The Pregnant Maid Runs Away - Chapter 9: When You Come To Love The Fragile Thing In Your Embrace (Part 1)
- Home
- The Pregnant Maid Runs Away
- Chapter 9: When You Come To Love The Fragile Thing In Your Embrace (Part 1)
Chapter 9: When You Come To Love The Fragile Thing In Your Embrace (Part 1)
The recommendation letter Dr. Dale wrote for Lizbeth was for a position helping out at a countryside village almshouse. Due to Lizbeth’s condition as a pregnant woman, she didn’t assist in caring for patients for long. Instead, she mainly sat and did sewing or laundry. The young men who came to volunteer at the almshouse all admired Lizbeth.
“Your husband must not be a proper man, to leave such a beautiful woman and go to the afterlife.”
“What kind of man would want to be with you when you’re no longer a virgin and have a child? Don’t be picky and it’s not a bad idea to choose one of us to spend the rest of your life with.”
They knew Lizbeth as a widow who had lost her husband. Whether they thought it was easy for a woman who had already taken a man once and got pregnant, or whether they wanted to fill the void left by her husband, their admiration seemed too casual. Someone stepped in front of Lizbeth and spoke up.
“That’s enough.”
“Oh, here he comes again. He’s back.”
The men clucked their tongues at the sight of Isaac, the young knight standing in front of Lizbeth. He was just a commoner called up to defend the borders, but he had received a knighthood for his valor. He had lived with his widowed mother, and when she died, he had come to the almshouse to volunteer whenever he could. He was a very kind-hearted man. Even the noble young ladies who were dragged to volunteer and then left after their obligatory service couldn’t help but admire his appearance.
“Eve, let’s go.”
Isaac called Lizbeth by her pseudonym. Lizbeth, fearing someone might discover she was once a chambermaid in the Duke of Etterland’s bedroom, used the alias Eve. At first, she often didn’t recognize when they called out “Eve,” but as time passed, she was getting used to it.
“I told you. if anything like this happens again, tell me immediately.”
Lizbeth lowered her head at Isaac’s words. She appreciated Isaac’s kindness, but it made her uncomfortable. She knew how kind he was. Knowing this, it was uncomfortable to be with him, drawing the attention of the people whenever she was with him. In a place where everyone was dying, the sight of a gallant man and woman standing together drew gazes like a spectacle. Lizbeth turned to Isaac and spoke with difficulty.
“It’s not a good look for an unmarried knight to be with a pregnant woman.”
“What kind of looks are you talking about?”
“People are making somewhat rude misunderstandings.”
“You mean the misunderstanding that they think we’re lovers?”
Isaac brought up the topic Lizbeth had been hesitant to mention. Lizbeth sighed and nodded. She asked him not to speak anymore and turned away. But Isaac quickly approached her and blocked her path, speaking up.
“Eve, I don’t know how this is going to sound, but…. people aren’t misunderstanding my feelings. Even if you do not feel the same.”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I like you, Eve.”
Lizbeth’s mouth fell open as the rambling man suddenly confessed with a resolute face. She felt incredibly sorry in the face of his sincerity. Perhaps this was the first time this young knight had ever experienced such feelings. Looking at Isaac, Lizbeth recalled her younger self who had loved Bieren and she apologized for breaking his heart, knowing it all too well.
“…I’m sorry.”
At full term, Lizbeth still loved Bieren. It felt like what had been growing inside her belly wasn’t a child, but her own heart. Not seeing his face made her miss him even more. Knowing she didn’t want to ruin his family, she vowed never to appear before him again. Nevertheless, Lizbeth would raise a child who looked like him, and she would love the child forever. Isaac, with a surprised expression, desperately tried to reassure Lizbeth.
“Eve, I didn’t mean to upset you. Nor am I asking for your affection.”
“I’m truly sorry. Even if it’s not me, I believe you’ll find a good match, Sir Knight.”
“…I won’t even hope for your affection. Just don’t tell me to hold someone else in my heart.”
Isaac shook his head kindly at Lizbeth’s gentle refusal, saying that he would find someone else. Then pouring out his heart about how kind she was and how he believed he wouldn’t meet anyone like her again. While Lizbeth listened to the downpour of confession from the young knight, all she could think of was Bieren. If only he had whispered these words before touching her flesh, she might never have even thought of escaping from that bedroom like a trapped bird.
“I’m just, I’m just…. I’m sorry.”
Feeling guilty for thinking of Bieren in front of a man who liked her, Lizbeth retreated in haste. She ran towards the small cottage beside the almshouse. She had once curled up in a patient’s bed, but as time passed and her belly grew fuller, they cleared out the little cottage, formerly used as a warehouse and gave it to her to use as a home. Lizbeth relied on the kindness of these people to live. Isaac was also one of the kind individuals to her. That’s why she felt resentful towards herself for being unable to reciprocate his kindness.
* * *
Bieren arrived at the almshouse, identified himself as Eve’s husband, and inquired about her whereabouts. Eve, Lizbeth’s alias she used at the almshouse. Bieren felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he realized that Lizbeth had wanted to live as a new person to the extent of changing her name. And it gnawed at him that he had become a man who followed a woman so eager to abandon him all the way to the almshouse
“I thought she was a widow, but her husband is alive?”
The men asked cautiously, despite informing Bieren of Lizbeth’s whereabouts. They were wary faces, expecting Lizbeth to return with her husband, unsure of what to do. They were not simply strangers who would miss her because she was so good at her job that it seemed a waste to let her go. They were sly men, unable to sincerely wish Lizbeth happiness, and chose only to fuel the fire in Bieren’s heart.
“Well, I didn’t expect that, pretending to be a widow with a living husband and enjoying all sorts of men’s attention. Quite wicked, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know if her husband knows that Lizbeth has gone off to the backyard with some young, handsome knight.”
“Considering she pretended to be a widow, the child might not even belong to her husband. How can we know?”
The men burst into laughter at the end of their words. They were not afraid of being hated by Lizbeth, for they could not lay a finger on her anyway; they only hoped that she would be misunderstood by her husband, that she would be abandoned and remain in the almshouse, even if she resented them. Bieren sensed their wicked intentions and spoke up.
“Dare to use that tongue further to speak ill of her, and you’ll spend your life without one. I’m perfectly capable of making that happen.”
The men ceased their laughter in the face of Bieren’s imposing presence. He intentionally arrived at the almshouse in a pitiful state without even a carriage, but his inherent nobility couldn’t be concealed, adding credibility to his words. The men who stopped laughing fled as if they sensed imminent danger from him, who seemed capable of actually pulling out their tongues.
“L-let’s go.”
Only after the men had left did Bieren confront his simmering anger. Suppressing his emotions because he didn’t want to join in with the group of men who were cursing and belittling Lizbeth, yet he felt betrayed that she had left him and was with a young knight. Despite providing her with comfortable bedding, expensive jewelry, and dresses, Lizbeth had traveled all the way to the almshouses in the countryside to seduce a young, handsome man. As if living in that ramshackle place, free to meet men and live in debauchery, was more pleasurable than being locked up in a ducal palace and having only Bieren.