CH 47

“I’m sorry. I must be experiencing mood swings because of the pregnancy,” Lydia whispered with a pleading voice as teardrops clung to her eyelashes. “But I swear on my life that this child is yours. To prove it, I plan to have the baby here.”

Gareth gave Lydia, who was now on the floor, a cold glare. Something inside of him was telling him that there must be a reason why she suddenly appeared in front of him like this. There was, otherwise, no explanation for her to show up exactly at the time of his return. “Did you track me down, Lydia?” he asked.

Without realizing it, Lydia recoiled in surprise at Gareth’s question. ‘I shouldn’t have ignored the fact that he was born from a noble family. Although he’s a mercenary now, he was born from an aristocrat and raised to become his father’s successor…’ At this thought, Lydia realized that this was all the more reason she needed him and became greedier. ‘I need to do this for me,’ she decided.

“Yes, I’ve been asking around for your whereabouts,” she answered softly, forcing her lips to tremble so that Gareth would have pity on her. “I was so thankful that I didn’t gain weight because of the terrible morning sickness. The king was probably going to interrogate me if my pregnancy became any more obvious, so I had no choice but to find you.”

Gareth narrowed his eyes. ‘Doesn’t that mean that she couldn’t ask the king for permission to marry me?’

“The king wants to send his little girl to keep you under his authority. If he found out that I was carrying your child, he might consider me an obstacle and force me to go through a miscarriage. My maternal instincts told me to leave the capital as soon as possible,” Lydia tried appealing to Gareth with persuasive words. The king’s daughter was only 13, but considering his immense interest in Gareth, it was a plausible story. “I have to stay here in order to deliver the baby safely. Since he wants you under his influence, the king will show benevolence towards you. You know this better than anyone else,” Lydia explained.

“It’s not my child. I don’t want to get caught up in useless drama, so leave by tomorrow morning,” Gareth said firmly.

“I can’t go,” Lydia moaned with a sorrowful expression, tears dripping from her eyes again. “Our child will look exactly like your younger sister. Are you going to let this child die like Adelia?”

Gareth’s expression changed drastically at her words, his surroundings darkening.

“Take me with you, Gareth! Save me!”

“Gareth, don’t abandon me! Take me with you!”

Gareth recalled Adelia’s red hair spread out in a pool of blood as her small body, stained in crimson, laid still on the ground.

“Save me… Save me… Don’t abandon me, Gareth.”

Lydia narrowed her eyes and stared at Gareth. ‘As expected…’ The change in Gareth’s expression confirmed that his only weakness was Adelia, his red-haired younger sister that he couldn’t save.

“Please don’t let the king kill our red-haired daughter,” Lydia said confidently.

Gareth slowly twisted the door knob behind him. It felt as if the floor underneath him was sinking. The sound of Adelia screaming desperately filled his mind, overwhelming him. He felt his blood turn cold as the scream rang repeatedly in his ears.

Gareth made his way through the cold stone corridor and stopped in front of the door to his room. The rough textured dress for Elena was still tightly clenched in his hand. Carefully grabbing ahold of the rusty doorknob, Gareth turned it, causing the door to open with a squeak. As soon as he stepped in, the smell of damp dust clawed at his senses. Once he closed the door, Gareth looked around the dark room for a while as he thought of his sister that he had failed to protect.

Gareth raised one hand to cover his face, realizing that he was still holding the dress he had brought for Elena. Despite the darkness of the room, he could clearly see the traces of his deceased sister. He then moved the dress to his other hand and covered the other side of his face. The time, darkness obscured his view. No matter how much time passed, he could never forget what had happened, for the wounds from the tragedy still remained.

Gareth leaned his back against the door and slid down to the dusty floor. ‘If it’s really my child… If the child really looks like Adelia…’ His complicated thoughts weighed down on him. ‘I should at least confirm it.’ He was informed that Lydia had been pregnant for six months now, which meant she was going to give birth in the next three or four months. If he wanted to check, Gareth had no choice but to let her give birth to the child here. He ended up burying his face into the dress he was going to give to Elena.

* * *

With help from the maids, Lydia sat down on the bed. Her cheek still tingled, but she didn’t mind since she was able to confirm that Gareth was still obsessed with his past.

She was going to make sure that he was on her side from now on. If he found out the truth behind the tragedy, then he would gladly fight for her and her child. ‘He’ll become the bloodthirsty devil he is and fight for us,’ she determinedly thought.

Lydia’s attention then shifted to Elena, the woman Gareth had carried in his arms up to his room. She recalled how he was holding a dress while they were speaking and suspected that it was for her.

The thought of Gareth acting considerate towards a woman was so preposterous that she couldn’t help but laugh. Something like that wouldn’t even happen in a dream. ‘Still, who in the world is that woman, and why is he acting like that…’ Lydia pondered while stroking her slightly protruding belly. ‘I’ve only thought of him as a ruthless and destructive man.’ It was surprising to see this side of Gareth.

Lydia had initially been attracted to Gareth because of his vulgar and ruthless personality. She had witnessed it firsthand when Gareth had brutally beaten up Logan at the banquet two years ago. Unable to control her desire for him after seeing such a sight, she snuck into his room where she was greeted by Gareth’s pitch black eyes. However, he didn’t turn her away.