SWST 04

Chapter 04

“Halara!”
The middle-aged woman frowned the moment she saw Halara. Her voice sounded annoyed.
“Oh my, you even prepared my snack today?”

Snack?

“What’s the point of eating it alone? Come in.”

“Thanks. But really, is something wrong? How can a person change so suddenly?”

At those words, Halara’s expression stiffened for a moment, as if struck in the heart.
Carlos held his breath tightly at that.

“Change? Change how?”

“Don’t tell me you’re… pregnant? Women are supposed to change completely when they become mothers, right?”

Pregnant!?

“Pregnant?”

I laughed softly at Mrs. Michelle, who had already seated herself at the table as if it were familiar.
Mrs. Michelle was my neighbor, living right next door.
At first, she clicked her tongue at me constantly, but after I started being friendly and sharing the food I made myself, she quickly let her guard down.

“You can be honest with me.”

Pregnant.
I could understand why she would think that.

“Is it because of the man who came yesterday?”

Just last night, one of Halara’s followers had come knocking. Not just one, but two men.

“Just yesterday? Men have been lined up every day.”

That was true.
Ever since I possessed Halara’s body, so many unfamiliar men had come knocking.
Sending them away had been exhausting.

“They won’t come anymore. I even made a sign.”

The wooden sign I made read:

“No men allowed
-Thank you for your love all this time.”

I even drew pictures in case they couldn’t read Hangul.
The lock the vegetable seller had made also helped a lot.
Mrs. Michelle tilted her head as she looked back and forth between the lock and the sign.

“But why suddenly like this? Didn’t you like men before? You used to change men almost every day.”

“I won’t do that anymore.”

“Then why? I’m dying to know. These days, you act like you’ve become someone else entirely.”

Mrs. Michelle asked, clearly frustrated.
She was right. As she said, I was like a different person.
I had no interest in men whatsoever.
The days I lived with the husband I once loved most were pure hell.

“I hit my head.”

“What? Your head?”

I gave the most convenient excuse.

“Yes. I tripped on a stone recently and hit my head hard, and ever since then, I’ve been wide awake.”

“So that’s why you’ve been away from home lately?”

Mrs. Michelle seemed very interested in me. She seemed to know things I didn’t.

“I was away from home?”

“Oh, looks like your memory flew away too.”

What happened before I possessed Halara?

“Yes… I hit my head and lost my memory.”

I really didn’t remember.
I had no memories from before I possessed Halara.
Usually, when possessing someone, you’d learn about the body’s past experiences, but for me, while I knew Halara’s original story and future, I had no memories of what I did before possession.

“Well, I saw you going back and forth for farm work, but you didn’t show your face for over half a month.”

“Over half a month?”

“Maybe even longer. Anyway, I wondered if something happened. Did you finally leave following some man…!”

Mrs. Michelle flared her nostrils and shrugged.
“But since you said you hit your head, I guess that’s not it.”

She looked a little disappointed.
‘Away from home for over half a month.’
I guessed she had been thinking of pretending to be pregnant at Bloody Mary’s place.
Fortunately, it gave me a good excuse.

“I stayed in bed for a long time. I did a lot of thinking about how I should live from now on.”

“Growing pains, huh? Anyway, I like the new you. You used to wear thick makeup all the time and it looked weird, but now? You look much prettier.”

Mrs. Michelle smiled warmly.

“Where would I get money for makeup? Now I have to save every penny.”

“Right. You work hard when you’re young so you suffer less when you’re older. I’ll give you some sewing work, so you can do it with me.”

“Thank you.”

I’m glad I got close to her.
I filled her teacup as a thank-you.

“By the way, won’t the men following you ignore this sign?”

Her gaze fell on the shabby sign I made.
I had written it in bold letters.

“Any better ideas?”

What other way could there be?
Mrs. Michelle smirked.

“Want to leave it to me?”

It seemed she had a sure method.

Even long after Halara and Michelle entered the house, Carlos, the steward, remained hidden in the bushes, frozen.
He wanted to think he misheard, but his sight and hearing, inherited from his father, were sharp.
With those ears, he had clearly heard:

“She changed suddenly. Could she be pregnant?”

Just those few words made his heart drop.
For Halara, who had no parents, the neighbor was the closest person she had.
If someone like that suspected pregnancy, it must carry some weight, right?

‘Besides, if someone changes suddenly, you ask if they’re sick, not if they’re pregnant.’
Since she specifically mentioned pregnancy, it suggested she might know the person or event involved.

“Really, it can’t be a real pregnancy, right?”
If it was, it would mean it was the child of Lord Dochef?

Carlos remembered the moment Halara came to the family:

“I have something to tell the highest person here.”

It had happened only a few days ago and was still vivid in his mind.

“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you after we meet.”
“Do you think you can just meet a member of a noble house because you want to?”

The woman, soaked in sweat—or water—looked very precarious.

“…I am carrying a child.”

He hadn’t expected such a bombshell.
Of course, he didn’t believe it.
He thought it was a cunning trick.
‘If the young master hadn’t stayed out overnight on that date…’
And if her voice hadn’t trembled.
She was scared.
Even if it were a lie, the desperate look on her face didn’t seem fake to Carlos.

“No, calm down, Carlos! Keep your composure, as the lady said!”

He took deep breaths, steadying his pounding heart.
If she really were carrying the young master’s child, she wouldn’t have left the house so casually.
‘Let’s hide and observe first. It might be another man’s child.’

But the calm he forced evaporated when Halara and Michelle came out with the sign:

“No men allowed”

What was that?
Halara even locked the door after placing the sign.

“I’m just going to the market for a bit.”
“Okay, take care. I’ll get some sewing work ready.”
“Yes, let’s have dinner together.”
“Good.”

When Michelle waved goodbye, Halara left carrying a market basket.
No men allowed.
She must be a woman who struggles to live without taking advantage of men.
Carlos’s mind became a tangled maze.

“Oh, she’s trying hard… I feel sorry for her.”

But he had no time to think. Michelle sighed and turned to head back home.
Carlos sprang from the bushes. This was his chance to find out if Halara’s pregnancy was real!

Clink clink—
I headed to the market with all the money I had.

“First, I need to find out what sells here.”

Not knowing the local taste, I decided to test it on Mrs. Michelle.
Also, I could have a meal while I was at it.

I had roughly checked food prices beforehand, but what I could buy with my current money was limited.

“I’m already short on money, and that man reduced my budget even more.”

A few days ago, a mercenary had destroyed apples at the vegetable stall.

“The mercenary did that?”
“Yes. He had a sword at his waist and looked like a mercenary.”
“Ugh. Those mercenaries are nothing but thugs.”

The man shook his head, as if this sort of thing was normal.
Once he confirmed I didn’t know the mercenary personally, he comforted me instead, saying I must’ve been scared to get involved.

I handed him two silver coins.

“Here.”
“What’s this?”
“For the apples.”
“Why are you giving this, miss?”

I felt guilty.
If I hadn’t mentioned the poor condition of the apples, the mercenary wouldn’t have destroyed them.

“Apples are expensive. You must not have any extra, sir…”

A mix of guilt and meddling.

“You’re not just pretty, but also kind-hearted!”

Of course, I planned to make the mercenary pay back later.
Even though I’d been to the market every day for the past few days, I hadn’t seen him.

I shook my head to forget about the mercenary and examined the ingredients on the stall.
Potatoes were cheap today.

“I’ll make potato pancakes tonight.”

I put ten potatoes into my basket.

“The problem is the grater.”
I needed to grate them, but there wouldn’t be a grater at the market.
Even slicing would be hard, as Halara’s house only had a dull knife.

“Everything costs money.”

I checked my coin purse and headed to the blacksmith at the market entrance.