<Episode 142: Side Story (6)>
It wasn't that Killian initially didn't want children. He had always wanted a child who resembled his beloved wife.
But after hearing from Payne how difficult pregnancy and childbirth are for women, he decided to give up the baby.
He didn't want Emily to have to deal with such a difficult task alone.
“What if it happens?”
Emily, unaware of Killian's thoughts, asked with a stiff face.
“There’s absolutely no way that’ll happen.”
“How can you be so confident?”
Endymion, who was looking at Killian, who had no answer to that question, was shocked by one assumption that came to mind.
"What? Are you really a swindler like the rumors say?"
Unlike Endymion, who thought like that, Emily suddenly remembered that he always drank some kind of tea before having sex with her.
“Are you taking birth control pills?”
Killian eventually admitted it, perhaps because he felt he couldn't avoid Emily's pointed question.
“It’s for you.”
"Ha."
Emily looked at his face for a moment in silence with a dejected expression, then went out.
An awkward atmosphere hung over the three people left standing there.
Every time he saw Killian, there was something Endymion wanted to say.
"Don't decide alone, talk things through, you annoying Duke!"
In a space where a cold and bitter atmosphere swirled and a sense of silence enveloped, a person who could finally break it appeared.
“Hey, Your Excellency, the Duke.”
Messina, the boss of the Rezetta family, was one of the few people who could still speak rudely to Killian even after he became a Duke.
"Hello."
Her husband, Jed, greeted Killian politely on her behalf.
“But why is the atmosphere here like this?”
The Rezetta family also transformed from an illegal assassination organization into a formal security company, and everyone seemed to be quite suited to it.
Perhaps that's why, among the four major families, the members of the Rezetta family have the highest job satisfaction.
Sensing something was wrong, Messina instinctively sought out Emily. They needed a pure soul like Emily to dispel the dark aura of their mafia roots.
“Why can’t I see the Duchess?”
Endymion whispered to Messina, who had arrived late, about what had just happened.
“What is this? Isn’t this a joke?”
As soon as she heard his story, Messina started hurling abuse at Killian.
“You crazy bastard. Your wife wanted a child so badly!”
"...What?"
Killian looked puzzled at the unexpected sound he had heard for the first time.
Messina clicked her tongue and looked at Killian.
“Why don’t you want to have children?”
“Because I don’t want Emily to get sick.”
At those words, the people around him were momentarily confused as to whether they should admire Killian's love for its greatness or criticize him, telling him to keep it to himself.
“You should take better care of your wife, you filthy bastard. You treat people like glass dolls.”
And Messina chose the latter. He always makes the wrong mistakes, and he deserves some criticism.
“Go find your wife quickly. Don’t leave Emily digging another tunnel alone.”
Killian, who had already been planning to apologize to Emily, panicked even more at Messina's words and left the hall without a second thought.
Finding Emily wasn't difficult. Whenever she wanted to gather her thoughts, she would go to the glass greenhouse in the garden.
“Emily.”
Emily was momentarily startled by the familiar, low voice that was pleasant to hear, but soon blurted it out with an indifferent expression.
“I want to be alone.”
It was an expected reaction, but when faced with such a cold response, Killian let out a deep sigh as if in pain.
“I was wrong.”
“No. It was my fault. I didn’t know you didn’t want children.”
As she spoke, Emily felt sad and held back her tears.
She never imagined she would be the only one who wanted a child. Naturally, she assumed Killian would want a child with her, too.
Killian was deeply shaken when she turned her back to him and refused to look at him. It was something he had never seen before in their entire married life.
He moved just close enough that Emily wouldn't reject him. A long silence flowed between them, as neither of them spoke.
He opened his mouth heavily, his lips moving as if wondering how to begin speaking.
“...I did it because I didn’t want to lose you.”
Emily's shoulders trembled at his voice, which was as trembling as his anxious heart.
Killian wanted to hug and caress his wife's shoulders, which looked so small and fragile in his eyes, right away.
He told Emily, who still had her back turned, one by one, the things Payne had told him about childbirth.
“They say there are women who die during childbirth... If that happens to you, I won’t be able to live the rest of my life.”
Emily, who had been quietly listening to Killian's story, found it curious. His reasons for not wanting to have children were exactly the same ones she had been struggling with two years earlier.
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you what you thought first.”
Emily's heart felt much better after Killian's sincere apology. He was certainly a man who cared about her safety to a degree that others might have considered excessive.
“It never happened. It’s highly unlikely.”
“Isn’t it true that childbirth is a painful process?”
“That pain is only temporary.”
“I wish I could be sick in your place, even if it’s just for a little while.”
Emily finally burst out laughing at the absurdity and turned around. Killian's face was filled with worry and anxiety.
"Honey."
Emily called him in a soft tone.
“But I still want to have your child, can I?”
He also revealed his true feelings, using the excuse that he could not ignore his beloved wife's request.
“I will always do whatever you want.”
Emily muttered as she lay in her husband's arms, spitting out sweet words.
"We need to talk more from now on. Oh! Let's cut down on the physical contact."
“No, we can do both as much as you want.”
The two people who were facing each other became closer with their eyes growing hot, and their breaths touched each other's lips, slowly overlapping.
Alvin, who had fled the hall overflowing with lovers to a quiet place, swallowed his curses and closed the door when he encountered the Duke and Duchess engaging in an act of affection even in the greenhouse.
As the Duke and Duchess returned to the hall, the party atmosphere came alive again.
“Emily, where have you been?”
As soon as Marlene found Emily, she quickly dragged her towards the empty wall.
“Why, what’s going on?”
“I think Knox is going to propose to me tonight.”
Emily, who was about to congratulate her, tilted her head as she looked at Marlene's expression, which seemed to be somewhat confused.
“Isn’t that a happy thing?”
“I’m happy, but... once we get married, we’ll have to move down to Clive’s estate.”
Marlene, who had never lived outside the capital before, seemed a little afraid of the reality that lay ahead.
In fact, Clive's estate was only a three-hour carriage ride from the capital.
“Oh my goodness. He even invited his mother?”
While consulting Emily about her worries, Marlene suddenly notices Knox's mother, the Duchess of Howard, and starts adjusting her clothes.
“Yeah, they’re a family that’s close to us.”
The Howard family still sends Killian a thank-you note every New Year, thanking him for making Knox into a human being.
"Yes, then. Let's go meet Mother together. I'm nervous alone."
Emily, who had to say hello to the Duchess of Howard anyway, readily moved with Marlene.
Madam Howard, who was standing at the dessert table, noticed the two people coming towards her and greeted Emily first.
“How have you been?”
“Yes, I hope Madam is doing well too.”
“Thanks to you.”
Madam Howard also greeted Marlene, who was standing next to her.
It wasn't that Killian initially didn't want children. He had always wanted a child who resembled his beloved wife.
But after hearing from Payne how difficult pregnancy and childbirth are for women, he decided to give up the baby.
He didn't want Emily to have to deal with such a difficult task alone.
“What if it happens?”
Emily, unaware of Killian's thoughts, asked with a stiff face.
“There’s absolutely no way that’ll happen.”
“How can you be so confident?”
Endymion, who was looking at Killian, who had no answer to that question, was shocked by one assumption that came to mind.
"What? Are you really a swindler like the rumors say?"
Unlike Endymion, who thought like that, Emily suddenly remembered that he always drank some kind of tea before having sex with her.
“Are you taking birth control pills?”
Killian eventually admitted it, perhaps because he felt he couldn't avoid Emily's pointed question.
“It’s for you.”
"Ha."
Emily looked at his face for a moment in silence with a dejected expression, then went out.
An awkward atmosphere hung over the three people left standing there.
Every time he saw Killian, there was something Endymion wanted to say.
"Don't decide alone, talk things through, you annoying Duke!"
In a space where a cold and bitter atmosphere swirled and a sense of silence enveloped, a person who could finally break it appeared.
“Hey, Your Excellency, the Duke.”
Messina, the boss of the Rezetta family, was one of the few people who could still speak rudely to Killian even after he became a Duke.
"Hello."
Her husband, Jed, greeted Killian politely on her behalf.
“But why is the atmosphere here like this?”
The Rezetta family also transformed from an illegal assassination organization into a formal security company, and everyone seemed to be quite suited to it.
Perhaps that's why, among the four major families, the members of the Rezetta family have the highest job satisfaction.
Sensing something was wrong, Messina instinctively sought out Emily. They needed a pure soul like Emily to dispel the dark aura of their mafia roots.
“Why can’t I see the Duchess?”
Endymion whispered to Messina, who had arrived late, about what had just happened.
“What is this? Isn’t this a joke?”
As soon as she heard his story, Messina started hurling abuse at Killian.
“You crazy bastard. Your wife wanted a child so badly!”
"...What?"
Killian looked puzzled at the unexpected sound he had heard for the first time.
"When did she ever tell you that?"
“I don't know. Do you think I'd count the days until some other woman's husband wants to have a baby?”
“Why don’t you want to have children?”
“Because I don’t want Emily to get sick.”
At those words, the people around him were momentarily confused as to whether they should admire Killian's love for its greatness or criticize him, telling him to keep it to himself.
“You should take better care of your wife, you filthy bastard. You treat people like glass dolls.”
And Messina chose the latter. He always makes the wrong mistakes, and he deserves some criticism.
“Go find your wife quickly. Don’t leave Emily digging another tunnel alone.”
Killian, who had already been planning to apologize to Emily, panicked even more at Messina's words and left the hall without a second thought.
***
Finding Emily wasn't difficult. Whenever she wanted to gather her thoughts, she would go to the glass greenhouse in the garden.
“Emily.”
Emily was momentarily startled by the familiar, low voice that was pleasant to hear, but soon blurted it out with an indifferent expression.
“I want to be alone.”
It was an expected reaction, but when faced with such a cold response, Killian let out a deep sigh as if in pain.
“I was wrong.”
“No. It was my fault. I didn’t know you didn’t want children.”
As she spoke, Emily felt sad and held back her tears.
She never imagined she would be the only one who wanted a child. Naturally, she assumed Killian would want a child with her, too.
Killian was deeply shaken when she turned her back to him and refused to look at him. It was something he had never seen before in their entire married life.
He moved just close enough that Emily wouldn't reject him. A long silence flowed between them, as neither of them spoke.
He opened his mouth heavily, his lips moving as if wondering how to begin speaking.
“...I did it because I didn’t want to lose you.”
Emily's shoulders trembled at his voice, which was as trembling as his anxious heart.
Killian wanted to hug and caress his wife's shoulders, which looked so small and fragile in his eyes, right away.
He told Emily, who still had her back turned, one by one, the things Payne had told him about childbirth.
“They say there are women who die during childbirth... If that happens to you, I won’t be able to live the rest of my life.”
Emily, who had been quietly listening to Killian's story, found it curious. His reasons for not wanting to have children were exactly the same ones she had been struggling with two years earlier.
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you what you thought first.”
Emily's heart felt much better after Killian's sincere apology. He was certainly a man who cared about her safety to a degree that others might have considered excessive.
“It never happened. It’s highly unlikely.”
“Isn’t it true that childbirth is a painful process?”
“That pain is only temporary.”
“I wish I could be sick in your place, even if it’s just for a little while.”
Emily finally burst out laughing at the absurdity and turned around. Killian's face was filled with worry and anxiety.
"Honey."
Emily called him in a soft tone.
“But I still want to have your child, can I?”
He also revealed his true feelings, using the excuse that he could not ignore his beloved wife's request.
“I will always do whatever you want.”
Emily muttered as she lay in her husband's arms, spitting out sweet words.
"We need to talk more from now on. Oh! Let's cut down on the physical contact."
“No, we can do both as much as you want.”
The two people who were facing each other became closer with their eyes growing hot, and their breaths touched each other's lips, slowly overlapping.
Alvin, who had fled the hall overflowing with lovers to a quiet place, swallowed his curses and closed the door when he encountered the Duke and Duchess engaging in an act of affection even in the greenhouse.
***
As the Duke and Duchess returned to the hall, the party atmosphere came alive again.
“Emily, where have you been?”
As soon as Marlene found Emily, she quickly dragged her towards the empty wall.
“Why, what’s going on?”
“I think Knox is going to propose to me tonight.”
Emily, who was about to congratulate her, tilted her head as she looked at Marlene's expression, which seemed to be somewhat confused.
“Isn’t that a happy thing?”
“I’m happy, but... once we get married, we’ll have to move down to Clive’s estate.”
Marlene, who had never lived outside the capital before, seemed a little afraid of the reality that lay ahead.
In fact, Clive's estate was only a three-hour carriage ride from the capital.
“Oh my goodness. He even invited his mother?”
While consulting Emily about her worries, Marlene suddenly notices Knox's mother, the Duchess of Howard, and starts adjusting her clothes.
“Yeah, they’re a family that’s close to us.”
The Howard family still sends Killian a thank-you note every New Year, thanking him for making Knox into a human being.
"Yes, then. Let's go meet Mother together. I'm nervous alone."
Emily, who had to say hello to the Duchess of Howard anyway, readily moved with Marlene.
Madam Howard, who was standing at the dessert table, noticed the two people coming towards her and greeted Emily first.
“How have you been?”
“Yes, I hope Madam is doing well too.”
“Thanks to you.”
Madam Howard also greeted Marlene, who was standing next to her.
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