Chapter 32
“Looks like the eldest son of the Valdemaera family has a rather peculiar proclivity.”
“What is it?”
“Well… apparently, he uses lemons.”
“What are you talking about? Lemons? Where?”
“Where do you think? Inside women’s bodies. He supposedly puts them in so that any woman who gets pregnant won’t cause him trouble.”
“But I suppose it works. Otherwise, by now the Valdemaera family would be overflowing with illegitimate children. There are rumors that he lives a promiscuous life, but none that he has any bastards. Right?”
The previous night, Ezekaile had ejaculated inside her. While she had been immersed in pleasure, she had been unable to pay attention to anything beyond that, and it was only after he withdrew his penis that she realized what had happened at the sight of the cloudy, milky semen trickling down the inside of her thighs.
One night should be fine.
Rose soothed her anxious heart.
It was not so easy to become pregnant. …At least, she hoped that was the case. In any event, it was too late to gather up the water that had already been spilled. She could, however, try not to spill any more.
Besides, people often said that a daughter’s constitution tended to resemble that of the mother who had given birth to her. Rose’s mother had not conceived easily even after marriage, and it was only much later that she became pregnant with Rose. Rose was also her only child. Her mother had constitutionally found it difficult to become pregnant, and even when she finally succeeded, she miscarried several times because the child could not properly attach within her womb. Compared to other families with five or six children, Rose’s status as an only child could be called an unusually particular circumstance.
After slipping quietly out of the kitchen, Rose hid in the bathroom, clutching a lemon pared down until only a thin layer of peel remained, and took a deep breath.
To prevent pregnancy, she had to push it deep inside her vagina. Akenaus was famous for his promiscuity, yet he had kept only mistresses without a single illegitimate child through this method, so there was no reason to doubt its contraceptive effect. Even so, after having just lain with a man for the first time, it took considerable courage to insert a lemon into herself.
Rose bit down on her lips with all her strength and forced open the dry entrance.
“…Ngh.”
The vaginal opening, already swollen, was forced apart, and a sharp pain surged through her. She found it astonishing that he had somehow managed to force such a large penis inside when inserting even a piece of lemon peel was this difficult. It had hurt terribly then, of course, but at the time, the pain had been accompanied by an exhilaration that seemed to sweetly heighten something within her belly. Now, there was nothing but a stinging sensation that brought tears to her eyes.
Yet she did not know when he might desire her body, so she had to secretly prepare herself for contraception every night. The thought that she would have to insert and remove this alone every time from now on made her vision grow faint.
But it was better than becoming pregnant.
She knew all too well how much he hated ‘that woman,’ so it was only right to reduce the variables in the future as much as possible.
“Ah, it hurts so much….”
Rose forcibly swallowed the moan that threatened to escape and squeezed her eyes shut.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Serva, how much disposable wealth is there in this estate?”
Taking advantage of Rose’s absence, Ezekaile had also summoned Madam Serva. She was not flustered by his abrupt question and answered.
“No matter how remote this place is, it is still Valdemaera. While we cannot match the splendid and extravagant lifestyle of the main household, we have enough to live quietly and comfortably while employing a suitable number of people. Most of the annual budget allocated for the management of the estate remains untouched, and the antiques and jewelry stored on this floor would fetch a considerable sum if sold.”
“Good. Then, Serva, I would like you to acquire another estate. Without anyone knowing.”
“An estate?”
“It does not need to be large. Rose is not an extravagant person.”
Given Rose’s delicate and modest disposition, she would probably prefer an estate of a reasonable size, where she could easily take in the circumstances of the household at a glance, rather than a three-story mansion so vast that she could not even see the entire grounds at once.
“A single-story estate suitable for raising one or two children would be best.”
Ezekaile added this as he pictured Rose’s slender frame. With her fine bones and willowy body, it was difficult to say even as a platitude that she was well suited to pregnancy and childbirth. She had shown unexpected stamina and tenacity while nursing him, but that had been closer to the strength of sheer willpower wrung from her.
Even while suffering through pain, he had done his utmost to restrain his strength. If he twisted his body even a little too roughly in an attempt to endure the pain, Rose could not withstand it and fluttered limply like a doll. Unlike him, with his large, sturdy bones and powerful physique, Rose was so soft and fragile that she seemed as though she might easily shatter if she collided with something.
Therefore, one or two children would be enough. In truth, Ezekaile had never been particularly eager to have children, and he had even considered a life spent with Rose alone.
But he was a Valdemaera. If Akenaus’s tireless womanizing eventually became his downfall, there might be an opportunity to restore the family. Surely some among his mistresses would emerge who were dissatisfied with a life in the shadows. For now, Akenaus was not yet at the center of Valdemaera, so the women humored his debauchery to a reasonable extent. But how long would that last?
Women were not fools, either. Once Akenaus inherited the family, they would use every means at their disposal to gain a foothold in the renowned Valdemaera household, and some of the seeds he had carelessly scattered would be conceived as lives, flowering as sparks of discord.
Who knew? Perhaps the children would inherit their father’s greed and destroy themselves in a fratricidal struggle.
For that reason alone, he needed at least one child to prepare for the future. There were countless children in this world who died before making it through infancy and adolescence, and Ezekaile himself had younger siblings who had died of illness and accidents in early childhood—so young that he could not even remember them.
However, their father’s body was exceptionally sturdy, while their mother, Rose, was both wise and cautious. If the child inherited the best of both their constitutions, it would grow up healthy. Of course, if Doctor Briman’s treatment improved his eyesight, he intended to overturn everything with his own hands without waiting for the next generation. Even so, for now he had to keep as many possibilities in mind as possible.
With a small family of three or four, Serva serving as both chief butler and steward as she did now, and with only one nursemaid for the children and one maid and one manservant to handle the household chores, they could live without discomfort even if not in luxury.
“Akenaus knows the location of this villa, so it’s dangerous. For now, he is probably too preoccupied with cleaning up the mess he caused and keeping a low profile for a while to bother with this place, but he won’t leave it alone for long. Two or three years at most. So we need to secretly acquire another estate, gradually settle matters here, and leave.”
“Then it would be wise to exchange the furniture and works of art for gold or jewels in advance.”
Indeed, Derosa, where Akenaus’s eyes could reach, might be safe enough for the next few years, but it was not a suitable place to spend the rest of one’s life. Madam Serva nodded calmly.
“Jewels would be better. Have them fashioned for women. Rose may wear them later.”
“The young lady does not appear very interested in adorning herself, but women’s jewelry is easier to dispose of in an emergency than men’s. Of course, it would be best if we never had to sell them.”
“If you’re saying this because you’re worried about living expenses, I have a little more wealth Akenaus knows nothing about. The royal family will pay me an annual pension in recognition of my military achievements.”
When he first heard about the pension, he had hinted that he intended to refuse it, since it was such a paltry sum that accepting or declining it would hardly make a difference beside Valdemaera’s vast fortune. But his thoughts had changed as he considered Rose and the child. He had to build up as much property as possible in her name so that their life would be comfortable and secure. However, Akenaus must not hear of his circumstances. Ezekaile planned to collect the pension through Mongkam.
“As for the location of the new estate, somewhere in the west or south… The west would be better. Rose does not have any noticeable provincial accent, so she is probably from the capital or its vicinity, and she attended school for several years in the cold north. If she suddenly moved to a hot region like the south, she would have difficulty adapting. The east and north are too close to Davis and are periodically swept up in war. Give priority to the west, which is far from Davis and has a port with abundant supplies, and look for a suitable estate. Since Mongkam and Peder are also from the west, it would be easier for Rose to ask them for help if necessary.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
“Do not let Rose know anything yet.”
“Of course.”
For the time being, this was enough to tell her. It was reassuring to have Madam Serva by his side, a woman with whom conversation flowed easily even without his giving detailed orders. To him, the woman who had raised him was far more familiar than the parents who had given him life in the main household.
This was the blind spot of most old and prestigious families. With so much wealth and honor to pass on to their children, parents could not help but evaluate their children’s qualities and calculate everything instead of loving them unconditionally. Since wet nurses and tutors were hired to handle all the work of bearing, raising, and educating children for the sake of continuing the family line, parents and children rarely saw one another, and their relationships grew distant. Ezekaile’s mother considered her duty to the marriage fulfilled by giving birth to Akenaus and Ezekaile, and was a typical upper-class woman who had never held anything heavy in her hands besides a teacup or a fountain pen. Moreover, even when there were only two siblings, once a succession struggle began, they could become worse than enemies.
Rose, on the other hand, had reportedly saved money and attended school despite her family’s modest circumstances. It must have been a difficult decision, yet her parents supported their daughter both materially and emotionally. He wondered if her kindness and devoted nature had perhaps been shaped by experiencing parents who had sacrificed themselves for their child.
If someone like Rose had a child, then perhaps a new kind of family would be born—one quite different from the family he had seen and grown up in.
Though it was still a distant future, he was already immensely eager to see it.