Chapter: 10
“If it weren’t for that child, I could have become the Duchess! If you hadn’t gotten pregnant, that position would have been mine!”
Railly wrapped an arm around her stomach and spoke to Anna in an icy voice.
“Watch your mouth, Anna. I can endure anything else, but I won’t tolerate anything involving my child.”
She struggled to rein in the harsh words that threatened to spill from her lips.
“Ha!”
Unable to control her trembling body, Anna glared at Railly with bloodshot eyes. Her gaze drifted toward Railly’s slightly rounded belly.
“If you try to harm my child again like you did before, I won’t stay quiet.”
“Do you really think you’ll be allowed to stay here even after giving birth, Madam?”
Anna curled her lips upward and spoke softly. Railly’s brows furrowed, and she walked past Anna without another word.
Once the baby is born, will I have to leave this place with my child? Where would I even go? I do have some money saved, but…
Railly’s head throbbed painfully. Behind her, Anna burst into shrill laughter.
“Isn’t it true that a child doesn’t necessarily have to be raised by its own mother?”
Anna sounded confident—as if she were certain she would take on that role herself.
“That’s ridiculous. There’s no guarantee it would be you.”
Even if Theo prevented Railly from taking the child away, Anna didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would raise another man’s blood as her own son.
“As a Duchess in name only, do you still want to cling to that position? Don’t you have any pride? If you were gone, I, Theo, and even the child who will be born would all be happy.”
Even if Railly were forced to leave the ducal estate, Theo would seat a woman from a powerful family in her place. That meant Anna would never take that seat.
“So, Anna—no matter how things turn out, it will never be you.”
Anna seemed unable to understand her words; her face twisted grotesquely. Her hand clenched tightly around the hem of her skirt.
“The first time is hard. The second time is easy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do I really have to explain something this simple?”
I’m leaving this place.
No one would ever steal my child’s happiness.
Before Theo could take her happiness away again, Railly was already thinking of discarding him first.
“…!”
It was movement.
The baby moved.
Feeling her child move for the first time filled her chest with overwhelming emotion. It felt as though the baby were comforting her, telling her everything would be all right. Railly’s eyes stung as tears threatened to spill.
It’s okay, my baby. I’ve been waiting for you to be born. For your sake, I can endure anything.
She was certain that Theo would at least love the child. He checked on Railly’s condition daily and constantly asked questions about the baby.
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you hear such things in a place like this.
She swallowed the words she couldn’t bring herself to say.
…I was foolish.
She had believed Theo would never change—that he would continue to love her. But that belief had been nothing more than a lie.
At first, he treated her with extreme care, checking her body every day, doing everything to ensure she conceived quickly. Once she realized she was nothing more than a means for him to have a child, all of his past behavior suddenly made sense.
Railly headed upstairs. She went to the study to write in the diary she had kept ever since becoming pregnant—to record this very moment.
“Ugh.”
She felt her mana fluctuate unstably.
Just like Ren said… maybe the time is coming. I might not be able to delay the contract any longer…
In the study, she had always recorded not only details about the baby but also changes in her own body. She couldn’t hide her abilities forever.
Holding tightly to the railing, she climbed the steep staircase slowly, step by careful step. Fearful of slipping, she moved with extreme caution.
Her legs trembled, strength draining from her body.
“Stop right there! I’m not done talking yet!”
When she was more than halfway up the stairs, Anna’s irritated voice rang out behind her. Immediately after, a rough hand grabbed her and yanked her around.
“What do you think you’re doing? This is dangerous!”
Railly barely managed to regain her balance and shouted, but Anna ignored her completely.
“He’s completely obsessed with me! He won’t look at any other woman anymore!”
“Yes, believe that if you want. Then.”
At this point, what did it even matter?
Railly truly had loved Theo. That was why she still couldn’t let go entirely.
Even if everything he had done for her was a lie, it had still been Theo who rescued her from a home that felt like hell.
A small part of her still wondered whether he might come back, whether he had truly loved her at some point.
She knew it was foolish, but being abandoned and resigning herself to it always hurt. No one ever grows accustomed to that pain. Becoming numb didn’t mean the wounds disappeared.
You simply lived pretending everything was fine.
Unable to let go of the relationship—this, too, was nothing but pain. Railly buried it deep inside herself.
Once the baby was born, she intended to free herself from him anyway.
You already know it’s impossible. A relationship this twisted can never be repaired…
She shook Anna’s hand off and tried to go upstairs.
“Where are you going? Right now? You’re going to see the Duke, aren’t you?”
“Anna, you know where he is better than I do, don’t you?”
Railly barely knew Theo’s schedule. He never told her, and he forbade her from involving herself in anything related to the estate, telling her to stay in her room and rest.
Anna’s head drooped, and she whispered softly.
“…If that child were gone, wouldn’t everything be solved?”
“What did you just—”
Anna suddenly yanked Railly’s arm. In the instant Railly fell backward down the stairs, Anna covered her own face with both hands, her eyes widening in feigned shock.
But through the gaps between her fingers, the corners of her lips lifted.
Joy—barely concealed amid the confusion.
Ah… no!
Railly desperately reached out, but grasped nothing.
She tumbled down the stairs without even managing to scream.
“Kyaaa! Please, help me!”
Along with Anna’s scream, Railly collapsed on the floor, feeling something warm flow beneath her body. Every inch of her hurt.
Ah… my… my…
Red blood and fluid spread around her. As her consciousness faded, she saw Theo running toward her in panic.
She opened her eyes.
Railly immediately sensed that something was wrong. When she placed her hand over her stomach, she slowly shook her head.
“…No. My… my baby… the baby… That can’t be true. It can’t.”
She pounded her chest with her fist. Her tightly strangled voice broke into sobs.
“H-hic… hic… ah—! No!”
Her heart hurt so badly it felt like it was being crushed. She kept hitting her chest in desperation.
The baby… the baby was gone.
Her stomach felt empty. Pain surged through her not-yet-healed body as if her bones were collapsing.
Startled by the noise, Theo burst into the room. Railly struggled out of bed and staggered toward him.
“This isn’t true, right…? Where is my baby? Where is my baby?!”
“Madam, your body hasn’t recovered yet.”
Theo held her shoulders and gently patted her back, as if trying to calm her.
Through the slightly open door, Anna could be seen standing there.
Railly shoved Theo away, rushed to the door, and grabbed Anna.
Before anyone could stop her, Railly’s hand closed around Anna’s throat.
“Kyaaak!”
“You killed my baby! Bring my baby back—bring my baby back! I warned you! I told you I wouldn’t stay quiet if you touched my child!”
“K—cough!”
Theo hurriedly pulled Railly away. Anna clutched her neck, gasping, her face pale as death.
“You! You! Aaaaah!”
Railly shook Anna violently, screaming like someone who had lost her mind. Anna, helpless in her grip, shook her head and burst into tears.
“M-Madam… no… it was an accident. Hic… I’m suffering too…”
“Suffering? You? More than me, who lost her child? Hahaha!”
Railly laughed hysterically, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Anna clutching her reddened cheeks.
“Stop this! Anna hasn’t slept since that incident—she’s been suffering while worrying about you—!”
Smack—!
“This is all your fault. If it weren’t for you, my child wouldn’t have died.”
“…Ha. Madam, I, too, am heartbroken about what happened to the child. So please, calm yourself.”
“Calm down? You’re telling me to calm down? What kind of parent could stay calm after losing their child?”
Seeing Theo’s indifferent expression drained all her strength. Perhaps he hadn’t truly loved their child either.
Even though the child was theirs, she was the only one whose world had completely collapsed.
She pulled her hand free from his grasp and slowly sank to the floor.
“My baby… give my baby back. Save my baby… please. Tell me this is a dream.”
Clutching her stomach, Railly screamed.
“Aaaah! Aaaaaaah!”
She was sick of it. It was horrifying. She didn’t even want to breathe in this place anymore.
The moment the reason she had endured everything disappeared, the world—everything around her—crumbled completely.
