ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 50: He wants a baby

"Demian," she called softly.

"Hmm?" he replied, lowering his gaze to her.

Valerie hesitated for a moment, her fingers clutching the fabric of Demian’s clothes as if searching for something to hold on to.

"Do you... want to have a child soon?"

The question slipped out just like that unprepared, unguarded. Even Valerie herself was startled the moment it left her lips.

Demian went still.His hands stopped moving. His jaw tightened slightly not in anger, but in thought. He stared straight ahead for a brief moment, then lowered his gaze back to Valerie.

"Not really," he answered honestly. "I’ve never thought that far."

Valerie swallowed."But..." Demian continued, his voice lower now, "I did wonder about it."

Valerie lifted her brows. "About what?"

"We’re never careful. We never use protection," he said plainly, without embarrassment. "And we’re together almost every day. So... I started wondering why you haven’t gotten pregnant."

A short silence followed.

Valerie turned her face away, her eyes settling on the leaves beyond the glass. Her fingers loosened their grip on Demian’s clothes. For the first time in a long while, a very real fear bloomed in her chest.

"I’m not ready," she admitted quietly. "And sometimes I think... what if there really is something wrong with me?"

Demian turned to her quickly now, his full attention fixed on her.

"What do you mean?"

Valerie took a deep breath. "I’m scared," she whispered. "Scared that I can’t have children. Scared that one day, that will disappoint you."

Demian studied her for a long moment. For a second, Valerie thought he would say something cold. Something logical. Something that reminded her she could be replaced.

Instead, Demian lifted his hand and touched her chin, gently forcing her to look at him.

"I never said you had to give me a child," he said softly, firmly.

Valerie blinked.

"If you want to consult a physician, do it," he continued. "Not because I demand anything but because it’s what you need to ease your mind."

He paused, then added in a quieter voice, "And even if the result isn’t what you hope for... it doesn’t change anything for me."

Valerie stared at him, disbelieving.

"What matters is that you’re by my side," Demian said. "That’s all."

Something inside Valerie cracked not from pain, but from a relief she had held back for far too long. A small smile curved her lips, this time without pretense.

She leaned in and kissed Demian gently, different from their earlier kisses filled with desire. This one was slower. Deeper.

"I’m here," she whispered. "And I’ll stay."

Demian rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. "Because you love me?"

Valerie smiled softly. "Because I love you."

Demian opened his eyes, studying her as if searching for a lie and finding none.

"Yes," he said at last. "I love you too, Valerie."

The days passed with a rhythm that seemed ordinary, yet inside Valerie, nothing was calm.

She often sat in silence by the bedroom window, gazing at the castle grounds wrapped in cold air. Demian’s words in the glasshouse replayed endlessly in her mind not as a promise, but as a dangerous possibility.

Even if you can’t have children... it doesn’t matter.

Valerie closed her eyes.

She knew one thing with absolute certainty:if she were to carry Demian’s child, there would be no turning back.

A baby would bind her more tightly than any red jewel, more firmly than any quiet acknowledgment before the nobility. That child would carry Demian’s blood and with it, her position would change forever. Whether Demian married again or not, she would always hold a place that could never be erased.

And that, precisely, was what made Valerie hesitate.

She did not yet know if she was ready to surrender herself completely to that fate.

There was one truth Demian did not know.

Before she went to meet him on the battlefield, Valerie had secretly sought out a physician in a small town barely marked on any map. There, under a false name and without escorts, she obtained contraceptive pills medicine she had taken regularly ever since.

Not because she rejected Demian.But because she feared the world that would devour her if she stepped too far, too fast.

That afternoon, Valerie had just finished a glass of water after swallowing her pill when the bedroom door opened without a knock.

Demian entered.

Valerie startled slightly, but her expression remained calm. She set the glass down on the small table beside the bed.

"What are you doing?" Demian asked, his voice flat as usual, though his eyes were sharp.

"Resting," Valerie replied lightly. "I just took my vitamins."

Demian glanced at the glass briefly, then nodded. He suspected nothing. It had never crossed his mind that Valerie might be hiding something of this magnitude.

"I’ll be going to the capital soon," he said afterward, as if it were a minor note.

Valerie looked up."The capital?" she repeated softly. "Why?"

"Matters concerning the Emperor."

His tone was short, final the tone of a man accustomed to giving orders, not explanations.

Valerie fell silent for a moment before asking,"Should... I come with you?"

Demian turned to her, clearly surprised by the question."Of course," he answered without hesitation. "You should stay close to me. No matter what happens."

The words tightened Valerie’s chest.

"It’s the capital," she said quietly. "And... Lady Kosler is there."

The name hung in the air like an old shadow that had never fully disappeared.

Demian gave a small snort."I’ll break off that engagement. Sooner or later."

Valerie smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it."Is that really possible?" she asked honestly. "Haven’t you been betrothed for a long time?"

Demian looked at her, his gaze hardening."Do you not trust what I say?"

Valerie swallowed.

"I just..." she hesitated, then continued, "I’ve heard that you and Lady Kosler were promised to each other since she was still an infant."

Silence fell.

Demian stepped closer, stopping directly in front of Valerie."You know too much," he said low. "But not everything you hear is true."

His tone was not angry, it was a warning.

Valerie met his gaze, her heart pounding."I just want to know where I stand," she said honestly. "I don’t want to be standing on fragile ground without realizing it."

Demian exhaled softly. His hand lifted, touching Valerie’s chin, forcing her to look at him."Your place is by my side," he said firmly. "And that will not change."