Chapter 216 The Unwanted Child
No, something was wrong. Candy's waist seemed to have gotten noticeably thicker compared to before.
Thinking of that possibility, she gasped heavily several times and quickly grabbed Holden's hand. "Holden, after you came back from the eastern battlefield, you haven't slept with Candy, have you?"
Holden frowned. Although he didn't understand why his mother would ask this in front of his brother, sister-in-law, and sister, he still shook his head honestly. "No."
Although he was willing to keep Candy and rot away with her, deep down Holden still minded that Candy had been used as a camp prostitute by Zotfort's soldiers, passed around among them. He kept remembering that scene when he saw Candy in the Drogo Mountains, and even those obscene smells seemed to drift to his nose along with the memory, making Holden feel disgusted and resistant.
Wait...
Holden quickly realized why Victoria was asking this question. He suddenly turned to look at Candy, only to see her smiling with a completely twisted face, the scars on her face looking even more terrifying because of that smile.
She raised her hand to touch her belly and spoke in a sinister tone, "I'm pregnant."
"Although I don't know who the father is, Holden, you're going to be a father. Are you happy?"
Mephist and Trion's eyes widened. Everyone's gaze focused on Candy's belly, unable to believe their ears for a moment.
The laws of the Soth Empire stated that after a couple got married, their first child could not be aborted and must be born. Regardless of who the father was, the child belonged to both spouses and had inheritance rights to the family.
This was originally Zotfort's revenge against Candy. Now, Candy was also using this child that shouldn't exist to take revenge on the Titan family.
After all, if the child was aborted, they would be punished.
Holden's eyes turned red. He clenched his fists and lunged straight at Candy.
He had only one thought in his mind: no matter what, this filthy bastard could not be born.
Absolutely not!
Trion reacted quickly. The moment she saw Holden raise his hand, she immediately grabbed Mephist and ran outside.
Mephist was also stunned by this bombshell news, but after so many years of marriage with Trion, they were perfectly in sync. The moment Trion took his hand, he cooperated and ran out with her.
Behind them came Holden's furious roars and Candy's painful screams, mixed with Nina's shrieks. It was like the most popular farce in a theater, but Trion had no mood to watch the show right now. She just wanted to get as far away from these crazy people as possible.
As for Victoria? Who cares about her!
Trion just dragged Mephist all the way back to their room and slammed the door shut. Only then did her tense heart finally relax.
"Darling," Trion sat on the floor in a disheveled state. "I feel like I really want to consider Dr. Pascal's suggestion now."
Mephist glanced at Trion. When Trion first mentioned this to him, he was convinced that old Dr. Pascal just couldn't stand to see them doing well and was deliberately trying to manipulate Trion, trying to split them apart through her. He had even scolded Dr. Pascal harshly in front of Trion.
But now, thinking back, he felt that Dr. Pascal actually genuinely wanted to help them.
But it was too late.
Mephist shook his head with a bitter smile. "If we had brought up splitting the family before going to the banquet, Mother would have been unhappy, but outsiders would have tacitly separated us from Holden. As for Mother, she definitely would have preferred to stay with Holden, since Holden has that Knight Commander title."
"But now, we went to Princess Kirenya's banquet with Mother, and the hostility those nobles at the banquet showed toward the Titan family... they definitely see us as one with Mother and Holden. Even if we bring up splitting the family now, what's the use? Our reputation and everything else is already gone."
Trion looked at Mephist's drooping shoulders, feeling somewhat exhausted.
Mephist was really very good to her, so even though Trion was tired of Victoria and the Titan family, she had never said much about it. Although Trion also understood that once she left the Titan family and divorced Mephist, her parents wouldn't allow her to come home either.
That's how it was for lower nobility. Marrying off a daughter could be considered selling the daughter, exchanging her for benefits with another family. Therefore, they didn't have much affection for their daughters and wouldn't allow divorced daughters to return home, bringing shame to the family and affecting other daughters' marriage prospects.
But Trion had seen how Anne was. Anne could live well through her own efforts, and now she could even marry an excellent man like Prince Friedel. Trion asked herself, although she wasn't as outstanding as Anne, she was willing to take that chance too.
But...
Trion thought about what Mephist had said, and she was really exhausted.
Yes, now that they had offended those nobles, even though it wasn't her and Mephist who did it, in the eyes of those noble people, what difference was there between one person and a whole family?
Trion knew there was one person who might be able to help her, but Trion didn't want to divorce Mephist and leave alone. What made her different from Anne was that Mephist had deep feelings for her. Unless absolutely necessary, Trion wouldn't want a divorce. But bringing Mephist along—he was a Titan after all. Would Anne really be willing to help Mephist while helping her?
If Victoria and the others found out, they might think they could go bother Anne, and there might even be bad rumors about Anne outside, which could affect Anne's marriage to Prince Friedel...
Trion closed her eyes wearily. Forget it, forget it. Let it be for now. What could be worse than the current situation?
Just forget it.
The next day, after Trion woke up, she went to see Victoria. Victoria was still unconscious, no different from when she first came home. But Trion's peripheral vision swept over the carpet nearby. The carpet had a dark stain spreading across it. Trion recalled Candy's screams from yesterday and didn't dare or want to think too carefully about how that stain got there.
She slowly walked to the hall and happened to see Nina on the sofa. "Morning."
But Nina seemed to be scared out of her wits. Hearing the voice, she suddenly stood up, and after realizing it was Trion, she shrank back and sat down again. Trion rarely saw Nina like this and couldn't help asking her, "After Mephist and I left last night, what exactly happened?"
"Blood, so much blood..."
Nina covered her face and cried in pain. "Holden pinned that bitch Candy to the ground and punched her belly over and over. There was blood all down Candy's legs."