The Maid With a Child - Chapter 62

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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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62. Could it possibly be you?
“……I’m so sorry.”
Adlen sniffled and blew her nose with a loud honk.
Back in the room, Adlen wept for some time.
Racalte had never paid mind to a maid or knight crying before. But Adlen’s tears were something he couldn’t simply overlook. Part of it was that her weeping was far too conspicuous and elaborate to ignore.
But the real reason, more than anything else, was simply that he found himself caring.
“Did the man you met today do something strange?”
This was Racalte’s primary concern.
The world had nothing worth trusting, so why trust a man? A man she’d never laid eyes on before in her life?
Racalte ground his teeth together.
How dare someone make his closest confidante weep.
Adlen was currently his most proximate collaborator and subordinate, working at his side on the most delicate matters. Depending on the gravity of the offense, he’d already resolved to exact vengeance personally.
At the fierce glimmer in Racalte’s eyes, Adlen panicked and shook both her hands and head simultaneously.
“Oh, no. It wasn’t exactly strange, but…….”
“Strange words, though.”
“…….”
Adlen’s mouth snapped shut.
Her master had a sharp eye for such things.
“What did you hear?”
Depending on the nature of those words, he fully intended to exact blood vengeance himself.
If this shock diminished Adlen’s work performance, it would obstruct his own endeavors—which was tantamount to defying His Majesty’s will. That was treason.
How dare someone inflict psychological harm on such a precious instrument of His Majesty’s service? With guts that size, it would be a waste to keep them inside the body—extracting them might be a merciful option.
Racalte had already rendered his judgment.
Guilty without exception. The sentence would be adjusted according to Adlen’s words.
Adlen, unaware that a single word of hers could seal someone’s fate, sniffled and began her lament.
“I mean, the description was that he had a warm face, no sharp edges, all that, right?”
“It was.”
Racalte had memorized the target’s personal details as well. One could never be too cautious in such a selection.
His desire that she meet the absolute worst sort of person and get thoroughly taken advantage of so she’d focus on work clashed with his hope that she’d meet someone worthwhile and be happy. The decision had been difficult.
In the end, he chose the latter. The former was something he couldn’t do to Adlen, who bore no fault.
Since he’d decided to pick a good man, he’d chosen someone whose appearance wouldn’t be burdensome—someone acceptable. But…….
“Rather than warm, his impression was downright hot, and he had no sharp edges anywhere on his body.”
“You mean his bones didn’t show?”
“Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly it! He’s a man, but not a single muscle or even one bone was visible on his body—he was round and soft all over, and despite the cold weather, he was sweating constantly……. Of course he’d have a warm impression, living in his own personal summer!”
Adlen launched into an impassioned tirade. This was a proper swindle.
But the person who’d done the introduction would deny nothing—insist it was accurate. Warm and round, that’s all true, isn’t it? Impossible to argue with once they insisted—a subtle fraud.
“A fatal flaw.”
Racalte wasn’t one to obsess over a person’s appearance, but he didn’t ignore its importance either.
Having eyes meant being swayed by the external—it was an inescapable instinct for any living creature.
There was no need to be exceptionally beautiful, but surely one had to be at least tolerable to the eye to make things work between two people.
If it failed at that threshold, there was nothing more to discuss.
But apparently there was more after that.
“So the man who deceived you with his face said something strange too? What?”
He wasn’t the one who’d committed the deception, but he’d already become the deceiver in Adlen’s mind. She felt thoroughly swindled, so she didn’t bother correcting her master’s words.
“‘I heard Count Sigelion had a child with a maid. Could that possibly be you?’ That’s what he said!”
“……What?”
“The child at House of Count Sigelion is Crown Prince Moren, and even if such a thing never happened…… he just kept asking, ‘Are you sure it’s not you? Really, truly not you?’ every chance he got.”
Adlen burst into tears again.
Racalte was so startled he forgot to console her. He wouldn’t have been less shocked if a child fell from the sky.
The speed at which rumors about the Baby at Sigelion’s estate spread to the lips of servants in other households was already astonishing, but the wild, baseless way he’d connected the dots was appalling.
“How could such a rumor spread? We openly announced that he’s the Crown Prince.”
If His Majesty the King heard this, he might grab the back of his own neck. How on earth was he supposed to report that his masterstroke was turning into this kind of distortion?
“Yes! So I told him—did you not hear about the King’s birthday celebration? ……He said he hadn’t.”
“……?”
“How can rumors be so selective like that? He questioned whether you giving me a Dress meant we had a special relationship…… how could all the middle explanation just vanish?”
Adlen struck her chest in frustration.
“When I explained it to him, he went ‘Ah, I see……’ and moved on, but you know that feeling where something stays uncomfortable? I realized then—he’d just decided not to believe it.”
It seemed that unless her master personally grabbed hold of everyone and said no, this is a misunderstanding, let me explain, it would never be resolved.
The man had said ‘It’s all right! I’m fine with it, which is why I’m here,’ but Adlen was not fine.
“How can a relationship that started without trust ever develop? No matter what I do, he’ll twist it to be about you and me…… it’s obvious.”
“Of all the wretched luck—I had to end up with someone useless.”
Adlen shook her head. Tears that had barely ceased while she spoke suddenly welled up again.
“It’s not just this one man’s problem anymore. I think the rumor has spread to people we don’t even know. And no one will doubt it, either.”
A maid entangled with the master. A relationship that had even produced an illegitimate child. How utterly fascinating and entertaining the world would find such a situation.
Adlen wept bitterly again.
She’d meant to find a man quickly before such a scandal broke—to suppress the rumor before it took root. But now it was far too late. Everything was already lost.
“My life is ruined now. A world of simple, quiet happiness…… that doesn’t exist. Not for me.”
“Adyu?”
“Now I have only the Baby. Waaaaaah!”
Adlen pulled the Baby close, pressing those small paws against her cheek, and wailed without restraint.
It was the cry of someone who had abandoned all dignity and composure before the wreckage of a shattered life.
“Huh-wuh, Adyu, cry?”
“Yes, I’m crying! Boo-hoo!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
Only at moments like this did the Baby’s needlessly sensitive nature compel it to cry along.
The Mansion grew deafeningly loud as the Baby’s wailing joined hers, yet Racalte found he could not stop them.
How could anyone refuse to weep when their entire life had crumbled?
But soon his own hearing seemed on the verge of collapse.
Without thinking, Racalte moved his hand.
Pat.
Touching Adlen’s slender frame was always something he approached carefully. At first he hadn’t given it much thought, but the more he noticed, the more she seemed fragile as spun glass—worryingly delicate.
“……!”
At the gentle patting of Racalte’s hand, Adlen lifted her tear-stained eyes.
At first she didn’t quite understand what this touch meant, but gradually she realized it was Racalte’s consolation.
Her eyes widened further still.
This man, who seemed to regard romantic relationships as the most trivial and contemptible thing in the world, was reaching out to comfort her over her unremarkable heartbreak.
“……In any case, since this misfortune arose from a man I myself procured for you, I shall take responsibility for resolving it.”
He even declared he would bear the burden for her.
“Responsibility, sir?”
“Yes. From the look of things, introducing you to another man to suppress the rumor seems like a poor strategy going forward.”
She agreed. She wouldn’t have the courage to try that again anyway.
“Allowing such a rumor to spread unchecked would be unfortunate, and it seems far too damaging for you. So if there’s anything I can do, I shall do it.”
“Really…… truly, sir?”
Yes, he was the only pillar she could truly trust and rely upon.
I am Sigelion!
Deep within her heart, Adlen silently cried out the words that welled up from her very core.
“Then, if I may……”
And after a moment’s consideration, she ventured to share a small, humble wish of her own.

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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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