If You Wish to Have Me - Chapter 152

“Why do you ask?”

Gale, who had noticed Kisa’s gaze, tilted his head as he looked at her.

He had been treating her normally just moments ago, but now it felt awkward to respond.

Kisa quickly composed her expression and shook her head as if it were nothing.

“I’m just truly grateful. It must have been a difficult decision.”

“Please don’t worry about it. I’m merely lending you my name, nothing more.”

“But…”

“You only need to focus on yourself and the child. There are many more mountains to cross ahead, aren’t there?”

Despite having an utterly indifferent expression, he was a man overflowing with consideration.

Kisa, not knowing what to do with such excessive kindness being showered upon her, bowed her head deeply.

“Yes.” Only that small answer flowed from her lips.

****

“Wow, there’s really a baby in there?”

Daisy, who had been staring intently at Kisa’s belly, muttered in disbelief.

“It’s kind of amazing. Sister Bella’s belly isn’t even showing much yet.”

Finding such innocent behavior endearing, Mana ruffled her daughter’s neatly combed hair and said,

“It will start showing gradually. And you were once so tiny that you didn’t show at all either, you know?”

“Ah! I just finished combing it!”

The girl, pouting as she fixed her hair, looked at her mother with dissatisfaction.

“Oh my? Look who’s all grown up now, is that it?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Then why are you glaring at me like that?”

“Honestly, Mom was the one who did wrong first.”

Watching the mother and daughter engage in their light banter from the morning, Kisa recalled the events of last night.

After Gale accepted Mana’s proposal, the three of them had discussed Daisy.

With Kisa’s belly growing and her morning sickness getting worse, they couldn’t deceive the child forever.

In fact, recently her meal portions had decreased so much that even Daisy had begun to notice, and the number of times she suddenly rushed to the bathroom had increased.

She didn’t want to worry those around her, but since her morning sickness was reaching its peak, it was impossible to show no signs at all.

If there was one consolation, it was that morning sickness usually disappears if you endure just a little longer.

‘Though my body will get heavier…’

In any case, it was the unanimous opinion of all three that it would be better to gradually reveal the pregnancy to Daisy.

So Kisa had confessed a mixture of truth and lies at this morning’s breakfast.

There was a baby in her belly, and it was hers and Gale’s child.

She didn’t like deceiving her, but the child didn’t need to know about the adults’ unspeakable circumstances.

“By the way, it’s quite surprising.”

At that moment, Daisy, who had been bickering with her mother, suddenly let out a light sigh.

“To think that Sister Bella and Mister Gale had that kind of relationship. Mom said she thought so, but I somehow felt it wasn’t the case. Turns out I was completely wrong.”

…Could it be that a child’s eyes are sharp in unexpected corners?

Mana, looking flustered, cleared her throat unnecessarily.

“You need to watch your language when you say ‘that kind of relationship.'”

“Wh-what did I say?”

“Oh dear.”

Since it seemed the two were about to start another round, Kisa redirected the conversation elsewhere.

“By the way, Daisy, would you like to touch my belly?”

The girl’s brown eyes widened slightly.

“Your belly?”

“Yes. You seemed like you wanted to touch it earlier, or was that my imagination?”

“…Can I really touch it?”

“Of course.”

Eventually, Daisy carefully placed her hand on Kisa’s belly.

Then, even though there probably wasn’t much to feel yet, she wore a satisfied expression.

“So there’s a baby in here.”

A gentle atmosphere flowed through the three-person household.

Not long after, Daisy said she was going to meet a friend and left the house.

Since today was the general store’s day off, Kisa spent a leisurely time at home.

That said, she didn’t just rest; she took out the gifts Gale had brought yesterday from their boxes and organized them.

The gifts turned out to be various ingredients and herbs good for pregnant women, along with a book describing how to cook and make medicine from them.

Yesterday, since they hadn’t yet explained the situation to Daisy, she couldn’t examine them closely when everyone was present, but there was more than she had expected.

“My goodness, how much did all this cost?”

Even Mana, who was watching Kisa organize beside her, let out an exclamation.

“Mr. Gale really. He said he stopped by because his scheduled appointment was canceled and he had time. Now I see he came all this way to give you these things. No wonder he came much earlier than usual.”

“…Oh, I’m sure he came for multiple reasons.”

At Kisa’s words, Mana chuckled as if to say ‘as if that were the case’ and whispered,

“Look, Bella. I don’t know how long you plan to pretend not to notice, but you can’t keep avoiding it forever.”

“…”

“Well, it’s actually a matter for the parties involved to handle themselves. Ah, I should go to my room and rest now. Come to think of it, Mr. Gale seemed to have gone toward the backyard again. Did someone spread honey there or something?”

Having quite intentionally revealed Gale’s current location, she leisurely left the living room.

Kisa finished organizing the gifts and then looked around to see if Mana was nearby.

Once she was certain she wasn’t, she stealthily headed toward the backyard.

She did have a reason to meet him separately, but it absolutely wasn’t the kind of business Mana was thinking of.

“You came.”

Gale was waiting for Kisa in the backyard.

Having gathered here several times to have private conversations, meeting in the backyard had become an implicit agreement without any special mention.

“I saw earlier that you seemed to be checking the things I gave you. Did you like them?”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll make good use of them.”

“Not at all. If they don’t suit your taste, you don’t need to force yourself to use them.”

Kisa secretly bit her lower lip.

He was no different from usual, but she felt strange because Mana’s words kept coming to mind.

While Kisa trembled with awkwardness, Gale briefly shared his recent situation.

“There have been no particular incidents since we parted that way last time. I haven’t felt like I was being watched either.”

“I see. That’s fortunate.”

“And regarding news from Sorbi. Vansfelt shows no significant changes from before, but Duke Hillan has been bedridden for several days due to poor health.”

“He’s ill?”

“Yes, he apparently went out on an untimely fox hunt with only a few servants, fell from his horse, and was injured. Hillan says he’ll recover soon while avoiding detailed explanations.”

Kisa briefly recalled a certain man’s reddish-brown eyes before speaking.

“How should I put it… Well, that’s…”

It was news that made one corner of her heart sting while somehow being hard to believe.

That Seyard falling from a horse? He seemed like a man who would never make such a mistake.

Could her disappearance have dealt him such a blow? She wondered, tilting her head.

‘Perhaps there are other circumstances behind it.’

Gale also didn’t seem to completely trust the Hillan family’s announcement.

“It’s hard to say definitively, but the timing is too coincidental. The Duke might have simply needed an excuse to avoid social activities. To search for you more actively.”

“Gale, actually there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“Yes, please speak.”

It had been bothering her strangely, and hearing about his situation brought the matter to mind again.

“You know Mrs. Sara who lives next door, right? She told me a few days ago…”

Kisa then told him about the mysterious figure Sara had encountered in the forest.

Gale’s expression became serious at once.

“The same person was seen in the neighboring village too?”

“She definitely said so. The villagers let it go in one ear and out the other, but I’m concerned about her speculation that this person is looking for something.”

It would be fortunate if it were just a petty thief looking for things to steal, but if not, it wouldn’t be an ordinary problem. Especially for Kisa.

“I should meet with that lady directly. I’ll also take a look around this area.”

“So you’re changing your plans?”

“Yes, I was originally planning to leave this afternoon, but it would be better to stay here longer.”

Having answered thus, he was about to head toward the door when he turned back to look at Kisa.

“That thing I gave you on the ship before, you still have it safely, don’t you?”

It was a question with the cold touch of metal.

Kisa nodded with a stern face.

“As you advised, Mr. Gale, I always carry it when I go out.”

“Well done. Please don’t forget to continue doing so. I judge it’s more likely to be unfounded worry, but there’s nothing wrong with preparing for the worst.”

An unusual tension could be glimpsed in his typically expressionless face, which was no different from usual.

Afterward, Gale did as he said, meeting Sara and then busily moving around the village area.

Mana and Daisy seemed unfamiliar with Gale’s behavior, but they didn’t particularly suspect his excuse that since he had obtained rare vacation time away from the city, he wanted to experience nature.

In fact, they seemed more surprised by the fact that such a workaholic had taken vacation time than by his behavior.

In any case, after patrolling the vicinity for about two days, Gale called Kisa to the backyard one late afternoon and said,

“It seems we need to leave this place. As soon as possible.”