Zenith had learned she was pregnant. I was going to have a little
brother or sister. Our family was growing. Oh, Rudy, you lucky guy!
For a few years now, Zenith had been worried about her inability to
conceive another child. I'd heard her mutter and sigh on occasion about how
maybe she couldn't bear children anymore, but about a month earlier, there
was a shift in her food cravings, along with nausea, vomiting, and a general
sense of fatigue—in other words, symptoms of classic morning sickness. The
feelings were familiar, and a trip to the doctor confirmed that her self-
diagnosis was almost certainly correct.
The Greyrat household was abuzz at the announcement. What will we
name the baby if it's a boy? What will we name it if it's a girl? We still have
rooms, right? Oh, we can use Rudy's old clothes and hand-me-downs. There
was no end to the topics to be discussed.
It was a day of bubbling joy and countless smiles. I was honestly very
happy, hoping that I'd wind up with a little sister. A younger brother might
break all of my precious things (with a baseball bat).
The problems didn't arise until about a month later.
***
Our maid, Lilia, had discovered that she was pregnant, as well.
"I'm so sorry," she announced matter-of-factly to the family as we sat
at the table. "I'm pregnant."
In that instant, the Greyrat family froze. Who was the father? But,
given the circumstances, nobody could bring themselves to ask.
Everyone had realized it on some level at least. Lilia was our maid. She
sent almost all of her pay back home to her family. Unlike Paul, who
frequently headed into town to help settle problems, or Zenith, who helped out at the local clinic at certain times, Lilia almost never left the house unless
it was on work-related duties, and nobody had heard rumors about her
developing an especially close relationship with anyone. Perhaps it had been
a casual fling?
I knew the truth, though.
Ever since Zenith had gotten pregnant, Paul had been forced to go
without sex. And he was an especially lustful man who'd been sneaking into
Lilia's room in the middle of the night. If I'd been an actual kid, I would have
thought they were just playing cards or something.
Unfortunately, I knew all too well what was really going on. They
weren't playing any game of Old Maid; there was playing around, and there
was a maid involved, but this was no mere round of cards.
Still, I wish they'd been more careful. Which is probably what both of
them were thinking, too.
Hello, boys and girls! The phrase of the day is "You can do it!" Today
we'll be learning all about the importance of contraception!
Part of me wanted to say that to Paul with a completely deadpan face,
but I wasn't sure if the concept of contraception was even a thing in this
world. And obviously it wasn't like I wanted to tear the whole family apart
by spilling the beans. Also, if I messed with the maid, I was pretty sure she'd
never forgive me.
Besides, I owed Paul for helping me through that incident with
Sylphie. I'd let this one slide. Being a guy who all the chicks were hot for
seemed tough. If they suspected him, I'd cover for him. Heck, I'd lie to give
him an alibi if I had to.
Having come to that decision, I looked over at Paul, letting him know
with my eyes that he had nothing to worry about.
At the same time, however, Zenith shot a look right over at Paul, her
shocked assumption plain on her face.
Conveniently enough, our gazes both fell upon Paul as one, bearing
down on him.
"Uh, sorry," he blurted. "This child is, uh…probably mine."
Good grief. Really? Well, no; I suppose I should commend the man for being honest. Seeing as how he constantly told me to "be honest" and "be a
real man" and "be sure to protect women" and "never impugn your sense of
honor" and other high-and-mighty stuff like that day in and day out, the least
he could do was practice what he preached.
Well, whatever. I couldn't say I hated him for it.
Anyway, this really was the worst-case scenario. That sentiment
solidified as I watched Zenith draw herself up to her full height, her face
livid, her hand rising into the air.
And thus was convened an emergency family meeting, with Lilia
included.
***
It was Zenith who first broke the silence. She had the authority in this
meeting. "So, what are we going to do?"
From what I could see, she was as calm as anything. Instead of going
into a fit of hysterics over how her husband had cheated on her, she'd
contented herself with a single smack. A red mark like a maple leaf spread
across Paul's cheek.
"After I've assisted with the lady of the house's birth," Lilia said, "I
assume I would take my leave from your home."
She seemed rather composed, too. Maybe this was a common
occurrence in this world? The maid becomes her employer's mistress; if
people object, she just leaves the house.
A pitiful story like that would normally turn me on, but under the
circumstances, I didn't so much as twitch. I still had principles. Unlike Paul.
Paul was all huddled up in a corner. So much for paternal dignity.
"What about the child?" Zenith asked.
"I was thinking I would give birth here in Fittoa, and then raise the
baby back in my hometown," Lilia replied.
"You're originally from the south, yes?"
"That's right."
"You're going to be physically exhausted after the birth," Zenith said.
"You'll be in no condition to make a long journey."
"Perhaps so, but I have nowhere else to turn."
The Fittoa Region was in the northeastern part of the Asura Kingdom.
Based on my understanding, to reach what was considered "the south" in this
context took close to a month and required switching between multiple
stagecoaches. Still, that was a month traveling through safe lands with good
weather, and riding in stagecoaches wasn't terribly arduous.
That, however, was for a typical traveler. Lilia had no money. She
couldn't afford to ride on stagecoaches, and would have go on foot. Even if
the Greyrats paid for her travel expenses, that didn't make it any less risky.
She'd be a woman, traveling by herself, having recently given birth. If I were
a bad guy and spotted her, what would I do?
I would attack her. She was an obvious sitting duck, practically
begging for someone to take a shot at her. Take the child hostage, keep the
mother distracted with empty promises. Meanwhile, take all her money and
possessions. I'd gathered that slavery was a thing in this world, so in the end,
I'd sell off both mother and child, and that would be that.
Even if people said that the Asura Kingdom was the safest nation in the
world, that didn't mean it was completely devoid of evildoers. I bet there was
still a high likelihood of them being attacked.
And like Zenith had said, there was also the physical aspect to
consider. Even if Lilia did have the stamina to make it, what about the child?
Could a newborn handle a month-long journey like that? Probably not.
Of course, if Lilia didn't survive the journey, neither would the child.
Even if she simply fell ill, if she didn't have money to see a doctor, she was
done for. I suddenly had the mental image of Lilia lying dead in the midst of
a blizzard, baby cradled in her arms. I, for one, didn't want to see her suffer
that sort of fate.
"Dear," Paul started to stay, "surely she could just sta—"
"You keep your mouth shut!" Zenith snapped, cutting him off.
He shrank like a scolded child. This was definitely one instance where he had no right to speak. Paul was useless here.
Zenith chewed on her nails with a look of consternation. She was
clearly conflicted as well. She didn't want Lilia to suffer; on the contrary, the
two were quite good friends. Considering how they'd spent the last six years
running this household together, it was probably fair to say they were best
friends.
Well, except for the part about how Lilia was now carrying Paul's
child.
If Lilia had gotten pregnant because she was raped in some back alley,
Zenith would have unquestionably sheltered her, and allowed her to—no, she
would have insisted she raise the child in our home.
Based on the conversation, I surmised that abortion wasn't easily
accessible in this world.
Zenith appeared to be grappling with two separate emotions: her
fondness for Lilia and her feelings of betrayal. Considering the
circumstances, I thought Zenith was pretty incredible for being able to set
aside her emotions about the latter. If I were her, I'd have given in to
jealousy.
The fact that Zenith was able to keep her cool seemed connected to
Lilia's own attitude; she hadn't tried to talk her way out of anything, and had
taken full responsibility for betraying a household she'd served for so long.
If you asked me, though, it was Paul who ought to be taking
responsibility here. It was weird to lay the blame solely on Lilia. Very, very
weird.
I couldn't allow us to part on such weird terms.
I decided that I was going to help Lilia.
I was indebted to her. We didn't do very much together, and she hardly
ever talked to me, but she'd always been there, helping out. She set aside a
towel for me to wipe away the sweat when I was practicing my swordplay;
she drew me a bath when I got caught in the rain; she fetched me blankets on
chilly nights; she rearranged the shelves when I put a book back in the wrong
space.
But most importantly, more than anything else—She knew about my treasured panties and had kept silent about it.
Yes, Lilia knew about those. This happened back when I still thought
Sylphie was a boy. It had been raining, and so I was up in my room reading
and reviewing my botanical encyclopedia when Lilia came in and started to
clean up. I was so engrossed in reading that I didn't notice when her cleaning
took her close to my secret hiding place on the shelf. By the time I did
realize, it was too late; Lilia already had my precious panties in her hand.
I'd been so stupid. For nearly twenty years I'd been a complete shut-in,
leaving my stuff scattered around, unconcerned about anyone else stumbling
across it. I even had my folder for porn right on my desktop. Maybe my skill
for hiding things had gotten rusty because of that, but I hadn't expected my
stuff would be found this easily. I'd actually done a pretty decent job of
hiding it, too! Was this a superpower that maids had?
Deep inside myself, I'd felt something start to crumble. I could hear the
blood beginning to drain from my head.
The questioning began.
Lilia asked, "What are these?"
I replied, "Yeah, what are those? Ahahahahahah."
Lilia said, "They smell."
I replied, "Y-yeah, I think it's maybe like sesame oil or something like
that maybe, yeah?"
Lilia asked, "Whose are these?"
I replied, "I'm sorry…they're Roxy's."
Lilia asked, "Shouldn't you have them laundered?"
I replied, "Oh, no, don't wash them!"
Lilia wordlessly returned my prized panties back to their sacred hiding
place. Then, as I quivered in fear, she left the room.
That evening, I braced myself for the inevitable family meeting—
except it never came. I spent the long night shuddering fearfully in my futon,
but even when morning came, there was nothing. She hadn't told anyone.
I owed it to her to repay that debt.
***
"Mother?" I asked, keeping my tone as childlike as I could. "How
come everyone's acting so glum about how I'm going to have two new
siblings at once?"
I wanted to give off the naïve impression of: Hey, if Lilia's pregnant,
that means our family's getting even bigger! Hooray! Why's everyone so
upset about that?
"Because your father and Lilia did something they shouldn't have,"
Zenith said with a sigh, an unfathomable rage mixed in with those words. But
it wasn't directed at Lilia; Zenith knew full well who bore the brunt of the
blame here.
"Oh, I see," I said. "But is Lilia allowed to go against Father's
wishes?"
"What do you mean by that?" Zenith asked.
This wasn't fair to Paul, but hey, he was reaping what he'd sown, here.
I'd have to single-handedly try to cover up for Lilia's indiscretions. My bad,
Paul. I'd have repay him for Sylphie some other time.
"Well, I know that Father has some leverage over her."
"What? Is this true?" Zenith said, looking over at Lilia in surprise.
Lilia was as stone-faced as ever, though she did raise a curious
eyebrow, as if my assertion had been on the mark. Did Paul actually have
something on her? Based on the usual stuff I'd heard and seen, it seemed
more likely to me that Lilia had something on Paul, but…
No, never mind. I had my opening here. "A while ago, I got up in the
middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and as I was passing by Lilia's
room, I heard Father say something like… 'If you don't want me to tell
anyone, spread your legs!'"
"Huh?!" Paul blurted. "Dammit, Rudy, what the hell are—"
"You shut up!" Zenith snapped, putting him in check. "Lilia, is this
true?"
Lilia's gaze wandered. "Um, so, well, actually…"
Was I actually on the mark? Or was she just playing along?
"Ah, I see," Zenith replied, seeming to come to an understanding of
things. "You can't bring yourself to say it out loud."
Paul's eyes blinked over and over, his mouth opening and closing
repeatedly like a goldfish's, no words coming out. Perfect. Time to wrap this
all up.
"Mother, I don't think Lilia is to blame."
"I suppose not."
"I think Father is to blame."
"I suppose so."
"It isn't right that Lilia is in such a hard position because of something
that was Father's fault."
"Mmm. I suppose."
My mother's responses were more noncommittal than I'd hoped. I just
needed to push a little further. "I have fun playing with Sylphie every day, so
I think it'll be really nice that my little brother or sister will have someone the
same age to be friends with!"
"I…suppose, yes."
"And besides, Mother, they'd both be little brothers or sisters to me!"
"All right, Rudy. I get it. You win." Zenith let out a heavy sigh.
Jeez, way to give me a hard time about it, Mom.
"Lilia, I insist you stay with us," Zenith pronounced. "You're family at
this point! I am not letting you do something as foolish as leave!"
And that seemed to be the final word on the matter. Paul's eyes went
wide; Lilia brought her hand to her mouth, holding back her tears.
All right, then. That was all done and settled.
***
And so, with all of the responsibility laid squarely on Paul, we got
through things without further issue. By the end, Zenith was looking at him
with the cold dispassion of someone who was about to slaughter a pig. My
balls tensed up in anticipation of what punishment she might unleash upon
him. With that look still in her eyes, though, Zenith simply returned to her
room.
Lilia was crying, her face blank and expressionless, but tears streamed
from her eyes. Paul looked conflicted about whether he should put his arms
around her or not. For the time being, I was going to let the playboy do his
thing.
I followed after Zenith. If this situation wound up with her and Paul
getting divorced, that would create its own host of problems.
I knocked on the bedroom door, and Zenith poked her head out.
"Mother," I said, deciding to just cut right to the chase, "the stuff I said
earlier was a lie I just made up. Please don't hate Father."
For a moment, Zenith was taken aback, but then she grimaced and
gently patted my head. "I know, sweetie. I would never have fallen in love
with a man who was that terrible," she said. "Your father's got a weakness
for women, so I'd prepared myself for the day something like this might
happen. It was just a bit sudden, is all."
"Father has a weakness for women?" I asked, playing ignorant.
"Yes. Not as much in more recent times, but back in the day he was
pretty indiscriminate. You might have older brothers and sisters out there that
we don't know about, Rudy."
She exerted a bit more pressure with the hand that was ruffling my
hair.
"Make sure you don't grow up to be someone like that, okay, Rudy?"
She rubbed—no, gripped the top of my head even more firmly. "Make sure you treat Sylphie real nice, okay, Rudy?"
"Ah, ow! Of course, Mother! Th-that hurts!" It almost felts like she'd
nailed down what I was going to go on to do in the future.
Still, things would be all right if they stayed like this. Where they went
from here—that was all on Paul now.
Still, it was tough knowing that my dad was such a damn hedonist. No
more second chances from me, señor.
The day after that, sword practice was exceedingly rough.
I was able to keep pace with him and all; I just wished he wouldn't
take it out on me like that.
[Lilia]
I'll just come out and say it: I was the one who seduced Paul.
I had no intention of doing such a thing when I first came to this house.
But to hear them moaning night after night, to clean a room that smelled of a
man and woman who were very satisfied—I had my needs, and they were
building up.
At first, I was able to deal with those needs on my own. Watching Paul
practicing swordplay in the yard every morning, however, stoked the fire
inside me that had never completely died.
Watching him reminded me of our first time. We were still so young,
back when he was staying at the training hall where we practiced. Paul snuck
into my room at night and forcibly had his way with me. I didn't dislike him,
but I certainly didn't love him back. It wasn't exactly the most romantic
encounter. I'd cried, at first.
The next person who made advances toward me, though, was that bald,
fat minister. That certainly put into perspective how much better things with
Paul had been. Also, when I heard that Paul was hiring a maid, I figured I
could use what had happened back then as leverage in my negotiations. Paul was a much manlier fellow upon our reunion than he'd been back
then; any trace of boyishness had disappeared, replaced with the look of a
man who'd refined himself both physically and mentally. At the sight of him,
one of the first thoughts to cross my mind was that the past six years had
certainly been kind to him.
At first, Paul didn't try to make any moves on me. Every so often,
though, he'd treat me to a sneaky grope that just got me all the more worked
up. I was able to resist, but I was fully aware that I was walking a very
thin line.
All of that came crashing down when Zenith got pregnant.
Knowing that Paul had an abundance of libido, I got it in my head that
this was my opportunity. I saw my chance, and I invited Paul into my room.
So, this really was my own fault. I thought of my own pregnancy as
punishment—my punishment for giving in to my lust, and for betraying
Zenith.
But I was forgiven. Rudeus forgave me. That clever child, he managed
to correctly deduce what had happened, lead the conversation precisely where
it needed to go, and even bring things to an elegant compromise. He was so
level and calculating about it, as if he had some similar prior experience to go
on.
It was an unsettling—no, best to quit while I was still ahead.
Rudeus weirded me out, and so I made a point to avoid him as much as
I could. The boy was smart; he probably realized I was avoiding him. Even
so, he had saved me. I couldn't imagine that felt good for him, but he chose
me and my child over his own feelings.
I would owe him for that for the rest of my life. He was someone who
deserved my respect.
Yes, he did deserve it. I would owe him a debt for as long as I lived.
So, once the child in my belly was safely born, and once they were grown up,
I would see that they made their way into young Master Rudeus's service.
[Rudeus]
Several months passed without anything especially major happening.
Sylphie was growing remarkably fast. She was now able to cast
Intermediate-level spells without incantations, and she was reaching the point
where she could pull off some pretty subtle effects. In comparison, my skill
with the sword was relatively unchanged. I'd gotten decent, but I hadn't
managed to win a single round against Paul so far, so it was difficult to get
too excited about my progress.
Lilia's attitude had softened as well. Previously, she'd always been on
her guard around me—but since I'd been messing around with magic since I
was a little kid, that was only natural. While nothing had really changed
about her lack of overt emotion, I felt her words and her mannerisms now
bore an overwhelming sense of reverence for me. I got that she was happy
about my help, but I wished she'd tone it down.
If nothing else, ever since that incident, Lilia had begun to talk to me a
little—mostly old stories about Paul. Apparently, they had both studied
swordplay at the same training hall many years back. She told me things, like
how Paul had been very talented back then, but hated to practice. Or how
Paul would skip training in order to gallivant around town. Or how Paul had
forced himself on her in the middle of the night and taken her virtue. Or how
Paul had eventually fled the training hall.
Bit by bit, Lilia opened up to me about all that. The more she told me
about the past, the more my opinion of Paul dropped. He was a rapist and a
cheater. He was trash.
Still, it wasn't like he was rotten to the core. He was childish,
irresponsible, and something about that seemed to tickle women's maternal
instincts. He tried to be a good, strict father to me, but he wasn't good at
keeping up that facade; when he set his mind to it, he mostly just came across
as frank and straightforward, and I knew for sure he wasn't a bad guy through
and through.
"C'mon, look at me," Paul said, pulling me out of my daze. We were in
the middle of sword practice. "Don't you want to grow up to be a cool guy
like your dad?"
The nerve of this guy, honestly.
"Is it cool to be a guy who cheats on his wife and risks tearing his
family apart?"
"Ngh…" Paul grimaced.
At the look on his face, I resolved to be a bit more careful. I was
supposed to be young and oblivious. I didn't cheat on anyone—girls could
come to me of their own accord. That's how I'd handle things.
"Look," I said, "if that bothers you so much to hear, could you please
keep your hands off of anyone who isn't Mother?"
"O-other than Lilia, right?"
This man had learned nothing.
"Next time, Mother might move back in with her family without saying
a word, you know."
"Guh."
Was this guy hoping to build himself a harem? To have some secret
retirement out in the sticks, where he had a beautiful wife, a maid he could
get handsy with whenever he wanted, and a son to train in the way of the
sword?
Huh. That made me kind of jealous. That was probably the best ending
from his perspective. It'd be like winding up with both Louise and Siesta at
the end of that one light novel series. Maybe, rather than being oblivious,
I should try to learn from his example?
No, calm down. I remembered the look in Zenith's eyes when that
family meeting of ours came to a close. Did I want someone to give me that
look? One wife would be plenty, thanks.
"I mean, you're a guy," Paul said. "You know how it is." He was still
refusing to back down.
I knew what he meant, but that didn't mean I agreed with him. "What
would a six-year-old boy know?"
"Well, take Sylphie; you're into her, aren't you? She's going to be
gorgeous when she grows up."
Well, I sure couldn't disagree with him there. "I guess you're right.
Though I think she's pretty cute right now."
"So then you do understand."
"I guess."
Yeah, Paul was trash, but we seemed to be on the same level here. I
might look like a child, but mentally, I was an unemployed bum over forty
years old. A classic example of trash, right there.
When it came to video games, if nothing else, I was fond of girls, and
loved harems. Perhaps, on an intrinsic level, I was the same sort of
womanizer that Paul was. Maybe the incident where I'd yanked Sylphie's
underwear off was where we'd started to see eye-to-eye. Ever since then, I'd
felt like Paul was more willing to compromise, to open up with me. Maybe
seeing my weak points had made him lose that drive to be an unreasonably
strict father. He was still growing, too.
"Heheheh…"
I looked to see Paul grinning and chuckling. His gaze wasn't directed
at me, but rather behind me. I turned around and saw Sylphie standing there.
It was rare of her to come to our house.
On closer inspection, she was blushing ever so slightly, her hands
fidgeting. She must have overheard me.
"Go on, repeat what you just said for her," Paul said.
I let out a tiny snort. I didn't understand this guy at all.
Guess Paul still had a ways to go. Even heartfelt words eventually lost
their impact if you heard them so often you got used to them. Repeating those
words now was a no-go. So I just flashed Sylphie a wordless grin and offered
her a wave instead.
Besides, Sylphie was only six years old; it was a decade too early for
that sort of conversation. If I kept reassuring her over and over that she was
cute at this tender age, she'd grow up all conceited and entitled. My older
sister from my past life was a prime example of that.
"Um, I mean… I… I think you're cool, too, Rudy," she said.
"Oh, yeah? Thanks, Sylphie!" I grinned wide, hoping that my white
teeth might shine with a dazzling gleam (though, of course, they didn't).
Sylphie was excellent at being diplomatic; I nearly mistook that look in her upturned eyes for sincerity. I'd certainly meant it when I'd said she was
cute, but there were no romantic feelings behind that.
Not right now, anyway.
"All right, Father. We're going to head out," I said.
"Don't go rolling around in the hay out there, okay?"
Oh, come on! As if I would! This is me we're talking about, not you.
"Mother!" I started to call. "Father is—"
"Gah! No, stop!"
And so, today our house would be a peaceful one yet again.
***
Soon after that, Zenith gave birth.
It was a rough experience, a breech birth. With Lilia gravid as she was,
she called for a midwife from the village, an older woman, but even she said
the situation was hopeless. That's how bad it was.
The birth took quite some time, with both mother and child at risk.
Lilia put all of her combined knowledge to work, and I assisted by
continually casting Healing spells, even though I wasn't great at them.
All told, our efforts worked, and the birth was a success. The baby
came safely into this world, letting out its first, healthy cries.
It was a girl. I had a little sister. I was glad it wasn't a little brother.
Our relief was short-lived, however, as Lilia went into labor as well.
We were all already exhausted, our guards down. The words "premature
birth" flittered through my mind.
This time, however, the midwife was able to play her part. While she
might not have been good with breech births, premature births were
something she claimed to have experience in. Age really did bring wisdom,
sometimes.
I did as the midwife instructed, kicking Paul in the butt to snap him out of his daze and have him bring Lilia to my room. While he was taking care of
that, I used magic to prepare a new bath for the soon-to-be newborn, gathered
up all the clean cloths and towels we had, and went back to the midwife.
I let her handle things from there.
The moment the baby was born, Lilia boldly cried out Paul's name. He
was at her side, dripping with sweetness, clutching her hand.
The baby was smaller than Zenith's, but let out the same kind of
healthy cries all the same. This one was a girl as well. Two daughters. Two
little sisters. Paul chuckled sheepishly to himself even as he mused about
both of his new children being girls. For the second time that day, I got to see
the big, dumb grin of a new parent on his face.
Paul was in an unenviable position, however. The women in our
household had now doubled in number. Who was going to wind up on the
bottom of the totem pole in that situation? Probably the guy who cheated with
the maid and knocked her up. As for me, I was hoping to establish myself as
the cool older brother. No way was Paul getting any respect.
Zenith's daughter was named Norn. Lilia's daughter was named Aisha.