Chapter 1. I was abandoned by my family
***
Leticia didn’t know why everything tasted so fishy these days. At first, she thought there was something wrong with the food, but seeing that Enoch was fine, that didn’t seem to be the problem.
Leticia wiped her mouth with a napkin, and decided to only eat the salad.
Enoch, who was quietly watching her, and slowly got up from his seat. When Enoch suddenly stood up, Leticia looked up at him with a surprised expression.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to a clinic.”
“What? But I’m fine.”
She quickly shook her hands, but Enoch remained firm.
“You haven’t eaten properly for a few days.”
“I’m really fine…”
However, Enoch had already left the dining room.
The next time she saw him was when he’d returned with a doctor. Enoch stood next to the doctor and asked for an accurate diagnosis of Leticia’s illness. The doctor sat in front of Leticia and began to ask her a variety of questions.
“I feel like my digestion isn’t working properly. Sometimes my lower abdomen hurts.”
Leticia was forced to answer how she’d been feeling the past couple of days. The doctor quietly listened to her, then smiled at her.
“You’re going to have to take good care of yourself.”
“What?”
She didn’t understand what she was saying, so Leticia blinked in confusion. However, the doctor’s gaze went to Enoch.
“In particular, His Excellency should take care to be by your side a lot.”
“By any chance…”
Enoch couldn’t finish what he was saying, and looked to the doctor, who nodded that he was correct.
“The Duchess is pregnant.”
***
“Enoch, I’m really fine.”
Since that day, Enoch kept trying to prevent Leticia from walking. He acted like something bad would happen if her feet touched the floor.
Each time he did so, Leticia accused him of being too fussy, but she’d be smiling while she said it.
“You can’t move too much.”
“But the doctor said it was okay to take light walks.”
When Leticia would get out of bed, Enoch would follow behind her anxiously. He was treating her like she was made of glass, but it didn’t feel bad.
Whenever she went outside, he would busy himself by looking around, and under her feet, for anything dangerous. He looked kind of cute as he took such good care of her.
Another thing that changed after she became pregnant was the food.
Enoch personally selected healthy food for her. It was good food that was meant to restore energy, but in the end all she could eat was salad and fruits because everything else made her feel nauseous.
Fortunately, as time passed, she was able to eat more food.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, it’s so good!”
At Enoch’s question, Leticia replied with a bright smile. She kept smiling because she was happy she could enjoy the food she loved after such a long time.
“But why aren’t you eating any, Enoch?”
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him eat properly since a few days ago. Obviously, he’d eat a little bit of his food when they’d eat together, but later he’d only drink water.
“What’s the matter?”
“What?”
“You haven’t been eating.”
“Ah…”
Enoch sighed briefly, then answered casually.
“I just don’t have an appetite today. It’s not anything you should worry about.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, so you should eat a lot.”
It was only when he beckoned her to eat quickly that Leticia finally stopped hesitating, and took a bite of her steak. It tasted disgusting last time she’d eaten it, but now she wanted to eat it all for some reason.
At that moment, Enoch covered his mouth with a napkin.
“Ugh…!”
“Enoch, are you okay?”
Seeing his noticeably pale face, Leticia was surprised, and tried to approach him. However, Enoch put his hand up to mean that he was fine.
“I’m okay.”
“What do you mean you’re okay? Your face is pale.”
“No, I’m really fine…”
Even before he finished talking, Enoch hurriedly left the dining room while he covered his mouth with a napkin.
Later, when Leticia went to the clinic for a diagnosis, an unexpected answer was given.
“Can my husband, not me, have morning sickness?”
“Sometimes that happens, but it’s largely psychological.”
Leticia was puzzled, but she also felt sorry for Enoch because he seemed to have morning sickness instead of her. After he struggled for a few days with feeling ill, it seemed to disappear and he felt better.
Everything was easy from there. Maybe it was because Enoch was there to take care of her, but nothing was very difficult.
However, giving birth to a child was really indescribably painful. After she endured the pain, and hugged the children she’d given birth to, that feeling couldn’t be described in words.
She just wanted them to grow up happy and healthy.
***
As Leticia hoped, the twins grew up well without much trouble.
“Ahin looks like you, and Liche looks like Duke Achilles.”
At Keena’s words, Leticia looked alternated at Ahin and Liche.
She could remember as clearly as if it were yesterday when she’d hoped for a child, then when she found out she was pregnant, and finally when she saw her children with her own eyes.
It had already been six years, time had flown by so fast.
“Right?”
Leticia smiled and laughed. Keena was right, Ahin looked just like her when she was young.
The same pink hair as her, and an exceptionally round and white face.
One difference was that her eyes were a dark gray, not blue. She thought he’d inherited them from Enoch.
“I mean, Ahin and Liche.”
Keena looked around, then asked in a lowered voice.
“Do you think they have abilities yet?”
“If it’s an ability, then…”
“They might since they’re your children.”
At her unexpected remark, Leticia shut her mouth for a while and gave a low sigh.
“Well… I’d have to look into it more, but I don’t think they have one yet.”
Now that they’d turned six years old, she thought it was too early for her to judge yet. Leticia hesitated to answer, and turned towards her children again.
“Where’s Liche and Ahin?”
When she couldn’t find Ahin no matter how hard she looked, Leticia asked Liche, who was touching the flowers.
“Huh? She was next to me earlier.”
However, there was no one nearby when Liche looked around.
.
.
.
Ahin was standing alone in the street of the square where many people were passing by, and as soon as she saw someone, she approached closer. She managed to catch up to them with her small steps, and soon grabbed their sleeve.
Looking back at the tug on their sleeve, the woman looked back curiously when she saw Ahin.
“Are you lost, kid?”
“….”
“Where’s your mom?”
Ahin, who was staring at the woman, answered slowly in a friendly tone.
“She’s nearby.”
“Nearby. Where?”
“….”
Ahin stopped talking, unsure if she knew that. The woman, who immediately noticed, gave a small sigh.
“Your mom must be worried.”
The woman was thinking about how to find the child’s mother, and stared at Ahin’s face in confusion.
It was definitely her first time seeing the child, but somehow she felt familiar.
“It can’t be…”
Like a bud just before it blooms, the child had pink hair and misty colored eyes. She looked so much like her sister as a child, she had to wonder how she didn’t notice sooner.
‘You’re one of her kids.’
She’d heard about it when it first happened, that her sister had given birth to twins.
She really wanted to say congratulations on that day, but she didn’t want to go and make things uncomfortable.
‘You look exactly like my sister.’
From the way her eyes closed when she smiled, to her thin and fine lips.
She smiled bitterly for a while, when suddenly Ahin pointed her finger behind her.
“Do you know my mother?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you holding hands with my mom?”
She thought that Leticia was behind her, so she looked back, but there was no one.
However, Ahin’s eyes showed Irene holding hands affectionately with Leticia behind her.
“I’m not sure what you’re saying. Your name is Ahin, right?”
When Ahin nodded, Irene lightly pointed her finger. At that moment, a butterfly flew into the air and fluttered in the rays of sunlight.
“Ahin, if you follow the butterfly well, you will be able to meet your mom. I’ll protect you from others, so follow the butterfly well and go back.”
If she could, she wanted to take the child home, but she wasn’t confident she could face Leticia.
‘It’s better this way.’
This was the best Irene could do.
“Thank you.”
Ahin looked at the fluttering butterfly, and bid farewell to Irene brightly. It looked as if her sister was smiling at her, and she couldn’t look away.
.
.
.
“Oh, it suddenly disappeared!”
While she followed where the golden butterfly flew, it suddenly scattered into the air. She looked around in surprise, then Leticia found Ahin and quickly approached her.
“Huh?”
Ahin pointed at Leticia, who was telling her that she shouldn’t disappear without saying anything next time.
“I can see it from mom too.”
“What?”
“Holding hands with father, and smiling.”
“….?”
“You were smiling so happily too.”
Ahin stretched out her arms to express how happy her mother looked.
“Did you like it when you saw your mom and dad smiling happily?”
“Yes! I loved it!”
It was so cute to see her nodding her small head, that Leticia lightly poked Ahin’s cheek with her finger.
“Let’s hurry up and go. It’s almost time for your dad to get home.”
“Yes.”
Ahin grabbed Leticia’s hand, and said excitedly.
“I met a lady who looked exactly like mom”
“A lady?”
“Yes, she made a butterfly in the air. It was a very pretty butterfly.”
She seemed very excited, and her eyes sparkled.
She couldn’t understand what she was saying, so Leticia just walked side by side, and stroked Ahin’s head with her other hand.
***
Later that evening, the two twins began to doze off at the dinner table, having played too hard outside. As soon as the meal was over, Enoch carried the twins to their beds so that they could sleep comfortably.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at the two children, who’d just fallen asleep, was infinitely gentle and radiant.
When he returned to his bedroom after tucking the children in, Leticia was laying in bed and tapped the spot next to her while telling him to hurry up.
“Did you tuck them in?”
“Yes, they fell asleep before they were even in their beds.”
Enoch smiled happily and laid down next to her. Then, Leticia was quickly embraced in his arms.
“It’s amazing.”
“What do you mean?”
“How can I be so happy?”
A small laugh fell over her head at those words. Leticia looked up with a furrowed brow and asked.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because I was thinking the same thing.”
As soon as their eyes met, Enoch lightly kissed Leticia’s forehead and smiled happily.
“Thank you for letting me know this happiness.”
At the same time, Enoch gently embraced Leticia. Especially today, his arms felt warm, so Leticia snuggled deeper and quietly muttered.
“I wanted to say that first.”
“I love you.”
“I wanted to say that too.”
Enoch always said what she wanted to say the most, and wanted to hear the most first. Every time she heard it, her heart felt so overwhelmed that she couldn’t handle it.
It was perfect luck and happiness for the two of them.
~End 💞~
***
Baset’s note:
Wow! We finished it! I can’t believe the author just hinted at everything! Maybe she plans to make a new series centered around Irene or maybe Ahin and Liche? Which would you guys like to see? I think Ahin and Liche would be pretty fun to follow!
I also want to say a big thank you to all of my readers. Your wonderful support throughout this novel has kept me going, and I can’t express how wonderful it feels to share the ups and downs of “I won’t go back” with all of you.
I hope you’ll support the author when she releases in English.
I’m also working on a new novel, A Saint in the Demon Duke’s Mansion. I hope you might enjoy and support my newest endeavor.