Chapter : 12
“Pregnant?”
Camilla had vaguely suspected that this might be the case, but after the doctor confirmed it, she let out a hollow laugh and crooked the corner of her mouth.
She had been planning to run away because she could no longer endure Haley’s violence, and now she had acquired another shackle.
After checking her surroundings, Camilla lowered her voice and whispered quietly.
“I would prefer it if you didn’t tell the Baron about this.”
“Pardon? How could I…? Isn’t this wonderful news?”
The doctor asked in confusion, but Camilla repeatedly urged him not to tell anyone.
If this news got out, her surveillance might become stricter, making it even harder for her to escape.
After roughly putting on her clothes, Camilla woke the coachman without hesitation and ordered him to drive the carriage.
“Wh-Where shall I take you?”
The coachman was bewildered, but since he knew that Camilla was the Baron’s mistress, he obediently took hold of the reins.
“To the Grand Duke Ludwig’s residence.”
“Pardon? There?”
After the Grand Duke’s banquet, everyone knew that Klitaim was staying there.
For a mistress to go to the home of the wife who had stormed out declaring that she would divorce her husband—it was difficult to imagine anything more insane.
But Camilla showed not the slightest bit of shame and remained completely confident.
Overwhelmed by her attitude, the coachman did not dare try to stop her and simply turned the carriage around.
“Camilla came to see me?”
Klitaim, who had been diligently preparing for the divorce trial, stood up in confusion at the unexpected visitor.
According to the butler, Camilla was waiting in the drawing room and making quite a commotion, demanding that Klitaim come quickly.
What is she plotting?
There was no reason for her to suddenly come here like this.
With the divorce trial right around the corner, there was no longer any reason for her to keep Klitaim in check.
Klitaim stroked her chin thoughtfully before speaking.
“Becky, could you make me look presentable?”
Klitaim emphasized elegance over extravagance, minimizing her accessories before leaving the room.
“What is it?”
“Ah, you’ve come. Baroness—No, Madam.”
Camilla seemed nervous at Klitaim’s appearance. She stumbled over her words as she awkwardly rose from her seat.
Klitaim glanced at her before sitting down.
“So, what is it?”
At her question, Camilla fidgeted and hesitated.
What an amusing sight.
When had she been so bold as to openly mention sleeping with Klitaim’s husband, yet now she was acting so timid?
Klitaim waited silently, a mocking smile on her lips, for the mistress to finally speak.
Eventually, the words that came out were completely unexpected.
“I’m pregnant.”
At the sudden declaration, Klitaim tilted her head and prompted her to explain further.
Camilla was quick-witted enough to understand what that meant and immediately began explaining everything.
She had been planning to leave, but then she discovered that she was pregnant. Since she would have difficulty raising the child alone, she needed the position of Baroness.
However, if the current trial went badly and Haley ended up penniless, both she and the child would die.
After hearing the entire explanation, Klitaim almost burst out laughing.
It was certainly a pitiful situation.
But Klitaim was not merciful enough to worry about the circumstances of her ex-husband and his mistress.
If anything, she was more likely to crush them.
Still, instead of openly humiliating Camilla to her face, Klitaim chose another method.
She would quietly wait and then strike the back of her unsuspecting opponent’s head.
Klitaim smiled as kindly as she could and called for Becky.
“Did you call for me?”
With a smile on her face, she handed Camilla’s teacup to the maid and said,
“Could you warm up some tea?”
Camilla stared at her with an expression that clearly said she did not understand what was happening.
Klitaim then whispered in a gentle voice.
“I have a feeling this conversation is going to take a while.”
Is there anything else you need help with?
Klitaim reassured Camilla with a serious expression before asking what she needed.
Money she needed immediately, perhaps, or baby supplies.
Honestly, the Schulz family could easily provide such things, but Klitaim wanted to gain Camilla’s trust through this behavior.
More precisely, she wanted Camilla to become convinced that this woman is stupid.
The Camilla Klitaim had experienced was a foolish woman who only saw what she wanted to see and believed only what she wanted to believe.
This foolish woman, in turn, thought Klitaim was simply naïve and added,
“That should be enough. And if you quietly get divorced, that will be good for you as well, Madam.”
Once you can become the Grand Duchess, what would people say if you extorted money from them? Everyone would speak badly of you.
Camilla rambled on, going so far as to worry about Klitaim’s reputation.
Of course, what she really meant was that Klitaim should quietly let the matter pass.
Perhaps because she believed that both her own safety and her child’s comfortable life were now guaranteed, Camilla continued spouting such ridiculous things.
Klitaim hid her true feelings and pretended to agree.
She would make sure Camilla was completely fooled.
“Annoying.”
After her husband’s mistress left, Klitaim headed toward the garden to clear her head.
Perhaps because she had been listening to such nonsense for so long, the headache that had subsided seemed to have returned.
She pressed her temples firmly with her fingers as she took in the scenery around her.
Looking at the green grass seemed to ease her nausea a little.
So she tried to kill me and Electra, yet her own child is precious to her?
The day they had boarded the train for the divorce trial.
Haley and Camilla had boarded that same train as well.
The moment Klitaim had killed the assassin hired by her husband and was about to escape with Electra—
Camilla had attacked her from behind, causing her to let go of the child’s hand.
Klitaim had hurriedly tried to retrieve her daughter.
But Electra had already fallen into the hands of those merciless bastards.
The glimpse Klitaim had caught of Camilla’s actions while escaping had been nothing short of cruel.
She had slapped the child across the cheek and dragged her by the hair.
“Selfish bastards.”
Klitaim wanted nothing more than to kill them all.
But she could not take the life of the child inside Camilla’s womb.
Instead of killing the two of them, Klitaim decided to take everything away from them.
Their wealth, their honor—everything they cherished.
“Mom!”
“Ah, Electra.”
Klitaim’s fists trembled slightly with anger when a bright, ringing voice came from behind her.
The child with the lovely bright smile.
The villainess of this novel.
Yet now, Electra truly felt like her own daughter.
“How did you know I was here?”
Klitaim quickly erased the negative emotions from her face and answered calmly.
“I went to your room, but you weren’t there, so I asked the servants.”
“Since you’re here, shall we take a walk together?”
“Yes!”
Although this was not a home where Electra had lived for a long time, the girl’s face looked brighter than ever.
Perhaps it was because there was no father to worry about.
Klitaim suddenly felt emotional and gently stroked her daughter’s face.
She was still such a young child, with the baby fat not yet gone from her cheeks.
This time, Klitaim vowed to give her a happy future.
She deliberately lifted the corners of her lips even more.
If a parent became anxious, those emotions would be passed directly on to the child.
When Klitaim smiled, Electra responded with a smile of her own and cheerfully walked ahead.
After taking a short walk with Electra, Klitaim tapped her desk with her fingers and fell into thought.
It was good that Camilla had come to her on her own to ask for help.
But whether she could actually be used remained uncertain.
It would be good to make her a witness, but she probably won’t do that.
Unless Camilla had gone insane, she would never come forward as a witness.
Klitaim leaned back against the chair and let out a deep sigh.
It would be better to keep this as a card to use against Haley.
The fact that Camilla had come to Klitaim meant that she was hiding all of this from Haley.
It would be far more valuable to keep the information hidden and use it against Haley if he ever tried to threaten Klitaim with something else.
“Then I’ll put this on hold for now…”
“Madam, the Grand Duke has come to see you.”
As Klitaim muttered to herself, Becky announced Patron’s arrival.
“Tell him to come in.”
Klitaim got up from her desk and headed toward the sofa.
“Is the preparation going well?”
“Thanks to you, everything is going well.”
Klitaim responded to his question with a bright smile.
“I heard that you decided not to receive help from a lawyer during the trial.”
“Ah, that’s…”
Faced with his direct question, Klitaim trailed off, choosing the words she wanted to say.
But before she could speak, Patron spoke first.
“You must have your reasons.”
Just don’t hurt yourself.
At his muttered words, Klitaim firmly told him that she had not done anything like that since that day.
“If you say so, then I’ll believe you.”
He looked genuinely relieved.
Does he have some bad memories related to something like this?
She had felt it before as well.
How could someone who had once been filled with hostility become so gentle?
Well, I suppose this is a good thing.
Regardless, she needed his help, and in order to fulfill his request, they had to remain together.
As husband and wife.
Klitaim put aside her unnecessary thoughts and devoted herself even more intensely to preparing for the trial.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the day of the divorce trial.
Klitaim left the mansion.
She vaguely told Electra that she had an urgent matter to take care of before getting into the carriage.
“Don’t be gone too long!”
“Okay, I’ll be back soon!”
Electra saw her off, and the carriage rolled away, carrying Klitaim to the courthouse.
Perhaps because there were still very few people present, the courtroom was as quiet as a grave.
After being guided to the waiting room, she sat down and reviewed everything she had studied, organizing her thoughts.
A person who was acquitted despite committing blasphemy.
It had nothing to do with divorce, but just like “Klitaim,” this woman had survived despite committing blasphemy, so Klitaim had brought the case along for reference.
The reason she had survived was her beautiful figure.
The jurors who had seen her beautiful body had apparently decided that a woman with such a figure could not possibly have committed a crime and had found her not guilty.
Since there had never been such a case in the history of the Seldia Empire, the incident had been talked about for generations.
After becoming possessed by the character, Klitaim had occasionally heard people discussing it, so she knew about the woman.
Everyone focused on her beauty and the lawyer’s defense that had allowed her to survive the blasphemy charge.
But Klitaim had focused on something else.
“A woman with a figure like that could never have blasphemed against God.”
The background behind that verdict.
It was probably because of the Seldia Empire’s obsessive worship of God.
That was the conclusion Klitaim reached.
A ridiculous and stubborn prejudice.
Ever since she had become possessed by “Klitaim,” she had been forced to endure people whispering behind her back and calling her a false saintess.
There were things she had to protect.
But from another perspective, it meant she could use her advantages to persuade people to take her side.
For example—
Parents do not lie when their children’s lives are at stake.
Manipulated wounds.
A daughter who hated her father and clung to her mother.
If these two perfect elements were put together, they would strike directly at people’s prejudices.
Parents love their children, and children love their parents.
Parents should not hit their children.
That was common sense in this world, just as it had been in the world she came from.
It’s just that there are bastards who don’t follow that rule.
Klitaim planned to invoke her daughter Electra’s name and lie in court.
But it was not entirely a lie.
There had been times when Klitaim had deliberately provoked Haley in order to prevent violence from being directed at Electra.
Since she was mixing truth with lies, it was not a complete fabrication.
The jurors would not be able to hastily conclude that everything she said had been made up.
“Is there somewhere you feel uncomfortable?”
“How did you get in here?”
Klitaim had been taking deep breaths to calm herself when Patron suddenly appeared.
She was puzzled by his arrival when he should have been protecting the children at the mansion.
As if he had read her mind, he answered casually and resolved her question.
“There’s nowhere magic cannot take you.”
“This is a temple.”
The temple was surrounded by divine power, which restricted the use of ordinary magic.
Is the imperial family an exception?
More or less satisfied with that explanation, Klitaim gave him a formal greeting with an awkward smile.
Patron escorted Klitaim and whispered quietly.
“You’re a Duchess now. Don’t lower yourself.”
Do well.
It was a simple word of encouragement, unlike his usual indifferent manner.
Of course, he was saying it because of their contractual remarriage, but somehow, it gave her strength.
She answered with a smile and nodded.
Patron soon left.
After spending a few more minutes alone in the waiting room, a holy knight called for her.
“Madam Schulz, please take your seat in the plaintiff’s section.”
Following the holy knight’s instructions, she headed toward the courtroom.
