Chapter 298
Chapter 298
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 298
Chapter Title: Shadowed Sky (3)
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“Lady Freya. Are you sure?”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you. What do you take the goddess for?”
Kirhas fidgeted restlessly, groaning under her breath before speaking to Freya in a hushed voice. As far as Freya could recall, this was the same question for the eleventh time already.
Are you sure? I am. Their conversation circled in the air without a subject. Like words adding weight to the atmosphere, the exchange dragged on, pressing down heavier on Kirhas’s shoulders with each word.
“What in the world is the problem? It’s a perfectly natural occurrence, and one worth celebrating at that. Go tell the man right now!”
“I... I... I’m not ready yet... Could you check just one more time?”
Kirhas lowered her large eyes and approached Freya cautiously. Freya patted her sullen shoulders a couple of times, then placed her hands on the girl’s forehead and arm.
A warm energy enveloped and swirled around her for a moment. Soon, Freya’s eyes widened. She glanced at Kirhas’s belly and nodded gravely.
“It’s certain.”
“How am I supposed to tell him!”
“I truly can’t understand it. Why is this your responsibility? It’s his. Even a heartless stone of a man would rejoice at such news!”
“Lady Freya doesn’t understand anything!”
“What... what?”
Kirhas bolted out of the room in a flurry. Freya stared blankly at her retreating back for a long while before clicking her tongue. Mortals’ ways of thinking were sometimes utterly incomprehensible.
* * *
On her way out of the cabin toward the tower where Fernandez was, Kirhas bit her lip and had to stop several times. She hadn’t stepped out of her room much these past few days, but her lord seemed to have no spare attention for her absence.
And that was probably true. Kirhas couldn’t even imagine him having idle time. He lived as if idleness itself was a sin. To him, rest was nothing more or less than recharging for the next task.
For such a Fernandez to hole up for a few days... there was no way he’d suddenly take notice of Kirhas now. She bit her lip.
I’m falling behind.
The Empire’s vixen had married him. They’d annulled it, but still. She had climbed to a position she’d never even dreamed of treading and laughed triumphantly.
Meanwhile, Abel... that aloof ancient dragon was in a league of her own. Just as Kirhas loved Fernandez. Her lord probably cherished her too.
I found out first. I’m different from the others. My lord came to me first.
Yes. She was different from the other women swarming around Fernandez now. Unlike those dazzled by his abilities, looks, or status.
When her lord was merely an apprentice, he had sought her out himself. To make her his subordinate. With an irresistible allure... an enchantment close to magic.
Her pride, unyielding even through long imprisonment, had shattered in that moment. She had submitted willingly.
Then why? Why doesn’t he care about me? I... I...
She came to her senses in front of Fernandez’s door. Hesitation, anxiety, and anguish flickered across her eyes. A metallic tang of blood lingered between her bitten lips. Finally, she raised her hand in resignation and knocked.
“Who is it?”
“My benefactor. It’s me.”
“Come in.”
The same curt voice as always. Kirhas bowed her head deeply and entered like a criminal.
Amid the vast room cluttered with unidentifiable experimental tools and stacks of papers scribbled with complex scripts, Fernandez’s voice rang out.
Emotionless eyes shadowed by deep-seated fatigue, yet giving an air of refined elegance rather than coldness... not chilly at all. Aristocratic features and a strong jawline. A crooked scar and piercing, confident eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Her benefactor, as always. And her gaze thrilled, as always. A man like forged steel, thick with the scent of iron. Navy blue, symbol of victory. A shining beacon...
“Have you finished agonizing?”
“Hic!?”
“...?”
Only then did Fernandez look up from his file folder as Kirhas began hiccuping.
* * *
‘Why is she acting like that?’
-Like she stole a snack?
Fernandez tilted his head, watching Kirhas enter through the open door. He’d wondered if something was wrong since she hadn’t left her room in days, but Freya—who had gone in with her—said nothing, so he assumed it was personal.
For Fernandez, who meticulously monitored his human resources’ condition, it was puzzling. She hadn’t sustained injuries requiring days of rest, so her issue was likely psychological.
He couldn’t fix psychological problems for her. That was something she had to handle alone, and he trusted Kirhas. The great chieftain of the wastes, ruler of the beastkin, Kirhas Hearttaker wasn’t one to kneel easily to hardship.
So, for her to break her seclusion and come to him meant either her worries were resolved... or she sought counsel. He was willing to advise. Her diminished capacity could deal a major blow to his weak hand.
If it could be solved, he’d set everything aside to address it together.
“Have you finished agonizing?”
“Hic?!”
“...?”
Her reaction was odd. She entered with her head bowed like a sinner, trembling. Twisting her fingers as if...
“You already knew...?”
“That you had worries, yes.”
At his words, Kirhas snapped her head up.
“My benefactor was worried about me!”
“... Isn’t that obvious?”
“Y-Yes... right?”
Kirhas nodded eagerly and took a step closer. She seemed to have regained her usual vigor. She opened her mouth to speak, then bowed her head again and hemmed and hawed.
Fernandez silently fetched a teacup and crossed his fingers. Whoosh—a halo ignited, and soon bubbles rose over the tea.
“Tea?”
“Th-Thank you...”
Silence fell again. Kirhas lifted the cup without meeting his eyes and sipped. Watching her, Fernandez nearly burst out laughing despite himself.
She’s acting just like Aria. When was that again...? When she bowed her head, fidgeted with her fingers, and stammered.
-When she broke my staff.
‘And when she boiled all my experiment materials.’
-Hmm... And.
‘When I had her.’
Since Feizashi wouldn’t answer, Fernandez spoke up instead. Unlike Feizashi, who retained his past life’s emotions intact, Fernandez kept them as memories. Faded recollections with most emotions stripped away.
Feizashi scowled at him. It didn’t matter. Past events like that. Probably. Fernandez forced himself to think calmly.
‘And in those cases, sharing a cup of tea usually resolved it...’
“I’m pregnant.”
“Pfft?!”
Fernandez, bringing the cup to his lips, spat out his tea and coughed violently. At his reaction, Kirhas’s head drooped even lower.
Silence descended. This silence was like a carpet, smothering the whirlwind of chaos beneath it with twitching restraint.
Fernandez barely steadied his breathing and looked up. Kirhas looked on the verge of tears. He had to say something. But what? The silence couldn’t drag on. It would feel like...
‘Hey, expert. Say something.’
-Calling on a guy only now? We share the same memories.
‘Damn it.’
That was the problem. Fernandez and Feizashi held the same memories. But Feizashi felt his past life’s emotions, while Fernandez felt his current ones. Their memories shared form but not hue.
Feizashi chuckled like it was someone else’s business and settled in a corner.
-Ask when first.
“When...?”
-Not that question! You idiot. That’s the worst one. You’re... trash!
Rebuked as trash by the black mage who’d destroyed the world, Fernandez met Kirhas’s stammering gaze with effort, regretting deeply.
“...I found out a few... a few days ago.”
“I see...”
“Yes...”
“Yeah...”
Sentences refused to end. He couldn’t decisively cut them off. Astonishingly, Fernandez’s mind was blank. Like a panic button mashed by some third Fernandez he didn’t know.
‘Quick. What do I say?’
-Boy or girl!
‘Damn it, how would I... Freya?’
-Yes! She’s the goddess of life. Given the circumstances, she must’ve told Kirhas about the pregnancy, and if she used divine power, she’d know the gender too!
“The gender...?”
-Ah. Though asking that just solidifies you as trash. You trash.
‘Bastard!’
Fernandez glared at Feizashi with a growl. Whatever it looked like, Kirhas flinched and bowed her head.
Fernandez slowly set down his cup and overlaid his hand on Kirhas’s, which fidgeted at the rim of hers.
“Hic?!”
“Calm down.”
“My benefactor... my benefactor.”
“Why are you the scared one? Calm down. It’s not your fault.”
“But...”
-Now, let’s talk about the importance of contraception.
‘Shut up.’
A child... Fernandez turned his head so Kirhas couldn’t see, frowning. Nothing was as disconcerting as an unplanned event exploding like this. Especially for him, who planned every move.
Icy calculations rattled his brain. Kirhas’s reduced capacity, weakened hold on the great wastes. And as quickly as those thoughts arose, he despised himself for them.
He should congratulate her. Bless her. But... Only then did he clearly read his own emotions. With rational thought returning, he grasped his state more clearly than anyone.
I’m scared.
His stalled thinking stemmed from fear. Fear of losing again. Fear of repeating tragedy... And more.
Fear that he no longer saw his comrades, subordinates, acquaintances as mere ‘tools’—a human sensibility that dulled judgment and weakened him. An emotion that was merely a flaw.
And one he couldn’t excise. A sentiment he couldn’t ignore. He closed his eyes tightly and chose his words carefully.
“I’ve never once thought of discarding you.”
“My benefactor...”
“When I took you in, your condition, position, everything became mine. And I’m a greedy man. I never easily relinquish what’s mine.”
“My benefactor.”
“But there’s something I must confirm. It may not be crucial for the future, but it’s of utmost importance to me personally. Whatever it is, it won’t harm you. But tell me. Boy or girl.”
Not mere curiosity or gender preference. This was graver. His past life had been a gamble on his son’s soul. A desperate bid to revive his dead son’s life.
Yet the anxieties he’d ignored lingered everywhere. Up to this moment, his achievements had altered the future. It wouldn’t unfold as in his past life.
Those who should’ve died lived, and those who should’ve lived were buried. If someone absent in his past life had a child, where did that child’s soul originate? What of their fate?
Many hypotheses, but Fernandez considered ‘restorative force.’ If a new person was born where none had been, perhaps someone who should’ve been born then took their place. A fiendishly hard hypothesis to test.
Restorative force... in other words, fatalism. Even he, who loathed the word ‘fate,’ couldn’t fully deny this inevitability. And it was nearly his sole hope.
If fate existed, the world’s destruction might fall under it too. Unacceptable. But...
“It’s a girl.”
If no fate, his son might never be born. His past life’s soul could still be tortured by the great demon of the origin world, screaming. And... then.
When reversal came. When this reality overlaid the origin world. His son’s soul might shatter and vanish in that ‘fate’ vortex.
Hard to verify, no countermeasures even if confirmed, and certainty would rob him of all will and passion.
Before this hypothesis’s proof, Fernandez bowed his head silently.
Reality or ideal. Incomplete words floated in his mind.