Stigma Effect

Yuriel pondered the story Helio had told her.

She remembered the High Priest’s face who she went to meet with Shudmuel before the festival. Helio didn’t say exactly, but it seems certain that Shudmuel was the illegitimate son of the High Priest.

It was comforting to remember that the illegitimate son was now one of Albraka’s commanders. He didn’t seem to get along well with the High Priest, but apart from that, Shudmuel was one of Albraka’s commanders. He was not discriminated against just because he was an illegitimate child.

Even if it’s not a blessed birth, it’s enough for the child to be able to live as it pleases later.

It was enough, though…. If her own pregnancy puts Raphlet at a disadvantage, it’s another story.

It would be a big deal if Raphlet got his post removed because of this.

Her head was complicated. She wanted to be happy, but she couldn’t.

Yuriel became anxious and grabbed Raphlet’s neck and took a breath. Perhaps because of her poor physical condition, she was short of breath and dizzy even with a little stress.

Raphlet frowned when Yuriel did not release the strength in her hand, holding him by the neck even after he had moved. She seldom showed her face, and her breathing was stifled.

She has been in this state since meeting Helio.

Raphlet dropped Yuriel’s body, who was resting her forehead on his neck. Yuriel contorts her eyebrows as she was forced to go down

Pressing his finger on Yuriel’s forehead, who looked uneasy, he spoke in the sweetest tone he could come up with.

“You need to take some medicine.”

He thought it was a gentle enough tone, but when she heard that, Yuriel’s eyes became even more distorted.

“I won’t take it. I don’t want to take it.”

Yuriel with a frown on her face answered. Seeing Yuriel grumbling like a child, Raphlet looked around his arms without saying a word.

When she saw the round pill, Yuriel stubbornly shut her mouth.

She really didn’t want to eat it.

“Open your mouth.”

“… Can’t I not eat it? I think it’s okay if I don’t take the medicine.”

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Yuriel muttered in a small voice.

It was because she remembered that she had been told not to take medicine carelessly while pregnant. She wanted to be careful even if it wasn’t confirmed.

However, Raphlet was not the type of person who would sit still and watch Yuriel not taking her medicine.

Raphlet, holding her cheeks lightly with one hand, pressed Yuriel’s cheeks, who was trying not to open her mouth, and pushed the pill between her slightly gaping lips.

As the medicine entered her mouth, Yuriel reluctantly swallowed it.

As she swallowed the bitter medicine, Raphlet kissed her lightly, as if she did a good job. He gently pressed her lips together even as she frowned.

Yuriel’s face softened, unable to resist the friendly touch.

“I really didn’t want to eat it.”

Still, she did not stop expressing her own dissatisfaction.

As Yuriel complained with a relaxed face, Raphlet stared at her and smiled.

Yuriel’s blunt murmur continued evenly.

＊＊＊

Shudmuel’s gaze was cold. It was after several tests.

During the examination, Shudmuel did not make any records. It was very different from the usual Shudmuel who had the medical officers meticulously fill out the records, and he would be very angry if they did not write the records properly.

He looked at the woman sitting opposite him, assembling the test results from Yuriel that he remembered without making a single record.

She seemed a little nervous, putting her hands together and blinking her eyes. Annoyance swelled up at the innocent expression on her face.

He had been suspicious of Yuriel since she was brought back in the arms of Commander Baraha. This examination made it clear that Commander Raphlet was looking at Yuriel with his eyes lit up, so he couldn’t check it properly.

The pregnancy was real.

The only man Yuriel followed was Commander Raphlet, so it must have been his child. Shudmuel couldn’t even think of another man’s name.

He was disgusted to see her waiting for the result with an innocent face. The old feelings that he had been holding down began to poke out of his head because of Yuriel.

Shudmuel was weak against a pregnant woman’s face like that.

Expectations that could not be hidden even with tension flashed in Yuriel’s eyes.

“Sir Shudmuel…. What is the result?”

When Shudemuel shot a cold gaze without explaining, Yuriel, who was tired of waiting, opened her mouth first.

Shudmuel said, enduring the growing disgust.

“You are pregnant.”

“Ah.”

As soon as he took out only one sentence, Yuriel’s expression brightened. She covered her mouth with her hand as if trying to hide the joy she couldn’t bear, and let out a small exclamation.

He had seen such an expression. He watched that expression full of affection and joy dry out day by day.

Shudmuel continued speaking in a cold tone.

“I will not prescribe medication. It’s not good for your body, but you’re still in the early stages and you’re in good health, so you’ll be able to recover quickly. Take a week off and come back to prepare yourself.”

“What?”

“I will not leave a record. From now on, come to me before you get to this point. The contraceptive pill….”

“Are you telling me to erase the child?”

“Otherwise, what do you think I mean?”

“I will give birth.”

Yuriel responded naturally.

With a face that could not understand the situation and spoke confidently. Shudmuel said with an annoyance that reached his neck.

“What do you mean you’re giving birth? Erase it right away.”

“It’s not something Sir Shudmuel could meddle with. It is my child.”

“The problem is that it is the illegitimate child of Commander Raphlet. I can’t sit still and watch you undermine Albraka’s discipline, so I have the right to meddle.”

“It, it’s not. What, what do you mean it, it’s Lord Raphlet’s child? Re, really not.”

“Are you saying no?”

Shudmuel, who was blocking the hypnotic reaction by wearing glasses to see how Yuriel would react, nervously took off his glasses.

“What are you going to do after giving birth to an illegitimate child in the temple? I don’t recommend sending them to the temple orphanage.”

“Of course I will raise it. Why would I send my child to an orphanage when I’m there?”

The gesture of covering her stomach and saying no was stupid. Seeing the maternal love when it hasn’t been long since she found out that she had a child made him disgusted again.

He would not have felt this unpleasant feeling if she had rather been contemplating for the child to be erased. Yuriel was acting very similar to the woman Shudmuel remembered.

The younger Shudmuel couldn’t convince the woman who looked like Yuriel, but he now has the power to change a person’s mind.

He had to correct this stupid maid’s thinking.

Shudmuel, who put down his glasses, looked straight into Yuriel’s eyes. Yuriel looked at him with a frightened face.

It was the first time she had seen this expression since he met Yuriel.

She stuttered and opened her mouth.

“Are, are you not going to help?”

“I’m going to help you erase the child.”

“Not that…. give birth. The only person I can trust in the temple is Sir Shudmuel. Because I can’t find another medical officer….”

“I say I will help. To erase it. It’s not difficult. There will be no records left.”

The same topic continued. Yuriel wept and shook her head.

“No, I don’t want it. If Sir Shudmuel keeps telling me to erase it, I will go outside and meet another doctor.”

“Don’t think nonsense. You know how well your face is known in the Imperial Capital? Even if you go to a doctor secretly, after receiving treatment, the news that you are pregnant will spread throughout Albraka.”

Shudmuel did not hide his nervous tone and fired a sharp shot. Yuriel’s shoulders’ trembled as she thought of the rumors surrounding her .

Seeing Yuriel trembling her shoulders in despair, Shudmuel let out a shallow sigh.

Even so, the plan to use Yuriel was disrupted by the unexpected kidnapping. The plan to use the monster core that Yuriel took away to inform the dangers of the monster failed.

It was unexpected that Commander Baraha exterminated the slave traders in the process. It was an unexpected profit to eradicate the monster core and the place where monsters were traded, but the goal Shudmuel wanted was to get rid of all the monster cores in the Imperial Capital.

Although this plan failed, Yuriel’s value still remained. However, if it was known that Yuriel was pregnant, there was a possibility that his plans would be disrupted.

He said looking into Yuriel’s eyes.

“Erasing it will also help Commander Raphlet.”

It was not difficult to convince Yuriel. If he whispered that it’s helpful to Raphlet, Yuriel would quickly be hypnotized and said she would erase the child.

Shudmuel looked at the clear green eyes and spoke. The watery eyes gleamed with vitality.

It wasn’t the blurry eyes he saw when she was hypnotized.

Seeing those clear eyes, Shudmuel felt a deep sense of disappointment.

Again.

Again, she was not hypnotized. Yuriel didn’t pay attention to Shudmuel’s voice, as when Raphlet appeared.

Her attention was focused on protecting her own child.