episode_0505

“Huff, huff… . Hahup… .”

“Eat slowly, release. I’ll vomit.”

A loaf of bread that Isabel secretly brought without Ethan’s knowledge.

It was just a loaf of bread that tasted like flour and butter, but to me now, it was a precious resource like rain in a drought.

‘it’s good….’

Because of morning sickness, I couldn’t eat food containing flour or butter for a while, but as my body started complaining of hunger, all that naturally disappeared.

In an instant, I ate all the bread Isabel had brought, and it felt like it had been almost a week since I had eaten anything resembling a meal.

“Sorry, Release. Since it’s a menu that comes with the servant’s meal, I could only take this one.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really grateful for that alone… .”

“Are you feeling better?”

“… I can hold out somehow.”

“Uh… . I see… .”

Isabelle looks at my slightly swollen belly, wondering what to say.

As a servant of the Blackwood family, I can’t say anything rash to console him.

It wasn’t just Ethan who was surprised to find out I was pregnant, but Isabel and Katarina as well.

“Thanks for the bread. But I think it would be better to go back quickly. If I stay here for nothing and get caught by Ethan Do… Prince Blackwood… .”

“Over there, release.”

“Huh?”

“Are you thinking of running away from the mansion again?”

“… … Huh?”

I tilted my head to see what she was talking about, and Isabel showed me the keys in her hand.

… Given the circumstances, it was probably the key used to open the iron cage I was locked in.

“Now, wait, Isabel. How do you… .”

“Answer me, Lilith. Do you want to run away?”

“, why are you suddenly asking that… .”

“Well… . Actually, I also tried to understand the master at first. Lilith left the mansion without saying anything, and when I finally came back… she was in that state… .”

“… … .”

“But no matter what, I don’t like the fact that the master is harassing Lilith like this… … a little.”

……ah.

I have clearly seen this Isabel just now.

Not in this life, but in my previous life, when I played 『Luminor Academy』, I saw it quite a lot from the perspective of a warrior.

It was Isabelle’s job to tell the warrior exactly where the secret passage to the third floor and Lilith’s room were so that he could rescue Lilith, so her expression right now was exactly the same as hers as she decided to betray her family for Lilith.

… In another sense, it also meant that Ethan’s behavior was gradually reaching the standards of a scoundrel that Isabel could not tolerate.

“What are you going to do, Release?”

“What are you going to do? If you do that, what will happen to you, Isabel?”

“I should run away too. I’m not sure if I can run away as easily as Lilith, who can ride horses and use magic.”

“… … .”

“But I don’t want to see my friend suffer any longer. Even if the master is being cruel to Lilith because he loves her… I can’t tolerate this.”

That’s why Isabel is Lilith’s best friend both in the game and here.

I was stupid to leave Blackwood Manor alone and leave her behind. Isabel, who helped me like this even though I left behind only a letter, is truly an invaluable friend.

… But, still, running away again was impossible. For the sake of Isabel, and for Ethan, that was something I couldn’t do anymore.

“I’ll just accept your heart, Isabel.”

“Release… ?”

“Your Majesty, so angry… No, I don’t want to run away again, leaving you behind, and this is also my fault.”

“Release… .”

“I think the young master will calm down after a while. I’ll just wait a little longer.”

“… … Okay. If that’s the release choice.”

Although her expression was a little bitter, Isabel respected my choice more.

It’s fortunate that you don’t try something so dangerous as to suddenly open the prison door and tell it to escape.

“I’ll be back tomorrow around this time. Good night, Lilith.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the bread, Isabel.”

“… Well, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Huh?”

“The child that Lilith is carrying right now… Can you tell me whose child it is?”

“… … .”

“… I’ll keep it a secret from everyone else. If it’s hard for you to tell me, then there’s nothing I can do.”

… I should at least be honest with my friend who did this much for me.

As Isabel said, she was not the type of person to go around telling secrets carelessly. She was a young lady who knew how to keep trust and secrets unless absolutely necessary, so I thought I could tell Isabel the identity of the child I was carrying.

“Master Ethan.”

“Huh?”

“… … This is Ethan’s child.”

“… … What?”

“Do I have to keep this a secret from you, Master Ethan? I took this child without consulting Master Ethan… .”

Isabelle looked at my lower abdomen with a blank expression as if she was confused by what I said.

-Tudul, tudul.

“…Isabel?”

“… … .”

-Squeak.

And then, without saying anything.

It was a vanilla-haired maid who went out of the room without saying a word, walking with a weary gait.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

And then the next morning.

-Gulp… .

“… … Ah.”

Today, too, I woke up hungry and felt like I was in the morning sunlight that comes every day.

The empty feeling of hunger that I felt again, as if the piece of bread I had gotten from Isabel last night had already been completely digested.

Well, I’ve been in this state for almost a week, so it’s unlikely that it’ll be resolved in one day with just a piece of bread. But I feel a little better than yesterday.

Still, things were a little better because I could eat that little porridge in the morning. It still didn’t taste good, but… well, whatever.

… for now, it’s bearable.

“… Phew.”

… I told Isabelle, but since it’s come to this, I might as well be honest with Ethan.

If you ask them to raise it secretly, as if it were a secret between the two of you, wouldn’t they surprisingly allow it?

Or, you could conspire with the Blackwood Manor folks and wait until Ethan and Queen Raini’s first official child is born, then pretend it was born after that, once it was old enough.

Or ask Isabel to pretend to be her illegitimate child for a few years… Oh, no. No matter how I think about it, this just doesn’t seem right.

I wait for breakfast, pushing aside the evil fantasy of turning my friend, who has never dated a man, into a single mom with a child.

But this morning, the people who came to my door were unexpected and unexpected.

-Squeak.

“… … Huh?”

First off, Ethan came in as usual, but there were two more women following him.

One of them is Isabel, who I saw just yesterday morning, and the other one… I remember him as a priest belonging to the Blackwood family.

-Clang.

“… release.”

“Yes… .”

“… Wait, can you come outside for a minute?”

“… … ?”

Something, the atmosphere is different.

Ethan’s usual forceful appearance of putting the plate he was holding on the floor and turning around disappeared, and for some reason, he was avoiding my gaze and had a fidgety expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Isabel was standing behind me, not making eye contact with me, and I felt like she was watching me closely.

… Once Ethan told him to come out, he came out of the cage quietly.

“I will begin the examination. Please breathe in and out comfortably.”

“… … Yes? Examination?”

“… First, listen. I have something to check.”

“Yes… .”

I watch the situation, inhaling and exhaling as the priestess places her hand on my lower abdomen.

Although I still had a hard time understanding what was going on, I quietly followed her words and waited for the priestess to examine me.

“Based on the life response that is felt… I think it would be around 5 months.”

“… It’s been that long? It definitely wasn’t noticeable even three months ago… ?”

“Yes. Normally, in the early stages of pregnancy, unless the pregnant woman feels it, it is impossible to tell the difference from the outside. Based on my experience checking the health of other pregnant women, I would guess that the mother became pregnant at least 4 months ago, so it has been about 5 months since the last menstrual period.”

“… … .”

Ethan’s expression became even more confused after hearing the priestess’ story.

I had a vague idea why he was making that face. Five months ago, I was still at Blackwood Manor.

It was four and a half months ago, when the correction was supposed to have taken place, that was the day I had sex with Ethan to leave behind our last memories… If Ethan hadn’t forgotten that day or something, he would have guessed from what he just said that the child in his stomach was his.

“… Over there, release.”

“… … Yes.”

“No matter how much I think about it, something seems strange, so I’m asking, but this time, please answer honestly.”

“… … .”

“The father of the child that Lilith is carrying in her womb… . That, really… .”

“… … .”

“… … Is it me?”

… Now that we’ve come this far, there’s probably no point in lying.

In fact, even if it hadn’t been the priest’s opinion, it seemed that it had already been half discovered before then. As you can see just by looking at the way Isabel avoided eye contact with Ethan as if she was ashamed.

… I told this to Isabel in secret because I believed she was my friend, but who would have thought that she would reveal it to Ethan in less than a day?

Although I felt betrayed and empty in many ways, there was no point in denying it now.

“Yes.”

“… … .”

“… … Yes. This is definitely Prince Blackwood’s child.”

“… … Really… ?”

“Ae, there’s no way I would have had a relationship with another man other than Prince Blackwood… … No way. That, that disgusting thing… … Even if it was the Prince’s order, I would never do it.”

“… … .”

… In the end, it seemed like keeping my mouth shut like this would be the end of it.

Maybe I should get down on my knees and beg that the child be saved somehow.