I Became the Mother of a Sub-Male Son

“Then I’ll really go. Have a nice day, young lady.”

Ladiana finally got on the carriage with those words. Her escort driver, Brad, quietly bowed her head before getting into the carriage. Ladiana’s carriage began to pull away from the mansion. She turned around just as the carriage was out of sight. As she headed towards the mansion, she thought about her. Why was Ladiana being so kind to her? Why the hell?

Wait, come to think of it, when they first met at a banquet, she praised her looks a lot. Like someone you fell in love with at first sight. What was the reason that the female lead liked the Emperor? There were many factors, but the biggest one was…

“Oh my god.”

Okay, she totally remembered. She was none other than Ladiana, the heroine of this book. If she was pretty, she was a person who couldn’t be bothered.

* * *

Returning to her room, she sat down on the sofa. Deliam, who ran to her side, tilted her head.

“Ellie, are you sick?”

“…Huh? It’s nothing.”

She shook her head and sighed inwardly. It was because of her appearance that Ladiana tried so hard to impress her. But, was this okay? Of course, she knew that Ladiana would get along well with the Emperor. Even though she looked like she liked her almost like an Emperor. What if she said she was pretty for her appearance and even talked to the Emperor? Just thinking about it was terrifying. That was the worst.

“Elia’s face is very pale.”

It seemed that her face had turned pale from the terrible imagination. Deliam touched her cheek as if he were straight.

“It’s okay. I’m not sick.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Deliam’s expression relaxed only after she answered firmly. She looked down at the washed and dry child. The plump cheeks were full of peach color.

“If we go out again later”

“Yes.”

“If it’s okay, why don’t we go to the market?”

“The market?”

“Yes. Since the capital market is very large, there are many merchants selling goods, and there must be a lot of people. Although it is complicated, there are many things to see, so it will be fun, right?”

“Really?”

“Huh.”

“Then fine. I don’t know if I can go out again later.”

The child mumbled with a slightly sullen expression.

“Don’t worry. I’ll ask the Duke later when the time is right.”

“But what if your father gets angry?”

She glanced around for a moment, then motioned for him to come closer. She whispered softly into the boy’s ear.

“Actually, I’m not afraid at all anymore. My liver must have grown.”

The child grew small and laughed.

“Oh, Elia. Please read the book before you go to bed. You can take a break from class today.”

“Okay. Which book would you like to read?”

“This is it.”

The book Deliam held out was neither a children’s book nor a novel, but a philosophy book.

“…Okay. I’ll read it.”

She was embarrassed inside, but she opened the book without showing it.

“Hmm. So, one of the things that happened in the Ancient Dark Ages…”

* * *

The next morning, contrary to what she thought would be no big deal, a big deal happened.

Speaking of what was special, the lady of Ladiana had visited the Duke’s family since morning. Although she was fortunately after her meal, she did not expect to visit at such an early hour. No, she had no idea before that she would be visiting the very next day. It was also surprising that the Duke allowed Ladiana to visit them. Apparently, he was jealous that Ladiana held her hand yesterday as well.

No, if she thought otherwise, he would be in a state of showing interest in Ladiana, so it would be natural for him to want to take her.

“I’m really sorry for coming in this morning.”

“It’s okay. I’m a little surprised, but I’m glad I can talk to Lady Ladiana.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

During her conversation with her, she caught the door opposite her opening very slightly. A plump white cheek protruded from the crack in the door. The child was glancing at her and Ladiana inside the drawing room. She didn’t know why it’s like that, but the way his eyes moved around was just so cute. The child who was peering through the crack in the door met his gaze. The child’s eyes widened inexplicably, as if she was embarrassed.

“Yes, by the way.”

“Yes, please.”

“May I ask what the condensed milk is for today?”

Originally, this time was in the middle of the day when the child was beeping at her before going to class. But since Ladiana visited the Duke’s house and she found her, she must have been very upset. She thought it best to end the conversation with the mistress as quickly as possible.

“Actually…”

“Yes.”

“I came because I wanted to talk with the young lady.”

“Yes?”

“The lady said that as long as the Duke gives permission, I can come anytime, so that…”

Well, she didn’t think he ever said she could come anytime.

“Is it true that Lady Elia is here because of what I heard in the conversation between His Majesty the Emperor and the Duke?”

“Yes. As Lady Ladiana knows, my family’s situation is a bit different, so the Duke specially allowed me to stay.”

“…I see.”

Ladiana gave a look that looked really sad.

‘I’m fine.’

As she rolled her eyes, she changed the subject enough that she could tell.

“What kind of food does Lady Elia like?”

“I think I like sweet things. I usually eat all kinds of desserts.”

“Then would you like to eat the cake?”

“Yes, I like it.”

“Then, when the time comes later, when…”

At that time, a strong wind blew through the open window. Because of that, her hair, which had been lightly pinned up with the pins, came loose in an instant. Her long, blonde hair flowed down and tangled in a mess.

When she raised her head, Ladiana approached and was gently holding her hair very preciously as if it were a treasure.

“It’s pretty. It’s like melting gold in sunlight.”

“Ladiana’s hair color is also pretty.”

At her words, she smiled shyly and twisted her body.

“If you don’t mind, can I tie your hair up?”

“My hair?”

“Yes. I’ll braid it well so it doesn’t unravel.”

“Okay, then.”

“I just happened to have a string ribbon, so I’ll tie it up with this.”

“Yes. Then I’ll ask you a favor.”

“I’ll tie you up nicely.”

Ladiana took her hair very carefully in her hand and began braiding it. When she slightly turned her gaze, she saw the female lead braiding her hair with a serious face. It was time for her to turn her gaze back to the front.

The child’s face, visible through the crack in the slightly open door, seemed to be in shock at first glance. Deliam, who was looking at her and Ladiana blankly, turned his body away with his mouth tightly shut. 

What-what?

She was deeply embarrassed by the sudden disappearance of the child. She was dumbfounded because he looked like he was pouting. At that time, Ladiana’s admiring voice was heard.

“How come your hair is so silky?”

Instead of being happy with the compliment, she just became impatient. She hoped she finished braiding soon.

“How is it?”

She looked down at the long braided hair up to her waist.

“You must have braided a lot. You did a pretty job.”

“Because I like to touch your hair.”

“Anyway, thank you.”

“What. It’s nothing. Rather, what does Lady Elia do as a hobby?”

“Well, I think I mainly do reading books.”

“Oh, me too. Reading books is my hobby whenever I have free time. How could Lady Elia and I be a perfect fit?”

Looking at Ladiana, who was lightly clapping her hands, she wondered when the conversation would end.

* * *

It was around noon when Ladiana returned. It was like talking non-stop for several hours.

It was in a state of being completely drained. She leaned back on the sofa, looked up at the ceiling, and let out a long sigh.

She was going to go eat lunch with the child. It was time for her to come out and head to the room where the child was. Why was the surroundings noisy? What happened to everyone running around and making a fuss? She grabbed the lady-in-waiting who was passing in front of her and asked.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m looking for Lord Deliam because I can’t find him.”

“You can’t find Liam?”

“Yes. Lord Deliam said he wanted to take a break from class today and went into the room, but I haven’t seen him since.”

“You mean he wasn’t in the room?”

“Yes, he wasn’t.”

The lady-in-waiting went away from her, saying that she had to look for Deluam. Lunch wasn’t the problem. What kind of situation was this all of a sudden? She hurriedly moved on. She was thinking of looking for the child, even within the places she knew. But even after wandering around the mansion for a long time, she couldn’t find a single hair on the child’s head.

Where the hell was he? She thought she had seen all the places he could go to… Wait a moment. Suddenly, her mind flashed. Why didn’t she think of that? Without hesitation, she headed for her room. If everyone other than her was looking for him but couldn’t find him, that’s the only place. A small space under the bed in her room.

As soon as she got to her room, she immediately looked under the bed. Then she looked at where there might be space. She thought it was around here. After roughly guessing, she knocked on the door, but it was like a prison guard. She thought he must have been hiding here… She knocked a few more times, but no sound came out.

She felt like she couldn’t do it, so she groped the floor to find a seam. She opened the door right away, but the space below was empty. What? She looked at the space inside the floor in embarrassment, then got up. It was when she opened the middle door in a state of panic and went over to the children’s room. A very small sound was heard in her ears. She listened again, but she couldn’t hear the sound from before. Then what was that sound?

Suddenly, a large teddy bear that she had bought at a toy store caught her eye.

She walked in front of the teddy bear with quiet steps. While taking a closer look, she felt a slight sense of difference. The teddy bear’s stomach was slightly more swollen than usual. As if there was a small child inside of it. He had been hiding here. That’s why she couldn’t find him. She knew it because she was the one who saw the teddy bear in person, but it was only natural that other people didn’t know. He didn’t even show much unless she looked carefully. Anyway, she didn’t know how he got inside the teddy bear. She pretended not to know, coughing and talking loudly to herself.

“Where the hell is our Lian?”

She stomped her feet pretending to be nervous.

“I’m so worried I’m dizzy. Hey. What should I do?”

She muttered a little exaggeratedly on purpose.

“Ah. It’s the head.”

She let out a moan, pretending to be in pain, and deliberately fell on her back. Then she lay still with her eyes closed. Soon the child poked her face out of the teddy bear and exclaimed urgently.

“Oops! Elia!”