Episode 128. Daily Life (2)

“…Yes?”

At Vera’s sudden question, Monica’s arm, which had been carefully attending to Winnie and even feeding Edward meat directly like yesterday, froze. Of course, Monica and Edward having a child wasn’t just a family matter between them, but an important issue for continuing the Count Family’s bloodline. That’s why Vera had been constantly advising Monica and checking in on her from time to time, right?

But that was usually a topic discussed only when they were alone. No, even if Edward was involved as a party, bringing it up with Winnie present seemed like a very sensitive issue. An awkward silence filled the air.

“Oh, um… Is it going well…?”

“I, is it? Oh my, look at me. Being so nosy. I’m sure you’re doing fine on your own.”

Vera took a step back, sensing the awkward atmosphere and her daughter’s embarrassed response. Why was her daughter so flustered here? Edward had been so passive in his relationship with Monica, so she brought it up to help Monica in her own way. With Winnie’s belly growing bigger, she hoped Monica would have a child soon.

It’s already her daughter who’s taking away the time she spends with Edward, so she’s being lenient… Whenever her smart daughter was so clueless, she felt a bit frustrated. She wondered if this was why Edward didn’t like her much… Aside from Vera’s question and Winnie’s calmness, the dinner ended without much incident, similar to yesterday’s lunch.

After dinner, Winnie and Monica had a separate meeting. More like a brief, private chat between the two of them. Just like before, Monica went to Winnie’s house.

“So, what’s this thing you’re only telling me?”

“Well, it’s not exactly that I’m only telling you, Monica… but I felt like you should be the first to know.”

In reality, the two people besides Monica already knew, but Winnie forced herself to ignore the guilt she felt towards her friend and steeled herself. When she was debating whether to tell her, she was worried about how to start, but now that they were face to face, it was harder to swallow the words that were trying to burst out as if she were showing off.

“Ahem, ahem.”

“Why are you hesitating so much… It’s not something bad, is it?”

“N, no, it’s not that.”

“Well, judging by your expression, it doesn’t seem like something bad for you.”

Is it that obvious on my face? Winnie covered her face, her cheeks, with both hands. She shouldn’t show it too much in her expression… Still, it seemed like the fact that she was pregnant with Edward’s child, that she was showing it off, was more joyful than the feeling of guilt towards Monica.

Monica would probably call her a bitch if she knew, but that was something she had prepared for since she started having romantic feelings for Edward. And when you think about it, isn’t it also Monica’s fault for trying to monopolize a man like Edward and not keeping a proper watch on him, letting him flirt around? Winnie was increasingly rationalizing herself in her head.

And all of this was assuming Monica found out. Winnie, filled with unfounded confidence that it wouldn’t be a problem if she wasn’t caught, steeled herself. Of course, from Monica’s perspective, it was just frustrating. Frustrated by Winnie’s continued hesitation, Monica came closer and tickled her side.

“Euhit! W, wait, I’ll tell you! T, tell! Heu-hik! Tell! Haa. Haa….”

“If you do that one more time, it won’t end with just this.”

“Hoo….”

Right. Either way, in a few months, she would inevitably find out unless she disappeared forever. She was just conveying that fact. Besides, didn’t she have a good excuse to avoid getting caught?

‘Sorry, Monica.’

“I… I’m pregnant.”

“…Huh?”

Monica made a dumbfounded noise and asked again, caught off guard by the unexpected news. As expected, Winnie smiled slightly and said once more.

“I’m pregnant.”

The way Winnie said that, her expression was more mature than Monica remembered, almost like her mother’s. That’s what she thought.

‘Seriously…’

“…Is something wrong?”

“O, oh? Ah, no….”

Because she couldn’t concentrate on her paperwork as usual, her husband asked with a worried look. The fact that her husband, who was so passive that she wondered if he was even interested in her, was worrying about her first was a huge step forward, but Monica was too preoccupied with what she had heard from Winnie earlier to pay attention to that.

‘A child, all of a sudden…’

A child all of a sudden. She hadn’t even heard that she had a boyfriend. Monica felt a mix of embarrassment and disappointment as she congratulated Winnie, who had suddenly moved so far ahead of her.

‘I thought it was impossible, but I can’t believe it’s actually happening.’

What her mother had said once, that Winnie would have a child sooner than her. She had brushed it off, since her friend hadn’t even gotten married, let alone shown any signs of meeting a man… The more she thought about it, the more absurd it was. Having a child without getting married…! It was hard for her to imagine, since she hadn’t even been able to have relations after getting married.

Besides, she felt disappointed that Winnie seemed to be hiding more and more secrets from her. In the past, Winnie would talk about everything, even without being asked, but these days, they saw each other less often, and there were many things she didn’t say.

‘So, who’s the guy?’

‘Just, a good person.’

Earlier, when she asked who the guy was, Winnie had vaguely said he was a good person and refused to say anything more, saying she couldn’t tell her any more due to family tradition. Monica was the one who eventually gave up, since Winnie wouldn’t tell her if she knew him, his age, or his appearance.

‘I told her everything…’

Before getting married, she had told Winnie all sorts of things about Edward, who would become her husband, and listened to her as well. Of course, not much of what they talked about back then was helpful, but she felt like she was the only one who had lost out.

“Eueueu…”

Seriously, who is it? It’s meaningless if it’s a man she doesn’t know, so a man she knows… Her father is dead, and among the living, there are only her knights… Winnie doesn’t usually interact with knights. In the first place, aside from interacting, unless her friend had a strange taste for old men or grandfathers that she didn’t know about, she wouldn’t be with those old geezers….

Stopping the thoughts that were making her feel unpleasant just by imagining them, she tried to find a man who could be dating Winnie again. Since she’s a Baroness, Winnie lives in the County, so if you think that she wouldn’t meet anyone outside the neighborhood… there’s only one young man left.

‘There’s only Edward, isn’t there?’

Surely Winnie isn’t the type of woman to just grab any man – especially a commoner – and have a child, and if you limit it to young noblemen, there’s really only Edward left. Monica had all the key figures in the territory’s personal information in her head, so she couldn’t help but come to one conclusion.

‘Winnie… must have met a man I don’t know somewhere else!’

Edward is her husband, and a man with nothing but training and swords in his head. He’s also been busy traveling around after meeting Winnie. There’s no way such a diligent husband like Edward would cheat. She was a little suspicious, but at least during the past few weeks that she had been watching, Edward had hardly had any contact with Winnie. Almost….

‘Retinel.’

It was her who told Edward, who said he was going to Retinel, to go with Winnie. And just the two of them, on a long trip for over two weeks….

‘No, she must have met another man in Retinel.’

She trusted her husband and her friend.

A few days ago, she went to see Winnie, who wasn’t feeling well – now that Monica thinks about it, she thinks it was because her condition was unstable due to pregnancy – and remembered that she had said things like her sister would tell her later. How ridiculous must she have looked, saying that when she was already pregnant?

She was glad that she hadn’t been caught not having had actual relations yet. No, before she even thought that, she had to quickly secure an heir. Her mother seemed to want it so desperately that she even asked about it earlier….

She glanced at her husband. Edward was looking at documents, just like yesterday. She hadn’t really thought about having a child… But when she thought about having a son who looked like Edward, she felt strange. Unlike before, she felt a warmth rising from somewhere inside her…. Would she smile like her friend did if she had a child too?

“What are you doing?”

“Euh, eh?”

Then, Edward suddenly popped up in front of her, who was lost in thought. Monica, startled, made a strange noise and quickly covered her mouth.

“Wh, why?”

“We should go to bed. It’s too late.”

“O, okay….”

Edward’s words about going to bed sounded to Monica like he was saying they should go make a baby.