Chapter 14

“It’s strange how they just gave it away.”

“Right.”

The landlord, who had rushed over at dawn, said it looked like a pipe had burst in the upstairs apartment.

But the upstairs owner was away on a long trip, so repairs couldn’t be made easily, and he apologized profusely.

He handed Erin money, telling her to stay at an inn for a while and assured her he would compensate for any damage to the house.

From his calm demeanor, it seemed this wasn’t the first time it had happened.

Erin suddenly understood why there were no other tenants in this house.

‘So it keeps flooding like this.’

But something still felt odd.

The building’s exterior looked new, and when she was first introduced to it, everything seemed fine.

Was it shoddy construction?

‘And how did Ash know about the leak and come down?’

She wondered, but didn’t ask.

Somehow, it felt natural that Ash would know her every move.

Ash, who checked on Erin’s well-being even before the landlord, had now brought her to his own home and seated her there.

“Make yourself comfortable.”

“Mm.”

Even though Ash’s place was the same size and layout as hers, his home was neat and had a slightly more classic atmosphere.

Erin didn’t know much about interior design, but the inside looked like a noble’s townhouse.

‘It’s small for a townhouse, but still.’

The furniture and paintings looked expensive, and the mood was refined.

“Your place looks really nice.”

When she commented, Ash shrugged as if it was nothing.

“The previous resident left it all behind.”

“The previous resident?”

“Yes. They told me to throw away the furniture, but I just kept using it.”

“Wow. Lucky you.”

It was the same with the lab stuff. How did he always manage to pick up things like this?

But as she looked at his shining face, Erin thought…

‘It must be because of that face.’

She was convinced the previous resident had been charmed by Ash’s looks and left all the furniture for him.

Otherwise, who would leave such expensive, new-looking furniture to a stranger?

“Was the previous resident a noble lady?”

“Are you curious?”

“Huh?”

“…I wondered if you might be jealous.”

“Uh?”

It sounded a bit out of the blue. Listening closely, it almost seemed as if Ash wanted her to be jealous, which flustered her.

‘No way.’

Why would Ash want her to be jealous?

Suddenly, Erin remembered Ash telling her he liked her in her dream, and her ears turned red.

‘Don’t misunderstand!’

He’d only asked if she was jealous, but her thoughts had run wild. She felt she was overreacting.

“No, no!”

“…I see.”

When she denied it, Ash didn’t press further. While Erin patted her cheeks, Ash made cocoa and handed it to her, sitting on the bed.

“By the way, you should sleep more.”

“That’s true…”

“It’ll help you rest.”

“But the bed…”

“We can just share it.”

At that, Erin’s fingertips fidgeted.

Ash, watching her with amusement, shrugged.

“We’ve already seen everything, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, right?”

“No, it’s just…”

“You’re wearing my pajamas right now.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Ash had lent her a spare nightgown so she wouldn’t catch a cold from sleeping in wet pajamas. The scent of Ash rising from her own body made Erin’s heart pound again. She shrank with embarrassment.

Ash seemed to interpret this differently and quickly added,

“I won’t touch you.”

“…….”

“I couldn’t anyway, since the new medicine is in the lab.”

For some reason, that made Erin feel even more embarrassed.

As she awkwardly finished her cocoa, Ash turned on a soft indirect light and returned to the bed.

Creak.

Soon, the weight beside her was several times her own, making her skin tingle.

“Rest, Doctor.”

Ash kept his promise not to touch her, lying still and breathing quietly. Erin felt a little deflated.

“…Mm.”

She lay down too, but couldn’t sleep.

She’d never felt such a warm presence beside her, in this life or the last, and it was so unfamiliar.

Somehow, it felt more intimate and embarrassing than when they’d been wildly entangled before.

“Can’t sleep?”

After a long while staring at Ash’s back, he turned to face her.

Warm hands wrapped around her back. Erin gasped as their foreheads touched.

“Try to get some sleep anyway.”

“…….”

“You worked hard today, and you’ve been so tired lately…”

“You’re the one who made me work hard today.”

“That’s true.”

“You said you’d give me a massage, but you did… that.”

“Could you not remind me?”

“…….”

“As I said, there’s no medicine here.”

Ash sounded genuinely troubled, making Erin’s cheeks flush.

To hide her face, she buried it in Ash’s chest and mumbled,

“…You’re so hard to figure out.”

“Am I?”

“Why did someone like you come to such a poor lab anyway…”

“I was interested.”

That almost made her heart stop.

She looked up to see his red eyes gently curved toward her.

Interested?

In her?

Before she could ask, his lips curved into a smile.

“In your research, Doctor.”

“Mm, I see.”

Feeling embarrassed, Erin looked away. Right, he was interested in her research…

“In contraceptives?”

“Yes.”

Ash was the first person to show interest in her research since Duke Aston Clebania. Erin grew curious.

“There must have been other interesting topics.”

But Ash’s reply was somewhat chilly.

“If they exist, children aren’t born.”

Erin met Ash’s eyes again at his strange words.

His gentle red eyes had grown somber, as if wandering in a far-off place.

“Children who would only know unhappiness don’t need to be born.”

“…….”

“There are children in this world who don’t need to be born…”

He looked lonely as he spoke.

‘It’s true that contraceptives could reduce unhappy lives.’

But saying some children shouldn’t be born sounded strange.

‘It’s almost like he’s saying those children should never exist…’

As if confirming her suspicion, Ash let out a long sigh and spoke again.

“There are children who would have been better off never being born, aren’t there?”

“…….”

“We need medicine for those children too.”

It felt cruel somehow.

Ash rubbed his forehead against Erin’s, sounding tired.

“…If someone spends their whole life being told they should never have been born…”

“…….”

“Wouldn’t it be better if they never existed?”

‘Right. He’s not wrong.’

But still…

Erin instinctively reached out and cupped Ash’s cheeks.

“Ash.”

She felt she had to say this.

“That doesn’t mean it’s the child’s fault.”

Ash’s half-closed eyes opened. Unreadable emotions flickered in his red eyes.

“It’s not their fault?”

“Of course not.”

“But Doctor, you’re developing medicine to prevent such children from being born.”

“Uh…”

“To make ‘children who shouldn’t exist’ not exist, literally.”

Erin felt she needed to say more.

“To put it properly, I’m developing medicine to create responsible parents.”

“Responsible parents, when there are no children?”

“Yes. It sounds strange, but…”

Erin gently brushed Ash’s hair, simply wanting to do so.

“A child being born isn’t the child’s fault, and sometimes not even the parents’ fault. Unwanted pregnancies happen. They’re just… born, that’s all.”

“…….”

“They just happened to be born at the wrong time.”

Lying down, Erin shrugged and softly stroked Ash’s cheek.

His skin felt softer than hers, and just touching him brought a strange sense of satisfaction.

“I just want to lower the odds a little.”

“…….”

“I want people to use this medicine when they’re not ready for a child.”

“…….”

“And when they’re ready, they can stop the medicine and welcome a child.”

Even the heroine had been like that.

She’d come to see her child as a blessing despite an unwanted pregnancy, but her body wasn’t ready. Forcing herself to carry to term led to her death.

And the hero, born from that, cursed his existence and became a tyrant.

What did the child ever do wrong?

Erin spoke quite firmly.

“And Ash, there’s no such thing as a child who shouldn’t exist.”

“I…”

“I told you. It was just the wrong situation…”

“Just?”

“They were simply born in the wrong circumstances, at the wrong place or time, maybe.”

As she spoke, sleep began to creep in.

It was probably because Ash had started gently stroking her in return.