To My First Love, With Regret - 72

The only reason she didn’t strike him was that his thumb was pressing firmly against the spot where her pulse beat. He was merely performing his duties as a physician.

—You look pale.

—I haven’t been sleeping well.

—Who dares to disturb My Lady’s rest?

—The Constance army, naturally?

The intent behind his question—asking ‘who’ rather than ‘why’—was suspicious.

—We will be safe. But I am always concerned for your health, My Lady.

Eve pulled her wrist from Owen’s grasp, wondering what kind of scheme this opening move was leading toward.

—I am healthy. If you have nothing more to report regarding Chantal, then give me the results of Tony’s examination.

—As you wish.

The doctor shifted the subject to Tony, but it wasn’t health he spoke of.

—The Duke is a magnificent heir. He has inherited your perfection in its entirety.

He paused his aimless flattery for a moment, then let his mouth run again with a distant, wistful expression.

—But sometimes, seeing the boy play alone, I feel a sudden pang of pity. If only there were another child in this manor to laugh and play with him….

It wasn’t that Eve hadn’t had similar thoughts, but there were reasons they remained mere thoughts. The world was teeming with vipers seeking to use her womb to seize Kentrell—vipers like Owen Kallas, who was currently feigning concern for Tony.

—Tony looks so lonely. His sister is the only family he has to lean on.

He put particular emphasis on the word ‘sister.’

—My Lady, do you not wish to be more than just a sister to the child you love? Do you not wish to be a mother in your own right?

—So, what you’re really trying to say is that I should bear your child?

Owen kept a close eye on her reaction but gave a shameless nod. Immediately afterward, he bowed low as if expecting Eve’s hand to come flying at him.

—I know it is a presumptuous wish for a lowly servant to harbor for My Lady.

His voice was trembling. It sounded more like sorrow than fear.

—But I, too, wish to be a father. Why am I the only one who cannot enjoy the happiness that every other man in the world possesses? Even the scoundrel who abandoned the woman carrying his child lives on, enjoying the joy of fatherhood….

Eve wasn’t the only one stunned by the sight of Ethan receiving Tony’s affection.

—Just as you did not desire this marriage, My Lady, I, too, did not wish to be a tool for this sham. I also had… a modest dream of becoming an ordinary husband and father.

Owen stopped abruptly and squeezed his eyes shut. Tears he could not restrain overflowed from between his lids. The secret he confessed next was something Eve had never imagined.

—The truth is… Chantal was pregnant with my child a few years ago. She… terminated it. Even though I begged her, saying I would gladly raise the child alone if only she would give birth in secret….

For the first time, pure grief surfaced on the face of the man who usually found a twisted pleasure in humiliating pain.

—I tried to love your child as if he were my own son, but that boy follows only his biological father. Watching the two of them acting so much like father and son fills me with complex emotions. So that is what the pull of blood feels like…. That is the happiness I am missing out on….

Owen was unable to continue. He clamped his mouth shut to swallow his surging emotions before suddenly dropping to his knees at Eve’s feet.

—My Lady, please do not misunderstand. I am not like my father; I do not covet your House. I simply, purely, want to have your child.

—Then why don’t you?

It’s your own fault you don’t have a child in your life yet; why should I have to be the one to bear it?

No matter how pitifully Owen Kallas acted, in Eve’s eyes, he was merely pathetic.

—As a doctor, I know well how difficult it is to conceive and bear a child. But if you would only grant me that mercy, I will remain faithful to you for the rest of my life as a father, a husband, and your servant. I will even give you every cent of the money I possess.

If you bear me a child, I will return the fortune I snatched from you.

In the end, those words meant he intended to buy Eve’s womb.

At an insult that was no different from harassment, Eve’s ironclad reason shattered. All cold judgment vanished, leaving only a primal rage—a desire to break and trample the man who had mocked her. Eve stood up and commanded the man kneeling at her feet in a voice so cold it seemed to echo from the depths of hell.

—Get down on your face.

—Ghk….

Among devils, Eve was becoming a devil herself. The puppet queen was dead, and her fury was no longer a strategic tool.

When the punishment was over, the man who had dared to attempt a transaction with his master was trembling—not with pleasure, but in total submission. He could no longer even meet Eve’s eyes.

—I told you to stop the nonsense and report the results of Tony’s check-up.

—I apologize.

Unable to hide his pain, Owen struggled to sit in his chair and began to report on Tony’s condition.

—The, there are no other abnormalities… but the heart murmur persists. The attending physician mentioned that a recently developed surgical technique has a fairly high success rate, so it may be worth considering….

Even at this hopeful news, Eve felt only despair. To put a child with such a rare blood type on the operating table was no different from a life-or-death gamble.

Owen, knowing the reason for Eve’s hesitation, observed her expression and spoke suggestively.

—That is… I have found a way to resolve the transfusion issue.

—What way?

—During yesterday’s lesson, the Duke asked me if he could give his own blood to Ethan Fairchild if he were ever wounded.

How could the hypothetical situation of Tony giving blood—rather than receiving it—solve his problem? Only one possibility crossed Eve’s mind, but it was already useless.

—You’re suggesting we draw and store Tony’s blood before the surgery? The attending physician already rejected that because Tony is still too young and small. Have you already forgotten that, despite being his doctor?

—With all due respect, that is not what I meant.

—Then what?

—The Duke mentioned that Ethan Fairchild also possesses a rare blood type.

—…What?

Eve’s breath hitched at the shocking truth. The blood she had thought was a stroke of singular ill fortune was actually a curse passed down by that man—by Ethan.

If you were going to abandon us and leave, you shouldn’t have left a single trace behind.

Eve swallowed her rage for a moment. Her fear was more intense.

—Does Tony suspect he is the father?

Only when Owen quietly shook his head could Eve finally exhale the breath she’d been holding.

—He seemed pleased to have something in common, but there was no sign of suspicion. I told him that there are many different types of rare blood and that it doesn’t necessarily mean his and the man’s are the same, so he won’t doubt it in the future.

The child had to believe that. But Eve prayed it wasn’t the truth.

If their blood truly was identical, it would be the only path for the child to lead a healthy life—even if a devil wearing the mask of a savior, named Ethan Fairchild, stood upon that path.

A few days later, a private investigator brought Ethan Fairchild’s medical records. His blood matched Tony’s not only in the ABO type but also in the rare factors. Eve was so overwhelmed with joy she could not hold back her tears.

Tony can get healthy. He can run and play as much as he wants, just like other children. He might even be able to go to school. Neither he nor I will have to live trapped in constant worry anymore. My God, it feels like a dream.

But that hope was simultaneously the start of her greatest challenge. She had found the key to saving the child, but that key was held in the hands of the most dangerous man.

If she asked him for a donation, he might realize Tony was his son. Even if he didn’t, there was no guarantee he would simply give his blood freely.

It would be like handing someone a fatal weakness—the life of her child—and letting them pull her strings like a puppet. Eve was terrified to even imagine the price he might demand.

Could I deceive Ethan? If she could secure the blood through the military by making it look like a standard donation, the surgery could proceed safely.

But even if she fooled him once, what about the next time?

No one knew what other crisis might put Tony back on the operating table. She couldn’t keep Ethan in the dark forever. She couldn’t rely on a man whose whereabouts were often unknown every time an emergency required a transfusion.

Suddenly, an extreme but clear solution flashed through Eve’s mind.

A child with the same blood.

Yes, this was the perfect solution. Not just for Tony, but for Ethan, who craved her body, and for herself, who longed to be called ‘Mother.’ And perhaps even for Owen, who coveted the position of a father—if, of course, he lived that long. Everyone could satisfy their own desires within this deviant transaction.

Eve stepped outside and looked toward the west, toward the land where the sunset bled into the horizon and where he would be. She changed her prayer.

Ah, Ethan. No matter what hell you find yourself in, you must survive.

And return to me.

For this time, I will welcome you with open arms.