Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.-Chapter 227: Telling a secert.

"Hahaha!"

Seraphina’s laughter echoed down the quiet hallway of the inn, sharp and uninhibited.

Her arm was draped heavily over Dorian’s shoulder, her footing unsteady as she leaned her entire weight against him.

From the way she wobbled with every step, nearly tripping over the hem of her own dress, it wouldn’t take a genius to guess she was completely drunk. The elegant warrior had been replaced by a giggling mess.

Dorian, ever the patient husband, wrapped a strong arm around her waist to keep her upright.

He practically carried her the rest of the way, guiding her stumbling feet toward the room they had rented earlier that evening.

Maria walked silently behind them. For the most part, she had avoided the alcohol.

Her reasons were twofold: she wanted to cherish every word of her conversation with Dorian, and more importantly, she had been strictly advised that strong drink would be harmful to the child growing within her.

Finally reaching the heavy oak door, Dorian pushed it open and maneuvered Seraphina inside. He walked her over to the large bed and gently lowered her onto the mattress.

She curled up almost immediately, burying her face in the pillows. Her incoherent mumbling softened into a rhythmic breathing as sleep claimed her within seconds.

Dorian stood over her for a moment, watching her chest rise and fall. A long sigh escaped his lips.

’And now she sleeps like a baby, after stressing me out the entire walk here.’

He shook his head, a faint, amused smile playing on his lips. He adjusted the blanket over her shoulders, ensuring she was warm, before turning his attention to the other side of the room.

Maria was standing by the window. The curtains were drawn back, allowing the pale, ethereal light of the blue moon to wash over her silhouette. She seemed lost in thought, staring up at the celestial body as if searching for answers in its craters.

Dorian watched her for a while, sensing a shift in her aura. The joy from the restaurant had evaporated, replaced by a heavy, brooding silence.

"Is something on your mind?" he asked, his voice low so as not to wake Seraphina. "Don’t tell me your stomach is hurting?"

Maria flinched. She spun around immediately, her hands shooting out in front of her in a defensive gesture.

"No! I’m fine," she said, perhaps a little too quickly.

Dorian narrowed his gaze. He didn’t move from his spot, but his presence seemed to fill the room.

"So, what’s the matter then? Ever since we left the restaurant, you’ve been rather silent. It’s not like you."

He pointed it out casually, but his eyes were sharp, dissecting her expression.

In truth, Maria didn’t think her change in mood had been that obvious. She had tried to mask it with smiles and nods, but she should have known better.

Hiding anything from her husband was a futile endeavor. Dorian had an uncanny ability to tell when someone was lying, or simply withholding the truth.

She looked at him, seeing the genuine concern beneath his intense stare. There was no use running from it.

"I have a confession," she started, her voice barely a whisper.

The word confession threw Dorian off guard for a second. An unfamiliar spike of anxiety pricked at his chest. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the gravity in her tone unsettled him.

Maria began scratching the back of her hand nervously—a telltale sign of her distress. She refused to meet his eyes, averting her gaze to the floorboards.

"Seraphina bid me to keep it a secret from you," she continued, her voice trembling slightly. "But I can’t hold it in any longer."

’What? Seraphina is keeping secrets from me?’

Dorian glanced at Seraphina’s sleeping form for a brief moment. A frown touched his lips before he turned his full attention back to Maria.

Now, he was fully invested.

He needed to know what could possibly be so serious that his wives—the two people with whom he shared the strongest bonds—would conspire to hide it from him.

Maria took a deep breath, the sound loud in the quiet room.

"A while back, when you had made your way to the King’s castle... it was just Seraphina and I who were present in the room at the time. We sensed an intruder. Someone we assumed was a common criminal or an assassin sent by your enemies."

She paused, swallowing hard.

"It was only after we saw the person fully that we understood the gravity of the situation. It was her. The Witch of Evernight."

Dorian’s eyes widened.

It was a slight reaction, barely a flicker, but internally, his mind raced. Yahoshi had been to his home? While he was away?

But rather than the shock of the visit itself, what stunned him more was the casual way Maria had dropped the name of such a calamitous figure.

And she wasn’t finished.

"We never really spoke. There was no battle," Maria said, her hand instinctively moving to rest protectively over her stomach. "But she... she approached me. She touched my child."

The air in the room grew heavy.

"She said: ’This child is not your ally. And you will only realize it when it is too late.’"

Dorian clenched his fist.

The leather of his gloves creaked under the pressure.

A sudden, palpable wave of killing intent flooded the room, dropping the temperature by several degrees.

The entire time, Maria had been looking straight at the ground, unable to bear the weight of her guilt.

But the moment she decided to raise her head and look at him, her entire body froze up with primal fear.

Her pupils shrank to pinpricks. Her skin turned a pale, sickly white.

Just from looking at Dorian, she could tell he was pissed. No, pissed was too light a word. He was enraged. A dark, seething fury rolled off him in waves.

It didn’t help that he hadn’t said a single word. He just stood there, staring at her from a distance, his face a mask of terrifying neutrality.

As a Lord Rank Knight, Maria had faced monsters and armies without flinching. But if there was one thing she was truly terrified of, it was seeing her husband angry at her. It was a fear she had carried even before they got married—the fear of disappointing the man she admired above all else.

Maria squeezed her eyes shut, lowering her head in submission. She braced herself for his shouting, for his disappointment, perhaps even for him to storm out of the room.

However, what happened next was not something she expected at all.

She heard the soft thud of footsteps approaching her. Then, in a single, fluid motion, she felt strong arms wrap around her.

Dorian pulled her into a hug, pressing her head against his chest.

Maria’s eyes snapped open in shock. Her cheeks immediately turned beet red as she felt Dorian’s warmth enveloping her.

The killing intent that had suffocated the room vanished instantly, replaced by a protective, grounding aura.

She had expected him to be mad at her. Yet, here he was, holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

Then came his voice, low and rumbling against her ear.

"Did she hurt you?"

That being his first question shattered her defenses. It warmed her heart in a way nothing else could. He wasn’t angry about the secret; he was terrified for her safety.

Her face contorted, her lips quivering as she fought back tears. She buried her face in his shirt and shook her head against his chest.

"I... I didn’t tell you because Seraphina and I didn’t want to worry you about the Witches," she stammered, the words tumbling out.

"You were so busy with the construction and the King. You seemed so unbothered by them that we... we didn’t want to add to your burden. I am so sorry, my Lord. I didn’t mean to keep this from you."

Throughout the entire moment, Dorian kept his eyes fixed on the window behind Maria, his gaze cold and calculating.

Her reasoning wasn’t wrong. He had been busy. But the thought of Yahoshi touching his unborn child... touching has family... it ignited a fire in his gut that wouldn’t easily be extinguished.

"It’s fine, Maria. You did what you thought was right," Dorian said, stroking her hair. "She touched your stomach, correct?"

"Yes." Maria nodded against him.

"Did you feel weird after? Any pain, any coldness?"

"N-no. Nothing like that."

Dorian pulled back slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes. His expression was serious, stripped of all playfulness.

"Okay. I need you to do something for me, alright? I’m going to put you to sleep for a little while. Just so I can run a quick scan on your body and make sure you and the baby are doing alright. I need to check for any residual mana signatures. Is that okay?"

Maria paused, looking into his deep eyes. She trusted him with her life.

"Alright. Whatever you say, my Lord."

"Okay then."

Dorian slowly pulled away from the hug completely.

He raised his hand, his movements gentle and precise, and placed a single finger in the center of her forehead.

"It will be quick. Just close your eyes."

He channeled his energy. A small, concentrated jolt of his God Mana flowed from his fingertip into her mind.

Maria didn’t even have time to blink.

Her eyelids grew heavy instantly, and she slumped forward, falling into a deep, magical slumber right into his waiting arms.