SWS CH 12

Chapter 12

When Francesca slowly looked Docep over, she noticed the dirt-stained, yellowed shirt and his worn military boots.

“So you’ve been walking around like this?”

It was exactly the outfit the butler had described.

“Ah. It’s just easier to move around this way.”

Francesca’s expression hardened instantly. The brief moment of remorse she’d felt over neglecting him vanished, and her words came out sharp and rigid as usual.

“Go change at once! What will the servants think?”

She regretted it immediately. As if Docep would ever willingly wear formal clothes.

“I’ll go change.”

Docep agreed without hesitation and stepped out again.

It was Francesca who was caught off guard by his obedience. She wondered if this was some new form of rebellion, but a few minutes later, Docep returned dressed neatly in a black uniform. His face was spotless, not a speck of dust on him.

“Is this acceptable?”

He asked politely.

“Ahem.”

There was nothing to criticize. And that only made Francesca more uneasy.

“Butler, step outside. Have everyone clear the area in front of the room.”

“Yes, my lady.”

She dismissed everyone while maintaining her composure. Once they were alone, a heavy silence settled over the study.

Yet the only one shaken was Francesca.

“Do you have nothing to say to me?”

“I was told you were the one who had something to say. That you want me to marry.”

Something was off.

That wasn’t Docep’s usual way of speaking.

Calling her Mother. Using formal language.

She had no idea what he was thinking. After ignoring him for so long, how could she possibly know what was going on inside his head?

“Well, I suppose you’d know better than anyone. You’ve been visiting her house, after all!”

“Are you referring to Halara Seheb?”

“Who else would it be? If there’s another, say so now—unless you plan to kill your mother twice.”

“Someone’s been tailing me.”

Francesca bristled. She’d expected him to seize on that.

“So what if I did?”

At that, Docep smiled faintly.

“So you do care about me.”

“…What?”

“I thought you’d completely forgotten about me. That no matter what I did, you wouldn’t know.”

Contrary to her expectations, Docep looked genuinely touched. Being monitored, of all things, he took as proof of concern.

“Y-you’re thanking me?”

“Yes.”

Docep nodded.

In the past, he would have seen it as interference. But after returning to this life, he saw it as concern. And it made him sincerely happy.

Only Francesca, who had no way of knowing that, was left bewildered.

She wanted to ask how things had ended up like this, what on earth he had done to cause such chaos—but faced with his polite demeanor, the words wouldn’t come out.

“…Then I suppose you understand why I’m trying to bring that girl in.”

“I don’t.”

Docep’s smile vanished. Regardless of her concern, her actions differed from the past, and that unsettled him.

At his blunt answer, Francesca’s expression hardened again.

“She’s pregnant with your child. And you still don’t understand?”

“Did she say that?”

Francesca hesitated.

Should she say yes? Or no?

It was true that Halara had come claiming she was pregnant—but she had ultimately denied it.

“No. I found out myself.”

“Are you certain?”

“I saw a doctor leaving her house and stopped him to ask. He said she’s pregnant.”

If a doctor had confirmed it, then the pregnancy was real.

Pregnant.

Exactly what she had claimed in the past.

Back then, Docep hadn’t believed her. One night together—drunk, with no memory of it—wasn’t enough to convince him. He’d assumed, like so many others, that she was trying to latch onto the family for money.

That was why he was imprisoned in the tower.

And why he alone survived.

Yet now, the very woman who should be shouting about pregnancy was calmly cooking meals at home, while Francesca was the one in an uproar.

“You didn’t know?”

How could he?

Halara hadn’t even recognized him.

Is she pretending not to know me, or does she truly not know?

Everything about her was a mystery. He couldn’t answer lightly.

Frustrated, Francesca spoke first.

“Bring her in and have her give birth here.”

“…You’re allowing it, even though she’s a commoner?”

Docep deliberately raised the biggest reason Francesca had rejected Halara in the past.

“What choice do I have? How could she give birth in that rundown shack? I absolutely refuse to see that.”

The woman who once declared that no commoner would ever enter the family was now saying the opposite.

“You mean… bring her into the estate?”

“Yes. Raise the child here. Where I can see it.”

As if that weren’t enough, she even allowed them to live together in the estate.

Sounding resigned, Francesca continued.

“I know you’ve been seeing her. And I also know she came to the ducal estate once.”

She recalled the day she first met Halara.

“She asked the head butler to summon me, saying she was carrying your child. She was trembling with nerves.”

“She came claiming she was pregnant with my child?”

Docep immediately asked again. That part matched the past exactly.

“But the moment she met me, she changed her story. Said it was a lie. That she’d secretly liked you, and her feelings had spiraled into this mess. Then she left.”

“She suddenly changed her story…”

“Yes. The butler found that suspicious and investigated further. He said she came to him desperately looking for me, but then suddenly claimed it was all false. It made no sense.”

As if—

“She became a different person overnight.”

A different person.

He didn’t know why or how, but her behavior had changed from that point onward.

That day was also the day Docep returned to the past.

“In any case, the pregnancy is certain. Bring her in, Docep. This is the last mercy I can grant you.”

At Francesca’s ultimatum, Docep closed his eyes once and opened them again.

In the past, she had screamed that he was no longer her son and hurled objects around the study.

But now was different.

A commoner woman had appeared claiming to be pregnant with his child, yet Francesca remained composed and spoke of mercy.

She even suggested bringing her into the estate to live openly.

Halara Seheb.

Docep tilted his head slightly.

Did you return too… like I did?

***

I didn’t know whether I’d eaten dinner with my nose or my eyes.

Watching the sky turn yellow and then sink into darkness made my head spin—it looked exactly like my future.

Only a few hours had passed since Francesca left, demanding I marry the male lead immediately.

Marry the male lead. If you’re going to derail the original story, at least do it in moderation.

All I wanted was to avoid dying like in the original.

Instead, I’d barreled straight into a destruction route.

This wasn’t even a romance fantasy. It was a growth fantasy novel.

And I—some background extra—was being told to marry the male lead.

It’s probably about appearances.

Apparently, Halara and Docep really had spent a night together.

That must be why everyone was pushing this.

But who am I?

I was a veteran Korean daughter-in-law who survived ten years in a traditional household.

I had no intention of gaining another in-law family or another husband.

“Ugh. I need a drink.”

I took out some cold water from the kitchen.

I wanted alcohol, but with no money, water would have to do.

Tap, tap.

A black bird landed on the windowsill.

“Ugh… a crow?”

I like animals, but crows are creepy.

I waved it away and drew the kitchen curtain.

Just as I sat down in the living room to drink—

“Whoa.”

Goosebumps spread all over my arms.

A large shadow loomed in front of the door.

I’d even put up a sign—another man?

And the way he lingered silently by the door was extremely suspicious.

If the door opened, he could force his way in and do anything.

This is terrifying.

I held my breath and crouched low.

Then I checked whether the latch inside was properly fastened.

There really is a stalker.

With Halara’s frail body, if he broke in, I’d have no chance.

And if that happened—

My life would be completely ruined.