I’ve Decided to Let You Go - Chapter 62

Natasha’s intense gaze made Kayeina hesitate for a second, but she quickly recovered and answered boldly, as if nothing had happened.

“It’s not like the whole hallway could hear, so don’t worry! I think I was the only one who noticed.”

Of course, you were the only one. This entire situation was something you made up.

Kayeina truly believed Natasha had passed out after taking Abraxas. She was feeding her false information, trying to make her believe she had spent the night with Sieghart.

She had lifted Natasha’s nightgown and checked every part of her body. Even her thighs were marked with what she called “signs of love.”

Natasha held back the bitter smile rising between her sore lips.

“Tell me, what kind of act leaves behind marks like this?”

“A strong kiss, followed by sucking on the skin. It’s more savage than romantic, really. His Grace must’ve been very excited last night. How embarrassing!”

“You sure know a lot about these things, Kayeina.”

“W-well… I’ve had a lover before!”

Natasha smiled faintly at her flustered friend.

“Alright, Kayeina. Just like you said, I guess it’s true. His Grace and I must’ve shared a sweet night together…”

But she prayed it wasn’t true. Even though she had prepared for the worst, deep down, she had hoped it was all just an illusion.

Maybe Kayeina had planned a few tricks behind the scenes, but she begged with all her heart that this—this specific act—was not part of it.

And yet, the truth she didn’t want to face was slowly revealing itself. A heavy emptiness filled her chest, and her hands clenched without thinking.

Natasha acted like nothing had happened. She kept to her usual routines, pretending not to know. Quietly, she waited for the right time.

Two weeks later, Kayeina approached her with concern.

“Madam, how has your cycle been lately?”

“Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

“Well, it just seemed like you haven’t had one for a few months now. Missing one or two is normal, but three months in a row… It might be a health issue.”

“My cycle’s always been irregular. Two months without isn’t unusual for me. But three… that’s definitely the first time.”

Kayeina looked hesitant, as if she were thinking carefully. After a moment, she asked cautiously.

“Could it be… that you’re pregnant?”

“Pregnant?”

“You said two months isn’t strange, but three is. If you happened to conceive during that time, it would line up. Maybe you should check, just in case?”

She offered to get a pregnancy test herself, saying it was better to be sure.

That evening, Natasha dropped blood into a small flowerpot Kayeina brought her.

“If the flower blooms, it means pregnancy.”

Half a day later, a yellow forsythia bloomed in the soil.

Natasha let out a small, crooked smile and turned to another window. Behind the curtain sat a second flowerpot—an identical one she had prepared earlier.

“And this one shows the opposite. Not pregnant.”

Because she and Sieghart had never actually shared a night together.

Was it even possible to get pregnant without being touched? Between the two results, there was no doubt which one was telling the truth.

“Ha… Haha!”

Natasha grabbed the pot showing a false result and threw it to the ground. It shattered loudly, spilling soil everywhere. The flower’s root was torn, and the unopened bud drooped toward the floor.

“So, it was really you. You planned all of this.”

On her knees, Natasha stared at the broken pot with a hollow expression. In her blurred vision, the unopened bud flickered like a cruel reminder.

Her chest ached painfully.

Kayeina Ten. She had been the girl Natasha loved to the very end in her past life. Even in her final moments, Natasha had worried about leaving Kayeina behind.

“You’ve suffered so much. Don’t keep it in—tell me everything. I’ve always been on your side. I was your princess, and here, I’ll care for you with everything I have.”

She never imagined that same girl might one day smile quietly while watching her coffin sink into the ground.

“Ah… ah… ugh…”

Her heart twisted violently. The pounding in her head grew louder, crashing like thunder.

“Kayeina, I really like you.”

“I like you too, Princess. No— I love you. You’re my dearest friend and life’s true companion.”

“Really? Even more than that nobleman you used to talk about?”

“How can you compare the two of you? If both of you were drowning, I wouldn’t even hesitate. I’d save you first.”

That kind of betrayal, from someone she loved so deeply, was more than enough to break her.

“Yes, Madam. You’re pregnant.”

The village doctor finished his check-up, clapped his hands, and congratulated her with a cheerful smile. He confidently declared that she was pregnant and began listing one precaution after another for expectant mothers.

Natasha barely listened. He probably wasn’t a complete fraud, but it was clear Kayeina had paid him off to lie.

Next to her, Kayeina looked genuinely happy, as if she were the one carrying the child. She reached out, trying to hug Natasha, then stopped herself and patted her gently on the shoulder instead. She added that a pregnant woman had to be treated carefully.

It was the kind of moment where she was supposed to laugh shyly, but the situation felt disgusting. Natasha gently removed Kayeina’s hand while wearing a polite smile, then calmly asked,

“Kayeina, could you step outside for a moment?”

“What? You want me to leave?”

**“There’s something I’d like to ask the doctor in private. I’ve heard couples should avoid intimacy during early pregnancy, and I just want to know more about that.”

“Oh, Madam, you’re so modest. Alright, I’ll step out.”

“Thanks. I won’t take long.”

Kayeina chuckled like it was a silly request, then left the room.

As soon as her footsteps faded, Natasha dropped the smile she had been forcing.

“How much?”

“I’m sorry, Madam. Could you repeat that?”

“How much did she pay you to lie?”

“W-What do you mean? If you’re asking about the consultation fee…”

“You didn’t even examine me. What consultation fee?”

Natasha scoffed. Her eyes had turned cold and sharp.

“You’re saying I’m pregnant?”

“…”

“I didn’t know a woman could get pregnant without ever being touched. Are you practicing medicine that goes against the laws of nature now?”

“T-That’s…”

The doctor raised both hands and stepped back in a panic. Sweat poured down his face.

After glancing at the door to make sure it was still closed, he swallowed hard. His throat bulged visibly.

“Three hundred gold.”

Three hundred.

That was about a full month’s salary for a maid at the Duke’s estate.

Her innocence had been sold for just that.
Natasha quietly repeated the words, three hundred gold, again and again, unable to believe it.

She turned back to the doctor. He couldn’t even meet her eyes.

“What were you going to say when my period came?”

“S-Sorry?”

“I’m not pregnant. So, when my period comes, what excuse were you going to use? Were you planning to admit it was all a lie?”

“I… I was going to say…”

He licked his lips nervously. His throat moved again, and his leg trembled beneath the table, the vibrations reaching her feet.

“That you… had a miscarriage.”

Natasha’s world spun.

The word hit her like a heavy blow. Her vision turned white, and she clutched her temples as a wave of pain surged through her head.

“We were going to say it was a risk from early pregnancy. That it was a tragic but natural loss. If your period didn’t start soon, we planned to give you medicine to induce bleeding. Because… if too much time passed, your belly would stay flat, and the lie would be exposed.”

Panicked by her silence, the doctor confessed everything. It was too well thought out, too detailed to be a mistake. It had never been an accident.

“So, all of this… was her plan?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

A deep sigh escaped her.

If she’d been trying to claim the child was someone else’s and register it under the Duke’s name, maybe I could’ve turned a blind eye.
But to claim it was ours—when we never even shared a bed…

She remembered the words that had once hurt her so deeply.

Back then, she had thought Sieghart was simply rejecting the child. That he just didn’t want to accept it as his own.

But now, faced with falsified evidence of intimacy, fake signs of pregnancy, and a forged diagnosis—Natasha had believed all of it. Because it was so carefully prepared. She thought Sieghart had been the one lying.

“So, when I got my period, you were going to say I lost the baby? That was her plan…”

She repeated the doctor’s confession, her voice hollow and bitter.

She could have handled the truth if it had come sooner. But to say the child died?

Kayeina Ten knew just how precious the idea of a child was to Natasha.

Even if it meant giving up her escape, she would have stayed to protect that child. It was her long-held dream.
Her hope.
Her reason for enduring.

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