piece of paper.

“Sending me a letter like this, and then going on a date with another man.”

The letter Leon had brought with him read: *”I miss you. Smooch smooch.”*

I lunged at him to snatch the letter from his hand. But the height difference was insurmountable, and I soon gave up, exhausted.

“This is all your fault! Who in the world sends gifts so ostentatiously?”

“If I didn’t do it this way, how would people know about our relationship? I don’t want more guys like the Chastang second son popping up.”

“What relationship are we in?”

I put my hands on my hips and glared at Leon’s fatally beautiful face.

“There’s been no betrothal, no engagement, and we’re not lovers—officially or unofficially! Between a man and a woman in this kind of relationship, whatever happens becomes a scandal!”

“That’s excessive treatment for someone who gave birth to your child.”

“That’s exactly the problem!”

Bracing myself for the world to turn upside down, I had no choice but to say it.

*Those words*…!

“There’s no way that child is mine!”

No, wait. Before you throw stones at me for uttering a line that would proudly make it into the *Top 10 Things a Man Should Never Say in His Lifetime*, please hear me out.

I stake my honor on this—there was never anything between Leon Voltain and me in the past that could have resulted in a child!

“That was a splendid piece of trash talk worthy of the *Top 5 Things a Person Should Never Say*, Irina Hautreha.”

“No, I’m really being wronged here! First of all, there was no physical relationship between us that could produce a child…”

“I believe recent discussions have reached a consensus on that point.”

“That’s not something that can be settled with retroactive justification!”

I looked around. The servants had discreetly cleared the area the moment Dominic and Leon crossed paths, but in any case, this wasn’t something to discuss in front of the gate.

I grabbed Leon by the sleeve and dragged him toward the parlor. The man resisted for a moment, then eventually followed me with a look that said he was *letting me win*.

Our household’s top-tier aces had, in that short time, completely erased all traces of Dominic from the parlor. Leon glanced around the spotlessly clean room and made a point of saying:

“You’ve made money—why not change up the parlor furniture a bit? Like a miser.”

“It’s antique.”

“That’s a name for well-maintained furniture.”

I didn’t listen any further and shoved the man I’d dragged along toward the sofa. After swaying dramatically for a moment, he eventually sank comfortably into the sofa. The old furniture let out an uneasy creak.

I sat down across from him and clasped my hands together. This was something I’d been thinking about for a long time, but actually saying it out loud made me nervous.

“You’re trying to give Lucian a legitimate status, aren’t you?”

“Hm?”

“I know the kingdom’s inheritance laws. I looked them up again recently.”

The kingdom’s inheritance laws were clearly recorded. Basically, illegitimate children could not claim proper rights.

There was an exception, however, if the legitimate wife recognized her husband’s extramarital child as her own son. In that case, the wife’s status and property from her family were not inherited, but partial inheritance of the husband’s property and rights was permitted.

*That was why Pascal had pressured me to acknowledge the child as my son.*

But there was an even more certain way to inherit all rights.

For example, in the case of a child born before marriage between known lovers. If the child’s parents formally married afterward, the child could acquire the exact same legal status as a child born in wedlock.

It wasn’t a traditional law—several generations ago, when the monarchy was strong, a king had revised the law to leave the kingdom to his lover’s son. When that son actually became the next king, the law became firmly established.

“Lucian’s biological mother must be someone who can’t reveal her identity, right? At the time, we happened to be lovers. If you’re trying to disguise me as his mother to give the child a proper status… for Lucian’s sake, I have no reason not to take on the scandal.”

As a woman who had nearly raised another’s child once, and—though I had no memory of it—had apparently raised one anyway, I had thought this through very carefully.

I had no intention of using the marriage card in this life anyway. So there was no reason not to spend that useless card on the Duke of Voltain. He was the one who had given me back my life.

As much as I resented him, or rather, even more than that, I had to repay his kindness.

Leon Voltain’s expression grew strange as he looked down at my resolute face.

He tried to say something, then rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought for a moment.

Finally…

In the tense atmosphere, the man opened his mouth.

“So. You were thinking that?”

“You think so too. When there’s a child, you have to think seriously about the child’s future. If you just say, ‘I gave birth to him myself, on my own, by myself,’ who in the world would believe that?”

“Well… I’ll admit it’s a good scenario.”

“It’s a clear truth.”

“That’s the thing—it’s not.”

The man placed his hand on my shoulder.

“It seems I’ll need a witness to prove that I gave birth to him.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let’s go to the palace.”

“Excuse me?”

—

* * *

I had never been to the inner palace before.

Why would I, someone who wasn’t valued in her own family and barely existed outside it, ever have a reason to come to the palace?

In front of the great gate of the royal castle, I was instantly intimidated.

Above the massive black gate, the crest of the Soleian royal family shone brilliantly. The sun in the center of the crest symbolized the royal family, the dragon supporting the sun on one side represented the dragon that brought magic to the world, and the lion on the opposite side represented the noble council.

The gate below the crest opened with a heavy sound, and elegantly poised attendants appeared.

“Duke Voltain.”

The man stepped forward and gave a small bow toward Leon. A gloved hand politely indicated the way.

“His Highness Prince Adrian is waiting.”

I wanted to ask again.

Did it really have to go this far?