Chapter 3

“Ah…….”

It was an unexpected question. A matter that had completely slipped her mind, startled as she was by the sudden appearance of a strange baby.

“What? You didn’t even check something like that?”

Felix’s expression was one of disbelief, and under his gaze, she felt as insignificant as a worm, fumbling through her memory.

“No, it’s not that I didn’t check. I did. There weren’t any other traces. No one was there, nor were there any signs of someone coming and going.”

Although the claim of having checked was a lie, it was true that there were no traces.

Aside from the presence of Little One in her room, everything else was as it had always been—the living room, the bathroom, no signs of anything unusual.

But her lie was quickly exposed.

“Are you sure you checked properly? What about Alice’s room? Was there no sign of anything there either?”

Ugh. She hadn’t checked Alice’s room. Felix, watching her expression closely, nodded as if to say, “I knew it.” She cautiously asked, trying to gauge his mood.

“Should I go and check now?”

“No need. Even if you check, there probably won’t be anything unusual.”

Felix shook his head and rose from his seat.

“Even if someone brought that baby to your room…….”

“A kid. Not a baby, a kid.”

“Fine. Even if someone brought that kid to your room……. Wait, but what’s the difference between a baby and a kid anyway?”

Approaching her, Felix protested over such a trivial distinction.

To others, “baby” and “kid” might seem the same, but to her, there was a significant reason.

“If you call it a baby, it sounds like it’s really my child.”

“And if you call it a kid?”

“Calling it a kid makes it sound like a younger sibling from next door.”

“Even if you call it a kid, just from the way it looks, it still seems like it’s your child.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

She shouted, lifting Little One by the waist with both hands.

There was a reason why Little One’s eyes felt so familiar.

“If anything, it looks more like your kid. Look, look. Little One’s eyes are gray, just like yours. Gray eyes aren’t exactly common, are they? Let’s see, Little One. Could it be that this ill-tempered man is your father?”

“Bwaah!”

Little One giggled, sticking his fingers into his mouth. Droplets of saliva turned into bubbles dangling from his lips.

Felix, who had been quietly watching them, lightly brushed his still-tousled hair.

“Fine, let’s drop it. Anyway, if someone brought Little One to your room and then hid in Alice’s room, there would have to be traces in the living room or your room as well. Since there weren’t any, it must mean Little One was alone. By the way, was there any note or clue on his body?”

“There wasn’t.”

“Let me hold Little One for a moment.”

She handed Little One over to Felix, who reached out his arms. Even as Little One was moved away from her, it kept looking at her, chewing on his fingers with a carefree expression.

But Little One’s demeanor changed the moment Felix held it and their faces met.

“Waaah!”

Little One screamed as if in protest and began to thrash about. Felix quickly held it close, but Little One struggled desperately.

It looked as though it might fall to the floor at any moment.

“Little One!”

Hearing her urgent cry, Little One turned his head to look at her.

“Maah! Oomah! Uuuh!”

Little One stretched his arms toward her frantically. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

Anyone could see it was desperately trying to get to her. Felix, too, seemed to sense this and, barely managing to hold Little One, hurriedly handed it back to her.

She wasn’t sure how to hold the wriggling Little One, who hadn’t calmed down yet.

Seeing her hesitation, Felix quickly gave her instructions.

“Support his bottom with one hand and lightly cradle his back and neck with the other.”

After placing Little One in her arms, he demonstrated the posture himself. His movements were surprisingly adept.

Following his example, she held the sobbing Little One.

Little One stopped crying almost immediately, as if it had never been upset.

“Uuuh.”

“What’s wrong all of a sudden, hmm?”

Little One, as if understanding her question, mumbled something against her shoulder.

‘Ugh, now I’m covered in drool.’

Despite Little One’s earnest murmuring, she had no idea why it had been crying.

“Are you hurt?”

Once Little One had calmed down a bit, she gently pulled it away from her shoulder to take a closer look.

His face was a mess. Tears streaked his cheeks, snot dripped from his nose, and saliva ran from his mouth.

“Ugh.”

Still, it didn’t seem to be in pain.

“Felix, it doesn’t look like Little One is hurt, does it?”

“No. It looks fine.”

“Then take it back.”

Just as she tried to hand Little One back to him, his face scrunched up again.

“Uuuh!”

Flailing his arms, Little One reached out to her, as if pleading not to be handed to Felix.

Watching this, she felt an inexplicable pang in her chest and pulled Little One back into her arms.

“Little One, are you perhaps shy around strangers?”

“Hau.”

“Is that really the case? Why? You were fine with me.”

Even when Little One first came to her room, it hadn’t cried. So why now? And it had clung to her just fine earlier and even now.

Pondering Little One’s inexplicable behavior, she accidentally glanced up at Felix’s face and found her answer.

‘Well, I guess he could look scary to babies.’

His sharp jawline, eyes that slanted upward with a fierce look, and lips perpetually pressed into a dissatisfied line.

On top of that, his gray eyes and grayish-blue hair only made his cold impression even chillier.

Women often admired his appearance, calling it elegant, but from another perspective, it was a face completely devoid of warmth.

It was no wonder Little One screamed and cried so desperately.

“Try smiling. Little One is scared of you.”

At her plea, which was more of a command, Felix immediately raised an eyebrow.

Little One, glancing at him nervously, cried out again, “Aung!” and burrowed into her arms. 

See? This was why it was so frightened.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why women liked someone with such a cold and unpleasant personality.

Someone warm and kind, like Professor Deros, would be so much better.

“Stop saying nonsense and let me see Little One.”

“It’ll cry.”

“I’m not asking you to hand it over. Just show it to me while you’re holding it.”

“Fine. Little One, let’s take a quick look at the scary big brother, okay?”

She gently rubbed Little One’s back and turned it around to face Felix.

Little One’s body tensed up as if it were bracing himelf but, surprisingly, it didn’t cry.

Felix stared at Little One briefly before heading into the room and returning with a clean handkerchief.

“What are you going to do with that?”

“We need to figure out what kind of baby this is, don’t we?”

He replied curtly and wrapped the handkerchief around his index finger. Then, cautiously, he placed his finger into Little One’s mouth.

“Ah!”

“Good. Stay still for a moment.”

Felix’s unexpectedly gentle tone soothed Little One as he examined his mouth.

Whenever Little One bit down hard on his finger in discomfort, he mumbled, 

“Biting with gums doesn’t hurt, you know.”

What on earth was he doing?

She held Little One tightly by his plump belly, observing Felix’s actions.

After pulling out his now wet finger, Felix lifted Little One’s clothes to inspect his arms, legs, and belly.

Little One giggled and let out a cheerful laugh, seemingly tickled by his touch.

Once Felix finished his examination, he stood up and placed the damp handkerchief on the table.

“Two bottom teeth, two top teeth.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means Little One is about 9 to 10 months old.”

Goodness, he even knew something like that? 

She blinked up at him, astonished by his knowledge, which went beyond mere book smarts.

“How do you know that?”

“My family’s kids.”

“Oh, you mean Lindsey and Tony?”

“Yeah.”

Lindsey and Tony were Felix’s much younger twin siblings. She had met them a few times before.

Lindsey had adorably called her “sister” with her clumsy pronunciation, while Tony had cutely followed Felix around, calling him “big brother.”

The twins had been born when they were thirteen, so they must be five years old now.

‘No wonder he seemed so skilled at holding Little One earlier.’

She nodded lightly, watching Felix, who had fallen silent and was now tidying up the kettle and cups.

“And besides that? Anything else?”

“No. Nothing. Other than that, it’s just an ordinary baby. The clothes it’s wearing are simple indoor wear, so there’s no way to tell where it came from. If there’s one thing I’ve realized, it’s that his parents are remarkably indifferent.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

He replied nonchalantly, gesturing toward Little One with his eyes. Little One, dressed in thin indoor clothes.

“Didn’t you already notice? Judging by how it was wrapped tightly in a blanket, it must’ve been cold. Even if it was indoors, those clothes are too thin for this weather. And considering the fabric quality, it’s not like they didn’t have winter clothes.”

As she listened to him, a theory she had considered earlier crossed her mind again.

“Could it have come from the Genoa Continent? It’s summer there right now.”