A Contract Marriage with My Child’s Father Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“We’ll proceed with the contract.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Viola’s face brightened.

The tension that had stiffened her expression melted away, and her wide, round eyes looked just like they had yesterday.

That squirrel-like look.

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity!”

She smiled radiantly.

An opportunity…

Innocent, perhaps.

The ducal house had needed her from the start. The mere fact that she could create medicine effective on dragon-blooded individuals made her valuable—regardless of who she truly was.

Even if she had been sent by another faction, he would have kept her close and observed her. Her proposal was, if anything, convenient.

Kain retrieved a sheet of parchment—not ordinary paper, but a contract scroll infused with mana—and began drafting the terms swiftly.

“To confirm. State your conditions.”

“Please protect the saint candidate and her guardian—myself. In return, I will treat Young Master Jaden’s Tamutar Disease.”

“So be it. However, I have one additional condition.”

Her shoulders stiffened slightly.

“What is it…?”

“This was originally a job interview. You passed. Therefore, you will not merely treat Tamutar Disease—you will serve as Jaden’s dedicated apothecary for the duration of this contract.”

Her sprout-green eyes widened.

“Ah—are you certain? I thought you still suspected me. What if I were truly a spy and used suspicious medicine?”

So she was fully aware of how dubious she appeared.

Remarkably self-aware.

A faint smirk touched Kain’s lips.

“I prefer to keep those I suspect close and observe them.”

“If that’s the case… I agree.”

Once the terms were finalized, Kain removed his glove.

“Give me your hand.”

Understanding immediately, Viola extended her slender hand.

Without hesitation, he clasped it—interlacing their fingers fully.

Bare skin against bare skin.

“Ahem—”

Viola coughed awkwardly, a faint flush creeping up her neck.

Treating a stranger’s wounds hadn’t embarrassed her—but this did?

So she wasn’t fearless after all. She simply had her own boundaries.

When she tried to avert her gaze, Kain gently lifted her chin.

“You should look properly. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“Ah… y-yes…”

Her pale green eyes met his crimson ones directly.

As they both touched the contract scroll, a faint glow shimmered across its surface.

Mana pulsed briefly.

The contract was sealed.

Unlike ordinary agreements, this one enforced its terms through magic. Breaking it would trigger consequences.

“So… that’s it?”

“As you can see.”

She carefully withdrew her hand.

“Should I bring the saint candidate immediately? I left her with a friend.”

“I’ll send a knight and carriage with you.”

“Thank you! I’ll return right away!”

After bowing deeply, Viola hurried toward the door—

Then suddenly stopped.

“I wasn’t sure whether to say this…”

She turned back and bowed again.

“Thank you for yesterday.”

“…What?”

“You were the one I met yesterday, weren’t you? I thought it was too coincidental—a healer position appearing at exactly the right time.”

She smiled softly, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear.

“Thanks to you, I was able to achieve what I wanted. So… thank you.”

Kain was genuinely surprised.

How did she know?

He hadn’t made much effort to conceal himself—but he hadn’t revealed himself either.

When he went out, he wore robes and artifacts not to hide for his own sake, but to ease the fear others felt around him.

He had even activated a device that blurred facial recognition.

Unless she were a high-ranking mage, she shouldn’t have seen through it.

“How did you know it was me?”

Her answer was disarmingly simple.

“Your hands.”

“…What?”

“They left an impression.”

She scratched her cheek, slightly embarrassed.

“I’ve only ever worked with herbs. I’ve never seen hands like a knight’s before.”

She paused, then added sheepishly,

“I didn’t realize you were the duke, though.”

“Anyway—please take care of me.”

And just like that, she slipped out of the room.

Kain remained standing for a long moment.

Then he looked down at his hand.

Scarred.

Calloused.

Rough.

Nothing remarkable.

* * *

The moment I stepped out of the reception room and turned the corner—

I slid down against the wall in relief.

Haah…

I genuinely thought I might die from nerves.

But it worked.

If things unfolded differently from the original plot, I would survive.

In the novel, the Temple eventually created an artificial holy relic capable of detecting powerful holy energy.

That relic had led directly to my death.

If I had stayed quietly in the countryside, Melody would have been discovered sooner or later.

But now, everything had changed.

Still… to think that knight was Kain himself.

I never suspected it.

It must have been some kind of artifact.

There had been signs.

The perfectly timed recruitment notice.

The unusually smooth interview.

The duke personally conducting it.

And that strange sense of familiarity.

I only realized the truth when I saw his hands.

Prominent veins. Long fingers. Beautifully shaped—but marked with scars and hardened calluses.

Dragon blood was said to heal without leaving scars.

Which meant—

He had pushed himself beyond even that.

As if treating his own body like a weapon.

I could imagine, just a little, the path he must have walked.

“Miss Viola?”

“Yes!”

I followed the knights, retrieved Melody from Catherine’s house, and returned to the ducal estate.

“Uu…”

Melody shrank closer to me, intimidated by the unfamiliar grandeur.

“It’s okay. This will be our home now.”

“Uu?”

“Come on. Greet the duke.”

My heart began pounding again.

The flow was different from the original novel—but this was still the moment the heroine met her future father.

Unlike the tragic tension in the story, this moment felt strangely peaceful.

Melody bowed politely—

Then immediately ran back to cling to me.

“Mommy!”

“I told you it’s fine. What a scaredy-cat.”

“Uu… Mommy.”

She relaxed at my teasing.

And then—

Kain, who had been approaching us, suddenly stopped.

“…Mommy?”

“Yes? What is it—”

“The saint candidate… is your daughter?”

“Yes.”

“Not your younger sister?”

Though his expression remained composed, his crimson eyes were unmistakably filled with confusion.