The Baby Isn’t Yours

Chapter 128:

Kalia was right.

The appearance of the afflicted individuals was closer to ‘demon’ than what people commonly referred to as ‘demon’.

Their dark skin wasn’t decaying, but rather pitch black as if tainted by magic.

Of course, the grotesque wounds were unsettling, but they were just wounds rather than the skin decaying.

Derek and Hendrick, who were listening from behind, exchanged glances as if acknowledging that it could be perceived that way.

Something about Kalia’s words sent a chill breeze through Simon’s mind.

Kalia relied more on instinctive movements and actions rather than meticulous thinking.

She was someone with a keen ‘sense’, so to speak.

That was Kalia.

Having gone through countless battles that required quick decision-making and assessing the surroundings in an instant, her instincts had sharpened like those of a wild animal.

That’s why Simon didn’t dismiss Kalia’s words as ‘just’ or ‘oddly’ spoken.

Most of the time, what Kalia casually mentioned turned out to be true.

‘Like a black magic sorcerer tainted by magic… But how could so many people become tainted by magic in an instant? Do the patients have something in common?’

In that moment, something flickered and passed through Simon’s mind.

“Akan Cream…!”

Everyone afflicted with the demonic disease had used Akan Cream.

At first glance, it seemed like an unreasonable assumption.

Using a medicine after contracting a disease that caused the disease in the first place.

‘But Akan Cream has been available on the market even before the spread of the demonic disease. It was a skin ointment known for its wound-healing properties… And the people who used Akan Cream the most diligently were soldiers returning from the previous war.’

If the disease originated from Akan Cream, it would explain why the disease started primarily among ‘soldiers’ and their families and why it was concentrated in the capital.

It wasn’t certain, but Simon couldn’t find a reason to dismiss this hypothesis.

Simon became anxious.

“Kalia, stop. We’re heading to the Magic branch right now.”

“Hmm?”

“We’re going to teleport. We don’t have time to leisurely ride on horseback. We need to contact the Mage Tower and Luismond.”

“What? What’s going on…?”

“I’ll explain when we get there. Hold my hand.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Simon grabbed Kal’ia’s hand, and they immediately teleported.

In an instant, the two of them vanished into thin air.

“Huh?”

“…What’s with the ‘huh’? Let’s hurry.”

Derek and Hendrick, who were mindlessly following the two, hastily teleported along with Simon.

* * *

However, when Simon arrived at the Magic branch, he couldn’t contact the age Tower or Prince Luismond as he intended.

As soon as the two arrived, Hemmie and Allen anxiously grabbed hold of Simon, preventing him from making any quick calls.

“The infection marks disappeared?”

“Yes! That’s right! I was so shocked that I asked Arin multiple times if she accidentally washed it off or something! But no! There were even scratches on her fingertips!”

The infection marks disappeared just from a foam bath.

But Arin’s younger brother, who used the same product to wash his body, still had the black infection marks on his forearm.

Moreover, in the meantime, the area became itchy, and Michelle tried to scratch it several times, so Allen had even bandaged it.

Kalia and Simon touched Arin’s hand, where the black marks had disappeared.

Although there were still marks from the scratches, it was a rosy baby hand without a single black spot.

“Um, does this mean… something went wrong?”

Kalia, who was examining Arin’s hand, gently wrapped her own hand around the worried face of the child and smiled slightly.

“No, nothing went wrong. It’s just fortunate that the infected area disappeared, nothing more.”

Upon Kalia’s words, Arin let out a small sigh of relief.

After asking Hemmie to give the siblings some warm cocoa and snacks, Kalia entered Simon’s room.

Inside the room, Derek, Hendrick, and Allen were waiting together.

“What on earth happened?”

Hendrick wandered around the room with a face that showed utter confusion.

Derek, who had been in a daze, muttered to himself.

“Is the infection weak, so it naturally healed…?”

“Just from taking a bath? It suddenly disappeared like that?”

“Maybe it’s because the warm water helped with blood circulation.”

“I-Is that so…?”

Hendrick’s pupils shook at Derek’s words.

Although Derek seemed sloppy, back in their academy days, Simon had heard that he was almost as smart as Simon himself.

While he couldn’t reach the top, he hardly missed a spot in the second rank.

Even though he may not be on the same level as those two, Hendrick had also grown up hearing that he was quite smart.

Yet, these two intelligent individuals were discussing the healing of demonic disease through blood circulation.

Allen shook his head, bewildered by the sight.

“Improving within three hours due to improved blood circulation is a symptom only seen in cases like chilblains. Of course, you both know that as well.”

“Cough, well! It was just a thought!”

“Y-Yeah, just a thought.”

Three hours.

The child’s infection marks disappeared in just three hours.

What could have changed during that time?

“Did anything happen to Arin? Did she eat something different or engage in different behavior?”

“Yes. Right after Kalia and Simon left, they brought the siblings upstairs for comfort. In the meantime, Sasha  was crying because he was hungry, so Hemmie took him and briefly left the room before returning.”

Something, a clue, seemed almost within reach but remained elusive.

The five of them pondered and discussed for a while, but they couldn’t come to a definite conclusion.

Simon pressed his temples as if he had a headache and waved his hand.

“For now, let’s discuss this matter again later. Right now… before it’s too late, let’s contact the Mage Tower and the Crown Prince Luismond.”

That’s when it happened.

“Wait.”

Kalia, who seemed to be contemplating something, raised her hand and stopped Simon.josei

She tapped her chin with a similar expression to when she returned on horseback earlier and then made a request to Allen.

“Can you bring Sasha here for a moment?”

“Sasha?”

“Yes. There’s something I need to look at.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and can you also bring Michelle and Arin?”

Allen understood and promptly left the room.

Why Sasha and the children suddenly?

When Simon looked at Kalia with a puzzled expression, Kalia awkwardly smiled and gently patted his shoulder.

“Just a moment. Can’t we?”

“Of course you can. I can wait even a year if you want.”

Then he lifted Kalia’s hand and kissed it, causing Kalia to shiver.

With an unrestrained expression, as if unable to hold back any longer, Simon chuckled politely.

While Hendrick observed this scene with a troubled expression, Derek silently patted his shoulder. As Hendrick glanced at Derek, he coughed and cautiously withdrew his hand, avoiding contact, and said.

“…If you keep doing this, it will bother Allen.”

“…Huh?”

Derek’s face, who was staring at Hendrick, turned pale instantly, as if he had been struck by lightning.

He stammered, his lips trembling like a fish, and shook his head, but Hendrick had already turned his head away.

“Oh, it’s not like that…!”

“I brought Sasha!”

Hemmie entered the room with Sasha in her arms.

Arin and Michelle, the siblings, followed her inside.

“Kyao!”

“Oh, Drea came too.”

Until all the children entered, Allen, who entered last, held Drea in his arms as she clung to him and cried.

“She kept crying like she wouldn’t let go of Sasha. I couldn’t bring her along.”

As Allen gently stroked Drea’s soft white hair, she raised her head, her teary eyes fixed on Allen.

“It’s not okay to look like that. Just bear with it for a moment, Drea. Kalia said she has business with Sasha.”

“Kyao…”

As if unable to resist when Allen spoke, Drea puffed up her cheeks as if she could only endure it once and lowered her head sadly.

In the meantime, Kalia accepted Sasha and held him, gently patting the child’s back.

Kalia, who was close to Sasha, met his eyes and whispered as if she was talking to him.

“Sasha, Mom wants to know more about you… If Sasha has any hidden abilities, can you show them to me?”

“…Abu?”

“It’s no use pretending not to know, little one. Mom has a very keen sense.”

“Abuu…?”

The baby’s face, with big and clear eyes rolling around, looked innocent.

Kalia playfully pinched the chubby cheek of the baby with a mischievous smile and kissed it.

“Kyaah.”

Kalia tightly hugged Sasha, who was laughing as if ticklish, and unraveled the bandages on Michelle’s bandaged arm.

“Michelle, does it hurt a lot here?”

“A little. Just a little.”

The hesitant child mumbled while nervously looking around where the adults were gathered.

Kalia handed Sasha to Michelle, who quickly held onto his sister’s arm and tried to hide.

“Just hold the baby for a moment, okay?”

“What?”

“Just for a moment.”

“But… but…”

Everyone looked at her with eyes wondering what Kalia was up to.

Cautiously, Michelle held onto Sasha while keeping an eye on the adults.

Although he seemed smart and mature, Michelle was still very young.

The sight of Michelle holding Sasha was almost indistinguishable from a baby holding another baby.

Everyone watched the babies anxiously, afraid that Michelle, who seemed weak, might drop Sasha.

As expected, when Michelle staggered as if losing strength, Sasha exclaimed, ‘Abu!’ and spread his wings on his back.

Fluttering his beautiful wings, he flew up and embraced Michelle without falling.

“Wow, baby wings…!”

“It seems like the baby wants to hug Michelle.”

“Oh, baby…”

Michelle, touched by the gesture, hugged Sasha tightly, just as Sasha hugged him.

Michelle’s round cheek blushed with joy.

The corners of the baby’s eyes, moistened with a sparkle, curved.

“So… so cute…!”

“So adorable. Hehe. Hehe. I can’t breathe.”

Hemmie and Derek watched over the babies’ embrace with delight.

After observing the babies hugging each other for a while, Kalia took Sasha back into her arms when Michelle started to stagger.

Sasha nestled in Kalia’s embrace and looked up at her with sparkling eyes, as if expecting her praise.

With a smirk, Kalia chuckled and gently stroked the baby’s head.

Then she turned to Allen and made a request.

“Allen, could you please remove the bandage on Michelle’s arm?”