I Became the Mother of a Sub-Male Son

Inside the room, the Duke was sitting on a chair in front of the desk, looking at something.

Could it be that he hadn’t slept and worked all this time? Even in the book, he was described as a terrible workaholic but… But what should she do now? She thought about it for a while while watching the Duke who didn’t pay attention even though she came in. At that moment, her eyes met with the peacock Duke who raised his head, and she greeted him unconsciously.

“…Uh, how are you?”

Far from answering, the Duke just snorted and glanced at the sofa. She didn’t like it, but her nose was swollen, so she swallowed her displeasure and walked over to the sofa and sat down. After a while the Duke walked over with something in his hand and took a seat across from her.

The Duke put the papers on the table and pushed them towards her.

“Read and sign.”

She lifted the papers in front of her. What the hell was he asking her to check? She opened her eyes wide as she checked what was written on the first page.

“…This.”

“Yes, it is a contract.”

She took her eyes off the papers and looked up at the peacock. What did he mean by giving her that?

“I want you to know that if you refuse, you will be in prison.”

By that he meant, don’t ask, don’t argue, and just sign.

She shifted her gaze back to the papers. A and B were clearly written in the contract. It must have been a particularly unfavorable contract for B. In addition, she knew that it was a contract about hiring a ‘nanny’ for the name of it, but it was not in reality. If one looked at the conditions and contents that should have been observed, no matter how one looked at it, that was…

“A contract for surveillance purposes, right?”

The Duke did not answer. Instead, the eyes staring at her darkened. In the contract, it was written that the contract period was undetermined. That would mean that this contract would be valid until all doubts were cleared. More precisely, it meant that she would be held there until certain evidence was found.

“…What if I don’t sign it?”

“I should have already told you.”

She tried to stab it, but it was like that. It made her even more reluctant to see the Duke so resolute that no blood came out. Of course, she knew it’s a situation she couldn’t refuse, but who would willingly sign a contract knowing that it’s against them? It was when she checked the last page of the document. She was very surprised by what was written in the first line.

“…I, really?”

“What do you mean?”

She hurriedly showed the Duke the provisions written in the document.

“It says you will pay off all my family debts. It also says that you will pay back double later.”

“But keep in mind that there is a condition attached. Compensation in case you get out of line with…”

She quickly wrote her name on the signature line before the Duke went mad and uttered the words, worrying that he might change his words.

She smiled and handed out the signed contract to the Duke.

“Here. I’ve signed it.”

The Duke, who had been staring at her without saying a word, accepted the contract with a confused face. He may think that she signed the contract prematurely. Wasn’t the Duke also looking at her pitifully?

To be honest, it was true that the last condition was harsh. It couldn’t be the only part of the terms of the contract that she liked. The condition of repaying all the debts owed by the family. Obviously, the contract was unfavorable to her, but in a way, it wasn’t necessarily bad.

Anyway, it was the worst situation from her point of view. She managed to escape and hide, but there was no guarantee that she would remain undetected forever by the creditors. The source of the money Viscount Lawton borrowed was from the notorious ‘Rayon’ guild.

Rayon Guild had different characteristics from regular guilds. It was especially famous for the dark sect. They did not hesitate to do inhumane things such as ‘lending money’ or buying and selling those who could not pay back as slaves. In particular, Elia Lawton’s appearance was very famous enough to be recognized by the world.

So, of course, they would think that she was suitable to be bought and sold as a slave. Of course, from the point of view of the guild, it would be good for them to make money. It was obvious that even now, the Rayon Guild would be looking for her with their eyes on.

Compared to that, the situation was much better now. Even if she couldn’t get out of there anyway since she signed the contract, at least she didn’t have to worry about being sold into slavery.

It was not her who kidnapped the child, so it would naturally be revealed over time. It might be helpful if they could find out who was behind the kidnapping of the child… There were many political opponents of the Duke’s family, but among them, if they had to deduce a candidate, there was only one powerful one. The Marquis of Dior, a rival of the Duke and a person who covets him. If it was him, it was enough to stage the kidnapping of the child. It’s very likely that it’s the marquis, right?

While sneakily examining the Duke, she stood up with the papers in her hands.

“The butler will explain the rest. Go away.”

It’s just that he didn’t want to talk anymore. Anyway, she was uncomfortable with that place, so she got up, greeted the Duke, and quietly went outside.

Click.

As soon as the door closed, the knight ordered her to follow. Were they going straight to the butler? As they walked around, she got the feeling that I was going down a familiar path. That hallway led to the child’s room…

The place where the knight stopped was right in front of the child’s door as expected. When she went inside, the child was nowhere to be seen, and there was a man she had never seen before. It seemed that he was the butler because he looked old.

“…Are you, by any chance, the butler?”

As she walked towards it, the man greeted her with a smile.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Lubat, I’m the butler of the Duchy.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Elia Lawton.”

“Yes. I already know that.” 

“Where has Lord Delian gone?”

“He is currently attending morning class.”

“At this hour?”

She was taken aback by that statement. Did the child have to study at that hour?

“Yes, it is.”

So, the lady-in-waiting took the baby to prepare him for class. Now the situation makes sense.

“Did he skip meals?”

“Originally, Lord Delian only takes one light drink in the morning.”

In other words, it means that he was fed very little and studied so much that it did not even bother him. She was dumbfounded and stared at Lubat even though she knew it was rude.

“Did he normally eat like that?”

“Are there any problems?”

Rather than a problem, she didn’t understand. Although she had only lived with Delian for three days, he loved to eat more than anything else. He didn’t eat too much, but he wasn’t so lacking in appetite that he ate a light juice for breakfast. He was rather impatient with wanting to eat more…

Perhaps recognizing her thoughts, Lubat added an explanation.

“His body is weak, and he vomits even if he eats a little too much. Especially in the morning, he has low blood pressure, so he eats light meals.”

“…If that’s the case, I understand.”

After hearing what the house’s butler had to say, she was convinced and thanked him. Then it would be better to simply shut up.

“My lady, you just need to be at Lord Delian’s side. It will only take another period of time for him to be here.”

“What’s more?”

“If Lord Delian wants something, you can give it to him.”

“Is that enough?”

“And yes. The room where you will stay is the room right next to this one. There is a middle door between the rooms, so you can use it without having to go outside.”

When she turned her head at Lubat’s words, she saw a small middle gate in the corner as he said.

“How about breakfast?”

“I’m not thinking about it right now.”

She wasn’t feeling well, and she wasn’t particularly hungry.

“From lunchtime, you can go down to the dining room and eat.”

“Can I go alone?”

“No. You have to go down with Lord Delian. And it’s not tolerable. From now on, you’ll be taking meals with the Duke.”

…yes? What kind of thunderous sound was that?

“…With the Duke?”

“Yes. This is a special order from the Duke. The young lady has no right to refuse.”

…She had no intention of rejecting it in the first place.

She glanced at Lubat. That was how the boss and the subordinate fit. Still, she thought it was better to be someone else because she was being a little more polite… Well, she could guess why the Duke gave such an order. It must have been because he was afraid of what to do if Delian followed her too much. Or, in the name of that, he was trying to monitor meals too.

After all, the chance was great. If there was an electronic chair there he would have used it on her.

When he lifted his arm, it shook and the red jewel embedded in it shone strangely. She didn’t know exactly what kind of device was installed there, but since magic was also in this world, she guessed that there must be something unreasonable going on.

“I’ve explained everything for now, but do you have any questions?”

“No. There are no more.”

“Morning class ends in three hours, so you can wait here until Lord Delian comes.”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll be gone. If you have any more questions talk to me later.”

“I know.”

Lubat bowed his head to her and left the room.

She looked around the remaining room and headed for the middle door. She was thinking of looking at the room before the baby arrived. When she opened the middle door and went to the side, the neat appearance of the room caught her eye. It was lenient enough for them to consider her a child kidnapper.

The room was quite spacious, and it had everything that could be furnished. Just in case, she checked and found that there was a bathroom and the bed was big. It was really different from the house she lived in before.

She sat on the bed that she couldn’t help but wiped the blanket with the palm of her hand. The texture of the fabric was also very good. She felt like she could fall asleep right away if she lay down.

She lay down and looked up at the ceiling. She should just rest like this. The child had only three more hours to stay, and there was nothing to do.

“…Anyway, why is it so hot?”

Now his body was quite hot. There, she felt strangely short of breath. Should she ask for some medicine? After lying on the bed, everything was bothering her. Now, the desire to simply rest was greater. 

She should close her eyes for a bit and get up and ask for medicine or something. She slowly closed her eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

“… lia. Elia.”

A small whispering voice came from somewhere. It sounded like a bird chirping. She thought it sounded pretty good and tried to go back to sleep, but her body shook lightly.

When she finally opened her eyes, she could see the blurry face of the child who looked like a soft glutinous rice cake.

“…Are you sick?”

She blinked her eyes slowly and got up. Her body dropped to the point where she felt heavy.

“Elia?”

“…It’s okay. No, it’s okay.”

She only spoke comfortably when she was at her previous house, but now her situation had changed. Originally, since there was a difference between the child and the class, respect was natural. The child with a surprised face grabbed her by the collar and stammered.

“I-I-what did I do wrong? Is that why Elia is angry?”

“It’s not like that. As you’ve heard from the butler, I’m here to work, and since I’m where it’s appropriate to be polite.”

“I heard from Lubat. He said now Elia also lives here and she’s really nice…”

Delian, who was silent at the end of his words, began to weep slightly. At this point, as if he was about to burst into tears, she hurriedly opened her arms. As if the child had been waiting, he rushed into her arms.

“Did that upset you that much?”

“…Yes. I was upset just now because Elia seemed different.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it either. The Duke is so… well, it’s nothing.”

To the child, he was his father so… but she was scared, so scared, and it seemed a little too far-fetched to say that he noticed, so she turned away.

“Is it because you’re afraid of my father?”

Inwardly, she was startled by his words that struck her at once.

“Actually, I am a little scared too. He doesn’t talk much, and his eyes are like this.”

The child raised his head and stretched out his round porcelain eyes with his hands.

“Because you were torn…”

Poop!

She burst out laughing at the words that followed. She shook her shoulders and laughed loudly, and the child made a surprised expression.

“Pufu…”

She tried to calm herself down, wiping the tears from her eyes. When she finally stopped laughing, the child’s eyes widened beyond words.