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Translated by: Sienna
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I gave him a blank look at his unexpected words.
‘Take it?’
Looking at his gloved hand, I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.
‘Wearing gloves even to avoid touching me?’
Ignoring his hand, I got off the carriage and surveyed the surroundings.
I could see the onlookers watching me and Erich.
‘They won’t listen to me anyway.’
I turned to Sardin, who was sitting in the coachman’s seat with the coachman.
“Sardin, right now…”
Just as I was about to ask him to load my luggage, he spoke up.
“Take all the Duchess’s luggage to her room.”
Upon his instructions, the onlookers swiftly began to move.
‘Some of them treated me as if I were invisible, but they followed the Marquis’s orders so obediently? Truly despicable…’
At that moment, he put his hand on my shoulder. I reflexively slapped it away.
“Why don’t you go up to your room first? I have something important to discuss.”
Thinking that the time had finally come, I clenched my fist tightly.
‘Yes, just a little longer, and it will be the divorce.’
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Erich clenched his fist as he entered his office.
Originally, Erich had no intention of prying into Cornelia’s activities, as he trusted Janet, whom he had assigned for surveillance, to report back to him.
However, upon seeing Cornelia, he impulsively acted and spoke, as if his mind had overheated.
‘Questioning her like this, why did I make such a mistake…’
As he reproached himself, someone entered through the window. It was Janet, the shadow guard of Cornelia.
“Your Grace, I have come to report.”
Upon hearing the awaited report from his subordinate, Erich wiped emotions from his face and said,
“Report.”
“Firstly, at the jewelry boutique, she purchased about 20,000 gold worth of jade and then proceeded to the dressing room, where she ordered a maternity dress.”
Cornelia’s tendency to indulge in luxury was nothing unusual, but Erich sensed something odd.
‘She bought that much jade?’
Cornelia typically favored large, sparkling gems and never bothered with anything less than top-grade. Especially, she liked gems with a prominent shine, whereas jade is opaque and lacks a distinctive luster.
‘She would never consider anything cheap…’
Erich tapped his desk with his finger as he tried to understand Cornelia’s actions.
“And after concluding the shopping…”
However, Janet’s following words brought Erich’s fingers to a halt.
“She watched a performance on the street.”
The term “street performance” somehow felt unsettling to him.
At that moment, he remembered something he’d heard in the Information Guild.
<such as traveling bards, musicians, and the like…….>
“What kind of performance was that?”
“A blonde bard sang ‘Afternoon Nap’. The Duchess stood and watched, tears welling up in her eyes, and then she went home.”
Erich’s carefully crafted mask of cold composure crumbled.
‘She shed tears over a lowly bard…….’
Confused by various delusions, his mind was in turmoil. Erich felt his anger boiling inside him.
Thud!
Erich jerked up from his chair.
“Your Grace?”
He could hear Janet’s voice calling out to him, but he ignored it and left the office.
‘Perhaps I should check with the person herself.’
Erich, feeling a strange sense of urgency, quickly made his way to Cornelia’s room.
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I was waiting for the word divorce to come out of his mouth.
But what came out of his mouth was unexpected.
“I didn’t know you liked jade.”
His eyes were fixed on the sack of jade placed on the tea table.
I stammered as I put the jade away.
“It’s just, I thought the color green looked pretty lately.”
“Then you could have bought emeralds or peridots. Are you short on money?”
“No, I’ve just been into jade lately. It’s a gem that doesn’t catch everyone’s eye, but the more I look at it, the more I find it beautiful.”
“I see.”
Seeing him lost in thought after probing, I felt like he was trying to figure out my intentions.
“By the way, what’s going on?”
I asked, hastily changing the subject.
“I know what you’re hiding.”
‘He knows? Is he talking about my emergency fund?’
I asked, trying to put on a front, even though I was honestly flustered.
“What?”
“Demian.”
I had thought I could maintain my composure no matter what he said. However, the moment I heard that name, I lost control.
Trembling hands, clenched teeth, racing heart—something inside me felt like it was about to burst.
I felt like if I let my guard down, my sanity would snap in an instant.
Demian, my child, the one he’d given up.
“How do you know that name?”
Unknowingly muttering, he stared at me with a fierce gaze.
“Do you really think you can keep hiding it from me?”
His face exuded such conviction that it seemed like he truly knew everything.
In disbelief, I asked him again.
“Really, you know who Demian is?”
“Yes.”
His answer was accompanied by a gaze that lingered directly on my abdomen.
Unconsciously, my expression hardened.
‘Does he really know about Demian?’
Yes, maybe I wasn’t the only one who had returned to the past.
If the Bible says God is fair to all, then it wouldn’t be strange to give Erich a chance.
‘But if you have returned, how dare you speak his name?’
Anger surged within me.
I wanted to shout and grab the man in front of me by the throat immediately, but I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth.
‘If I do that, I’ll end up dead at your hands again. Both me and my child.’
My purpose in this life is to protect him.
Wasn’t that why I hadn’t laid down my vengeance for him?
I lowered my head, trying to calm the rage within me.
Then, Erich grabbed my head and lifted it, locking eyes with me.
“Why are you calling out a name so desperately? Was the wandering bard your lover after all?”
My eyes widened in surprise at his words.
In the next moment, my expression twisted in disbelief.
‘How on earth did that man stumble upon such nonsense?’
It wasn’t a bad sign, though; I wouldn’t have to force Sardin into a difficult role, and if he misunderstood, it would make it easier to divorce him.
‘Besides, he’s mistaken me for a traveling bard, so he won’t suspect me of having an affair if he doesn’t have to see me..’
That’s when Erich grabbed my shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
Reflexively pushing his hand away, he spoke.
“Tell me it was a mistake. Cornelia Odile Blant.”
“What?”
“If you admit the mistake you made, I’ll let it go once. I’ll ensure the child grows up as my own, though he will not be my heir.”
If it were me from before the regression, I might have been moved by him, even covering up my wrongdoing.
However, soon realizing the reason behind it, I sneered.
‘Yes, the esteemed Duke Blant cannot tolerate any flaws in his married life.’
Once the truth about my affair is revealed, people will initially curse me.
However, over time, there will undoubtedly be murmurs about Erich.
Criticisms like mistreating his wife or being inadequate as a husband.
‘What a man, to put up with my infidelity because he didn’t want to bear the slightest stigma.’
I smirked, then opened my mouth.
“Yeah, you’re right, it was a mistake.”
I could see Erich’s expression soften.
“You’ve made the right choice. So let’s forget about divorce…”
“I should have walked away from you the moment I met Demian.”
At my words, Erich glared at me, narrowing his eyes. I lifted the corner of my mouth and continued.
“But I should be grateful; thanks to you, I was able to meet him.”
Funnily enough, I meant it.
Demian only existed because of our one-night stand.
However, whether he thought I was mocking him or blaming him, Erich grimaced fiercely.
“Enough.”
He warned, but I didn’t stop, continuing to speak.
“Yes, I only had a short time with him. Even so, during that time, I learned what real love is.”
<Mom, I love you.>
Yes, having that child allowed even someone as selfish as me to understand.
Love isn’t just about giving; it’s also about receiving.
“Meeting him was never a mistake. Unlike you, he’s the sun that brightened my dark life, and the person I love the most in the world.”
He gave me a chance, but I dared to refuse it.
His expression remained stoic, but there was tension in his jaw.
“I’ve told you to stop, but you won’t listen.”
“Unfortunately, I have no intention of allowing such a precious person’s child to grow up under your spiteful roof. So, let’s divorce amicably.”
Even in the face of my sarcasm, he didn’t flinch, and he accepted it.
“It seems you’re not in your right mind now and can’t make proper judgments. I’ll give you some time to think.”
“I don’t need…”
Before I could finish my sentence, he was out of the room.
I watched his back and smiled wryly.
‘Daring to ignore my kindness?’
I said I’d give him alimony and take the blame for the divorce.
But that bastard is trying to push me into this hell again, saying that he would bear with me as if he were being generous.
‘That’s not going to happen.’
If it was just me who would be ruined, I would have stayed in this mansion and sought bloody revenge on Erich, even if it meant burning in hellfire.
I have someone to protect.
I must protect my sun this time.
With determination, I turned to Sardin and said, “Sardin, we’ll need to visit the palace soon.”
“Yes?”
At Sardin’s bewildered expression, I raised the corner of my mouth.
“It seems like I’ll have to use my family connections this time.”
