My Ex-Boyfriend Gave Birth to My Child? What Does That Mean? - Chapter 51

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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-Boyfriend’s Child — But I’m the One Who Gave Birth? Episode 51
* * *
Should I say Schule Otreha did well to end the marriage, or that he did poorly?
Stealing the seal was no simple theft. If a vassal did it, it was treason; if a commoner, it was a capital crime.
But I couldn’t bring myself to blame my sister-in-law.
Of course not!
The truth was, it was something I’d desperately, desperately wanted to do myself.
After crying her fill, the Otreha Lady spoke in a measured tone.
“He probably hasn’t even noticed the seal is gone.”
“But doesn’t the lord’s seal have to be worn at all times?”
“He’s gained so much weight recently that the seal ring no longer fits him properly.”
“I see.”
“When I suggested resizing it, he said it was too much trouble and just left it rolling around his study. I found it under his desk, buried in dust.”
Looking at the Seal Ring — a family heirloom from my father — I was seized by a tangle of conflicting emotions. A symbol of an entire noble house was being treated worse than a stone.
My sister-in-law continued speaking calmly, as if her earlier sobbing belonged to someone else entirely.
“The Administrative Seal he took from me is sufficient for ordinary administrative tasks, so it should be fine for a while even without the seal ring visible. He’ll assume it’s somewhere in his room.”
“You’re saying suspicion of you is unlikely?”
“He won’t dismiss the possibility of suspicion entirely, but he might also believe he simply mislaid it.”
“All right, then….”
I looked between everyone in the room — Cyril and my sister-in-law — and spoke clearly.
“We all saw nothing. The Seal Ring was lost somewhere in the castle of the Otreha Territory.”
And that was how it came to pass.
Later, when the head of the Argent Merchant Guild returned from the Otreha Territory, he reported that the atmosphere in the mansion had been no different than usual.
He hadn’t noticed that my sister-in-law and her children had fled via the Guild’s carriage.
And the seal imprinted on the trade documents was the Administrative Seal my sister-in-law had used.
‘He still hasn’t realized the seal is missing.’
Most business could be handled with the Administrative Seal, after all.
So when would Schule notice? When he needed to pay taxes next quarter? Or….
‘When he tried to draft a betrothal agreement ahead of time?’
* * *
There was always something more important in the world than power struggles behind the scenes.
“……Is this all you have to say, coming to me in person?”
The Shastan Lady tilted her head slightly, her expression reluctant.
“I would never presume. I simply thought that while presenting this gift I made with admiration in my heart, it would be wonderful if I could borrow a small measure of the Shastan Lady’s influence.”
Cyril, who followed me like a shadow, brought forth the Milky Way Silk Box trimmed in silver. When I carefully opened the lid, inside lay an Ivory Fan adorned with Milky Way silk and encrusted with jewels.
It was no ordinary fan.
It was the latest creation from the Argent Tor Jewelry Workshop, crafted exclusively for the Shastan Lady alone, designed to complement her fiery red hair and those stubborn amber eyes.
“You’ve always helped me. This was specially commissioned for the Shastan Lady alone, and the workshop will never create another design like it. It’s nothing grand, but I hope you’ll accept it as a token of my gratitude.”
“……These seem to be Magic Stones embedded here.”
“Exactly! You have a keen eye.”
It was something I’d specially prepared, knowing that the Shastan Lady, versed in magic, would recognize it.
“How could I present an ordinary fan to someone I respect? This is also a Magical Tool I crafted myself.”
“Tell me more.”
“If you find yourself in danger, break the second rib of the fan, and it will protect everything within a radius of two meters from external impact for approximately two hours. I’ve included a sample with the same effect so you can test it. Of course, this one isn’t a fan — it’s in rod form.”
“The Otreha heiress — were you a combat mage?”
“If anything, I was a jack-of-all-trades mage.”
“Hmm.”
The Shastan Lady flicked her fingers once, and a maid who emerged from behind her took the box from Cyril’s hands. I exhaled silently in relief. My gift had, it seemed, passed inspection.
“……You need a tutor for the children?”
“To be precise, I need tutors for the children. I thought that the Shastan Lady would be best suited to advise me on this matter, and so I’ve been bold enough to ask you directly.”
“Children?”
“My nieces and nephews have come to stay at my estate for a time, and there are also children I’ve taken in through the Temple’s sponsorship program.”
“Sponsorship, I see. It’s noble work you’re doing. Assisting the Temple is a proper virtue for the nobility.”
The Shastan Lady nodded slowly, her voice noticeably gentler.
“What sort of tutors do you need? An instructor in etiquette, a sword master, a scholar? Whoever you require, I’ll send for them.”
I couldn’t very well ask for all of them, could I?
I smiled as shyly as I could manage, while my mind calculated furiously.
‘If possible, I’d love to bring people over to my side!’
* * *
The moment my figure appeared in the Research Laboratory, Herdi Pua pushed his spectacles up and called out at once.
“What happened?!”
I held up my thumb toward him.
“It worked!”
“Ha! As expected, my skill is……!”
“Oh, you’re doing it again. You can’t forget about Assistant Number One!”
“Fine, fine. Let’s count it that way.”
What was there to say.
The fan I’d brought to Shastan Lady was a joint creation between Herdi Pua and me!
After the camouflage garment business collapsed entirely, Herdi Pua had been languishing in despondency until he heard my words about this being work to find a good teacher for Lucian — then he threw himself into inventing with fervent enthusiasm.
For my part, the fact that my sponsored mage had recovered his spirits could be called an additional achievement of this whole affair.
Though Leon’s gaze had grown rather sharp as we stayed up all night engraving the Magical Formulas together.
Herdi Pua ground his teeth beneath his shaggy hair.
“This won’t turn out like the camouflage garment, will it?”
“Come now, of course not.”
The camouflage garment business… didn’t go well.
The invention itself was splendid!
The patent registration proceeded without major complications.
The problem was that armed knights dispatched by the crown subsequently stormed into the Research Laboratory.
If a Complete Bio-Mana Penetrating Fabric were to circulate even slightly in the public market, national security could be compromised.
They confiscated in full Herdi’s “Complete Bio-Mana Penetrating Fabric Version One,” an “extraordinarily dangerous invention.”
The thorough search left Herdi’s Research Laboratory completely wrecked.
The commander of the visiting knights apologized and asked for my understanding, saying that “mages so often hide things in the most extraordinary ways…….”
Honestly, I had nothing to say to that.
A research sample Herdi had secretly stashed beneath the torn-up workbench suddenly popped out.
I had no choice but to squeeze my eyes shut and scream silently.
‘Mages, I tell you……!’
And so Herdi Pua had to sign a Magical Oath that he would not create another camouflage garment unless there was direct instruction from the king himself.
In that sense, this new invention was truly wonderful in every way!
I patted Herdi’s back reassuringly.
“This invention is truly excellent. Unlike the camouflage garment, there’s no potential for misuse whatsoever, and the effects and applications are extremely clear. This is definitely going to sell!”
Herdi shrieked.
“Don’t insult the camouflage garment!”
“Come now, the past is the past. Surely this Barrier Rod is…….”
“‘Portable Disposable Physical Barrier Generator Version One!'”
“Are you seriously using a name like that?”
“It’s better than Barrier Rod! A name should be one where you can guess its purpose just from hearing it!”
“A name that long has no commercial appeal!”
“And ‘Rod’ is elegant?”
We puffed ourselves up like territorial beasts squaring off, staring each other down for a long while. But we already knew.
This wasn’t the time for this.
We moved almost simultaneously.

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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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