Obviously, It’s My Child

How casually he met with women was of no concern to her. It was a mistake done by both sides anyway.

The light blue dress was very classy. Though she didn’t know it exactly, it seemed like it would be worth the price of three of her own party dresses.

Does he send out the women he slept with wearing expensive clothes like this? Or was there already an original owner of this dress?

‘Hmm…’

No, he didn’t even have a fiancée, nor did he have a publicly known lover. But none of that was her business, was it?

Even until then, no one knocked on the door. It was like sneaking out.

She puts on a dress, and even puts on the prepared pelerine so that it’s not so obvious that the dress wasn’t a perfect fit for her.

When she came out of the powder room, Erich was wearing a robe. 

“I’d like to call a carriage, but please do call a tight-lipped servant,” said Claire. 

Erich replied in a nonsensical way.

“What are you going to do if you were to have a child?”

“If even a drop of blood from the noble duke’s family seems to spill over to the Delford family, I’ll be sure to contact you, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Do you really have to say it that way?”

“Then should I wait without daring to contact you, Duke?”

“You are twisting my words again. What are you so discontent with? I said I would take responsibility.”

Erich said, pulling on the rope.

Soon after, the gray-haired butler entered, and politely waited. Claire put on the pelerine’s hood.

Erich continued, “Once you cool down, you will come back to your senses. I’ll contact you again, so just wait.”

“You don’t have to. I may have lost my mind, but you must have lost your senses, Your Grace.”

Claire spoke coldly and bowed with the most graceful motion she could.

* * *

In many ways, there was nothing for her to be ashamed of. But what should she do about what had already happened?

‘Crazy. If I drink again, I’m a beast—a beast.’

What the tongue said would differ from what the stomach would do perhaps just two months after this, but at this very moment, this was her resolution.

She jumped out of the carriage and, without looking back, entered the street that led to Baron Delford’s residence.

The townhouse of Baron Delford was a small two-story house with a garden the size of a palm, facing the wall next door.

It was rare for the family head to come to the capital far from the territory. It was the duty of all nobles to provide it for their children to use while they were attending the academy.

House prices in the capital were sky-high, and for the impoverished Baron Delford, even maintaining such a thing was a big deal.

“Mistress! Where have you been that you came back only now?”

The butler hurriedly ran out. Claire said, pulling down her hood.

“Prepare some bath water. Nothing happened to me yesterday.”

Claire didn’t think much of it, thinking that the butler was worried because she stayed out without a word the night before. And moreover, her clothes were different.

But the butler shook his head. She was still a young Mistress, but he held only little concern for Claire.

It’s not because he didn’t care nor love Claire, but because she had been his mistress ever since she was a child. She didn’t usually give any signs that she needed to be looked after with such concern.

“No. Who am I to worry about you, Mistress? Something seems to have happened to Lady Elisa.”

“Elisa?”

Claire quickly headed to the second floor where Elisa’s room was. The butler followed her and said.

“She came in late in the morning yesterday. Alone.”

“What? What about Martha?”

“Missus Martha only came in the morning. It seemed like she had gone somewhere alone after the Miss left her. She said she had been looking for Miss Elisa all night.”

“Then?”

“The Miss came back, and right away she went into her bedroom and locked the door and didn’t come out. I can hear something like crying…”

“What?”

Although her body was unspeakably uncomfortable, Claire headed straight to Elisa’s room.

As she listened, she indeed heard sobs from outside the door.

Thump, thump.

Claire knocked hard on the door, so Elisa could hear.

“El, it’s me. Sister. Open the door.”

The cries through the door stopped.

Contrary to her worries, Elisa came over and opened the door with a peek. She had a black cloak, which was stained with dust and mud, pulled over her head.

“Sister.”

“What is it, El?”

Elisa opened the door just a little bit and tugged at Claire’s arm. Hiding from the door if it was opened a little bit.

All the shutters in the room were closed and the curtains drawn. In addition to that, Elisa had pushed all the furniture she could move and blocked the windows.

When Claire came in, Elisa managed to pull her cloak down from her head after locking the door.

“El, you…?”

Claire was shocked to see Elisa’s face.

Her white face was full of bruises and scars. There were lacerations on her arms, and there was blood on her ruined dress.

Now it turns out that the stains on her cloak, which Claire thought were mud stains, seemed to be bloodstains.

“What happened?”

Claire took deep breaths and asked.

Yesterday was the coming-of-age day for Elisa and her academy graduates. It was the day of her social debut.

Claire came to the capital to attend the debutante party.

Yesterday, Elisa was the prettiest in the world.

The reason Claire was able to leave Elisa alone was because she heard that Elisa was going to have her final party that night with her friends at the dorm.

But what’s this?

Elisa grabbed Claire’s arm and clung to her.

“Sister, Sister, what should I do?”

Tears welled up in her big blue eyes.

“I, I saw something I shouldn’t have seen.”

“What?”

“I can’t, I can’t… I can’t say it.”

Elisa held her breath before finally speaking. She sat down on the floor and heaved.

Claire crouched down in front of her and hugged her.

“It’s okay, El. Tell me what’s going on. Sister will take care of it. What did you see?”

“No, I can’t tell you. You will also be in danger.”

Elisa trembled and grabbed Claire’s arm.

“Everybody will die when it becomes known that I saw it. You have to run away, Sister.”