Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.-Chapter 239: Here, on my lap.

The very next morning, at the border of the Sualan Kingdom.

Baam!

Seraphina barged into the inn room, her face filled with worry as she stared at Maria, who was sitting on the opposite side of the bed, methodically cleaning her blade.

The moment Seraphina saw Maria seated on the bed, her eyes bubbled up with tears before she ran toward her.

"Maria~!!!"

She called out, her voice cracking with emotion.

Before Maria could turn around to check who was calling for her, she noticed Seraphina was already kneeling on the ground before her, her head lowered and facing the floor.

"S-Seraphina? What is it? I thought you said you wanted to go look for Lord Dorian at the project site."

"I did."

"...."

Seraphina suddenly raised her head. Snot was dripping from her nostrils while tears pooled at the corners of her eyes, her lips stiffened in a trembling pout.

"When I went there, the workers said they haven’t seen Darling at the site since they woke up. I think—I think Darling ran away."

"I don’t think we should jump to that conclusion just yet," Maria replied with a deadpan look on her face.

She looked at her blade for a moment, testing the edge.

"I’ll go look for him."

As though she had never been crying, Seraphina’s tears dried up instantly as she looked directly at Maria.

"Yeah, no. Darling specifically told me not to let you leave this room. Even some of the First Division soldiers are guarding the entire inn for you right now, and you just want to walk out like that?"

A confused look replaced the conviction Maria had moments ago.

"But you came to me..."

"Yeah, but not because I wanted you to go play seek and search while carrying Darling’s child. Geez. What is wrong with you?"

At this point, Seraphina was already standing on her two feet, her hands on her waist, all while the confusion grew even heavier on Maria’s face.

"Where could he have gone? I know Darling; if he was going somewhere, he would have told you at least. Don’t tell me something came up last minute..."

"I did notice he seemed stressed yesterday. Especially after our talk."

Seraphina paused.

"Talk?"

Maria looked at her.

"I told him about the witch visiting us at the mansion while he was away. I couldn’t stand the thought of keeping it from him any longer."

Upon hearing that, Seraphina froze up, every single ounce of life draining from her features. Maria’s voice soon became nothing but a fleeting background noise.

"He did seem upset at first, but that was only for a brief moment. So you don’t have to worry if you think he was angry or whatnot."

Seraphina stood there, not uttering a single word back. Instead, she just looked at her, frozen like a statue.

’I am so dead!!!’ she screamed in her mind.

For starters, regardless of what Maria said, there was no guarantee that Dorian wouldn’t be mad at Seraphina since she was practically the one who came up with the idea to not tell him in the first place.

It didn’t help that Maria was the one who then proceeded to do the confessing, which only made Seraphina now officially look like the main instigator.

Now, not only did Dorian go missing, but she also stood a huge chance of being scorned by him once he returned—if he returned.

"Don’t tell me you forgot too!" Maria’s voice snapped Seraphina out of her self-pitying stupor. "I told him that you suggested we shouldn’t tell him, remember? It’s not like I covered for you or anything."

Seraphina’s eyes widened, a fresh wave of panic washing over her.

She knew Maria was honest to a fault, but hearing the confirmation that she was indeed the one thrown under the bus was utterly devastating.

"You... you told him that detail?" Seraphina stammered, her voice barely a whisper.

"Of course," Maria replied, sheathing her newly cleaned blade with a decisive click. She looked genuinely confused by Seraphina’s reaction. "I cant keep a secret from Lord Dorian. I just realized that."

Seraphina opened her mouth to protest, but no sound came out. Maria had a point. This was Maria, the woman who spoke nothing but the truth, even when it was inconvenient or—in this case—potentially catastrophic for her co-conspirator.

"I—I need to find him now!" Seraphina declared, suddenly energized by the fear of Dorian’s future displeasure. All thought of her own role in his disappearance vanished, replaced by the desperate need to locate him and mitigate the damage.

"Wait, I told you I’m going," Maria insisted, rising from the bed.

"No, you’re not!" Seraphina yelled, blocking the doorway with her arms outstretched. "Darling told me you can’t leave! You are with child! What if you get into a fight? What if you hurt yourself?"

Maria raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Seraphina, I can take care of myself and Dorian’s child perfectly fine. Besides, if Lord Dorian is truly missing, do you honestly think your tears and worry are going to be more effective than my sword?"

Seraphina bit her lip. Maria had a point again. Her combat skills were practically non-existent compared to Maria’s formidable abilities.

"But... the soldiers!"

"They are guarding the inn, not me personally," Maria corrected, effortlessly sidestepping Seraphina’s weak blockade.

"I’ll be back before they even notice I’m gone. Now, stop worrying and stay here. If he ran off because of what I told him, he probably just needs some space to cool down. If something else happened, I’ll find it faster than you."

"Fine then. But this time I truly had no hand in it. If Darling asks me why you went off looking for him, best believe I am giving a well-detailed explanation of how you slapped and shoved me to the side."

Maria chuckled a bit.

"You can be quite the dramatic woman sometimes. Very well."

...

Meanwhile...

Hmmm~

Uhmmm~

Dorian was lying directly on the ground, his back pressed against the hard surface, while Ishtar mounted right on top of him.

She made sure she pinned him well to the ground, her plump chest pressing firmly against his chest while she gripped his cheeks with both her hands.

Her lips continuously pressed firmly on Dorian’s, saliva trailing from one end to the other any time she pulled away.

For a second there, it almost seemed like she was trying to suffocate him as she reached for his neck, playfully squeezing the life out of him.

Finally, after she was satisfied, she slowly pulled away, her eyes now searching the exhausted look on her husband’s face.

"Leaving out the fact that you forgot about me despite giving me a massive task to take care of on such short notice... You also forgot you came to Sualan with your beautiful wife, and she is still taking care of said task."

Dorian only looked at her, exhausted, with a single trail of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

Ishtar continued.

"Now what could be taking so much space in my husband’s head that he would forget about me and be this tired? You, who I have never seen sweat."

Dorian averted his gaze, contemplating whether to speak or not. After all, this was Ishtar.

Noticing this, Ishtar narrowed her gaze, upset.

She sighed.

"And now you are keeping secrets from me. How heartbreaking. Keep this up and you might just kill me," she said, her voice teasing if anything.

Finally, Dorian decided to speak, though it was obvious just how tired he was.

The fact he had to use his God Aura all while he was speaking to Yahoshi was a huge part of the reason he could barely stand on his two feet after making his way to the tent Ishtar was in at the project site.

"Fine, I’ll tell you." He blinked slowly.

Ishtar blinked back, waiting for him to begin.

And thus, he did.

Though he left a few details out, he explained to her how he found the witches and that he was supposed to go on a date once he was done with the project, and how it was supposed to be for the betterment of the entire world.

He also mentioned how a lot of the witches had surrounded the entire kingdom over the years without many knowing.

Dorian went on to explain how he wanted to avoid war at all costs against the witches, not until he understood their conditions and used every last resort he could think of.

However, he still intended to control them if that was in any way possible.

After hearing all he had to say, Ishtar, fully understanding her husband, decided to get off him for a while without uttering a single word.

Once she was seated on the ground right beside him, she stretched her legs after straightening her gown.

Then, she tapped her soft, squishy thighs, urging her husband to rest his head on them.

Dorian seemed hesitant at first.

"Come on, don’t be shy." Ishtar smiled, ever the bright sunshine.

Eventually, he gave in and rested his head on her lap.

...

[A/N]

Happy New Year, thank you all for following my book till this stage despite some of the mistakes and inconsistencies.

Please, have a blessed year ahead.