Chapter 52

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 52

Chapter Title: Eye for an Eye, Drug for Drug (1)

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It didn't take long for everyone to realize that the room's owner, the Young Lady, was furious.

Regardless of the circumstances, Dia's words carried some validity.

No servant should enter the Young Lady's room without permission. Especially not in the middle of lovemaking.

But Sua apparently didn't see it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that way.

"Ah... th-this...?"

Sua muttered the two words in a daze.

The other servants were already preparing to withdraw as per Dia's command. What servant would want to get chewed out by a superior? Naturally, none.

"Whose child is it? Heh."

Everyone froze at Sua's remark. The atmosphere shifted entirely.

No matter how broken she might be, Dia was still a Young Lady. So the initial shock was just that Ganeghan and Young Lady Dia had conceived a child.

But this bold maid was now questioning that very "common sense."

The Young Lady had rolled around in bed with abandon. That's what Sua was implying right now.

The topic that the maids had only whispered about as jokes behind her back—and never dared bring up openly—had finally surfaced before the person herself.

Yeah, we've been wondering about that too. The other maids craned their necks, watching intently with that exact expression.

"Ganeghan is my husband. Ganeghan's the father."

"No, no, that's not what I meant by 'whose child.' Hee-hee."

"Then what do you mean?"

Dia narrowed her eyes unpleasantly.

But Sua's demeanor in opposition was utterly calm. And so brazenly confident that it felt like the maid and the Young Lady had simply swapped outfits.

Sua giggled as if savoring the situation itself, scratched her cheek lightly, and spoke up.

"...Young Lady. What makes you so sure you're pregnant?"

"What did you say?"

"Exactly what I said. Hee-hee-hee. You were so confident, I almost fell for it. How on earth could you have a child?"

"What... did you just say?!"

Dia was too outraged to continue.

From the Young Lady's perspective, it was an infuriating question.

She'd finally found someone she loved, and the child was proof of that love—a precious mark left behind.

Having something precious naturally sparked the desire to protect and nurture it for life.

The baby in her womb was exactly that for Dia. It was her child with the incredibly precious Ganeghan—and now Sua was openly denying it.

Dia's face crumpled despite her efforts to stay composed.

But the more her expression twisted, the calmer Sua became. The maid smirked faintly and opened her mouth.

"No... I mean, aren't you basically a walking contraceptive?"

The servants erupted in murmurs.

No matter her past misdeeds, no one should speak to a Young Lady like that.

Yet no one moved to stop Sua. It seemed like payback for past grievances.

No matter how upright Dia acted now, two weeks was far too short to bury her history. At least from the servants' viewpoint.

"...What?"

"Over ten years of drug use—how could a body like that bear a child?"

"That's..."

"Even if it was a miracle, wouldn't that be unfair to the kid? What if it's born deformed? Hee-hee."

"Deformed? No, it wouldn't..."

Dia's eyes wavered.

Come to think of it, she'd never considered that.

Her mind had been filled all day with thoughts of that man, Ganeghan.

From the moment he declared he'd change her life, he'd firmly rooted himself in her heart. Now he was the light and reason for her existence.

The problem was how those thoughts intruded constantly.

Even when learning something new or reading edifying books—the content wasn't hard to grasp; it was just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shaking off thoughts of Ganeghan that proved difficult.

Being with Ganeghan made her so happy. Even the act of making a baby was ecstatic.

So she'd assumed it had happened naturally. No—it had to have.

"...It happened. It did."

"No. Isn't this just a lie to cover for your personal physician? That's what I'm thinking. Hee-hee."

It was true she'd announced it publicly to protect Ganeghan however she could.

Still... she'd truly believed it. But hearing it so boldly denied now made her chest ache with a sharp, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠throbbing pain.

If there was no child between her and Ganeghan, what would be left?

The void drugs had carved into Dia's life was immense.

Cultivation, connections—everything had to be rebuilt from scratch.

And without a child, Ganeghan might leave her during that process.

Sua pressed on coolly toward the bewildered Dia.

"Well, Young Lady, with a body like that, maybe it's for the best?"

Dia stood frozen. Lost in her own thoughts, or perhaps her mind had blanked out entirely.

Undeterred, Sua continued excitedly.

"A Young Lady giving birth is a huge deal, right? Mess it up, and the family suffers in all sorts of ways. Inheritance splits, and who knows if the kid would even grow up right? Especially with a former drug addict mom."

Hee-hee-hee. Hee-hi-hi-hi. Sua burst into loud laughter.

Alfred's roar exploded then.

"Enough! That's no way for a maid to speak to the Young Lady! Show some respect! You're fired! Get out—now!"

"Respect? Respect? Dia should be the one showing respect! You idiots!"

The usually giggling Sua's sudden sharp scream shocked everyone.

A frigid silence descended in an instant.

Even Alfred, veins bulging on his forehead, fell quiet for a moment.

In the tense hush where any movement might shatter everything, Sua let out a small sigh and spoke.

"I know how hard everyone works for the Menesil Family. But doesn't that mean the Young Lady should show respect too? Not just greeting us properly—I'm talking about not being a burden to the family! Is that too much to ask?"

Sua shrugged after steadying her breath. She clearly had more to say.

"That's why I said it's a relief her body's like that. If it weren't, who knows how many kids she'd have by now? Imagine the hassle! She might've even slept with all those past doctors too!"

"...No, no..."

"If I were Dia, I... I wouldn't even say this much, but..."

Sua slashed her hand across her throat toward Dia, whose eyes were shaking.

"...I'd kill myself. Aren't you ashamed in front of the servants? In front of your amazing big sister?"

"I just... I just love Ganeghan..."

Dia's eyes filled with fear as she glanced timidly at Ganeghan.

What should she do in a situation like this? Cornered, she naturally looked to him again.

...He's all I have, Ganeghan. I really don't know anymore.

Ganeghan had been lost in thought since earlier. He just stared into the distance, chin propped, saying nothing. No reaction at all.

He tilted his head slightly, then crooked a finger at Sua.

"Urk?!"

Sua suddenly clutched her stomach.

"Urgh, uweeeek! Uuugh! Urp!"

She began vomiting up her stomach's contents onto the floor.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

"What is it?! What's happening?"

The other maids surrounded Sua, turning the room into instant chaos.

**

That message popped up right when Dia claimed she was pregnant.

Dia's Blessing—something new had been added, but it didn't specify what.

No choice but to poke around the menus one by one.

And soon enough, I found a function I hadn't noticed before.

'Log?'

Just a record of administrations? My gaze drifted to it absentmindedly.

The list stretched on.

I examined it in detail, starting with the most recent injection on Dia.

So that's it. Handy to have records like this.

What caught my eye, though, was the minus and plus signs flanking the vitality value.

It was already administered—changing values now shouldn't be possible.

Still, grasping at straws, I tweaked it slightly.

'Huh?'

I nearly gasped aloud in surprise. The stats on an already injected drug were changing!

(*Stat changes to past drugs can only be done once.)

The warning said that, but it didn't apply to me. Tinkering freely, I could control the values at will.

'Drug stats must be the ones that allow stat changes. It won't unlock functions ahead of schedule.'

Just as I got the hang of adjusting past injections, another figure came to mind.

'Sua!'

The one relentlessly bullying Dia right in front of me.

I quickly dug through Sua's records and found it.

'How the hell is she enduring this...?'

Abera writhed at just 3. Makes sense—she's Sao's creator. A final boss worthy of the name.

Anyway, 10 is my max output. If she keeps tanking it, it'll derail everything ahead. Time to adjust.

'Limit breakthrough—what's that about?'

I immediately tweaked the dependency drug stats on Sua.

My heart raced so much that even though my eyes could suffice, my fingers twitched anyway.

'Got it.'

The breakthrough was indeed about values. Dependency shot up to 20.

'Wait, even negatives now?'

Fiddling wildly, I confirmed it could even go negative.

I set her vitality to around -5.

"Urgh, uweeeek! Uuugh! Urp!"

Sua clutched her stomach and hurled onto the floor.

It happened in a flash, but the key takeaway: I could finally tweak her into submission.

...Things might resolve easier than expected.