Edited

28. The Death I Saved (1)”

Her eyes curved so round that her green irises were barely visible.

“You’re very kind, Young Lady”

she said and wrapped the coat around her shoulders.

Even though she covered herself with a long coat, her belly was still exposed. It must have been cold with such thin clothing, yet she didn’t try to hide her belly.

I was nervous. I took off my fur stole and draped it over her belly.

The moment my belly touched her fingers, it twitched.

“Did you feel that?”

She exclaimed, her eyes widening. There was a subtle smile on her lips.

“There was no movement at all in the barn earlier… I guess it’s a welcome greeting. The child seems to like Lady Leonie.”

Elizabeth chuckled. Tears glistened in her pretty folded eyes.

I awkwardly lowered my hand. Her belly felt more like a living creature than a part of her body.

But what was even stranger was the pain that occurred when I touched her. It was brief, but my chest stung with an unfamiliar sensation.

Could it be static electricity? Or did Suren leave a hairpin in the coat she let me borrow?

I touched my chest. The pain I had just felt had vanished as if it were a lie.

* * *

“The Duke generously sent you food, but the young lady seems displeased. You even handed over the kitchen manager’s food to Lady.”

Viter spoke bluntly.

“Lady has a child to take care of, and to endure the cold in the northern region, she needs suitable food.”

The butler squeezed the hose that had been used to draw blood. Viter standing beside him, received a blood pack.

“Thanks to the Duke bringing Lady here, he won’t be able to drink blood for a while. It’s become quite a hassle.”

“We’ll draw blood regularly every night, so don’t worry. If you ever need more, just let us know. We’ll replenish it.”

“Why not just come secretly in the early morning?”

“Is that okay? If you sneak into the Duke’s study or bedroom in the early morning, it’ll only add to the rumors. You’d be seen as a spy.”

She wrapped her foot, where the needle had been inserted, with a cloth.

Perhaps it was because it had been a while since she drew blood with a hose, but her vision blurred slightly.

“Why not put it on the wrist next time? Why suddenly on the foot?”

“What if Lady Arianne sees a wound on your wrist and asks about it? Big rumors often start from small things. Some outsiders used to stay in the northern region to prevent visitors, but it’s no longer necessary.”

Since Lady arrived, she had distanced herself from Deon. It was to dispel unnecessary rumors.

She didn’t even visit the study she always used to go to. It was strange for an ordinary secretary to visit the Duke’s study so frequently.

“Why not just send her back? The Duke is showing strange consideration.”

Viter complained incessantly.

“Consideration?”

He responded to my question.

“We never invite guests to the Duke’s residence except on special occasions. Even during banquets, there are no extra guests staying outside of the scheduled period. This is an extremely unusual case.”

“But we can’t be unkind to the visiting household. The Duke must have had the same thought.”

He put the blood pack into the box and clenched his fists, seemingly dissatisfied.

“Is that so? Do you really think that?”

“What do you mean?”

“All of this is to benefit Young Lady. It seems like Young Lady being attached to the Duke’s castle was getting boring for her. It’s not like the blood becomes richer or tastier when it doesn’t cause stress.”

aha. What else can I say? You see the countess as my playmate.

“Should I express my gratitude then?”

“No, I thought you wouldn’t, so I didn’t offer unnecessary consideration.”

She placed the blood pack on the scale. The needle’s tip tilted.

Using an experimental syringe, she collected a drop of blood and dropped it into a vial containing magic potion. Soon, a faint mist rose. Viter, who had been staring at the mist, furrowed his brow. Then, he quickly flipped through the documents next to him.

“Instead, the concentration has dropped further within ten days since the Countess joined the Duke’s residence. Are you eating properly? You’re not just having dessert and skipping meals because you have no appetite, are you? You should eat vegetables and chew properly.”

Viter continued to act like a nanny. It was astonishing that someone as important as a secretary would be concerned about the concentration of my blood.

“I’ll have to change the diet for a while.”

“Is that really necessary? I can take care of my meals.”

“That would be better for Young Lady as well. If the concentration decreases, we’ll have to draw more blood. Then your body will weaken again, and we won’t be able to extract enough blood.”

Ignoring the grumbling Viter she started to unfold the blanket to leave, but the butler spoke up.

“Please go to the dining room. Dinner is ready.”

“I’ll take care of my meals, so you don’t have to worry about it, Butler. And I have an appointment with Lady Arianne.”

He nodded.

“The Duke has invited you for dinner. And the Countess is also invited.”

* * *

“Young Lady, are you tired these days? Or do you have something on your mind?”

“Why?”

“There’s too much room in this dress. I’ve tightened it as much as I can, but now I think I need to buy new clothes,” as Suren said, even the same dress she wore a few weeks ago had a lot of excess fabric.

Suren pinned the extra fabric with a safety pin. The waist of the dress had gathered. The clothes that were fastened and adjusted looked decent, but the sleeves, which couldn’t be tightened, had a lot of excess room.

“No. your eating habits haven’t changed.”

“But why am I losing weight then?”

The lady was the one with morning sickness, but everyone was worried about my eating. I felt embarrassed at being treated like a child.

Suren pulled the excess fabric behind and tied a ribbon to cover the wrinkles. I usually rejected decorations on indoor dresses because they felt cumbersome, but now the ribbon was essential because of the excessive wrinkles.

“Oh, right. Earlier, a pin on the chest was poking me. I wish you had removed it for me.”

I told Suren, who was tidying up the dress.

“Huh? I didn’t pin anything on the chest. It doesn’t look good when you pin something in the front, unlike the back. Are you sure it was on your chest?”

I heard Suren’s reply as she pinned from behind.

“…Is that so?”

Then what was that discomfort earlier? It wasn’t because of a pin.

“It’s fine now.”

Suren lightly tapped on my back. I looked at myself in the mirror. The coral-colored dress and the red ribbon tied at the waist matched quite well.

I changed into a simple dining dress and headed downstairs.

As I got closer to the hall, the delicious aroma filled the air.

Elizabeth, who had been sitting upright at the dining table, stood up with a start.

“Lady Leonie!”

She greeted me as if we were meeting after a long time. The striped blanket on her lap fell to the floor.

“Please, have a seat. The Duke mentioned that you would arrive a bit later, so he suggested we start the meal without waiting.”

“But why didn’t you start without me?”

She smiled softly.

“I had something I wanted to say to you, so I waited. I wanted to talk to you before the Duke arrived. I thought it would be best to speak before the meal.”

“What is it?”

“It’s something… I’m not sure if I should bring it up…”

Elizabeth hesitated for a while, unable to continue her sentence.

“What are you trying to say?”

Could it be… she wants to leave the Duchy? That would be quite problematic.

But what she proposed unexpectedly went in a different direction.

“Would you consider being the godmother to my child?”

“What? A godmother? Me?”

A godmother. It was an unexpected suggestion, and my eyes widened.

Elizabeth apologized as she cautiously examined my face.

“I understand it might be difficult to agree right away. It must be awkward, right? I… I asked without thinking too much about it.”

“No! Madam, it’s not that… it’s just that I… I don’t have a background that would make me a suitable sponsor for someone. Moreover, being asked to be a godmother is a first for me, and I’m not sure if I can do it…”

I waved my hands in distress.

“If that’s the reason, it doesn’t matter. You’ve already protected my child, and that’s something Lady Leonie has never had before. You’ve fulfilled the role of a parent.”

She held my hand firmly, which was placed on the table.

“Just being by my child’s side, Leonie, will be a source of strength.”

It was difficult to refuse. No, there was no reason to refuse.

If becoming the godmother to her child would strengthen our bond, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Elizabeth’s eyes softened.

“I… I would be very happy.”

“So, you agree to the proposal?”

I nodded my head. At that small gesture, she smiled gently.

“In that case, here is…”

Elizabeth pulled out a small pouch from the blanket.

When she untied the string attached to the pouch, a ring rolled out.

“This ring was meant to be given once we had a godmother for the child. In the aristocratic circles, godmothers and godfathers are considered the same as family members of the noble family. So, when a child is born, they prepare a ring one by one, like buying baby shoes or rattles. On the day I was kidnapped, I had gone to the jeweler who was making this ring.”

It looked luxurious at a glance. The ring had a crown-shaped design, and the central ruby of a deep red color was beautiful.

“But at that time, you didn’t know that you were going to have a child, right?”

“Like buying baby shoes or a rattle in advance, in aristocratic families, a ring also symbolizes the hope for a child to come. Luckily, on the day I was kidnapped, I was wearing it around my neck, so it wasn’t stolen. I’m glad I can convey it to you like this. Maybe I met you there to meet the owner of this ring sooner.”

She delicately slid the ring onto the fourth finger of my left hand.

I gazed at the ring that fit loosely on my finger. It was slightly loose. When I raised my hand slightly, the ring slid down weakly.

“Oh dear, I need to readjust the size when we go to the capital.”

She removed the ring again.

The capital? Would I even be able to go to the capital?

If Lady safely gives birth and goes to the capital, and they remake the ring to fit my size, could I return to the northern region to deliver the ring?

“It’s okay. It originally fit, but it’s loose now because I lost weight. At least I have a reason to gain some weight now.”

At my words, Elizabeth smiled.

“You need to stay healthy for the sake of the child.”

“What are you talking about?”

At that moment, Deon entered the hall, breaking the silence.