CHAPTER 88: TRIPLET BABY

Gara, unable to lift his head, couldn’t see what had stopped his mother. His vision blurred, his eyelids sinking shut. All he could do was focus to his Talent, forcing it to hold, while everything else slipped away.

Gara didn’t understand why his mother hadn’t removed the clamp yet. He couldn’t bring himself to look down anymore—just opening his eyes felt like a struggle. All he could do was focus on holding his Talent steady.

Then he heard Wina’s voice, laced with fear and worry.

"G-Gara, this..."

With effort, Gara’s heavy eyes opened. In his mother’s arms was another pale infant. But the two cribs beside them were already full.

"Mom, that’s..."

Wina’s gaze flicked to his pale face. She quickly turned away, forcing a tone of happiness into her voice.

"You have triplets, Gara. Your third child is a girl, and her body is perfectly complete."

Something was off—Gara could tell. But he had no strength left to question her. Sweat streamed down his already drained face.

Only after calming the last infant did Wina return to him. She examined his womb, cleaned him up—it was finally over.

The thin bark-like protective layer was carefully sealed and stitched, followed by the skin itself. At the end, she applied the herbal paste Gara had crafted himself, the one proven to work so well.

At last, Gara felt like he could breathe freely again.

He finally had a moment to glance at the glowing system messages.

[Congratulations on giving birth to your first child! Talent Ticket ×1]

[Congratulations on giving birth to your second child! Talent Ticket ×1]

[Congratulations on giving birth to your third child! Talent Ticket ×1]

Talent Ticket? he wondered silently.

But before he could think further, his mother handed him a cup of water infused with herbs.

"How are you feeling, Gara?" Wina asked, worry still clouding her eyes.

"It feels... like I’ve just trained past my limit," he replied casually, even managing a faint smile, as if forgetting the struggle from only moments ago.

Seeing him well, Wina let out a deep breath, though her expression quickly turned serious.

"You truly don’t know who the father of your children is?"

The satisfaction on Gara’s face instantly faded.

"Why are you asking that, Mom?"

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she walked over to the last crib and gently picked up the small bundle, wrapped tightly in a blanket. Only the baby’s face peeked out.

Slowly, she pulled the fabric back from the right side of the forehead.

"T-That..."

Even though it was tiny, Gara could see it clearly—a sharp horn, its base black, fading into a dark crimson that matched the infant’s hair.

"After looking more carefully... your first child has red eyes. Red eyes, a crimson-black horn—those are the most common traits of a Devil, Gara." Wina’s voice broke into open panic now. "What happened? How did you end up involved with a Devil?"

"I really don’t know, Mom." And it was true—he had no idea Langga was a Devil. The realization only deepened his confusion.

Despite her swirling emotions, Wina still handled the half-Devil child with tenderness, laying her back in the crib.

"Devils have a way of imprinting their partners. Since Sir Idris hasn’t said anything, it means you haven’t been imprinted yet," she explained. "That’s not unusual. Devils are infamous for switching partners constantly. Imprinting isn’t a sign of love for them—it’s nothing but a way to mark dominance."

"Thank goodness... maybe he wasn’t interested in you and only acted to satisfy his desire," Wina added, visibly relieved.

But Gara’s reaction was the opposite. The memory of Langga’s handsome, serious face flashed before him, and a long-buried rage roared back to life.

That bastard! I’ll go to Gyakarta Academy myself—and I’ll make sure everyone knows what kind of a jerk he is!

In an instant, Gyakarta Academy no longer felt like a place to build connections or expand business, it had turned into a stage for revenge.

Gara shook his head at the thought. Better to avoid that man. He had survived these nine months only because he learned to restrain the urges buried deep inside him.

It was better this way.

Seeing her son’s expression, Wina gently patted Gara’s hand. "Forgive me, my dear. I couldn’t protect you well enough before you met someone so cruel." Her voice trembled with anger she struggled to contain.

"This isn’t your fault, Mom." Gara regretted the times he had blamed her for his pregnancy. If he had known the man was a devil, he would never have cornered her like that.

"But Gara," Wina whispered, "we must hide your third child. Devils—or half-devils—aren’t easily accepted among humans."

"But Mom..." Gara’s voice was firm. He had no intention of doing that. If his two other children were acknowledged, then there was no way he would deny the third.

"This is for your safety and your baby’s." Wina coaxed gently.

Gara said nothing, only stared at the crib where his third child lay. The choice tore at him.

Pushing that problem to the back of his mind, Gara forced himself to focus on the danger at hand. "Mom, the protective barrier broke during my delivery."

He didn’t know why, but he could feel it.

Wina’s face immediately tensed. "I’ll put up another barrier right away. And here—" she pressed a crystal ring into his palm. "Contact Captain Tristan and tell him not to come here. Sir Idris already knows you’re half-druid; he doesn’t need to learn that your child is half-devil."

With that said, Wina hurried out of the room. Gara stared down at the crystal ring in his hand, heavy with hesitation.

He wanted Idris to check his newborn’s health, but his mother was right. At the very least, he could ask Tristan if Idris could be trusted with the truth or if Tristan could find another healer worthy of trust.

After all, Tristan had chosen Idris not for secrecy, but because Tristan’s Talent allowed him to check inside the body like the x-ray.

...