The Lady and the Stableman

The fact that Edith’s expression was gradually freezing didn’t concern Philip at all. He was only interested in how much she inherited due to the Viscount’s death.

“So how much did you inherit?”

“…”

“Am I right? A woman can make a good living just by getting married – Ugh!”

With a loud thud, Philip fell backward. Edith couldn’t stand him talking as he pleased, so she pushed him with all her might.

Without hesitation, Edith poured the water from the jug as if wielding a whip.

Even after doing this, the resentment that had built up in her did not go away at all.

“Seeing that you won’t shut up, it seems like you really have no conscience at all.”

Her shoulders were shaking.

She couldn’t believe that her precious life had fallen into ruin because of a man like him, and her eyes welled up with heat.

“Get out. Right now!”

When Edith pointed to the door, Philip staggered to his feet from the floor where he had fallen and yelled.

“Isn’t there a limit to your ungratefulness?! I married you into a rich family, but you didn’t want to share the inheritance, so you pushed this uncle of yours away?!”

Philip couldn’t accept that he was being treated like this by Edith, whom he had always taken lightly.

Whether it was due to drunkenness or anger, in a moment when he couldn’t bear it any longer, an empty glass bottle happened to be in his hand.

“After listening to you, Milady, I guess you’ve forgotten what kind of situation you are in. Today, you should learn your manners again.”

At that moment, when he was about to swing it at Edith, his eyes rolled as if they were about to pop out.

“How dare you!”

“Ugh!”

Edith, who had tightly closed her eyes, opened them at the familiar voice followed by her uncle’s groan.

Then, Walter was seen holding Philip’s arm tightly from behind.

“Walter…?”

The glass bottle that Philip had been about to swing at her made a sharp sound as it shattered against Walter’s shoe.

However, Walter paid no mind and subdued Philip by breaking his arm.

“If you’ve been drinking, you should have gone to sleep, or if you couldn’t do that, you shouldn’t have been drinking.”

“Ah! Let go of me! What are you doing, you idiot!”

Though his arm hurt as if it were about to break, Philip, who boldly shouted in his drunkenness, gradually regained his composure as he saw Walter’s reflection in the mirror.

As soon as Philip made eye contact with a man with a physique that looked like he could easily crush the bones in his wrist if he wanted to, his whole body trembled as if it had shrunk instantly.

He was a man who could make people crawl on their own.

Thanks to this feeling, his anger, which had been raging like a madman, was naturally controlled.

“What is this moron doing?”

Walter forcefully dragged the subdued Philip to the entrance.

As he took those few steps, he thought about why he was acting this way, as the drunkard had asked.

⋙“I believe that you, Merlin, are the only parasite here.”⋘

⋙“What?”⋘

⋙“Whether she is pregnant or not, Edith is a person who can fend for herself. Using the expression ‘cling to me’ doesn’t suit you right now. Did you think I wouldn’t realize that you were trying to use me?”⋘

Walter also snapped at Merlin for suggesting that Edith had another man.

And then he immediately mounted his horse, and, although there were hardly any visible tracks to follow, he ran blindly to her hiding place, which he had long since investigated with Cassius.

These were the actions he had taken without even thinking about why he was so impatient.

Regardless of who the child’s father was, he couldn’t let Edith endure the cold without even a decent winter coat.

He walked out to the door and, after dragging Philip for a while, threw him to the ground without any care, sneering.

“Well, I guess it’s because I was the bastard who secretly fooled around with the lady of the house behind the master’s back.”

Walter didn’t know exactly what to call this emotion, but he couldn’t deny it anymore. 

The moment he saw his face reflected in her sensual eyes, he vowed that he would never allow her eyes to belong to another man.

“You crazy bastard…”

Walter did not specifically deny Philip’s answer.

“Now that I look at you, I don’t think I can beat you. You’re a bigger crazy bastard than me. You’d better leave.”

Walter thought about kicking Philip, but decided against it. It was partly because Edith was watching through the window, and partly because he had been thinking of a way to get revenge on Philip, thinking they might meet again someday.

⋙“A lifelong labor contract? Signing it could put your life at risk. It’s illegal, but there are still many places like labor camps or farms that do that kind of thing.”⋘

Walter let the drunkard limp away with a crooked leg.

After all, he had been planning to send Cassius before leaving the territory anyway, so there was no need to waste time now.

Walter went to the cabin where Edith was waiting and closed the door to prevent her from escaping again.

“Edith.” 

Walter had a lot to say to her.

Why did you walk all the way here in this cold weather for that damn bastard’s threats? He wanted to ask why she didn’t prioritize finding him first despite always finding her like this.

But none of that mattered when Edith gently brushed away the melting snowflakes from his shoulder.

He felt like he had become an irrational, disorderly, crazy person, just as the drunkard had said.

“If you’re throwing me away like last time because you think I can’t be of any help to you anymore, then listen well.”

He firmly held both of Edith’s hands as she examined his wet clothes and looked into her eyes.

“I received the money I had originally agreed upon with Helen. Instead of helping her settle within the manor as Viscountess Fortrion, I had decided to settle in the capital with enough money to live comfortably.”

Walter didn’t specify the exact amount.

But Edith knew that he was not the type of man to speak so confidently about things he was not sure about.

“As for the child you have…”

When the topic of pregnancy came up, Edith’s eyes trembled.

Hesitant to open her mouth, she took a deep breath.

Her body stiffened as she recalled the conversation among the militiamen earlier in the day.

⋙“Assassins, why are they so persistent in targeting Walter?”⋘

⋙“They weren’t even trying to kidnap him; they seemed determined to end his life in one fell swoop.”⋘

It was clear that the moment she revealed the pregnancy, she would become Walter’s most significant vulnerability.

The fact that a child with the same lineage as Walter will be born may not be pleasant either, since Walter became a target for Elizabeth’s faction due to his Lexion lineage.

“Walter, the child is-.” 

As Edith, whose lips had been trembling, finally spoke, Walter, who read the complex thoughts on her expression, interrupted her.

“I’ll raise the child as my own. Don’t say anything else. I’ll make sure everyone, including the father who didn’t even show his face when you were in danger… I’ll make sure they shut up.”

“…” 

“Even though it may not seem like it, I can learn to raise a child properly with a bit of effort. You also fell asleep deeply in my arms, Edith.”

T/N: Walter is implying here that they also slept together aside from Edith sleeping with another man. 

Edith’s eyes turned red as she looked at Walter.

He naturally shouldered all the burden, ensuring that she didn’t need to say anything.

As he imagined himself holding and putting to sleep the child he had decided to protect, an indescribable surge of warm emotions spread throughout his body. It tingled like an electric shock in his heart.

Walter brought his face closer to the hesitant Edith.

And without her pushing him away any longer, he pressed his lips against hers.

Edith tasted his slightly cold lips, one kiss at a time, as he had rushed to embrace her in the cold.

Her actions quickly covered his cold body with warmth.

When their tightly pressed lips parted for a moment, Edith gently cupped his cheek with her hand.

Then, she nodded slightly.

As she accepted without a word, Walter couldn’t help but wear a soft smile, one she had never seen before.

It was a smile mixed with relief, joy, and the satisfaction of knowing he could keep her by his side.

Walter knew that there was a high probability that the child she carried was indeed his.

But even if that wasn’t the case, even if she had a child with his sworn enemy, the worst-case scenario for him was Edith leaving him.

If he could only prevent that, anything else would be acceptable.

“Let’s go to the capital together, Edith. I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“…”

With her unable to respond to his sudden proposal, Walter gently pressed his thumb against her lips, as if urging her to agree.

“Don’t think about leaving me again. At least, I have some use in one place.”

It was truly undeniable that he could make her legs go weak with just a kiss.

He was so skilled that he conveyed the idea that there could be benefits to what might happen after the kiss with a simple expression. 

Edith felt a bit sorry to hear him say that he was at least useful in one place.

When Edith looked serious and nodded her head as if to say, ‘Well, that’s true,’ Walter couldn’t help but find her adorable, so he couldn’t stay still.

He buried his lips on Edith’s shoulder and whispered in a low voice.

“So, are we going to the capital together, Edith?”

Even as his lips and hair tickled her, she nodded in affirmation.

Walter intended to lay her down entirely on the bed, given her sensitive response.

However, he noticed that she was reluctant to use the bedding her uncle had used, so he quickly removed the bedding from the bed and spread it over the table.

In the meantime, Edith took out a thick blanket she had carefully washed and stored in the closet last winter.

Walter lightly stopped her as she tried to climb onto the bed.

“I think your clothes got a little wet because of the snow.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

As he suggested, Edith couldn’t sleep in damp clothes, so she hung her dress by the fire and only wore a thin white underdress.

Then, after getting onto the bed, she patted the space beside her.

With Walter having successfully kicked her uncle out and considering that it was late, and the snowfall was heavy, she thought spending the night here seemed like a better option.

Walter smiled meaningfully as he watched her pat the bed.

“Can I join you too?”

The dress that Edith was wearing was already quite thin, and it had become slightly wet, revealing her soft skin.

It was obvious what he was thinking, but Edith spoke softly and gently.

“How can I sleep alone when I don’t know if someone will attack me?”

“…” 

He walked over in long strides and lay down on the bed, embracing Edith.

Then, he gently stroked her hair and planted a short kiss on her forehead.

Lying side by side under a single blanket, their current appearance was just as Edith had imagined when she first found out she was pregnant.

One day, if everything goes well and Walter becomes strong enough to no longer consider his lineage a burden, she wants to tell the child.

The handsome man in front of you is your biological father…

“Edith, it’s a bit cold. How about sharing the clothes you’re wearing and sleeping together?”

“…” 

She was attempting to have an affectionate conversation with the child for the first time, and he made such a suggestion.

“Hurry up and sleep, Walter. Your chest is injured, so you need to rest.”

Edith gently lifted Walter’s arm, which was moving toward her body, and returned it to its original position.

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