My Ex-Boyfriend Gave Birth to My Child? What Does That Mean? - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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My Ex Got Pregnant with My Child — What’s This All About? Episode 29
Rita, who’d taken leave early in the morning and gone out, returned with a suspicious air about her, swallowing herself in a robe and giggling as she made her way back.
I was watching the spectacle from the Garden, where I was having tea time in the pleasant weather.
As Rita shed her robe with a dramatic “Ta-da!”, several of the servants who’d grown accustomed to Rita’s chatter let out gasps of admiration.
“Rita! The brooch is so beautiful!”
“Hehe.”
“And this ribbon — goodness! The ends are decorated like lace. It’s truly magnificent!”
“Hihihi!”
Rita’s shoulders shot skyward with each compliment from her colleagues.
After savoring their half-teasing praise for a good while, Rita came bounding over to me and leaped up excitedly.
“While I was out, I stopped by your Argent’s shop! The crowds were something else — I practically had to jostle my way through just to get a few of these things!”
“Rita, did you hit someone?”
“Oh, it’s just a figure of speech.”
Rita spun around once in front of me, displaying the accessories adorning her body.
“See this blemish here? Because of it, it’s actually even better as an accessory! Even cut into small pieces, it shimmers in so many colors that it looks like a jewel.”
“Well, that’s all thanks to the Pober Company delivering defective raw materials.”
“And thanks to your skill in turning calamity into fortune! Right now the accessory shop is far busier than the fabric workshop. There are so many products I couldn’t even see them all!”
I recalled the moment I’d discovered the defects in the fabric shipment from the Pober Company and let out a short laugh.
‘This dye… if used to make dresses, the pattern would be distorted.’
‘It’s specified as high-grade colored fabric suitable for dress production. The quality matches, and the color is beautiful. How one creates dresses is up to the maker, after all.’
I could have held the administrator accountable for their shameless excuse and terminated the contract, but I didn’t.
It was more efficient to catch the Ocker Family’s agent hidden within it.
What the Merchant Association wanted was for me to fail to receive proper materials and miss the final delivery deadline for the Milky Way Silk. A merchant’s reputation would be tainted in an instant if they couldn’t meet their delivery date.
But I had anticipated this crisis from the start.
‘Use fabric from the Ordore Company to complete all existing orders. Have all the Pober Company fabric made into accessories instead.’
Small blemishes or distortions were fatal in dresses, but for accessories, they could actually be an advantage.
“Fans, gloves, hairpins of every imaginable style… they’re all so excellent that anyone would want to own designs like these!”
“The people we hired this time all had excellent skills. Would you prepare thank-you gifts for the workshop masters who recommended them?”
“Of course! If we include an accessory from the shop along with a letter of gratitude, it’ll look complete.”
“Also send along money equivalent to about half a month’s salary of our staff. Include it as a referral fee. I’d like to receive more recommendations if there are skilled people available.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, ma’am!”
The artisans making the accessories were introduced by the owners of the dress workshops I’d grown close to over time.
Women who had retired after marriage but wanted to continue their work as a pastime — I hired them all.
And as a result, a tremendous boom began that I could never have imagined.
“Well, the reduced quality is only a standard when producing dresses that use a lot of fabric anyway.”
I had reported the exact defect rate to the Pober Company, along with a warning that I would terminate the contract if they repeated the same mistake.
With that level of warning in place, they’d understand that if they wanted to continue working with me, they’d need to use their blade properly.
After organizing my thoughts, I smiled wickedly at Rita.
“Rita, you haven’t forgotten the most important thing, have you?”
Rita looked back at me with equally scheming eyes.
“Of course not!”
Rita quickly pulled out the pocket she’d been concealing under her robe.
“Wow!”
“Oh my!”
“Eek!”
As Rita began pulling out Milky Way Silk Accessories from the pocket, small exclamations rippled through the surrounding servants.
Rita called out in a confident voice.
“The mistress has given each person in the mansion an accessory as a gift! Come on, everyone line up! One scarf each. It’s the second most expensive item after the fan!”
In other words, Rita’s leave had been a cover for this surprise gift.
The entire Garden filled with joyful laughter.
* * *
Even in a mansion full of laughter, shadows exist.
I walked forward with one Milky Way Silk Scarf in hand.
In the long corridor of the Autreha Mansion, shadows cast through the midday window frames fell like bars across the floor.
The feeling of a place is always relative.
Just as the Ocker Mansion had been hell to me in my past life, it had been a place of happiness for Lea Bestin.
From beyond the window came the laughter of the servants, their cheerful voices comparing scarves during their rare official break time, creating a flutter in the garden like the chirping of small birds.
“Why didn’t you stay with Rita and rest for a while?”
“I couldn’t leave you alone, ma’am.”
“Did Leon tell you to do that?”
“No. It’s what I want.”
Even as Cyril spoke in clipped tones, the bluish Milky Way Silk Scarf that Rita had specially chosen for her draped elegantly around her neck. With a delicate Brooch fastening it in place, it suited her perfectly.
“I’m not trying to pity her or understand her.”
I spoke of Lea Ocker, the temporary inhabitant of the room we were heading toward.
“What I hate more is her thinking of herself as a victim.”
Cyril said nothing, walking silently beside me.
My relationship with Lea Ocker was delicate now.
She had given me what I needed, and I provided her with safety.
I could exact revenge on that woman who had destroyed my life in countless ways, but I hoped it would be done in a manner that did not harm the child. The child in Lea Ocker’s womb had to be born safely.
It was my own way of mocking Pascal Ocker.
And so a fragile peace was maintained between us.
As we reached our destination, Cyril opened the door.
Lea Ocker lay on the bed, looking out at the rear Garden of the mansion, shrouded in shadow. Without so much as glancing at me, she waved her hand feebly and murmured in a hollow voice.
“Leave.”
“There’s no one in this mansion who can order me around, Lea.”
Only after hearing my voice did the woman slowly turn her head toward me.
Golden hair that flowed like honey. A pale face and flushed cheeks. Thick lashes that gently shadowed her large eyes.
Lea Ocker was beautiful.
The mansion’s servants provided her with good meals and cleanliness, and, with my permission, indulged her whims to a certain extent.
On fine days, chairs and tables were brought out to the Garden so she could enjoy the view.
I was certain it was an environment incomparable to what the Ocker Family had provided her.
“Why did you come?”
“To bring you this.”
I held out to her a Milky Way Silk Scarf in soft crimson, the blend of pale gold and teal shimmering brilliantly against her vivid blonde hair far too perfectly.
The beautiful face of my past self — the one I had envied — twisted with shame and mortification. Lea touched the scarf gently with her fingertips, then suddenly flung it to the floor.
The light fabric did not fall straight but hung suspended in the air, traced a wide arc, and descended slowly.
“I don’t need it.”
I laughed, watching the scarf settle on the floor.
“Don’t misunderstand, Lea. This isn’t pity—it’s more like rent. Compared to what your information is worth to me, it’s practically a bargain.”
Lea Ocker’s pale hands clenched the bedsheet. Could she afford to refuse this? She had already lost so much.
“……There’s nothing more I can give you anyway. I’ve already handed over every piece of evidence I had.”
Lea clenched her teeth and muttered.
“I’m a daughter who no longer belongs to Bestin. You can’t use me anymore!”
“I know.”
She really did play the victim to the very end.
But now I could afford to dismiss her.
* * *
That night, Lea’s labor began.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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