Surviving as the Wife of the Swordsmanship Clan’s Troublemaker - Chapter 8
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 8
This potato pancake had its own story.
When I was living at my in-laws’ home, there was once when I craved potato pancakes so much that I secretly bought potatoes from the market and made batter.
However, before I could even fry them, my mother-in-law discovered it and threw out all the potatoes from the house, saying why would I make something my son doesn’t even eat.
I just wanted to eat them.
“Amazing, Hallara! I never would have thought you’d even glance at cooking.”
“Haha. I tried it when I was very young.”
“When? Come to think of it, what about your parents? How long have you been living alone?”
“Huh?”
I don’t know that.
How would I know the backstory of a mere extra character.
“Come on, tell me. We’ve become close, haven’t we? I’m not asking for deep secrets, just something simple! I’m curious.”
Of all things, my neighbor had to be someone full of nosiness. This was troublesome.
“Oh, look! Someone’s here?”
I blurted out anything to avoid the topic for now.
“Oh my? You’re early.”
But someone really was there. Not at my house, but in front of Michelle’s house next door.
“Really…”
The man standing with a square bag looked in our direction.
“Doctor Thomas! Over here!”
Michelle naturally opened the gate as if it were her own house and gestured.
At the same time, near Hallara’s house.
Francesca with a black parasol had finally come to Hallara’s house.
Karl provided cover behind her.
“My lady, why don’t you just summon her to the family estate to question her? Or call the young master to question her. It’s dangerous for you to come out like this.”
“What if His Grace finds out that a commoner woman is coming and going privately? I need to end this here. I should take her to a doctor to confirm the pregnancy.”
It was fortunate beyond measure that her husband was away at this time. Francesca walked confidently, planning to finish this matter before her husband returned.
***
“Thomas. Thank you for coming all this way.”
Doctor Thomas was a physician with wrinkles and dark circles around his eyes.
Despite his tired appearance, he wore a well-ironed shirt.
His attitude of surveying the inside of the house as soon as he entered reminded me exactly of my germaphobic mother-in-law.
“Hello.”
“Are you the owner of this house?”
“Yes.”
“Your name?”
“It’s Hallara.”
“Hallara. Your house is as neat as your name.”
So he had been scanning the house’s condition to evaluate it.
He seemed to relax a bit and stepped inside the house.
“It’s been a while, Thomas. This is my neighbor.”
Michelle welcomed him warmly.
“Yes, well. But why did you specifically tell me to come into this house?”
Michelle laughed heartily at his sulky question.
“To introduce my neighbor, and we haven’t finished eating yet. You haven’t had dinner either, have you Thomas?”
“Well, no.”
“I thought so. You’re always chasing after patients. What would you eat?”
“Did you call me just to say that?”
Michelle, who had been looking at his skinny body, offered him the potato pancakes in front of her.
“Try this.”
“What is it?”
“Just try it once. It tastes good.”
Whether it was curiosity sparked by Michelle’s strong recommendation or simply because he was hungry, Thomas readily picked up his fork despite the unfamiliar food.
“What is… this?”
After taking one bite, he looked surprised and then immediately buried his face in it and started forking away.
“Please eat plenty. I still have more batter, so I’ll go make more.”
Seeing that, I quickly took the potato batter and headed to the courtyard.
I had set up the brazier in the courtyard instead of inside the house because I was worried about the oil smell.
Food should never run out!
“Just wait a moment!”
“Okay, let me know if you need help with anything.”
“Michelle, please rest here.”
She doesn’t seem to be feeling well.
There must be a reason Michelle called a doctor.
“I’m getting worried for no reason.”
I didn’t want Michelle to be sick.
She was the first person I’d grown close to since coming to this world, and I didn’t want to live alone and lonely here.
“I should ask her later.”
Sizzle-!
As I was swallowing my worries while watching the potato pancakes crisping up, I heard signs of people at the entrance to the courtyard.
Is someone there?
I definitely heard voices arguing quietly.
Sure enough.
‘It’s a man.’
I caught sight of shoe tips that weren’t properly hidden.
And they were shiny expensive shoes similar to those of the men who had been chasing Hallara.
‘This is so annoying, really.’
I quickly took out the cooked potato pancakes.
And I turned the “No Men” sign so it would be clearly visible in that direction.
***
The potato pancake party was over.
“I wondered when we’d finish all this.”
Wipe.
Thomas’s shirt around his belly was stretched tight as if it might burst as he wiped his mouth.
I looked away, pretending not to notice.
There was Michelle with a similarly protruding belly.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes. Thanks to you lately, I’ve been feasting. Oh ho ho!”
“By the way, ma’am.”
I cleared the bowl in front of her and gently placed my hand over hers.
“What is it, why are you doing this?”
“Are you in a lot of pain by any chance?”
I gave Thomas a meaningful look and squeezed my hand.
Don’t hide it since there’s a doctor right here.
When I sent her a look saying I didn’t want to lose my only neighbor, Michelle immediately embraced me.
A cascade of laughter struck my ears.
“Oh my goodness. You were worried about me?”
“Is this really the time to laugh? Please tell me quickly. Your husband went far away on a ship too, didn’t he? Does your husband know?”
“Oh dear, Hallara. How should I put this.”
Michelle, who had pulled away from me, seemed troubled as she fidgeted with her lips.
Then Thomas approached and took her wrist.
What kind of development is this?
“Don’t tell me you two…?”
Is the husband who supposedly lives far away actually Thomas?
“You are indeed pregnant.”
“Oh my, I knew it. Hoho.”
Pregnant?
What kind of situation is this?
“Since you’ve waited so long, it seems quite an active little one has settled in. Well, there’s no need to examine further.”
Thomas adjusted his glasses and closed his bag again.
“Pregnant?”
I was the one who was surprised.
Madam Michelle is pregnant?
“Surprised? Lately my appetite has been strange and my body feels chilly, plus my period stopped. I thought something was odd.”
“What? But you said your husband went far away on a ship…”
“Oh my! When I counted the days, it was exactly the day he left. Ohoho. Oh my, how embarrassing!”
Thump thump!
Her touch hitting Thomas’s shoulder was full of shyness.
The madam was pregnant.
Thomas had just stopped by to examine her.
“Congratulations!”
Pregnant!
What wonderful news!
“I’m so embarrassed I could die. Even though he’s someone who’s been sailing around for years, for a baby to finally come now.”
“It’s a complete blessing. You should have told me sooner! I would have prepared something more delicious than potato pancakes. This won’t do. I’ll go to the market right now and buy some ingredients!”
“Shall we? Let’s make something delicious together and chat?”
“Deal!”
“Deal? What’s that? Anyway, sounds good!”
Hahaha.
“Thomas will join us too, right? Since you came all this way, I’ll treat you. Oh right, and please take a look at this young lady’s head too. She hit her head hard.”
Michelle grabbed Thomas who was about to leave.
“No thank you. I absolutely hate eating anything at night. I’ll just finish the examination and go.”
“Ah, no! I’m completely fine.”
Despite my refusal, he showed no hesitation, politely said goodbye, and left.
***
“Head butler, is the physician not here yet?”
Carlos shook his head at Francesca’s subdued voice.
“No. I sent word for him to come here immediately just before going out, but he seems to be having trouble finding the way.”
He had called one of the family’s personal physicians who was tight-lipped.
If any unnecessary rumors spread, the gossip would spread before there was time to prepare countermeasures.
“Send someone to tell him to come quickly.”
“I’ve already sent several people. Madam, instead of this, how about coming back after dawn tomorrow?”
“Head butler. Do you think I could sleep peacefully after hearing your report?”
“No…”
“What about Docheop?”
“He continues to be out. He does seem to come home, but he’s constantly away from his room, so meeting him is like plucking stars from the sky.”
“Not knowing his mother’s heart is burning with worry.”
It was difficult to even question Docheop about the truth.
For now, meeting Hallara directly to confirm the truth was the best option.
‘Whether she’s really pregnant, and if so, why she told me it was a lie.’
Even if she wasn’t pregnant, there was another reason to meet her.
“It’s certain that Docheop is meeting alone with that girl, right?”
“Madam… you’re asking for the twenty-second time now. It’s certain. Otherwise, why would the young master run away when he saw me?”
“Your tone is getting increasingly sharp.”
“I apologize.”
Karl was equally burning with anxiety.
That’s when it happened.
Under the evening glow, the old wooden door opened. Through it came a man wearing his hat pulled low.
Karl held his breath as he confirmed the face of the man coming out of Hallara’s house.
It was an unfamiliar man.
So she was a seductress after all. Putting up a sign saying no men allowed, yet calling another man who wasn’t the young master.
“Madam… it seems my investigation was insufficient…”
“He’s a physician.”
“A physician?”
Karl narrowed his eyes.
Madam is truly sharp.
The old badge attached to the square bag. To immediately spot that badge, proof of being a physician, in this dim place.
“I’ll bring him here immediately!”
Karl quickly moved his feet.
Bringing the physician was easy.
Despite appearances, Karl was one of the representative head butlers of a renowned swordsmanship family. As a person, he had received high-intensity training from birth. His build was also similar to that of any knight.
“I’ve brought him.”
“What is the meaning of this!”
The pot-bellied doctor knelt before Francesca.
Then Francesca, as if she had a headache, pressed her forehead with her hand and spoke irritably.
“Help him up. What am I, some back-alley thug?”
“I apologize. I acted without thinking.”
Thomas was forcibly helped to his feet by Karl’s hands.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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