Dalton glanced at the light still on in the office and muttered.
“He’s probably still awake.”
But he doubted the Duke would want to see Aria at this late hour, although he wasn’t entirely sure.
The Duke, known for his deep love for his wife, hadn’t remarried even six years after her death.
Confined to his mansion, he had become a workaholic, almost mechanical in nature.
Rumors swirled that he had even dabbled in black magic to save his wife. The laughter and liveliness that once filled the Duke’s house were no more.
In such a situation, if a fallen noblewoman turned maid, who was close to the former Duchess like a friend, appeared—
How would the Duke react?
Instead of answering his own question, Dalton slightly bowed his head and asked.
“Who’s the child with you? She doesn’t resemble your daughter at all.”
“Watch your tongue. She’s the Lysianthus Duke’s daughter.”
“What?!”
Dalton jumped at Aria’s words.
“Are you insane? Are you on drugs again?”
“I’ve never been on drugs. You’re the crazy one! Just you watch!”
“Even if I do…”
Dalton grumbled and bowed. He then locked eyes with Bonita’s bright red ones.
“Huh?”
Her adorable pink hair, white skin, round and gentle eyes, cute nose, and coral-colored irises.
She resembled the former Duchess, as if a miniature version of her. Dalton, who had served the Duke’s house for a lifetime, could not fail to recognize her.
“She really looks the same?”
“Right?”
“But if she looks like this, wouldn’t she be your own child…? She doesn’t resemble the Duke at all.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Aria snorted at Dalton’s bewildered words.
“Anyway, tell him right now. I, Aria Hilton, have returned with his only daughter!”
“My daughter?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Duke Luke Lysianthus’s expression turned icy at Dalton’s report.
“I only had one child, who was stillborn seven years ago. Are you saying that dead child has come back to life?”
“It’s not that, Your Grace…”
“Or, are you suggesting I fathered a child with someone other than Elodie?”
His blood-red irises flashed.
“I didn’t know you had a death wish, Dalton. If you insist, I shall grant it and cleanly cut off your head.”
“No, really! I saw the child, and she looks exactly like the late Duchess! Besides, we never saw the body of the stillborn, did we?”
Hearing this, the Duke’s eyes flickered. Dalton, sensing his disturbance, added in a groveling tone.
“Sometimes, children thought to be dead are found alive. And the one who brought her is none other than Aria, whom the Duchess dearly loved…”
“Aria? The Aria Hilton I know?”
“Yes. Definitely, it’s Aria Hilton.”
Thump, thump.
Duke Luke’s fingers rhythmically tapped the desk.
My daughter, he thought.
After Elodie passed away, he had completely forgotten the existence of any children. Without the thought of being with another woman, the idea of children was an unattainable illusion for him.
But now… the maid most cherished by Elodie, bringing a girl resembling her?
Dalton had served the Lysianthus Dukes for generations.
He had watched over Luke’s sweet romance with Elodie, so if Dalton said ‘she looks the same,’ it wasn’t just about hair or eye color.
‘But it’s impossible.’
The Lysianthus bloodline was special. That’s why he had resorted to life-draining black magic.
He made a decision.
“Bring her in. Have the lady wait in the drawing room.”
“Yes!”
Dalton energetically responded and left the office.
Luke’s red eyes gazed out the window.
It was a bright moonlit night.
Just like the day Elodie had left.
“The Duke is on his way, please wait a moment, Miss Aria.”
“Yes.”
What in the world was happening?
Bonita tucked her trembling hands into the hem of her dress.
They had entered the Duke’s house and demanded to meet the Duke himself. Instead of being thrown out, her mother and she were led into the sparkling mansion’s drawing room.
And now, the fearsome Duke was coming here! Bonita wished this situation was just a dream.
“Ouch!”
“Bonita! Are you okay?”
“Yes…”
But the pain in her shin, hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes, suggested this wasn’t a dream. Bonita’s gaze turned to Aria’s excited face.
‘Did Mother really work in a noble house?’
Although Aria had vehemently denied it, Bonita wondered if her mother had been the Duke Lysianthus’s ‘mistress.’
‘But why now?’
Thinking hard gave her a headache. Seeing Bonita’s distressed face, Aria fumbled.
“Bonita! Are you hurt?”
“Mother…”
Bonita involuntarily whined, but instead of scolding, Aria tenderly stroked her head.
“Let our daughter’s pain fly away, whoosh.”
“…Mother?”
“Feel better?”
Bonita’s lips curled into a mischievous boyish smile. Just as Aria was reassured by her daughter’s regained smile:
“The Duke! He has arrived!”
“Yes.”
Outside, the salutes of tense knights were heard. Bonita, frozen stiff, curled up like a pill bug into Aria’s embrace.
As Aria held the wriggling child firmly, the drawing room door opened.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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