I Became a Mother of a Sub-Male Son

Tasting the tea leaves, she gave Count Bugid a quick look of help. Then the Count coughed softly and spoke to Ladiana.

“Ladiana, before you collapsed, were there any strange signs or anything?”

“No, nothing, Father. I was just reading a book like usual when I suddenly lost consciousness…”

“Did you have any pain or anything before that?”

“No, nothing… Wait, now that I think about it, I think my heart hurted a little.”

Her heart hurt? She turned her head toward Ladiana. Did she say that she felt pain in her heart when she collapsed in the restaurant before?

“Your heart hurt?”

Ladiana nodded at her question.

“It hurted like being stabbed with a nail? Well, anyway, I think that’s what I felt.”

“Didn’t you say that your heart hurt when you collapsed in the restaurant before?” 

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then, is there something wrong with the young lady’s heart? Or something like that?”

“She’s been examined by doctors and priests several times, but there was nothing wrong with her heart.”

“But this time, you said there was pain in her heart.”

“…Yes. It definitely seems strange. But the doctors and priests all say there’s nothing wrong, so who else should I examine…”

Ladiana trailed off as if she was worried. Suddenly, she thought of the disguised knight, the knight-errant knight, waiting outside the building.

‘…Now that I think about it, there’s still a wizard left, right?’

“Then, how about getting help from the wizard?”

“…the wizard?”

Ladiana, as well as the count and his wife, looked at each other with puzzled eyes.

“Since the doctors and priests said they couldn’t figure out the cause, I thought we should call a wizard.”

“Now that I think about it, it makes sense. There are wizards who are in the healing field. What do mother and father think?”

“I think it’s a good idea. Don’t you think so?”

Count Lugid stood up from his seat and said at Countess Kersha’s question.

“We should contact the tower as soon as possible. Lady Elia, let’s talk a little more before you go. Then, I’ll leave.”

Count Lugid went outside in a hurry.

“Thank you, young lady, for taking care of our Ladiana.”

The Countess said, slightly lifting my hand that she was still holding.

“It’s nothing. I hope we can find out the cause this time.”

“Yes. That would be perfect. Oh, by the way, we were holding Youngae too tight. I’m sorry.”

“No, it was an honor to be able to talk to you, Madam.”

“Oh my.”

The Countess smiled brightly as if she was happy.

“Then I’ll go now.” 

“Yes. Young lady, please come visit us often later. Got it?”

“Yes, that’s right. Then, take care of yourself, Lady Ladiana.”

“Yes, that’s right. Lady Elia, take care.”

She went outside, leaving Ladiana and the Countess behind.

Allegro, who was waiting in front of the room, smiled meaningfully at her. It seemed like he had overheard the entire conversation inside.

She glanced at him briefly and moved on.

After getting on the carriage waiting in the waiting room, she glanced at Allegro, who was sitting across from her.

“You overheard everything we talked about inside, right?”

“I didn’t show it off, but I got caught, young lady, you’re really quick-witted” 

Allegro shrugged his shoulders.

She was dumbfounded for a moment. He was deliberately showing off, and then he got away with it.

“You’re bragging about overhearing. Right now?” 

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean to hear that. My body has become special due to magical experiments, so I can only hear sounds in places where there are no barriers.”

“Experiments? And on your own?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“…No.”

She knew he wasn’t a normal human, but she didn’t think he would conduct magical experiments on his own body.

Wait… So he heard all the conversations between the Duke and her.

“Then you were eavesdropping on all the conversations between the Duke and the people in the Duke’s house?”

“It would have been nice if I had, but unfortunately I only heard useless things.”

What on earth was he talking about? Allegro shrugged his shoulders as he gave her a look filled with indignation.

“There aren’t many places in the Duke’s house where even I can’t hear conversations. As you know, the Duke’s house is full of magic stones, right?”

“That’s right.”

“If important matters or such conversations were to leak out, it would be a big deal, right? That’s why there are magic stones planted all over the duke’s house. They work so that no one can hear them.”

“That’s the first time I heard of that.”

“Anyway, that’s what it is.”

So that’s why the duke talked to me comfortably even though the magician was staying in the mansion.

“More than that, isn’t it really strange that Lady Ladiana, who hadn’t come to her senses for several days, suddenly woke up? And that was right after the young lady visited.”

Allegro leaned toward her. She stared at his face that had gotten closer.

His eyes were filled with interest.

“Well. I don’t know. I just think it’s fortunate that Lady Ladiana woke up.”

She calmly dismissed the question.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Allegro, who had been staring at her with narrowed eyes, soon moved away again. She turned her head slightly after seeing a face that seemed to have lost interest. Silence fell on the carriage, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Rather, she felt at ease since we weren’t talking.

She let out a slow breath while leaning completely against her back. Feeling a little tired, she pressed her hand against her eyes. At that moment, she felt a tingling sensation on the inside of her left wrist.

What was it?

She slightly rolled up her long sleeves and checked her left wrist. The black stain that had formed when she had come into contact with Ladiana earlier had grown a little bigger.

She was already worried because the stain had newly formed, but it had gotten bigger, so she had an ominous feeling. Her mind became complicated, and at the same time, the faint pain began to grow stronger.

“Ugh!”

“Why are you doing that?”

Allegro gave her a puzzled look.

“No, nothing… Ugh!”

It felt like her skin was burning. She grabbed the stained area of ​​her wrist with her other hand.

“Does your wrist hurt?”

Allegro lifted her wrist to check and widened his eyes.

“This is…”

“…Let go.”

She shook off Allegro’s grip on her wrist and clenched her teeth. In this situation, it seemed like she had no choice but to endure until we reached the duke’s residence. But she wondered if she could hold out. It was at that moment when her vision gradually became blurry.

The carriage began to fill with light.

She raised her head in surprise and saw light leaking out of Allegro’s hand. Soon, the light enveloped her stained wrist, and surprisingly, the pain completely subsided.

“Th-thank you.”

“Did you get this stain? Since when?”

“…It hasn’t been that long.”

She didn’t want to tell the truth, so she just mumbled something.

“Looking at you, the young lady doesn’t seem to know what this stain is, right?”

“…Does that mean that you know what this is?”

She was even more surprised than before. This man knew the identity of this stain?

“Do you want to know?”

“Of course.”

“If the young lady gives me what I want, I’ll tell you.”

One corner of Allegro’s mouth slightly went up.

“No, that’s fine.”

She answered without hesitation.

This time, she was going to tell the Duke about the existence of this stain. At first, when the stain appeared near her heart, there was no pain at all, so she just ignored it even though she was worried. But now, there was a stain on her wrist, and the pain was surging. So she thought it would be better to tell him.

She had a firm belief that the Duke would be able to solve it somehow.

“Even if it’s not the mage, I can just ask the Duke.”

“No, the Duke won’t be able to find out what this stain is.”

Her indignation grew even more at the firm answer. And she didn’t understand the way he talked, saying that he was the only one that knew. However, looking at Allegro’s eyes, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

What should she do?

She thought for a moment and came to a conclusion. She decided to get Allegro’s help.

“…So what is this stain?”

Allegro’s eyes furrowed in annoyance at her question.

“Now, the young lady owes me another debt?”

“I understand, so tell me. What on earth is this stain?”

“Do you think God exists, young lady?”

It was a somewhat unexpected question, but she didn’t express her doubts.

“Of course. Why would there be a temple? Of course, since there are temples, God must exist.”

“What if someone who is not a God acts like a God?”

“…What do you mean?”

At that moment, why did she think of the ancient book that recorded the contents related to Pezetion? To be exact, it was the disguise that the power of Karmadan became stronger after Pezetion entered eternal rest.

“Think about it for a moment. If someone who really took everything from a god acts like that.”

“Of course, it is a cowardly and evil thing that should not be done.”

Allegro nodded and finally said the correct answer.

“The black stain carved into the young lady’s body is a curse. It is not magic, it is a ‘curse’ in itself.”

…Not magic, but a curse itself?

“There is an ancient book that records a myth. Among them, there is a myth that a snake that could not ascend to heaven and become a god despite a thousand years had committed a taboo.”

That explanation confirmed her prediction. Weren’t the things she already knew and the parts she had been suspicious of intertwined?

“The taboo that the snake committed was originally to take away the power of the true god who had settled in the human land. And it chose a curse as its method. A curse using sacrifices and its own blood as a medium.”

“So that curse is related to the black stain on my body?”

“Yes, that’s right. It was written that the person who received that curse had a black stain like the one on the young lady’s wrist.”

“In short, this situation happened because I was cursed.”

Allegro nodded as if he agreed.

“Then, do you know how to remove this stain?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know that.”

“…Is that so?”

If he knew how to remove the stain, it would be really good, she said after thinking for a moment.

“The old book that the mage saw. Can I see it?”

“The old book I mentioned doesn’t exist anymore. I burned it.”

“Huh?”

No, the old book burned?

“Well, many things have happened. The young lady might not be able to tell, but I’m pretty old for this age.”

“What does age have to do with it?”

“You know, young lady, I’m a little crazy about magic, right?”

“Yes. you’re not just crazy, you are seriously crazy.”

Allegro’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at her words, but he pretended not to notice.

“…A long time ago, I was thinking about a way to generate infinite mana without a magic stone, so I sneaked into the forest connected to the temple.”

 

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