My Ex-Boyfriend Gave Birth to My Child? What Does That Mean? - Chapter 47

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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 All This About? Episode 47
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Because damage control had been woven into the fabric of a melodrama overflowing with media manipulation, public anxiety settled remarkably fast.
Rather than speak of the escaped magical beasts and the horrific explosion, people much preferred to gossip about the Capital Hospital’s chief physician who had lost all dignity and composure. The emerging star of the Temple, the “Saint of Purification,” was also irresistible fodder for conversation.
High Priestess Vivian Rochelle was not ordinarily someone who gave much thought to public opinion, yet she understood with absolute certainty that a restless heart did no good for her patients.
An addict to penance, she visited fetid slums and back alleys alike, even venturing into the Capital Hospital’s intensive care ward, tirelessly generating talking points wherever she went.
Needless to say, the White Milky Way Silk Veil from the Argent Merchant Guild was always draped at one corner of her saintly, elegant form.
Thanks to this, my workshops—now many times their former size—churned out fabric every single day, and the fabric sold at nearly the same pace it was produced.
Bolts destined to cross the sea aboard Shand Ordore’s Ship were already filling the docks to capacity and preparing for their voyage into the unknown. Business was sailing smoothly, one might say.
“It’s good fortune, I suppose.”
Leon visited my office again today and sprawled across the sofa with his complaints spilling out.
“The Nobles’ Assembly is still chaos.”
I, who was actually considering having a small, narrow bed installed in my office just for him, opened my mouth at once.
“You don’t need to tell me all this.”
“The first is always picking fights with the second.”
“Please.”
“The second whines that it’s unfair.”
“Leon!”
Unable to bear it any longer, I rose from my desk and silenced the man sprawling across the sofa by pressing my lips against his.
“…I told you not to tell me secrets like this.”
After our lips parted, Leon gently licked the spot where he’d bitten my lower lip and murmured.
“It’s not a secret if every noble who attends the Nobles’ Assembly knows about it.”
I made a small sound and sat back up.
That kiss was pointless.
Leon asked in his usual carefree tone.
“The Otreha Family has the right to participate in the Nobles’ Assembly too, doesn’t it? They have legitimate territory, after all.”
“That’s true. It’s just that the one who holds that right is Schule Otreha.”
My father and his ancestors before him had long considered participation in the Nobles’ Assembly an honor.
Why had the Otreha Family acquired a townhouse in the capital while keeping estates in the provinces in the first place? It had all been preparation for attending the Nobles’ Assembly.
But Schule, a poor nobleman sitting at the very bottom of the ranks with no real voice at all, held little fondness for that place.
My blood relative was the sort who enjoyed lording himself over people weaker or lower in status than himself!
Since there were no formal penalties for non-attendance, what began as skipping a session or two eventually became a pattern of never attending at all.
“…What’s your own take on all this?”
“On what?”
“Prince Raul is aiming at Prince Adrian, isn’t he? If the prince ends up shouldering all the blame, won’t that make trouble for you too?”
“Things don’t play out conveniently in anyone’s favor like that.”
Leon laughed with easy confidence.
“Lea Ocker walked into that cage on her own two feet. Who do you think will be suspected first?”
I paused to think before answering.
“The Ocker Family or the Bestin Family, I’d imagine.”
“Exactly. Both are central pillars of the Great Merchants’ Guild. And everyone who knows anything knows the first is secretly working with the Great Merchants’ Guild behind the scenes.”
I blinked in surprise, opening my eyes wide.
“That’s how it works?”
“It’s not public knowledge, but he’s one of the first’s funding sources. You didn’t know?”
“Well, in my previous life, Pascal Ocker only gave me work—he hardly discussed political matters with me.”
“Don’t talk about that man.”
“You’re the one who asked first.”
I recalled the time of the magical beast incident—the mechanical muttering of the guards in front of Cage 2.
“The guards at Cage 2 kept saying they served the second prince.”
“Exactly why it’s neither clean nor clever. Remember? They were under Brainwashing Magic. With a method like that, anyone could tell the second prince was caught up in a plot.”
“True. You’re right.”
I asked what I’d been genuinely curious about all this time.
“…What happened with the Brainwashing Magic?”
From the moment Lea had fallen under the brainwashing spell, I’d already asked Leon to find a way to break it.
“Is the Brainwashing Magic that affected Lea Ocker and the guards the same type?”
Leon nodded.
“According to Mana Resonance, yes. But the method of application is different from what comes out of the Magic Tower. It’s not magic created by the kingdom’s mages, at the very least.”
I widened my eyes.
Magic not created by the kingdom’s mages?
“But it couldn’t possibly be magic from outside, could it?”
“Why?”
“Because magic doesn’t work outside Kingdom Territory?”
Fundamentally, the magical civilization flourished in the Kingdom because a dragon once bestowed the Dragon’s Blessing upon the Soleiain Royal Family in ages past. Magical beasts existed on other continents, certainly, but the Mana that humans could manipulate existed only within Kingdom Territory.
The Temple recognized magic not as the Dragon’s Blessing, but as a power that only dragons truly deserved to possess—a subtle distinction, though the practical result amounted to much the same thing.
Magic was a blessing granted to Kingdom Territory alone.
Leon dismissed my words in a leisurely tone.
“It’s not that Mana doesn’t exist—there are researchers studying magic in the Eastern Empire and the Western Archipelago too.”
“How is that possible? Without Mana, they can’t even cast magic.”
“It’s a power worth coveting. There are ways to use Magic Stones, after all.”
Leon raised himself slightly and pointed to the small ship model resting on the desk.
“The second lead concerns the western seas.”
It was the ship model of the Ordore Merchant Guild that Shand Ordore had gifted.
“……Should I not send the trading expedition?”
“No, actually it’s a perfect opportunity.”
Leon continued in an unhurried manner.
“We’re thinking of disguising our people as Shand Ordore’s crew and putting a few of ours aboard. What do you think? Since he’s your business partner, I thought I should ask your permission.”
“If Shand Ordore agrees, I have no objection. Though I must say, suddenly this whole matter has grown far larger than I expected…….”
“This much chaos in the capital didn’t happen because of just my family’s problems, did it? You’re caught up in this too, whether you like it or not.”
My thoughts turned to Lea, and my feelings grew complicated.
“……Then there’s no way to undo the brainwashing?”
“That’s simple enough. A little adjustment should do it…….”
“Should?”
“If I touch it too much, I’m afraid I’ll erase other memories too. That would be troublesome. Delicate work is a nuisance.”
The implication was that the other memory was the crucial part, making it difficult to tamper with carelessly.
“In any case, if all the key witnesses are mad, they’re useless. Right now they’re all arguing over who gets to detain them.”
“They’re passing the responsibility around, aren’t they?”
“You understand quickly.”
“Anyone with sense would realize a powerful mage is involved in all this.”
I pressed my forehead.
“They’re deferring to each other because they fear losing the witnesses…… and they call themselves the Nobles’ Assembly!”
“Well, the most logical conclusion seems to be that they’ll end up imprisoning them in the dungeon of the Duke’s mansion.”
“Ah, I see……. Wait.”
Was there any other duke in this kingdom besides Duke Voltaine?
“……Your house?!”
Leon made a beautiful expression and tilted his head slightly to one side.
“Are you jealous because Lea Ocker is pretty?”
“That’s not the issue at all!”
I suddenly pulled the beautiful man into my arms.
“Aren’t you worried you’ll be in danger?”
“Me?”
“I’m worried about you!”
Leon let out a soft laugh from within my embrace, then continued in a slightly arrogant tone.
“Well, it takes a mage to deal with a mage. Who else is there but me?”
I recalled the mysterious mage behind all this—that elegant-looking man I’d never once seen at the Magic Tower.
“……I suppose I really should contact the Magic Tower once.”
Leon pulled at my arm just as I tried to sit up. I tumbled helplessly across his broad shoulders, and his heartbeat sounded very close.
“Don’t worry. Back in the day…….”
“Back in the day?”
“In my previous life, this was nothing at all.”

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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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