If the Duke of Stautte had noticed the relationship between Julian and Karin and ordered that she be brought to him… it wasn’t entirely implausible. From the duke’s perspective, one might still question whether such extreme measures were necessary—but the truth was, no other explanation came to mind.

Either way, remaining as she was now was dangerous.

By sheer luck, she had been freed from the men’s grasp, but there was no guarantee she would be safe from here on out.

If a lawsuit truly begins, the ducal house won’t lose. The Metropolitan Police and the newspapers your friend believes to be on the side of justice are, in reality, on the side of power and money. And being on the side of power and money means being on Stautte’s side.

Julian’s words from before surfaced in her mind.

If that were true, then even the officers wouldn’t protect her.

And even if Julian managed to act before the Duke of Stautte and spirit her away, all that would await her was a return to the same life she had lived for the past two months—a life with no future, confined to a room, spending each day waiting for Julian as nothing more than a kept woman.

Karin clenched the fabric of her skirt tightly at her knees.

Karin clenched the hem of her skirt tightly at her knees.

Forcing her uncooperative legs to move, she climbed down from the carriage. One of the officers stood with his back to her, speaking with a local resident—apparently taking a statement.

If she was going to run, now was the only chance.

Limping badly, Karin slipped into a narrow alley. She had no idea where she was or where she should go. All she knew was that she had to get away from this place.

The cramped alley was thick with clammy dampness and a foul, musty stench. As she staggered forward, feeling as though she might collapse at any moment, her consciousness began to blur.

That was when she heard it.

“…Miss?”

A familiar female voice sounded from behind her.

Karin tried to turn around—but before she could make out the woman’s face, her consciousness slipped away.

***

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on an unfamiliar bed.

Blinking groggily, Karin slowly pushed herself upright.

‘This place…?’

The dress she had been wearing was gone; she was left in only her petticoat.

Just then, she heard footsteps approaching. The door opened—and standing there was none other than Grete.

“Are you awake, miss?”

“…Grete.”

Karin flinched, her shoulders tensing as she hurriedly looked around.

No. This wasn’t that house.

Grete spoke quickly.

“Please don’t worry. This is our home.”

“Your home…?”

“Yes. The house where my mother and I live.”

“…….”

“I can’t tell you how shocked I was when I saw you in the alley near our house. And then you collapsed on top of that… You’re so light that carrying you here wasn’t all that difficult, though.”

Grete spoke lightly, as if trying to calm her.

“…Did you tell the young duke?”

“Huh? N-No, I didn’t,”
Grete waved her hands quickly.

“I did let them know that you’d been abducted, miss—but no one knows you’re here yet. So please don’t worry.”

“…….”

Karin looked at Grete with an expression full of doubt.

“It’s only natural that you wouldn’t trust me. But it’s true. I promise.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“…Because I owe you, miss.”

Grete said quietly.

“What kind of debt?”

Grete didn’t answer that question. Instead, she changed the subject.

“How did you manage to get away from those men? They looked enormous….”

“I just got lucky. Oh—by the way, are you all right, Grete? They didn’t hurt you?”

At a glance, Grete looked unharmed. She nodded.

“Yes. I’m fine. I just happened to be out at the time. On my way back, I saw some strange men forcing you into a carriage. I informed the secretary, and then… I came here.”

“…….”

“This place won’t be safe forever either, but at least until the wedding is over, it should be all right. So please rest a little longer, and then—”

“The wedding?”

At those words, Grete’s face fell as if she’d just realized something.

“…So it’s today.”

Karin murmured in a voice that sounded as though it might vanish at any moment.

“…….”

After watching Karin’s expression for a moment, Grete finally said, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”
Karin replied with a faint, weary smile. So that was it. Today was the day.

No wonder Julian had been distant these past few days. It had all been because of the wedding.

She didn’t feel particularly betrayed that Julian had hidden the fact that the wedding was today. He was a man who hadn’t even told her he was engaged to another woman in the first place.

“…You must be hungry. At least try to eat this,”
Grete said, holding out a bowl of steaming soup.
“It’s nothing compared to the food you had over there, but still—you need to put something in your stomach.”

Karin had no appetite at all, but Grete was right. With no idea what might happen next, conserving her strength mattered. Collapsing again just from walking a short distance, like earlier, would be problematic in more ways than one.

“Thank you. I’ll eat.”

Karin accepted the bowl. It seemed to be corn soup.

But the moment the smell reached her nose, a wave of revulsion surged up, and nausea rose sharply.

Karin instinctively covered her mouth and turned her head away.

“Miss, are you all right?”

“Ah—yeah. Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”

No matter how hard she tried to endure it, even the smell was unbearable.

“…I’m sorry. Could you take that away?”

Grete moved the bowl of soup aside, studying Karin with a strange look. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully.

“Um, miss.”

“Yes?”

“Could it be that… that’s morning sickness?”

“…….”

Karin’s eyes widened.

‘Come to think of it…’

There were far too many signs she could think of. She’d been feeling unwell for days now, and when she considered it carefully, her monthly cycle had stopped for over a month. She’d never been particularly regular to begin with, so she hadn’t paid it much attention—but still….

Karin stared blankly down at her lower abdomen.

The thought that Julian’s child might be growing inside her was utterly unbelievable.

“Miss… wouldn’t it be better for you to go back?” Grete said cautiously.

“…What?”

“If the young duke finds out about this… he won’t keep you locked away like before. Since it would be precious blood of the ducal house, he’d surely make sure you’re treated better, in a better environment—”

“…….”

The words snapped reality into place with brutal clarity.

If Karin truly was pregnant, this child could never be blessed.

It would be born out of wedlock—an illegitimate child.

Julian would never welcome such news. He himself was born out of an affair, after all. That was the one stain on an otherwise flawless Julian’s life.

In the worst case, he might even try to erase the fact that the child existed at all.

The thought sent an indescribable terror crashing over her.

If there really was a life growing inside her, then the only person who could protect it was herself.

“No.”

“…Pardon?”

“If the young duke finds out, I don’t know what he might try to do to this child. I can’t allow that. I have to protect it.”

“…….”

Grete fell silent.

It wasn’t uncommon, even among maids, to become pregnant with their master’s child—and in such cases, being forced to take medicine to erase the pregnancy was equally common.

Of course, Julian cherished Karin deeply; it didn’t seem likely that he would say something so cruel. But even so, Grete couldn’t irresponsibly say, ‘It’ll probably be fine.’ A life was at stake.

Karin swayed as she tried to rise from the bed. Grete hurriedly moved to support her.

“Miss, you mustn’t push yourself.”

“I have to go. I can’t stay here like this. I don’t know when he’ll realize.”

“Where are you planning to go?”

“Anywhere. As far away as I possibly can.”

“…….”

Grete looked at Karin for a long moment, then spoke again.

“But if you leave like this, you’ll collapse again in no time. I’ll make some rice porridge. The lady of the house you stayed at before had terrible morning sickness too, but she could usually manage thin porridge.”

Karin shook her head.

“There’s no time.”

“…….”

Grete’s face was filled with worry, but after some hesitation, she nodded as if conceding there was no other choice. She stepped out of the room briefly, then returned holding an old, worn dress in her hands.