‘What on earth is he here for?’
Once he entered the room, he was just looking at me without saying a word.
With a stern expression, no less.
‘Does he have something important to say?’
I waited for him to speak as we faced each other, but silence lingered.
Furrowing my brows, I finally spoke.
“Why are you staring at me?”
He then opened his mouth to respond.
“Oh, the dress…”
After briefly mentioning the dress, he fell silent again.
I could feel my mood souring.
‘What, is he pointing out that the dress doesn’t suit me?’
“This dress was put on me by your maids. I didn’t put it on myself.”
That was a warning.
I knew that this outfit didn’t suit me, so I was telling him not to bring it up again.
‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’
His blue eyes were fixed on me, and he remained silent, lost in thought.
As I looked into his eyes, I recalled the things I had heard in the past.
First, when I tried on a white dress for the first time.
<Isn’t it ridiculous to wear such a stark white dress with that jet-black hair?>
<Exactly. The hair stands out too much.>
And at that moment, the Empress had said to the nanny, clearly embarrassed by me.
<From now on, don’t let her wear white dresses.>
It was even more of a spectacle when I wore the wedding dress.
<So the royal family’s nasty raven is finally getting married? Wearing white after always donning bright colors just makes her look more pathetic.>
<Oh dear, it’s such a shame for the Duke of Blant.>
And my mother, the Empress, turned away from me in embarrassment, while my mother-in-law, the Grand Madam, frowned and openly expressed her dislike.
And he, the groom, was looking at me with the same rigid expression.
Just like he was now.
I bit my lip and clenched my fist tightly.
“I know. I know that white doesn’t suit me.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
He asked back, but I ignored him and continued.
“Stop being hypocritical and just say it honestly. I look embarrassing right now, don’t I?”
He stiffened his face and replied.
“I have never thought that. Rather…”
“Liar, you had a stiff face on our wedding day. Just like you do now.”
“I didn’t realize I had a stiff face. I apologize if I upset you.”
His straightforward apology caught me off guard.
“Then why were you staring at me?”
He bit his lip slightly before finally looking at me and speaking.
“It’s because you, in that white dress… is too beautiful.”
I had planned to confront him no matter what he said, but his unexpected response left me frozen.
‘He thinks I’m beautiful…?’
Honestly, I felt flustered.
It was the first compliment I had ever heard from him.
For a moment, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
‘Empty words.’
The time I had tried my hardest to look good was in my early twenties.
Yes, right during the early days of our marriage.
Could I really believe that a man who didn’t even glance at me back then suddenly found me pretty? I would have nothing to say if they called me a fool.
‘Who would ever say that this black hair is beautiful?’
As I smiled in despair, I glared at Erich.
‘The man who always treated me haughtily is probably saying such insincere things because he doesn’t want a divorce.’
I don’t know exactly why that man doesn’t want to divorce me.
But thinking about what kind of person he was brought the answer to light.
‘Yes, you want to restore your honor.’
His popularity was so great that people hated me for leaving him, even faking my death and leaving a significant blemish on the hero of the border.
However, public evaluation is a balance of light and darkness.
There will definitely be some who say that he is an idiot who failed to discipline his family and caused his wife to run away.
In such a situation, if I divorced him, it would leave a stain on him.
But if he continued to protect me like this and eventually displayed a reconciliatory attitude?
People would remember him as a generous man who took back his foolish wife, who had run away.
‘As if they would forget what I went through in this damn duchy.’
I was sure that when I arrived at the duke’s residence, I would be able to maintain my composure.
However, the regrets I thought I had buried were merely hidden.
The resentment I had built up all this time still existed in my heart.
‘So I will never forget. What you did to me.’
Of course, Erich had watched over me for several days and had been kind to my child.
But no matter how much he offered me a strange room, the essence of this place was still the Duke of Blant’s residence, which had been hell for me.
Similarly, even if he treated me well, Erich was ultimately the husband who had ignored and turned away from me.
‘But I’m not going to show you my anger.’
Right now, I have many enemies to be wary of. The problem was that I wasn’t alone; I was with my child.
‘And I’m currently in a situation where I’ve turned Fritz into an enemy. Making Erich an enemy would only worsen things for me.’
Just as I hadn’t refused Landon’s goodwill or the maids’ help in staying here, there was no need to fight with Erich when he was protecting us.
However, I didn’t want to give even a formal reply of thanks to his soulless compliments, so I decided to change the subject.
“Erich, I’m about to have dinner soon…”
I wished he would just leave.
That was originally what I intended to say.
“Daddy!”
As if it were a cruel twist of fate, Demian, holding Janet’s hand, walked into the room at that moment.
“Mom, Dad is having dinner with us too, right?”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell my child that we would eat separately.
“Y-yes!”
With that, my baby hugged me with genuine happiness shining on his face.
“I’m so happy!”
As I gently stroked my child’s soft, fluffy hair, I glared at Erich, who was watching us with a strange expression.
‘But that doesn’t mean I want to have a cozy dinner with him and our child.’
Eventually, I turned to the maids.
“Tell the butler. We’ll be eating together in the dining room.”
“Yes, understood. Then, should I include your lordship’s portion as well…?”
“Add two more servings to that.”
I smiled at Janet.
“I always have meals with my loyal vassals. Right, Janet?”
“W-What? When…?”
Janet, caught off guard, began to answer absentmindedly but quickly corrected herself when she saw my gaze.
“Always.”
With that response, I smiled and turned to the maid.
“So, please call my knight, Sardin, to the dining room.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
When I arrived in the dining room, Sardin was already there.
“Madam.”
He bowed his head toward me, and I regarded him with slight suspicion.
‘Something feels off. It seems like he’s been avoiding me all day…’
That thought was fleeting as we began to eat.
“Mom, can’t I skip the beans and carrots?”
At Demian’s words, I put on a stern expression as if to say it was out of the question.
“You need to eat a balanced diet to grow strong.”
Demian pouted his lips and mumbled, “But I grew even without eating them.”
Strangely, my child used to listen well before my regression, but after the regression, he started to be a picky eater.
“That can’t be true!”
“No, he grew without eating carrots!”
“Who are you talking about? Look, even Sardin…”
As I turned to Sardin, I frowned.
On his plate, there were carrots pushed to one side.
‘Oh, right. That guy… didn’t really like carrots.’
Just as I sighed softly, my child spoke up.
“Mom is right. Starting today, I want to eat beans and carrots!”
“Really?”
I was surprised by the sudden change in my child, and he cheerfully added, “Dad eats beans and carrots well! So I’ll be like that too!”
I glanced at Erich absentmindedly and let out a small laugh.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never seen that guy being picky about food.’
Still, I felt relieved that he could be a good example for my child at times like this.
‘Although he did seem slightly averse when eating seafood, that’s not my concern.’
I forced a smile and told my child that he made a good decision.
Then I sighed.
‘By the way, he still calls him “Dad.” I didn’t even tell him that…’
Unlike the fool who couldn’t recognize his own child, my kid continued to call Erich “Dad” as if he knew who he was.
However, I couldn’t fully affirm or deny my child’s behavior at the moment.
‘He doesn’t even know I’m a princess; it would surely confuse him to find out I ran away.’
Moreover, Erich didn’t know that my child was his biological son.
But what if my identity were revealed in this situation?
Even if he doesn’t fully understand now, my child might think he was born out of wedlock.
‘Even if I eventually reveal my identity, it should be in a way that doesn’t hurt him.’
For that to happen, there were two potential solutions.
Either I could negotiate with Erich to play the role of a father in exchange for something, or I could reveal to him that he was my child’s biological father.
‘Yes, a deal would be best.’
Right now, he was clinging to me because he had lost so much, but if he could gain a significant profit, he would surely accept both my divorce and my conditions.
Having finished my thoughts, I wiped my mouth with the napkin and spoke to Erich.
“After the meal, I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
After hearing her request to talk, Erich felt an unexpected sense of excitement.
It was the first time she had sought him out since he found her.
This was the first time she had approached him like this.
‘What could she possibly want to talk about?’
He had decided not to get his hopes up, but anticipation continued to rise in his mind.
Perhaps they could become a family again.
However that hope was soon shattered in an instant.
“Let’s make a deal. I’ll help you get a flawless divorce.”