PAID

“Whose child is it?”

“….”

Ethan, who had ripped my dress open, was now staring at my rounded belly, demanding an explanation from me. His gaze was heavy, and his voice was laced with anger. Before I knew it, words of apology were slipping from my mouth.

“L-Lord Blackwood… I… I have committed an unforgivable sin…”

…I should have stopped myself. I should have remembered to use a contraceptive spell when I had the chance. Now that I’d been caught trying to have a child without his permission, there would be no escaping punishment.

“…I asked whose child it is.”

“…What?”

“I asked, whose child made you like this, Lilith?”

“….”

Of course, it’s yours, Ethan… Who else’s could it be? The words rose in my throat, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them out loud. If Ethan assumed that the child I carried wasn’t his, then… maybe it wouldn’t be so dangerous for me after all.@@novelbin@@

…At least, if he thought the child wasn’t his, he wouldn’t think of “disposing” of it out of concern for inheritance issues.

‘But if I name someone randomly, Ethan will hunt them down to kill them….’

And as disgusting as it felt to claim that my child belonged to someone else, I chose to stay silent in response to his question.