Celia honestly admitted. It was a thought she had had since first hearing about this bizarre contract.

The Duke wanted a child, specifically a son. Despite already having Eugen, he had such thoughts, and even went as far as secretly inquiring and taking her as his wife.

The old lady had only hinted that the Duke, having lost his wife and living alone, felt lonely, and with his only son living in a distant country, he wanted to see young children again. So Celia had only vaguely understood it as such circumstances.

From the beginning, she thought nothing would change even if she knew the circumstances, given that he was buying a woman to bear a child for money. She simply considered it none of her business.

“It was because another heir was needed.”

“Another… heir?”

From what she had overheard at the funeral, Eugen was said to be the maternal grandson of the previous Duke of Hilbert. With no son to inherit the title, they married Andros to their only daughter to produce an heir.

“You know the reason why my father passed away, don’t you?”

“……I heard it was a heart attack.”

Celia repeated the diagnosis she had been told by Andros’s personal physician. Her stomach tightened with tension. Why bring up the story of someone already dead and buried deep in the ground? Celia waited for his next words with a sense of foreboding.

“Father originally had a chronic illness. His heart wasn’t good.”

“……”

“Unfortunately, that disease is hereditary, so I probably won’t live very long either.”

Celia looked at him with wide, surprised eyes. Eugen’s tone and voice were too calm, as if he was talking about someone else’s story without hesitation.

“Perhaps that’s why Father also wanted to see another heir. Because if I die too, this family line will end.”

“……”

Watching Eugen calmly explain his situation with a smiling face, Celia became at a loss for words. He wasn’t bringing this up to receive comfort, after all.

“You don’t need to offer unnecessary consolation.”

She became even more flustered at the words he said while smiling. Meanwhile, Eugen brought up a different topic.

“Since no one was there to witness Father’s last moments, it felt regrettable. That feeling grew stronger as I sorted through his belongings.”

“You must have missed your father.”

“You were the only one who shared Father’s final moments.”

“……”

“Could you tell me about it in more detail?”

Celia flinched as if pricked by a needle.

“I don’t know much. I fell asleep with Andros… and when I woke up the next day, he was already a cold corpse. I’m not sure exactly when he passed away. I slept deeply, perhaps because I was too nervous.”

Celia recited the words she had practiced alone many times, facing the wall.

I don’t know, I don’t know anything. I don’t know.

The times she had self-hypnotized flashed through her mind in order. It wasn’t her fault that Andros happened to die that day, was it? She had only delayed the time of death slightly in her account. Yes, that’s all it was.

Celia calmed her pounding heart and steeled herself once again.

“I see.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have anything more to tell you.”

At Celia’s response, a smile seemed to flit across Eugen’s face for a moment. It was such a brief instant that she wondered if she had seen wrong.

“Being in a foreign country, I didn’t get to spend much time with Father, and now I find myself regretting it again.”

“……”

There was indeed deep regret etched on Eugen’s face. Even at the funeral, he had maintained a completely composed and rational demeanor, making her wonder if all nobles were like this. She even wondered if the saying about nobles having blue blood was true.

Seeing such a vulnerable side of Eugen for the first time, he seemed to appear human to her.

She was confused as to whether this was really the same person who had intimidatingly confronted her with the contract she had made with Andros.

“I was rude back then.”

“Pardon?”

Celia was startled, feeling as if her inner thoughts had been exposed.

“I heard the news of Father’s death while in a foreign country, and on my way back, I learned about the secret marriage… Honestly, I was confused.”

“……”

Celia’s green eyes grew even wider. As Eugen calmly continued to recount the past story, Celia’s heart became increasingly filled with guilt.

“And I was shocked, the moment I first saw you.”

Eugen’s eyes turned towards Celia.

“You were younger, weaker, and more beautiful than I had imagined.”

“……”

“Isn’t it too much of a waste for someone like you to spend your entire life married to a man old enough to be their father?”

Celia couldn’t readily answer Eugen’s question. It was a marriage with a purpose from the beginning. There was something she wanted to protect even if it meant betting her entire life. She didn’t want to live like a hamster on a wheel. The ever-increasing debt no matter how much she paid back, the existence of a father she wished would just die — it was all like that.

“To stake it all on mere money, that is.”

At the words Eugen added, Celia felt as if she had been doused with cold water. No matter how she tried to spin it, to him, she was just a woman who had sold herself for money. The fact that a woman like that had become his father’s wife and was now firmly ensconced in this mansion must be like a thorn in his side.

It was none other than Celia herself who had sold herself for what he called mere ‘money’. In the end, she was the object of his contempt.

“……Then why did you come? To a place where a woman who made such a contract for mere money is staying.”

“I simply… came because I was curious about how you were doing.”

“……”

Those words sounded as if he came to check if she was really pregnant. Only then did her fingertips grow cold as she once again became aware of her situation.

The one thing Eugen was curious about was whether a child was growing in her womb.

“You said you would give me time.”

Eugen quietly met her eyes at her suddenly calm and cold tone.

“It was none other than you, Your Grace, who made that promise.”

“……”

“So, please wait during that period. If I’m not pregnant… I’ll leave this mansion as you said.”

Even as she spoke firmly and clearly, her body was trembling slightly.

“……Are you cold?”

The jacket he had draped over her was visibly quivering, making it impossible to avoid Eugen’s gaze.

“No, I’m fine. The annex isn’t far, so I’ll return this to you.”

Celia took off the jacket that was draped over her shoulders and held it out to him. Eugen stared at it for a moment before smiling, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“Throw it away.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t wear clothes that have touched someone else’s skin again.”

“……”

Eugen raised his hand and loosened the cravat that had been tightly constricting his neck. At this brief movement, Celia unconsciously flinched.

“Why are you startled? I just felt a bit hot too.”

Eugen chuckled at her gaze that seemed to say it couldn’t be. She stared at Eugen’s jacket in her hands for a long time. He seemed quite curious about her next action, not leaving his spot and continuing to watch.

Celia couldn’t bring herself to throw it away, nor could she wear it again. Just as her green eyes were wavering, not knowing what to do, a firm resolve finally settled in them.

Thud.

Celia threw it to the ground as it was. The man’s eyes showed no emotion as he looked at the jacket that had fallen onto the dry grass with a soft thump. Celia swallowed dryly and met his eyes. She felt that if she avoided his gaze here, it would look as if she had many things to hide.

He seemed uninterested in the clothes on the ground, staring at her blankly before speaking.

“I am eagerly anticipating a child to be conceived in that womb.”

“……”

At Eugen’s calm voice, Celia covered her stomach with her hands. He was speaking as if he had opened up Celia’s womb and looked inside. His tone was imbued with pressure, as though he was urging her to confess the lie that would be discovered anyway and ask for forgiveness as soon as possible.

“A child with Hilbert blood flowing through its veins. That way, even if something were to happen to me, there would be no gap in the succession.”