I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 176 - Side Story 15

 

I was 30 weeks pregnant, and I lay on top of my bed at an angle, slowly stroking my swollen belly.

 

“You know, sweetie, your daddy is shy.”

 

I chuckled to myself, thinking about how I have always been with my child since feeling those first kicks.

 

“You’ll be just as cute as your dad when you grow up, and he’ll love you so much.”

 

It’s nice to have a one-sided conversation with the child, but the problem was that it became a habit and I said anything.

 

“Honey, you don’t know how wonderful… no, delicious… your dad is, and it’s all because of his cuteness.”

 

I continued, unconsciously, not realizing what I was saying.

 

“What? Didn’t I say the opposite? No, your dad is delicious, that’s undeniable.”

 

While I was still rambling, the door opened and Carson walked in.

 

I snapped out of my half-hearted reverie and curled the corners of my mouth.

 

“Oh, look, your dad’s here.”

 

“What, were you two talking about me?”

 

Carson walked straight to the front of the bed and held out the basket he was carrying.

 

“Voilà. I brought you what you said you wanted to eat.”

 

“Wow!”

 

I exclaimed with childlike delight and pulled out a sandwich from the basket. That’s all I’d been thinking about all day, and I wasn’t hungry.

 

As I took a bite, I tasted the familiar flavor of the special sauce.

 

I’d had it dozens of times, but it was a thrill to realize how much work had gone into making it.

 

“Yeah, I missed this flavor.”

 

I could make it myself, but I couldn’t because the people at the Duchy of Lysianthus freaked out and stopped me…

 

There’s a tradition that recipes are only given to children, so I couldn’t give it to anyone else.

 

So there was only one way to eat this specialty sandwich.

 

To visit Grand Duke Caris in the Abascanthus Empire and ask him to make it for them.

 

He’s the only one who could travel to and from the other empires as easily as he could stop by the store in front of his house.

 

Even the man who made me the sandwich was an Imperial Grand Duke.

 

I was so grateful that Carson was willing to travel to another country for me, even to meet with Grand Duke Caris, with whom he was not on good terms.

 

At least I got one marriage right.

 

“Thank you, Caon.”

 

I kissed Carson lightly on the forehead.

 

Then, as if in a better mood, he grinned bashfully and bragged.

 

“Leen, if you want, I can pick the stars in the sky for you.”

 

“Haha, that’s funny.”

 

“I’m not kidding.”

 

“…”

 

It sounded ridiculous, but it gave me chills to think that it might be possible for Carson.

 

“I’ll take it as a sign that the moment I get something like that, you want to break up with me.”

 

“…I was joking.”

 

“Haha, right?”

 

Looking at me expectantly, Carson blurted out, as if trying to change the subject.

 

“You see, getting to Abascanthus wasn’t hard at all, the problem was…”

 

“The problem?”

 

“When I mentioned that you wanted a specialty sandwich, the Grand Duke insisted on traveling to Lagras immediately.”

 

“Ah. I hadn’t thought of that. That must have been difficult.”

 

I nibbled on the rest of my sandwich, thinking that Carson might have had quite the fight with the Grand Duke.

 

In truth, I’d long since stopped trying to mediate between them.

 

They’re semi-enemies, they might fight.

 

We were having such a happy meal. At the instant pain, I ducked my head and grabbed my stomach.

 

“Ugh!”

 

“…Leen!”

 

As if to follow along on my whim, the baby suddenly started kicking in my belly.

 

At first, I thought it was just a funny sensation, but as he grew stronger and more active, it became painful.

 

As I clutched my stomach with clenched teeth, Carson placed his hand over mine with concern.

 

“Leen, are you okay?”

 

“I’m in a good mood, so I guess the baby is excited.”

 

But Carson’s expression showed no sign of softening, and he stared at my belly intently.

 

“I can’t believe that the one kicking a pregnant woman is my child.”

 

“Not again, now.”

 

It’s natural for a child to move around in the womb, but it seems dangerous when he says it like that.

 

Carson’s eyebrows furrowed together, and his mouth twisted into a look that said he was about to cry.

 

“Leen, what can I do, my child must have a bad temper because he takes after me.”

 

Leen seemed to recognize that he had a bad reputation.

 

“It’s natural, and don’t tell me he’s going to take after you, even in jest. Words have a way of becoming seeds.”

 

It’s one thing to have a personality like mine, but it’s even worse to have a temperament like Carson’s.

 

When you combine my playfulness with Carson’s cheekiness, the parenting challenges are beyond imagination.

 

I grinned, trying to shake off the anxiety that was rising.

 

“Speaking of which, Caon, shouldn’t we start thinking about baby names soon?”

 

We tried to name our child together, but we couldn’t agree on a name.

 

So we were still calling him baby, darling, etc. without a name.

 

“Let’s put my name and your name together and call him Lione.”

 

“No, my dad’s nickname is Leon. It has a similar sound.”

 

Carson didn’t want his child to resemble the Duke in the slightest.

 

‘The Duke was handsome though…’

 

Unaware of my thoughts, Carson shook his head and voiced his opinion.

 

“No matter what I think, Leen, I think Leah, after you, is the prettiest and best.”

 

“Then let’s do this.”

 

At my words, Carson tilted his head lazily.

 

“How?”

 

“If it’s a boy, we’ll name him Lione, and if it’s a girl, we’ll name her Leah.”

 

“So our child’s name is finally confirmed as Leah?”

 

“…Because we don’t know the gender yet?”

 

Carson only pretended to hear me, and then put his ear to my belly.

 

“Leah, don’t hurt your mom when I say nice things, and stay still, don’t be afraid of the day you meet your dad…”

 

“Hey.”

 

Carson’s mouth was agape, and I stared at him in disbelief.

 

“What are you telling him, now?”

 

“I’m telling him that my child might become an illegitimate child.”

 

“No way.”

 

Carson chuckled wryly and spoke against my stomach.

 

“I’m telling you… Daddy loves you, Leah.”

 

Seriously, it was adorable.

 

I stared at the heartwarming scene, then whispered to Carson.

 

“Caon, you need to get your words straight. Our child’s name will be Lione, not Leah.”

 

🍼

 

Carson promised himself over and over again.

 

He would never have a second child, not even if he had to spend the rest of his life in hell.

 

He was in the middle of hell from the time Leen began to suffer labor pains until she gave birth.

 

The contractions that never seemed to end, and Leen’s screams of pain that he had never heard before.

 

How frightened he was that something would happen.

 

It was a terrifying experience I never wanted to relive again.

 

The baby came with such difficulty.

 

“It’s ours, Caon.”

 

Carson was handed the baby, carefully wrapped in swaddling clothes.

 

How many times had he cast Clean Magic for this moment?

 

The body is bumpy and red. It was like looking at a ripe sweet potato.

 

Everything was small, from eyes to nose to mouth. Weak, as if it could break if I touched it.

 

As I looked at the tiny child, I felt a surge of emotion.

 

This child was Leen and his…

 

Leen stared at Carson’s dazed expression, and then smiled wryly.

 

“He’s cute, isn’t he? He’s a prince.”

 

He’d been told the child’s gender was not the girl he’d hoped for, but none of that mattered to Carson right now.

 

‘It was a boy. Who cares what the child’s gender is when it’s so adorable.’

 

“Congratulations on your arrival into the world, Lione.”

 

I love you…

 

After whispering to the child, Carson glanced at Leen.

 

Everything seemed good, but something was bothering him.

 

“Leen, but why…”

 

Carson’s voice trailed off, feeling slightly betrayed.

 

“The child’s hair is silver, isn’t it?”

 

“Oh, the hair? It’s so pretty!”

 

“It’s a shame it’s not like yours, but shouldn’t it at least be the same light pink color as mine…?”

 

Unlike Carson, who was feeling devastated, Leen was overjoyed that her child was born with silver hair.

 

“Silver hair, so pretty. I guess those prenatal worked.”

 

“Why do you look so much like my father…”

 

“Well, the odds were in favor of silver hair rather than pink and black.”

 

When Carson looked at Leen in confusion, she explained with a smirk.

 

“Well, my late mother had silver hair.”

 

“Well, did mother-in-law…?”

 

It was a fact that made it impossible for Carson to complain any further about the child being born with silver hair.