25. Secret
Chloe carefully opened the bedroom door after putting on the brace. She couldn't sleep at all, so she held onto Damien's clothes. It was already past midnight. The castle was quiet with all the lights off, and the weather outside was getting worse, so it was even more eerie.
She slowly walked down the north corridor, holding a lamp with a candle in it. When she came across the stone statue of Damien on horseback, she smiled in relief. When she first came here, she had only felt a sense of repulsion, but now, just looking at the sculpture of him made her feel like her fear was gone.
Chloe met his gaze briefly as he held the reins with an arrogant attitude, then opened the study door with a click. Damien's space was neat and tidy.
She hung his jacket in the dressing room and walked out into the study. She didn't know when he would wear this, but she felt good imagining the faint smile on his face when he did.
As Chloe was about to leave, a gust of wind blew through the crack in the door, and the candles went out. It was definitely a stormy day. It shouldn't be too bad when he comes.
Chloe smiled briefly at the picture of Damien hanging on the wall, then turned to go outside and came back to stand in front of the painting. Startled by the sound of thunder following the lightning, she took a deep breath and took the painting off.
She felt guilty because she knew that what she was trying to do was wrong, but she also wondered what someone like Damien would keep in his secret safe. She couldn't resist the temptation to know what he thought was important.
Chloe pulled the match, lit the lamp again, and carefully opened the safe. With trembling hands, she checked a series of documents. Chloe sighed and smiled faintly as she looked through the documents filled with letters and numbers related to work. She had guessed that he was not the type of person to store expensive jewelry or family heirlooms, but the secret safe that was dug through the wall was actually documents related to business.
She started to wonder what on earth she was so anxious about. Do you become sensitive to even the smallest things when you have a child?
Chloe's hands, which were trying to reorganize the messy documents, suddenly stopped. It was because she found a map that seemed familiar at first glance. It was a place where she could tell where everything was, even with her eyes closed, because she had looked at it countless times for the management of the estate.
Chloe stared at the map of Verdier's estate, which was marked in red. There were two places marked. One was the forest, the place where she first met him, and the other was the mountain that continued beyond.
Phalang.
She turned the page with her brow furrowed. It was a short letter with a small pouch enclosed.
The material sent by His Excellency the Duke has been tested, and the minerals unearthed with the sand are believed to be gold dust and are likely connected to the surrounding mines.
The date written on the letter was three years ago. It was after the end of the war. Chloe stared at the map and the short sentence with wavering eyes.
What does this mean? The marked area in the forest is where the spring flows. She still vividly remembers the Duke standing in the middle of it with his feet in the water.
Phalang.
Chloe shuffled through the papers again, unable to gather her thoughts. Another phrase caught her eye.
Statistics on sugar demand and distribution within the kingdom since the end of the war.
The item that Viscount Verdier invested in and suffered a fatal loss was sugar, so she could not forget it. He went to the capital to meet a friend and heard that sugar was becoming expensive, so he invested in a company, but just before the price of sugar went up, a large amount of sugar was released on the black market, and the company collapsed. This was the decisive reason why Viscount Verdier became penniless.
Phalang.
The papers fell to the floor. Chloe's hands, which were shuffling through a stack of papers on the wide desk, became anxious.
The Verdier family is currently on the verge of bankruptcy. If the second daughter fails to fulfill her role in the marriage market, the family will be unable to repay the debt, and the family name will be passed on. Let me explain more about the eldest daughter. She is not only well-versed in medicine, but also has a wide range of hobbies for cultured ladies, such as needlework and piano, and is also excellent at managing servants. Due to poor health, she gave up on marriage early and is now focusing on managing the family name, but the family's financial situation is so dire that it seems impossible to recover.
The name of the person who sent the report-style letter was Chester Grissom. Why would the name of the Verdier family's butler appear here? Chloe gasped. The sound of raindrops hitting the window grew louder, as if they were about to shatter.
Chloe's hands shook in shock, and the stack of papers fell to the floor. The moment she saw the stack of old newspaper clippings, Chloe took a deep breath. The handwriting, marked in red ink, was Damien's. Words were changed to provocative words, sentence structures were reversed to catch people's eyes, and the last words scribbled on top were 'Red Veil.'
Boom!
As thunder and lightning continued to thunder, Chloe's eyes landed on Damien, who had opened the door and come in. She knocked over the ink bottle, causing the ink to spill onto the floor and stain the carpet.
"My love."
Raindrops dripped from Damien's clothes. His face was expressionless as he approached her across the space. Chloe looked at him with a pale face and stuttered.
“What brings you here at this hour...?”
“Have I come to a place I shouldn’t be?”
Damien's sharp eyebrows twitched slightly as Chloe unconsciously took a step back. He took another step closer and closed the distance.
“I missed you so much that I took the last train. I wanted to see your face as soon as possible. As soon as I got here, I ran to the bedroom, but I was worried because you weren’t there.”
His eyes, visible through his wet hair, were staring straight at her, but Chloe couldn't read a single emotion in them.
“How did you know I was here?”
“By intuition?”
It meant that he came running here as soon as he confirmed that she was not in the bedroom. Damien looked at the papers on the floor. When he turned his gaze back to Chloe, she gasped. It felt like she was being strangled even though their bodies had not even touched.
“If you have any questions, just ask. I’ll answer them all.”
Chloe shook her head, avoiding eye contact.
“...No. I don’t want to hear anything right now.”
“Chloe von Tisse.”
Chloe's dark brown eyes, which had dropped their heads, were bloodshot and filled with tears. Now that Damien was closer to her, there was nowhere else for her to retreat. Behind her was a wall with an open safe.
“Look at me.”
Damien ordered her in a husky, cracking voice. The low tone of his words, as if he was spitting them out through his teeth, suffocated her. Chloe looked at him with tearful eyes.
“I told you to ask questions.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
Damien's eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Don’t you want to know the truth? What do the things you discovered inside mean? Why did I do that?”
“Yes. I don’t want to know!”
“Chloe!”
Finally, when Damien called her name, tears flowed down Chloe's face. She didn't want to meet Damien's blazing eyes. She was afraid of what would come out of his mouth. As Chloe squeezed her tearful eyes shut, Damien held her face in his large hands. He was a cruel hunter by nature, who would not let her escape until the very end.
“Since you asked me to ask, I will just ask one question.”
The moment she opened her mouth, her throat tightened. Chloe swallowed the dry saliva and sobs from her swollen throat at the same time, then whispered.
“Was the Marchioness’s murder also part of the Duke’s plan?”
“I wasn’t the one who killed her.”
There were so many unresolved questions that it was hard to feel at ease.
“Then are you the one who made me the criminal?”
"...Yes."
Chloe closed her eyes, long tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
“I did that because I loved you.”
As Damien's hands cupped her face, her wet eyelashes fluttered. A faint sob escaped through her parted lips.
“I only stole it because I wanted your heart.”
Chloe clutched her chest as she listened to Damien's words, which were like wedges being driven into her ears. She felt something breaking inside her chest. The rain poured down as if there was a hole in the sky. The window shook repeatedly, and she cried.
"...All right."
“Chloe.”
Damien called out to her, panting. Chloe trembled in front of Damien, who was kissing her gently.
“You don’t blame me?”
“...I don’t want to think about anything right now.”
Chloe's wish was not fulfilled because Damien held her face tightly and did not let go. His low voice cracked completely.
“If you want to complain, go ahead. If you want to yell or hit me, that’s fine. I’ll accept it all.”
“Your Excellency.”
“We’re a married couple, right? It’s natural for there to be conflict between couples, right?”
Chloe's eyes twisted in pain as she watched Damien ask her threateningly.
“Let me go, Damien.”
It was all planned from the beginning. In the forest where she first encountered him, she saw him and he saw gold.
“You know that’s not allowed.”
When she thought of her father sitting in a dark room with his head in his hands, just before he lost his investment, she felt like crying. Chloe whispered in a pleading tone.
“Please leave me alone.”
The father who said he would give his life if he could make Chloe happy. The one who pushed his father, who bowed his head in gratitude to the Duke, into the abyss of debt was none other than Duke Damien Ernst von Tisse.
“That doesn’t help the situation at hand, Chloe.”
When the Marchioness died, all those who believed in her innocence as the perpetrator were false, because Damien was the one who had thrown her into the cold prison.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Chloe shook her head, muttering with unfocused eyes. If he had even a shred of conscience, he shouldn't have let Chloe get the wrong idea. He shouldn't have kissed her forever on the Pont de Tisse, he shouldn't have sent her fragrant rose petals, he shouldn't have counted the number of moles on her body with his lips, and he shouldn't have whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
Chloe. My love. I can never have enough of you.
“I’ll say this again, Chloe, don’t let your emotions get the best of you and distract you from the most important truth. Think about it calmly.”
A cruel voice pulled her from her dream to reality. He was demanding that she remain calm even in this situation. Chloe laughed in vain, tears streaming down her face.
“What is the important truth?”
Damien spat out the words in a low voice.
“I love you.”
Damien, or rather, someone who resembled Damien, lied again. Who was the person in front of her? Was her husband, whom she believed to be Damien, really the man she thought he was? Her head was spinning, her stomach was churning, and she felt the urge to throw up. Chloe clenched her teeth and tried to come to her senses.
“I will ask you since you told me to be calm. You promised not to lie, so I trust you will tell the truth.”
“Ask. Anything.”
Chloe spoke in a barely audible voice towards Damien, who seemed not to even consider looking away.
“Are you the one who killed His Majesty the King?”
"Yes."
Damien's blue eyes narrowed and then returned to their original position. Chloe didn't ask a second time. Chloe's hand wrapped around her stomach, trembled slightly. Damien continued speaking clearly.
“I killed him because I was annoyed that he covered up his son’s madness. I couldn’t accept that someone like that was the sun of this country, so I killed him, Chloe.”
"Stop."
There was not even a hint of regret in his voice as he spoke of betrayal. Chloe tried to get away from him, trying to control her trembling breathing.
“Enough is enough. Stop it.”
Damien cruelly trampled on her hopes of not hearing any more.
“If it were me, I would have cut off my son’s head myself to establish my own honor.”
Chloe's shaking eyes froze. His words, as he spoke of severing the life of his blood relatives without hesitation, were as firm as a blade. A son who is lacking. What does being lacking mean to him? How much must their child be born before Damien can say, "He is not lacking."
“It is better to die with honor than to live in shame and be pointed at.”
"Stop!"
Damien gasped as Chloe, who had covered her ears with both hands, screamed with a pale face. What was staining Chloe’s pure white muslin dress was not the red ink spilled on the desk. It was the smell of blood that always made Damien wake up. The moment he sensed the smell of death, his eyes rolled back. Damien quickly picked her up and held her in his arms, kicking her out of the study. The butler, who had sensed the serious atmosphere and had come running, stopped in his tracks in shock.
“Oh, my lord. Why did you...?”
“Call Brown now!”
The Duke's roar echoed through the dark hallway. It was the day when the autumn typhoon had left Tisse after ravaging it.
The Duke's mansion was in disarray after the typhoon passed. The gardener had to work all day to clear away the trees that had fallen in the wind, and the carpenters and blacksmiths had no time to rest as they had to fix the stables that had their roofs blown off and the barns that had their fences broken. But the most tense and alert were the servants working inside Birch Castle.
“Seeing how much trouble you’ve been in while you were still in the womb, I can imagine how much trouble you’ll have once the baby is born.”
Priscilla opened her mouth in a deliberately bright tone toward Chloe, who was lying quietly in bed. Chloe only smiled faintly with a bloodless face and said nothing.
“I think it would be best to let her rest now, Mother.”
Priscilla nodded as Damien spoke in a low voice.
“Yes. It’s okay since I saw that he’s safe. No. Of course, he should be safe. If he’s a child of the Tisse family, he’s too healthy to be a problem. So don’t worry about anything and just focus on recovering.”
“Would you please prepare a carriage for my mother to return home?”
“Yes, master.”
As Damien cut her off from her long speech, butler Paul bowed his head and soon left.
“Take care of yourself, Chloe.”
After Priscilla said goodbye to Chloe, she left the room. Now, only Margaret, her personal maid, Chloe, and Damien remained in the Duchess' bedroom.
“I want to be alone with my wife.”
“Yes, master. I will be waiting, so please call me whenever you need me.”
Even Margaret, who noticed the suffocating atmosphere between them, quietly left the bedroom. A heavy silence fell over the room. Damien approached her, who was lying upright and staring at the ceiling, and stood at the head of the bed.
“Your face is still pale.”
Dr. Brown, who came running in surprise after receiving a call last night, examined Chloe thoroughly and said that the baby was fine. He also did not forget to emphasize that although bleeding in early pregnancy is rare, she must remain absolutely restful.
“Another doctor will arrive from Swanton, so it would be best to hold off until then.”
“...Thank you for your concern.”
Chloe muttered softly with a face as white as a bed sheet. Damien swallowed dryly as he looked at her, who still did not meet his gaze.
“Chloe.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Chloe, with her pale complexion, whispered softly. Damien swallowed dryly, feeling as if he was talking to a wall. His voice, tight and low, came out through his vocal cords.
“Don’t say thank you for something you take for granted.”
“I will correct it. I am sorry.”
Damien's masculine throat twitched once more. Chloe still stared into space with unfocused eyes.
“Don’t think about anything else right now and just focus on recovering.”
“That’s right.”
There was no sincerity in Chloe's voice as she answered mechanically.
“Your Excellency, you must be busy with business. You should go back to Swanton.”
“...I have no business leaving my wife behind who has collapsed in pain, so don’t worry about it.”
Chloe blinked for a moment. Her chest stung, as if she was being stabbed by a needle, and her eyes grew hot.
Phalang.
She turned the page with her brow furrowed. It was a short letter with a small pouch enclosed.
The material sent by His Excellency the Duke has been tested, and the minerals unearthed with the sand are believed to be gold dust and are likely connected to the surrounding mines.
The date written on the letter was three years ago. It was after the end of the war. Chloe stared at the map and the short sentence with wavering eyes.
What does this mean? The marked area in the forest is where the spring flows. She still vividly remembers the Duke standing in the middle of it with his feet in the water.
Phalang.
Chloe shuffled through the papers again, unable to gather her thoughts. Another phrase caught her eye.
Statistics on sugar demand and distribution within the kingdom since the end of the war.
The item that Viscount Verdier invested in and suffered a fatal loss was sugar, so she could not forget it. He went to the capital to meet a friend and heard that sugar was becoming expensive, so he invested in a company, but just before the price of sugar went up, a large amount of sugar was released on the black market, and the company collapsed. This was the decisive reason why Viscount Verdier became penniless.
Phalang.
The papers fell to the floor. Chloe's hands, which were shuffling through a stack of papers on the wide desk, became anxious.
The Verdier family is currently on the verge of bankruptcy. If the second daughter fails to fulfill her role in the marriage market, the family will be unable to repay the debt, and the family name will be passed on. Let me explain more about the eldest daughter. She is not only well-versed in medicine, but also has a wide range of hobbies for cultured ladies, such as needlework and piano, and is also excellent at managing servants. Due to poor health, she gave up on marriage early and is now focusing on managing the family name, but the family's financial situation is so dire that it seems impossible to recover.
The name of the person who sent the report-style letter was Chester Grissom. Why would the name of the Verdier family's butler appear here? Chloe gasped. The sound of raindrops hitting the window grew louder, as if they were about to shatter.
Chloe's hands shook in shock, and the stack of papers fell to the floor. The moment she saw the stack of old newspaper clippings, Chloe took a deep breath. The handwriting, marked in red ink, was Damien's. Words were changed to provocative words, sentence structures were reversed to catch people's eyes, and the last words scribbled on top were 'Red Veil.'
Boom!
As thunder and lightning continued to thunder, Chloe's eyes landed on Damien, who had opened the door and come in. She knocked over the ink bottle, causing the ink to spill onto the floor and stain the carpet.
"My love."
Raindrops dripped from Damien's clothes. His face was expressionless as he approached her across the space. Chloe looked at him with a pale face and stuttered.
“What brings you here at this hour...?”
“Have I come to a place I shouldn’t be?”
Damien's sharp eyebrows twitched slightly as Chloe unconsciously took a step back. He took another step closer and closed the distance.
“I missed you so much that I took the last train. I wanted to see your face as soon as possible. As soon as I got here, I ran to the bedroom, but I was worried because you weren’t there.”
His eyes, visible through his wet hair, were staring straight at her, but Chloe couldn't read a single emotion in them.
“How did you know I was here?”
“By intuition?”
It meant that he came running here as soon as he confirmed that she was not in the bedroom. Damien looked at the papers on the floor. When he turned his gaze back to Chloe, she gasped. It felt like she was being strangled even though their bodies had not even touched.
“If you have any questions, just ask. I’ll answer them all.”
Chloe shook her head, avoiding eye contact.
“...No. I don’t want to hear anything right now.”
“Chloe von Tisse.”
Chloe's dark brown eyes, which had dropped their heads, were bloodshot and filled with tears. Now that Damien was closer to her, there was nowhere else for her to retreat. Behind her was a wall with an open safe.
“Look at me.”
Damien ordered her in a husky, cracking voice. The low tone of his words, as if he was spitting them out through his teeth, suffocated her. Chloe looked at him with tearful eyes.
“I told you to ask questions.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
Damien's eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Don’t you want to know the truth? What do the things you discovered inside mean? Why did I do that?”
“Yes. I don’t want to know!”
“Chloe!”
Finally, when Damien called her name, tears flowed down Chloe's face. She didn't want to meet Damien's blazing eyes. She was afraid of what would come out of his mouth. As Chloe squeezed her tearful eyes shut, Damien held her face in his large hands. He was a cruel hunter by nature, who would not let her escape until the very end.
“Since you asked me to ask, I will just ask one question.”
The moment she opened her mouth, her throat tightened. Chloe swallowed the dry saliva and sobs from her swollen throat at the same time, then whispered.
“Was the Marchioness’s murder also part of the Duke’s plan?”
“I wasn’t the one who killed her.”
There were so many unresolved questions that it was hard to feel at ease.
“Then are you the one who made me the criminal?”
"...Yes."
Chloe closed her eyes, long tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
“I did that because I loved you.”
As Damien's hands cupped her face, her wet eyelashes fluttered. A faint sob escaped through her parted lips.
“I only stole it because I wanted your heart.”
Chloe clutched her chest as she listened to Damien's words, which were like wedges being driven into her ears. She felt something breaking inside her chest. The rain poured down as if there was a hole in the sky. The window shook repeatedly, and she cried.
"...All right."
“Chloe.”
Damien called out to her, panting. Chloe trembled in front of Damien, who was kissing her gently.
“You don’t blame me?”
“...I don’t want to think about anything right now.”
Chloe's wish was not fulfilled because Damien held her face tightly and did not let go. His low voice cracked completely.
“If you want to complain, go ahead. If you want to yell or hit me, that’s fine. I’ll accept it all.”
“Your Excellency.”
“We’re a married couple, right? It’s natural for there to be conflict between couples, right?”
Chloe's eyes twisted in pain as she watched Damien ask her threateningly.
“Let me go, Damien.”
It was all planned from the beginning. In the forest where she first encountered him, she saw him and he saw gold.
“You know that’s not allowed.”
When she thought of her father sitting in a dark room with his head in his hands, just before he lost his investment, she felt like crying. Chloe whispered in a pleading tone.
“Please leave me alone.”
The father who said he would give his life if he could make Chloe happy. The one who pushed his father, who bowed his head in gratitude to the Duke, into the abyss of debt was none other than Duke Damien Ernst von Tisse.
“That doesn’t help the situation at hand, Chloe.”
When the Marchioness died, all those who believed in her innocence as the perpetrator were false, because Damien was the one who had thrown her into the cold prison.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Chloe shook her head, muttering with unfocused eyes. If he had even a shred of conscience, he shouldn't have let Chloe get the wrong idea. He shouldn't have kissed her forever on the Pont de Tisse, he shouldn't have sent her fragrant rose petals, he shouldn't have counted the number of moles on her body with his lips, and he shouldn't have whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
Chloe. My love. I can never have enough of you.
“I’ll say this again, Chloe, don’t let your emotions get the best of you and distract you from the most important truth. Think about it calmly.”
A cruel voice pulled her from her dream to reality. He was demanding that she remain calm even in this situation. Chloe laughed in vain, tears streaming down her face.
“What is the important truth?”
Damien spat out the words in a low voice.
“I love you.”
Damien, or rather, someone who resembled Damien, lied again. Who was the person in front of her? Was her husband, whom she believed to be Damien, really the man she thought he was? Her head was spinning, her stomach was churning, and she felt the urge to throw up. Chloe clenched her teeth and tried to come to her senses.
“I will ask you since you told me to be calm. You promised not to lie, so I trust you will tell the truth.”
“Ask. Anything.”
Chloe spoke in a barely audible voice towards Damien, who seemed not to even consider looking away.
“Are you the one who killed His Majesty the King?”
"Yes."
Damien's blue eyes narrowed and then returned to their original position. Chloe didn't ask a second time. Chloe's hand wrapped around her stomach, trembled slightly. Damien continued speaking clearly.
“I killed him because I was annoyed that he covered up his son’s madness. I couldn’t accept that someone like that was the sun of this country, so I killed him, Chloe.”
"Stop."
There was not even a hint of regret in his voice as he spoke of betrayal. Chloe tried to get away from him, trying to control her trembling breathing.
“Enough is enough. Stop it.”
Damien cruelly trampled on her hopes of not hearing any more.
“If it were me, I would have cut off my son’s head myself to establish my own honor.”
Chloe's shaking eyes froze. His words, as he spoke of severing the life of his blood relatives without hesitation, were as firm as a blade. A son who is lacking. What does being lacking mean to him? How much must their child be born before Damien can say, "He is not lacking."
“It is better to die with honor than to live in shame and be pointed at.”
"Stop!"
Damien gasped as Chloe, who had covered her ears with both hands, screamed with a pale face. What was staining Chloe’s pure white muslin dress was not the red ink spilled on the desk. It was the smell of blood that always made Damien wake up. The moment he sensed the smell of death, his eyes rolled back. Damien quickly picked her up and held her in his arms, kicking her out of the study. The butler, who had sensed the serious atmosphere and had come running, stopped in his tracks in shock.
“Oh, my lord. Why did you...?”
“Call Brown now!”
The Duke's roar echoed through the dark hallway. It was the day when the autumn typhoon had left Tisse after ravaging it.
***
The Duke's mansion was in disarray after the typhoon passed. The gardener had to work all day to clear away the trees that had fallen in the wind, and the carpenters and blacksmiths had no time to rest as they had to fix the stables that had their roofs blown off and the barns that had their fences broken. But the most tense and alert were the servants working inside Birch Castle.
“Seeing how much trouble you’ve been in while you were still in the womb, I can imagine how much trouble you’ll have once the baby is born.”
Priscilla opened her mouth in a deliberately bright tone toward Chloe, who was lying quietly in bed. Chloe only smiled faintly with a bloodless face and said nothing.
“I think it would be best to let her rest now, Mother.”
Priscilla nodded as Damien spoke in a low voice.
“Yes. It’s okay since I saw that he’s safe. No. Of course, he should be safe. If he’s a child of the Tisse family, he’s too healthy to be a problem. So don’t worry about anything and just focus on recovering.”
“Would you please prepare a carriage for my mother to return home?”
“Yes, master.”
As Damien cut her off from her long speech, butler Paul bowed his head and soon left.
“Take care of yourself, Chloe.”
After Priscilla said goodbye to Chloe, she left the room. Now, only Margaret, her personal maid, Chloe, and Damien remained in the Duchess' bedroom.
“I want to be alone with my wife.”
“Yes, master. I will be waiting, so please call me whenever you need me.”
Even Margaret, who noticed the suffocating atmosphere between them, quietly left the bedroom. A heavy silence fell over the room. Damien approached her, who was lying upright and staring at the ceiling, and stood at the head of the bed.
“Your face is still pale.”
Dr. Brown, who came running in surprise after receiving a call last night, examined Chloe thoroughly and said that the baby was fine. He also did not forget to emphasize that although bleeding in early pregnancy is rare, she must remain absolutely restful.
“Another doctor will arrive from Swanton, so it would be best to hold off until then.”
“...Thank you for your concern.”
Chloe muttered softly with a face as white as a bed sheet. Damien swallowed dryly as he looked at her, who still did not meet his gaze.
“Chloe.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Chloe, with her pale complexion, whispered softly. Damien swallowed dryly, feeling as if he was talking to a wall. His voice, tight and low, came out through his vocal cords.
“Don’t say thank you for something you take for granted.”
“I will correct it. I am sorry.”
Damien's masculine throat twitched once more. Chloe still stared into space with unfocused eyes.
“Don’t think about anything else right now and just focus on recovering.”
“That’s right.”
There was no sincerity in Chloe's voice as she answered mechanically.
“Your Excellency, you must be busy with business. You should go back to Swanton.”
“...I have no business leaving my wife behind who has collapsed in pain, so don’t worry about it.”
Chloe blinked for a moment. Her chest stung, as if she was being stabbed by a needle, and her eyes grew hot.
Goosebumps ran through her body as she vividly recalled the events of the stormy night before. At first glance, his words sounded affectionate, but she felt a fierce urge to stab herself with a knife.
“Then I guess I should get up quickly.”
Chloe, who had her eyes tightly shut, opened them and tried to get up from the bed, but Damien came over and grabbed her shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
His voice was as cold as an ice lake. Chloe's lips, dry and white, trembled thinly.
“I don’t want to cause any inconvenience to the Duke. Lord Brown also said that it wasn’t a serious matter, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
Chloe tried to pull away from him, but Damien's hand still held her shoulder. Turning her head to the side, Chloe could see how hard Damien was trying not to crush her shoulder.
She bit her lip as she looked at the blue veins bulging on Damien’s white hand. It was the hand that had frightened her. The one he had hunted while holding the reins of his horse was not the beast of the Verdier Forest, but Chloe, her. Damien’s straight fingers touched her cheek. For a moment, she felt as if she had gone back to that place. To the time when he had hugged her tightly on his galloping horse.
“Lie down. Right now.”
Chloe bit her lips tightly at Damien's commanding words, and her eyes turned red.
I don't want to see you. Get out of my sight right now. The words she wanted to say were rising to the tip of her tongue.
“I don’t like testing my patience, Chloe.”
Damien whispered in a cracked voice. The arrogant man in front of her could not have known that Chloe was also reaching the end of her patience.
“Yes. I will do as Your Excellency commands. So please...”
Chloe met his gaze for the first time since last night.
“Please, can you leave me alone?”
Chloe watched quietly as Damien's eyes, staring straight at her, froze like ice and then burned like flames. His throat trembled fiercely, and his eyebrows twitched. Chloe knew that he was barely suppressing the anger boiling inside him. There had been a time when she had tried her best not to offend him. But now, Chloe could no longer find a reason why she had to do that.
“Please help me, unless you want me to wet the bed again.”
Damien just chewed his lips and said nothing.
“Please leave me alone, unless you wish to put your surprised mother, your doctor, and all the servants in trouble again. I beg you.”
Damien, who had been staring at her intently, finally opened his mouth with a cold face.
“I will do as you say. But remember that it is not for the sake of my mother or any of the servants except Brown.”
“Then... is it for our child?”
“Do you want to be honest?”
Chloe swallowed dryly. She wanted to say something even though she didn't want to hear it later, but her husband was one step ahead. Damien spat out bitterly in a cruel voice.
“Now that I know for sure that pregnancy is a burden to your body, I don’t feel happy about the baby growing inside you at all.”
“...Please leave.”
Chloe's eyelashes fluttered as she closed her eyes. She placed a hand on her stomach as she heard footsteps disappearing behind the rough sound of the door.
The tears she had barely held back flowed down and soaked the white pillow. The moment she felt a small pain in her lower abdomen, she opened her eyes in surprise. Chloe opened her mouth and took a deep breath, then exhaled.
“Haa... haa...”
She tried not to cry. She tried to think only of good things. The thought of losing the baby made her hair stand on end and goosebumps run down her spine. Chloe suddenly felt a chill and buried herself in the blanket, curling her back and covering her stomach.
Her breathing was not calming down, so she bit the sheet to her mouth and continued to take deep breaths. What should I do now?
“Then I guess I should get up quickly.”
Chloe, who had her eyes tightly shut, opened them and tried to get up from the bed, but Damien came over and grabbed her shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
His voice was as cold as an ice lake. Chloe's lips, dry and white, trembled thinly.
“I don’t want to cause any inconvenience to the Duke. Lord Brown also said that it wasn’t a serious matter, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
Chloe tried to pull away from him, but Damien's hand still held her shoulder. Turning her head to the side, Chloe could see how hard Damien was trying not to crush her shoulder.
She bit her lip as she looked at the blue veins bulging on Damien’s white hand. It was the hand that had frightened her. The one he had hunted while holding the reins of his horse was not the beast of the Verdier Forest, but Chloe, her. Damien’s straight fingers touched her cheek. For a moment, she felt as if she had gone back to that place. To the time when he had hugged her tightly on his galloping horse.
“Lie down. Right now.”
Chloe bit her lips tightly at Damien's commanding words, and her eyes turned red.
I don't want to see you. Get out of my sight right now. The words she wanted to say were rising to the tip of her tongue.
“I don’t like testing my patience, Chloe.”
Damien whispered in a cracked voice. The arrogant man in front of her could not have known that Chloe was also reaching the end of her patience.
“Yes. I will do as Your Excellency commands. So please...”
Chloe met his gaze for the first time since last night.
“Please, can you leave me alone?”
Chloe watched quietly as Damien's eyes, staring straight at her, froze like ice and then burned like flames. His throat trembled fiercely, and his eyebrows twitched. Chloe knew that he was barely suppressing the anger boiling inside him. There had been a time when she had tried her best not to offend him. But now, Chloe could no longer find a reason why she had to do that.
“Please help me, unless you want me to wet the bed again.”
Damien just chewed his lips and said nothing.
“Please leave me alone, unless you wish to put your surprised mother, your doctor, and all the servants in trouble again. I beg you.”
Damien, who had been staring at her intently, finally opened his mouth with a cold face.
“I will do as you say. But remember that it is not for the sake of my mother or any of the servants except Brown.”
“Then... is it for our child?”
“Do you want to be honest?”
Chloe swallowed dryly. She wanted to say something even though she didn't want to hear it later, but her husband was one step ahead. Damien spat out bitterly in a cruel voice.
“Now that I know for sure that pregnancy is a burden to your body, I don’t feel happy about the baby growing inside you at all.”
“...Please leave.”
Chloe's eyelashes fluttered as she closed her eyes. She placed a hand on her stomach as she heard footsteps disappearing behind the rough sound of the door.
The tears she had barely held back flowed down and soaked the white pillow. The moment she felt a small pain in her lower abdomen, she opened her eyes in surprise. Chloe opened her mouth and took a deep breath, then exhaled.
“Haa... haa...”
She tried not to cry. She tried to think only of good things. The thought of losing the baby made her hair stand on end and goosebumps run down her spine. Chloe suddenly felt a chill and buried herself in the blanket, curling her back and covering her stomach.
Her breathing was not calming down, so she bit the sheet to her mouth and continued to take deep breaths. What should I do now?
Alice suddenly came to mind in her complicated mind. When she had a child, did Alice feel this desperate?
A bitter smile broke out on her lips. Alice's situation and hers were incomparable. At least the child Alice conceived was the unquestionable fruit of love between the two. The reason Alice had a hard time was because of her surroundings, not because of the object of her love.
But I...?
This marriage was completely planned by Damien from the beginning.
Chloe also knew that he had not married her at first sight with burning passion. But... even if she had been chosen by chance because she was useful, she had foolishly assumed that romance had really begun after that. Furthermore, she had foolishly expected that perhaps Damien had also harbored a secret curiosity about her at their first meeting, that there had been a strange thrill that even he had not been aware of.
In fact, Chloe Verdier doesn't even know that she is a part of a perfect blueprint created by a human named Damien.
Chloe hugged the blanket and swallowed her wet breath. Her husband was a cruel and greedy man. He wanted more than the many benefits that came with marrying her. He wanted her to be completely absorbed in him and blinded.
“Duchess, it is certainly welcome that you are practicing walking, but it is not good to overwork your body.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you, Sir Brown. I just wanted to hold my child in my arms and comfort him... I’m trying too hard.”
He was a man who knew how to use people's sincerity skillfully. Chloe literally worked hard for him. She tried her best not to show him the scar on her leg from the brace, but it didn't hurt. She was originally a person who would do anything for the person she loved.
The following summer, or the summer after that. Someday, when shr could walk backwards without falling, she wanted to walk backwards along the riverbank with the other girls of Tisse, enjoying the festival, picking blue flowers that resembled his eyes and giving them to him as a gift. She wanted to tell him the confession she had never told anyone.
I love you.
The moment Chloe reached the inevitable conclusion, she felt a pain as if someone was grabbing her heart.
In the end, everything went his way. Damien, that man who was so meticulous and planned out that it was scary, must have known for sure that she was infinitely weak to those who opened the fence of her heart and let them in. And that she was a being who could become stronger than anyone else for them.
“...”
Chloe slowly lowered the blanket she was holding. The child who had come into her pitiful body was not her own child. But he had treated his child as if... it were a contagious disease. As she thought about the baby who had become an unwelcome presence before it was even born, only one fact became clear in her chaotic mind.
I will protect you.
I will protect you, baby.
Chloe struggled to get up, leaned back on the bed, and closed her eyes. Her eyes were moist as she hummed softly the song her mother used to sing to her when she was young, but no more tears fell from Chloe's eyes.
Her singing came through the slightly open bedroom door. Damien closed the door silently and walked quietly down the hallway.
Damn it. It was his mistake to let his guard down during the sweet moment given by a woman intoxicated with happiness. No, it was the moment of hesitation when he hesitated to put all the things he had collected about Chloe Verdier into the fireplace that created this incident. His crazy paranoia eventually caught up with him.
The attending doctor had been concerned about the Duchess's health from the moment she was confirmed to be pregnant. He knew that her body was not as strong as her will, and so he was not happy about the pregnancy. In these turbulent times, he could not help but consider the influence that her situation, which was going to undergo greater changes than anything else, would have on her.
But the moment he saw Chloe left alone, Damien's mind changed. He decided that the child could play an unexpected role in solving the unexpected variable. Chloe Verdier was someone who could become stronger than anyone else to protect something precious. So, at least he could buy time until the child was born. In the meantime, he could revise the plan.
A wounded heart can be soothed with greater happiness. So, you have to think. Think...
The lamp on the wall swayed precariously above Damien's head as he crossed the hallway with a distorted face.
A bitter smile broke out on her lips. Alice's situation and hers were incomparable. At least the child Alice conceived was the unquestionable fruit of love between the two. The reason Alice had a hard time was because of her surroundings, not because of the object of her love.
But I...?
This marriage was completely planned by Damien from the beginning.
Chloe also knew that he had not married her at first sight with burning passion. But... even if she had been chosen by chance because she was useful, she had foolishly assumed that romance had really begun after that. Furthermore, she had foolishly expected that perhaps Damien had also harbored a secret curiosity about her at their first meeting, that there had been a strange thrill that even he had not been aware of.
In fact, Chloe Verdier doesn't even know that she is a part of a perfect blueprint created by a human named Damien.
Chloe hugged the blanket and swallowed her wet breath. Her husband was a cruel and greedy man. He wanted more than the many benefits that came with marrying her. He wanted her to be completely absorbed in him and blinded.
“Duchess, it is certainly welcome that you are practicing walking, but it is not good to overwork your body.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you, Sir Brown. I just wanted to hold my child in my arms and comfort him... I’m trying too hard.”
He was a man who knew how to use people's sincerity skillfully. Chloe literally worked hard for him. She tried her best not to show him the scar on her leg from the brace, but it didn't hurt. She was originally a person who would do anything for the person she loved.
The following summer, or the summer after that. Someday, when shr could walk backwards without falling, she wanted to walk backwards along the riverbank with the other girls of Tisse, enjoying the festival, picking blue flowers that resembled his eyes and giving them to him as a gift. She wanted to tell him the confession she had never told anyone.
I love you.
The moment Chloe reached the inevitable conclusion, she felt a pain as if someone was grabbing her heart.
In the end, everything went his way. Damien, that man who was so meticulous and planned out that it was scary, must have known for sure that she was infinitely weak to those who opened the fence of her heart and let them in. And that she was a being who could become stronger than anyone else for them.
“...”
Chloe slowly lowered the blanket she was holding. The child who had come into her pitiful body was not her own child. But he had treated his child as if... it were a contagious disease. As she thought about the baby who had become an unwelcome presence before it was even born, only one fact became clear in her chaotic mind.
I will protect you.
I will protect you, baby.
Chloe struggled to get up, leaned back on the bed, and closed her eyes. Her eyes were moist as she hummed softly the song her mother used to sing to her when she was young, but no more tears fell from Chloe's eyes.
Her singing came through the slightly open bedroom door. Damien closed the door silently and walked quietly down the hallway.
Damn it. It was his mistake to let his guard down during the sweet moment given by a woman intoxicated with happiness. No, it was the moment of hesitation when he hesitated to put all the things he had collected about Chloe Verdier into the fireplace that created this incident. His crazy paranoia eventually caught up with him.
The attending doctor had been concerned about the Duchess's health from the moment she was confirmed to be pregnant. He knew that her body was not as strong as her will, and so he was not happy about the pregnancy. In these turbulent times, he could not help but consider the influence that her situation, which was going to undergo greater changes than anything else, would have on her.
But the moment he saw Chloe left alone, Damien's mind changed. He decided that the child could play an unexpected role in solving the unexpected variable. Chloe Verdier was someone who could become stronger than anyone else to protect something precious. So, at least he could buy time until the child was born. In the meantime, he could revise the plan.
A wounded heart can be soothed with greater happiness. So, you have to think. Think...
The lamp on the wall swayed precariously above Damien's head as he crossed the hallway with a distorted face.
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