I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 171 - Side Story 10

In the end, the chief decided to keep his memory intact.

 

Even though the pills I had spent weeks making had become useless, I decided to respect his choice.

 

The medicine was made out of guilt in the first place, so if he was okay with it, it didn’t matter.

 

After saying my final goodbyes to the village chief, I looked around the empty house.

 

We’ve been in this village for three weeks now. We were going to move on to another place for our honeymoon.

 

“Caon, where do you think we should go for our next honeymoon?”

 

“…Not deep in the mountains like this, but somewhere more touristy. Somewhere with lots of people.”

 

At first, he was excited about the idea of a town without people, but then he realized that it didn’t look like the picture he had in mind.

 

“Yeah. Let’s spend a lot of money and heal ourselves.”

 

Spontaneously, I linked arms with Carson.

 

After all, I only had one more honeymoon row to go, so I figured I’d save the herb idea for my husband.

 

💍 

 

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, Carson and I were celebrating our second anniversary.

 

“You’re expecting a baby soon, right?”

 

“Yes. It seems like just yesterday we were married in a speed bump. Time flies, doesn’t it?”

 

Jane smiled wryly and patted her full, bulging belly.

 

“Do you want to touch it, Leen?”

 

“…May I?”

 

“Of course.”

 

I slowly placed my hand on her belly, feeling a strange sensation of a baby living inside.

 

“Jane, I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt.”

 

“I can’t believe I’m going to be a mom, either.”

 

“Actually, I think the weirdest thing is not that you’re going to be a mom, but that Hans is going to be a dad.”

 

Hans, who was quietly scribbling in his ledger next to me, raised his eyebrows in exasperation.

 

“Why would I?”

 

“Do you really not know that?”

 

“They say that babies and pets are meant to be kept in purses, so in that sense, I’m a hundred-point dad?”

 

“You’re picking up weird stuff from nowhere. You need to work less and focus on Jane and the baby.”

 

I glared at Hans, who still couldn’t take his eyes off the ledger.

 

“You haven’t taken time for yourself in months.”

 

“I’m tearing myself apart so I can be there for the birth.”

 

“I know. Otherwise, you’d be screwed. Be nice to Jane.”

 

“…I’m your friend, too.”

 

“She’s pregnant.”

 

Hans’s mouth dropped open, as if he had nothing to say, but then Jane stepped forward, looking at him.

 

“Don’t be too hard on him, Leen.”

 

“But…”

 

“If we have kids and get neglected, we can divorce, haha.”

 

Sweat broke out on Hans’s face at the extreme measures she was willing to take.

 

It was exactly what Jane would have done.

 

She wasn’t afraid of people’s judgment, and she had enough money to provide for her child.

 

“Leen, just in case you need to know, you can always come to me if Carson upsets you.”

 

Jane took my hand and gave me a serious look, but Hans waved it away as if it were ridiculous.

 

“You’re more than welcome to come to my house, but do you really think Carson would ever be upset with Leen?”

 

“No. I’ve been having trouble with Carson lately.”

 

Jane and Hans’s eyes widened as I sighed and vented my troubles.

 

They hadn’t realized there was actually a problem between us.

 

“Really? Why?”

 

“I’ve been wanting to have kids for a while now, and Caon doesn’t seem to like it.”

 

They’d been married for almost two years, and Carson hadn’t seemed to have any plans for children.

 

Jane tilted her head slowly.

 

“I’m surprised, I thought Carson would be so full of energy every night.”

 

“He’s incredibly vigorous, but he takes his medication so well, he never seems to miss a beat.”

 

“Well, unless there’s a nighttime problem, it’s simple.”

 

“Simple?”

 

Jane shrugged and leisurely lifted her teacup to her mouth.

 

“Make a potion to neutralize the effects, take it, and pass out.”

 

I shook my head.

 

“But it’s not just me having a baby, Caon’s going to be a father to one, too, and I need to convince him to help me plan.”

 

“Convince him. I wonder if you’ll be able to convince him in the usual way.”

 

“Well, at least Caon tends to listen to me…”

 

Jane shook her head, firmly disagreeing with my opinion.

 

“He’s the kind of person who thinks everything is useless if it’s not you. Honestly, I doubt Carson would love a child if one were to be born to you two.”

 

“Ah…”

 

I felt dumbfounded, as if someone had hit me in the back of the head with a hammer.

 

It was true.

 

Carson didn’t care about anyone but me.

 

The way he treated his father, the Duke, was telling.

 

He seemed to be a little harmless to the Duchess, but he seemed to ignore her if she didn’t agree with him.

 

I opened my mouth like an excuse, wanting to retort.

 

“But Caon was so nice to me before when he mistook me thinking I was pregnant…”

 

“That was him being nice to you, not the child.”

 

“When the misunderstanding was cleared up, he even said he was glad it wasn’t our baby.”

 

Jane looked at me, still trying to reason with me, and then snapped.

 

“Well, if that’s what you think, then I don’t have to buy it and worry about it, because the important thing right now is to convince Carson, right?”

 

“Right…”

 

I felt like I was over a mountain.

 

Although I felt sure I was ready, having a child was not something I could do alone, and there were many things to consider.

 

Jane smiled and patted me on the back.

 

“Don’t worry about it too much. Even if you do get divorced, there are plenty of men out there who want you, right?”

 

“…I’m not divorcing Caon, even if it means going childless for the rest of my life.”

 

This was still extreme, Jane. It was my fault for confiding in her.

 

I secretly swallowed a sigh. I was going to have a serious talk with Carson tonight.

 

💍 

 

After bathing as usual, I dived into bed.

 

Carson, who was in bed first, picked me up and hugged me as if he’d been waiting for me.

 

“By the way, you said you went to see Jane and Hans today, didn’t you, Leen?”

 

“Yep. I never thought they’d have kids before us.”

 

I lifted my index finger and traced a circle across Carson’s chest.

 

“Caon, don’t you think it’s about time we had a child of our own?”

 

At the mention of children, Carson’s face, which had been beaming with happiness, stiffened slightly.

 

“Leen, you don’t realize how hard childbirth is. Having a child destroys your body.”

 

“It’s a risk they all take. Think about it. I don’t care if you… No, I want to see a child that looks like me being raised.”

 

But Carson was adamant.

 

“We’re happy enough as it is, Leen. Seeing Jane pregnant has made you think, but that doesn’t mean we need to have children.”

 

I slowly pulled myself up to meet his gaze.

 

“I told you my dream is to have a happy family that I can always count on, Caon.”

 

“We’re already one perfect family.”

 

“It would be even better if we had a child.”

 

“Leen, we still need to enjoy our honeymoon.”

 

“That’s why I waited two years without saying anything. Don’t you think I don’t know that you’ve been taking your pills like crazy?”

 

Carson clamped his mouth shut in displeasure.

 

“Caon, having a child doesn’t divide my love for you, it multiplies it.”

 

“…But Leen hates pain.”

 

“That pain is not the same as the pain of childbirth.”

 

“Leen, I don’t want anything to interrupt our happy life, and I don’t want you to suffer because of the child. Why should you have to suffer for that?”

 

“You, what did you just say?”

 

What?

 

Did that mean the child that would be born between us?

 

A fire of anger flared in her eyes.

 

I shook off his touch and rose from the bed to look down at him.

 

“I married you because I saw how much you loved me.”

 

Carson’s eyes widened, as if he were bewildered by my violent reaction.

 

“Leen, I…”

 

“But I didn’t expect your obsession to be this bad. How could you say that the child you and I are going to have is worthless? Did you think it was worthless when you mistakenly thought I was pregnant?”

 

Carson stood up quickly and bowed deeply like a sinner.

 

“…I’m sorry. I was just rambling on about all the reasons I don’t want to have children.”

 

“…”

 

“I didn’t think it was anything like that. It’s yours and mine, it’s supposed to be precious.”

 

His sincere apology softened my heart a bit.

 

Thankfully, he didn’t mean what he said earlier.

 

But I’m still angry at what he said. I couldn’t let it go unanswered.

 

“In the future, I will not be engaging in night work that is not for the purpose of having children. Of course, you can’t sleep with me holding my hand.”

 

“…What?”

 

Carson’s eyes widened as if he had been struck by a celestial force.

 

“Since you don’t seem to have any thoughts today, I’ll leave. Think about it while you sleep alone tonight.”

 

With that, I turned my back and left the room without a second thought.

 

He must have been a little embarrassed by my attitude, because I had threatened to leave, but I hadn’t actually left since we got married.

 

After a few weeks of solitary warfare, I wondered if Carson would be able to resist me if I tried to seduce him.

 

I smirked, confident of my victory.

 

Well, let’s see who wins.