"Is it because it's been so long since you saw your father and you didn't even say hello?"
The Marquis took out his anger on Karina for no reason.
"..."
Karina was speechless with disbelief.
'If a child who was in danger of death miraculously came back to life, wouldn't it be right for parents to be happy and even shed tears?'
Although the work of the magic tower was involved, it was the first time she had met the Marquis since returning from the Cursed Forest. To be honest, she didn't even expect him to cry. At the very least, she thought that he should have asked if she was okay, or at least said something about him being glad that she had returned safely. However, judging from the Marquis' expression, it seemed like those words did not apply to him at all.
'I didn't even expect it in the first place.'
Karina said with a small sigh in her heart.
"Let's move for now."
She thought it would be a bad idea to continue the conversation in an open lobby where employees passing by could hear them.
"Yes."
The Marquis seemed to have the same thoughts as her, as he quickly got up from his chair and strode towards the reception room.
"Mikhal."
Karina called Mikhail before following the Marquis to the next location.
"Yes, Karina."
He answered her call with a meek face.
"Can you go to the flower shop right now?"
"Yes? Right now?"
She whispered softly to Mikhail, who was making a puzzled expression.
"Go and tell them that I came to get the 'thing' I asked for last time. If you tell her that, Selena will take care of giving it to you."
As soon as Karina saw Marquis Milliner waiting for them, she suddenly had a strong feeling that she would need it.
'It might not be the case, but it can't hurt to prepare in advance.'
"Come back as soon as possible."
"Yes. Okay."
Mikhail hesitated a little, perhaps worried about her. However, upon seeing her serious expression, he immediately left to carry out her orders. He was a little doubtful whether Selena had managed to get it, but for now, he could only hope that she had gotten it without any problems.
At that time.
"Let's go now."
"...!"
Karina was startled by the voice coming from behind her and quickly turned around. Jeremiah had not yet gone into the reception room and was waiting for her absentmindedly.
"..."
'Did you hear what I just said to Mikhail?'
Karina was a little worried though.
'What does it matter? Even if he heard it, it wasn't like I said anything special.'
She moved her steps, thinking that she would not care. So Karina, Jeremiah, and Marquis Millainer. The three of them sat facing each other in the drawing room.
***
"So. What brings you here?"
Karina skipped greeting the Marquis and asked him what he wanted to know right away. Of course, the Marquis frowned as if he was really displeased with her attitude.
"Karina, what's going on? I came to see my daughter and see how she is doing."
"Ahem," the Marquis replied, coughing in vain.
"I see. I am doing well. Now that you have seen it, you may go back."
Karina said firmly.
"We don't need any servants either. Just take them all back."
Jeremiah also added a word to that.
"Oh! You! Are you going to disregard the sincerity of your one and only father like this?"
The Marquis pretended to be angry. He knew Jeremiah would react that way, so he was deliberately reacting harshly.
"They is not a servant for the Grand Duke, but for my daughter. I brought them here to serve Karina."
Then he slyly made an excuse about Karina.
"She is my only daughter whom I have raised with great care, like gold and jade. I cannot just sit by and watch her live an uncomfortable life in the Grand Duke's household."
Of course, Karina had no intention of agreeing with the Marquis' words. She opened her mouth calmly and slowly.
"I'm going to get divorced soon, and you want me to bring in more children? I'm already kicking out the children you have now. I appreciate your kind words, but it's completely unnecessary."
"...!"
The Marquis was furious at Karina's refusal.
Normally, he would not have done something so blatant as to force a servant into the Grand Duke's house. However, Karina had caused a commotion at the New Year's banquet, saying she would divorce Jeremiah, and with time running out, he was in no position to be careful and considerate. In the midst of all this, Karina, who had started the situation, was acting so uncooperatively, and his displeasure soared.
"Karina! How dare you keep swearing at your father's words? And divorce! His Majesty the Emperor himself granted you a union! Are you still whining? Stop being such a brat!"
The Marquis shouted in a scolding tone. But Karina spat out coldly in a flat voice.
"I already told you that I was going to get a divorce. The merger was just part of the effort. I'm sorry, but my intention to get a divorce has not changed."
"Gibberish!"
The Marquis dismissed her words in one word.
“Ha.”
Karina let out a deep sigh that came from within her.
'I didn't think it would be accepted easily, but it's really stuck!'
As expected, she thought it was a good idea to prepare for that.
"But where on earth did you two go and why are you only coming back now?"
The Marquis asked, changing the subject to Jeremiah. He had already investigated Jeremiah's whereabouts, so he knew exactly where he had been. It was just a random guess.
"I went to the magic tower."
Jeremiah also knew that fact, so he answered truthfully. There was no need to lie and create controversy since he could not hide the fact that he had gone to the magic tower.
"Why are you suddenly on the magic tower?"
"I went there for Karina's treatment."
"What? Karina went all the way to that distant tower to receive treatment!"
Suddenly the Marquis raised his voice as if he was excited.
"If my daughter's condition was that critical, shouldn't you have told me, her father, first?!"
The Marquis shouted as if he had caught a good catch.
"The situation was so urgent that I couldn't contact you."
But Jeremiah answered calmly.
"Does that make sense?"
The Marquis responded with an even more stern attitude.
"..."
Karina's eyebrows furrowed. When had he always been so rude and dismissive to her?
Suddenly, he was acting like a caring father who loved his daughter so much. But the Marquis' words did not end there.
"My daughter is the one who will give birth to the heir to the Grand Duke's family! What if something goes wrong?"
"...!"
It was Karina, not Jeremiah, who reacted sensitively to those last words. It was the Marquis who had been abusing her invisibly since she was young. Only at times like this did the Marquis pretend to cherish her like a precious jewel and use her, making her feel Irritated and fed up. On top of that, she had been caught up in various incidents without any time to rest.
Just now, because of the dragon contract and other things, the divorce and independence plans she had been diligently preparing for were ruined, so she was already feeling wronged and frustrated. On top of that, having to listen to the Marquis's ridiculous nonsense had reached the limit of her patience. In that situation, the Marquis' words really stirred up Karina's tense nerves.
"That bastard's successor...!"
Karina bit her lower lip and frowned. The Marquis had forced Karina to have a child in the past as well. The words the Marquis had mercilessly beaten her in the past rang in her ears.
'It seems useless! If I were going to let you get married, you should have at least had a child! A successor to the family when the Grand Duke dies!'
'That was your only usefulness, but you couldn't do that one thing and that's how things got to this point!'
'You fucking piece of shit that's not even worth your money! Get out of here!"
The Marquis saw her as a child who would be used as a stepping stone to swallow up the Grand Duchy. In other words, he only saw her as a means to obtain a successor. Karina's eyes sparkled with anger. However, contrary to her feelings, the voice flowing out of her teeth was extremely cold.
"I want to talk to my father alone for a moment."
Karina suddenly asked Jeremiah to leave.
'His presence would only interrupt the conversation.'
"..."
Jeremiah's reaction was one of reluctance. However.
"Quickly."
Je backed down at Karina's stubborn attitude.
"If you wish... then do so."
Jeremiah finally said he understood and walked out of the room. Only Karina and the Marquis were left in the living room. As expected, the Marquis's attitude changed as soon as they were left alone.
"You! How could you... if you weren't crazy?"
Karina snorted and cut off the Marquis mid-sentence.
"Father, I should have clearly told you before that you would be a foreigner If I got married. It's difficult to interfere like this now."
But her words had no effect.
"What? You dare to talk about divorce when you're the one who made such a fuss about it!"
The Marquis grumbled softly in excitement.
"I went to great lengths to get you married into the Grand Duke's family, but you can't even have a child and you've brought things to this point?"
The Marquis let out a small sigh of anger, glaring at Karina.
"You stupid, retarded bastard! Don't you know that it's because of you that I've been putting myself through all this trouble!"
The Marquis gritted his teeth and growled.
"If this were the Marquis' residence and not the Grand Duke's, I wouldn't have left you alone! You worthless piece of shit!"
But even in the face of such threats, Karina did not cower in fear but instead smiled. The words he was saying now were exactly the same as the ones she had heard before.
"Father, you haven't changed at all since the past."
"What?"
She spoke clearly, paying no attention to the Marquis's urging.
"What my father wants is for me to have a successor to the Colesberg family. Unfortunately, that is impossible."
"What?"
"I'm infertile."
"Infertility? What the hell is that?"
The Marquis asked back with a dumbfounded expression as if he had been struck by lightning.
"I've been in dangerous situations so many times and almost died. Isn't it even more strange that I've come out of those close calls so many times without any problems? Because of that, my body was so damaged that I was diagnosed as having difficulty having children in the future."
"What... what did you say?"
The Marquis' eyes and mouth opened wide in shock. Then he asked urgently.
"Does the Grand Duke know about this fact?"
"..."
As expected, the Marquis was not interested in Karina at all. It was more important that Jeremiah knew about her infertility than that she was infertile. Karina answered in a way that seemed to have expected it.
"Of course. We went to the magic tower together and listened to it. So give up."
"Who diagnosed you with infertility? Isn't it still not certain?"
The Marquis responded with disbelief and asked questions.
"No, I'm sure. If you want, I can show you a certificate of infertility."
Karina brought up the infertility certificate. The certificate was already prepared because she had received it from Selena last time. If the Marquis really asked for proof, she could just bring the documents she had received and show them to him. And even if he insisted on seeing the doctor again, she had sent Mikhail to the flower shop, so he would bring the infertility medicine.
'I'll just eat that and get diagnosed with infertility.'
But doing that would take a long time and would be quite troublesome for Karina as well. That's why it was better to drive the wedge in and push through since they would get divorced anyway.
"If the Grand Duke files for divorce on the grounds of my infertility, I can't refuse. Please let us just separate quietly before I get divorced. That way, my father's reputation will be saved a little."
Karina thought that since she had said this, the Marquis would stop resisting and give up. However, she soon realized that she was very mistaken.
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