I Became a Mother of a Sub-Male Son

She was about to head towards her room when she got an impulse and turned in the opposite direction. Since morning classes were far from over anyway, she didn’t think there was any need to stay in her room. She was tired of looking at books in the study, so she decided to take a look around the mansion. She didn’t ask Richard or Jade to guide her, but just walked along as she felt like. Just when she realized that her calves were quite sore, she arrived at an unfamiliar hallway that she had never seen before. Perhaps because they were deep inside the mansion, she didn’t feel like anyone was there except her and the knights.

 

‘Where am I?’

 

As she slowly looked around, she noticed a large picture frame hanging on the wall in the distance. She walked straight there. There were luxurious picture frames lined up on the wall, and upon closer inspection, they appeared to be portraits. The people in the frame were all men, and they all looked similar. As she read the signs below the portraits, she realized that there were portraits of the heads of the family hung by year. The last frame hung was a portrait of the current duke, Kaiden. The duke was staring straight ahead with an expressionless face, and a feeling of admiration flowed out of him. It felt so sophisticated that it was very similar to real life. It seemed as if the duke was breathing inside. Then, he slowly shifted his gaze to the picture frame next to him. The image of the duke’s father and previous duke was intact in the frame. Only the length of his hair was different, but his face was so similar to the duke’s.

 

She knew the duke looked like his father, but she never thought he was so similar that it felt like a twin. The resemblance was really creepy… She looked at the portraits of the two in turn with a little admiration. As she continued to look, it seemed that the face was not the only thing that resembled them. The atmosphere it gave off was similar, which gave me a feeling where the Duke’s current personality came from. She shifted her gaze to the currently empty seat next to the Duke’s portrait. In about ten years, a portrait of a child would also be placed here. When she remembered that, she felt a little strange. She stood there for a moment and then walked slowly. As the year of production of the portrait went further into the past, the brightness of the hallway became darker. She felt like she shouldn’t go that far… As soon as she thought that, she heard Jade’s voice from behind.

 

“You can’t go from inside.”

 

“Oh, really? I guess it’s some kind of important place?”

 

“That’s because it’s a place that no one but Your Excellency can enter.”

 

She nodded and stared into the dark hallway. A door appears blurry in the distance. She didn’t know where it was, but it felt like it was touching a nerve. After looking inside for a moment, she asked Richard.

 

“Can’t you tell me where that place is?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“Then what does this place do?”

 

Richard seemed to think about it for a moment, then spoke.

 

“There is just a room that the previous Duke, Iluvan Nathan, used to discipline his Excellency.”

 

She paused slightly at those words.

 

“…Discipline?”

 

“Yes. Anyway, that place is prohibited by His Excellency, so don’t go there.”

 

“Yes, got it.”

 

“Then I’ll just head back. Follow me.”

 

As she was walking along with Richard, she felt some remorse and looked back. The door, which was quite far away and could be seen vaguely, was already locked in darkness.

 

* * *

 

Even though she had a lot of worries these days, I couldn’t concentrate on the afternoon weapons training class. At that time, she heard Miriel’s voice.

 

“Your thoughts are elsewhere.”

 

“…Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll try to focus again.”

 

“No, let’s take a break for about ten minutes and then resume class.”

 

She nodded slowly and put the whip in her hand down on the floor. Her palms were numb from holding it for quite a long time. Should she at least put a bandage on it? As she looked down at her palm for a moment, she saw a shadow above. When she looked up, Miriel was standing right in front of her. Their gaze met her scarlet eyes.

 

“As I pointed out last time, that’s because you only swung the whip with force on her hand and not on her entire arm.”

 

“Yes. I will be careful. Even though I keep writing that I care, my hands keep getting stronger.”

 

“It doesn’t matter because it’s just training and practice right now, but please know that in real life, it’s a luxury to think about other things.”

 

Miriel pointed out in a cold voice.

 

“Yes. Thank you for letting me know.”

 

She didn’t say her words were offensive or anything. Because everything she said was correct. She just hoped that she wouldn’t end up using the weapon herself.

 

“I don’t think it will work. Wear this on a daily basis until you are fully used to it. “Currently, the young lady’s wrists are like tree branches.”

 

Myriel held out her thick leather padded guard to her.

 

“Are you taking care of me on purpose?”

 

“It’s just a fixture of the Knights Templar. It doesn’t mean much.”

 

“Thank you, though.”

 

She laughed quietly to herself without her knowing and then took the protector. Even though he spoke harshly, she could tell that he was secretly trying to take care of me. After all, people should not be judged only by their appearance. After putting the protector on her right hand, she turned her head. On one side of the training ground, a child’s swordsmanship class was in full swing. Although she was still doing basic physical training day and night without any training, she looked as happy as a child. She was also getting physical training, but she didn’t enjoy it as much as he did. Learning the weapon itself wasn’t that difficult, but the problem was physical training. Her body was so weak that even just one lap around the training ground made her head spin. Originally, she had barely stopped Miriel from going around twice, so she negotiated to go around once. She was fiddling with her hand wearing a brace when she heard the sound of running and raised her head. She ran towards her as if the child was having a break. She soon saw the child standing in front of her and took out her handkerchief. She lightly wiped the boy’s sweaty forehead with her handkerchief.

 

“Thank you, Elia.”

 

“What? You worked really hard. Is it really that much fun even though it’s still just physical training?”

 

“Yes. It’s a shame that I found out too late whether moving and using my body like this is such a good thing.”

 

She guessed so. Because before, she was so frail and weak that her limbs felt like they could break. As she nodded, she even wiped away the sweat from the lower part of her neck.

 

“Huh? Isn’t this your father’s handkerchief?”

 

“That’s right. The duke gave it to me to use.”

 

“Really?”

 

The child looked at her in disbelief, so she quickly nodded her head.

 

“Yes. I told you I needed it, so they gave it to me.”

 

“I was surprised because my father is not the kind of person who would give his things to someone else. I have never received anything from him.”

 

“Did you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The child nodded and smiled. She looked quite satisfied,

 

“You look so happy all of a sudden?”

 

“I can see that my father cares a lot about Elia.”

 

“Haha…”

 

She smiled awkwardly. Even though she didn’t say a few words, it seemed like the child knew because he was looking at her clearly. As for what feelings the Duke has for her now, he said, 

 

“I hope Elia and father get married quickly.”

 

She was scratching her head at the embarrassing topic that came up again.

 

“…Hmm, wouldn’t marriage be a different matter?”

 

“Does Elia hate father?”

 

“Huh? It’s not that I don’t like him, but…”

 

“Then it’s not done?”

 

The child tilts his head with an expression of confusion. This was so… Every time the word marriage came up, she felt like her child was like a wall or window. She was worried about how to explain this so that people would understand and move on. She thought for a moment and then opened her mouth.

 

“Lian, marriage is not something to think about easily. Even if the feelings are right for each other, it may not happen. You can’t help but think about many issues.”

 

The child blinked slowly. As if he didn’t understand.

 

“I don’t understand. Do you really have to think that way?”

 

“Lian.”

 

“Elia seems to be thinking too much.”

 

He said something that hit her straight in the face again, and in the end she had no choice but to shut him up.

 

“Isn’t it good to think simply sometimes? Put other problems aside.”

 

The child who said that waited for her answer. While she was thinking about what to say, she heard Sylvester calling the child from behind her.

 

“Oh, I guess break time is over now. I’ll go back to training!”

 

The child, twisting his body, ran to Sylvester. She stared at the child quietly and then lowered her gaze.

 

‘Keep it simple… Okay, maybe I was thinking about it too complicatedly. Anyway, the Duke likes me, right? Me, not Ladiana.’

 

So, as the child said, think simply. She just had to accept it as was and enjoy it. She lifted the whip that she had placed on the floor again.

 

“Miriel, we’re starting training again now.”

 

“Have you made up your mind now?”

 

“Yes. Now you won’t have to think about anything else during training.”

 

“Then that’s a good thing. Then I’ll start training again.”

 

She had to study hard and take care of her body. With firm determination, she swung her weapon according to Miriel’s instructions.

 

* * *

 

“The hunting competition schedule has been moved up?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But, didn’t you say that it would be held in about two months? What is the reason?”

 

“You know that a new magic stone mine was discovered in the Kingdom of Kennat, right?”

 

“Yes. I heard from Lady Ladiana that Her Majesty is keeping an eye on this situation.”

 

“War will soon break out.”

 

“If it’s war, it’s with the Kingdom of Kennat, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She looked at the Duke who lowered his head and then quietly took his hand. She was not surprised because she already knew that war would break out this year. However, she had no idea that the war would be brought forward. It seemed like the timing of most of the major events in the book was moving forward. She felt anxious again, but she tried to calm herself down. It might be better. Since war was going to break out anyway, it would be better to fight it quickly. However, if he had other concerns…

 

“Of course the duke will participate in that war, right?”

 

“Yes. I plan to participate in the war as a commander this time too.”

 

“Aren’t you worried? It’s war.”

 

The duke gave her a look as if asking what she was talking about.

 

“I have never failed to win a war in which I participated as a commander.” 

 

She knew that this war would also be won. However, the only problem was that the Duke was seriously injured.

 

“I’m not asking whether the war will be won or lost. It’s a war. There’s danger at any time, so you could get hurt…”

 

“How many wars do you think I’ve been in? I don’t know what you’re worried about.”

 

“No, that’s what I mean…”

 

“So, what?”

 

He asked as if he still didn’t understand. In fact, it was not unreasonable for the duke to not understand. Because he had never lost a war or suffered a serious injury. But apart from that, it was also frustrating, so much so that she felt like her stomach was going to explode.

 

‘Oh, I don’t know.’

 

She suddenly shouted with the intention that everything would happen.

 

“If the Duke gets hurt, I think I’ll be a little worried, okay?” 

 

‘Ah, I did it in the end.’

 

She couldn’t bear to see the duke, so she just kept her head down and fidgeted with his hand. While she was waiting to see what the duke would say, it was strangely quiet.

 

‘…Why is there nothing said?’

 

It was the moment when he slowly raised his head in puzzlement. Wasn’t the duke turning his head, slightly covering his face with his hand? And the tips of his ears turned a little red.

 

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Translator Note: