Abandoned Maid of the Grand Duke - Chapter 18
As I blinked and clutched the bundle in my arms tightly, I took a step back. One of the men with a long beard stepped forward, spat out the tobacco he was chewing, and grabbed my chin, turning my face from side to side.
“Not bad looking, aren’t ‘ya, Missy?”
“Should we sell her?”
“She’s too good to sell, maybe we should keep her with us.”
At that moment, my hair stood on end.
‘Motherfxxxer.’
How could my luck be this bad? No, this is a fate worse than death.
If an armed group takes a woman with them in a war zone, it means they plan to use her as a personal concubine. There’s no way they would use her just to cook meals. If she gets an STD, they’d probably sell her for a few coins.
“Her skin is smooth, she doesn’t seem to have done any hard labor.”
Contrary to my plan, they had already started evaluating me. Without a second thought, I shouted urgently.
“I-I-I’m pregnant!!”
The hand gripping my chin froze.
Did it work? If it didn’t, I might as well bite the knife now and end it. I had to make a quick decision. And if it did work…
“Pregnant…?”
“How many months?”
“Who’s the father?”
‘Yes, it worked!’
I didn’t care if they were an armed group, guerrillas, or rebels, as long as they didn’t harm me right now. The writer was really giving me a hard time, twisting the plot so horribly, but when had my life ever been smooth? You have to write your own story, I thought as I collapsed and started to cry.
“I-It’s a child from rxpe…”
Rxpe! That’s a strong word!
From the way the armed men looked at me with their mouths agape, I knew I had hit the mark. Yes, this was it.
Drama is best when it hooks the audience with a shocking twist. And honestly, it wasn’t entirely untrue. I was… rxped, wasn’t I?
‘It just ended up being something like consensual s*x in the end.’
Anyway, I had to craft a message that would resonate with the rebels and keep thinking on my feet.
“I was working in a noble’s house when it happened…”
That really did it. The atmosphere quickly turned to one of anger.
As rebels fighting against the Empire, the story of a weak and helpless maid being violated by a noble and carrying his child hit all the right notes.
“Those damn bastards!”
“Kill those noble scum!”
“How can people do such things!”
These guys were hilarious, getting all riled up while just about to do the same to me. The sudden change in their stance was comical.
Suppressing my urge to call out their hypocrisy, I cried out passionately.
“The child is innocent!”
And of course, so was I.
Sure, I had given my heart a bit, but life is about overcoming trials. Giving my heart didn’t cost money. So, I didn’t lose anything, right?
With bitterness, I hung my head. The man who had grabbed my chin now squatted down and tapped my cheek.
“Heyyy, missy.”
But his tone was off.
People have instincts. Even though I had said I was pregnant, his demeanor hadn’t changed, giving me a bad feeling. And if my intuition was right…
“She says she’s pregnant, but how can I know for sure?”
As he massaged my shoulders, cold sweat trickled down my back.
I quickly looked at the others, but since he was the leader, they just watched without intervening.
The leader sneered, fiddling with the front of my dress.
“How many months did you say?”
“About… six weeks…”
“Oh, really? Then your body should be just like any other woman’s, right?”
“……!”
Realizing what he meant, I jumped up and tried to run away.
“Get her!”
“Damn it, follow her!”
“Catch that damn girl!”
I ran until I was out of breath. It was better to go back inside the city gates. No, it was better to go back to his mansion.
I would return, cause a scene, and claim the child was his. I could say it was born a little early. I would treat Paul with a heart full of lifelong repentance. And I would never look back at that man. I would raise the child on my own, thinking it was mine alone.
Tears welled up, and I struggled to breathe. My legs felt heavy, and I threw away the bundle I was carrying to run faster. The sound of footsteps chasing me was more terrifying than the sound of axes.
“You bxtch, got you!”
At that moment, my hair was grabbed, and I was thrown to the ground.
A large hand slapped my cheek. My head hit the ground, making my vision blur, and I felt nauseous.
The front of my tightly bound dress was torn open, revealing the corset squeezing my chest. I started crying.
“I guess you’ll only come to your senses if I rip you from below, huh?”
The man’s head smelled like a vagrant. The smell of someone who hadn’t washed in a long time. Below, I saw the man fumbling with his pants.
I reached out to stop him but was slapped again.
