After my mother passed away, I was constantly pointed at and called a bastard. I spent a long time alone in a room at the top of the tower. In my life where I was not properly fed and was mentally and physically abused, Ruans was like a ray of light. I mistakenly thought it was light, not knowing it was darkness.
During the time when I was swayed by Ruans, it seemed I couldn’t think for myself at all. He boasted that he had registered me into the Count Pol Heredian’s family for my sake. I was very grateful. But he always ignored the abuse from Anne, Brant, and Illina.
If I had thought about it a little, I would have felt something was strange, but why couldn’t I even think like that?
Come to think of it, I told Ruans about the abuse. However, he scolded me instead, saying that I shouldn’t speak ill of family like that. No matter how much you hate them, you shouldn’t badmouth family, he said.
There was no one who didn’t torment me at the Count Pol Heredian estate. From attendants to maids, everyone in the estate harassed Lorencia at every turn.
They would suddenly shout or curse at me from outside the door. Every time I heard their curses for no reason, I felt like my hair was falling out in clumps.
Even if Illina killed a small animal, everyone would still dote on her. But I, Lorencia, was deeply hated just for being a bastard child.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Pardon?”
“Your brow slightly furrowed and your face looks pained.”
“Actually, something I don’t want to think about came to mind.”
Lorencia gave a bitter smile. This painful agony may follow her for the rest of her life.
“Shall I make it so those thoughts don’t come to you?”
“How?”
“Lady Lorencia, how about studying letters with me after the meal?”
“Studying letters?”
“Yes. I will teach you how to read letters. What do you think? Don’t you feel like the thoughts you don’t want to recall are already disappearing?”
“Yes.”
Lorencia nodded at Teishar’s words. Until just before, it had been so difficult, but at his words, the painful thoughts disappeared. It was a magical feeling. In order to shake off agonizing thoughts, I had to recite the lullaby my mother sang to me dozens of times in my mind. But for them to vanish at once like this!
“I want to learn letters.”
“Once you grasp letters, you can study what you want and read as many books as you like. From now on, I will continue to assist Lady Lorencia in your studies. So if there is anything you want to learn, please tell me anytime.”
“Then could I perhaps go to places like the library?”
“Of course. If I can’t go with you, I’ll have an escort take you or I can borrow and bring you the books you want instead. No, I will buy them for you.”
Just the fact that she could learn letters and read books made Lorencia’s heart race.
“Duke Spencer, I’ll finish my meal quickly.”
“Take your time eating. And until the weekend, including tomorrow, I will oversee all of Lady Lorencia’s studies.”
“Princess Charlotte will be busy, right?”
“Yes. It’s a pre-existing schedule so it can’t be helped. Next week she should be able to join you.”
The corners of Lorencia’s mouth turned up. She was grateful and excited that she could learn letters.
Having quickly finished her meal, Lorencia rubbed her full stomach. She felt like she would gain weight quickly if she kept eating like this.
“Once you’re done eating, today’s snack will be milk mixed with chocolate and marshmallows.”
Looking at Lorencia who ate too little, Teishar thought of a diet to plump her up even if she ate only a little.
“I’m full.”
“You can have it while studying.”
“Then I’ll have some.”
Seeing Lorencia nod her head, the corners of Teishar’s mouth began to relax. Just having such a cute sapling by his side made Teishar feel very happy.
“And by tomorrow, the servants of our Spencer duchy will arrive.”
“All of a sudden? Then what about Susanna?”
“Susanna is Princess Charlotte’s lady-in-waiting, so she must return to her side.”
“Ah… I see.”
Lorencia felt a bit disappointed, but knowing it couldn’t be helped, she shook off the feeling.
“The people arriving tomorrow will take good care of you, no less than Susanna.”
“Yes.”
Teishar unwittingly reached out to pat Lorencia’s head. But he stopped the motion. Lorencia trembled and hunched her shoulders.
“That, that’s… I didn’t mean to avoid it on purpose…”
It seemed she reflexively startled and shrank back without realizing it because she had been abused for many long years. Teishar wanted to vent the surging anger directly at the Count Pol Heredian estate. But for now, he had to endure it.
Teishar naturally lifted the corners of his mouth and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Lady Lorencia was so cute that I tried to pat your head. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Lorencia blinked. She knew well that Teishar was not someone who would hit her, but she unconsciously shrank back. She glanced at him, wondering if he might be offended. But instead, he apologized for his rudeness, which made her feel strange. Something surged up and welled inside her.
And the next day.
Lorencia looked at the white-haired old man standing in front of her. The white-haired old man who looked at her with a kind smile bowed deeply to Lorencia, politely greeting her. It was the first time Lorencia had received such a solemn and polite greeting from someone. In the end, she looked at Teishar with a face that didn’t know what to do.
“Lady Lorencia, let me introduce you. This is Evan de Plain, the butler of the Spencer duchy.”
Teishar introduced the white-haired old man as the butler.
“Hello. I’m Lorencia.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Lorencia. If anything happens from now on, please tell me anything. I look forward to serving you well.”
“Also, Evan is a skilled martial artist, so he will be a reliable escort for Lady Lorencia.”
“Martial arts?”
Martial arts refers to bare-handed fighting. She had heard about it before. She heard martial artists could catch bears or fierce beasts with their bare hands.
“And this is Mrs. Amelin de Plain. She will educate Lady Lorencia on all the refinements a noble lady should have. Amelin was also my nurse.”
“Hello. It’s an honor to meet you like this. Miss Lorencia, I am Amelin.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you. I am Lorencia of the Pol Heredian family. But you two have the same last name.”
“That’s because the two are married.”
Lorencia nodded at his explanation. Amelin had a warm impression and a kind voice as she bowed and met Lorencia’s eye level.
“I may be lacking compared to Lady Susanna, but I look forward to serving you well, Miss Lorencia.”
The servants she had seen from the future before all either ignored or cursed at her. But the servants Teishar brought treated her preciously instead. Her left heart tickled strangely.
“I look forward to working with you too, Evan and Amelin.”
“The pleasure is ours. We look forward to serving you even more.”
Teishar looked at Evan, the former head butler, and Amelin, the former head maid, who arrived with the red moon, and smiled with satisfaction.
The two had performed any task flawlessly as impeccable servants even at the Spencer duchy. They were more than capable of skillfully caring for and protecting Lorencia.
“By the way, Evan. What about father?”
“He will depart later as something came up.”
Teishar nodded. He wanted to confide in Lorencia about her mother, but that was something to be decided in consultation with his father, Magus.
In fact, he hated to see Lorencia looking confused. He wanted to take only her and disappear. He imagined taking her somewhere no one could see her and attending to her.
Imagining Lorencia living happily while being waited on by him, a tremendous sense of satisfaction surged over him like waves. It felt like his heart was endlessly floating on the waves with excitement.
“Lady Lorencia.”
“Yes, Duke Spencer.”
“I won’t be able to stay by your side today for a while due to a scheduled appointment with Princess Charlotte and His Highness Crown Prince Adrian. So Evan and Amelin here will protect you in my stead.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Duke Spencer.”
“And soon, there will be a duel between Prince Ruans and Viscount Lorirolls at the imperial training grounds.”
On this day, Lorencia will have to stand before the public and explain as a witness why Ruans threw the white glove at Viscount Lorirolls.
If that happened, people would look at Lorencia, the bastard child of Count Pol Heredian’s family, with curiosity and gossip, which made his head ache at the thought. So he was going to have a meeting with Charlotte and Adrian to avoid putting her in front of the public.
“Viscount Lorirolls didn’t run away.”
“If he runs away before a duel with imperial family, his noble title will be stripped and he will be demoted to a commoner. So Viscount Lorirolls can’t run away. Instead, his life cannot be guaranteed during the honor duel.”
Lorencia knew well what Teishar said, but she quietly pretended not to know.
Lorencia had seen the death of Viscount Lorirolls. He doesn’t die during the honor duel. His death was quite cruel but well-deserved.
“Running away in fear of the duel is like losing the pride of a noble. Even the worst trash doesn’t want to lose their pride.”
“Even if it means dying?”
“If he doesn’t want to die, he can appoint a proxy knight for the honor duel. Viscount Lorirolls may appoint a proxy knight.”
“A proxy knight?”
“Duels with the imperial family often lead to loss of life. But intentionally losing is also disrespecting the other party. So there is a possibility of putting forth a criminal sentenced to death to die in his stead.”
“Putting forth someone to die in your place is too cruel.”
“That’s why the imperial family must carefully throw the white glove.”
“I see.”
__________
He Said He’s Pregnant, and It’s My Child (Female-dominant)
Intro 1
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro 2
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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