The Tragedy of The Villainess

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***

"No..…”

To be so honest, I couldn't help but panic. A conversation like this… Is it okay for prenatal education? For Lesche and me. We didn't know anything about children yet. To be precise, we were ignorant. Because I didn't know anything, the word bothered me.

“I don’t know how.”

“You can’t say that to a kid.”

Lesche had already put me on the terrace table and sat me down. I asked as I stared at him stroking my cheek.

“Lesche. Will we be able to raise children well?"

“Are you scared?”

"A little bit. No, a lot."

Lesche rubbed my tummy and whispered a few words in my ear. I burst out laughing.

"Really?"

"I have no reason to lie to you."

A roar of laughter flowed out. "Then we can raise them well."

***

Shortly after Berg's wedding, attended by close to a thousand nobles, ended in a grand way.

Rumors of the Grand Duchess of Berg having a child spread throughout the social circles. Even though it was not the social season, the rumors spread very quickly.

It couldn’t be helped.

Stern was the most important topic in the country, and the pregnancy of the Grand Duchess was very interesting in the social world.

“It started with one person’s pregnancy.”

"It's going to be noisy again during the winter socializing season."

***

"Stern is pregnant."

There was a lot of excitement. The Great Temple was in chaos. On the surface, the demon subjugation battle was completed perfectly, but each royal family had been protesting informally and fiercely that the demon border could be broken so easily.

It was never so easily broken, but it was true that the continent was in danger of extinction anyway. Thanks to this, the Great Temple was busy reconstructing the entire Borderline.

It's about organizing information about Lina…

“Did Marquis Haneton say that he would not marry at all?”

"That's right."

High Priest Henoch and High Priest Joel did not add any further words. It was the same with Jubelud.

Knock. Knock.

“Aren’t you sleeping?”

“Ah, High Priest.”

It suddenly rained heavily, so Kalis decided to stay for a day at the Great Temple. The bedroom assigned to Kalis, who wasn’t Stern’s husband, but one of the heads of the seventeen families, was luxurious but quiet.

“You are drinking.”

"I can't sleep…. If you feel uncomfortable, I'll leave the room."

“It’s fine as long as you drink it quietly.”

Jubelud knew that just one bottle was a very strong drink, but he was silent.

It was like his throat was on fire, but Kalis was only looking at the empty bottle without any response.

Lately, every time Kalis was seen, he had become much thinner. Rumors had it that he worked all day every day like a crazy man. He had no time to rest from dawn to midnight the next day due to his hectic schedule.

As a head of the seventeen families, Kalis didn’t have to come to the Grand Temple in person…

Thanks to this, it seemed that it had been a while before Kalis had heard about Seria's pregnancy, which was a buzz in social circles.

The rain was pouring down, and Kalis was silently staring at the glass of wine.

“Priest.”

“Yes, Marquis Haneton.”

“There is no chance that Seria’s child will be mine.”

“The Grand Duchess’s child is not a child of divine power. She is carrying a child of the Grand Duke.”

"Yes…"

Kalis knew.

He just wanted to hang on to such an absurd hope.

He glanced at the emerald ring he carried every day in his pocket. Now that it had been removed from the heirloom, no vassals or aides could find it, but it was the personal belongings of Kalis.

It was a ring that no one could say anything about even if it was carried into the tomb.

“I regret it every day.”

“What regrets do you have?”

“Looking back, I started to regret even being born. I wish I could reverse the choice.”

Kalis took out a magic crystal bracelet on his wrist.

“Nowadays, almost all nobles have magical crystal rings. As you probably know."

Thanks to the proper control of the amount taken out of the magic crystal mine, the magic crystal still maintained its status as a semi-precious stone. It also became the core energy source of the magic rings, giving it a strangely new meaning.

Please come to me.

Although Seria had given it to him before it even meant anything like that.

Kalis, who had to live with only this for the rest of his life, had no choice but to engrave those words with the tip of his tongue every time. Words that sound sweet like poison.

He suddenly remembered the time when he kissed the back of Seria's hand. It was now an irreversible past.

Deep in his heart, wounds continued to grow and he didn't know what to do. Actually, he didn't even want to do anything about it.

If even the burnt scars disappear, there would be no trace of Seria left.

He wanted to leave it alone and let it eat himself slowly.

He wanted to suffer like that until he died. Kalis looked away with his eyes drenched in pain. The reason he kept seeing the vision of Seria was because he took too many strong sleeping pills. Haneton's doctor made a diagnosis like that.

Seria was smiling at him….

Kalis slowly wiped his wet eyes. He always thought of his ex fiancée, whom he would never be able to reach again.

He would have been better off if Seria had hurt him.

He would never ask her forgiveness for the deep wounds he inflicted on Seria again. Such a position was now Lesche Berg, Stern’s husband. He would never let go of Seria.

Seeing the ungraspable fiancée in front of him brought a smile to his face, while on the other hand, his chest was heavy.

“…to Seria, no.”

Kalis slowly changed his words.

“I would like to hand over the title of Haneton to Stern.”

After being silent for a moment, Jubelud answered.

“She wouldn’t accept it.”

“Or won't she accept it if I want to give it to Stern's child…."

After all, it's the seat of the head of the seventeen families. If Kalis did not have a successor to the end, the Great Temple would surely bring a suitable child.

Jubelud looked at Kalis silently for a while.

“Take your time, and a little later… Then, if you want it then, give it a try. But for that to happen, Stern would have to have at least two children.”

No matter what Jubelud said, it didn’t change what Kalis was suffering from. He smiled silently. Rainy night. The magic crystal bracelet and the emerald ring were rattling in Kalis’s hand for a long time.

***

‘…Is prenatal education like this?’

I lay on Lesche’s thigh and blinked. I don't know how many days I've been doing this.

Did the baby feel safe when the parents were close? I heard from the doctor that it was also good for babies in the stomach.

But I don’t think we had to be close like this all the time…

It was good at first. But after two weeks, I had a thought that Lesche wouldn’t want me to get out of bed.

‘Do you want me to stay like this for 8 more months?’

I frowned. As soon as I got up, Lesche asked.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to drink something.”

“I’ll bring it to you.”

It wasn't even pulling her string. When I got pregnant, I was thirsty all the time and craved for sour drinks, so I had a full cup of tea with lemons in the bedroom.

I drank the sour tea that Lesche poured himself. It's comfortable for a while, but…

Now I wondered whether this was a confinement or a break.

Lesche was like this all along, even when eating. When I change clothes or head to the window. Bathing was no exception. Even when I went to the bathroom, he tried to take me to the bathroom, so I got angry.

"It’s done!"

I screamed in frustration. However, I was the only one who was surprised, there was no change in Lesche’s facial expression.

“Then I’ll wait here.”

“Just go to work.”

“How can I leave you?”

“Isn’t this home?”

But Lesche didn't move at all. Thanks to him, I was slowly getting angry.

“And in winter, Miyut Stern doesn’t even come, so who inspects the glacier? If you follow me every time, who will take care of the Grand Duke’s duties?”

As I spoke, my eyebrows rose more and more. I quickly turned back.

“Grand Duchess.”

Every time I left the bedroom, the doctor who followed me hurriedly came up to me and said,

“It is unavoidable that you are experiencing severe emotional ups and downs. It's natural, so just get angry."

“Go to Your Highness and tell him that I am not a patient.”

"I've said it over a hundred times, but…"

I closed the bathroom door and looked out the window at the sky. After thinking for a moment, I opened the bathroom door connected to the bedroom and left. The bathroom had another door. It was a wall door with a hidden corner, so Lesche could not see me.

I walked out cautiously and looked around as far as possible from the bathroom.

"Bibi? Bibi…”

"Here you are. Miss."

"Bibi!"

I hugged Abigail. I was very happy to see her. Sadly, the Berg Knights refused my orders because Lesche was their lord. Their direct boss should be the most important person.

However I didn't know that Alliot would be like that as well.

"I’m sorry. Grand Duchess."

“I want to go to the silver tree.”

“Shall we go?”

Abigail, who was trying to hold me straight, said, "Oh," and then picked me up. Startled, I wrapped my arms around Abigail's neck.

She went down the stairs in an instant with a fast speed.

“Grand Duchess?”

When Martha saw me coming down to the first floor, she had a surprised expression on her face. She reflexively looked behind the stairs. Of course no one was there.

“Oh my God, you finally escaped.”

“Isn’t Lesche too harsh?”

Martha was silent for a moment, then she said.

“It’s really bad.”

“I want to go out.”

Martha looked down the second floor and lowered her hand gesture. She prepared a small carriage in an instant, and I was able to get out of the castle after a really long time.

In the meantime, everything seemed quiet. It was suspicious…. I thought Lesche would be looking for me by now. Did I really escape?

Anyway, it was good to see the silver tree.

After my pregnancy was announced, Myote sent a congratulatory gift to Berg, which also included a single-line letter.

It's really not a drug exclusive to Stern.

It seemed that I had to invite Myote next week. If I could add those words to her arrogant personality… Moreover, as a Stern, I knew how good a giant silver tree was.

While I was thinking about this and that, the running carriage stopped.

"We've arrived, Miss."

I took Abigail's hand and carefully got out of the carriage. The huge silver tree made me feel good just by looking at it spread wide above my head. I smiled unconsciously.

I turned my head involuntarily and saw something strange.

"What is that? A greenhouse?"

***