IHMEB - Chapter 19 < Everything Was Perfect >

IHMEB - Chapter 19 < Everything Was Perfect >

Having An Enemy's Baby

“Claudel!”

Kaian got down on his knees and tried to lift Claudel up.

That moment.

When he saw Claudel lying down, he had a strange feeling that everything had fit perfectly.

Red hair spread out clearly over the white Margaret flower field surrounding the yellow clusters.

The golden eyes, which were shiny and bright like a pumpkin on a pure white and pale face, lost focus and became blurry.

A thin and thin body.

She helplessly let go of the handful of flowers he had given her, and the white flowers that escaped her hands fell apart, leaving traces of blood as red as her hair.

Click, it was as if the last piece of the puzzle had been put together.

Even after spending the night consumed by the heat, she was coughing slightly and shivering.

No matter how much he advised her, she couldn't properly fill her stomach and was withering away like a person suffering from starvation alone in a castle where food was rotting.

Even though she was talking quietly, at one point she stopped talking and looked distant as if everything was fleeting.

Like gears turning, the teeth clicked into perfect alignment at the moment Claudel fell.

He hugged the dying woman as beautifully as a painting depicting a scene from a tragedy.

Then Kaian felt as if he was trampling on some art with his feet of clay, ruining it and desecrating it.

Although he couldn't figure out why she collapsed.

He could see why she was the way she was.

"Butler! Butler!"

Kaian shouted harshly and ran toward the castle, holding Claudel in his arms.

***

The Valmonde estate, ruled by the Duke of Vermont, was located in the northernmost part of the continent.

The fact that Valmonde Castle was built in the coldest place not only in the Kingdom of Oberon but also in the entire continent had symbolic meaning.

Nowadays, it is cold which makes the people who live here tired, but for those who stay in this land, they were born and raised here for a long time, so it is also a part of life.

The deeper they dug beneath the frozen ground, the warmer it became to the point where they had to take off their clothes due to the geothermal heat.

All the things mined in the hot, deep tunnels were rare and expensive ores.

A distant ancestor with enormous wealth built the Castle of Valmonde in a place where no one could easily access it and where it would be difficult to survive.

He believed that it showed off Vermont’s power.

On the other hand, it monopolized the sea route across the North Sea and dominated trade between the continents of Ita and Sol, where the Kingdom of Oberon was located. Vermont did not become a diplomatic station for nothing.

The castle, which was frozen for half the year, was still showing its majesty on the green tundra land, even though it was mid-summer.

The moss, which looked short and soft, like the wet hair of a child lying down while nursing its mother's milk, boasted the green of the north under the setting sun.

When the head of the Vermont family returned from a long journey of about a month, the knights in the castle immediately lined up to greet him.

“Just go and do your work.”

"Yes, Your Excellency. I’m glad you came back safely.”

When the Duke of Vermont dismounted from his horse and entered the castle, a servant quickly rushed out and placed a thick cloak lined with reindeer fur on his shoulders.

Even in the middle of summer, it was a bit cold inside Valmonde Castle.

At the news of her husband's return home, the Duchess of Vermont walked out into the hall.

“You came back.”

"Hmm."

The Duke of Vermont spoke to his adjutant who had gone on a long journey together.

“There are thirty carriages. On your way, check to see if there is any damage and send the knights to distribute the food today.”

"Yes. I will follow your orders.”

They had suffered for a long time due to food shortages due to the long drought and the battle with Temnes, so everyone looked up to the head of the family who brought so much grain and eventually solved the territory's problems.

“How is Claudel doing?”

At his wife's question, the Duke of Vermont frowned.

“She's progressing step by step.”

"Ha."

The Duchess lowered her voice and looked pained.

“I feel like I did something bad to her.”

"Shh. You're saying all sorts of things. If Claudel hadn’t made the decision, our people would have starved to death next year.”

"Still... I would have hoped that Valmonde would be the place to be buried when she died.”

In the catacombs of Castle de Valmonde, Evan's coffin and the empty coffin of Claudel's mother, whose body was not found in the fire, were buried.

“I wish she could have gotten some medicine.”

“It’s been 300 years since no one died from Herzol.”

It was not that there was no way to cure Herzol.

However, the difficult medicine for a disease that no longer exists has long since disappeared into history.

“It was something that could not be helped.”

The Duke of Vermont had a companionate relationship with his wife, so they would discuss important matters together, whether it was managing the estate or anything else.

The Duchess also knew about Claudel's outbreak but did not tell her that the Duke of Vermont was planning to attack Temnes with the partial support of King Valquiterre.

This is because the Duke, who raised and pitied Claudel for losing her parents, would have been disappointed and offended if he found out that she had gone to such lengths to help her.

There was a rumor going around that the Duchess of Vermont received a huge amount of jewels when she added Claudel to the family register, but it was not true.

The Duchess of Vermont placed Claudel on the register as her own adoptive daughter without any conditions.

“If only you hadn’t tied Evan’s feet.”

“Yes. Can you stop talking about that? I’m tired too.”

After arranging Claudel's marriage like roasting beans in the heat of lightning, the Duke of Vermont was dying to hear again what he had heard all month every night when he went into the couple's bedroom.

If it were he who vomited blood and died, she would feel better!

The Duchess, who had been placing a lump of luggage on her husband's chest in such a rude tone, changed the subject.

“What about Rowan Castle?”

“The luxury of the Temneswas sky-high. There are gold frames here and there...”

The Duke of Vermont, who was about to say that it was gilded, suddenly hesitated. This is because the castle of Valmonde was decorated with jewels and gold everywhere. He mentally won over it by saying that it is not a luxury here since it is the country of origin.

The Duchess of Vermont smiled, looking at her husband like that.

“Lady Elise is a Princess. She couldn’t have stayed in such a shabby place.”

"Like Temnes. I will burn it down soon, so you know that.”

The Duke of Vermont, who was suffering from a long drought, could have been happier with Kaian.

There needs to be recognition in people.

He cut off the export of food for several years, starving the residents of Valmonde's territory, and then prepared for a war against the territory.

The fact that he seemed so easy-going to an enemy as old as his child deeply hurt the Duke of Vermont's pride.

He's still young!

How dare he point a knife at him?

If it hadn't been for King Oberon's tip that Kaian was preparing for a territory war, Claudel wouldn't have been sent this far away.

He didn't make that decision with ease, so instead of punishing Hannah, who chased him into the Lord's office and went on a rampage, he even gave her slush funds and sent her to the Rowan estate.

Hannah still doesn't know that Claudel has Herzol.

For a moment, the Duke of Vermont thought that if he told Hannah the truth, she might go all the way to the end of the continent to get the medicine.

It was Claudel's request that Hannah keep the secret.

Instead of marrying off to Temnes, she asked Hannah not to know about her illness.

However, the Duke of Vermont called Hannah separately before the bride departed and gave her a fairly large sum of money to wish her well.

'Why are you giving me this money?'

'Hanna. If the... What if? What if something happens to Claudel at Rowan Castle? Collect the body and bring her to Valmonde.'

Hannah's face hardened at the Duke of Vermont's words.

‘Don’t let Claudel be humiliated. Bring me back intact. We can't just leave her in the enemy's land.'

The maid dropped her head and clenched her fists, saying nothing.

Soon, without answering yes or no, Hannah grabbed the money bag he left on the desk and walked out of the office.

“What about the young Duke of Temnes?”

"A guy who doesn’t even have blood on his head.”

The Duke of Vermont pouted.

“Well, he’s still shiny, so it looks like he’s fine.”

The first time he actually saw the rumored Kaian was on the day he came to Valmonde Castle for a wedding.

He arrived just in time for the wedding to begin, and as soon as the ceremony was over, he left the bride alone and returned to the estate alone, so Kaian stayed at Valmonde Castle for less than two hours.

“It would have been better if it weren’t for the enemy.”

Although she married and became a Vermontr, the Duchess, who was not from Valmonde, was also secretly moderate toward Temnes.

“It would have been better if Claudel hadn’t been sick.”

“If that were the case, even if this was a messy marriage, the bright child would have somehow managed to pull it off.”

As the couple contemplated in silence for a moment, they heard light footsteps in the distance.

"Father!"

The Duke of Vermont's face brightened at the sound of the lively young lady's voice.

“Irena!”

"Father, I missed you."

The woman who gently hugged the Duke of Vermont and kissed him on the cheek had red hair and golden eyes like her father.

Irena, the Duke of Vermont's only blood relative who said it wouldn't hurt even if he put it in his eyes, was, according to the Duke, a masterpiece of God.

Her appearance resembles the Duchess, who was quite beautiful when she was young, and her hair and eye color resemble him.

“Are you feeling unwell? I was worried because you came a long way.”

“Don’t worry. This father is only like this.”

“I think you should get some rest today."

“Irena.”

Irena smiled brightly at the Duchess' words.

"Yes. Do you have to tell me about your visit to Rowen tomorrow?”

"Yes. Let’s have lunch together.”

As Irena waved her hand and disappeared, the Duke of Vermont's face darkened.

'If only that Kaian wasn't Temnes.'

Vermont was a family whose hands were valued. He had only one child, Irena, until he adopted Claudel as his daughter.

Since the Duke, who was the head of the house alone without any collateral, could not go to war, his eldest daughter Irena married the noble's untitled second son.

However, his son-in-law died one month after heading to the battlefield.

Irena suddenly became a widow.

It was difficult to find a suitable husband for Irena, who was spending her youthful and beautiful days in the current kingdom, where his son-in-law was precious.

'Kaian is the best groom in the kingdom.'

If only he hadn't been an enemy who tried to put a knife to his neck.

The Duke of Vermont quenched his appetite.

***

It was a beautiful, memorable day.

The fragrant scent of flowers, birds chirping, and the sound of water flowing.

The sweet and spicy taste of margaret petals lightly bitten with the tip of my lips.

And Kaian.

The husband who gave me the flower was the nicest flower-holding man I had ever seen in my life.

It seemed like my heart was pounding a little.

I just naturally lowered my head and tried to smell the flowers.

My body couldn't withstand even that gentle stimulation.

My world was plunged into darkness.

Crack.

In the pitch-black darkness, where I couldn't see or hear anything, I heard the sound of sparks from the stove splashing.

Is this Valmonde Castle?

There will be no need to light a fireplace in Rowan Castle in the summer.

Once awakened, the mind gradually brought about the sensations of the body one after another, as if stretching.

Tatak.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a fireplace with a roaring flame.

I blinked, wondering if it was a dream, but it was the Duchess's brightly decorated bedroom.

I slowly got up.

Then, I finally saw Kaian sitting in the dark seat next to the large pillow that had been blocking my view until a moment ago.

Kaian's eyes burned bright red as he glared at me from the darkness.

"You... Are you looking for a place to die?”

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