CH 16

Charlotte approached Ezekiel from behind and hugged him. Her white hand wearing a gold ring, gently stroked her man’s neck, shoulders, and caressed the chest hidden under his shirt. His skin, rougher than that of a woman, and hard muscles protruding unevenly beneath her touch, aroused her desires. Breathing into her man’s ear, she flirted.

“Can you move my room? Of course, I’m fine right now, but… there’s less sunlight in there. The room she’s in… it looks like it would be great in there.”

“…..”

“Miguel is still young. I can’t go out much, so even if we’re in that room, he can get a lot of sunlight and will be healthier, right? So……”

The man did not react to the woman’s brutal behavior. The cold attitude of her man was still there. Charlotte licked Ezekiel’s ear with her tongue.

“Ezekiel, why are you so quiet?”

“……”

“Charlotte hates that face. Why don’t you play with me? We haven’t enjoyed since Miguel was born.”

The woman drew her body closer to him. After giving birth, her beautiful body remained intact as she entrusted all of the child care to the nannies.

“Move.”

Ezekiel looked uncomfortable. He was so insensitive that he embarrassed Charlotte. But in the absence of his wife, he didn’t have to act. He wrinkled his brow as if annoyed, waving indiscriminately to get Charlotte off of him.

“Don’t say that. After all, it’s just me and Miguel. Miguel is enough, but it would be nice to have more children…. They say that children need siblings.”

Despite Ezekiel’s cold attitude, Charlotte did not give up. This has happened more than once. Her man treated her like a weed once his wife was gone.

“Oh, come on… Don’t be so… “

In the past, it was difficult to seduce the man because she was pregnant, but not anymore. Charlotte made up her mind that she was going to flirt with her man today. She groped the man all over with her gentle gestures.

‘Not anymore. For the sake of my future plans, I’ll have to slowly entice him…’

In fact, Charlotte was anxious. The ominous feeling she wanted to get rid of after giving birth to Miguel recently reared its ugly head again. She sometimes felt like she wasn’t the owner of her body. Why was it happening? It didn’t feel real, but it was in her memory…. It was a nonsensical thing, but she would suddenly fall asleep without realizing it, and when she awoke, a feeling of uneasiness wrapped around her body.

‘I haven’t taken the Duchess’ seat yet… That’s why. Because my position is unstable…’

She was convinced that the reason was because of her unstable position. A mistress. It was a position that could be thrown out at any time according to the man’s will. Charlotte knew that she could live a pleasant life in Serpence Castle. Everything was different from her days on the wretched, cold battlefield. At that time, she was at the mercy of others, but in this castle, it was the opposite.

‘I will never go back to those days.’

She patted the man’s face, looking at him with eyes slightly open. Her red tongue crawled out and reached the man’s lips. However, Ezekiel’s dry expression remained the same.

He pushed Charlotte ruthlessly. Charlotte fell to the floor with a thud. At the excruciating humiliation, Charlotte trembled.

“……If you’re in heat, find another man.”

“Wha-, I beg your pardon?!”

There was a subtle annoyance in the man’s gold eyes. He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a cigar. A pungent smoke smell filled the room from the burning cigar. Charlotte’s eyes widened at him smoking despite having a child with them.

“Ezekiel! Can’t you see Miguel?”

She was concerned about her son’s health. He’s a growing kid. It didn’t matter if he smoked cigars or not, but Miguel is the kid who will give her everything. She ran towards her son and hugged him, shouting.

“Put it out right now! What if your son gets sick?”

“…I am holding back from cutting her head off right now, so do something about your mother.”

At Charlotte’s screams, Ezekiel made an unfamiliar remark. ‘Your mother’. It didn’t sound like he was talking to his own son. An eerie, ominous feeling gripped Charlotte’s mind. Goosebumps ran down her spine as she slowly lowered her head towards her son.

“What does that mean… ah…”

The shining gold eyes seemed to swallow Charlotte’s thoughts. With dazed eyes, she put her son back in his cradle and fixed his clothes. It was a bizarre scene, but Ezekiel didn’t even turn his head towards Charlotte.

Charlotte then brushed past Ezekiel and slowly made her way to the bed. She stood by the bed with unfocused green eyes. Then, she soon collapsed onto the bed like a doll with a broken string. At the same time, Ezekiel muttered nervously.

“…even if you’re wearing the guise of a child, that doesn’t mean you can’t speak.”

The golden eyes between the silver hair turned towards the cradle. Miguel made a babbling sound at his father’s words. He seemed to be responding to him.

Ezekiel got up from his chair with a stiff face and threw out his cigar. As soon as he looked down at the cradle, the atmosphere in the room darkened. The candle flickered as if it was about to go out, and strange whispers echoed in Ezekiel’s ear.

「It’s not fun… Wait a minute. This shell can’t make a proper sound yet. It would be good if you had a genius son, but if he starts talking less than three months after he was born, wouldn’t there be rumors that he’s possessed by a devil?」

“It’s not wrong.”

「I put the cheeky girl to bed as you wished, so what are you so dissatisfied with?」

The voice was indistinguishable whether it was a man or a woman. It was high-pitched like a child but also rough like an old man’s.

Ezekiel approached the cradle. A child who looked just like him, with his eyes wide open, smiled softly, stretched out his hand in front of him and grabbed his father’s finger. Ezekiel frowned and shook the child’s hand away.

“……What do you get in return then?”

「The price?」

The voice asked as if he didn’t know. Ezekiel’s expression became even worse. He closed his mouth and gripped the cradle tightly. Part of the wooden cradle crumbled and fell to the floor and the veins in his arms popped out.

「Did I not tell you?」

“…….”

「I’m sure when I made the contract at that time… I said that I would keep the price a secret.」

“Stop chattering. Tell me right now. What did this b*stard cost me?”

「You’ve been sitting still all this time. Why are you curious now?」

It was a twirling, teasing voice. At its disrespectful tone, Ezekiel smashed the cradle. The cradle quickly moved back and forth with a dull sound. A squeaky, rugged sound scratched his nerves.

“Tell me right now!”

Ezekiel was ready to take the child out at any moment and throw him away. Its voice burst into laughter as if it was taunting Ezekiel. The baby’s golden eyes folded beautifully and drew a half moon.

「Oh… Ezekiel, are you gonna kill me? Can you even do it?」

Even the most courageous Knights were terrified when they met Ezekiel during the war. He was closer to a god on the battlefield and he was a man who made his opponents shiver just by looking at their faces. However, there was no fear nor tension in the voice floating around the room. His voice was not affected by Ezekiel’s intimidation and continued talking.

「If you’re going to vent your anger, aim it at yourself. What you did to your wife is entirely your fault. It was you, Ezekiel, who made her cry, and it was you who hit her. So you cannot blame me…」

He remembered his wife’s tears streaming down her red swollen cheek. Ezekiel wrinkled his face and had a darkened expression. He wanted to cut off his hand right away. Never mind hitting her, touching her was already something he regretted.

He clenched his fists and his jaw stiffened. Then a voice scoffed at the man who was enveloped in a sense of shame.

「I felt sorry for her, even though I was just watching. Your wife… She’s such a beautiful woman. A noble Devone fairy. The Empire’s beauty. Who would have imagined that such a woman would be humiliated by her husband in front of his mistress?」

“…..”

「….If it were a man other than you, they would have made her happy. For example… if it was a man like your brother Charles.」

At the name Charles, Ezekiel’s expression changed in an instant. The younger brother who was expelled for his mother’s sins. He was Herace’s former fiancé, and he would have been her husband if he hadn’t intervened. There was a moment of guilt in Ezekiel’s eyes, but it soon vanished, engulfed in horror.

「Did you notice? The kind of expressions the men around you make when you make your wife cry? Whether it be a servant or a knight, everyone…」

“…..”

「…they all look at your wife. They all look at her beautiful face.」

Ezekiel remembered who the men were one by one. Three knights under his command, two servants assigned to Charlotte, and a boy doing errands. He wanted to dig out all of their eyes. Those pairs of eyes that dared to covet his wife.

「But what can you do? Ezekiel, you couldn’t take your eyes off her either. That’s why this happened…」

“……”

「You can’t ask other men not to do what you can’t do either. Right?」

The child looked up at his father. The man’s eyes were distorted, filled with anger at the thing it was looking at. Part of the cradle shattered in the man’s hands. Wood splinters from the broken cradle dug into the calluses of his palms.

「Hey, calm down. This is not the time to be angry. Soon……….」

His voice slowly dissipated as if to comfort him. At the same time, the baby in the cradle turned his head and looked at the door. Knock, knock. Someone was knocking on the door. After Ezekiel stared at his son, he approached the door and turned the doorknob. Behind the door was a sweaty servant who had come in a hurry.

“Master, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me.”

“That- your wife……”

Upon hearing the words from the servant, Ezekiel’s face hardened. He hit the servant’s shoulder as he ran out of the room. His hasty steps disappeared quickly.

“Whenever he’s harsh on her…It’s so hard to understand the Master.”

Looking at the back of the Master running away, the servant had a face as if she didn’t understand. Shrugging her shoulders, she glanced around the room and carefully closed the door.

Thud.

As soon as the door closed, the cradle moved on its own. The cradle swayed in gentle regular beats as though it was soothing the child. The golden eyes, which were clearly comfortable with the movement, slowly closed. The child, who was chewing on his fingers, fell asleep with a deep sigh. He had a calm face like a baby angel from a famous painting.

In the quiet room where even the child was sleeping, only the sound of burning candles remained. A voice in the strange silence continued to say the unfinished words.

「……..It’s going to get crazier.」