Chapter 31

“What’s the name of this wine?”

“I went to the kitchen and asked for the best drink. I don’t know the name.”

“Hmm…”

“If you like it, I’ll leave the empty bottle here so that you can find out for yourself later.”

“Haha, all right then.”

Amongst the faint tension, Yelena shared a glass with Incan.

Of course, most of Yelena’s share of wine was consumed by the towel.

By the time the thick towel on her lap had dampened, Incan’s eyes were slightly disoriented and his speech slurred noticeably.

Yelena sighed in relief, unconsciously twisting the jewels on her bracelet.

‘Phew.’

“So… what is troubling the Duchess?”

“Troubling?”

There was no such thing.

It was just an excuse to create this opportunity and drink alcohol with Incan.

‘Not to worry, I did have a question. I was curious to know what the hell he did to the maids that caused them to quit their job.’

Yelena wanted to ask him immediately, but he wouldn’t answer such a question openly no matter how drunk he was.

She agonized over how to bring it up and decided to invent a worry to continue the conversation and put the words in her mouth2.

“As I said, it’s not a big deal. It’s a child problem.”

“A child problem?”

‘There’s no concern more common between a couple than the topic of children.’

There was, in fact, a mild truth to Yelena’s words.

At that moment, Incan spoke.

“You haven’t been married for that long, but you’re already… concerned about that?”

‘Oops.’

Yelena blinked. It was then when she recalled she was a newlywed.

Only a month had passed since she got married, yet there was a child problem. It was not impossible, but it was unnatural.

Yelena quickly found an excuse and continued, “That’s right. Rather than worrying about having no children…”

“I understand.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Huh?”

“The Duchess’s troubles… I understand.”

‘What did you understand?’

Where did the confidence come from?

Yelena couldn’t understand Incan’s words, so she only blinked.

In the meantime, Incan continued to speak.

“What will you give me?”

“What?”

“If I can solve your worries… what would you do for me in return?”

His words carried weight.

Yelena frowned at the excessive confidence she felt in his words.

‘You’re going to fix it? What? How?’

She suspected that his words were due to the alcohol.

What’s more, Yelena was in a position to look into every corner of Incan and question him.

Yelena first took a look at Incan’s appearance.

“Well, would you do anything for me?”

“Anything…”

Incan looked down at the table and grabbed his half-filled glass.

Then he poured the remaining content into his mouth all at once before speaking.

“Anything, I see.”

“…”

“I have medicine.”

“Medicine?”

In the blink of an eye, Yelena’s expression became disappointed.

‘And here I was wondering what else you were going to say.’

Was he referring to drugs that helped you have children?

Such drugs were already widely available in the market.

“It is not a medicine to help you become pregnant.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a medicine that makes you pregnant.”

Yelena tried to distinguish between the two.

‘Wasn’t that the same thing?’

The latter just had a little more emphasis on the effects of the medicine…

“With this drug, you can become pregnant without having to deal with the opposite sex.”

At that moment, Yelena almost spilled the wine she had in her hand.

Yelena, who managed to balance her glass, stared at Incan.

“What did you say?”

“It’s exactly as I said. Even a virgin can have a baby as soon as she takes the medicine.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

Yelena was so stunned that she snorted.

No matter how drunk a person was, there were jokes that you could tell and jokes that you couldn’t.

That’s what Yelena thought, but then she suddenly stiffened as if lightning had struck her.

‘Wait.’

The testimonies she had heard from the maids the day before came to mind.

There was something in common between all the maids who quit their job within two months after Incan’s visit.

It was not possible.

“This can’t be happening… No way?”

Yelena’s heartbeat began to accelerate.

Incan slowly spoke to Yelena, who was speechless.

“The medicine has been tested. You can trust the effects. What do you think?”

“…”

“Isn’t this the medicine the Duchess wants?”

When their eyes met, Incan continued, “You may desire to have a successor to take over the dukedom in the future, but that doesn’t mean you really want to have the child of a monster.”

2. To ‘put words in my mouth’ means to say or do something that offends, upsets, or embarrasses the person saying it. In this case, Yelena is saying something embarrassing as she is making up an issue she is troubled about.