***Hyde really did bring out a small table of food he had made himself and set it before Uichan. Half-curled and asleep on his side without realizing it, Uichan woke to a hand shaking his shoulder. At once, a savory aroma filled the room.Still half-dazed, he lifted his head and found Hyde placing a spoon in his hand, so he ended up sitting before the low table almost automatically. There were bowls of seaweed soup and white rice, slices of pan-fried beef, and various mountain vegetables neatly arranged. At the edge of the table sat a cup of yogurt — the kind Uichan liked.“Eat first, then sleep.”Blinking, Uichan looked at Hyde and picked up the spoon. He had to eat, at least for the children. After a moment’s hesitation, he took a sip of the seaweed soup — and his eyes widened.“Did you make this, Hyde?”“Why, does it taste good?”“Uh… yes. I didn’t think you could cook. Why is it good…?”“La Épée’s publicly known hobby is cooking. When he was in that gang, he was always getting bullied. Had to cook for the older guys with no money to his name. Naturally, his skills got good.”“And in reality?”“Well… I just learned from a cooking academy.”He must have been truly devoted to his hero life, Uichan thought — even attending an academy just to polish a hobby. He imagined Hyde at a cooking class, shook his head, and went back to eating. He picked up the egg rolls and meat pancakes, added sausage to his rice, and ate greedily.He wasn’t usually like this, but for some reason today, he couldn’t stop eating. When he had finally emptied every dish, he even scraped clean the yogurt Hyde had peeled open for dessert before putting the spoon down.“Maybe because of the kids. You eat so well, but you still don’t gain weight.”“They’re not at the stage where they grow big yet.”According to his doctor, male pregnancies only began to show significantly late in the term, when the belly suddenly swelled. Though it was triplets, a male’s body didn’t show much outwardly, so it would only look about as big as a woman carrying twins.Of course, the doctor had also quietly added that it was his first time seeing a man pregnant with triplets, so he couldn’t be sure.“So, Uichan.”Resting his chin in one hand, Hyde reached out and wiped the bit of yogurt at the corner of Uichan’s mouth with his fingers. Then he brought it to his own lips and licked it off.“Have you thought about who the fathers are?”“You said you wanted to bring me under your wing.”Uichan shot back without hesitation. The third child needed its biological father, but Hyde had subtly pressured him not to reveal the children’s existence to any of them. Then how was Uichan supposed to find the father and save the baby? It was absurd.“You heard what the doctor said. I need to find the father to save the third one. I can’t give that up.”“There’s no absolute need to find the fathers. Nor to have intercourse.”Uichan gave him a puzzled look. Hyde took his hand, gently rubbing his thumb over a small scratch Uichan hadn’t noticed on the back of it.“You got pregnant with triplets after sleeping with three men in one night. But each child has a different father. What do you think the problem is here, Uichan?”“Probably the paternity verification papers… and that they’re heroes’ children?”“Well, that too. But what happens when each father starts claiming his rights? Noatis’s parents had him late — they’re over seventy now. Their company, Berta, ranks ninth in the global economy. They’ve been waiting all their lives for a grandchild from their only son, that exceptional hero. Do you think they’d ever give that up?”Uichan’s gaze trembled like waves. His hand clenched into a fist without realizing it, and Hyde softly pried his fingers open.“Blacktan is a special mercenary from the private military company Litan. The headquarters are in the U.S., but they set up a Korean branch three years ago and sent him there as their ace. He has a family too. But in none of their households does a child’s cry ever sound. Can you guess why?”“…Are you saying Litan restricts children?”“Not sure. Just a suspicion.”…If that were true— if it became known that one of the babies was Blacktan’s child, would Litan take the child away? And then… raise it like Blacktan, as another human weapon?That couldn’t happen. He had only been thinking about the babies’ survival, never about tangled politics like this. His gaze wandered across the floor.“That’s why I’m saying the children should be registered under me.”“Then what about the third one? If I don’t have… that, you said the little ones could be in danger.”“Their names are ‘little ones’? You even name things like yourself.”At the faint laugh, Uichan looked up. The next moment, the table slid aside. Hyde was suddenly in front of him, gripping his trembling arm tightly.“It’s fine. There’s a way.”“What way?”“Brainwashing. Not easy, but once it’s done, it’ll work. You only need semen, not the men themselves.”To Uichan, those words sounded exactly like—“You mean you’d just… take them, collect their fluids, and give them to the child?”That was what it sounded like.Uichan stared blankly at him, frowning as he tried to decide where to even start correcting him. Hyde spoke first, as if remembering something.“By the way, how did you fix Phantom Thief?”“Of course with Regress—”“Uichan, you can’t use your Regression Ability right now, can you? The doctor said so. That it makes the babies shrink.”He was caught off guard. He had no idea how much the doctor had told Hyde, so he gave up pretending. Instead, he glared.“You’re asking even though you already know?”“No, really. I was just curious. You’re stubborn about saving them, so I figured you wouldn’t use it easily.”“Ugh, whatever. Maybe I used it unconsciously. And you— why are you being so mean to Mother Ship and Jekyll Jack?”“Ha. Why else? If I don’t separate them, they’ll team up to smuggle out the youngest. Besides, it’s better to restrain Jekyll Jack through Ji Woojae. He’s not afraid of punishment — he just thinks he can endure it. So it’s easier to stop him by triggering the other personality instead.”He spoke casually and snapped his fingers twice. Instantly, the space around them shifted. Sliding door sounds overlapped endlessly until, as if a new room had been designed into being, walls closed in on all sides.Then — splash — Uichan fell into a steaming wooden tub. Startled, he was immediately caught and steadied by Hyde, who supported him by the back. As Hyde’s hands stripped off his wet clothes with a careful touch, he kept talking.“Jekyll Jack isn’t afraid of me. He just thinks all he has to do is endure. So rather than let him rampage, it’s better to provoke Ji Woojae into restraining him.”“But still— going to Woojae hyung like that, he’s terrified right now.”“Better that than innocent people dying, isn’t it? Goblins are already shedding skins and pretending to be human. No one knows who’s who, so they’re killing everything.”Hyde wasn’t wrong. Jekyll Jack was the impulsive type who always ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ charged first. To stop him, at least three of his “brothers” had to hold him down and talk him into calming. Only then would he snort, turn his head away, and let Ji Woojae take over again.“So that’s why you left the goblin case to Phantom Thief? The item he stole — it’s related to what Podo stole, isn’t it?”Once his top was off, Hyde lifted him with ease, stripped the rest, and lowered him back into the water. His pale body still bore traces of their coupling — bite marks and bruises that glistened as Hyde poured warm water over him and leaned against the tub.“I’ll explain when things are clearer. I’ll call everyone and tell them together. For now, just focus on washing. Give me your arm.”“I—I can wash myself. Why do you have to do it for me?”Realizing his state only now, Uichan drew up his knees and hugged them close. He’d wash when Hyde left. He stared at the droplets rolling off his chin and plopping into the bath when suddenly a large hand reached out, wrapping around his folded arms.“It’ll be faster if I do it.”Then Hyde squeezed shower gel into his bare hand, rubbed it into foam, and began to wash him with gentle motions.“…Where’s the shower sponge?”“Do I look like I have one?”“……”He glanced around, but the place looked newly made — there was nothing but that single bottle of shower gel. This must be one of those temporary spaces Hyde conjured up, while meals and baths were usually handled at La Épée’s home.The hand moved up, tracing soap along Uichan’s nape, shoulders, and back. As he felt it, Uichan thought again of La Épée — and realized he had never heard even a single apology from him.“…Do you usually live as La Épée?”So he finally asked, quietly, eyes averted, staring at the distorted reflection of his legs through the water, waiting for the answer that would follow.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.