The Pregnant Maid Runs Away - Chapter 8: The Runaway Maid (Part 2)
Chapter 8: The Runaway Maid (Part 2)
“Who’s there at this hour?”
Lizbeth, who worked as a maid at the ducal mansion, often went out to call for the physician. Bieren’s father, the former duke, was always bedridden, so they often had Dr. Dale stay at the mansion for days at a time. Lizbeth remembered that path to Dr. Dale’s and knocked on his door. She hesitated at the cold voice that came from beyond the door and spoke up.
“It’s me, Lizbeth.”
Since Bieren, now the head of the estate, had changed the family physician who used to oversee the estate, it had been a long time since Lizbeth had seen Dr. Dale, who had attended to the former duke. It was certain that even if she went to find Dr. Dale, it wouldn’t reach Bieren’s ears. The physician and his wife frowned as they came out of their pajamas to greet the unwelcome visitor who knocked on their door after dark. However, as soon as they saw Lizbeth, their eyes softened, and they asked about her well-being.
“Lizbeth, it’s indeed you. My, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you.”
Lizbeth bowed her head and exchanged greetings with Dr. Dale. The kind doctor and his wife readily opened the door upon seeing Lizbeth unexpectedly. Dr. Dale’s wife offered warm tea and expressed concern for Lizbeth, mentioning that she had heard rumors that all the servants had been dismissed after the former duke’s death. Since the change of the chief physician at the duke’s mansion, Dr. Dale had not heard any news about the duke’s household, which puzzled him. He cleared his throat and spoke.
“What could possibly have angered the duke to the extent that he would resort to dismissing all the servants…”
“…”
“It’s strange. Even if that were the case, those servants never seemed to speak up. Perhaps they were threatened with having their tongues cut out.”
Lizbeth couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of threat the previous servants might have received from Bieren to not speak about her. Surely, she thought, there must be a rumor circulating in the town that the new Duke had a maid he kept locked in his bedroom, but no one had heard of her. It was as if Bieren had erased Lizbeth’s existence by locking her in the bedroom. That fact made Lizbeth’s heart sink. Even if she were to live a shadowy existence in his bedroom for the rest of her life, this feeling of longing for him was a big problem.
“It’s just that, I, I…”
Lizbeth hesitated for a long time in front of the physician and his wife, struggling to explain her predicament. The mention of a possible pregnancy made the physician’s wife turn deathly pale. Unmarried common girls only became pregnant if they had met a young man or had been raped. The physician and his wife exchanged silent glances before turning to Lizbeth.
“Where is the father of your child?”
Lizbeth silently shook her head, unable to reveal that the man she had been involved with day and night was the duke. The couple looked at Lizbeth and assumed that either a man had r*ped her or a man had promised her love and fled. With anger, Dr. Dale’s wife cursed the cowardly man, while Dr. Dale himself vowed to conduct an investigation starting from the medical examination.
“…You’re pregnant.”
The moment Lizbeth received confirmation of her pregnancy from Dr. Dale, she felt as though all the blood drained from her body and pooled beneath her feet. It seemed like she could see a future where she would be separated from the child right before her eyes. Bieren detested the idea of Lizbeth, merely a receptacle for his desires, bearing a child. She couldn’t forget the harsh words he had uttered, telling her he’d give her the contraceptive every time, promising to chew her out if she ever got pregnant.
‘If you were to conceive, how long do you think I could endure without punishing you?’
For Bieren, ej*culating between Lizbeth’s legs was merely an excretion of his desires. He had no desire for a child, bearing any resemblance to either of them. Lizbeth knew that all too well, which filled her with despair. The child would be taken from her, and she would inevitably remain trapped in his bedroom, wondering about the child’s well-being.
She wouldn’t even be able to nurse the child. If Bieren were to marry a noblewoman, the child would be raised as a bastard under his wife. Just the thought of it made her heart ache. Having grown up in an orphanage, Lizbeth knew all too well the heartbreak of a child without a family. Dr. Dale’s wife spoke to Lizbeth, trying to comfort her somber demeanor.
“Lizbeth, don’t cry over that cowardly man. You must think of your own well-being.”
“Yes, you were kicked out of the duke’s mansion too, so if you need a place to work, I have a recommendation. It’s a bit of a rural village far from here, but if you’re okay with that, you can go there, work, and have your child.”
Dr. Dale also spoke with sincerity, ready to go out of his way to help Lizbeth. Lizbeth bowed her head in gratitude for their generosity. That day, she stayed at their house until dawn and then hitched a ride on a fruit merchant’s cart heading to the countryside orchard. As the horse-drawn cart rattled and swayed, Lizbeth remembered her and Bieren’s affair in the carriage on the way to the funeral. Bieren, objecting to Lizbeth going to the funeral, had said this to her.
‘When did I ever hide my desires?’
At one point, Lizbeth was almost glad that he was so possessive of her. She had romanticized Bieren’s possession of her, mistaking it for a declaration of love. The insults he hurled at her that day in the carriage were too many to count. She remembered back to her younger days when she had taken an interest in the books he read, and he had graciously handed them over to her.
‘In the kingdom of Leryanne, as part of its diplomatic policy, it has pursued marriages with neighboring countries. In order to foster diplomatic prosperity between the two kingdoms, public intercourse was demanded at places where royal officials, guests, and servants were present.’
At that moment, Lizbeth was horrified at the mention of public intercourse, her face flushing red. However, it only now dawned on her that, to courtiers and guests, diplomatic matters like the birth of an heir to the throne were crucial matters to observe. The intercourse between Bieren and Lizbeth took place in a location where nobody could witness it. It was merely an act of Bieren’s s*xual gratification, and the birth of their child would not matter.
‘Since bearing royal offspring is a major event for the royal family, everyone hoped to witness them engaging in intercourse. It’s impossible to have proper intercourse in front of everyone. On the other hand, no one has seen intercourse with a concubine.’
Marriages among nobles, predominantly for alliance purposes, could not possibly be as licentious as Bieren’s affair with Lizbeth. Bieren would undoubtedly marry a delicate noblewoman. She would exude a pleasant fragrance as she gracefully wore lavish dresses, just like the previous duchess did. Bieren wouldn’t even touch that noblewoman in the way he did with her, nor would he allow that noblewoman to wear extravagant dresses everywhere. Everything he did to Lizbeth was only possible because she was an easy maid.
‘The reason there are many royal bastards is that, unlike legitimate wives, concubines can engage in passionate intercourse.’
Lizbeth felt like the words he had spoken while explaining the history of the Kingdom of Leryanne were piercing her. Bieren ravaged her as if she were his concubine. He humiliated the maid as he pleased, not even giving her a single piece of clothing to cover herself, and relentlessly assaulted her between her legs day and night, pouring his seed as she struggled to bear it under the thin blanket. No matter how much contraceptive potion Lizbeth drank, it was clear it couldn’t withstand the amount he ej*culated inside her. Had she remained confined to the bedroom, Lizbeth would have given birth to countless illegitimate children.
“Miss, look at that. The dawn is breaking.”
The fruit merchant, who wasn’t usually a talkative man, marveled at the sight before him. The fields began to glow with the rising sun. Lizbeth, hearing his words, also looked toward the other side of the hill, where the sun was rounding up. Since the sun could be seen from anywhere, she wondered if Bieren was witnessing the same sight. She was curious about his well-being. She wanted to ask him how he was doing, if he’d eaten, if he’d been injured, even though he’d said the journey was not dangerous. Lizbeth imagined his face getting angry when he returned to the estate without her in it. Yet, there would be countless mere lustful maids to replace her for his desires. Despite feeling depressed by this fact, she prayed for his well-being as the sun rose over the hill.