My Former Lover Didn't Die And Came Back - Chapter 45

“I’ve been asked to ensure your safe escort to Little Port.”

“But why would the lady bother with such a tedious request……”

It was true that her curiosity hadn’t fully dissipated yet.

“I have plenty of time.”

Elena answered with a bright smile, and Blair was taken aback by her harmless laughter.

“Just kidding. I visited a relative living in New Port yesterday. Evelyn found out about my plans to come here and hesitantly asked for my help.”

“Ah……”

Blair nodded.

“But actually…… I wanted to see you. At least once. I thought it might help me give up completely.”

“……He’s not that great of a man. You deserve much better, my lady.”

Blair said earnestly. She meant it.

“I know.”

Elena laughed.

“……”

“It was just his appearance that I liked. Just his appearance.”

It was an uncharacteristic word coming from the mouth of a refined lady. Blair smiled slightly in agreement. Cedric was indeed a man of fine appearance.

“If a man doesn’t respond, even after all the pursuing I’ve done, he’s no longer welcome on my side.”

“……”

Blair didn’t know what to reply. To think that such a perfect-looking lady had been hung up on him, what kind of man was he?

“Even though I’ve given up, I didn’t want to see you two getting cozy right before my eyes. That’s why I accepted Evelyn’s request.”

“……Regardless of the reason, it has been a great help to me.”

“Deciding to leave the city where I’ve lived my whole life isn’t easy.”

“……”

Blair looked down at her hands. When Elena turned her head towards the window, Blair also let out a small sigh.

The carriage ride to Little Port was quiet. It didn’t take long for their conversation to run dry. Neither Blair nor Elena were particularly talkative, and in reality, their relationship could only be uncomfortable.

As the carriage approached its destination in Little Port,

……Ah.

Blair suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.

……What’s this? It’s nothing serious.

Blair rubbed her stomach, thinking the pain would soon go away. Contrary to her hopes, however, the pain intensified and spread to her waist. Blair hoped Elena wouldn’t notice her breaking out in a cold sweat. Little Port was just around the corner.

Creak.

“We’ve arrived.”

With the coachman’s voice, when the carriage stopped, Elena, with her deep brown eyes shining, said to Blair.

“Anyway, my role ends here.”

“……”

“Don’t come back and live well.”

Blair slightly nodded her head and got out of the carriage.

“……Thank you,”

But Blair couldn’t finish her words of gratitude to Elena.

“Hey, are you okay? Hey……!”

Because she couldn’t bear the pain, she collapsed right there. Elena stretched out her arm and caught Blair as she fell.

“Oh my, heavens. Hey, miss! Miss Blair!”

Elena struggled to support the fallen Blair. Blair’s complexion was unspeakably pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat. Elena slowly lowered her gaze, only for her brown eyes to widen soon after. It was because droplets of red were spreading on Blair’s skirt one by one.

“Blood……?”

Those red drops were spreading around Blair’s lower abdomen area.

“Oh, dear heavens. I didn’t expect this to happen. Oh, miss, please don’t die here!”

Elena, who had been raised gently, was unfamiliar with events like this. The death of a stranger, blood, all these words had nothing to do with her peaceful life.

Elena lightly slapped Blair’s cheek, but Blair seemed to have completely lost consciousness. Naturally, Elena’s spine chilled as she imagined Blair’s death.

“Miss, no. Please don’t die in front of me. I’ve lived a good life……”

What if the woman Cedric had hidden died in front of Elena? Everyone would think that Elena, driven by jealousy, killed her.

“I shouldn’t have come to New Port, shouldn’t have listened to Evelyn’s request……!”

She was just curious about what kind of woman Cedric was meeting. Curiosity stung her own foot. Elena found the coachman who had momentarily left his post. And she ordered him to put Blair back in the carriage.

“Find a nearby doctor……!”

The carriage soon had to leave new wheel tracks.

* * *

Waking up in a strange bed, Blair found Elena sitting next to her.

It was a shabby doctor’s office in Little Port.

“……Did I lose consciousness?”

Elena stared at Blair with an indescribable expression as Blair spoke with a pale face.

“……Miss Blair.”

“Yes, Miss Elena.”

As Blair sat up, leaning against the bed headboard, the old wooden bed creaked.

“……I have surprising news.”

“……”

Blair felt anxious.

“How long has it been since you had your period?”

Hearing Miss Elena’s question, Blair reflexively swallowed her breath and covered her mouth with her hand. Her disheveled blonde hair flowed over her shoulders.

Oh, heavens.

She remembered the night she spent with Cedric. That night, Cedric made no effort to use any contraceptives and spent the entire night releasing his seed inside her. The child must have been conceived then. What kind of twist of fate is this?

Seeing Blair’s confused expression, Elena asked,

“……Is General Cedric Fitzgerald the father of the child?”

When Blair didn’t answer, Elena’s face darkened.

“Oh, heavens. This is really unnecessary information. I didn’t want to know all this.”

“I’m sorry, Miss.”

As Elena continued to exclaim ‘oh heavens’ and covered her face with both hands, Blair offered an awkward apology. Even as she apologized, her face turned so red it was hard to find a place not flushed with shame.

The wooden window that reflected the sky was dyed in black. Unlike the capital, with its numerous street lamps, the night here was pitch black.

* * *

Creak. When Elena got off the carriage in front of a hotel in Little Port village, she couldn’t hide her astonishment at the shabby exterior of the hotel.

“……This is said to be the best accommodation in this village.”

Hearing the coachman’s response, Elena couldn’t hide her displeasure.

“……I can’t do anything about that. Unload the luggage.”

“Yes.”

Hearing Elena’s voice from outside the carriage, Blair also got up. Soon after, both of them walked into the hotel.

“Have a good rest.”

“Rest well.”

The two decided to sleep in adjacent rooms since it was too late to return to the capital by boat, forcing Elena to stay in Little Port as well.

Blair changed into pajamas and lay on the shabby bed, looking at the ceiling and reflecting on the day.

So much happened today.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on her, yet thoughts flooded in.

I can’t believe I’m pregnant.

Blair gently rubbed her stomach with one hand. It was unbelievable that there was life inside her still-flat belly.

What should I do?

She knew there were folk remedies that could terminate an unborn child. She had heard from maids she was close with. But such remedies could also take away the mother’s health.

Blair looked down at her belly. She thought about what she wanted to do with this child. Her heart leaned slightly more towards not wanting it.

But…… her family disappeared, and another was formed. Is this also God’s will? Now that my parents are gone, the only family I have under the sky is this child in my belly.

The next morning, Blair saw off Elena, who was leaving the hotel.

“Take care on your way back, Miss Elena.”

“……What are you planning to do?”

“I need to look for a house. I plan to visit the village real estate.”

“……Take care.”

Blair stopped Elena as she turned to leave.

“Excuse me, miss!”

“……Yes?”

“I have a request. Please keep what you learned yesterday a secret.”

Blair spoke with a desperate voice, and Elena looked at her intently for a moment before responding.

“Look here, young lady. Even though I’ve given up on General Cedric, I’m not going to clap my hands and be happy about the two of you being together.”

“Ah……”

“That’s a different matter. Don’t worry. I’ll keep the secret thoroughly.”

“……”

“Take good care of yourself.”

Elena calmly rebuked her and then boarded the carriage without delay. Blair watched for a long time as the carriage, loaded with luggage, disappeared.

Blair recalled the conversation she had with Elena in the carriage yesterday. The sincerity was evident in her eyes when she said she had given up on Cedric. Once the carriage was out of sight, she moved on without hesitation.

Blair went to a town real estate agent. She asked to see a building that could be used as a store on the first floor and as a residence on the second floor, and she quickly found a suitable building and began settling in Little Port.

One day, visibly pregnant, she spoke to her belly as if she was making a promise.

“……Hello, baby…… someday,”

She remembered the last letter from her mother.

“……I hope I can say it was good to become your parent.”

Her nose tingled. It was surely because of the pungent sea air.

* * *

A bazaar and banquet were held at the Eleanor Palace. The purpose was to strengthen the positive image of the imperial family and to use the money collected from the bazaar as military funds. Celebrities and nobles from Eleanor gathered in small and large groups.

Elena was enjoying the banquet while chatting with several young ladies of her age. Suddenly, someone in the group turned their gaze to a corner of the party venue, and the other young ladies looked in the same direction. Naturally, Elena joined them in their gaze. At the end of their sight was Cedric Fitzgerald holding a champagne glass.

‘……Sir Cedric!’

He was talking with his colleagues, but he looked unwell. To anyone, he appeared to be completely full of fatigue.

Then, a young lady next to Elena opened her fan and said,

“General Fitzgerald always looks so handsome.”

“But doesn’t he seem to have lost some weight?”

“……”

Elena looked at Cedric again. The man had bloodshot eyes, as though he hadn’t slept.

‘He must not be in his right mind because the woman ran away.’

She felt slightly sorry for him. But she had no intention of sharing what she knew. Why should she do something nice for a man who hadn’t accepted her feelings?