Bastard

"Hold on, Madam, are you serious?" Damian was so shocked that he took three steps back, unable to believe Lady Shayla's hint.

This… is the illegitimate child of a married woman. But what role is Damian playing now?

He's a monk from the monastery, skilled in both literature and martial arts!

If not for this unique persona, how could he be qualified to shout commands here and there? Would the surrounding knights look up to him?

However, the moral standards for monks are also quite high, much like future celebrities. If he were to be hit with the debuffs of having an affair and an illegitimate child, Damian's reputation would surely plummet to the bottom.

Even the Emperor of the Empire and the Archbishop of the Church, countless people have fallen because of the problem of illegitimate children.

The only ones who can evade the issue of illegitimate children are the church nobles in Rome. They can even assassinate and depose a pope at will. Therefore, they ialso have the power to make others shut up.

In modern terms, with their daggers and money, they have successfully mastered the church's discourse. By the way, since the church only allows monogamy, dealing with illegitimate children has been a difficult issue from ancient times to the present.

"Of course, it's true. Since we parted that day, I dreamed of a tree bearing apples. At that moment, I knew our baby will be born." Lady Shayla touched her flat belly and looked at the frowning, pacing Damian with some pride, causing her to chuckle lightly.

He's still just a young man, panicking at the news of a pregnancy.

In that case, manipulating him doesn't seem difficult.

Damian's eyebrows knit together. He had just stood firm against Conosa, but if news of the illegitimate child gets out… Forget being firm; Conosa would likely force him to hand over Milhouse Castle.

But it's improssible.

The cake eaten is no way to be vomited again.

Pacing back and forth, his eyebrows furrowed so tightly, Damian still couldn't come up with a way to deal with it.

He could only curse himself for not knowing medieval abortion knowledge, and hate those quacks and fanatic priests, which made the development of obgyn stagnate. Many classical medieval abortion methods easily led to the death of the mothers.

"What should we do then?" Damian asked, anxiously pacing in circles.

Lady Shayla placed her smooth, delicate hands on Damian's shoulders to comfort him, "What are you afraid of? I'll have Andreas raise the child. He has never had offspring his entire life. I've already taken him to the church to pray for some time, and in half a month, I'll tell him I'm pregnant. Since you're at the front line fighting, a month would pass before we meet again, and he wouldn't be able to suspect anything."

Damian didn't expect Lady Shayla to handle it so deftly. She even timed everything perfectly.

Andreas was over fifty. If he unexpectedly found out that he fathered a child, he probably wouldn't realize that Lady Shayla had a tryst with Damian a month earlier.

"But… What about the church's stance?" Damian still felt a bit worry.

"What could the church say? I take Andreas to pray in front of the Madonna's image for an hour every day. We've been doing that for an entire week."

Lady Shayla then puffed her cheeks like a little girl, "Do you think my efforts were easy?"

"No, no, thank you so much for your efforts." Damian wiped the sweat from his forehead, fearing anyone might overhear their conversation—especially his current nominal wife, Joan.

"Hmph, as long as you know. By the way, I secretly took this letter when Archbishop Matt was discussing matters with Andreas. Don't be surprised once you read it." Lady Shayla turned to serious matters.

Damian was startled. He remembered discovering letters between Archbishop Matt and his illegitimate child in Scoke's treasure last time.

Speaking of which, Damian had a new plan.

But after reading the letter, Damian's heart sank gradually.

The capital of the Duchy of Lorraine was the city of Nancy in modern-day France, while the Gothingen County where Damian resided was located in the Ruhr industrial area of modern-day Germany. One was in the southwest, the other in the northeast.

And just north of Nancy was the Gothingen area, with Metz County being the closest, which was the fiefdom of Conosa's brother, Adler.

So, whether in the central authority of the duchy or among local nobility, Adler played a significant role.

Having such a person involve themselves in Gothingen County affairs, Conosa would find it hard to keep her position.

Why did this brother want to defeat Conosa?

There's no point in pondering this now. Damian's primary task was to keep Gothingen County stable. And before that, sending Archbishop Matt back to the church would benefit local stability.

"Okay, I will now find a way to get Archbishop Matt out of Gothingen to ensure stability here," Damian said to Lady Shayla.

Lady Shayla nodded with a smile.

However, after Damian left, Lady Shayla suddenly felt some stomach discomfort.

"..."

She shook her head, dispelling some worries.

After all, at thirty-something years old, having never had a child, Lady Shayla didn't believe she could still get pregnant.

All her previous words were actually just to manipulate Damian.

The so-called stolen letter was just a tool Andreas used to plead with his wife for help.

Lady Shayla juggled both her husband and her lover without missing a beat.

She held her waist and slowly moved back to her room.

"Perhaps I'm overthinking."

Lady Shayla rubbed her belly.

It still looked flat, but what about in the future?

…

[Main Quest Triggered: Gothingen County Faces Another Great Crisis. Adler, the Kingdom's Wardrobe Manager, seems to have set his sights on this infertile land. Quest Objective: Eliminate the threat posed by Adler. Quest Reward: A random treasure, increased local reputation.]

After being rebuffed by Lady Shayla, Damian returned to the hall looking much more composed and calm.

However, his sweat-soaked fists betrayed his true feelings.

He knew very well how dangerous the problem of an illegitimate child could be.

Furthermore, the main quest being triggered proved that this matter was set in stone.

Unaware of all this, and still pleased with the conquest of Milhouse Castle, Countess Conosa excitedly ordered Damian, "Hurry, the enfeoffment ceremony is about to start!"

In front of many guests, Damian had no choice but to kneel on one knee as Conosa placed her sword on his shoulder.

"Wait, before the ceremony starts, may I say a few words?"