Let’s Just Make a Child, Your Grace - Chapter 7 Part 10

“Well, I’m so grateful that I’ll give you this hat as a gift. And I know a bit about fortune-telling, so I’d like to read your fortune.”

Cedric shrugged. Since he couldn’t go to the training ground anyway, whether buying nuts or bracelets, everything was just an action to clear his cluttered mind. It could also be an excuse to delay going back a little longer.

Smiling broadly, the merchant plonked the hat on Cedric’s head. He was certainly from a nomadic tribe from far away. He couldn’t have done this if he knew who Cedric was.

“Well, maybe it’s because you’re handsome. Everything suits you well. Now, pick a card from here.”

The merchant’s smooth talk made Cedric chuckle as he drew a card and held it out.

“Let’s see. It says a place with many small lights is auspicious. How about visiting the Firefly Garden today?”

The merchant burst into laughter. He really did seem like a con artist.

“And it says you’ve seen a secret truth. Or you will see one.”

Cedric paused and stared at the merchant.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way. May fortune smile upon you.”

Cedric sighed as he watched the merchant quickly pack up and disappear. Seeing how his mind was even more cluttered now, it was clearly a scam.

As he rubbed his face and stretched his body, he bumped into someone who had just come out of the bakery. He looked up, but the woman with blonde hair flowing from under her deeply pulled-down hat had already hurriedly disappeared.

A cufflink had fallen at his feet. On the back was engraved a familiar family crest.

‘Why is this here?’

* * *

“Marchioness, please let g… Ahem, ahem.”

Arne quickly cleared her throat. She put her heart into it so sincerely that she almost blurted out the true voice from her heart without realizing it.

Arne cleared her throat again.

“Isn’t Kale really your precious son?”

“Of course. How could he not be, when he’s the son I’ve raised?”

The Marchioness bit her lip tightly. Just thinking about the years gone by made her shudder.

Marquis Wayne was truly a dissolute and reckless man. He would often pick on the Marchioness’s status and treat her with contempt. Even when she wanted to sign the divorce papers he suddenly demanded, she endured because of Kale’s marriage prospects. He might cause some trouble, but he’s a good-hearted child. Shouldn’t she at least see him married off?

A bitter emotion clouded the Marchioness’s eyes.

“He’s my whole life.”

“If he’s your whole life, why are you trying to give him to me? You should hold onto him tightly and spend your life together.”

Arne tried to create the kindest expression possible by lifting the corners of her mouth into a smile. Forcing her mouth to smile was almost causing her facial muscles to cramp.

“My son needs to get married and continue the family line. Are you planning to end our lineage?”

“That’s why I’m asking, why me? If you wait, the right destiny will come for Kale… I mean, Young Master Wayne.”

“Quiet.”

Arne pressed her temples and let out a deep sigh. Strong refusal didn’t work, pleading didn’t work, and persuasion didn’t work either. It was truly maddening.

If Kale and Arne didn’t get engaged, Kale wouldn’t need to be a cheater and could happily meet with Amelia.

‘It would be good for your son and good for me too, so why!’

Her head was throbbing with pain. Arne really hated Kale. She was sincere when she said Kale’s actions were cruel enough to make her think he might really kill her.

‘Why did Amelia like a man like this? Well, Kale likes Amelia, so he probably didn’t treat her the same way he treated me.’

When she saw him at the party before, she thought he would give Amelia his heart and soul. After all, Amelia de Leverun was a beauty everyone admired.

‘It might be faster for me to get engaged to Cedric than to persuade the Marchioness.’

Arne’s deep sigh irritated the Marchioness.

“Lady Ronia, show some respect. Your face is disrespectful.”

But Arne just sighed again.

“Didn’t you say you’d show respect to me earlier?”

“…That was when we weren’t talking about engagement.”

Arne answered weakly. The Marchioness was greatly annoyed by Arne’s face, looking deep in thought as if she didn’t care about her at all.

She was at a loss for words, swayed by this despicable thing, but the more she thought about it, the more angry she became at the rejection of her son.

“Just a few years ago, you would have been begging for your life before me as a war slave. The world has really changed.”

Arne’s eyebrow twitched.

“You’ve forgotten your place now that you’ve been adopted and called Lady Ronia.”

“Marchioness, your words are going too far.”

As far as Arne knew, the Marchioness Wayne had also been adopted. Unlike Arne, she was blonde with blue eyes, but she was an illegitimate child. She was adopted late to be married into the Wayne Marquis family.

“How can you say such things, Marchioness? You were also adopted from being an illegitimate child…”

Slap. A sharp sound of friction arose. Hot breath burst from Arne’s mouth. Her turned head hurt.

“Are you comparing yourself to me?”

The Marchioness’s eyes flashed fiercely. When Arne met her gaze directly, an inexplicable anger boiled up inside her. How dare she! The Marchioness’s arm rose again.

But this time, Arne caught the Marchioness’s arm.

“Marchioness, I apologize if I offended you by touching on your past, but no matter how much of a Marchioness you are, you have no right to harm the body of a precious lady of a ducal family.”

“You, you…”

The Marchioness tried to pull her arm away, but Arne held it tightly with surprising strength. Her burning eyes flickered as if they would devour the Marchioness.

This gaze was unbearably irritating. As the Marchioness bit her lip, Arne’s body staggered from the sudden force.

“This is the real thing.”

It was because Kale had pushed Arne’s chest. Not stopping there, Kale pushed Arne’s shoulder once more, causing her to fall backward.

As Kale’s hand rose over Arne, who had lost her balance and fallen, Arne habitually covered her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

The voices of young ladies echoed from beyond the bushes.

“Shall we go this way? They say this path leads to the rose garden.”

“Let’s go.”

Kale’s hand hesitated at the sound of people approaching.

“Do that one more time and you might end up dead.”

The Marchioness, lifting the corners of her mouth at Kale’s words, looked down at Arne and said,

“Let’s go.”

Kale spat out a curse and turned around, disappearing with the Marchioness.

Watching the mother and son walk away, Arne muttered.

“Two against one is unfair. How can I live with such mistreatment?”

Arne stood up and brushed off the bushes clinging to her dress. Fortunately, there wasn’t much difference since it had already been crumpled and covered with bushes earlier.

As she was arranging her dress, she saw the group of young ladies whose voices she had heard earlier.

The group of young ladies who met her gaze under her silver hair and red eyes hesitated, then turned their heads away in unison as if displeased, changing their path.

It was a familiar occurrence. Arne, biting her lip tightly, tidied up her clothes and picked up the hat that had fallen at her feet. It was covered in black dirt, as if Kale had stepped on it when it fell off when the Marchioness slapped her cheek.

‘It’s such a pretty hat, what a shame.’

After shaking off the dirt thoroughly, a faint mark remained. She felt a bit gloomy, but she still had many places to see today. Arne put on the hat and started walking.

Fortunately, Cedric hadn’t returned yet. Sitting on the chair where she first sat, Arne looked at the sky. It was a refreshing, clear day, perfect for a garden stroll.

After carefully examining the items she had brought in her bag, Arne looked up at the sky again.

‘I’d like to visit the Firefly Garden too. I wonder if I can go.’

A gentle breeze blew. The wind, carrying the scent of flowers and grass, tickled Arne’s hair. It was a familiar feeling, but perhaps because several things had happened at once, her startled heart was still fluttering and felt heavy, even though she deliberately looked only at the sky and tried to stop thinking.

Fortunately, her stinging cheeks had cooled down. As the murmur of people around her gradually grew louder, Arne slowly turned her head.

A smile spread across Arne’s face as she saw Cedric approaching, his hands full as if he intended to buy out all the nuts from the bakery.

Perhaps it was because his shirt fit particularly well today, but he looked good even from a distance.

It wasn’t just Arne who noticed. Secret glances were exchanged behind the fans of the young ladies walking in the garden.

Maybe it was the good sunlight, but the shadows accentuated the strong lines of his face even more.

‘He’s handsome.’

A faint smile appeared on Arne’s lips. The familiar rhythm of his firm, disciplined footsteps stopped in front of Arne.

“Are you planning to feed all the rabbits and squirrels here?”

Arne asked with a broad grin. Unlike Arne’s bright expression, Cedric’s face gradually hardened. His large hand cupped Arne’s cheek.

“What happened to your face?”