The Maid With a Child - Chapter 61

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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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61. A Ruined Life
The pattern continued much the same way afterward.
“Card games as a hobby? I won’t even look at a gambler. Rejected.”
“He admits openly to loving alcohol? Anyone who speaks so freely of drinking has a ninety-nine percent chance of becoming an alcoholic. Rejected. Don’t bother arguing that you’ll talk him out of it—drink, gambling, infidelity won’t be cured by words from the sidelines. Unless you’re divine, some things simply can’t be fixed.”
“This man has diabetes and he loves cake? The fool. Rejected.”
“Kind, perhaps, but lacking common sense—that’s just another word for stupid. At minimum, she should meet someone of equal standing. Rejected.”
Rejection after rejection, again and again.
By the final page of applications, Racalte had declared rejection so many times that he’d fallen into a troubling frame of mind.
“Did the steward lose heart for this task, or did you do something to earn her disfavor?”
“I think she’s shown remarkable restraint, actually.”
“She restrains you by throwing trials at you?”
“But I think they’re all worth meeting! You simply have very high standards, sir!”
Racalte was thunderstruck by Adlen’s words.
Setting aside the fact that he was a nobleman, these men were simply impossible to view favorably. Disaster was plainly written in their futures.
To attempt somehow rehabilitating such people was like trying to walk a tightrope blindfolded. Racalte found himself on the verge of anger at Adlen’s excessive leniency.
“Your reasoning contradicts itself. You say you want to build a happy home, yet you’d meet men who would tear it apart? What does that even mean? Do you believe happiness comes simply from marrying anyone at all?”
“Of course not!”
“Then what is it?”
“I simply wish to meet them first, and if we develop good feelings toward each other, then we can consider marriage. So please—let me at least meet them.”
…….
Though she normally obeyed his wishes, today his command struck her as sheer stubbornness. Adlen pressed her case with conviction.
“Surely among so many, one person must be suitable.”
…….
“And I swear to you—caring for The Baby won’t suffer in the least. If you’ll only permit it, I’ll suggest we meet nowhere but within Sigelion Manor.”
“……Very well. There are lessons to be learned from experience, I suppose.”
Racalte nodded at last, making no effort to hide his reluctance.
No matter how much he insisted now that it was all for her sake, she wouldn’t hear it. There are those who must taste something to know its flavor. That she was one of them troubled him greatly, but since a life’s path hung in the balance, he couldn’t abandon hope either.
Just as some must touch fire to understand its burn, and taste poison to recognize its bitterness.
Exasperation drove him to mutter something close to a curse beneath his breath.
* * *
A companion to walk life’s path alongside.
The sole being to look only upon her.
It was the day she would meet someone who might become these things.
She’d chosen the candidates from the list nearly a fortnight ago, but the process had been delayed because the other party kept failing to find time.
Perhaps she’d waited too long.
Emotions that should have soared now hung listless and heavy in her chest.
“The Baby, you eat your meals well and have lots of fun, yes? I’m truly, really, going to be back in just a moment. You mustn’t cry while I’m gone, all right?”
“Ah-duh?”
“I’ll return so very quickly. Promise.”
“Yat-ddok!”
The Baby, in the meantime, had grown quite nimble on his feet, and his vocalizations had grown distinct.
She couldn’t bring The Baby to such a formal introduction. Yet now that he was beginning to walk, the hours she needed to spend carrying him had shrunk considerably. It was the decisive factor that had finally allowed Adlen to step away.
Still, The Baby would only play with others.
Everything else—eating, diaper changes, being held, sleeping—he refused vehemently unless it was Adlen.
The time granted to her was brief.
That was why, perhaps, she left with uncertain steps along a path she should have danced down.
‘This is a precious opportunity the master has arranged!’
Adlen gathered her resolve and rose decisively.
“Then I’ll be going. Thank you for watching over him.”
“You’re leaving dressed like that?”
Racalte, who had arrived holding a ball to play with The Baby, furrowed his brow as he looked her over.
“Y-yes… what do you mean?”
Adlen glanced down at herself in confusion.
She had no appropriate dress of her own for an arranged meeting, so she’d borrowed one from a fellow servant.
Since it wasn’t hers, it fit poorly in several places. The neckline hung too loose, gaping open in an unintended way, while the bodice was so tight it seemed ready to burst.
Compared to the gown she’d worn to the King’s birthday celebration, this could be called nothing but rags—a shabby affair—but it was the best she could manage alone, without anyone’s help.
“……No. It’s not my place to meddle.”
Racalte offered no answer, only an ambiguous air.
It was too late now to identify the problem anyway. Adlen bowed and left the room.
In the great mirror of the Entrance Hall, she caught sight of herself and clicked her tongue in disappointment. But if this man were truly destined for her, such trivial matters wouldn’t matter. That was the essence of true destiny!
* * *
The City Center on a weekend afternoon teemed with crowds.
Adlen pushed through the throng toward the Fountain, their meeting place. They’d agreed to meet there, carrying a red flower.
Before leaving the Garden, Adlen had plucked a single bloom.
By the time she reached the city, the stem had grown damp with nervous sweat and drooped like seaweed. The petals hung limp and disheveled. Rather like her own appearance.
Why had she agreed to do this?
Some people met through arranged introductions and went on to marry quite happily, she’d heard. Yet from the moment Adlen set out, she’d felt nothing but dread.
There were people suited to arranged meetings, and people who weren’t. She, it seemed, belonged firmly to the latter camp.
The very idea of meeting a stranger alone made her stomach tighten.
As the Fountain came into view, she felt the overwhelming urge to turn around and flee.
Should she just bolt now?
“Adlen?”
But before she could, someone called her name.
Not from the direction of the Fountain—from beside her.
Adlen’s head snapped around. The moment she recognized the face, her body went rigid as a stone column.
* * *
When Adlen trudged back through the gates of Sigelion Manor, something flew toward her with a whistle.
“Oof!”
Adlen caught the flying object instinctively.
It felt much like the time she’d caught The Baby when it had flown at her.
The object was a ball. Adlen stood frozen, clutching it to her chest.
“Ady!”
The ball’s owner was The Baby.
For some reason, The Baby had been playing outside with the ball.
Upon spotting Adlen in the direction the ball had gone, The Baby bounced over excitedly—then tumbled forward with a crash.
“Oh, my little one!”
Adlen rushed toward The Baby in alarm.
But even fallen flat on the ground, The Baby didn’t cry. Instead, The Baby scrambled back up and bounded toward Adlen again.
Still unsteady on its feet, The Baby’s run was wobbly and precarious. Heart in her throat, Adlen quickened her pace and scooped The Baby into her arms.
“Are you all right? You’re not hurt?”
“Mm! Ady!”
“Yes, I’m back. I thought you might miss me.”
“Mm! Mm! Ady!”
The Baby clung to Adlen and wouldn’t let go.
“…Though it seems you were playing happily with your ball just now. Without me, even.”
“…Ah, Ady!”
That’s strange. Did The Baby just whimper a moment ago?
The Baby could say other words, but seemed to have run out of them, just repeating her name instead.
Adlen tilted her head quizzically, then decided against pressing further and patted The Baby’s back reassuringly. A warm welcome was all that mattered.
“You’re back sooner than expected.”
As the two of them shared their joyful reunion, Racalte approached slowly and arrived beside them.
Adlen quickly straightened and bowed her head.
“Oh, sir.”
“Did you hurry back because you were worried about The Baby?”
“No, that’s not quite it…”
Adlen let out a heavy sigh. Racalte raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.
“Well, that is to say… um…”
Adlen hesitated again and again before finally forcing the words out.
“…My love life and marriage prospects are completely ruined. Waaaaah!”
The moment she finished speaking, Adlen burst into tears.
“…What?”
Racalte—and The Baby—were equally shocked.
“Waaaahhhhh!”
Startled, The Baby began to cry as well.
The two wailing voices created a dissonant chorus that seemed to tear at the very sky and assault Racalte’s eardrums.

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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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