Chapter 3.7

Aness safely gave birth to a baby boy. When she saw him, she was stunned. A baby with soft golden hair and blue eyes smiled up at his mother, looking uncannily like someone she knew.

‘What am I going to do? They say you can’t hide your blood—he looks exactly the same. He’ll know at a glance, so I must never let them meet.’

Suppressing her anxiety, she hugged the baby close and nuzzled his warm cheek. After giving birth, she found herself loving him so much. At first, she’d been resentful toward the Duke for not helping her family and had considered taking it out on his baby, but he was so adorable that all those thoughts vanished.

Baroness Klein, who had been bedridden with worry over her husband and second daughter, recovered immediately upon seeing the precious baby. After all, her youngest, Aness, had married safely and given birth, making her a proper noble lady in every way.

Aness was happy that her mother had recovered thanks to the baby. Even though her father was still imprisoned with no sign of release, she wanted to believe that things would gradually get better.

But trouble arose elsewhere.

“There’s still no word, you say.”

Even after more than a year since giving birth, Joseph had not returned, nor had he sent any message.

In short, he had disappeared. With no information about him at all, Aness was only growing more anxious. He had left only three maids at this mansion, and no one else. She didn’t even know where Joseph’s original home was. The building that had housed his guild had long since been closed. He had erased all traces to avoid the Duke of Perschtmann’s pursuit.

All she knew was that he had left for the neighboring Kingdom of Grevis.

“What am I supposed to do?”

Of course, it wasn’t that Aness was desperately waiting for him out of longing. Nor was she worried because he hadn’t kept his promise to return in a month.

The reason was elsewhere. Although Joseph had sent a generous dowry to the Klein family, it was all gone in less than a year.

It was all because of Erika, the second daughter. Half out of her mind, she began to spend extravagantly and even started stealing money. Thanks to her, the entire fortune was squandered in just a year, and maid Dana came to Aness looking very troubled.

Dana regretted not being stricter with the unstable Erika, blaming herself for what had happened, and Aness simply felt heartbroken.

In truth, her older sister Imelda was not in her right mind either. She heard that Baron Eckras, her secret husband, had grown distant after his legitimate wife discovered their affair, leaving Imelda heartbroken.

Aness sighed and gathered all the money left in the house, handing it to maid Dana. With Joseph missing and no more financial support, even the maids had all left.

She kept this fact secret from her family, and Dana, knowing nothing, gratefully accepted the food and money from Aness.

“What am I going to do? How will I survive? I need to live well with my Ian….”

After Dana left, Aness was left alone with her baby in the large mansion, and she could only feel overwhelmed. Considering her sick mother, there was no way she could refuse to send money, so it had been an unavoidable choice.

“Sigh, Joseph, you terrible man. Where on earth are you? I don’t even know if you’re dead or alive. Is there any other ill-fated tie like this in the world?”

Muttering to herself, Aness suddenly snapped to attention and jumped up. In front of her, baby Ian was smiling brightly, holding onto the railing and tottering along. He was developing much faster than other children his age, and lately, he’d been able to walk well on his own.

“That’s right! There is another ill-fated tie! The wealthiest man in the Empire, the Duke of Perschtmann. If we’re talking about bad ties, he’s the absolute worst.”

Looking at the baby smiling at her, Aness couldn’t help but shout. When his mother called out, the baby clapped his hands and squealed in delight.

“But honestly, it’s hard to predict how that man would react if the truth came out. What should I do?”

Aness spent the whole evening agonizing, and only after a long time did she finally make a decision. With a young baby, finding work somewhere wasn’t exactly easy.

“That’s right, I’ll just approach and see how things go. I can decide based on the situation.”

If he readily acknowledged her child and showed mercy, he’d probably support her in raising the baby. If not, she’d run away. She would decide after seeing his attitude and the circumstances.

The very next day, she went out to the streets to gather rumors and soon found a very good opportunity.

“What? The Duke of Perschtmann’s house is hiring maids? And there’s even separate staff housing?”

Upon hearing this from a recruiter in the street, Aness couldn’t hide her joy. She had finally found a way to survive. And in the Duke’s house, no less!

***

Aness, quick-witted and nimble, found that the cleaning and kitchen work the maids did suited her well.

The head maid, after having her try out some tasks, hired Aness on the spot. Of course, this was done without knowing anything about her true identity.

If they had known she was the daughter of a fallen noble family, or in fact a noble lady herself, it would have been quite difficult.

After receiving the job offer, Aness hesitantly revealed that she had a young baby, which also won her some sympathy.

The older maids readily promised to take turns looking after her baby. There had been such cases from time to time in the past, so this too was generously permitted.

Furthermore, the House of Perschtmann was so wealthy that even the maids’ welfare was excellent. Aness was so satisfied with everything that she even thought she could be happy living like this.

‘If I reveal everything to the Duke and get rejected, I’ll be kicked out. But if I can keep it all hidden and stay here, I can live as long as I want. The pay is pretty good, and everything is just great.’

In truth, Aness didn’t have much attachment to her noble status. She was never greedy by nature. She had worked as a matchmaker and saved money only for her family’s sake, not out of any desire for wealth.

“All I have to do now is raise Ian well. If I save up some money, I can send it to my family. Even if that man never shows up, I think I’ll be fine.”

Having made up her mind, Aness was diligently mopping the first-floor hallway when she overheard the other maids chatting.

“Oh my, is he really thinking of getting married? Ah, I envy her so much.”

“I know, right? Our Duke is finally planning to marry. I’m jealous and sad at the same time. If only he’d give the maids a chance to become concubines like other nobles do, how wonderful would that be.”

As she mopped her way closer to the group, Aness couldn’t help but eavesdrop, and finally she gave in and asked.

“The Duke is getting married? To whom?”

“Who else? He’s been seeing Miss Hariel, the youngest daughter of Marquis Marieclaire. Well, you’re new here, so you wouldn’t know, would you?”

One of the maids kindly explained.

“Oh, the daughter of the Marquis Marieclaire. Have they been together long?”

Though Aness’s face stiffened in shock, she couldn’t help her curiosity and swallowed hard, asking seriously. Having worked as a matchmaker for so long, there was no way she didn’t know that family.

The House of Marquis Marieclaire was one of the five most prestigious families in the Empire. And all three daughters of that house were famously beautiful. They were often compared to the three daughters of the humble Baron Klein family, so of course she knew them.

“Hmm, I don’t really know. How could we know about the love affairs of the highborn? Anyway, tomorrow is their engagement party, so consider yourself lucky. The food at the grand party will be amazing.”

“…Ah, I see.”

Aness’s shoulders slumped as she quietly turned her head away. Well, it would be hard for a healthy man to live without a woman. No matter how cold he seemed, he’d still need one.

Somehow, she felt a gaping emptiness in her heart. It was like endlessly falling downward.