Let’s Just Make a Child, Your Grace - Chapter 8 Part 8

Come to think of it, she had left her shawl on the rocking chair too.

‘I’ll get it later, I suppose.’

Arne headed towards the Duke’s residence. Just before Bianca’s misdeeds were revealed to the whole world, there wasn’t a moment to waste.

‘There’s no better time than now to meet Duke Xenon.’

* * *

After changing clothes to go to Duke Xenon’s residence, Bianca was still sitting on the floor. The Duchess was embracing her and comforting her.

“How could Father slap my cheek? How could he do that just because I did something to that lowly Arne?”

“It’s okay, dear. He was just very angry. I’ll talk to him when he comes back.”

Arne smirked as she walked past. How could it be just one slap, rather than how could it be a slap at all? She nearly took someone’s life. If the roles were reversed and Arne had done such a thing to Bianca, Arne might have been severely beaten and disowned.

She was astounded by Bianca’s selfish words, spoiled to the point of foolishness in the Duchess’s embrace.

“Arne.”

Arne, who was about to quicken her pace due to displeasure, stopped. It was rare for the Duchess to call her first. She glared at Arne, like she was looking at someone who had harmed Bianca.

“You knew, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell us about this beforehand?”

Bianca glared at Arne while sniffling in the Duchess’s arms. It was a familiar sight. She always had her lips curled up even while sniffling like that.

Seeing that she couldn’t do that today, the shock of being hit by the Duke must have been quite significant.

“If you had told us beforehand, we could have taken measures, couldn’t we?”

Silence fell.

“What kind of measures?”

“…We could have called a mage to prevent you from getting hurt, or warned Bianca, or something.”

Arne tilted her head. Her red eyes shone intensely between her slowly rising eyelids. It was laughable.

‘That hypocrisy of the Duchess, pretending to care for me now.’

They probably needed time to devise a plan for Bianca. To ensure Bianca wouldn’t get a single scratch.

Arne turned her steps and approached the Duchess. The sharp sound of her heels echoed clearly.

“Duchess, you already knew, didn’t you?”

“Wh-what?”

Arne slowly bent her knees to sit. She stared at the Duchess intently with her fingers interlocked.

“You already knew that Bianca was secretly feeding me mana perfume and enjoying the sight of me crawling like a dog, didn’t you? So why didn’t you take any measures for me?”

“……”

“Bianca turning out like this is your creation, for teaching her that it was okay to do so.”

“You!”

The Duchess struck Arne’s face with the letter she was holding. The papers fluttered down through the air. Whether she was cut by the paper or not, the area below her eye stung. She could feel droplets of blood forming.

“Is this how you speak to the parents who raised and fed you!”

“……”

“They say you shouldn’t take in a black-haired beast. You can’t even show respect and love your parents!”

Arne picked up the fallen letters one by one. She handed the neatly aligned letters back to the Duchess.

“Mother.”

The Duchess’s face contorted violently. It was a contemptuous look as if she had heard something she shouldn’t have.

“Mother, I loved you even when you stood by and watched Bianca torment me, even when you threw things at my face like this. I loved you even when you drove nails into my heart.”

Blood gushed and fell from the open wound each time Arne’s lips moved weakly.

“I hoped you wouldn’t be in pain, that you would be happy, that you would have good dreams. There was only one thing I wanted from you. For you to smile at me when you looked at me.”

The Duchess couldn’t move an inch. The blood falling from under Arne’s eyes looked almost like tears, giving an eerie feeling.

“But now I don’t need your smile anymore.”

Arne drew a faint smile, seemingly relieved. Arne stood up and looked down at the Duchess and Bianca.

“Goodbye.”

Arne turned her body and moved her steps. Penny, who had been guarding Arne’s side, opened the door. As Arne stepped through that door, the waiting servant bowed his head in respect. The carriage that Arne had instructed beforehand was waiting.

* * *

Although she hadn’t sent word ahead, the butler of the Xenon ducal family welcomed Arne grandly. He said that Duke Xenon had instructed them to welcome her specially whenever she came.

“We are honored to receive you, Lady Ronia. We have just contacted Duke Xenon, so you should be able to meet him soon. For now, please come this way.”

Arne, who had entered the mansion of the Xenon ducal family, couldn’t help but be amazed. Although the Ronia duchy was also one of the top ducal families in the empire, it couldn’t compare to the Xenon ducal family.

‘Well, it’s natural considering the union of Jeffrey Kianel de Xenon and Aveline Ruagrin de Rubeta, two of the four founding families of Renigrad, Xenon, Rubeta, and Ronia.’

The union of two founding families, Xenon and Rubeta, had caused quite a stir in the empire. Moreover, both were war heroes and children of blessing.

There was no defeat in the wars where Jeffrey, the former Grand Mage, and Aveline, a magic swordsman with a dual core, fought together.

Perhaps it was due to the passionate story of love blooming in the midst of war that they were also a couple loved by the imperial citizens.

Or perhaps they were loved more because of the sacrifice and pain of losing their daughter during the war to protect the empire.

‘I hope you can find your daughter.’

Although she had to make a deal with Duke Xenon, she was sincere. Just like how Arne wanted to meet Vivian again.

For that, she needed to be fully alert from now on. Although the Wayne family would be cleared of the suspicion of poisoning the Second Prince, they had been unjustly suspected of poisoning because of Bianca. The Wayne family wouldn’t immediately bring up the engagement talk with the Ronia ducal family.

It would be perfect if the offended Wayne family said there was no engagement, but with Kale, who even came to Arne, who’s known as the empire’s crazy villainess, it was uncertain how things would turn out.

So, at least now that she had bought time, it was important for Arne’s trading company to achieve success to sway the Grand Duke’s heart.

Especially now that the Grand Duke viewed Arne favorably.

‘There’s a saying to row when the tide is high.’

Arne, who entered the reception room, drew an elegant smile. Now was the time to row vigorously. Arne raised one hand to her chest and gracefully paid her respects.

“I’m delighted to see Duke and Duchess Xenon like this.”

* * *

Arne’s custom dress that had been ordered from Ella was completed. Cedric, who was writing a letter to send along with the scroll being transferred to Ella’s personal workshop, tilted his wine glass. A bitter aroma filled his mouth.

It was the wine that Arne had said suited her taste at the last banquet. While he was unconsciously stroking the ring on his neck, he dropped the ring at the sound of an urgent voice.

“Lord Cedric! It seems Miss Serena is having a seizure. We’ve received word from the old woman in the annex!”

Seizure. The moment that single word crossed his mind, Cedric stood up abruptly. He opened the drawer, tore the scroll he had grabbed, and arrived in a familiar room.

“Serena!”

“Let go, I said let go!”

Although Serena struggled, she couldn’t shake off Cedric’s restraining hands.

“Why are you the only one who takes after our human father? Why am I the one who’s sick? This cursed, wretched Renigrad grand ducal family!”

Serena, overcome with anger, poured out her grievances. As Cedric reached out his hand, the old woman from the annex hurriedly handed over a medicine bottle.

“What good is the Renigrad grand ducal family that everyone praises? I can’t enjoy anything! I can’t take a single step out of this wretched, cursed room!”

“Take your medicine first.”

“No. I won’t. What did you do to get this again? Did the Grand Duke ask for an engagement this time?”

“First, the medicine……”

“No! Please, just let me go!”

As Serena, who had been shouting, began to gasp as if she might pass out, Cedric hurriedly made her take the medicine. Then, Serena’s breathing gradually returned to normal. Cedric turned to look at the old woman from the annex.

“I heard there hadn’t been any seizures recently because of the selindefirin.”

The old woman from the annex hurriedly opened her notebook and began to write.

[It seems she had a seizure after getting excited from overhearing the knights talking outside the window.]

“What were the knights talking about?”

The hesitant old woman finally wrote on her notebook under Cedric’s sharp gaze.