The Marquis' Lost Mistress

Layla was dumbfounded. 

She wanted to complain, but she didn’t know who to complain to. 

“You’re going to protect all of these people with just one person?” 

So, without looking anywhere in particular, she uttered words into the air, annoyed.  

It was already irritating there was only one person, but it was even more aggravating that the duke didn’t think to put even one female mercenary or soldier in the whole operation. 

“I think it’ll be enough if we just have one…Mr Shan.”  

Yuria said with a smile. 

“That person is more reliable than a hundred half-hearted mercenaries.” 

Leila stood frowning for a moment before suddenly jumping into the carriage. 

She was fed up with being neglected and insulted. Nevertheless, she still couldn’t get used to it. 

It would be hard for a duke. Taking in a woman who was a commoner, and even more so a mistress. 

Still, you still ignore me this much. 

Didn’t you say you wanted my child? Then shouldn’t we do this for the sake of our children? 

Leila did not know the abilities of the man named Shan. She did not believe the words of the woman named Yuria. 

She didn’t expect anything like lingering past affections, but when they met face to face, she felt a little faith. 

To see such a disappointment. 

“It’s up.” 

Watching Leila close the carriage door, the man who was called Harsian or Shan, murmured quietly. 

“If we encounter any ruffians, I’ll sort them out for you.” 

“It can’t be helped. It’s something that needs to be kept secret as much as possible.” 

The coachman, Mook, went to the horse-drawn seat and sat down, and Mita opened the carriage door and was climbing up. 

It was Yuria who’d caught Shan’s words to himself. 

“I know why. I know it but, she doesn’t even know what I’m capable of.….” 

Shan tilted his head toward the sky, blurring the end of his words. 

Couldn’t they put a female knight or mercenary on the lineup after finding out Leila is uncomfortable with men? 

Leyra also tried to hire three mercenaries to leave. That number was never a decent number either. 

Wasn’t it the usual way for a lady to be accompanied by a dozen guards when she went on a journey? 

“I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry about it.” 

He’d said that. He should have ignored it and carried. He was trying to live a life of wealth and prosperity. 

He couldn’t go, though. He was too worried about Leila. 

If Niveria wanted, she would have to pay no price for this and could remove Leila at any time she desired. 

There was not a single person to protect Leila from Niveria. 

How could he turn his back on her and leave despite knowing these circumstances? 

“I’ll comfort her well. Don’t worry too much.” 

Yuria said with a soft smile. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be angry with you.” 

“I know.” 

“And she doesn’t know who I am, so please treat me comfortably from now on.” 

“Oh my. But is it really alright to speak to the young master so carelessly?” 

“What do you mean, young master? I’m a mercenary now.” 

Shan heaved a low sigh and moved with the luggage. 

Yuria and Mook. The maid and her husband who served his mother, and one of the few people who knew who Shan really was. 

They knew exactly who Niveria was. 

No matter how much Niveria looked like Harsian, it was difficult to live as a man with a woman’s body as long as she was an aristocrat. 

How could just one or two people around her serve her without finding out. 

Like this, it was to hide everything around her and live with the people their mother left behind. 

The fact that two of those few people were attached to Leila showed that Niveria was also very concerned about this. 

“Mook, please take care of me in the future.” 

“Don’t worry.” 

Shan, who talked to the coachman he’d met after a long while, opened the carriage door and pushed in his luggage. 

Leila was looking out of the window with her elbows on the window frame and her chin resting. 

Shan sighed at the sight and sat down next to Mook. 

“I hope we reach early.” 

He had a hunch that the future journey would not be very comfortable. 

Shan’s hunch quickly became a reality. 

It was going smoothly at first. Thanks to the help from a Baron who Niveria had saved from losing his title, they passed the inspection quickly. 

With this card, there would be no unnecessary checks in any city. That’s what aristocrats were like. 

The problem arose from within. 

“Wow.” 

It was about 10 minutes after leaving the castle and running on an unmaintained dirt road. 

Yuria, who was in the carriage with Leila, shouted urgently, “Stop!” 

At the urgent sound, Mook hurried to stop the carriage and Leila ran out from the inside. 

She bent down and emptied out all the contents from her stomach. 

What was really unfortunate was that even though she had vomited, all that came out was sticky and transparent saliva. Occasionally, she vomited yellow gastric juice. 

“You don’t have morning sickness, but you must have severe motion sickness.” 

Mita said as she looked at Leila, who was crying out loud, and Yuria, who patted her back. 

‘Leila doesn’t get carsick.’ 

Shan looked at Mita with a quizzical look. 

He only remembered Leila from when he was relatively young, but she didn’t get motion sickness at the time. 

If she had had been sick enough to vomit in 10 minutes after running on a dirt road, wouldn’t she have been like that since she was young? 

“You can get motion sickness when you’re pregnant.” 

Did she feel Shan’s eyes? Mita spoke. 

“Pregnancy must be very difficult.” 

“It’s hard. Yuria was having a hard time every time.” 

 Mook replied to Shan’s self-mutterings. 

“If you don’t have morning sickness, it’s a relief. I should drive the wagon as carefully as possible.” 

At the end of Mook’s words, Leila stood up. 

I guess it was quite hard to vomit, so her face was covered with sweat. 

She was even pale enough to scare ghosts. 

“Go in and drink some water.” 

“……Yes.” 

Leila staggered into the carriage, relying on Yuria’s body. 

Seeing that, Shan realized how stupid it was to let a pregnant woman travel. 

Yuria, who got on the wagon, was the first to open the wagon window wide. Then she quickly took out the water bottle and handed it to Leila. 

While Leila was drinking water, she wiped Leila’s sweat with a handkerchief. 

She hated the hands of the woman, especially someone from the duke, on her body. 

However, she couldn’t shake her hands off with the feeling of nausea, dizziness, and helplessness that came after throwing up. 

“Can I start?” 

Yuria looked at Leira at the coachman’s question from outside. Leila nodded softly at the gaze. 

She wanted to go back right away. She wanted to lie down on the bed and relax while drinking cool juice. 

But she couldn’t go back home now. She was already out of the capital and everything was irreversible. 

It was not long before the carriage departed. Fortunately, the speed was significantly lower than before. 

“Are you okay?” 

Leila nodded again this time instead of answering. 

What’s the point of slowing down? The road was still bumpy. 

Whenever the wheel crossed the stone, her inside was turned upside down and she couldn’t open her mouth. 

“I don’t think you ate anything before we left…” 

Yuria hesitated to pick up a package which had been put in the carriage. 

“Would you like to fill your stomach? It might be more uncomfortable because you’re on an empty stomach.” 

Leila shook her head. She thought she might die if she ate something right now. 

“Oh, did you bring something to eat?” 

It was Mita who was pleased with Yuria’s words. 

“Yes. We have light food prepared just in case we depart early.” 

“That’s great. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten too.” 

“Really? Then eat this.” 

Yuria unpacked the package. There were some fruits and loaves of bread in it. 

“They’re really light foods.” 

“I’m sorry, it’s not too long until we reach the next city…” 

“The old man is complaining for nothing, a loaf of bread is enough for me.” 

It was the moment when Yuria took the bread out of the package. Leila quickly turned to the window, crumpling her face. 

Was bread originally this strong in smell? It’s not freshly baked white bread, it’s dry grain bread. 

As soon as she smelled it, she felt nauseous and couldn’t stand it. 

‘I feel like throwing up.’ 

Leila swallowed the bitter saliva from the inside and endured the nausea. 

The carriage had stopped just now because of her. It wasn’t even long after they’d left. 

However, if the carriage stops again within five minutes of departure, when will it be possible to arrive in the next city? 

Theon said he wouldn’t come until a month later, but that wasn’t exactly reliable. 

There was a time when he came for two consecutive days, saying that his appointment was suddenly canceled. 

She had to go as far as she could before he noticed. There wasn’t time to stop the carriage because of some motion sickness. 

It took a few hours by carriage to get to the next city. You just have to put up with it for a few hours. 

‘Hold it in. Let’s hold it in. You can do it. I can do it.’ 

Leila desperately suppressed her nausea because she wanted to move away from the capital as soon as possible. 

“Oh, there’s raisins in it.” 

“Really? I didn’t know because I bought it from the store. If you don’t like it, let’s go with something else.…” 

“It’s okay. I love raisins.” 

Yuria and Mita talked and Leila fixed her gaze outside the window. 

It was then. The taste of raisins came alive in Leila head, and bitter water came up from her inside. 

Leila quickly covered her mouth and grabbed Yuria’s arm. 

“Hey, stop the carriage!” 

Yuria, who saw Leila’s face, shouted urgently. 

They arrived in the next city when the surroundings were completely dark. Fortunately, they’d arrived before the gate was closed. 

“It took me twice as long.” 

After washing up, Shan sat down on the sofa and dried his hair with a towel. 

Leila stopped the carriage more than 10 times. In addition, they couldn’t speed up because of her motion sickness, so it was worth taking their time. 

“Can we leave tomorrow right away?”  

Yuria said with a worried face. 

They found a luxury inn and rented a room where several people could stay. 

There was only one escort, and Mita and Yuria were inseparable from Leila, so they had to.  

“Absolutely not. She has to rest for a while.” 

Mita, who was sipping tea, said, looking toward the room where Leila was. 

As soon as Leila arrived, she laid down in bed and fell asleep as if she were faint. 

She was in a state of extreme exhaustion. 

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I love the fact that Harsian acknowledges Niveria’s cruelty, along with the absurdity that is to make Leila travel in such a state even if she agreed.