Aiden POV:
The chatter in the private lounge was 4x louder than the norm due to the appearance of the Chloe Ravendawn. She arrived by Shun’s unconscious body before anyone else could and placed two fingers against his neck to check his pulse.
A sigh of relief escaped her mouth, followed by a hand caressing Shun’s cheek the same way Sanura stroked mine. A pure smile accentuated the intensity in her pink eyes; care and love affirmed the genuine beauty that came from her character.
This interaction was natural.
I shifted my gaze to Shun’s supposed daughter. She had his pitch-black hair and slept in Chloe’s arms without making a sound. Once a hand moved to Shun’s forehead, they disappeared before a crowd could form.
That brief encounter added to the difficulty of this situation. Everyone sitting around the table had their own interpretations of what it meant, but the first to voice their opinion was Gerard.
“...I’m confused. That was not the look of a woman treating someone like a pet. That distress and concern was real... Right, Aiden?”
He turned his head toward me when my eyes narrowed. Gerard’s grasp of the situation wasn’t wrong, but there were missing factors in the current equation.
“We all know Chloe Ravendawn is the only Ravendawn with a positive reputation. We can see that from the country of Sharir: the people here are supportive and caring. Even with Byeol, the Senior Scouts would have moved if they weren’t already inside other dungeons at the time.”
Gerard bit his lip before nodding his head in agreement. The timing of Byeol’s entry was unfavourable, and I blamed myself for letting it happen. Proper preparation could only be guaranteed if there was support. When Gerard asked her to wait for him, I should have stepped in to justify his concerns.
I had grown accustomed to letting their relationship progress with time, and that led to this irreversible mistake.
“No matter what you say, Aiden, that outburst from Shun was genuine.”
“I believe so too. The cruel experience he endured crushed his heart and mind.”
The image of Shun naming the party ‘Starcry’ surfaced over my vision. He was not only capable of caring, but also capable of being hurt. Despite his broken state, he looked out for Phoebe and Katherine on numerous occasions. Shun had begun to heal, and that realisation dispelled all of my previous suspicions.
He was my friend.
Before his encounter with Chloe Ravendawn, Shun must have been a kind, caring, and loving person. Experiences mould and shape people, but his did much more than that.
“...Phoebe, don’t get involved in this.”
My gaze fell to Phoebe’s fists, trembling. She stared right into my eyes before parting her lips.
“That depends on Shun’s decision. Now we know that behind her acts of kindness and support, Chloe Ravendawn is no different to the rest.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. What Chloe Ravendawn has done for Sharir is beyond words.”
“That is true. Despite owning the country, Lady Chloe invites the king and nobles to her estate and treats herself as their equal.”
Phoebe’s vibrant amber eyes narrowed; her mind was already set on doing what she could for Shun. Gerard noticed this important detail and added to the discussion.
“Welfare, extra security, and even multiplying Sharir’s economy by over 10x. She did all of those things. How can that be an... act, Phoebe?”
Halfway through his words, the speed of his speech fell in small increments. Gerard’s gaze hit the table before rising to find an answer from Phoebe. Shun’s breakdown and Chloe’s reality: a juxtaposition that introduced more variables rather than removing them.
“...This is difficult.”
That was a consensus we all agreed upon. Phoebe let out a sigh and rested her cheek against her palm; she wouldn’t do anything without telling us in advance.
“I guess it all depends on whether that child is his or not.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
***
Shun POV:
“...She’s my daughter.”
Lifeless eyes ignored the empathy offered. Katherine looked down; her visible sadness not changing the outcome of my circumstances.
“That’s all I came to say.”
I got up from my seat when Phoebe did the same. I knew what she wanted to say, but it didn’t matter anymore.
“I’ll make a final decision.”
I walked past her and made my way back to my room. The die falling meant that nothing was set in stone yet; there was a chance I could somehow find a different solution to this mess.
I closed the door behind me in time to see Chloe rip a part of her black skirt off. She bundled it together; each fold aligned without any overlap before providing extra padding to the detailed earth cot she had made. Chloe placed my daughter inside and stroked her cheek.
‘!’
The baby played with her slender finger, accentuating a flicker of brightness across her face.
“I want to give our daughter the love I never received growing up. I want to be a good parent, Shun.”
Chloe moved away from the cot and walked toward me. The veins around my mouth popped at the sheer audacity she had to stand there, talking about wanting to be a good parent after everything she had done to me. The absolute disrespect she had to trivialise the abuse that reached a point where I couldn’t even form a sentence using words?!
I wanted to end this DAMN WOMAN’S LIFE!!
“Despite what you might think, I genuinely love you.”
Her cheeks flushed, and a twisted, sadistic smile rose. It made Chloe’s eyes curve upwards but left enough space for their glowing pink colour to lock onto me.
“...”
I shifted my gaze to the cot for a few seconds.
“...I’ll marry you, but after the wedding ceremony, I want nothing to do with you anymore, Chloe Ravendawn.”
Chloe’s lips elongated further. She slapped my intentions away and inserted her own in their place.
“That is impossible. Firstly, your Adventurer Rank is only B+, meaning it’s not high enough to warrant you being away from me. Secondly, I want to build a proper family and that consists of a Mother and a Father, Shun. This is what our daughter needs. Thirdly, we need to show the Ravendawn Family that our marriage isn’t an act to avoid punishment.”
“...”
The light touch of her fingers ran over my chest.
“I can do everything for you.”
They glided down my body.
“I can cook, clean, wash, feed, and do much more for my Shun.”
They reached my crotch when I shoved her away. I gagged several times, almost throwing up whatever was left in my stomach. She pulled out a handkerchief, but I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve instead.
“I’m only agreeing because of my daughter. If it wasn’t for her, I would have killed you in a heartbeat.”
Chloe finished folding the handkerchief before slipping it into her side pocket. Her lips formed a slight smirk, accentuated by the shimmer of pink eyes.
“Why do you think I waited all those months to see you again?”
I froze in place, not wanting to consider the hundreds of explanations sorting themselves into categories based on their likelihood.
She knew my Adventurer Rank.
She knew where I was staying.
She knew it had been 9 months since I escaped from her grasp.
Chloe stepped forward and interlocked her fingers behind my head, bringing her lips right beside my ear before they parted.
“It’s because if I came to you with our offspring, your kind heart would have no choice but to accept the marriage proposal, Sweet. Heart.”
‘!’
My pupils dilated to the limit. I wasn’t the only one making plans. Chloe made her own—a bulletproof plan that she knew I would never consider a possibility due to being consumed with the desire to kill her. All she had to do was wait and let the situation play out until she gave birth.
It didn’t matter how many dungeons I entered. It didn’t matter how strong I became because she understood... my core.
“And with this, you’ll be permanently mine.”
Her soft lips pressed against my cheek when I pushed her away.
*Snap*
The trembling vanished. The tremors that tormented me whenever I was in her presence faded into thin air. Death looked past her when he opened his mouth.
“I don’t care anymore. You both can die.”
[Are you sure you wish to reject Chloe Ravendawn’s marriage proposal?]
A flashing red window tried to make Death reconsider but failed to realise that he had done that once already. Chloe’s smile vanished into the abyss. It warped. It twisted into one of pure distress and horror.
“She is your daughter!”
The woman’s eyes quaked. Pain rescinded the thick blush she loved to wear. Panic made her mouth open again in an attempt to convince Death.
“You... You can hate me all you want, but our child is innocent!!”
Death cocked his head to the side, unable to feel anything from this woman’s outburst. Emptiness, calmness, and dead silence were all that occupied the four walls of his mind.
“Is she? She came from you, Chloe.”
“...You don’t mean that, right?”
His stare remained unchanged. Tears pooled, then split over. The woman fell to her knees without hesitation, without regard for her status as a Ravendawn. She prostrated herself in front of Death and begged him to spare her daughter. Each cry was louder than the last. Each cry was filled with pure emotion that wouldn’t affect his decision.
Her desperation mirrored his own. Her heart-wrenching screams for mercy mimicked his own.
But Death began to understand the pleasure she derived from being in this position of power. Death cracked a smirk at the complete control he held in his hands.
He crouched down and grabbed the woman by the hair. He lifted her sobbing face till it reached his gaze. Those vibrant fuchsia eyes that once assaulted him with nightmares. They once trapped him in a box and robbed everything from him, yet they could do nothing now.
“Please! I beg you!! Please reconsider, Shun!!!”
Death felt amused. The woman’s hands rested against his cheeks, pleading for him to not do this. Another hand slapped them to the side: a reminder that she had no sway or power in a decision pre-made.
“You both can go to hell for all I care.”
Her entire body almost convulsed. Pupils magnified beyond their limit, and Death dashed the deadweight to the side of the room.
[You have rejected the marriage proposal.]