Chapter 38
“No! Don’t look!”
Elisa’s sharp scream pierced the air as she clutched the child tightly to her chest.
Her frantic, desperate movements made Howard hesitate and step back.
“Don’t look. You mustn’t… you can’t notice…”
Her voice trembled, thin and laced with fear, and her body mirrored the same urgency as she held Noah.
All he’d done was remove the hood, and yet she reacted like this.
Howard scratched the back of his head, bewildered.
“Calm down… just calm down—”
He reached out to steady her, but at that exact moment—
“Waaah!”
Noah, who had been unnervingly quiet until now, suddenly erupted into a wail so loud it made Howard flinch.
Elisa’s shock was even greater as she bent over the child.
Because he couldn’t speak, Noah seldom cried.
The only sound he made was a faint moan if he was in pain or discomfort.
But now, he was crying as though the world itself had torn him apart.
Had it been because she had just said “No”?
Yet in the past, when she had accidentally said that word, he hadn’t cried.
Instead, he had turned pale as a ghost, trembling violently as though he’d seen a spectre.
“D-Don’t cry, Noah…”
Elisa fumbled, trying desperately to soothe him.
She had never calmed a child crying like this before, and her clumsy movements reflected her helplessness.
As if sensing her uncertainty, Noah’s sobs refused to subside.
His small, delicate face was soon soaked with tears.
“What’s happening… oh, Noah!”
The assistant teacher, alerted by the sound, and even Gustave Milton rushed over to help, but their efforts were futile.
“Let’s go inside for now, Miss.”
Cradling Noah, Elisa followed the assistant teacher back into the consultation room.
Howard trailed behind, keeping a respectful distance.
“Shh… It’s okay, Noah. Let’s stop crying now, alright? That’s enough.”
Even inside the room, despite their efforts, Noah continued to cry.
Only when he had completely exhausted himself did he finally collapse into a deep, unconscious sleep.
At last, a quiet peace settled over the room.
Elisa exhaled, relief washing over her, and just then, a large hand rested on her shoulder.
“I’m glad he’s calm now.”
It was Prince Howard.
In the chaos, she had momentarily forgotten he was there.
Now that she remembered, her face turned pale.
“I’m sorry for making him cry. That wasn’t my intention at all…”
“…It’s fine. Really.”
“Good. I’m relieved.”
Howard offered a small smile and gazed down at Noah, sleeping soundly with his head on Elisa’s lap.
The grey eyes, hidden beneath his lids, flashed vividly in her mind.
“There’s an answer I need from you, Miss Leslie. May we speak for a moment?”
Elisa knew exactly what he wanted to hear and had no desire to answer.
But she also understood there was no avoiding it, so she nodded.
***
A tense silence filled the consultation room as Elisa and Howard faced each other.
A low table held tea and snacks brought by the assistant teacher, but neither touched them.
“Who are these children’s real parents?”
Howard asked, the sunlight casting long shadows across the teacups.
Elisa, who had been staring at the cups, slowly lifted her gaze to meet the prince’s.
The playful expression he had worn in the alleyway was gone, replaced by a seriousness that was almost terrifying.
His eyes gleamed sharply, as if he already knew everything.
She clung to the faintest hope of escape—but the moment she met his gaze, that hope shattered completely.
“…I am the one who gave birth to Noah.”
Resigned, Elisa admitted it quietly.
“And Noah’s father is…”
She wanted to say Ethan, but when the name reached her lips, it felt as though someone had blocked her mouth.
No matter how many times she tried, the words wouldn’t come.
Finally, she pressed her lips together and hung her head low.
“Noah’s father is Ethan, isn’t he?”
Howard spoke the words she could not, and Elisa’s deeper bow served as her answer.
“Ha…”
Howard exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.
He had expected this from the moment he saw the child’s grey eyes, but hearing it confirmed left him stunned.
‘This wasn’t why I came to ask…’
***
Prince Howard had come to see Elisa to ask about what had happened when she received the proposal.
He had investigated Derek Granville and found nothing particularly unusual.
Derek’s reputation was impeccable—kind, considerate, and famously attentive to his fiancée.
There was no sign that he would have threatened her during the proposal.
Yet, just to be sure, Howard had intended to ask Elisa directly.
He had never expected to be confronted with such a shocking revelation.
His mind went blank, utterly flustered.
Unsure what to say, Howard fell silent.
The consultation room was enveloped in a tense stillness.
“…Please don’t tell Ethan.”
Elisa broke the silence.
Her hands trembled as she clasped them tightly together, bowing her head low.
“Please… I beg you. Keep it a secret from him.”
“Why? Ethan would be thrilled to know.”
Howard frowned, clearly unable to comprehend.
“Why? Why did you reject Ethan after even having his child? And why accept another man’s proposal?”
Once the first question escaped, a torrent of questions followed.
With each one, Elisa’s face grew paler—fragile, almost as if a mere touch could make her collapse.
“Answer me, Elisa Leslie.”
Howard didn’t want to press her so harshly, but there was no other choice.
He had to know the reason.
“Why didn’t you accept Ethan’s love?”
“…Because I didn’t want to live in fear.”
Finally, Elisa spoke.
“I trusted him again… but I couldn’t accept him because I was afraid of being left alone. I didn’t want to live in constant anxiety, never knowing when he might leave.”
“Is that all?”
Howard asked incredulously.
Elisa lifted her head sharply.
“Your Highness, it may seem trivial to you, but it’s an incredibly important matter to me.”
Her measured, deliberate words revealed the depth of her conviction.
Howard could see, without a doubt, that her refusal to accept Ethan’s love stemmed entirely from that fear.
Under ordinary circumstances, he might have accepted it with a resigned ‘I see,’ but he couldn’t this time.
He knew too well the pain Ethan had endured over the past four years, rolling in bloodied battlefields.
Compared to that, Elisa’s grievance felt like a child’s tantrum.
He could not understand why she would take Ethan’s child and marry Derek Granville for such a reason.
Nor could he understand Count Leslie, who was pushing them toward marriage.
Howard recalled seeing Derek’s fondness for the child, their occasional outings together, and realised Derek likely knew Noah was Elisa’s child.
Yet he intended to marry a woman who already had another man’s child… Wait.
“Did you accept your fiancé’s proposal because of the child? Was Derek Granville asking you to accept him to prevent anyone from discovering that the child is Ethan’s?”
“Oh, no!”
Elisa leapt up, denying it vehemently.
But the strength of her denial, paradoxically, sounded like confirmation to Howard.
So it wasn’t a proposal—it was coercion.
What his secretary had suspected was true. Derek Granville, known for his gentleness toward his fiancée, had made a forceful proposal for an obvious reason.
‘Count Leslie must have pressured him.’
Howard remembered reports that, after returning to the country, Count Leslie had visited Derek frequently.
He pressed his lips together.
‘Count Leslie… he’s worse than I thought.’
To seduce Ethan with sweet words and send him to the battlefield, while scheming behind everyone’s back—Howard clenched his fists tightly.
“You’re curious why Ethan left without a word four years ago, why he joined the battlefield?”
Count Leslie had technically not violated the contract, but his actions defied basic ethics, leaving Howard with no obligation to honour it any longer.
“It was because of Count Leslie.”
Howard met Elisa’s wide, incredulous eyes and spoke firmly.
“Count Leslie told Ethan that if he went to war and returned safely, he would recognise Ethan’s relationship with you. That’s why he went.”
