Chapter 5

I won’t allow it, Laure.

Calix left the Ecree mansion, leaving those words.

No, it wasn’t just mere words he left. He also left a long, intense kiss, as if marking his territory. To the point that I became dizzy.

As I start feeling suffocated by the searing kiss, I tried to push Calix away, but he applied more pressure holding my wrists and even intensified the embrace. However, his kisses was soft and not a bit harsh at all.

Trapped in his arms, I was I felt so sad that I kept crying.

Like coaxing a small animal, he gently stroked my eyes and cheeks, as Calix whispered again and again. I love you. Laure.

I won’t let you go.

“Haaaa.”

I groaned on the bed, flipping over and hitting my pillow.

I said, ‘Let’s annul the engagement, I don’t want to marry you,’ but Calix didn’t even slightly listen. Rather, he regarded me with an arresting gaze.

Showing a terrifying obsession, as if he was about to lock me up somewhere on top of a tall tower.

That Calix Rochester is obsessed to none other than me, Laure Ecree… It must be a dream. My brain must have been damaged.

“Is this even real…”

I feel so uneasy. If we keep going like this, we’ll end up getting married. No, it really can’t happen…

It’s alright for a fiancé to change his mind. But divorce… I’m destined to be divorced. This is too much!

Does this world’s God, Phoenix, actually loathes me?

Otherwise, he would not have let me follow the footsteps of “The Villainess Laure Ecree.”

Once, to change a predetermined outcome, I’ve tried doing this and that. But it was all useless in the end. An important event in the original story still happened somehow.

I’m sure it’s also the same case this time around. I’m trying to avoid Calix, that’s why this kind of colossal development transpired.

It’s as if fate is saying, ‘you’re destined to become the evil woman who fell in love with him, eventually hate him, and end up being burned to death…’

What should I really do? I don’t want to be the villainess who got divorced by my husband overnight. It was all the more discouraging to know that I will be executed in the end.

“As expected, is running away at night the only solution?”

I was seriously beginning to think about running away when I heard a knock outside the door.

“Miss. I brought you some snack.”

It’s a maid who brought me some late-night snack. I sat up straight, then said, “Come in.”

This evening, I had no appetite and could not have dinner together with father. But if I do not eat anything, my father would be worried, so I told him I’d eat a late night snack later.

Though I don’t know if the food’s gonna go down my throat… Haaa. I sighed.

“We’ve prepared some snacks that the lady likes. Your stomach is empty so something light was arranged. I hope it suits your taste.”

The maid put the covered tray down on the table and said, bowing. I curtly replied with a nod.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll call you later. You can leave.”

“Yes. Miss.”

After the maid left, I got up and headed for the table. When I sat down in the chair and removed the cover, it was made up of my favorite foods.

Cucumber sandwiched on bread with cream cheese, some steamed meat with raspberry sauce, sweet pumpkin tulle and pancakes, vanilla pudding, and a warm tea!

After putting some honey and milk, I took a sip of my favorite tea. Haaa. I feel much better. I guess I was famished. As expected, because of that stupid jerk, Calix, my mind feels so restless.

Anyway, people have to eat well to live. I took another sip of the tea and picked up a cucumber sandwich, then devoured it.

Wow, it’s delicious! Our chef is really the best! I grabbed the fork and knife while thinking of the chef with admiration. I’m actually craving some steamed meat with raspberry sauce, thank God it was included!

I cut a tiny piece of the steamed meat then put it into my mouth. After chewing for a long time, the meat tasted somehow strange.

“…..?”

What is it? Is it rotten? I frowned and spat out the meat on a napkin… the next moment, I felt a sudden nauseous feeling rising up.

“…Urk!“

I quickly ran to the bathroom, grabbed the toilet, and threw up. Foods that I’ve just recently eaten poured out.

Huff, huff. I hold onto the wall and pick up my breath. As I tried to head to the sink to wash up, my head spanned and my vision darkened.

With both palms on the cold bathroom tiles and her hair tousled, she was caught up in an impregnable shock.

Don’t tell me…?

No, it can’t be!

That’s ridiculous. It was just one night.

‘Maybe it’s just an upset stomach?’

But it’s so sudden. And I haven’t been stressed out lately.

“…..”

First of all, these weird symptoms suddenly came up, it’s impossible to just overlook and ignore it. Just in case, I needed to check my condition accurately.

I staggered up and headed to the sink. I rinsed my mouth with water, and as soon as I came out of the room, I called for the maid to clean up the leftover food.

The maid noticed my pale complexion and looked very worried, but still acknowledged my request not to tell anyone or my father.

After the maid left the room, I went to see Alice, the personal doctor of the Ecree Marquis.

I couldn’t tell this matter to my father first. I don’t know what would happen if I he discovered. If I’m really pregnant, I’m sure my father will be outraged.

First, let’s pray that it’s just nothing. I hope I’m not pregnant. It doesn’t make sense that I’m carrying Calix’s child. I’m not, right? It’s just because I’m not feeling well. Right.

Pausing in front of Alice’s door, I took a deep breath, then lightly knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

A strange sounding voice came from inside the room. I approached the door and whispered,

“It’s me. Laure.”

“Miss Laure? What concern do you have for you to come looking for me at this time of the night?”

In spite of asking suspiciously, Alice opened the door.

Scared of someone seeing me, I snuck in as soon as the door opened. Observing my overly cautious behavior, Alice was first dumbfounded then laughed.

“I-it’s not like that.”

I stammered in embarrassment.

When I was young, I used to always look for Alice when I had nightmares. As I grew up, I no longer had nightmares, but… Reminiscent of my childhood, I snuggled into Alice’s bed.

Noticing something unusual in me, Alice’s face darkened. Sitting carefully next to me, she asked,

“Laure, do you have a problem?”

“…Alice, I.”

“Yes. You can tell me.”

“T-That… I think I’m.”

“Yes?”

“I, I, I think I’m pregnant!”

As soon as I blurted out those words, a chill stayed in the air for a brief moment.

The shock gradually spread over Alice’s face. She looked at me with her eyes unbelieving.

“My lady, don’t tell me… did you and Grand Duke Rochester?”

“…..”

I nodded quietly at Alice’s inquiry. Astounded, Alice’s mouth dropped wide open for a moment then clasped my shoulders.

“Miss! Even before your wedding?!”

“W-Well, T-That’s what happened! Somehow!”

“It’s not something that can happen somehow! Did the Marquis know?”

Alice pressed me. I hesitated to answer.

“I. I didn’t tell my father. Alice. I’ve just had morning sickness for the first time today. And it’s also possible that I’m just not feeling well? I’ve been taking great care of myself lately though…”

“…..”

To sum up my words, it was like, ‘I may not be pregnant, so please do some tests.’

Alice easily recognized my intention and shook her head. A heavy sigh flowed out of her mouth.

“It’s not morning sickness, it’s also probably some stomach disorder caused by stress. Even if I am pregnant, it’s still too early to start having morning sickness. I know it’s different from person to person, but… let’s please do some test first. We should be certain with these kind of serious situations.”

After that, a thorough examination has been carried out. The first was pulse reading. After that, all kinds of inspection methods used in the Empire. And lastly…

“This is a magic tool. It was recently released, and it can be considered the most accurate tester. Do you see this mana stone?”

“Yes.”

“If my lady drops her blood and it turns red, there’s a 99% chance… that my lady is pregnant.”

“…..”

Gulp… I nervously swallowed. Alice dropped a grain of my blood, which had been collected beforehand, on the mana stone with a grim expression on her face.

1second, 2 second, 3 second… Time passed by like an eternity.

Tens of thousands of thoughts run into my head while waiting for the results. What if I’m really pregnant? What if I really have Calix’s child… the mere thought of it left me in the dark.

He was destined to meet Sia and fall in love passionately with her in just a month. What will happen if I shackle him with a child?

And what if I had a child and got divorced, then I, I think I might actually ludicrously resent Calix and Sia.

Like the original story, I might truly become the villainess, Laure Ecree…

Ruminating the worst case scenario, I might lose my life with an unborn child, or I would die, leaving the child alone in the world.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

I grasped the hem of my skirt with my hands. How come series of developments that weren’t even in the original story kept arising, though I’m not really sure if the male lead, Calix, has somehow become discordant…

If I’m really pregnant, then it was no longer just me. Because my child and I have become a union made traversing fate.

I looked at the mana stone with anxious eyes. It was both funny and sad that the color of that mana stone would determine my destiny in the future.

Everything that I struggled with trying to survive since the beginning felt futile.

On the other hand, I had regrets why I didn’t use contraception properly… I hadn’t even imagine this to transpire.

I didn’t know I’d get pregnant so suddenly. This didn’t even happen in the original story…

“Haaa.”

As I sigh and close my eyes, I felt Alice flinch.

I opened my eyes wide in a flash. My heart pounded. The results must have finally come out.

But I couldn’t see it because it was covered by Alice’s hand. I called to her with a sense of urgency.

“Alice?”

“Miss Laure…”

Alice looked back at me in a puzzled state. Just by looking at her expression, I already had my hunch.

As I slowly lowered my gaze, the mana stone in Alice’s hand came into sight.

Red.

The mana stone, which was originally blue in color, was dyed red.

“I, I think you’re pregnant…”

“…..”

It was confirmed by Alice’s words.

The result is positive.

I’m pregnant.

That night, I had a nightmare. The dream was so vivid as if someone were shooting from the side with a projector. It was the dream that I had always dreamed of since I was a child.

The only difference is, I was holding tight a tender little hand of a child with an unrecognisable face.

In my dream, I couldn’t see ‘my child’s’ face. But I knew for sure that the child was my daughter. It is because that child called me ‘Mom.’ with a soft voice.

Mom.

Um, Mom’s here.

Mom, please mom. Don’t go. Don’t leave me.

The child tried to reach out for me. But someone hugged her from behind.

Then I was dragged away with my arms chained by soldiers wearing iron armors.

Through my disheveled hair, I can see the two of them standing together.

Calix and Sia.

The two of them were wearing a wedding ring.