Jane hurriedly brought a thick shawl to wrap around Iren’s shoulders. But Lahart roughly snatched the shawl with his harsh touch. He then lifted Iren by her waist with one arm, leaning her against him.

However, Iren’s condition was not normal. She was shivering, and her face had turned so pale that it verged on blue.

Instead of leaning against him, she pushed him away with her slender arms.

“Please… let me go. You’ll catch the cold.”

“You are my wife. You sleep in the same bed with me every night. If I’m going to catch it, I would have done so already.”

“Duke, please don’t say such things…”

“Is it possible to catch a cold?”

Lahart pressed sharply. Iren relaxed her grip from his arm and leaned into his embrace, collapsing. Without further questions, Lahart wrapped the shawl around her and laid her back down.

“Take good care of her. If you want to continue serving your mistress.”

Jane bowed her waist. Lahart then left with the doctor and closed the door behind them.

“Present the treatment plan.”

“F-first I will prescribe supplements—to boost her strength, and cold medicine together. Monitor her progress while she rests…”

“Three days. If there is no improvement by then, your neck will be on the line.”

Three days. The future looked bleak. But the other person was none other than Duke Cardius himself. If he speaks out, it won’t be three days later, but right here where his head would roll. The doctor wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he nodded in agreement.

“I-I will keep that in mind! I will do my best to ensure that the madam shows improvement!”

Lahart made a dismissive gesture as if he was chasing away a bug, but the doctor felt a sense of relief as if he could finally breathe freely.

When the doctor disappeared, Lahart, now alone, glanced at the closed door before turning away.

In the room, Jane was checking Iren’s forehead.

“It seems like your fever is rising. I’ll quickly get a washcloth, madam.”

“Yes. Don’t worry and go quickly.”

Jane’s figure quickly disappeared. Iren quietly raised her hand and clasped her stomach. Her eyes were filled with anxiety and confusion.

* * *

“Madam, it’s time for your evening medicine. What would you like to do?”

“Dispose of it discreetly. Tell the doctor that I took it well.”

Jane dissolved the medicine she received from the doctor in water. The medicine dissolved without a trace. She could just pretend to fetch a washcloth and dispose of the water.

It had been four days since she started discarding the medicine made in this manner.

Iren refused to take the doctor’s medicine but instead took the medicine she made herself.

Iren’s condition was slowly improving. The fever had subsided, and her occasional cough had stopped. That’s why Jane couldn’t oppose discarding the medicine. As long as her mistress’s condition improved, she had nothing else to wish for.

“I will take my leave now. If you need anything, please call me anytime.”

“Sure. You’ve worked hard today. Goodnight, Jane.”

“I didn’t do anything special. Have a good night, madam. See you tomorrow.”

A faint smile lingered on Iren’s lips. Jane knew that when she heard the kind farewell Iren offered, she momentarily looked forward to the next day.

Without any worries or concerns.

However, on the other hand, Iren knew better than anyone else that this kind of peace wouldn’t last long. She was deceiving everyone for now, but it was her duty to hide the truth forever.

Her stomach would soon start to swell.

“What should I do?”

The powder she made in the lab four days ago was used to determine pregnancy. When blood is added to the powder, the powder changes color, indicating pregnancy—red meant not pregnant, while dark green indicates pregnancy.

The powder she dropped her blood in turned a dark green color. All the powders she divided were the same.

Even in her distracted state, Iren managed to ingeniously create and take medicine that momentarily raised her temperature. Otherwise, the doctor would have noticed her pregnancy.

She intentionally listed herbs with potential side effects in her notes.

However, despite Iren’s skill in handling medicine, she couldn’t prevent her stomach from swelling.

“I have no idea how Lahart will react.”

She pondered for four days, but the one who held the answers was not herself, but Lahart. Yet she didn’t want to suddenly confess to him that she was carrying his child.

For some reason… or rather, most surely. An ominous feeling told her he wouldn’t be pleased.

“I can’t risk that danger. I need to understand Lahart’s thoughts before revealing it.”

Darkness slowly filled the bedroom. Iren lay quietly, waiting for Lahart to arrive.

Since her treatment had begun, Lahart only visited the bedroom late at night. He would hold Iren until dawn and then leave as soon as the sun rose.

On the first day, when she tried to avoid his touch, he smiled twistedly and said,

“I don’t have a hobby of holding fragile women.”

Soon, Lahart’s scent mixed with the night air. Lahart came to the bed and embraced her. She both loved and hated the large hand on her back.

She opened her mouth several times but then closed it, unable to decide what to say.

Finally, Iren, with a firm resolve, spoke to Lahart,

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help you at the most critical time.”

She diverted the conversation to work-related topics. Even though she wanted to talk about the child, this was not the right time.

“If things go to ruin just because one person is missing, it’s better to let it be ruined. Are you so confident that you’re irreplaceable?”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I was worried that the Duke would be busier because of me.”

“There are plenty of people who can work if you can’t. Don’t waste your energy on unnecessary things.”

Iren nodded quietly. Lahart touched her forehead to check her temperature.

Whenever he measured her temperature like this, Iren would often fall into a shallow delusion that he was worried about her.

“The fever has gone down. You should be able to get up after some rest.”

“If the medical results are fine, I’ll start work immediately.”

“Do you know who is the first to die on the battlefield?”

Iren looked at Lahart with confusion in her eyes. Lahart answered in a nonchalant, gruff voice.

“A person who thinks too much like you.”

Cold sweat formed on Iren’s straight forehead. Lahart removed the hair stuck to her sweaty head.

“You seem to be gritting your teeth and enduring in my eyes. The battlefield is not just a place where you wield a sword.”

“…Yes.”

Iren did not deny it. Lahart’s dark eyebrows twitched. Despite knowing that he found her response unpleasant, Iren continued speaking.

It was something she wanted to tell Lahart at least once. She was hoping that Lahart would understand.

“I am enduring. I am trying. To become the person the Duke needed here. To prove that I have value staying here.”

“I don’t understand.”

Lahart grabbed Iren’s hair, which was slipping through his fingers. Her hair, dyed white at his command, flowed like water and gathered in his hand.

This hair symbolized Iren moving from being a Phaeson to becoming a Cardius.

“I saved you and made you my wife. I chose you, and I need no more proof than that.”

I am the law, the truth, and the reason. Lahart, who speaks like that, is extremely arrogant yet beautiful. He does not doubt his worth, his choices, or his actions.

Perhaps Iren loved that confident demeanor.

Even in her childhood, it was the same. The boy who confidently claimed he would soon become a Cardius later appeared before her as the heir of the Cardius family.

Even so… as he became even more perfect, as he soars higher, the pointing fingers towards me will not relent.

If she had been Lahart’s subordinate, there would have been no issue. But as Lahart had said, she was his wife.

“If I were a subordinate to the Duke, you would be right. No, just the fact that the Duke chose me would have brought me all sorts of honor.”

But I…

“I am the Duke’s wife. I have a duty to bear to be recognized as the Duchess.”

Now is the time. If she were to bring up the topic of a child now, it wouldn’t disrupt the flow.

Iren unconsciously stopped her arm from moving towards her lower abdomen.

“I don’t have any of those. My family was exterminated for treason, and unfortunately, I possess abilities that people fear. I haven’t even borne a child yet.”

The moment she mentioned the word ‘child,’ Lahart’s gaze turned cold. Lahart roughly let go of her hair.

“Stop talking nonsense, Iren.”

“It’s an important matter. You will need a successor someday.”

“Is there a reason why the successor must be from you?”

Her heart froze at Lahart’s response.

Her mind, which had been fiercely trying to understand his intentions, stopped for a moment.

Lahart’s response was very clear.

It’s not that he dislikes children, but that he dislikes having a child with her.

Uncontrollable tears welled up in her eyes. With trembling voice and closed eyes, Iren asked,

“…Do you hate me that much?”

“Yes. From your weak body to your Phaeson blood. There is no reason for you to bear a child.”

Lahart’s casual demeanor distorted into a blur. His distorted form felt terrifyingly monstrous, as if he were a monster.

To see a child from a woman other than his wife. Lahart knew better than anyone else what it meant and what consequences it would bring.

He was saying that he didn’t need a child with her. He was telling her to resign herself since there was no need for him to have a child with her.

Then why does he embrace me every night? Why did he make me his wife? Why did he… save me?

His revenge was too cruel and harsh to be called revenge. There may be different levels of cruelty in revenge, but his method was so ruthless that Iren couldn’t bear it.

It must mean that I am as hateful to him as the previous Duke, his father, whom he hated all his life and eventually killed by his own hands.

Iren couldn’t fathom the extent of Lahart’s hatred.

After all, that’s who he was. A person who would rage over an unauthorized outing and take those who helped her hostage as a means of threat.

Such a person wouldn’t want a child.

She murmured to herself as if in self-mockery.

“I was out of line. Yes, that’s right. Even if the Duke entrusts the succession to another woman, I have no reason or right to object.”

“Say that again.”