episode_0510

After Harold came back, Ethan and I went back to our normal relationship.

By ordinary relationship, I mean not the previous relationship between a master and his exclusive maid, but rather, it was as if I had really become another noble young lady who had married into Ethan’s household.

After calling Ethan by his first name for a few days without using any titles, I’m now quite used to the title Ethan, and I’m also slowly getting used to calling Harold by his first name, Father.

… Now it was time to start doing the things I had been putting off one by one.

“Release, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to write a little letter.”

“… … letter?”

Ethan looks at me with a thoughtful look as soon as he hears the word ‘letter’.

Since I thought I knew roughly what he was thinking, I quickly corrected him before any further misunderstandings arose.

“I’m not using this for any weird purposes, Ethan! I just took a leave of absence from the Academy last semester, so I thought I should at least write to people like Agnes and Lizzie to let them know about me… .”

“… Ah, that was the reason.”

“I can’t go back to school right away, but next year is the time when everyone will be graduating, so I’m going to give you a brief update on my news only to those who will be graduating next year.”

“… Yeah, if that’s the case.”

Ethan, realizing that the letter wasn’t intended for him, takes a seat across the table from me, relieved.

I felt a little uncomfortable with the gaze of other people… but I pretended not to care because I thought it would feel strange if I acted awkwardly.

I’m not trying to write anything that I don’t want Ethan to see, I just want to share some recent events and a quick greeting.

…like Ethan imprisoning me. Of course, I’ll leave out details that wouldn’t be good for it to be known to the public.

“Who are you writing the letter to?”

“First, as I said earlier, I should write to Miss Agnes and Miss Lizzie. It would be polite to send it to Princess Seraphine and Saintess Cerista, right? As for the others, I think it would be fine to send it to Miss Natalie or Miss Lara. I won’t necessarily send letters to Miss Lilia and Princess Mezlen since I’ll be seeing them at the Academy next year anyway, and I don’t feel close enough to send letters to the others.”

“You don’t use it on the warrior guy? They seem to be secretly close.”

“… Well? We’re not close enough to actually exchange greetings. We don’t really talk unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Oh, I see.”

… I felt like it was a bit cold, so I tried to cover it up a bit, but Ethan nodded as if he was satisfied with my answer.

I had a hunch, but it turned out to be a trap question. It was fortunate that I had only mentioned women’s names when I was talking about who to write the letter to.

“… Oh, come to think of it, I should write a letter to Miss Mirif too.”

“Mirif… Who was that? I think I’ve heard of it.”

“He is a priest who worked with me briefly when I was in the Iron Horde. When I was in Ermia, I was also indebted to the church thanks to that connection.”

“… Now that I hear it, I remember. Yeah, that was the name. ”

…Huh? Have I ever told Ethan about Mirif? Why are you answering as if you know so much?

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to tell Mireef about me anyway. From the Iron Horde to Ermia, we’ve been together for almost a month since I ran out of the mansion, so we’re practically like comrades.

When I left Ermia, I left in such a hurry that I barely said goodbye… I think I need to at least tell you that I’m alive.

‘It’s a good thing I didn’t send you a letter while I was in Strawberry Town.’

At that time, I was trying to live in hiding as much as possible and didn’t even think about sending a letter, but if I had sent a letter to Mirif back then, the unclaimed replies would have continued to be delivered to Strawberry Town.

Now that things have stabilized somewhat, I can finally send her some news. … Maybe I can visit her again sometime when I have time.

-square.

“… … .”

-Square, square.

“… … .”

As I was thinking about it, I started writing a letter to Mirif, the person I met most recently. I could feel Ethan’s gaze constantly around my hand as I was writing the letter.

… It was my fault for running away, leaving behind only a letter. I must humbly accept it.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Another week has passed since the day the letter was sent by messenger.

My belly, which was now 28 weeks old and almost in the final stages of pregnancy, was making its presence felt in both volume and weight.

The fetal movements that I started feeling around the 20th week have been getting louder recently. Sometimes, I wake up from my sleep feeling my stomach moving.

The pressure was considerable, as he was carrying an additional weight of almost 5 kg on his stomach.

‘Come to think of it, it’s not good to stay still too much while pregnant.’

I think I heard in a past life that it’s good to do light exercise without using your body too much.

Well, at the time, I never thought I would be pregnant, so I don’t really remember much. What I do remember is that she said walking and yoga were good for her.

As I was looking out the window, thinking about taking a quick walk around the front yard of the mansion, Ethan suggested that I go out first.

“Release.”

“Yes, Ethan.”

“Aren’t you bored just staying in your room? The weather is nice. Do you want to go for a walk?”

“Sa, a walk?!”

“… Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

… No, that’s not it.

Although the word ‘walk’ made him instantly think of ‘that’ thing he had seen in his dream, Ethan probably didn’t mean it in that way when he asked.

First of all, taking a naked leash walk with a pregnant woman who is 24 weeks pregnant… That’s almost on the same level as the original world line’s hate crimes.

It might not have mattered in the dream since Harold wasn’t there, but it was too dangerous to do now. Of course, it wouldn’t be good for the fetus either.

“I was just looking out the window, wondering if you wanted to go out. Come to think of it, you’ve hardly ever gone outside the mansion lately.”

“A walk is just a normal walk, right?”

“I don’t know what the standard for being normal is. I was just thinking about taking a walk around the front yard of the mansion. If the release is okay, I could go up the hill in the back.”

“… Of course, you do it with your clothes on, right?”

“… What does the word “walk” mean in the mind of the alternate release? Is there another meaning to the word “walk” that I don’t know about?”

Fortunately, it seemed to be a normal walk that I knew of. Still, I checked carefully just in case.

“Good. Then I’ll go out for a bit, Ethan.”

I also wanted to change my mood a bit. It would be nice to go on a date alone for the first time in a while.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Although it was called a walk, it didn’t go very far from Blackwood. It was just a quick climb up the hill behind the mansion.

I slowly walked up the gentle slope, took in some fresh air for the first time in a while, and sat down in the shade of a large tree on the hillside to grab a snack.

Actually, it felt more like a picnic than a walk… Well, if I was going to rest anyway, it would be better to get some fresh air outside rather than inside the mansion.

“It’s not a bad idea to come out like this, Ethan.”

“Okay. Let’s come out more often in the future. As long as it doesn’t put a strain on Lilith’s body.”

“I’ve been horseback riding and hunting monsters since the early stages of my pregnancy. This isn’t even a burden.”

“… That’s not something to brag about, Lilith.”

… Well, that’s true, but…

Me, lying down with Ethan’s lap as my pillow, resting in the shade of the tree.

As I was quietly resting in the cool late summer breeze, fatigue began to creep in and my eyes naturally closed.

“What the heck, this ship. Are you really pregnant?”

“… … ?”

I closed my eyes and took a short break, when I heard a familiar voice tickling my ear for the first time in a long time.

Even though I thought there was no way she could be at Blackwood Manor at this time… my eyes opened on their own at the sound of that familiar voice.

“… Miss Agnes?”

“Yeah, release.”

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

“… You wrote a letter and sent it to me. I just came to check if you really came back.”

… I didn’t think you would actually come after seeing the letter I wrote just to say hello.

Even though it didn’t seem like it on the outside, it seemed like he was secretly worried.

“When you suddenly ran away, I thought you had done something to me, but if I had known you were going to be like this, I wouldn’t have come.”

“I appreciate your concern about my relationship with Lilith, but any misunderstandings about it have already been resolved, so don’t worry about it.”

“… I wasn’t really worried.”

“Thank you for your concern, Miss Agnes. I didn’t expect you to come all the way to Blackwood Manor. It must be quite a distance to Blaze’s Estate.”

“… I wasn’t worried, really.”

I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you for a while after I graduated.

Even seeing it like this makes me happy.