Davian.
To be honest, I never imagined I'd end up marrying you.
You were just a comfortable childhood friend to me, that's all.
Getting pregnant with your child and ending up like this—marriage—was completely unexpected.
But none of this is what I wanted.
I saw you as a comfortable childhood friend, but I never once thought of you romantically.
You're a pretty decent guy, sure, but I've never loved you, and I don't think I ever will.
Having a child with someone like you and living a married life? That's impossible for me.
Besides, I'm not the type who can just stop here.
You probably won't understand, but there's something bigger and greater inside me. I have to go find it.
Staying by your side, raising a child in an ordinary life—it would break me.
So I have to leave to chase my dreams.
I'll leave the child to you.
The child is just an obstacle in my life.
Understand that this is an unavoidable choice for my dreams.
So don't try to hold me back anymore.
I won't even say I'm sorry to you.
Because I have the right to live my own life too. Marrying you, having the child—none of that was my choice.
I lacked the courage for so long, and that's why it took time, but not anymore.
I'll live my life on my terms.
You live yours. I'll go my own way. We won't see each other again.
Goodbye.
Kailin
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'Is this for real? Has she lost her mind?'
I couldn't help but press a hand to my forehead as I read the letter.
She went on and on about dreams and nonsense, but in the end, the letter boiled down to something simple.
I'm not taking any responsibility. You raise the kid on your own.
That was the summary.
'Even for the sake of her dreams, abandoning the child?'
Reading this, I felt genuine anger bubbling up.
Common sense-wise, how could anyone with a child just up and leave to chase dreams?
No matter how grand the dream, I was deeply disappointed by her complete lack of remorse or sense of responsibility toward the child she'd left behind.
'I must've been insane to have a kid with a woman like this...'
People really can't be fixed, huh? This was the perfect example.
The villainess was a villainess through and through.
Of course, from the moment she turned against the Hero Party—humanity's saviors—for her own ambitions, I shouldn't have expected any sense of responsibility from her.
This was the moment that drunken mistake from that night hit me like a ton of bricks.
"...What's it say?"
As I scowled at the letter for a good while, the mage in front of me quietly asked.
She must have known something about what went down between Kailin and me, so naturally, she was curious about the contents.
"She says to raise the child on my own."
No point hiding it.
I told her straight.
"Hmm. I see."
She let out a soft sigh at my words.
The reaction I'd expected.
Given that I'd shown up with a baby in tow, she couldn't have been too surprised.
Anyone with a shred of perception could figure out the situation.
"And if I refused to take the child, what did Kailin say to do?"
I asked her one thing.
What if... just what if I refused the child here? What would she do?
Kailin must have said something about that to her, so I was curious.
And her answer made me even more disappointed in Kailin.
"She said to abandon it."
"..."
I'd half-expected it, but I still couldn't believe she'd actually say that.
"...I see."
"I won't abandon it. I don't want to become a murderer, so I'll return it to Kailin."
Of course, she said she wouldn't do it and planned to give it back to Kailin.
Not exactly reassuring.
Even if the baby went back to Kailin, I knew no good future awaited.
"Give me the child."
"Yes."
It was a lamentable situation, but I couldn't let her deal with the hassle any longer.
I took the baby from Reshu's arms.
It was a beautiful baby, sleeping soundly and peacefully.
"Well then."
With that, the mage who'd handed over the baby left.
I carried the baby inside the house.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"..."
"Haa."
Looking at the soundly sleeping baby, I let out a sigh.
I was in quite a bind right now.
So many problems to handle, and I had no idea how to tackle any of them.
Never had my head hurt like this before.
'How do I even raise a kid?'
For starters, I had no clue how to raise a child.
No matter that I was a possessor living my second life; this was an unavoidable issue.
Above all, what was I supposed to feed the baby?
This world didn't have formula, and while a mother might manage somehow, a father raising it alone seemed incredibly tough.
'No money to hire help either.'
I could maybe scrape someone together short-term, but...
I didn't have the funds for ongoing employment.
No helping it.
Even as nobles, neither Kailin nor I came from prominent families.
I was just the son of a poor baron's family, and while Kailin's was a count's house, it was on the verge of ruin.
Could I expect support from families like that?
Of course not.
This house was barely scraped together as it was.
I couldn't hope for more.
Besides, I shouldn't even ask.
Kailin's family had its own issues.
Best to avoid getting tangled up.
So right now, there was nowhere to turn for help.
No spare cash to hire anyone.
'And trouble's coming down the line too...'
In the midst of all that, another problem loomed: safety.
It was a peaceful era now, but that was just the calm before the storm.
Soon, the Demon King would start moving in earnest.
The Demon King, who had been quietly residing in the northern demon realm lands, would ignite war, plunging the continent into chaos for a time.
The continent was about to get extremely turbulent.
Within nations, bandits, magic beasts, and demonkin would run rampant like a triple threat.
To survive that chaos, you'd need at least some power.
On that front, I'd trusted Kailin somewhat.
She had real talent for magic, so even without Magic Tower training, I figured she wouldn't die easily anywhere.
I thought I could support her with my possessor's knowledge.
But that Kailin was gone now.
Things were seriously dicey.
Of course, without the child, it wouldn't have mattered if Kailin was gone.
I could've survived alone somehow.
But there's a kid now?
No matter how I thought about it, I had no confidence in keeping us both alive.
'This is driving me crazy.'
It really felt like a dead end.
What now?
As I pondered deeply, a dark thought briefly crossed my mind.
Just abandon the kid and run?
A truly awful idea.
'No way I can abandon it.'
Of course, the thought passed quickly.
No matter what, I couldn't abandon the child.
I didn't want to pull a Kailin.
What had the kid done wrong?
I had no intention of shirking parental duty and running off.
So I had to make a choice now.
'Guess there's only that one way...'
There was one method.
A way to gain power and money.
But something I'd avoided touching until now.
A method only I could pull off.
'No choice but to meddle in the story.'
Intervene in the story.
The protagonist's tale, the Hero Party's arc, and even the Magic Tower storyline involving Kailin.
Jump in blindly, grab what benefits I can—maybe things would work out.
I'd surely get enough money to raise the kid and enough strength to protect us from threats.
'Didn't want to do it.'
Of course, it wasn't something I wanted.
Knowing how this world unfolds was my biggest edge; meddling recklessly could squander that.
Plus, I'd always aimed for a quiet, ordinary life—no desire to step up.
"So much for living ordinarily."
But what could I do?
With a child in the picture, I wasn't picky about methods anymore.
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