Stigma Effect

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

It was at the moment when a small piece of cloth fell silently to the floor and she placed her hand around Raphlet's neck again. Yuriel suddenly remembered the voice that crossed her mind.

‘You should not have s** in the early stages of pregnancy. Most of it is possible except for insertion, but don't do it.'

‘How far can I go?’

‘… don’t. Even if you try to stop in the middle, if you even insert it because of the atmosphere, the child is at risk, not you.’

It felt like Shudmuel’s voice made her head pound like thunder. So when Raphlet sighed and bit her neck, it was definitely not Yuriel's intention to push his chest hard .

"Now….”

"Huh….”

Yuriel, startled by his actions, and Raphlet, who was pushed by Yuriel, trembled their lips at the same time.

“That, so…. Oh, I suddenly got a headache.”

Yuriel, who had never even imagined lying in front of Raphlet, stammered. Yuriel, who spoke awkwardly while touching the gauze part, slowly moved her body.

Raphlet was watching Yuriel while she got down from his desk, picked up the underwear that had fallen, and cleaned up the rolled up pajamas.

Pretending to be ignorant of his cold eyes, Yuriel chewed her stupid behavior and bit her lip.

When Raphlet stopped, she should have stayed still! Why did she decide to do more there?

Habit was a scary thing. It became a habit to always push against him, so she leaned against him without even paying attention.

After tidying up her clothes, Yuriel started talking to change the awkward atmosphere.

“I think that’s why Sir Shudmuel told me to be careful for the time being. I had a big shock to my head, so I had to rest....”

"Alright."

After listening to Yuriel's excuse, Raphlet calmly cut her trailing words.

Watching Yuriel, he took off the clothes he hadn't changed yet and walked to the bathroom.

“I’m going to wash up, so you can sleep first.”

Yuriel flinched at the cold voice and followed him. Reaching out her hand, she handed over his shirt, but that was it.

“You don’t have to attend my bath, so go to bed first.”

“Lord Raphlet.”

“You need to rest well to recover quickly. I'm fine, go to bed."

Raphlet said, kissing Yuriel's forehead. It was a friendly gesture, but his eyes were far from friendly.

Yuriel shut her mouth and only nodded her head.

She wanted to go in with him.... It seemed that she had offended Raphlet by saying useless words.

Yuriel, who watched him go into the bathroom, was left alone in the room and let out a long sigh.

Had it not been for Shudmuel telling her to keep it a secret, she was thinking of telling him about her pregnancy that day.

“I’m sure you’ll like it….”

Yuriel was well aware that some nobles often forced an abortion if their servants got pregnant while playing around.

She also knew that Raphlet, unlike most of the nobles, was not a person who would force her to erase the child.

Being abandoned by Raphlet or being offered an abortion was not something Yuriel was worried about. Yuriel was worried that the story Shudmuel kept pouring into her would happen to Raphlet.

'How do you think the Temple will react if they discover you're pregnant?'

‘No one will know that it is Lord Raphlet’s child.’

Shudmuel told Yuriel to assume the worst case every time she received treatment.

Raphlet would be given a disgraceful stigma because of Yuriel, and the child would be forced to be erased by the Temple.

‘Commander Raphlet is the most important person in the Temple. He is the protagonist of the prophecy, so they will not dismiss him. So what do you think they will do? The Temple will think it's easier to deal with you. Do you want to be like that?’

‘… No.'

As Yuriel shook her head while weeping, Shudmuel touched his tired face and said,

‘I thought so.’

‘Then I really shouldn’t talk about the child. But in a few months, everyone will know....'

Seeing Yuriel crying as she wrapped her stomach, he looked more puzzled than ever. Even when he met the high priest, he had a frown on his face.

He seemed annoyed, but she couldn't figure out why in this situation he was showing his emotions. There was no reason for Shudmuel to be in trouble for Yuriel, who had simply visited for a treatment.

When Yuriel looked into his face, he straightened his frown and said,

'That's right. I'm worried about the next few months. It's going to be even more difficult if Raphlet realizes you're fully pregnant and doesn't want to have an illegitimate child.'

'I really don't know what to do....'

‘You wouldn’t want to see him collapse, would you?’

‘Yes, of course, but…. I don't want to leave Lord Raphlet....'

That said, Yuriel already knew the answer.

Better to die than to leave his side. Because there was a time when she thought so. Of course, it was still the case today.

But now that she has Raphlet's child, she can't die. There was only one option Yuriel could choose.

Leaving the Imperial Capital and giving birth to Raphlet's child. She hadn’t thought about what would happen after that.

Putting down Raphlet's shirt, Yuriel dug into the bed and closed her eyes.

Even with her eyes closed, Raphlet's figure was clearly drawn. Cool gaze, bright gold eyes, and a solid build like a knight. Everything that made him was beautiful.

She can't believe she can't see her master.

Yuriel sniffed and buried her face in the pillow.

Shudmuel spoke with a firm voice to Yuriel, who answered with hesitation.

‘If you want to have the child, you have to leave the Imperial Capital. Within three months at the latest.’

‘Three months… ? They’ll start subjugating monsters again soon, but without me, the damage will be more....'

The damage caused by the monster would increase even more. When Yuriel spoke to extend her stay even a little longer, Shudmuel said sarcastically.

‘If you want to test whether there is a higher chance that Commander Raphlet will get hurt by the monster subjugation, or if the news of your pregnancy will cause trouble for him, you can stay longer.’

Yuriel dropped her shoulders at the voice that spoke like a threat and had no choice but to agree to his opinion.

‘Is it okay if I come back after having the child? I can say that it’s not Lord Raphlet’s child.’

‘… You would be better not to return to the Imperial Capital.’

As soon as she had the child, she decided to come back, and when she asked that question, Shudmuel answered after a strangely long silence.

When Yuriel made a strange expression, Shudmuel returned with a cool face as if he hadn’t lost his composure earlier and nodded his head.

There was something strange about him, but she was distracted by thoughts about Raphlet, and Shudmuel’s bizarre expression was quickly forgotten.

Yuriel hugged Raphlet's pillow and sniffled her nose.

She was already heartbroken at the thought of being away from Raphlet.

One rejection of their relationship ended up like this. Yuriel struggled with how to reject future intimate relationships with Raphlet for the remaining three months of her stay in the Imperial Capital.

She was worried about what kind of misunderstanding Raphlet might have if she suddenly refused having any entanglements with him.

Her head was pounding, perhaps because she cried over a problem she could hardly solve.

She couldnt take medicine anymore, so she shouldn't get sick....

She thought about it as she closed her eyes, but the buildup of heat in her body wasn't something she could control.

＊＊＊

Raphlet came out of his bathroom after a long time. It took him quite some time to simply wash himself and come out.

Raphlet came out, brushing off his wet hair, and looked at Yuriel, who was asleep while hugging his pillow, raised his eyebrows. He approached Yuriel, who had her eyes closed, unaware that he had come, and he called Yuriel with his brows narrowed.

“Yuriel?”

Her cheeks were burning red.

He had never been rejected by Yuriel, so he was shocked and ran to the bathroom. When Yuriel pushed him, groping on her wound and trailing off her words, he almost threw Yuriel onto the bed.

Raphlet, who had been isolating himself in the bathroom for a long time, because it would be impossible to leave Yuriel in the same place, reached out to Yuriel who was groaning and hugged his pillow.

Raphlet's expression turned harsh as he placed his hand on Yuriel's forehead.

“… Yuriel, wake up for a second.”

“… Yes?"

“You have a fever.”

Her body temperature was quite high, even taking into account the coldness of his hands.

Was it true that her head hurts? The reaction was strange for something like that.

Raphlet got up as he took his hand from Yuriel, who had been lying down while he was in the bathroom.

“Let’s change clothes and go to the infirmary. Can you change clothes?”

“Tomorrow, I decided to receive treatment for my wounds from Sir Shudmuel. I saw him just this morning, it's okay if I don't go now.... Lord Raphlet?”

Yuriel muttered quietly. She didn't have to go to the infirmary, but Raphlet didn't listen to her. After leaving the room for a while, he returned from the opposite side of Yuriel's room with her everyday clothes.

After taking off her thin pajamas that revealed the lines of her body, Raphlet noticed that her body was also heated up and put on her clothes.

Raphlet, holding Yuriel, who had begun to boil, hurriedly rushed to the infirmary.