She knew it was not a wise choice.

The curse could be passed on to the child. The child would grow up without a father. She would have to face everything alone and might even be forced to watch her child suffer. And yet, an undeniable longing held her fast.

Perhaps that was why she had feared meeting the doctor. If she admitted that she might be pregnant, the child would continue to grow inside her and it would be impossible to give him or her up. With no excuse left, she would have no choice but to keep the baby.

At last, Lea realized the selfish truth of her own heart.

She was lonely.

She had borne her sin alone, living in silence and falsehood. She had always been alone.

She hungered for warmth, for something gentle. For someone to laugh with, to speak with, to quarrel with at times and forgive again. Someone she could love fully and humanly.

This child might be her first and last chance at a family.

“May I… raise this child?”

Lea bowed her head, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. She knew it was betraying his kindness, yet she could not give up the baby. Never in her life had she desired something so deeply. She could not bring herself to end this life. She no longer wanted to harm or destroy anyone.

At her words, Egon fell silent.

Lea could not even bring herself to look at his face. If he drove her from this house, from this island, she would accept it humbly.

But then—

“Of course.”

His voice was gentle.

“I’ll help you.”

Slowly, Lea lifted her head. Egon smiled as he looked into her tearful eyes.

“Let’s raise the child as my own.”

Lea’s eyes trembled at his words.

“Why…?”

The question slipped out in shock. It was not what she should have said, but Egon’s response had been so unexpected that she had no time to choose her words.

Egon burst into laughter.

“Why else? We are husband and wife.”

Egon gently took her hand, pressing his lips to the back of it.

“But…”

It was nothing more than a false five-year contract. And the child was not even his by blood. He could just as easily ignore it.

“I’ll make sure the child grows up lacking nothing.”

Egon whispered softly. His tender gaze reached into the depths of her. Unable to bear it, Lea lowered her head.

From that look, she cowardly recalled Shed.

The child’s true father.

What would he do if he ever found out about the child?

What if he found out that the child was the result of a night of passion during a time when he was vulnerable?

He pressed down hard on her lips.

He would never know. She would never be able to tell him.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

‘Do you truly mean to raise that child?’

Eclace turned his gaze indifferently at Greeta, who asked the question in sign.

“Should I throw it away, then?”

He muttered coldly, leaning back in his chair.

She was pregnant with Lester’s child. To be honest, he did not welcome the pregnancy at all. But he still intended to raise the child properly. Properly. As his own child, undeniably.

After all, there’s nothing better than having a child as a hostage.

‘With that baby here, you won’t be able to leave me either.’

Bloodline? Another man’s child? He was not the sort to cling to such abstract notions.

What mattered was gain. And the child would be precious to Lea, which meant that precious thing would end up in his hands.

“Take good care of her for now. She’s not alone anymore, so caution is necessary.”

Eclace spoke with a cold smile to Greeta.

‘You mean you want to leave?’

Greeta looked at him, startled by his words—as if he might not return for a long time.

Eclace gave a small nod.

“His Majesty has requested supplies. War will break out again.”

His eyes turned toward the distant sea.

War?

Greeta’s eyes widened.

It was news that had not yet reached Janna Island.

A beat later, Greeta realized Eclace’s plan.

‘Will Lord Lester also be dispatched?’

At her quiet question, Eclace gave the faintest nod.

It was not information that needed to be passed on to Lea. He had been carefully filtering the news that reached the island.

This island was, in truth, a perfect cage he had built, a cage meticulously managed so that its bird could live in peace and happiness.

“There are times when ignorance is the truest happiness.”

Vitel murmured, gazing at the small house visible on the distant shore.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

The burning summer froze under the brief winter sun, the moon waned and grew full again, and the spring blossomed in its fullness more than once.

Once more, golden grains and crimson fruit ripened on their stems.

“Greeta!”

Lea spread her arms wide in welcome.

A smile touched Greeta’s lips as she was folded into Lea’s embrace. Lea was far smaller in build, but whenever Greeta was gathered into those small arms, it filled her with quiet joy.

“This time, it’s been nearly a month.”

Lea said as she invited her inside. From the garden came the rapid patter of small feet.

“Auntie Greeta!”

A little child, not yet tall enough to reach Greeta’s knees, came running down the flower path of the garden.

Greeta scooped up the beloved child and lifted her high, receiving a kiss pressed against her cheek.

“Eve, are you happy Auntie is here?”

Lea asked, watching her daughter’s bright smile.

A little girl with hair of shining gold and eyes of green.

“You’ve been through so much. She’s a beautiful princess.”

Lea remembered the day the midwife placed the baby in her arms—skin as fair as the white feathers she had once seen in dreams.

Eve had become an inseparable treasure in her life.

“Yes, I like Auntie.”

Eve said, showing off her tiny baby teeth as she beamed.

Just then, someone knocked at the garden gate, peeking over the fence.

Eve spotted the man with soft features and brown hair. At once, she raised her little arms high toward the sky.

“Daddy!”

At his daughter’s joyous greeting, “Egon” laughed and came through the gate.

As always when he came here, he wore plain, worn clothes: a shabby shirt, brown trousers, boots scuffed and frayed.

Nothing in his appearance suggested he was the viscount of House Vitel.

“Eve, not Daddy—Uncle!”

“Why not? If Eve calls me ‘Daddy’, then I’m Eve’s daddy. Right, Eve?”

“Mm! Daddy said it’s fine!”

Though Lea corrected her daughter’s words, Egon only smiled as if it didn’t matter.

“But…”

‘This marriage is only a contract.’

The words hovered on her lips, but she swallowed them back. She couldn’t bring herself to say it in front of Eve, laughing so brightly.

Egon chuckled as he looked down at Eve clinging tightly to his leg.

Beneath the autumn-tinted trees, the sight of him with Eve seemed every bit like that of a real family.

Although his work prevented him from visiting often, Egon devoted all his time to Lea whenever he came. He spared no expense to ensure that Lea and Eve had everything they needed. When he could not be there himself, he entrusted Greeta with meticulous care of their belongings.

And so, before long, Eve had begun to call him “Daddy.”

Was it because she wanted what other children had—a father? Even when told to call him Uncle, she stubbornly called him Daddy instead.

It worried Lea. Would her daughter feel sorrow over the absence of a father? Yet, should she not also set things straight, before this contract reached its end? The end was not far off now.

But Egon clearly thought differently. He allowed Eve to call him Daddy as much as she pleased.

‘…Yes. One day, it will correct itself naturally.’

She was only three. Still too young to fully understand family, relationships, or titles. Lea did not want to spoil her child’s happy moments over such things.

“Daddy, did you bring presents?”

Eve’s eyes sparkled as she pointed to the large bundles in Egon’s hands.

“Of course. Daddy brought lots of gifts just for you. Shall we open them together?”

Even with both arms full, Eclace swept Eve up with one arm and carried her straight into the house.

Whenever he returned to Janna Island, Egon always came bearing delicious food and strange, delightful trinkets. Because of that, Eve longed for his visits with eager anticipation.

“Mommy! Come quick! There are so many presents!”

Already seated, Eve waved her tiny hands like fluttering autumn leaves, calling for Lea.

Lea nodded and joined them at the table.

Eve tore open the packages one by one with Egon, her laughter filling the room.

Lea couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she watched them.

Never in her life had she known happiness like this. Raising her daughter alone had not been easy, but it was fulfilling. She thought often that bringing Eve into the world had been the best decision of her life.

Eve was her life, her every day, the miracle that made her whole again.

‘…Am I truly allowed such happiness?’

At times, the sheer joy of it all was enough to stir sudden waves of unease.

Life on Janna Island with Eve was perfect, and that was what made her afraid.

She felt as though one day she would have to pay for this happiness. If God truly existed, He would never allow a heretic like her to remain so content.

And yet, Lea wanted to ignore the unease, to surrender herself to this happiness. For Eve’s sake, she wanted to be happy with all her heart.

‘Thank goodness… that Eve hasn’t inherited my curse’.

Watching her daughter’s round, rosy cheeks flush with excitement as she unwrapped gifts, Lea thought so, too.

She remembered the day the midwife had first placed her tiny baby in her arms, and how frightened she had been. She had been afraid that this small, precious being might be cursed by black magic.

But the moment she held the child, she knew that wasn’t true. There was no trace of that darkness in her. There was no crescent-shaped mark like her own on the baby’s body.

She still remembered the tears of relief that had spilled down her face. The nearly ten months of fear she had carried in her womb had not become reality.

“Mommy! Look!”

Eve held up the telescope Egon had brought. She turned it this way and that until, with his help, she pressed an eye to the lens.

“Mommy, your eyes look huge!”

Eve burst into carefree laughter as the world warped before her gaze.

“What a curious toy, Eve.”

“Daddy bought it for me!”

“Well then, Eve. Daddy’s the best, isn’t he?”

“Mm! Daddy’s the best!”

Eve gave him a bright thumbs-up.

Lea watched the word “Daddy” fall so naturally from her daughter’s lips.

And in that moment, with her husband by her side, it felt both unfamiliar and utterly natural all at once.