“Yes. I’m certain that I’m pregnant.”

Sharlin’s slightly trembling voice became firm.

A heavy silence fell over the reception room.

‘Pregnant…?’

I held my breath, inhaling deeply into my lungs.

Could it possibly be Jade’s bloodline?

I fervently hoped inside that it wasn’t his child.

“…How long has it been?”

Jade didn’t deny that Sharlin’s child was not his own.

The very act of asking when the child was conceived implied acknowledgment that it was his seed.

In other words, it meant he had slept with Sharlin.

‘He’s trying to break off the engagement with Sharlin, yet he acts that way towards me…’

He may have just found out about the pregnancy now, but he shouldn’t have touched me if he had spent the night with Sharlin.

The pain in my constricted heart grew more intense, making it hard to breathe.

“If you really can’t believe it, you can have it confirmed through a doctor’s diagnosis, or even do a paternity test.”

“…Wait.”

Jade, who had risen from the sofa, approached the door.

‘Oh no. What should I do? He must have sensed my presence.’

Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping on their conversation, I opened the window and transformed into a sparrow, flying away.

The sky I saw from atop a tree was overcast with dark clouds, as if reflecting my heart.

Transparent tears welled up, blurring my vision so I could barely see in front of me.

‘Now, what should I do…’

My insides were burning up.

‘She must have said she wants to have the baby because the engagement is about to be called off.’

Sharlin’s belly would soon swell, and it was obvious they would rush the wedding before the child was born.

Imagining a child born between them calling Jade “Daddy” was not pleasant.

‘The existence of a child who can do what Blanche cannot…’

An unstoppable wave of guilt towards Blanche washed over me.

‘I’ll never be able to give Blanche a daddy forever.’

I realized it was no different than taking away Blanche’s father twice.

Still, it was fortunate that I learned this fact before revealing Blanche’s existence.

The thought of Blanche suddenly becoming an illegitimate child was horrifying.

I couldn’t let her live a difficult life, overshadowed by Sharlin’s child and pointed at with fingers.

Even if Jade cared for Blanche, she would be nothing more than an illegitimate child in the presence of Sharlin’s legitimate child.

“…Elder sister? Are you here?”

Ayla was wandering around below, looking for me.

I came down from the tree and undid my transformation.

“Elder sister! Were you up in the tree? You said you were going to meet elder brother… Elder sister, why are you crying?”

Ayla’s face, which had been happy to find me, hardened.

“I’m not crying, I think something got in my eye. It hurts so much that tears keep coming out.”

I made up an excuse, not wanting to tell her about Jade and Sharlin’s conversation with my own mouth.

“Let’s go inside quickly. Elder brother will be here soon.”

When Jade was mentioned, I unconsciously let go of Ayla’s hand.

“Elder sister…? What’s wrong?”

A bewildered expression appeared on Ayla’s face.

“It, it was a mistake.”

I hurriedly made an excuse, too ashamed to face Ayla.

“I’m tired today and want to go back now.”

“Already…? That’s a shame, can’t you stay until elder brother comes?”

Honestly, I wanted to cancel Blanche’s plans to socialize because of Jade.

I felt uneasy about coming to the Rowe viscounty with Blanche to see him in the future.

‘But Blanche is looking forward to it, and it would be impolite to Ayla…’

I planned to use Blanche’s illness as an excuse to avoid meeting for a while.

“Blanche is sick and I’m not feeling well either. I’ll come back when Blanche is better.”

“Can’t be helped then. Alright, elder sister. Go home and rest.”

Feeling the urgent need to leave before meeting Jade, I hurriedly departed.

“…Did I hear wrong.”

Sensing a presence nearby, Jade looked at the slightly open window as he left.

“My lord, please help me!”

Sharlin, who had followed out of the reception room, cried.

Her crying voice was unbearably loud.

“Why should I help you, young lady?”

Jade was annoyed by Sharlin asking for help, claiming to be pregnant.

“My lord, please…”

The child’s real father was Grand Duke Usith.

‘At first I thought she was conspiring with Grand Duke Usith to trick me…’

The number of months since conception did match the period when she had contact with Grand Duke Usith.

Around that time, he had attended a banquet arranged by Grand Duke Usith with Sharlin.

She had said she wasn’t feeling well and would leave early, but in reality, they had enjoyed a secret meeting, which was ridiculous.

Not to mention the age difference between Grand Duke Usith and Sharlin was like that of a father and daughter.

‘To think he would desire his nephew’s fiancée at an event to introduce his wife.’

The original reason for holding the banquet at the Grand Duke Usith’s residence was to greet the new Grand Duchess he had married through remarriage.

As if that wasn’t enough, there were already plenty of headaches because of Grand Duke Usith.

“…Shouldn’t you be saying this to Grand Duke Usith, not me?”

Sharlin’s request to help her give birth to Grand Duke Usith’s illegitimate child was absurd.

“If you promise, I’ll break off our engagement right here and now.”

Her intelligence in thinking she could decide on the engagement herself was astonishing.

“…Young lady. Is it also a talent to be this unintelligent from the first time I met you until now?”

With the certificate, the engagement could be broken without any particular consent.

“Grand Duke Usith is waiting for a legitimate heir, not an illegitimate child. You know why he divorced the wife he had lived with for decades, don’t you!”

As Sharlin said, Grand Duke Usith had divorced his wife, whom he had been with since he was young, to remarry a princess from another country.

It was a ploy to see an heir with a strong maternal family.

“There are widespread rumors that Grand Duke Usith pushed the former Grand Duchess off a balcony. I’m scared. I’m afraid I might end up like that too…”

Sharlin burst into tears, trembling with anxiety.

‘I need to go see Larien. This is annoying.’

Jade found Sharlin’s crying noisy and was impatient because it was time for Larien to arrive.

“Young lady. That’s just a rumor, and did I tell you to enjoy secret meetings with Grand Duke Usith?”

“…My lord.”

“I won’t tell Grand Duke Usith about the child, but you’ll have to resolve this on your own.”

As Jade stood up to leave the reception room, Sharlin knelt down.

“The late Viscount and Viscountess Rowe were killed by Grand Duke Usith! He said he had hidden the coachman who drove the carriage that day.”

And she told him.

That Grand Duke Usith had killed his parents.

Jade roughly grabbed Sharlin’s chin and met her gaze.

“…What did you just say?”

“He said it happened to rain, so he could disguise it as a carriage accident and kill them at the cliff…”

The details of what she had heard from Grand Duke Usith were specific.

The public only knew that they had died in a carriage accident, but the fact that they died at a cliff was top secret.

The fact that she knew this meant it wasn’t a lie.

“He, he told me when he was drunk and didn’t remember telling me… If you help me have the baby… I’ll tell you where the coachman is.”

It really was Grand Duke Usith who had killed his parents and disguised it as a carriage accident.

‘Jade, Ayla. I will protect you no matter what. I am your father’s elder brother, so from now on you can think of me as your father.’

Not knowing this, he had once been under Grand Duke Usith’s protection.

Though his desire for power to swallow up and control Rowe was annoying, he had endured without imposing any sanctions.

It was because he had saved him and Ayla from the hands of the collateral lines.

It was disgusting.

He wanted to kill him right now for killing his father and mother, but he barely restrained himself.

‘…I should start by cutting off his breath.’

Killing him right away would make it difficult to resolve his parents’ long-held grudge.

Grand Duke Usith had adopted an absolute primogeniture inheritance law regardless of gender to solidify his reputation.

If he didn’t make Sharlin’s child, who would be born as the eldest, his successor, his position would be shaken.

“I will let you give birth to the child in Rowe’s territory. Get ready and depart.”

“Th-thank you, my lord!”

Moreover, the new Grand Duchess Usith was proud as befitting royalty.

‘If her husband’s illegitimate child becomes the successor, support from the Grand Duchess’s family will be cut off first, and gradually she’ll divorce and return home.’

She was the type of woman who would immediately return to her country if she knew her husband had an illegitimate child.

“Where… is the coachman now?”

“I’ll tell you where the coachman is once you provide a place for me to hide until I give birth.”

Sharlin said, trembling all over.

She wouldn’t reveal the coachman’s location until her safety was guaranteed.

‘She’s less stupid than I thought.’

Jade was impressed.

She wasn’t completely unintelligent.

He had let his guard down thinking she was stupid, but he felt the need to make sure.

“Then sign the engagement cancellation document first.”

“…Alright.”

“From now on, don’t speak rudely to La- no, to Viscount Boston while pretending to be my fiancée.”

Sharlin pressed her lips together and signed the engagement cancellation document with trembling hands.

“Also, it would be better not to attempt to deceive me halfway through.”

“…”

“The cards you hold can only threaten me, but the cards I hold can kill you.”