Luella stepped out of the bathtub and sighed.

“Ah! That incident…”

Shuna, who was wrapping Luella’s body in a towel, asked with a surprised look on her face.

“Do you remember?”

“The time I was caught in Balder’s bedroom with Lord Sedes? I don’t remember. I heard about it too.”

Wrapping Luella in a robe, Shuna shook her head.

“I don’t believe those rumors.”

Feeling warmed by Shuna’s steadfast belief, Luella patted her shoulder lightly and asked,

“What did the maids who were talking about this say?”

“Lord Sedes vehemently denied anything happened. He said you were searching for something you lost in Lord Balder’s room. I think that’s probably true.”

“Thank you, Shuna.”

Luella, grateful for Shuna’s unwavering trust, inquired with an expression suggesting she couldn’t understand.

“But even after explaining the situation, people still talked badly?”

“No one believed it.”

“No one believed it? Why?”

Seating Luella at the vanity, Shuna spoke while drying her hair.

“Lady Balder had promised you chastity before marriage, so they said don’t lie about having no reason to be in the room together.”

“I hadn’t noticed, but that Balder guy really is a romantic, isn’t he?”

“You were the one who stipulated premarital chastity as a condition of engagement. You had refused Lord Balder’s proposals several times.”

“Considering that I set premarital chastity as a condition after several refusals, it suggests I wasn’t very fond of Balder. Why would Luella date him?”

Confused by Luella’s unexpectedly casual comment, Shuna questioned,

“Your tone sounds a bit strange, considering you lost your memory but are talking about your own affairs.”

“Ah, never mind. Sometimes I feel like the me before my memory loss is a stranger. Don’t worry about it.”

‘Good intuition, Shuna…’

Caught off guard by Shuna’s piercing words, Luella brushed it off and asked seriously.

“Is premarital chastity that important? Considering the fuss, it must be?”

Despite its medieval backdrop, this world had entirely different customs.

“Important? You have to spend your life with someone; you should know what you’re getting into in bed. What if they turn out to be a pervert or impotent?”

“Wow, very open-minded.”

“You should also fully explore these matters before marriage. Divorce is impossible in Kuran.”

“Divorce is difficult?”

“Since the Duke of Kuran took over and eliminated all the temples, you need the King’s permission for marriage. Breaking a marriage sanctioned by His Majesty is unthinkable.”

It seemed outrageous that everything, from guild membership to marriage and even divorce, required royal consent in this country.

“It gets more absurd the more I think about it. Why does everything require the Kuran royal family’s permission? Marriage, food, and now even childbirth?”

“It’s only natural.”

While combing Luella’s dried hair, Shuna said.

“Natural? What do you mean?”

“Childbirth. Families with low loyalty aren’t allowed to have children. They think it’s like raising future rebels.”

What Luella thought was a joke turned out to be real—childbirth was also controlled. She felt suffocated.

“It’s shocking, the more I hear. Do the people of Kuran really tolerate all of this?”

“They have no choice. If they rebel, they’re thrown into the monsters’ habitats. While formal procedures like executions and trials exist, they mainly apply to those in power. Ordinary people don’t even dream of it. They are sent straight to the habitats by the guild leaders. Remember I told you I was from an orphanage?”

“Yes, you did.”

“My surname is Barien. Everyone in the Kingdom of Kuran with this surname is an orphan. It’s registered this way to easily identify us as orphans.”

“Are there many orphans?”
“Yes, it’s incredible. Even though they weren’t allowed to have children, it seems they still have a desire to preserve their race. They take the risk of being sent to a monster habitat to give birth.”

“Shuna, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

A sense of regret filled her for digging up painful memories.

“It’s okay. It feels like this bitterness inside me can only be released when I vent like this. Every time new children arrive at the orphanage, it sickens me. Especially because I can pretty much guess the circumstances that led them to be abandoned.”

“Shuna…”

Not knowing what to say to console her, Luella could only call out Shuna’s name.

How much pain and suffering had she been through?

“Do you understand? They give birth and then abandon the child because they’re scared of getting caught. They must think the child will somehow manage to grow up on its own. They probably live their lives satisfied knowing that their bloodline exists somewhere. Isn’t that utterly selfish?”

Shuna’s trembling hand that held the comb was felt. Through the mirror, her lips were seen biting back tears. Luella turned around and took the comb from Shuna’s hand.