If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 151
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Still with her hand over her mouth, Agatha struggled to speak.
“I’ll be fine after a nap.”
“Are you going to bed?”
“I don’t think I can stomach any food right now. I’m sorry, but please, Esther, take it away.”
“You really should have at least one spoonful… Otherwise, you’ll make your condition worse.”
Agatha couldn’t muster the energy to respond and waved her hand dismissively. She wanted Esther to leave quickly.
“Then I’ll make a vegetable-only soup and bring it back.”
Esther, noticing Agatha’s sensitivity to the meat smell, responded quickly.
“Please rest well, Lady Agatha.”
Once Esther saw that Agatha had settled into bed, she picked up the tray and left the room. As the door was about to close, Esther suddenly turned around as if she had remembered something.
Now that she thought about it, Esther realized she had never seen Agatha properly eat a meal. For the past few days, Agatha had only managed a few spoonfuls of thin soup or, when that was too much, drank herbal tea to soothe her stomach.
When Esther asked an old maid who had known Agatha since she was young, she only received a vague answer: “She has always been weak, even as a child.”
Esther, who had lived as a wanderer most of her life, had assumed that Agatha’s delicate constitution was simply because she had been unaccustomed to a life of hardships, unlike someone like her who had lived among vagrants.
But now, reflecting on Agatha’s condition, Esther felt there might be something more to it.
“Excuse me, Lady Agatha?”
Agatha opened her eyes, looking at Esther as though wondering why she hadn’t left yet.
“May I ask you something?”
Instead of speaking, Agatha blinked. She seemed faintly bothered, the lingering smell of food still making her uncomfortable. Esther took a cautious step back.
“Maybe…?”
Esther didn’t know the proper etiquette for speaking to nobility. She didn’t know how to phrase things delicately either. Having lived her entire life among street vagabonds, she wasn’t familiar with such customs, except for a few distant memories from her very young childhood.
“Do you remember when you last had your period?”
Agatha’s eyes widened in confusion.
“What?”
“You mentioned you’ve been sleeping more lately.”
“…”
“You also said you’ve been struggling with the smell of food.”
“No, it’s just that I’ve been feeling unwell…”
“Yes. You’re tired and feeling unwell, but to treat this properly, we need to rule out some possibilities. Please, Lady Agatha…”
“…What do you mean?”
“Are you… perhaps with child?”
A heavy stone seemed to drop into her chest. It felt as though time had stopped, and Agatha could barely breathe, her mouth opening and closing as if she had forgotten how to speak.
Esther, thinking Agatha was just shocked and unable to respond, gently patted her hand.
“I’ve experienced it myself. There was a time when I felt tired all the time, and I couldn’t even drink water, let alone eat. But when I found out… I realized.”
“No, wait. Wait a minute…”
Agatha was confused. Pregnant? How could that be? It was absurd, impossible. Her mind spun in a frenzy. She pulled her hand from Esther’s and grasped her head.
“Think carefully. When did you first feel your body changing?”
Thinking back, she remembered feeling unusually fatigued since she had left the capital about a month and a half ago. She had just assumed it was because she wasn’t used to sleeping outdoors, but never once did she consider any other possibilities.
“No… No, that can’t be. It’s not possible.”
It couldn’t be. She hadn’t even been close to Cain, not since he returned to the capital. They hadn’t shared anything as intimate as a conversation, let alone any physical contact. How could she be pregnant?
“What…?”
She was about to dismiss the idea as nonsense, but suddenly a memory flashed in her mind. The night Cain had come to her, drunk. He had ignored her resistance and taken her into his arms….
Agatha’s face drained of color as she quickly counted the days in her head.
It was exactly two months ago, right before her birthday.
As she saw the change in Agatha’s complexion, Esther knew her suspicions were correct.
“You’re starting to understand…aren’t you?”
The time that had felt frozen now rushed forward. Agatha’s head was spinning. Her breathing was shallow, and her heart was pounding.
That night? That night, she got pregnant? With Cain’s child?
“Lady Agatha, Lady Agatha?”
Esther was alarmed by Agatha’s reaction. She had never seen her so pale, even when shocked. Worried, Esther quickly rubbed her back and then gently massaged her arms and legs.
