I stared at Duke Perdia with wide eyes, and he had an unusually calm expression.

I was the only one surprised. With a trembling voice, I asked.

 “Did you already know?”

 “Yeah.”

 “Since when?”

“From the beginning.”

It meant that he had known that I was Duke Severes’s daughter from the start.

‘Why? How?’

I dared to break the taboo and asked about my birth mother in front of the duke.

“Then, my mother wasn’t your, I mean, Your Grace’s lover?”

Duke Perdia looked at me with slightly bewildered eyes.

I couldn’t tell if it was because I called him ‘Your Grace,’ or perhaps it was because I openly talked about my mother.

 But either way, it didn’t matter. The reason wasn’t important.

 “Please tell me.”

Duke Perdia closed his eyes for a moment and spoke softly.

“Right. She and I didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

Considering what I had seen in Duke Severes’s past, I had overheard a conversation in which the Duke of Perdia had asked my mother to marry him.

I had speculated that my mother might have deceived Duke Perdia and entrusted me to him. However, I was the one who didn’t know.

“She asked me to take care of you, and I accepted. That’s all.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of relationship my mother had with Duke Perdia to make such a request. The duke didn’t seem willing to explain any further, but I was different.

I needed to know the whole story.

“Why didn’t you deny that she was your lover, Your Grace? It tarnished your reputation.”

 “…..If I had done that, you couldn’t have been raised as my daughter.”

The duke’s words made sense.

The imperial family and the four great families were particularly obsessed with bloodlines, as power was passed down from generation to generation. So, to claim me as his child, I would have had to have half Perdia blood to claim legitimacy.

Otherwise, I couldn’t have been raised as a Perdia.

“But you could have told me, as the involved party.”

“How could I have said it? That you’re not really my daughter. Could you have accepted it so easily?”

I bit my lip and remained silent.

I understood why he hadn’t spoken earlier. It was a delicate and difficult topic to bring up. But I still couldn’t comprehend why he had raised me, who wasn’t his biological child, with the added burden of being rumored as an illegitimate child.

 “Does the duchess know?”

“No, but she may have her suspicions.”

While I wondered why he hadn’t told her, I realized that it was a matter between husband and wife, and it wasn’t my place to interfere.

“Then please tell me the whole story. Everything I know and don’t know.”

I was determined not to back down and stared at the duke, conveying my unwavering resolve.

“It’s not a pleasant story to hear.”

“Not everything in the world is beautiful.”

The duke, who seemed rather reluctant, sighed softly and began to speak while massaging his temples.

“It was a day like today, with a fierce storm raging.”

And so, the story began.

***

Nineteen years ago, at the Perdia Capital Manor.

The recent change in leadership and reorganization of the Perdia Knights had brought a surge of work.

Sylvester was in his study, buried under piles of paperwork, reviewing documents.

 After what seemed like an eternity, a knock on the door broke his concentration.

 “Master. May I come in for a moment?”

Sylvester, who had been engrossed in his documents, realized that it had become late into the night.

“Come in.”

The butler entered and bowed slightly before reporting.

“A guest have arrived.”

“A guest?”

Sylvester turned his head, looking out the window.

It was a deep, stormy night.

Tak,tak,tak.

 The rain was pounding on the windows, the sound of the storm raging outside.

Late at night, with such terrible weather, who could be visiting…….

 ‘Rude.’

Sylvester’s face revealed his displeasure, and the butler quickly continued.

 “Yes. Her name is Arcelia, but she was very wet from the rain, so I showed her to the drawing room without asking permission. -“

Squeak.

Even before the butler finished speaking, Sylvester picked up the coat that had been placed on the chair and left the office with long strides.

 “Master?”

The bewildered butler followed him.

“Which drawing room?”

 “The innermost drawing room on the second floor.”

Since it was a woman who came to see him with a newborn baby in her arms, he was afraid that there might be some unnecessary rumors, so he led her to a secluded drawing room where there were few people.

Without even knocking, Sylvester opened the door and entered. Inside, he found Arcelia. She was drying her wet hair with a towel, confirming that she had indeed come drenched from the rain.

 “…….It’s been a while.”

“Yes. It’s been a while, Your Grace.”

She was the woman Sylvester had loved, or rather, still loved.

It was the first time they had met since he had desperately pleaded with her while kneeling down to accept him, only to be rejected.

Sylvester, reminded of the ugly past, sat down opposite her with a sigh.

 “Where have you been all this time?”

He heard that Richard Severes fell into a coma for an unknown reason. Since then, the whereabouts of his lover Arcelia have become unknown.

Sylvester also released someone to follow her trail, but he couldn’t find her, until she appeared before him out of nowhere.

 “There were circumstances.”

Arcelia smiled faintly and looked down at something beside the sofa.

Sylvester’s gaze followed hers.

Quietly……

Even though it was wrapped in swaddling clothes and couldn’t be seen, he could recognize what it was.

 “A child…….”

Sylvester’s voice trailed off.

She had given birth to a child. It was clear whose child it was without needing to ask.

 That was all there was to it.

Interest in Richard Severus’s child was the last thing on his mind.

Dealing with the sudden reappearance of his first love was overwhelming enough.

“So, what brings you here?”

Sylvester asked in a deliberately cold tone.

As if to keep any emotions from getting involved between them.

It was a small act of self-preservation.

The towel that Arcelia had been fiddling with in her hands stopped moving. She spoke as if she had made up her mind.

 “Your Grace.”

 “……Yes.”

 “Shamelessly, I’ve come to claim what I’m owed for saving Your Grace’s life.”

 “…….”

 “Feel free to call me selfish and pathetic.”

 “…….”

 “The only person that comes to mind is you, Your Grace……..”

Her words were hesitant, and she seemed fragile, as if she could disappear like mist at any moment.

Her desperation was palpable.

Sylvester couldn’t help but wonder about the story behind her plea. Even without mentioning a life debt, he would have been willing to do anything she asked.

 There was only one reason for her to mention the price of his life, even though she knew it.

So, the only reason she would mention a life debt was to draw a line and say she didn’t want to burden him without reason.

“Tell me. What’s this life debt you speak of?”

“I’m asking you to take care of this child.”

Ah, right.

There was a child. Sylvester was suddenly aware of its presence.

Arcelia spoke with determination, clenching her fists tightly.

“Please, take care of the child until I can return. I believe that if it’s Your Grace, you will grant my request.”

“What about you?”

 “What?”

 “Where are you going?”

“I can’t tell you that. I’m sorry.”

Arcelia gave him a weak smile.

 Sylvester couldn’t press her further; they weren’t in a relationship to do so. She looked at him pleadingly, as if waiting for a verdict.

He felt a lump in his throat.

His first love was asking him to take care of a child she had with another man. It was a request that left him both bemused and sympathetic.

“……Very well.”

He could easily afford to raise a child, after all.

Arcelia’s face lit up with relief when Sylvester agreed. Her expression briefly froze afterwards.

 “I’ll tell Themis myself-“

 “No.”

Sylvester interrupted Arcelia, his voice firm.

“I will handle that. Don’t worry about it.”

He hadn’t forgotten Arcelia, but for the sake of his family’s legacy, he had no choice but to marry.

It was Themis who first offered her hand in marriage to a man who had his heart set on another woman. 　

“I don’t need a husband’s love. What I desire is the power of Perdia and the status of a duchess. I assume you won’t want a wife who longs for love, so choose me.”

“Is that a sincere offer?”

“Yes, Your Grace. You are free to love another woman without guilt. I will obtain what I desire.”

It was a marriage without affection, solely for mutual benefit.

Themis already knew everything, so she wouldn’t mind the two meeting, but he himself felt uncomfortable.

 “I’m worried she might misunderstand.”

“You need not worry.”

“Very well, then. I leave it to you.”

Arcelia smiled like a habit and put on her hood that was still dripping with water.

 Sylvester frowned.

“Are you planning to leave right now? Like that?”

Arcelia’s gaze as she looked down at her child was affectionate.

Even as a third party, Sylvester could see how much she loved her baby. He spoke without waiting for Arcelia to answer.

“I’ll provide you with an annex. You can stay there for a while.”

It was a gesture of goodwill, a kind offer.

Arcelia, who had nothing to her name, could use a helping hand. She hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded in agreement.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

Their business concluded; Sylvester was about to leave the drawing room when he suddenly turned back.

He had noticed a chubby arm poking out from the blanket. Impulsively, he asked.

 “What’s its name?”

 “Elodie. Her name is Elodie.”

It’s a girl. Sylvester, curious, approached the crib.

Arcelia gently pulled down the blanket to show him the child.

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“…….She’s small.”

The daughter of Arcelia and Richard Severes.

 The child who should have been Elodie Severes.

However, unless Richard, the head of the family, wakes up, she will not be recognized as a direct descendant.

 ‘Poor child.’

It must have been strange for Elodie, encountering a stranger for the first time. She observed him with wide, innocent eyes.