11: How the Duke Protects His Wife
“What? How dare you—what right do you have?”
Cornelia protested in disbelief.
But Erich interrupted her and poured out his words first.
“As your husband.”
Cornelia became serious, as if she were speechless, and then raised her voice.
“What? Husband? Are you really saying that? I’ve been like a dead person for years…!”
“Yes, but you’re alive. Therefore, legally, I am your husband. Am I not?”
Unable to refute this, Cornelia’s face twisted in anger.
‘Surely she’ll hate me even more.’
Just thinking about it made his heart feel like it was being torn apart. However, he had a reason he could never back down from.
‘Because I have to protect you.’
Just an hour ago, assassins sent by Marquis Arzen had attempted to kidnap Demian. In that situation, he couldn’t leave Cornelia and the child behind.
‘And besides…’
Erich’s gaze shifted to Marquis Philippe, who was standing behind Cornelia.
‘The Emperor, I have no certainty that he is on your side.’
For now, he knew that the Emperor hadn’t killed Cornelia and had hidden her in this territory. However, this didn’t guarantee that the Emperor wouldn’t be a threat. After all, the Emperor was still pushing for Crown Prince Fritz to succeed the throne.
‘Although I pushed Marquis Arzen away to keep him in check, he might give him a carrot again. Currently, there’s no real power around the Crown Prince.’
(TL/N: The metaphor “carrot” refers to offering an incentive or reward.)
The Emperor had been trying to provide some support for Fritz all this time. However, Fritz was so inept that he couldn’t even make use of the opportunities his father provided.
<How dare you, a mere ugly thing, lecture me?>
Not only was he already unlikable, but he had also hit his fiance, the daughter of a respected scholar, causing Fritz’s reputation to hit rock bottom.
There was no way he would have any proper power.
‘Perhaps the Emperor will try to bring Marquis Arzen back by using this mine that Cornelia has developed as leverage.’
At that moment, Cornelia spoke again.
“How shameless. You never treated me as your wife, and now you claim to be my husband? Did you think I would just accept that?”
Erich knew he didn’t deserve to be by her side. But he couldn’t stand the thought of her being exposed to danger.
‘Yes, one experience of you dying is enough for me.’
The guilt of not being able to protect her had tormented him.
If only he had arrived a little earlier, or rather, if he hadn’t headed north, she might still be alive.
He replayed the possible scenarios in his mind, always finding a way to blame himself for her supposed death.
But right now, she was alive.
‘So, even if you hate it, I will stay by you and your child.’
Even now, it was evident. Cornelia looked at him with a gaze filled with hatred, as if he were a sworn enemy.
“Speak up. If you have a mouth, use it.”
But that was a burden he had to bear.
‘I know. You must have hated me during those five years.’
Part of him wanted to kneel before her and beg for forgiveness, promising to grant whatever she wished. But he knew that if he did, she would undoubtedly ask him to leave. And that was something he couldn’t comply with.
‘Because I never want to experience losing you again.’
Erich hid his sorrowful gaze and looked at Cornelia with affectionate eyes.
‘Once the dangers are gone and it’s safe, then I’ll truly let you go. So, even if you hate me, please endure me for a little longer.’
Erich briefly smiled bitterly at Cornelia before composing himself. It was a cold expression he usually wore around her.
“Even if you refuse, it doesn’t matter. As your husband, you and the child are my responsibility.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Cornelia’s anger boiled over at Erich’s words.
‘That bastard dares…!’
Before her regression, Erich had waited for the right moment to divorce her, despite having several opportunities.
He waited for a reason that would allow him to remove her without damaging his reputation.
‘He must have planned to wait until that time comes.’
She barely contained her anger as she glared at Erich.
‘If he’s going to invoke his duties as a husband, then I have my own plans.’
Looking at him with cold eyes, she finally spoke.
“As the lord of this land, I will have you banished from here.”
But before she could finish, Demian, who was in her arms, intervened with his small hands.
“I’ll scold Daddy so he won’t say bad things! So please hold on!”
The little one was so persistent that Cornelia had to take drastic measures.
“Take Demian inside the mansion right now.”
At my words, Janet, who was beside me, stepped forward to take the child. But I firmly refused.
“No, Janet. You stay here.”
Erich claimed he didn’t know that she was alive, but he had come to her estate. Cornelia suspected Janet might have been the one to bring him here. In this situation, she trusted only one person.
“Sardin, take Demian and go inside the mansion.”
The child looked at me with resentful eyes and squirmed.
“Mom! No! Let go of me!”
“Hurry and take him away.”
At my command, Sardin bowed his head and headed towards the mansion with Demian.
At that moment, Erich’s face contorted, and his body shot toward Demian like a beam of light.
Cornelia feared he might use her child as a hostage for a moment, and she reached out to stop him.
“Erich, what are you doing…?”
Bang!
At that moment, the sound of a gunshot echoed, and Janet hugged me tightly. Sardin flinched and quickly hid Demian in his arms. Erich stood behind Sardin with his fist extended.
‘What was that gunshot just now?’
Shocked, Cornelia looked around to assess the situation. Erich opened his fist, and something fell to the ground.
Clang!
‘Is that… a bullet casing?’
Despite its flattened state, it was clearly a bullet casing.
‘Are they targeting my child?’
Only then did I grasp the situation and feel my legs weaken, causing me to stumble.
“Madam, are you alright?”
Janet caught me and asked, but I shook off her hand and quickly rushed to Demian, pulling him into my arms.
‘What on earth is the purpose of targeting my child…?’
I shuddered for a moment, then suddenly remembered the assassins who attacked our carriage earlier.
<Their mission wasn’t to assassinate, but to threaten Countess Herde.>
‘But why? If it’s for intimidation, shouldn’t they be kidnapping instead of killing?’
As I was trying to sort out my confused thoughts, I saw Erich, his face hardened, staring at something.
Erich directed his gaze precisely at the tallest building among the many surrounding our mansion. After a moment, Erich furrowed his brow and said,
“They’ve escaped, towards a more populated area.”
I frowned and scolded him.
“Why did you just stand there? You could have caught them with your skills.”
“And if, while I was away, someone else targeted you and the child?”
‘Is there someone else targeting Demian?’
Feeling a chill at the nape of my neck, I bit my lip, and Erich sighed before continuing.
“I forgot to mention there were those disguised as soldiers trying to kidnap the child earlier. Their bodies are in the alley.”
Kidnapping? The unexpected news made my heart race, and I struggled to calm it.
‘Right, there’s no need to be surprised. I anticipated this.’
Moreover, I didn’t want to show any more weakness in front of this man. So, I pretended to be unfazed and spoke.
“Do you have any idea who’s behind this…?”
“It’s your uncle, Marquis Arzen. It seems he wants to covet the jade mine you possess.”
Hearing who was behind the kidnapping plan and their motive, I clenched my fists in anger.
‘After I showed mercy and ended it with exile… how dare he target my child?’
As I was gritting my teeth, Erich spoke again.
“However, the Marquis intended to kidnap the child, not to kill him.”
For a moment, I wore a blank expression, but then I grasped the meaning of his words.
‘Yes, Erich is right.’
The assailants who attacked the carriage and the ones behind this assassination had clearly different objectives. And that meant only one thing.
“So, you’re saying there’s another group targeting Demian?”
“Yes. And notably, this group has ‘that’.”
Finally, Erich’s gaze turned toward Marquis Philippe. Erich directed his gaze more precisely at the pistol hanging from his waist.
“That’s a gun currently only permitted for the Royal Guard protecting His Majesty the Emperor.”
‘No, I’ve misjudged.’
I knew this because I had originally distributed those guns to the Royal Guard. Worried about the possibility of the firearms being leaked or switched, I had been keeping track of the quantity and even verifying their performance.
‘But there were no guns leaked. So, the replicas have different performances and slightly different mechanisms. However… one thing was spot on.’
The replicas had a longer range than those made by Parakel, but their penetrating power seemed weaker.
And the place where the assailant targeted Demian was beyond the capability of Parakel’s pistol.
This meant that the gun he was holding was definitely a replica, and the person who instructed the creation of the replica modeled after Parakel’s pistol must be the mastermind behind this incident. I was certain that he was the leader of the rebels.
