Chapter 7

“…It’s disgusting.”

“……”

“Ezekiel, are you listening to me?”

At Charlotte’s nerve-wracking words, Ezekiel closed the book he was reading and looked at her. Charlotte was gritting her teeth while on the bed, her hands crumpling the blankets. Her complexion was different, unlike a few months ago, and she looked somewhat unstable. She let go of the blanket and put her fingers to her mouth. However, what touched her teeth wasn’t her worn-out nails, but red skin on the tips.

“Hey, what is this? Why isn’t it coming out?”

“Why do you keep growing? How long are you going to grow? What the hell is this!”

She was acting like a madwoman, screaming at her stomach. When she looked as if she was about to hit her stomach with her fist clenched, Ezekiel sighed as if he was annoyed.

“Charlotte.”

Charlotte’s belly, which he saw closely, was under the covers so only the shape could be perceived. There wasn’t much difference in size from a few months ago, but in Charlotte’s eyes, her stomach was ten times larger. As he approached her, she grabbed Ezekiel and held on to him as if he was her salvation.

“I-I’m scared. I can’t stand it, I’m scared of this child. Something’s wrong with it. It’s weird.”

“…… ”

“Tell me, Ezekiel, no, Duke. What did you do to my body? What the hell is living in here?”

Ezekiel had left her alone. Without kicking her out, or without hugging her. Charlotte said what she wanted to say, as if she didn’t care about his attitude.

“I’ve been feeling strange actually. I can’t think of anything, and my head is a mess. But I know this is wrong. Don’t ignore me. I know. I… I am yours……”

Charlotte hesitated after she poured out her words in a hurry. If she said this, she was admitting to herself that what she’d been hoping for was an illusion. But she had to know. She didn’t like the strangely twisted memories and the child in her stomach, who seemed to want to eat her. She was afraid. At this rate, she felt like she was going to die. No matter how good gold is, shouldn’t she be alive to enjoy it?

Her eyes shook as she admitted to Ezekiel.

“……We never slept together.”

Looking up at Ezekiel’s face, Charlotte’s eyes were filled with fear. Her green eyes were dimmed by what had happened to her, and her flushed cheeks became pale.

“I-Is this child even human? Your- my child?”

“Stop.”

Charlotte kicked and punched Ezekiel, and he immediately grabbed her by the wrist to push her away. Falling down on the bed, she jumped up and screamed in a fit of rage.

“What do you mean, stop! Yes! Let’s stop! If I just put a stop to all this…”

Ezekiel grabbed Charlotte by the neck when she said she would stop. He sternly commanded.

“Charlotte, close your eyes.”

Charlotte’s face contorted. But there was something irresistible about his cool gold eyes that looked down at her. As she relaxed, she blinked her eyes a few times and then closed them.

“Do you remember what I said?”

“…..”

“What did I say? You are…”

Her vision was dark and she couldn’t see anything, her fear doubled. However, there was something about Ezekiel’s soft voice that made her mind wander.

Charlotte opened her mouth involuntarily.

“I am this, this child’s…”

“…..”

“I am this child’s mother.”

“Well done, so what do you have?”

Something was in front of her again. What she was going to have. The fear that corroded her mind just a moment ago had disappeared. Charlotte smiled and said as if she wanted it the most.

“This child is of the Duke’s blood, so he will be the heir, and I am the Duchess……”

“No. That’s not a promise I made.”

A heartless answer came back.

‘No’.

Tears welled up at his firm words, like she was being trained as a dog. In her mind, Charlotte thought.

‘Why? If my child is the Duke’s heir, then I must be the Duchess. Why can’t I be?’

It was unfair, but soon someone whispered as if to soothe her. It sounded like Ezekiel’s voice. Charlotte’s consciousness followed the voice.

“There’s no need to cry. You still have something. Now, think about it. What did this child promise to give you?”

“Gold, gold. It’s gold. The gold that can buy anything in this world…”

“Yes. You will have gold as promised. It will be twice your weight.”

Gold. Of course, gold was good too. If she had gold, she wouldn’t have to live as she used to. But what she wanted the most is…

Duchess. She wanted to take the seat next to Ezekiel. By his side, she would have everything in her hands, not just gold. Her child will be the heir, so of course she’d have to be the Duchess.

‘This man, this castle, the gold, everything belongs to me. It’s mine!’

“Ha, but…”

“Stop, no more than that. You need to know your place.”

Charlotte tried to demand more, but his stern voice did not permit her. Why couldn’t she! Charlotte wanted to complain, but she couldn’t speak. It seemed that if she continued with her protests, even the gold would be taken away.

In the end, Charlotte bowed her head without a reply. Then, someone laid her slowly on the bed.

“Stop and sleep. The child who will give you gold is tired.”

Charlotte closed her eyes. Yes. She had to sleep. She needed to get enough sleep for her child to grow up safely. Forget everything……. Slowly, her consciousness became clouded, and the faint sound of exhaled sigh waa heard.

The devil of indolence completely obscured her eyes. Soon, Charlotte fell asleep, leaving everything behind.

As soon as she fell asleep, Ezekiel rose up from his seat. His face distorted when he saw the woman’s swollen stomach. There was fire in the words he spit out.

“….When the hell are you going to crawl out?”

**********

Now it was difficult even to comb her hair alone. Herace brushed her long hair and looked in the mirror. A woman with a pallid complexion, holding a comb made of cedar wood, and a face full of sorrow stared back at her.

‘I didn’t even have a bite…’

Anyone could tell that she was not healthy. She wanted to look good to ease Anna’s worries, but it didn’t go as planned. She was out of breath even when she stayed still.

Fortunately, the nausea stopped at some point. The child constantly asked for something as if to supplement nutrients, even when it was late. Herace felt sorry for the child and reached out whenever there was food she was craving for. Anna joked over and over that the chef was so happy he could fly away.

‘Ezekiel…’

As she sat alone quietly and stroked her stomach, she naturally thought of the child’s father. After working at a separate building a few months ago, Herace had barely seen Ezekiel’s face. There was a reason she refrained from going out, but it was also largely because he was always with Charlotte, unless he was in his study or office.

“It’s been over a year since she got pregnant…”

Even Herace knew the hideous rumor about Charlotte. Having been pregnant for more than a year, she used to scream several times a day and had apparently become overly sensitive. Herace would flinch at the sound, then tremble as she heard the footsteps heading towards Charlotte’s room. She could tell just by listening. To whom the owner of the footsteps belonged.

With the sound of the door closing, the woman’s screams would soon subside. After a few hours, the footsteps that had disappeared will be heard again.

How did he comfort his lover in such a short period of time? What kind of words would stop that high-pitched scream in just a moment? Did he put his ear to her belly and whisper sweet nothings? Or did he read children’s books to his child?

Whenever Ezekiel’s steps drew nearer, she would pause for a moment and look at the door. Even though she clearly knew that his love and concern for her was gone, hope crept up like a persistent weed.

But the door rarely opened. Looking at the tightly closed door, Herace would fiddle with her hands. As if she was trying to forget the deeply ingrained disappointment.

“……I wish you’d come to see us at least once.”

[T/N: Please, somebody save our girl…]

Herace whispered to the child, as she put down the comb, closed her eyes and hugged her belly. She couldn’t even confide in Anna. As a mother, she seemed to be fooling around with an unborn child, so she was embarrassed, but she could only be honest with the child.

“Who did you want to come?”

Herace was startled by the sudden voice and raised her head. She saw Ezekiel near the dressing table standing next to the bed, looking at her. He melted into a dark shadow and only his eyes gleamed.

“What brings you here?”

Wet silver hair, soft skin, and the gentle smell oozing out of the man’s body showed that he had just washed up. Herace blamed herself for not noticing Ezekiel while he was getting so close, and bit her lip thinking that he had heard her a moment ago.

“Just. To see your room.”

Fortunately, Ezekiel didn’t hold onto Herace’s words. He shook his head and approached her as Herace tried to get up from the dressing table, blushing with embarrassment.

“Why aren’t you sleeping when it’s late?”

The scent of the man whom she thought was subtle immediately deepened. He bent down and buried his nose in Herace’s exposed neck. Herace opened her eyes wide at the sudden contact, but her body relaxed soon as if she was used to it. It had been a while, but up until a year ago, he would often bury his face in Herace’s neck.

“Then, why are you awake until this late?”

“…To comfort Charlotte.”

The name of the mistress came out of the man’s mouth nonchalantly. As if he was accustomed to calling her name, no sign of unfamiliarity in that voice. Herace looked sadly at Ezekiel, who said the mistress’ name while rubbing his lips against her neck. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she quickly changed her expression.