IHMEB - Chapter 20 < Married After Being Deceived >
Having An Enemy's Baby
"You... Are you looking for a place to die?”
“...”
I always thought that Kaian always had a cold, angry expression on his face.
As soon as I met those really angry eyes, I felt a chill go down my back.
'I may not be able to escape detection.'
I was mentally preparing myself.
I had been hiding my cough and hemoptysis well so far, but my luck might be on my side.
Moreover, unlike the doctor at Castle Valmonde, who lied to Hannah and those around me, it would be difficult for me to keep the fact of my illness a secret if the doctor at Castle Rowan properly examined me before I died.
“Since when? Looking at your condition, your illness must have started before we got married.”
Kaian couldn't hide his anger.
'Why are you angry?'
I thought he wouldn't feel that bad, so I questioned him.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
"What?"
“Because I'm a Vermont. It would be better if I disappeared early.”
The corners of his eyes furrowed as if Kaian had heard me.
“It’s not the marriage you wanted.”
I avoided his eyes.
The fact that Kaian didn't want me felt like peeling back layers of an onion.
It was at my wedding when he scrawled his name on the wedding vows and the family list and left without saying a word of greeting.
On this day, the only thing I heard was Kaian's voice when asked if he would take Claudel Quinn Vermont as his wife, and he simply said 'Yes', and without even leaving, he turned and walked away and said, 'I have to leave right away, so get your horse ready!' That was all the sound that came from behind me.
On our first night, he didn't even know the name of the woman he was marrying.
'Don't make me say it twice. I asked what your name was.'
‘Claudel Quinn... Vermont.'
Don't all nobles get married this way?
I always thought that Kaian always had a cold, angry expression on his face.
As soon as I met those really angry eyes, I felt a chill go down my back.
'I may not be able to escape detection.'
I was mentally preparing myself.
I had been hiding my cough and hemoptysis well so far, but my luck might be on my side.
Moreover, unlike the doctor at Castle Valmonde, who lied to Hannah and those around me, it would be difficult for me to keep the fact of my illness a secret if the doctor at Castle Rowan properly examined me before I died.
“Since when? Looking at your condition, your illness must have started before we got married.”
Kaian couldn't hide his anger.
'Why are you angry?'
I thought he wouldn't feel that bad, so I questioned him.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
"What?"
“Because I'm a Vermont. It would be better if I disappeared early.”
The corners of his eyes furrowed as if Kaian had heard me.
“It’s not the marriage you wanted.”
I avoided his eyes.
The fact that Kaian didn't want me felt like peeling back layers of an onion.
It was at my wedding when he scrawled his name on the wedding vows and the family list and left without saying a word of greeting.
On this day, the only thing I heard was Kaian's voice when asked if he would take Claudel Quinn Vermont as his wife, and he simply said 'Yes', and without even leaving, he turned and walked away and said, 'I have to leave right away, so get your horse ready!' That was all the sound that came from behind me.
On our first night, he didn't even know the name of the woman he was marrying.
'Don't make me say it twice. I asked what your name was.'
‘Claudel Quinn... Vermont.'
Don't all nobles get married this way?
It's a wedding given by royal order, and it's located far to the north and south of the royal castle, so it can't be helped even if we can't see each other in person before getting married.
I tried to compose myself like that the whole time, but the moment he asked me what my name was, something I had been holding on to weakly collapsed inside me.
'That damn Vermont.'
At the sound of Kaian muttering, I clearly realized where I was.
I'm just like a rock suddenly falling on an enemy's house.
The enemy's daughter is an eyesore that will only be relieved if he gets rid of it.
It's not like I didn't receive my early night gift. Even if it was my misunderstanding because of what Antjone did, he turned a blind eye to it even though he knew that I was ignored even by the maid and the servants in Rowan Castle.
Until I save him from a crocodile attack.
“Does it mean it’s okay to cheat just because it’s a marriage you don’t want?”
“... That..."
“That’s funny. Are you now being tricked into marrying something you didn’t want?”
Kaian said sarcastically.
“How dare you trick me into sending a flawed bride to the Lord of Rowan? Old Vermont is getting senile.”
My eyes widened at his words.
“I will destroy everything that is alive and breathing in the Valmonde estate....”
"No!"
I spoke urgently.
“Well, that’s what I am. The Duke of Vermont... Father, he doesn’t know anything.”
I lied without realizing it.
The man who spoke of Valmonde's estate was not speaking in vain.
Without even realizing it, I somehow end up covering it up.
In the name of Vermont.
"He does not know?"
Kaian sneered.
“If he doesn’t know, does that mean I wasn’t deceived?”
"Ah...”
I clutched the blanket with trembling hands.
I was in pain.
At the moment when I was facing the angry man, I felt as if I was seeing with my own eyes the tragedy that would befall the Valmonde estate, where his anger was directed.
I thought I would only have to endure my own death.
I tried to compose myself like that the whole time, but the moment he asked me what my name was, something I had been holding on to weakly collapsed inside me.
'That damn Vermont.'
At the sound of Kaian muttering, I clearly realized where I was.
I'm just like a rock suddenly falling on an enemy's house.
The enemy's daughter is an eyesore that will only be relieved if he gets rid of it.
It's not like I didn't receive my early night gift. Even if it was my misunderstanding because of what Antjone did, he turned a blind eye to it even though he knew that I was ignored even by the maid and the servants in Rowan Castle.
Until I save him from a crocodile attack.
“Does it mean it’s okay to cheat just because it’s a marriage you don’t want?”
“... That..."
“That’s funny. Are you now being tricked into marrying something you didn’t want?”
Kaian said sarcastically.
“How dare you trick me into sending a flawed bride to the Lord of Rowan? Old Vermont is getting senile.”
My eyes widened at his words.
“I will destroy everything that is alive and breathing in the Valmonde estate....”
"No!"
I spoke urgently.
“Well, that’s what I am. The Duke of Vermont... Father, he doesn’t know anything.”
I lied without realizing it.
The man who spoke of Valmonde's estate was not speaking in vain.
Without even realizing it, I somehow end up covering it up.
In the name of Vermont.
"He does not know?"
Kaian sneered.
“If he doesn’t know, does that mean I wasn’t deceived?”
"Ah...”
I clutched the blanket with trembling hands.
I was in pain.
At the moment when I was facing the angry man, I felt as if I was seeing with my own eyes the tragedy that would befall the Valmonde estate, where his anger was directed.
I thought I would only have to endure my own death.
I never imagined that I could be caught for complicity in this conflict and become the target of Kaian's wrath.
I only thought that the Duke of Vermont's threat to stab me in the back of Temnes was not my burden since it was after my death.
Kaian scolded.
“You will not die in peace.”
His words pierced through me like a knife forged in a block of ice.
“Because I won’t allow it.”
Kaian disappeared from the bedroom without hiding his anger, as if he didn't want to see me, leaving me shaking and shocked.
Late at night, loud footsteps echoed harshly in the castle’s hallway.
"Shit."
Kaian felt heat rise above his head as if his hair would stand on end.
I had never been this angry in my life.
“My Lord.”
The butler hurriedly followed behind.
“Bring me a drink.”
“Alcohol?”
If Kaian didn't have something to celebrate, he didn't tend to drink alcohol.
No wonder the butler was surprised when he suddenly looked for alcohol.
“Bring something strong. Right now."
Kaian headed to the bedroom and regretted it as soon as he opened the door.
He cursed lowly.
This is because as soon as he saw the bed, which was so lumpy that it was so empty in the empty room due to the special structure that opened the ceiling, he thought of Claudel, who was disheveled up there.
“Office. I’m going to the office.”
A moment later, he took a swig of strong drink and held his head in his hands.
Even after drinking so much strong alcohol in succession that just one drink was enough to intoxicate his entire body, he was still sober.
A clear mind encouraged the urge to twist the neck of the clever old fox, the Duke of Vermont, saying it was realistically possible.
He felt like he was going crazy.
He felt so angry that he thought he was going crazy, but in reality, he didn't understand why he was angry.
What Claudel said was correct.
'It's not the marriage you wanted.'
He never wanted this marriage.
However, it was not that marriage was denied or completely ignored.
Over the past few years, he's been worrying about how all the noble couples who got married by convenience have a hard time even talking to each other.
To put it mildly, he even lost face and asked the butler.
Then, after Claudel got hurt on his behalf, he tried to treat her more leniently.
'Because I'm Vermont. It would be better if I disappeared early.'
The words spoken in a quiet voice without any emotion seemed to reveal Kaian's shame.
The life of a noblewoman ignored by her husband was not long.
One of the two options was either to wither and die after being bullied big and small in the castle or to end her own life because she couldn't bear it.
If she still persevered, she was sent far away to a place like a monastery.
Kaian knew that too, but he did not crack down on the residents of Rowan Castle.
Even though the blood of Temnes was not mixed, everyone in the Rowan domain cursed Vermont.
It was natural that Claudel could not be liked by them.
He didn't think it was something he needed to interfere with because it didn't go against the rules.
“But that didn’t mean you had to die.”
Kaian muttered and felt embarrassed.
So, he didn't know that if he let them bully her in his castle. Her life would ultimately be short-lived.
He knew that the fact that he tried to treat her as a couple in his own way was no excuse.
Claudel's emotionless voice quietly criticized him.
What's different about this? Isn’t it the same whether she died this way or that way?
Only then did Kaian realize why Claudel saved him.
While he was idly wondering how difficult it was to talk to his wife, she was standing in her line of fire.
Kaian, who was used to being looked up to and revered, felt bad that Claudel had 'just' saved him and that she would have saved any country in the territory.
It was him, and he hated the fact that she didn't save him because he was special.
But when he realized that the woman probably thought she would die the same death no matter when she died, he became angry.
He got angry, then he got sad, and then he pounded the wall with his fist because it felt like it was going to spin, and when Claudel made even a small moan or coughed, the reaper came up and grabbed a handful with the tip of the scythe of death, stabbing the woman so thin that she could barely even grab a handful. He was afraid that he would scratch it.
"Driving me crazy. I would rather fight for territory, even if it means treason.”
In particular, he was planning to personally kill all of Vermont's with his sword.
This is because it had a symbolic meaning of ending the long-running blood feud between enemies.
If he had his way.
Even if he had hit Claudel's head directly, he would have only enjoyed the joy of victory that finally only Temnes remained on land after a long battle.
Now, all kinds of emotions were swirling just because he tolerated and neglected violence that could lead to her death.
Rumors about Claudel spread quickly within Rowan Castle.
“She vomited out a fist-sized lump of blood. I saw it.”
“Oh my. It’s terrible.”
Kaian returned after she fainted after vomiting blood, and several doctors inside and outside the castle were called, and the stories they saw and heard quickly became known to everyone.
“Could it be spreading?”
“Herzol is said to be a disease that only people in Valmonde get. I heard it only affects people who live in the frozen land around Castle Valmonde.”
“Because they use the symbol like a gong, you fall under the ice witch’s curse.”
It was mainly their curiosity and rumors about the Herzol Claudel had.
“Anyway, I’m glad the person who will die is Vermont.”
Everyone nodded at her opinion. Those who felt that Kaian's attitude had changed due to the incident during the crocodile hunt took more care of Claudel and Hannah. But everything else was the same as before.
“Do you think the lame Lady would even throw a ball? Once the new madam comes in, it will become like a place where people live.”
Among them, the bedroom where Claudel lay was like an isolated island.
Originally, there were few people on the floor she was staying on.
They bullied her for a while at first, but when Claudel didn't do anything, they became boring and uninteresting, so everyone quit.
However, when the rumor spread that she had contracted a terrible disease that would end only when all the people in the village died, they refused to go anywhere.
Even if it’s a disease that doesn’t occur in the South, why isn’t it scary?
Finally, Hannah became enraged when she discovered that they had put my meal on the tray and left it on the floor at the end of the stairs.
“Ugh. I didn’t even know that.”
Hannah cried.
“If something goes wrong, Young Lady. Ugh. The Duke even gave me money to bring yoy to Valmonde, so I wondered if he had a conscience.”
Hannah wiped her tears with her sleeve and gritted her teeth with her red, swollen face.
“I’m going to kill the Duke.”
"Hanna."
"No. I'm going to kill Lady Irena. The Duke also has to lose what he loves most.”
As soon as she said, “It’s the most precious and precious thing,” Hannah burst into tears again.
“It’s what I hoped for. The kids were starving and I wanted to do something.”
“Just shut up! Claudel! I get angry every time you say something!”
Hannah eventually shattered the wall of her identity in anger.
“How could you do this to me?”
I closed my mouth.
Because I just said that Hannah gets angry no matter what I say.
I raised my weak hand and patted Hannah's back.
At that time, a cold voice separated the two.
"Get out."
With her tear-filled eyes, Hannah looked at Kaian.
Showing her displeasure, she barely managed to retreat from the room.
After kicking Hannah out, he just looked at me in silence.
“I have a favor to ask.”
"Favor?"
“I told you I’d give you anything you want.”
These are my words on the day I collapsed.
A sneer appeared on her Kaian's lips.
“Do you think it’s a topic to ask for something like that?”
“Even if I die, please do not stop providing food to Valmonde’s estate.”
I only thought that the Duke of Vermont's threat to stab me in the back of Temnes was not my burden since it was after my death.
Kaian scolded.
“You will not die in peace.”
His words pierced through me like a knife forged in a block of ice.
“Because I won’t allow it.”
Kaian disappeared from the bedroom without hiding his anger, as if he didn't want to see me, leaving me shaking and shocked.
***
Late at night, loud footsteps echoed harshly in the castle’s hallway.
"Shit."
Kaian felt heat rise above his head as if his hair would stand on end.
I had never been this angry in my life.
“My Lord.”
The butler hurriedly followed behind.
“Bring me a drink.”
“Alcohol?”
If Kaian didn't have something to celebrate, he didn't tend to drink alcohol.
No wonder the butler was surprised when he suddenly looked for alcohol.
“Bring something strong. Right now."
Kaian headed to the bedroom and regretted it as soon as he opened the door.
He cursed lowly.
This is because as soon as he saw the bed, which was so lumpy that it was so empty in the empty room due to the special structure that opened the ceiling, he thought of Claudel, who was disheveled up there.
“Office. I’m going to the office.”
A moment later, he took a swig of strong drink and held his head in his hands.
Even after drinking so much strong alcohol in succession that just one drink was enough to intoxicate his entire body, he was still sober.
A clear mind encouraged the urge to twist the neck of the clever old fox, the Duke of Vermont, saying it was realistically possible.
He felt like he was going crazy.
He felt so angry that he thought he was going crazy, but in reality, he didn't understand why he was angry.
What Claudel said was correct.
'It's not the marriage you wanted.'
He never wanted this marriage.
However, it was not that marriage was denied or completely ignored.
Over the past few years, he's been worrying about how all the noble couples who got married by convenience have a hard time even talking to each other.
To put it mildly, he even lost face and asked the butler.
Then, after Claudel got hurt on his behalf, he tried to treat her more leniently.
'Because I'm Vermont. It would be better if I disappeared early.'
The words spoken in a quiet voice without any emotion seemed to reveal Kaian's shame.
The life of a noblewoman ignored by her husband was not long.
One of the two options was either to wither and die after being bullied big and small in the castle or to end her own life because she couldn't bear it.
If she still persevered, she was sent far away to a place like a monastery.
Kaian knew that too, but he did not crack down on the residents of Rowan Castle.
Even though the blood of Temnes was not mixed, everyone in the Rowan domain cursed Vermont.
It was natural that Claudel could not be liked by them.
He didn't think it was something he needed to interfere with because it didn't go against the rules.
“But that didn’t mean you had to die.”
Kaian muttered and felt embarrassed.
So, he didn't know that if he let them bully her in his castle. Her life would ultimately be short-lived.
He knew that the fact that he tried to treat her as a couple in his own way was no excuse.
Claudel's emotionless voice quietly criticized him.
What's different about this? Isn’t it the same whether she died this way or that way?
Only then did Kaian realize why Claudel saved him.
While he was idly wondering how difficult it was to talk to his wife, she was standing in her line of fire.
Kaian, who was used to being looked up to and revered, felt bad that Claudel had 'just' saved him and that she would have saved any country in the territory.
It was him, and he hated the fact that she didn't save him because he was special.
But when he realized that the woman probably thought she would die the same death no matter when she died, he became angry.
He got angry, then he got sad, and then he pounded the wall with his fist because it felt like it was going to spin, and when Claudel made even a small moan or coughed, the reaper came up and grabbed a handful with the tip of the scythe of death, stabbing the woman so thin that she could barely even grab a handful. He was afraid that he would scratch it.
"Driving me crazy. I would rather fight for territory, even if it means treason.”
In particular, he was planning to personally kill all of Vermont's with his sword.
This is because it had a symbolic meaning of ending the long-running blood feud between enemies.
If he had his way.
Even if he had hit Claudel's head directly, he would have only enjoyed the joy of victory that finally only Temnes remained on land after a long battle.
Now, all kinds of emotions were swirling just because he tolerated and neglected violence that could lead to her death.
***
Rumors about Claudel spread quickly within Rowan Castle.
“She vomited out a fist-sized lump of blood. I saw it.”
“Oh my. It’s terrible.”
Kaian returned after she fainted after vomiting blood, and several doctors inside and outside the castle were called, and the stories they saw and heard quickly became known to everyone.
“Could it be spreading?”
“Herzol is said to be a disease that only people in Valmonde get. I heard it only affects people who live in the frozen land around Castle Valmonde.”
“Because they use the symbol like a gong, you fall under the ice witch’s curse.”
It was mainly their curiosity and rumors about the Herzol Claudel had.
“Anyway, I’m glad the person who will die is Vermont.”
Everyone nodded at her opinion. Those who felt that Kaian's attitude had changed due to the incident during the crocodile hunt took more care of Claudel and Hannah. But everything else was the same as before.
“Do you think the lame Lady would even throw a ball? Once the new madam comes in, it will become like a place where people live.”
Among them, the bedroom where Claudel lay was like an isolated island.
Originally, there were few people on the floor she was staying on.
They bullied her for a while at first, but when Claudel didn't do anything, they became boring and uninteresting, so everyone quit.
However, when the rumor spread that she had contracted a terrible disease that would end only when all the people in the village died, they refused to go anywhere.
Even if it’s a disease that doesn’t occur in the South, why isn’t it scary?
Finally, Hannah became enraged when she discovered that they had put my meal on the tray and left it on the floor at the end of the stairs.
“Ugh. I didn’t even know that.”
Hannah cried.
“If something goes wrong, Young Lady. Ugh. The Duke even gave me money to bring yoy to Valmonde, so I wondered if he had a conscience.”
Hannah wiped her tears with her sleeve and gritted her teeth with her red, swollen face.
“I’m going to kill the Duke.”
"Hanna."
"No. I'm going to kill Lady Irena. The Duke also has to lose what he loves most.”
As soon as she said, “It’s the most precious and precious thing,” Hannah burst into tears again.
“It’s what I hoped for. The kids were starving and I wanted to do something.”
“Just shut up! Claudel! I get angry every time you say something!”
Hannah eventually shattered the wall of her identity in anger.
“How could you do this to me?”
I closed my mouth.
Because I just said that Hannah gets angry no matter what I say.
I raised my weak hand and patted Hannah's back.
At that time, a cold voice separated the two.
"Get out."
With her tear-filled eyes, Hannah looked at Kaian.
Showing her displeasure, she barely managed to retreat from the room.
After kicking Hannah out, he just looked at me in silence.
“I have a favor to ask.”
"Favor?"
“I told you I’d give you anything you want.”
These are my words on the day I collapsed.
A sneer appeared on her Kaian's lips.
“Do you think it’s a topic to ask for something like that?”
“Even if I die, please do not stop providing food to Valmonde’s estate.”
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