I Will Raise this Baby as Another Man’s Child - Chapter 26
Chapter 5
“Wake up.”
The voice was quite different from yesterday. Hearing the irritated tone, Hinael realized that Chetter’s attitude had changed overnight.
It seemed that checking her forehead just now had been the cause.
“If you keep pretending to be sick without a fever, I will really get angry.”
Just as she was about to lift her eyelids, her hair was yanked by a strong grip, pulling her head up sharply.
“Ouch! I-I was going to get up!”
“See? You were pretending to sleep even though you’re not sick, right?”
“That’s really not true.”
Hinael’s blue eyes turned pale. Chetter was much more brutal than in her previous life.
In her previous life, he did not use violence against Hinael. He simply neglected her and visited Isabel every day.
But now, how was it?
The moment Lutz took Hinael, Chetter’s affection turned into hatred. It had long surpassed mere affection.
He would be desperate to possess her, then suddenly become irritated and take it out on her.
Chetter roughly grabbed Hinael’s hair and tilted the bowl. The forceful prying of her teeth caused her lips to get injured.
“Eat. It’s the last dose, so take it and get yourself together.”
He acted as if he would wait until she recovered, but now, he seemed angry at having to match her pace. Chetter glared with his eyes red, as if he hadn’t slept at all.
“The more I think about it, the more I can’t stand it. You made me into such a pathetic man. So why should I cater to you, be polite, and treat you well?”
Did he think calling her princess while imprisoning her was a form of treatment?
She was the one trying to cater to Chetter. She was just too afraid of being raped to resist.
“Don’t forget that you’re my slave. Be grateful that I’m personally giving you the medicine!”
Then he poured the remaining herbal juice into her mouth. Half of it spilled down her lips, and the other half barely went down her throat, causing her to cough violently.
Chetter pushed Hinael’s head away as she coughed as if she were dying, then stood up and brushed the spilled medicine off his clothes.
“I’ll take you when I get back, so behave.”
“W-Where are you going?”
“To Smao Castle. The lord invited me to lunch.”
Did he have distant relatives in Smao who were also invited?
Once again, she was locked in the suffocating room.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, doing nothing. Bored, silent, and distant moments unfolded aimlessly. Even her sense of time became blurry.
How long had it been?
Clatter, clatter, the sound of the lock was heard.
‘Has it already passed lunchtime…’
Chetter returned much quicker than expected, and her heart, which had sunk in despair, began to race as if it would burst.
‘I won’t be able to reject Chetter anymore. I’ll end up being defiled like this. What should I do now?’
The door opened.
She couldn’t bear to look and just trembled under the blanket.
But it was strange. She couldn’t hear the footsteps that should have been there.
Was he watching from outside the door? Why?
What was he planning to do now?
She felt like she was going to go crazy with anxiety. If she stayed still, he might roughly demand why she wasn’t acknowledging him.
Hinael hesitated about whether to get up from under the blanket and started to move slightly.
“Are you okay? Where is that bastard?”
This voice…
She reflexively jumped at the low, deep voice. The one who said hiding his presence was nothing.
It was Lutz.
Hinael burst into tears and ran to him.
“Your Highness!”
An indescribable sense of relief filled her, and she instinctively jumped into his arms.
“You really came. I waited so, so long.”
She buried her face in his broad chest and sobbed. Although he was her formal husband and had declared he wouldn’t love her, she was so glad to see him that she couldn’t help but hug him.
His body stiffened for a moment, but she didn’t care and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Thank you so much. If you hadn’t come, I really would have died from anxiety.”
“Hey. Isn’t this a bit too much?”
“Thank you. I was so worried you wouldn’t come, sniff. How much, sniff. Sob.”
“Whew… This isn’t the time to be crying.”
Chetter might be back soon. Hinael quickly pulled away from Lutz and wiped her face haphazardly.
“He’s not here right now, so let’s go quickly.”
“But what’s wrong with your face?”
He grabbed Hinael’s chin and scrutinized the scratches.
“Why are your lips cracked?”
“I hit the bowl while taking medicine…”
“You wouldn’t have done that to yourself. Then what’s this scratch?”
“I got scraped by a branch.”
“And there’s a knife mark on your neck. I expected him to treat you roughly, but I didn’t think you’d be in such bad shape.”
She almost mistook his concern for genuine worry. If it weren’t for his next words, she might have believed it.
“Seeing the Emperor with this face will cause a commotion.”
He spoke coldly, looking at the door.
“It was Chetter, wasn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
“Is it normal for someone to be so obsessed with another man’s wife? Wasn’t he really your betrothed?”
“If that were the case, His Majesty the King wouldn’t have called me to the banquet hall in the first place.”
Lutz was being unreasonable. But instead of feeling annoyed, she found his complaints endearing.
Despite his frightening demeanor, she wasn’t scared at all.
She couldn’t imagine how much he had suffered to find her. So, she had no right to complain even if he yelled and got angry.
Hinael looked at him with moist eyes.
His eyes, as black as the night sky, sparkled even in the gloomy room, and his imposing physique was incredibly reassuring.
She was so grateful and happy that she couldn’t stop smiling.
As she stared at him, he cleared his throat.
“Ahem! You said we should go quickly.”
“Oh, yes.”
Since she came empty-handed, there was nothing to pack.
She was about to leave immediately but then remembered almost freezing to death on the way to Smao.
“Wait a moment. Let me grab something to wear.”
She took out the thickest coat from the wardrobe and nodded.
“Now we can go.”
Lutz led the way. She followed closely behind him, as if he were a shield.
But they hadn’t taken many steps before they were blocked by an intruder.
“Y-you, how did you…?”
With a loud crash, Chetter rushed up the stairs and pointed at Lutz.
Hinael stood close behind Lutz. She was so startled, as if she had encountered a demon, that she almost collapsed.
“You don’t need to know. The important thing is that I’ve found my wife.”
“Hinael, come here. Now!”
In the face of danger, Chetter shouted fiercely. Knowing she wouldn’t come to him, he immediately started shouting to intimidate her.
He was desperate to get Hinael back, even if it meant scaring her.
“Can’t you hear me? Get away from him right now! Right now!”
A thunderous roar erupted from his slender frame. Enraged, Chetter glared at Hinael as if he would tear her apart, then panted as if he was about to collapse.
“If you resist and I catch you, you’re dead. So don’t provoke me further and come here! Hinael Phil!”
“My eardrums are going to burst.”
Lutz casually rubbed his ear.
Chetter, who had been shouting loudly, twisted his lips into a grimace. His eyes were filled with contempt.
“You beast… You may be a prince of the Empire, but you’re really just a descendant of barbarians.”
“Who are you calling a beast? Did you just call my wife Hinael Phil? You’re worse than a beast.”
“I won’t waste my words. Hand over Hinael immediately.”
“You sound like a citizen of Sarr, invading Trycas. Is coveting others’ belongings a habit?”
“Belongings? Hinael was originally mine!”
“This is why dealing with fools is a hassle. I have to explain everything. Not that you’d understand even if I did, since you’ve lost your mind.”
Lutz wrapped his arm around Hinael’s waist and pulled her to his side. Then he kissed her forehead, making her look at him with wide eyes.
Hinael wasn’t surprised at all. She didn’t flinch and even smiled faintly.
“You, you, you bastards…”
“Prepare to pay the price for kidnapping the princess of the Trycas Empire.”
“You’re funny. You won’t be able to speak even if you die. Why? Because you’ll be branded as the fool who lost the princess. Right?”
“What’s wrong with being a bit of a fool?”
Ignoring him simply, Chetter suddenly rushed out, infuriated. Then he pulled the string installed outside the door.
Dang, dang, dang―.
The sound of the bell echoed heavily.
Hinael thought they had trapped her without any measures, but it seemed they had stationed guard knights nearby.
She worried whether Lutz could handle them all alone. She had heard of the War Devil’s reputation but had never seen it with her own eyes, so she could only think of it as a numbers game.