I quickly wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. I saw Dante's eyes shaking violently.
Gritting his teeth, Dante grabbed my hand and quickly pushed his way through the crowd, taking me to a deserted alley in an Instant.
"Ariana."
A low, hushed voice asked.
"Tell me why you're acting like this all of a sudden."
He continued, exhaling heavily.
"I'm insensitive, so I won't know unless you tell me. Even if you call me dull, I can't help it."
Dante raised his hand and carefully wiped my eyes and cheek. The hand of the man who had called himself dull was so affectionate that I felt like tears were flowing out of my eyes again.
'Let's not run away.'
I told myself again. Don't let my delusions run wild, and let's tell the truth now. Whether he like it or not, he has a successor. A legitimate successor to the Duke of Heigenberg. So don't say anything like that, like a collateral line continuing the family line. At that moment, Dante spoke first.
"... perhaps."
The hand wiping my cheek slowed down. Red eyes stared at me intently. Dante opened his mouth and whispered slowly.
"What are my plans today? Are you doing this because you noticed?"
Plan? I stared blankly at him at his unexpected words.
"Was that burdensome? So..."
Dante, who had been slowly stroking my cheek, brought his head closer.
"Do you want to run away?"
A strange sense of pressure crept up my spine. A shadow fell over my red eyes because my back was to the sun. Dante spoke in a voice as dark and subdued as his eyes.
"If you don't like it, I won't push you."
The large hand that had been stroking my cheek wrapped around the back of my neck.
"I won't force you. But leaving, that's not okay."
Dante's brow furrowed. My heart tightened reflexively at his pained expression. He whispered, forehead to forehead as if engraving it.
"That is absolutely not possible."
Then he added as if spitting it out.
"Please."
"... Duke."
I shook off the pressure and opened my mouth urgently.
"Wait, wait a minute. You're misunderstanding something right now."
I pushed his shoulder away and looked up at Dante. Dante's face, which had previously been blurred, was now filled with confusion. I looked up at his face and said forcefully.
"I don't know exactly what you're thinking, but it's definitely not what you're thinking."
"...No?"
He muttered in a firm voice. I nodded firmly.
"Yes. Absolutely."
That I felt burdened. That's why I tried to run away. That story had absolutely nothing to do with the truth.
'So this is why conversation is absolutely necessary between people.'
I deeply reflected on my attitude of choosing avoidance over conversation. When I opened my mouth, I apologized for that first.
"I'm sorry for not explaining it properly, Duke. At that moment, I became so emotional without realizing it."
But still, I couldn't help but tremble when I opened my mouth. I continued, quietly holding the hem of my dress.
"But you have to understand a little. At times like this... they say emotions run wild."
"At times like this?"
Dante furrowed his brow with a confused expression. I stared straight at his face and opened my mouth, fluttering.
"Your Highness, I..."
Ah. As I tried to speak, my heart couldn't help but pound wildly. I gave up on looking calm and eventually closed my eyes tightly.
Then I finally blurted out what I had to say.
"I'm pregnant."
I felt the man across from me stop breathing. With my eyes closed, I continued to pour out the rest of my words.
"Your Highness's child."
There was no answer. What expression was he making right now? What kind of eyes was he looking at me with?
I couldn't help but wonder, but I still couldn't muster the courage to face him, so I kept my eyes closed like a coward.
"..."
But no matter what, the silence seemed to be getting too long, so I was about to open my eyelids.
"Ariana."
A stiff voice called out to me.
"What did you just say?"
My heart sank at the stone-like stiffness and tone. It wasn't the kind of attitude a father would normally show when his wife's pregnant. Was he really in trouble?
I opened my eyes anxiously and was startled.
"Say it again, Ariana."
Dante, with an unusually urgent expression on his face, gently grabbed my shoulder.
"Come on."
"... I."
I stuttered and opened my mouth in surprise at the force. My voice trembled like a goat. I bit my lip painfully. I didn't want to confess this fact as if I were a sinner. No matter how unwelcome the news might be. I opened my mouth again and struggled to continue.
"I told you that I'm pregnant with the Duke's child."
I saw Dante holding his breath.
"... But."
He muttered with a bewildered expression. His face showed no sign of joy. Just a look of distrust.
"But you..."
My stomach twisted at the expression of extreme confusion. I kept my mouth shut and stared at Dante with wide eyes.
"Now that I think about it, it wasn't me who was the burden, but the Duke."
As I said those words, a sharp breath surged into my eyes again. Was it really because I was pregnant that my emotions were fluctuating?
I knew it wasn't the time to be emotional, but my mouth moved on its own.
"Well, that's right. The Duke doesn't need children."
Dante's eyes opened wide.
"With the collateral line, he definitely doesn't need a successor to continue the family line."
"No."
An urgent voice came in.
"That was a lie. No, I meant it back then, but... No, no. Damn it."
I looked at Dante with cold eyes as he spoke nonsense without answering. Dante roughly brushed his forehead and poured out his words.
"That's right. I don't need children. I never wanted it. But..."
My heart sank painfully at the expected story. I held my stomach and looked at Dante with resentful eyes, and the voice continued.
"It would be different if it was your child."
"..."
"It would definitely be crazy and lovable, just like you. How could I hate it? However, I didn't think that was the future that would unfold before us. Because..."
Instead of continuing, Dante closed his eyes for a long time and opened them. Looking at that face, I suddenly realized.
"You knew..."
I muttered blankly.
"That I'm infertile."
Dante's expression hardened, and after a moment, he nodded with a pained expression.
"Yes."
"Since when?"
"Since the day after the wedding."
I remember the day after I officially became a Duchess when the attending physician said he would do a health checkup and conduct various tests. You knew that all along. Without saying a word to me.
'Ah. So...'
The events that happened a little while ago came back to my mind.
"What if... the Duke and I have a child?"
Dante's face strangely hardened the moment he said that. His voice firmly stated that he would rather be alone with me and that he didn't need children.
'They were all just for me.'
All those words that had hurt me were actually white lies for me. I felt my eyes getting wet and slowly said,
"You know what I know. I'm not the type of person who can get pregnant."
There were nights when I fell asleep feeling anxious and guilty as my relationship with Dante took an unexpected turn. Dante is the head of a huge family, and I'm not the type of person who can give him a successor. Wouldn't it be deceiving not to confess that fact? Shouldn't I tell him everything and give him a chance to choose me or leave?
Without even dreaming that it was all a pointless worry. I looked at the man who had firmly lied to me that I didn't need children.
"But, they say a miracle happened."
Dante's eyes shook greatly. I carefully looked down at my stomach.
"It means that the Duke's child is inside."
"..."
"The attending physician took my blood yesterday. He diagnosed it after that, so it's certain."
"..."
Dante was silent for a while. After a while, he whispered in a voice that seemed to be fading.
"Is it true?"
Dante looked down at my stomach with blank eyes.
"It's really inside here..."
"Would you like to touch it?"
When I asked cautiously, Dante looked at me with wide eyes, then slowly nodded. I took his hand and placed it on my stomach. It was the moment his palm touched my stomach.
"Right now."
Dante looked at me in surprise.
"I felt something right now."
Feeling it? Could it be the fetus moving?
I looked up at him with suspicious eyes.
"It still takes a long time for the fetus to move?"
"But it definitely moved."
Dante muttered with a serious face. He stared at my stomach endlessly.
"It seems like a genius. Because he takes after you."
Even if he was a great prodigy, it would be impossible for him to move now. Instead of telling the truth, I just laughed. Dante stared blankly at my face like that, and then suddenly hugged me.
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