🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 39
I smiled warmly as I brushed the dust off the child’s clothes.
“Be careful. Where are your parents?”
The child seemed to have forgotten, letting out a short “Ah!” and looking around with bright, curious eyes.
I followed the child’s gaze, scanning the air as if trying to spot someone who could be their parent. But I couldn’t see anyone who looked like the child’s parents.
“Dad!”
At that moment, the child’s eyes widened, and they pointed straight ahead with their index finger. I held the child’s hand and followed the direction they were pointing.
“Thank goodness… you found your dad?”
I tilted my head, finishing the sentence, and there, in the middle of the bustling night market, stood a man wearing a fox mask, staring blankly in our direction. A fox mask… so familiar.
He had the same blank expression as I did.
After a long moment of eye contact, the man chuckled softly and removed the fox mask. His hair glimmered like a star-studded night sky, cascading diagonally.
Oh my… I slowly opened my mouth and rose to my feet.
“Your Highness?”
Why was Evan here?
Evan’s eyes were on the child—or more precisely, on the hand he was holding. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the hand the child and I shared.
Perhaps because of the crowded market, a strange tension spread through my body like ink dispersing in water.
Evan alternated his gaze between me and the child, measuring the child’s size with his hand. After a moment, as if in disbelief, he contorted his face.
“You… you even have a child?”
“No!”
What was that supposed to mean? I narrowed my eyes at him and spoke, glaring.
“Your Highness, no.”
I covered my mouth and glanced at the child out of the corner of my eye. Fortunately, it seemed the child hadn’t heard. I hadn’t expected to have to say that name again.
Biting my lips, I finally spoke.
“Ero, why are you here?”
Evan’s eyes widened at the name “Ero,” then he slowly lowered his eyelids and returned to his usual, indifferent expression.
“That’s the question I want to ask. Why are you here? Moreover…”
Evan’s questioning gaze shifted to the child.
“The child…”
“Oh, I think they got separated from their parents and got lost.”
The child looked back and forth between Evan and me, confused. We exchanged smiles, then our expressions hardened.
Wait a minute. The child had called Evan “dad,” hadn’t they? Shouldn’t I be suspicious, not the other way around?
I narrowed my eyes and regarded Evan suspiciously.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“Like you’re suspecting your husband of cheating.”
Huh… me?
“Of course not. Not at all.”
I squinted and glared at Evan, then turned my head dismissively. Evan gave a helpless laugh but didn’t seem to mind.
“Huh?”
The child blinked repeatedly, confused. Alright, better to ask the child directly. I crouched down to meet their eye level.
“Child, why do you call this person Dad?”
“Hmm…”
The child tapped their chin with an index finger, thinking carefully, then blinked and laughed mischievously as if a decision had been made.
“Hehe, face!”
…So that’s why they called him Dad? Just because he’s handsome. Truly, children’s eyes never lie.
I watched the child with half-lidded, blurry eyes, when suddenly they spotted a stall and their eyes widened.
“Candy!”
The child let go of my hand and ran, pink hair flying.
“Woof! Woof!”
The little dog jumped in place and followed its owner, moving its short legs quickly.
“Wait! You’ll get lost if you go alone!”
I hurried after the child, lifting the cumbersome hem of my dress to my shins. Glancing back, Evan followed lazily with his hands behind his back.
“Ah!”
The child stopped at a stall, patting their clothes with both hands, looking for something. After a while, seemingly unable to find it, the child ran toward us.
The child grabbed each of our hems and gestured toward the stall.
“Mongmong wants this.”
“Woof!”
The dog sat in front of the stall, barking at its owner, panting heavily with its tongue out.
Standing on tiptoe to look over the stall, I saw all sorts of human treats: candies, cookies, and more.
But it didn’t seem like the dog wanted any of these.
By now, the child’s parents were probably frantically searching for them. There was no way a lost-and-found service existed here, so I needed to act quickly.
I crouched down again to meet the child’s eye level.
“First, we need to find your parents. We can buy candy later.”
“I want this…”
The child pouted and glanced at me, eyes glistening as if about to tear up. My heart softened.
After a brief pause, I sighed and held the child’s hand firmly.
“So, we buy this first and then go find your parents?”
“Yes!”
The child nodded vigorously, bouncing in place. I couldn’t refuse such excitement and smiled gently.
Despite their small frame, the child’s energy pulled us forward, tugging on our hands.
“Ah, ah!”
Evan and I were helplessly led to the stall.
“Candy!”
The child’s cheeks flushed like apples as they gazed at the treats. Their slightly open mouth almost drooled.
“Take your time and choose.”
I smiled warmly, patting the child’s head. As the child picked treats, a sudden prickling gaze fell on me.
Evan stood with arms crossed, looking indifferent. The child’s hand still held his clothes, keeping him from leaving.
“I’m not following you this time.”
I snorted, defending myself.
“I’m just here to look around the market, not to relive old memories, or reminisce, or… get all nostalgic, okay?”
I admitted this first, feeling a little guilty.
Evan was silent, and I glanced at him. Why no reaction?
When our eyes met, Evan’s gaze trembled slightly as he focused on empty air, holding the fox mask, shaking it up and down anxiously.
…We’re both kind of corny, huh.
Clap—
The stall owner, watching our moment closely, clapped and stepped aside.
“What a perfect little family! So radiant!”
He patted the child’s head, grinning. He probably assumed we were a couple taking their nephew to the night market.
I smiled politely, glancing down at the child. The perceptive owner clicked his tongue in slight disappointment and returned to his stall.
The child peeked at the conversations of passing adults. I handed them a rainbow swirl lollipop.
“It’s okay, you can choose. How about this?”
“Yay!”
While picking treats with the child, a beautiful hand suddenly appeared in my line of sight, fingers sweeping the stall from right to left.
“From here to here.”
“…?”
“We’ll buy them all.”
The stall owner’s mouth fell open, clapping until his hands turned red.
“Wow! That’s generous!”
The child bounced in place, shouting,
“As expected, my dad!”
Evan’s lips twitched into a small smile, hands behind his back.
…Some people really fall for this, huh?
“I can’t let this go.”
We waited near where the child had gotten lost, but no parents appeared. Squatting became uncomfortable.
I stood, brushing off dust and straightening my clothes.
“I’ll look around.”
“Let me come with you.”
I shook my head, blocking Evan.
“No. We don’t know when the child’s parents might arrive.”
“Then you stay here. I—”
“No, that won’t do either.”
The child was nestled comfortably in Evan’s arms, holding a pile of treats, not letting go.
It’s better if I go. They really do look like father and child. I smiled lightly and crouched to meet the child’s eye level.
“You need to stay close to him, okay?”
“Yes!”
The child nodded eagerly, sucking on candy and waving at me.
“Have fun, Unnie!”
Adorable. I smiled warmly, but then felt a piercing gaze. Evan seemed displeased at me leaving alone.
“Are you really going alone?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Woof!”
The dog wagged its tail energetically. I patted its fluffy fur and turned to leave.
I worried about the child and Evan, but surely nothing serious would happen.
I wandered between stalls, scanning the crowd. Where were the child’s parents?
After searching for a long time, recalling the child’s name and their description of their parents, I reached my physical limit. My calves ached, and the soles of my feet throbbed.
“Time to head back.”
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I turned—and suddenly a man appeared right in my line of sight.
