A Contract Marriage with My Child’s Father Chapter 43

Chapter 43

This time, when I pretended to pull my hand back, his eyebrows drooped into a sad little arch.

At this point, even someone as oblivious as me couldn’t miss it. I knew exactly what this kid wanted.

“Young Master… would you like me to feed you?”

“W-What? No! I’m six, you know? I’m not a baby! Why would I—!”

So it’s not that? I was pretty sure I’d figured it out.

I tilted my head, about to withdraw my hand, when Jaden hurriedly added,

“I-I mean, it’s not like I want it like a little kid! But if Viola really, really wants to feed me… I guess I could let you!”

Pff—

“What? Why are you laughing? Don’t get the wrong idea! I’m telling you, it’s not what I want!”

“N-no, no. Of course not. I wasn’t laughing.”

I covered my mouth and tried to regain my composure.

But it didn’t last long.

My eyes met Kain’s—who was trying to look calm, but whose gaze was clearly wavering.

My nephew has a side like this? he seemed to be thinking, utterly stunned.

“Uh—n-no! Seriously, this is unfair…!”

Jaden’s ears began turning red—redder than tomato soup.

At this rate, his whole face would cook, so I decided to just give him what he wanted.

“Okay, okay. I know, I know. This is totally because I wanted to feed you.”

I quickly speared a piece of meat with my fork and held it out.

“Young Master, aaah!”

“Aaah~”

Munch, munch.

A slow smile spread across Jaden’s face—pure satisfaction, like he owned the whole world.

I watched him with a soft, pleased smile… but not everyone was satisfied.

“Mommy! U!”

Melody, jealous, started urging me impatiently.

After that, it became a chaotic loop:

Feed Melody. Feed Jaden. Try to eat something myself.

I only had two hands, but I was taking care of three mouths!

No—let me correct that: one adult and two baby birds.

“Mom!”

“Viola!”

Aaaah, busy, busy. The baby birds were chirping like they were competing with each other, and I couldn’t even tell if the food was going into my mouth or my nose.

And maybe because of that—while I was moving my fork in a trance, I made a completely ridiculous mistake.

“U!”

“Yep, Melody’s turn! Aaah!”

“Me too, me too!”

“Yes, Young Master’s turn! Here, aaah!”

“Viola.”

“Ah, yes! Duke’s turn! Here, aaah~”

The moment I heard Kain call my name, my body moved automatically. I lifted my fork and held out a mushroom dripping with sauce.

Tap.

I felt the fork touch something.

“….”

“….”

In an instant, a cold silence fell over the table like a spell. Melody and Jaden both shut their mouths at the same time.

I think I just did something unbelievably wrong…

The strange feeling hit me late. My frantic movements stopped dead.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

For a moment, the scene in front of me didn’t compute. It was illogical—like a nonsense dream you get after oversleeping.

Kain was staring at me, flustered.

And on the smooth lips of the duke—an exemplary noble among nobles—there was a tiny dab of yellow sauce.

And…

My hand, holding a sauce-smeared mushroom, was aimed straight at his mouth.

What is this?

Am I dreaming?

I blinked slowly.

“Six-year-olds and four-year-olds are perfectly capable of eating on their own.”

After a short pause, he added belatedly,

“…And so is a twenty-six-year-old.”

Only when I heard Kain’s low voice did reality finally come rushing back.

Even if I’d been busy—

Am I actually insane?

Did I really just go “aaah~” to the exalted Dragon Duke?!

“Th-that… I… s-sorry—”

To someone who probably drank formula elegantly by himself, what on earth did I just do?!

I wanted to bite my tongue on the spot. Why do I keep showing Kain my most humiliating moments?!

In a panic, I shoved the mushroom into my own mouth like nothing happened, but the damage was already done.

Because the sauce was still on Kain’s lips.

Thankfully, Kain dabbed his mouth with a napkin—graceful as ever—and pretended nothing happened.

“Let’s eat.”

“Y-yes…”

But once the atmosphere turned awkward, it didn’t recover until the meal ended.

The only “good” thing was that the baby birds stopped chirping, reading the room…

Though at that point, it didn’t help.

I stared down at my plate, swallowing tears inside.

Ugh.

I’m going to get indigestion. For real.

Fortunately, no such tragedy occurred, and we finished our meal safely.

When I came back to my senses, we were already in the carriage heading back to the estate.

Ugh. This is so awkward…

It had been a while since we left the restaurant, but I still found it hard to look Kain in the face.

The carriage wheels rolled smoothly. The kids must have been exhausted from fooling around all day—both Melody and Jaden had fallen asleep with their heads on my lap, one on each side.

With the carriage now quiet, Kain simply watched the scenery outside the window.

Sigh. This isn’t the time to be like this.

I had something I needed to say, but I couldn’t find the right moment.

While I hesitated, the carriage slowed—apparently we’d reached the estate.

The servants who came to meet us gently lifted the sleeping children into their arms. Careful not to wake them, they moved silently into the manor.

The outing felt like it was ending right there—just as Kain turned to leave.

“W-wait! Duke!”

I finally gathered my courage and stopped him. Kain paused, looking mildly puzzled.

His gaze on me brought back the earlier scene again, and my face burned hot.

But I couldn’t keep avoiding this forever.

I pulled a small box from where I’d been holding it close and thrust it toward him.

“…Please take this.”

“What is it?”

“…Gloves.”

Kain lifted an eyebrow as if surprised.

I fumbled, adding in a small, hesitant voice,

“I just… remembered the gloves you wore before. And when you go for walks at night, it’s still kind of chilly…”

“….”

“And of course! You probably have much better ones already, but still! It’s the kind of thing that’s good to have more of… haha…”

The silence was so awkward that words started spilling out randomly. I forced a laugh, then decided to shut up.

Kain didn’t speak. He only stared at the box in my hands.

Ugh… was this a mistake? My fingertips started trembling with embarrassment.

This was what I’d bought earlier—when I’d used the excuse about leaving something in the carriage and slipped out alone.

A pair of men’s silk gloves I’d noticed on the way to the boutique.

They kept catching my eye.

So I’d splurged—using my salary to buy something nice.

But now that I thought about it… maybe they were far too cheap for Kain to wear.

Ugh. He doesn’t like them, does he?

Just as I tried to quietly pull my hand back, Kain suddenly took the box.

“Why give these to me?”

“…Um. A bribe, I guess? Like… please keep taking good care of Melody and me.”

Yes. That’s what it meant when I bought it.

I squeezed my eyes shut and added,

“A-and while we’re at it, if you could also forget what I did earlier—!”

Pshk.

A soft, deflated chuckle sounded above my head.

I peeked up slightly—Kain’s mouth was curved into a smooth, elegant arc.

Ugh… so embarrassing…

My face burned again, and I lowered my head quickly.

“Then—since I’ve delivered the bribe—I’ll be going! Melody is waiting, you know!”

Using my sleeping child as an excuse, I fled on the spot.

Kain watched Viola’s retreating back.

Like a squirrel scampering away, her steps toward the annex were quicker than usual.

Even after she’d long disappeared from sight, Kain remained standing there, as if rooted to the ground.

He looked down at the small box in his hand, the corner of his mouth slowly twisting.

“…A bribe, huh.”