“Revan? Are you awake? Are you feeling any better?”
“…….”
“Your fever has gone down a lot. That’s a relief.”
The chirping of birds and a friendly voice woke Revan.
“…Hilane?”
Revan called out urgently, his eyes snapping open.
“Get a grip. What are you saying? I’m Aria.”
But standing before him wasn’t Hilane; it was Aria.
“They said you were malnourished. How many days did you go without eating or sleeping? Stop drinking on an empty stomach.”
Aria, who had helped Revan up, spoke with disapproval.
“Aria.”
“Yeah?”
“It was you.”
The person who was now checking his temperature and taking care of him was not Hilane.
Disappointed, Revan pressed his tired eyes shut.
“What’s wrong with you? I found you collapsed and saved you.”
“…….”
“You mistook me for Her Highness just now, and you didn’t come even when I gave birth to Jeremy.”
A few weeks ago, Aria had given birth to a healthy baby boy.
Since the day he divorced Hilane, Revan had shut himself in his study and never visited.
“Revan, you’re really too much. You could at least send a congratulatory letter.”
Aria, who was angry at Revan’s frown, shook her head.
“Never mind. You can see Jeremy later, I’ll let it go since you’re sick.”
“…….”
“By the way, did you agree to the paternity test?”
Even before the divorce, Aria had been urging him to take a paternity test.
“I asked my uncle in the Requier Empire to get Winter Rendell’s blood.”
“…….”
“You can bribe a priest to switch the samples.”
Winter Rendell, the eldest son of the Duke of Rendell, who Revan suspected was Chevelyn’s real father.
Due to his sudden death, the marriage talks with the royal family had fallen through, and Hilane had married Revan.
But Winter Rendell had actually faked his death and was alive.
He had become a doctor, wandering without settling anywhere.
‘I thought Chevelyn was Winter Rendell’s daughter because she had red hair….’
She wasn’t. It had all been his stupid misunderstanding.
“…There’s no need.”
Revan said indifferently, turning to his side.
“What do you mean, there’s no need? Are you serious?”
Aria’s voice sounded incredulous.
Revan felt like it was all Aria’s fault, but he didn’t have the strength to blame her.
Hilane was already gone.
Feeling utterly drained, he closed his eyes again.
After all, it was he who had doubted Hilane based on Aria’s words.
“Why? Did she refuse to agree to it? What a shameless woman.”
“…….”
“It’s a relief you divorced her. Do you know how frustrating it was to see you raising a cuckoo’s chick?”
A cuckoo’s chick, raised by another bird, kills the real offspring and takes their place.
It was born to do so, as if it was ingrained in its nature, just like how Revan, the illegitimate child, had taken the heir’s place.
‘And he asked me to raise you, saying that from now on, you would be my son, ‘Revan’.’
“Shut up!”
Revan’s eyes turned wild, feeling a sense of victimization from what the Dowager had said.
His life, lived in someone else’s place, seemed so incredibly cowardly.
“Revan…?”
Blood rushed to his head, and he grabbed the vase by the window, smashing it on the floor.
Crash—
With a loud noise, the vase shattered, and sharp shards scattered on the floor.
Aria was so startled she couldn’t move and just blinked.
The water that flowed from the vase slowly seeped into the tip of Aria’s shoes.
“Re-Revan.”
The cold sensation brought Aria back to her senses, her voice trembling.
This side of Revan was unfamiliar to her.
“W-What did you just do to me?”
Aria stammered in disbelief.
“How could you do this?”
“…….”
Aria secretly enjoyed the guilt Revan felt toward her.
When she had asked him to be her son’s father, he had refused but never treated her harshly.
Revan had even taken her to the Count of Luize, his maternal grandfather, asking the Dowager to take good care of her.
He had promised to get his parents’ permission for her to seek asylum.
“Did I say anything wrong? It’s a cuckoo’s chick! Is that woman so precious to you? Is that why you’re doing this to me?”
After divorcing Princess Hilane, she thought he would soon start a new family with her.
“You bastard! How could you… to me….”
Aria sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes.
She had been dealing with postpartum depression, and everything felt unbearably sorrowful.
“I’m living like this because of you!”
“…….”
“You couldn’t even take care of me properly… how could you do this to me?”
Annoyed, Aria pulled at her hair, throwing a hysterical fit.
When Revan, irritated by the noise, covered his ears, the old butler, who had been watching quietly, stepped in.
“Miss Aria. His Lordship seems very tired.”
“But how could he do this to me?”
Aria, who had been sobbing continuously, looked at Revan.
“…….”
His complete lack of interest in her made her even more sorrowful.
“Let me take you to change your shoes. Your feet are wet.”
The butler gently coaxed the hiccupping Aria out of the room.
“My lord. I will clear the room. Please rest.”
With the butler’s words, the door clicked shut.
Silence fell. Revan was too weak to move.
“…Hilane.”
All he could do was desperately call out Hilane’s name, hoping to see her illusion again.
***
Meanwhile, in the drawing room where Hilane and Countess Kin were, a heavy silence hung in the air.
“……”
Shocked by Revan’s secret, Hilane couldn’t say a word.
“Your Highness, are you alright…?”
“…I was just startled. Countess Kin, as I said earlier… please forget what happened today.”
“Yes, I will. Don’t worry, Your Highness.”
Seeing her hesitance, Countess Kin stood up.
“I’ll be going now. Rest well, Your Highness.”
“…Understood.”
With a worried look, Countess Kin bowed deeply and withdrew.
‘So the late marquess had a mistress with pink hair…’
Pondering over what she had just heard, Hilane struggled to walk out of the drawing room.
Then she went to her bedroom and gazed at the soundly sleeping Chevelyn.
‘My daughter, your hair color… you inherited it from your grandmother.’
The question of where Chevelyn’s pink hair came from was finally answered.
She should have felt relieved, but instead, she didn’t feel very good.
Gently stroking the cotton candy-like back of Chevelyn’s head, Hilane whispered softly.
“How lovely.”
She didn’t intend to resent the late Marquis Rata or his mistress.
The late Marquis Rata was already dead. She didn’t even know who the mistress was or if she was still alive.
Hating someone she couldn’t even identify was pointless and meaningless.
Furthermore, if it weren’t for them, she wouldn’t have met her child.
What worried her more was something else.
‘Does Revan know about this?’
However, Hilane was conflicted about whether she should tell Revan this fact.
She had no intention of reuniting with Revan.
She was too busy trying to heal the wounds he had inflicted on Chevelyn.
‘With the remarriage to Duke Belzette ahead, it’s not even possible…’
While she found Revan’s disbelief and denial of Chevelyn annoying, she also felt pity for him.
Hilane sighed, wondering if it was okay for Revan to remain unaware that he had a biological mother elsewhere.
She lamented how things had gone so wrong between her and Revan.
Suddenly, she wondered,
‘If he had known this beforehand, would we have avoided divorce?’
The time spent with him was comfortable and happy, and sometimes she missed it.
“…Mommy?”
“Darling, are you awake?”
“Yes. Cherry is awake.”
Stretching after waking up, Chevelyn spoke in her endearing way, full of sleepiness.
“Are you still sleepy? What should we do? If you sleep now, you won’t be able to sleep at night.”
“Hm… but Cherry is sleepy…”
Hilane lifted Chevelyn onto her lap, trying to keep her awake.
“Hm? What’s this?”
“!”
Chevelyn, who had clung to Hilane, picked up a proposal letter on the side table.
‘…Ah, I should have put that away.’
Seeing Chevelyn’s gesture, Hilane realized her mistake.
Chevelyn pointed at the emblem of the Belzette Duchy on the seal.
“Mommy, there’s a Belluga here. It’s white.”
“Yes, it is white.”
“And there’s a flower. It’s a blue rose!”
Since it seemed odd to take it away now, she let Chevelyn hold it.
“To Princess Hilane Peztain…”
“……?”
“I wish to walk the same path with you from now on?”
Startled, Hilane took a deep breath and asked.
“Chevelyn, you can read?”
“Yes.”
“When did you learn?”
She had thought Chevelyn just memorized shapes.
She only read her the picture books Chevelyn wanted.
She hadn’t planned on starting her education early, so she hadn’t exposed her to much reading material.
But seeing Chevelyn read like this, Hilane was amazed.
“I don’t know. Cherry just knows how to read.”
“Just?”
Hilane covered her mouth at Chevelyn’s casual response.
Continuing to read, Chevelyn suddenly frowned in confusion.
“Mommy, what does ‘a life together’ mean? Is it talking about boiled eggs?”
Still unfamiliar with complex words, Chevelyn asked an innocent question, making Hilane chuckle.
“Boiled eggs, ha.”
Chevelyn’s imaginative and unexpected remarks always took Hilane by surprise and amused her.
“Mommy, why are you laughing?”
“Haha.”
“Mommy, don’t tease Cherry! Cherry will get mad!”
Pouting, Chevelyn crossed her arms and turned her head away.
“Oh dear, Mommy is sorry. Mommy wasn’t teasing you, okay?”
“Hmph!”
Right on cue, Chevelyn’s stomach growled.
‘It’s 4 o’clock.’
How could she be so precise?
Despite having had a cup of milk before her nap, Chevelyn was hungry again.
“…Mommy, Cherry is hungry. I want to eat canapés.”
Chevelyn rubbed her belly as she spoke.
“Canapés?”
“Yes.”
“Lyn, should we go to the kitchen with Mommy and make some together? We can put cream cheese on them and decorate them with fruit.”
Canapés were simple to make.
The decoration was easy, and there was no complicated cooking involved, so it seemed safe for Chevelyn to help.
“Together with Mommy? Okay! Let’s go!”
“Change out of your pajamas first.”
“Okay!”
Excited, Chevelyn stood before the mirror, ready to dash to the kitchen.
“Shall Mommy tie your hair?”
“No! Cherry will do it!”
Chevelyn eagerly climbed onto a chair and started combing her hair.
‘Recently, she wants to do everything by herself… Oh my, what is that?’
Chevelyn ended up with a lopsided pigtail, one side high and the other low.
“What… is this…?”
Seeing her reflection, Chevelyn was at a loss for words.
“This… is strange…”
Pulling at the uneven pigtails, she pouted.
“Mommy will fix it for you. Come here.”
Hilane, trying to stifle her laughter, waved her over.
“Okay…”
This time, Chevelyn sat quietly in front of Hilane, waiting patiently as she fixed her hair.
“Ta-da. How do you like it?”
Hilane tied her hair into even pigtails, adding Chevelyn’s favorite sky-blue ribbons.
“Yes, Cherry likes it. Thank you, Mommy!”
Chevelyn turned around and planted a kiss on Hilane’s cheek.
“……!”
Surprised, Hilane kissed Chevelyn’s cheek in return.
“I love you, Chevelyn.”
No matter how many times she said it, it could never compare to the love Chevelyn gave her.
“Yes, Cherry too!”
Hilane felt grateful for Chevelyn’s abundant love.
She felt she had to be thankful for these small moments.
Everyday life with Chevelyn was pure happiness.
She hoped these days would continue forever.
Holding out her hand, Chevelyn took it immediately.
“Shall we go now?”
“Toot toot! Cherry the train! Off to the kitchen!”
Making train noises, Chevelyn led Hilane to the kitchen.
To Hilane, nothing was more precious than Chevelyn.
She felt she could never forgive Revan.
♡♡♡
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