The maids, startled by my unrestrained footsteps, hurriedly followed me. Even as they trailed behind me, they were restless. There was only one thing in the direction I was heading. Unable to stop me, they wore tearful expressions.
I wasn't afraid of knowing the truth like I used to. On the contrary, I was just curious.
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot, so I decided to ask the Marquis while the thought crossed my mind. In truth, whether I was the Marquis's biological child or not didn't really matter in my life.
In fact, despite countless rumors, he ate well and lived well until his death.
'Although it didn't end well.'
The Marquis will continue to remain silent, neither affirming nor denying, just as he has done until now.
"What brings you here?"
Two knights were guarding the door of the office. They did not hide their surprise at the fact that I, who had never even approached the Marquis, let alone his office, during his lifetime, had come all the way here.
"Phew. Wait, I came to see Father, but is he inside?"
"He is here, but..."
They exchanged glances and trailed off. Why are the handmaidens and the knights acting like that today?
I'm not sure if I'm slow.
Since I had no need to be patient in dealing with them, I opened the office door without hesitation.
The knights were guarding the front to prevent the Marchioness from approaching. I had never once come to the office on my own since I was born. Naturally, the Marquis had no need to order the knights to restrict my entry. It was only natural that they could not stop me, even if they wore troubled expressions.
Perhaps because I had taken care not to kick it like I had in the Marchioness's quarters, the door opened smoothly and silently. As expected, the Marquis was sitting at a large desk working. Beside him stood a butler in an upright posture, unwavering.
"Miss, have you arrived?"
As if his eyes, which had wavered for a moment in surprise at my sudden appearance, were a delusion, the butler bowed calmly toward me.
Unlike the butler, who had a stiff demeanor befitting a loyal subordinate but still showed a touch of humanity, the Marquis did not even give me a glance. Although he must have known I had arrived thanks to the butler's words, he did not move an inch and merely scanned the documents.
'What a heartless human being.'
Why did the Marchioness love a man like that?
I admit that the Marquis is quite handsome. His deep navy hair and blue eyes harmonized with his distinct features, exuding a strong aura of a cool, handsome man, while his moderately strong facial features radiated masculinity. They say that in his youth, more than a few young women fell ill with lovesickness upon seeing him, and it is certainly not just a rumor.
It seemed that was the case. Then again, one didn't have to look far; one could tell just by looking at the Marchioness, who was obsessed with the Marquis.
Although fine wrinkles had settled around his eyes with the passage of time, they suited him naturally, as if adding a charm of maturity.
Although the Marquis himself was of civil lineage, his family had been a warrior family for generations, so his physique was as solid as that of a knight. His abilities were also outstanding, and the Marquis was the very person who, despite being from a warrior family, secured the position of Chancellor of the Empire solely through his own skills.
As expected, the world was fair. Heaven had given him good looks and ability, but not a good personality. His coarse temperament and indifference toward those around him appeared, no matter how one looked at it, to be nothing but a character flaw.
The more I thought about it, the more certain I became that I was not the Marquis's biological son. After all, I did not resemble the Marquis in the slightest, not only in appearance but also in personality.
“Would you like some tea?”
Perhaps feeling sorry for me standing there staring only at the Marquis, the butler smiled and asked me a question. A tea set for the Marquis was already set next to him. It seemed the butler had prepared it in advance for the Marquis, who would be working for a long time.
I had no intention of waiting long, so I immediately shook my head. The butler did not ask again and poured a cup of tea, placing it on the Marquis's desk.
Steam rose from the teacup along with a faint aroma. The Marquis reached out to grasp the cup, keeping his gaze fixed on the documents. He signed with his right hand while simultaneously lifting the teacup with his left.
His protruding Adam's apple rippled as the tea went down his throat. His movements were flawlessly smooth and elegant, without the slightest deviation from aristocratic etiquette. However, all of these actions were performed with his gaze fixed on the documents.
It seemed the Marquis had no intention of meeting my gaze until the work was finished. I had no intention of waiting for the Marquis to finish his business. How could I wait when I knew when it would actually be over? Yet, I also didn't feel like leaving without achieving anything.
Once you've drawn the sword, you have to stab even a rotten radish. So I decided to ask straight to the point.
"Am I your biological daughter?"
"Gasp!"
"Huff!"
"Ugh!"
A series of screams erupted from behind him. Even the composed butler flinched, holding the teapot filled with hot tea. Had it not been for his quick reflexes, the teapot would have shattered into pieces upon hitting the hard floor.
The Marquis's right hand, which had been signing documents, finally stopped. For the first time since I entered the office, he raised his head to look at me. His blue eyes were calm, holding no emotion.
From his perspective, my question must have been quite a bombshell, yet he maintained a blank expression without showing a single sign of surprise. It was truly an extraordinary ability.
I had somewhat anticipated such a reaction from the Marquis, so I met his eyes calmly. He slowly opened his mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“Literally.”
He frowned slightly. It was a remarkable achievement in that it elicited a reaction from him. The Marquis rarely showed his emotions; 'Iron-blooded Chancellor,' 'Ice Heart,' and 'Mask of Iron' were all terms people used to refer to him.
His cold gaze pierced me. I did not avert my eyes but met his. He seemed to be gauging my intentions. A heavy silence filled the office. From the back, I heard the sound of someone swallowing.
“Does it matter?”
"No."
His eyebrows twitched once again at my immediate reply. As far as I knew, his expressions had never been as varied as they were today. Was that the reason? He let out a faint sigh, uncharacteristically for him. He also looked somewhat tired.
"Go play your pranks somewhere else."
Thinking it was a childish prank, he lost interest in me and turned his gaze to the documents.
His right hand, which had been stationary, moved over the documents. It was a clear order to expel me.
"It’s no big deal to me, but it’s a hindrance if I want to reach the top."
His right hand stopped once again. He quietly lowered the pen he was holding onto the documents. His eyes, which I met again, were cold as if covered in frost.
"Do you want to become the Empress?"
"Gasp!"
"Huff!"
"Ugh!"
"Hiccup... Cough!"
Another startled groan came from behind me. I can understand the knights who are supposed to be guarding the door, but I don't know why the maids are just standing there with nothing to do.
I should have closed the door as soon as I came in, but since I'm not the type to open and close doors by myself, I forgot to do so.
'This is why being pampered is such a problem.'
The Marquis also signaled to the butler, as if he were bothered by it. At the Marquis's silent command, the competent butler moved swiftly to carry out his order.
The butler bowed respectfully to the Marquis and me, then walked past me and dismissed the knights and ladies-in-waiting behind me. The thick door closed, leaving only the Marquis and me in the office. A brief silence followed, and his lips parted.
"I'll ask you one more time. Do you want to become the Empress?"
"If I say I want to become one, can I?"
He looked at me with a strange expression. My reflection was clearly visible in his blue eyes.
"You're having quite a useless thought."
Something resembling a smile formed faintly on the corners of his lips and then vanished. No. Correction. What briefly appeared and disappeared on his face was not a smile, but a mocking laugh directed at me.
He began to observe me as if I were a strange animal. It was a remarkable achievement that he finally started paying attention to me, but it wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling.
Noise regarding lineage can sometimes be a fatal weakness.
In fact, when I became Empress, the issue of my lineage played a major role in narrowing my standing. Even when I was being slashed by a blade without substance, the Marquis did not open a word about that matter.
To be precise, the issue of my lineage has never been an issue on the surface. This is due to the Marquis's attitude of completely ignoring it, as if it were not worth discussing. The Marquis's unwavering stance thoroughly prevented the matter from becoming a public issue.
The Marquis's handling of the situation, instead of bringing the problem to the surface, spawned countless rumors beneath the surface. In high society, especially, these kinds of rumors form the core of women's social circles. Even the Empress, holding the highest position in the Empire, could not escape the laws of the order. On the contrary, precisely because she was the Empress, she had no choice but to be even more bound by those laws.
High society is a place filled with people who smile on the outside but harbor a sharp blade on the inside.
In this place, the issue of lineage is a fatal weakness.
The truth was a secondary matter. The mere fact that there was room for doubt made one a target of jackals, and one was butchered.
"I'm not stupid enough to jump into a fire pit with a weakness."
Bjornne resented the Marquis for not actively clarifying the situation. His silence forced her to engage in unnecessary wars of nerves and created many enemies. Of course, while the creation of so many enemies was entirely Bjornne's fault due to her personality and attitude, it was also true that this was the starting point.
Bjornne resented him until the moment of her death. To be precise, she resented and cursed the entire world. That sorrow and despair remained dormant deep within her heart to this day, shaking her heart.
It does not mean that she still resents or curses him. The closest explanation would be that Bjornne’s resentment toward him remains, much like the lingering emotional residue left after finishing a movie where one immersed themselves by projecting themselves onto the protagonist.
In truth, the veracity of whether or not I was his biological daughter was not particularly important. Regardless of the truth, as long as he remained silent, I was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Elliott, and indeed, until the moment of my death, I was the Marquis of Elliott's one and only daughter.
There was something else I was curious about, enough to make me go through the trouble of coming all the way to the Marquis's office.
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