A Shadow Cast in Paradise (23 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 3
The guard belatedly recognized the emblem embroidered on the cloaks of the knights standing behind him.
The blue wolf crest bearing a sword—the sigil of House Lester, one of the Empire’s three great Archducal families.
Stunned senseless, he stood frozen, staring dumbly at the ducal crest, forgetting even to run and summon his master.
Shade did not wait for the foolish guard’s permission.
He simply strode past the guard, pushed open the main gate, and entered the mansion.
Only then did the guard snap out of his daze and hurry after him.
“W-wait…! I-I mean, let me go call my master first…!”
Stammering and hesitant, the guard could not stop him and merely trailed behind awkwardly.
Upon reaching the entrance, Shade reached for the doorknob to knock.
Just then, the door creaked open.
“Goodness me…!”
A middle-aged woman wearing an elegant feathered hat stepped back with a start upon seeing the towering man standing at her door.
Shade instantly recognized her as Lady Godwin, Baroness Godwin.
“W-who are you?”
The baroness, wary of this massive intruder, frowned as she noticed the figure slumped over his shoulder.
Though the girl’s face was hidden, her torn and soiled maid’s uniform was unmistakably from House Godwin.
That alone was enough for the baroness to guess who she was, and a flicker of embarrassment crossed her eyes.
“You… you’re…!”
“I happened to find something belonging to House Godwin while passing by.”
Shade set Liana down in the Godwin mansion’s grand hall.
As soon as her feet touched the floor, Liana swiftly adjusted her posture and lowered her head.
At that, one of the baroness’s eyes twitched faintly.
“My lady, this is Duke Shade Lester.”
The guard rushed to the baroness’s side and whispered hurriedly, prompting her to scrutinize the man standing before her.
‘So this is Lupus, the so-called ‘God of War’…?’
She’d heard countless rumors about Shade Lester but had never seen him in person.
Anyone living in the Empire would know his name.
They said the blood of the Lupus clan—the ‘Black Wolves’—flowed in his veins, and indeed, his physique clearly set him apart from ordinary Imperial citizens.
Still, he was just a Lupus—a former slave, after all.
“A pleasure to meet you, Duke Lester.”
Lady Godwin sized up Shade and offered a perfunctory curtsy.
“But tell me, where did you find this girl…?”
She lowered her long lashes and glanced over Liana.
Liana kept her hands clasped tightly, her head bowed, not even daring to meet the baroness’s eyes.
Shade, observing the tension between them, spoke up.
“I found her in the woods nearby, though it seems you’re not especially pleased about it.”
He watched Lady Godwin’s stiff expression.
She forced a refined smile and shook her head.
“Not at all. I was merely curious. I wondered where she’d gone, never expecting to see her with Your Grace. Truly, she’s born with a talent for bewitching men…”
“A talent for bewitching men…?”
“In any case, thank you for the trouble of bringing her back. She must have caused you quite an inconvenience—I’ll give her a good scolding myself.”
The baroness grabbed Liana’s wrist and yanked her forward.
At that instant, Shade caught Liana’s arm and blocked the baroness.
“The item I came to return isn’t her—it’s this.”
Shade unfurled the hunting dog’s name tag he’d been holding all along.
“Your dog was hunting people.”
“…!”
“I killed it thinking it was a wild beast, but it was wearing this tag.”
“This… this is…!”
Upon seeing the tag, the baroness’s gaze faltered, unsure where to look.
“We do sometimes employ beasts in warfare—but perhaps this woman is a spy from a hostile nation…?”
Shade asked casually, idly rubbing his wrist.
The baroness quickly composed herself and replied.
“No, nothing of the sort. She must have taken the hunting dog out by mistake.”
“Taken it out by mistake?”
“Yes, that girl is constantly making errors—a real nuisance.”
“A nuisance…”
At the baroness’s words, Shade’s gaze shifted to Liana.
Liana remained silent, not even parting her lips, merely listening to what the baroness said.
For some reason, irritation boiled within him.
Just then—
“Duke Lester?”
Baron Godwin descended from the upper floor upon hearing news of his guest’s arrival.
The baron enjoyed a fine reputation among scholars as an intellectual. True to that image, his mustache was neatly trimmed, and gold-rimmed spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose.
His arrival sent a chill through the baroness and the servants.
A look of dismay flickered across Lady Godwin’s face.
“Liana, what on earth has happened?!”
Seeing the bloodied, tattered maid, the baron rushed over in alarm.
Liana limped backward a step, dragging her injured leg.
Shade’s eyes followed her hunched shoulders.
“Who in the world committed such a barbaric act…?!”
Furious, the baron swept his gaze across the mansion’s central hall.
Both the baroness and the servants kept their mouths shut, unable to meet his eyes.
Shade observed the peculiar tension in House Godwin with narrowed eyes.
“Oh, Liana, come here at once. You must bathe and receive treatment immediately.”
Baron Godwin strode toward her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Liana stiffened, unsure what to do.
“My lord, I’m fine.”
“How can you be fine when you’re injured like this? My heart is breaking for you. Come here.”
“My lord, please…”
Liana squeezed her eyes shut under the baron’s lingering touch.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shade’s shadow beside her.
That pitch-black shadow seemed to drag her down into an abyss.
How was he looking at her?
Was he mocking her—the once-noble lady reduced to this state? Was he enjoying it? Or did he deem her beneath his notice altogether?
Liana clutched the hem of her filthy dress.
The baron’s touch crawling down her spine felt like insects skittering across her skin.
Just then—
“That’s enough, Baron Godwin.”
The baron’s hand, which had been sliding down toward her rear, snapped away.
Startled by the sudden restraint, the baron frowned and looked up at Shade.
“What is the meaning of this discourtesy, Duke Lester?”
He strained to pull his wrist free, but Shade’s grip held firm.
Shade’s cold eyes swept over the baron and the others present.
The baron fondling his maid right in front of his wife.
The baroness unable to hide her dismay and disgust at the maid’s return.
And the maid herself, chased by hunting dogs.
‘So this is how dearly Baron Godwin “cherishes” you, Luise Ideana.’
Given how beautifully romantic—even nauseatingly so—the protagonist of this refined, elegant world had become.
Shade sneered and tightened his grip.
A crisp *crack* echoed from the baron’s wrist.
“Ugh! Aaargh!”
An uncouth scream tore through the baronial mansion.
Irritated, Shade abruptly released the baron’s wrist.
The baron clutched his freed wrist, curled into himself, and groaned for a long while.
“Ghh… Duke Lester…!”
Baron Godwin, cradling his crimson wrist, glared at Shade through his spectacles.
Noble rank aside, he couldn’t possibly endure such treatment in silence.
He was a distinguished intellectual from an ancient noble house. Given House Godwin’s longstanding prestige and reputation alongside the Empire, they were not a family to be treated so disrespectfully.
‘Yet this upstart noble—this former slave—dares barge in without courtesy and cause such a scene…!’
Baron Godwin could not forgive Shade Lester’s insolence.
“You must apologize at once! Otherwise…!”
“Otherwise?”
Shade, briefly lost in unpleasant thoughts, cast a casual glance toward the baron.
“What exactly would you do otherwise?”
“Well…!”
Shade’s brazen response left Baron Godwin sputtering, unable to form coherent words.
It was a truly intellectual spectacle.
Ignoring the dumbfounded baron, Shade turned his eyes to the baroness.
“I’d like to take this ‘nuisance’ off your hands, my lady.”
“T-take her…?”
“I’ll pay fairly. How much would you ask?”
At Shade’s words, Liana looked up at him in shock.
The subject of his offer was none other than Liana herself.
Yet, among them all, Liana had no voice with which to assert herself.
Both she and Shade Lester knew well—powerless people were traded as easily as goods.
Liana pressed down hard on the ache in her chest.
“How dare you ask ‘how much’! Liana is clearly my property!”
Baron Godwin would not stand idly by. He reached again for his maid, Liana.
But Shade stepped between the baron and Liana.
“Do I seem to be negotiating with you as an equal, Baron Godwin?”
“…!”
At that low murmur, the baron’s blood ran cold.
“I’m giving you an opportunity. I’m honoring your damned barony, if you can believe it.”
“Honoring me? That’s my line! Just because you hold a title, you think you can speak so familiarly to me, you beastly Lupus…!”
For a split second, Shade’s brow hardened.
The baron paled as he realized he’d unwittingly crossed a line he shouldn’t have.
“…It seems there’s nothing more to discuss.”
He’d considered offering minimal courtesy since he’d already killed their hunting dog, but his mind was made up.
Without another word, Shade scooped Liana into his arms.
“Y-your Grace! What is the meaning of this outrage?!”
“Outrage. Now that’s a fine word…”
One corner of Shade’s mouth twisted upward.
With Liana cradled in one arm, he drew his sword.
For an instant, everyone inhaled sharply and fell utterly silent.
Amid the icy stillness, Shade swept his gaze over the household of House Godwin.
“If you’ve got a problem with my ‘outrage,’ bring your army to my duchy. I’ll welcome you gladly.”
Simultaneously, his blade flashed—and sliced between the baron’s legs.
“Hiiik!”
“M-master…!”
The baron’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor with a thud.
His elegant trousers were torn at the groin, revealing an unsightly sight beneath.
The baron, who had nearly lost something precious, gaped wordlessly.
“That should suffice as justification, don’t you think?”
The man sheathed his sword, turned, and strode out of House Godwin with the woman still in his arms.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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