I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince-Chapter 504: Misconceptions (2)

“Whose child is it?”

“....”

Ethan, who had ripped my dress open, was now staring at my rounded belly, demanding an explanation from me. His gaze was heavy, and his voice was laced with anger. Before I knew it, words of apology were slipping from my mouth.

“L-Lord Blackwood... I... I have committed an unforgivable sin...”

...I should have stopped myself. I should have remembered to use a contraceptive spell when I had the chance. Now that I’d been caught trying to have a child without his permission, there would be no escaping punishment.

“...I asked whose child it is.”

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

“...What?”

“I asked, whose child made you like this, Lilith?”

“....”

Of course, it’s yours, Ethan... Who else’s could it be? The words rose in my throat, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them out loud. If Ethan assumed that the child I carried wasn’t his, then... maybe it wouldn’t be so dangerous for me after all.

...At least, if he thought the child wasn’t his, he wouldn’t think of “disposing” of it out of concern for inheritance issues.

‘But if I name someone randomly, Ethan will hunt them down to kill them....’

And as disgusting as it felt to claim that my child belonged to someone else, I chose to stay silent in response to his question.

“...I... can’t tell you.”

-Bang!!

“Ah!!”

Ethan slammed his fist down onto the cabinet behind me, his face twisted with fury. He had hit it hard enough to crack the wood—so it was clear he didn’t like my answer.

“Tell me!!”

“....”

“Who is it? Who’s the bastard? Huh? Tell me, Lilith...”

“...I... I can’t tell you.”

-Crack!!

“Lilith!!!”

With one more punch, he shattered the cabinet into pieces. Paralyzed by the intensity of his rage, I could only stand there, frozen like a frog before a snake.

“This is your last chance—tell me.”

“......”

“Who dared defile you and leave this trash in your belly? Tell me who the bastard is.”

“...I can’t.”

-Whish!!

“Ah...!!”

The instant my words left my lips, Ethan swung his right hand at my left cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact. But, thankfully, his hand never made contact.

“....”

“......Haah.”

“....”

“Aaaaaah!! Aaaaaaaah!!”

“M-Master Ethan... No, Lord Blackwood...! Please, calm down! I beg you...!”

Only his furious scream filled the room, venting his aimless rage.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Haaah... Haaah... Haaah...”

Late at night in the Blackwood estate’s training grounds.

Ethan’s agonized groans echoed ceaselessly through the empty arena, well into the midnight hours when most of the servants were asleep.

-Swish! Swish!!

“Aaargh!! Aaaaargh!!”

His angry shouts were loud enough to reach the entire mansion, likely waking the sleeping servants. But no one dared complain or intervene.

With Harold gone, there was no one left at Blackwood who could try to control Ethan.

“Lilith...”

He had lost her once, but after four months, he had finally managed to bring her back. At first, he had been filled with relief and joy at the sight of her. But now, all that remained in his mind was rage.

“Who... who is he....”

The bastard.

The bastard who dared to lay hands on his Lilith, who had even left his filthy seed inside her—who was he?

Right now, he felt an overwhelming urge to kill that man, along with the child growing inside her. The thought of another man defiling his Lilith—his one and only Lilith—filled him with enough rage to last a lifetime.

“Damn it!!”

He threw his sword to the ground, cursing. He hated the faceless man who had touched his woman. He resented Lilith for giving herself to another man, even carrying his child.

...But above all, he hated himself for not stopping this from happening in the first place.

If he had only spoken up sooner. If he had told her back then that she was the only woman he would ever love, that he would never take a wife or concubine other than her, she wouldn’t have left Blackwood. She wouldn’t be carrying the child of some nameless man.

...He was even beginning to resent Lilith for not telling him who the child’s father was.

“Who the hell is it, Lilith....”

...Could it be?

Could she care for him so much?

Was she refusing to tell him, just to protect the man who had abandoned her, leaving her pregnant and alone?

Jealousy filled Ethan as he seethed over this nameless man, his emotions spiraling.

“...Fine, Lilith.”

If you won’t tell me, I’ll make you talk.

You betrayed me first, so don’t expect me to be gentle.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“....”

-Grumble....

“Urgh.”

The growl from my stomach woke me, and as my eyes opened, I saw the familiar bars of the cage.

It was four in the morning, with only the faint moonlight shining through the window.

What had once been my servant «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» quarters had been converted into a prison cell, and I had spent the entire week since being dragged back to Blackwood confined here.

I was being treated less like a prisoner and more like a stray dog.

‘I’m hungry....’

Ethan, having decided I wouldn’t tell him the father’s identity, had taken to pushing me to the brink mentally. I’d been surviving on minimal meals, locked in this cage, because starvation was the simplest yet most effective form of torture.

No bed, blanket, or pillow—just the cold, hard floor to sleep on. I had to use a chamber pot in the corner of the cell, without any chance to bathe or change clothes. At least I could use a clean spell for hygiene, so while I still felt grimy, I wasn’t at risk of disease.

‘Should I just tell him the truth now....’

Maybe if I promised not to tell anyone it was his child, he would at least spare the baby.

I didn’t know. I had never seen Ethan this furious before. If I tried to speak now, he might only get angrier.

This was our first child together, after all. As much as I didn’t have his permission, the last thing I wanted was to see this child harmed because of my mistake.

‘I’ll hold out just a little longer. I’m not at the point of death, after all.’

Ethan didn’t seem intent on starving me completely; he was still providing just enough to keep me alive. Once a day, I’d receive a bland gruel, enough to fill half a bowl—tasteless, but enough to survive on.

If he had meant to kill me, he wouldn’t have spent months searching, only to bring me back to Blackwood. It was clear that Ethan’s obsession with me had only grown more intense, to an unsettling degree.

...Maybe it was my fault, for starting things between us in that way, touching him and taking advantage of his feelings when we were young. I had only myself to blame for what he had become.

‘I should just go back to sleep. Dwelling on this only makes me hungrier.’

Maybe if I held out for a few more days, he would calm down. And then, perhaps, he’d be willing to listen if I confessed.

Though I wasn’t sure he’d believe me, even if I did tell him the truth.

I was about to close my eyes and try to sleep when I heard footsteps entering the room.

-Creak.

‘Is it Ethan...?’

-Step, step.

I kept my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep, hoping he would leave.

“Lilith.”

“......”

“Lilith, wake up for a moment.”

“...Isabel?”

Opening my eyes, I saw the familiar face of the maid with vanilla-colored hair.

In her hands, she held a small piece of bread.