Chapter 189: Responsibility (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 189: Responsibility (6)
It hadn't been long since she returned to the Kalita Kingdom after 'that day'. Lorraine noticed something strange happening to her body.
"My period... it's not coming?"
Once a month.
That monthly visitor, the one that made women so miserable, hadn't arrived. It wasn't that she liked her period, but for it not to happen at all was another matter entirely.
A problem far greater than any pain she might feel in her lower abdomen.
The memory of her lovemaking with Cloud flashed through her mind. A passionate night where contraception hadn't even been a thought. Her face turned pale.
"B-But I checked my fertile window for sure...? I made sure he didn't finish inside me on the dangerous days...!"
Something must be wrong.
Maybe she'd miscalculated her cycle.
"Th-That must be it. Yes, that's it!"
But even after waiting another two weeks, there was still no sign of her period.
"It must be some kind of illness. I must have caught some strange disease without realizing it."
If it was an illness, she should see a physician or a cleric. The ones residing in the royal palace were highly skilled; they would diagnose any disease in an instant.
But Lorraine didn't go to them. A sense of dread bloomed in her chest, whispering, 'What if it's not an illness?'
And it wasn't long before she confirmed that her fears were not unfounded.
A servant brought her lunch.
"Ugh...!"
The gamey smell of the meat was unbearable, and she gagged. In that moment, she realized. She could no longer make excuses and ignore the truth.
*
For nobles, marriage is a union of families. It is a means for two different houses to form an alliance. As such, the opinions of the individuals getting married are rarely considered.
The important factors in choosing a marriage partner are the power of the other family, the tangled web of favors and grudges between them, and the honor of the house.
If those conditions are met, the family will marry off its members without delay.
To put it bluntly, their marriages are business transactions to expand the family's influence.
And royalty is no exception. In fact, their noble status makes the process even more stringent than for ordinary aristocrats.
'What do I do? What am I supposed to do?!'
This was why Lorraine was in turmoil. Her pregnancy was all but confirmed. She was carrying the child of a man who was not her husband.
No, that wasn't quite right. He couldn't even be called another man.
She wasn't married. She didn't even have a fiancé. But if this became known, she might never get a fiancé for the rest of her life.
Who would want to take responsibility for a woman who had not only failed to protect her chastity but had also become pregnant?
...No, perhaps there were some.
Men from decent families who remained unmarried due to some major flaw.
Lorraine recalled the men her half-sisters, born of her father's concubines, had been married off to. Their families were prominent, but the men themselves were invariably old or hideous.
Her sisters, having eyes of their own, naturally didn't want to marry such men. They had actually knelt before their father, begging and pleading with all their might.
-Father, please... Please have mercy...! He doesn't have to be handsome. I won't complain if he's short. Just... just let me marry an ordinary man!!
-If you are willing to renounce everything you enjoy as a member of the royal family, then I will grant your wish.
-Th-That's...
-You cannot? Then this conversation is over. Guards! Drag this child away.
-Ah, Father! Fatherrrrrrrr!!!!!!
But the will of her father, the King of Kalita, was absolute. To this day, Lorraine had never forgotten the screams of her half-sister as she was dragged away.
'N-No... I don't want that...!'
She had joined Lorian's party to follow her brother, but also to postpone her own marriage.
She didn't want to marry someone she had no feelings for.
The thought that the arranged marriage she despised so much might now come to her in its worst possible form made her body tremble uncontrollably.
Then, a thought struck her, and she froze.
'If I'm discovered... what about the child?'
Lorraine herself wouldn't be killed. Though she was now flawed, she was still of royal blood. She might face severe punishment for disgracing the family's honor, but she wouldn't die.
But the child was a different story.
Her father would see the child as a stain on the family's honor, a product of her transgression.
He would try to erase it before it could become a scandal.
The faint maternal instinct that had sparked the moment she realized she was pregnant did not want that. She wanted the child to be safe, if at all possible.
'If I give birth in secret...'
Maybe she could give birth secretly and have the child adopted somewhere else.
Even if she could never see the child again...
Lorraine sighed.
"There's no way something like that would be possible..."
She was a princess. A person who drew the attention of countless people just by breathing. The chances of someone like her hiding a pregnancy to full term and then giving birth in secret were practically zero.
"...That damn bastard."
In truth, there was a simpler solution than secretly giving birth. To hold the one who got her pregnant responsible. There is no pleasure without responsibility. If a man gets a woman pregnant, he must take responsibility as a husband and a father.
Fortunately, Cloud barely met the criteria.
He was the Hero, had accomplished the great feat of defeating the Four Heavenly Kings, and was beloved by the people. On top of that, he was handsome.
Meaning, he was more than qualified to be Lorraine's husband.
Her father wouldn't object, either. With Cloud, he could probably nullify the unequal treaty signed due to Lorian's failure.
At first glance, this seemed like the cleanest solution, but there was one problem.
Would Cloud even admit to it?
If Cloud denied that the child was his, no one would listen to her, no matter how loudly she insisted.
Normally, the truth would be revealed through a trial, but given what the Kalita Kingdom had done to the Prona Kingdom, that was unlikely.
To an outsider, it would probably look like nothing more than an attempt to tarnish Cloud's honor.
"Son of a bitch..."
As her thoughts reached that point, Lorraine felt a surge of anger.
"So he just had his fun and that's it? If you have your fun, you have to take responsibility...!"
In truth, it wasn't that he hadn't taken responsibility; Cloud didn't even know she was pregnant. But to the agitated Lorraine, that detail didn't matter.
"Just wait until I see you again."
I'll pin you down and beat the hell out of you.
Muttering to herself, she changed into a loose-fitting dress and left the room.
Complaining wouldn't solve the problem.
To find a solution, she had to act.
"Oh, Lorraine, what a surprise. You came to see me first for a change."
To solve her problem, Lorraine had gone to her mother. In her memory, her mother was gentle and merciful, unlike her father.
Unlike her father, who punished mistakes harshly, her mother embraced her children with love. A mother like that might... she might protect her.
Lorraine smiled at her mother, who wore a welcoming expression.
"Why? Can't a daughter come to see her mother after a long time?"
"Oh, listen to you. And now you say that, after making your mother sad by following your brother around all the time?"
"Umm..."
Having nothing to say to that, Lorraine scratched her cheek awkwardly. Seeing this, her mother, Lucia, chuckled.
"Anyway, welcome, my daughter. Let's enjoy some tea and sweets together, just the two of us. It's been a while."
Lucia had a maid bring tea and sweets. While they waited, the mother and daughter caught up, and their conversation continued as they drank the tea the maid brought.
By the time the sweets were gone, Lorraine began to broach the main topic.
"You know, that reminds me of something that happened a while ago. That incident... the one that caused such an uproar in the kingdom because of the Hasman family."
"Are you talking about when the second daughter of the Hasman family had a child out of wedlock?"
"Ah, that's the one! It was a huge mess back then, wasn't it? All sorts of rumors were flying around. Thinking back, I don't really know the details of what happened."
"There was nothing particularly special about it. The second daughter of the Hasman family had an affair with another man behind her fiancé's back and ended up pregnant."
"I see. But was that really enough to turn the whole kingdom upside down?"
Lorraine asked, breaking out in a cold sweat. Unaware, Lucia answered nonchalantly.
"Of course, if it had ended there, it would have just been a disgrace to her family. But that wasn't the end of it."
"It wasn't?"
"The girl told her fiancé about the pregnancy and begged for forgiveness. Asked him to spare the child, at least. No, wait, I think she asked him to raise it with her?"
"...I can see why it caused an uproar."
"Indeed. She disgraced the honor of her fiancé and his family."
"S-So what happened? Was the engagement broken off?"
"If only it had ended with just a broken engagement."
Lucia sighed deeply, as if exhausted just by the memory.
"Her fiancé, seeking to restore his honor, challenged the eldest son of the Hasman family to a duel. Normally, that would have been impossible, but given the circumstances, it was permitted. That day, the head of the Hasman family's eldest son went flying."
"Ah..."
"After that, a territorial war broke out. The Hasman family lost half their lands in that war, and the lover's family, being of such minor standing, was wiped from history altogether."
"...Is that even possible?"
"No family was willing to help the Hasman family after their honor had been dragged through the mud. Plenty were willing to help the other side, though. Well, they were probably just after a piece of the land, but help is help."
After that, she went on about how much trouble she and her husband went through to mediate the affair.
Lorraine listened to her mother's complaints before asking at an opportune moment.
"What happened to the second daughter...?"
"That girl? As I recall, she was stripped naked and forced to run ten laps around the city, then whipped ten times on her backside in front of all the citizens before being sent to a convent... I believe she was disowned from the family register, too? They say the head of the Hasman family doted on his daughter, and the rumors must have been true, seeing as he gave her such a light punishment."
My husband would never have been so lenient.
Lorraine felt a chill at Lucia's dissatisfied tone.
'N-No. This is completely different from my case. I-I don't have a fiancé. At least it won't lead to a war!'
She thought, forcing herself to continue the conversation.
"So that's what happened... B-But isn't that sort of thing fairly common? A noble daughter getting pregnant out of wedlock, I mean."
At that, Lucia smiled.
"Oh, my dear daughter... To say such a thing is common, you have such a dark view of the world, don't you?"
"I-Is that so?"
"Still, as you say, while not common, it does happen on rare occasions."
"What happens in those cases?"
"Usually, they're sent to a convent."
"I see. Then what if, just what if... what would you do if that happened to you, Mother?"
"My daughter. Do I look like the type of person to have an affair? No matter how busy your father is, I only love him."
Lucia pouted, looking slightly offended.
"No, not that. The other way around. I mean if you were the parent."
"Oh, is that what you meant? What a relief. I was worried your rebellious phase had returned..."
"What rebellious phase... Anyway, just answer me. What would you do?"
"Hmm... My good son and daughter would never do such a thing, but if they did... I suppose I'd have to have them beheaded?"
"...What?"
Seeing Lorraine's face stiffen, Lucia realized her slip of the tongue and quickly waved her hands, changing her tone.
"No, no. Even I think beheading is too much. My precious son and daughter... their bodies should remain intact. Perhaps poison would be acceptable? But my children are so robust, poison would only be painful..."
How can I kill them without causing pain?
Watching her mother contemplate such a thing with her beautiful face, Lorraine's eyes trembled.
"Kill them... Are you serious? You'd kill your own child over something like that?"
Seeing the horrified Lorraine, Lucia's expression turned icy.
"Lorraine. Correct yourself. The honor of the royal family is not 'something like that'."
It was the first time Lorraine had ever seen her mother look so angry.