“I am not a bastard, I am not.”

In the dark underground prison, Steve quietly spoke, but there was no one to hear his words.

In the silence without even a guard watching the prison, he curled up and reflected on what had happened to him.

He thought he was in an unfair situation.

‘Yes, this is all a trap set by her. Father also said so. That only I am the legitimate heir to succeed the ducal family.’

He believed that everything that had happened so far was because of Clea.

That she was doing reckless things to take revenge on those who held grudges against her, including himself.

It was an absurd story from the beginning.

If he wasn’t her own child, why would the duchess have cherished him so?

It was a very old memory, but Steve vaguely remembered.

How the duchess always smiled at him and treated him with kindness and affection.

It was the happiest and warmest time in Steve’s life until Clea was born.

‘Rather, you were the one who took away my happiness first.’

Sadly, the happy times were very short.

The health of the duchess, who gave birth to Clea, rapidly deteriorated.

Her breathing became labored, and her complexion worsened.

When she became unable to even move, he sensed it. That it was all because of Clea.

Steve’s dark times began after her death.

Since Grit was always absorbed in business and other matters, he became alone.

With the one who gave him affection gone, and his father showing no particular interest, he naturally started to go astray.

The duchess had asked him to cherish Clea, but Steve did not follow her dying wish.

He consistently hated, tormented, and mistreated her.

There were times when he secretly wished for Clea to disappear from his sight as soon as possible.

The more he saw Clea’s resemblance to the duchess, the more his anger flared up.

“How dare you say such things.”

You, who were born after taking my mother’s life, how dare you.

Steve had once told Clea that she should never have been born.

His head was spinning with various thoughts.

He suddenly remembered Grit’s half-hearted protection and the strange glances some servants used to give him when he was young.

Of course, there were those who vouched for his bloodline.

So he had been confident until now, but for some reason, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Just then, someone’s voice was heard.

“You know what, Steve? It’s often those who obsess over bloodlines that actually have problems with their own lineage.”

The one who appeared with a bright light was the being he had hated until now.

Clea.

The one who killed his mother.

Steve glared at Clea with eyes full of hostility.

“If you really weren’t a bastard, the duke wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to solidify your lineage.”

Clea knew what he was thinking.

He would surely think that the duchess’s death was her fault.

She knew well that he had endured with that resentful heart towards her.

Because he had been showing such attitudes and words for years at the Odoi mansion.

Even now, she quickly noticed that he was looking at her with a similar gaze.

“Unlike you, I don’t need to prove that I’m the duchess’s child. Why do you think that is? Simply because I was born in the capital mansion?”

Steve bit his lip at her voice flowing into the cell along with laughter.

He wanted to say something. He wanted to refute her thoughts with any words.

It was a topic he had been thinking about since the moment he was imprisoned in the underground cell.

But for some reason, his thoughts stopped the moment Clea stood before him.

Perhaps it was because he subconsciously realized that he might really be a bastard.

Clea delivered the final blow to him.

“Steve, from the beginning, my mother was healthy even before giving birth to me.”

She emphasized ‘my mother’ as she spoke.

“Then why did she go all the way to a very distant villa to give birth to you? Suddenly, when she was so healthy?”

Although many people go to quiet places for health reasons, practically speaking, the capital was where the empire’s medical facilities were concentrated.

If it wasn’t simply for recuperation but to give birth, it would have been better to stay in the capital.

But the duchess left hurriedly right after becoming pregnant, as if she had committed a crime.

“My mother died because of you. She had to die to create your lineage.”

Of course, that wasn’t the reason the duchess died.

‘More precisely, she passed away trying to protect me.’

Since Steve had no way of knowing this, he readily reacted to her words.

“Lies, it’s all lies!”

As if making a last struggle, Steve tried not to admit it.

“It’s all true.”

“Bu, Butler?”

But he was dumbfounded by the voice that followed.

The butler, whom he had believed would remain loyal to him and his father even after death, appeared before him.

He looked at the butler with an expression of disbelief.

Seeing Steve’s face, the butler shook his head and said.

“Everything Her Highness the Crown Princess has said is correct.”

No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he could no longer argue when someone who had been by Grit’s side for decades confirmed it.

“Then am I really…”

At the moment when he finally had to admit it, Clea opened the cell door and approached him.

Steve, who had suddenly become frightened, tried to back away, but there was a wall behind him.

“What do you think will happen if others find out about everything that’s happened so far?”

At Clea’s words, Steve finally faced reality.

A bastard had been disguised as the legitimate child.

This alone wasn’t simply a crime.

But it was different for nobles who valued pride and dignity.

Nobles would rather choose adoption or pass on the family to another relative than hand over the family to a bastard.

If it was revealed that Steve, who had already caused controversy with various misdeeds, was a bastard, they would never let it slide lightly.

“Sa, save me. Please, I beg you.”

After realizing that what he had dismissed as an absurd lie was the truth, his action was to cling.

He who had hated, thoroughly ignored, and inflicted harsh words and torment was now pitifully begging to be saved.

Clea looked down at such a Steve with cold eyes.

“If the situation was reversed, would you have saved me?”

If it had been her imprisoned instead of him, and the card deciding her life and death was in his hands, would he have saved her?

Steve couldn’t answer that question. He just kept begging to be saved.

Clea said as she looked at such a Steve.

“The one who should never have been born was you, not me, Steve.”

“Ah, ah.”

“Farewell. The next time we meet, it will probably be more certain.”

Thud.

Hearing those words, Steve sensed that everything was completely over.

He watched Clea leave with a dumbfounded expression, but she stepped outside without giving him even a glance.

* * *

“I suppose it’s only natural, given that a mere bastard dared to live as the family’s heir.”

As soon as she came out of the prison, the butler of the Odoi family said to Clea.

It was the butler’s first words, other than confirming the truth of Clea’s words inside.

Clea looked at him.

‘The first person to betray Grit and come to my side.’

When they sold the business rights to Barwin Rockin, the atmosphere in the ducal family was bright.

There was hope that they could resurrect the ducal family with that money.

However, they had to pay off all the debts they had accumulated from previous businesses at once, so there wasn’t much money left.

Moreover, as all the money, including what Aria had given, went into Grit’s extravagance and new businesses, the payment of wages to the servants was postponed repeatedly.

Perhaps that’s why when Clea offered money, they immediately switched sides.

However, she thought the butler, at least, wouldn’t betray so easily.

She thought he would remain loyal to the end since his family had served the Odoi family for generations.

But the butler was the same as the others.

As soon as he realized that Grit was a rotten lifeline, he immediately succumbed to the money she offered.

“How do you intend to deal with Master Steve?”

When Steve was in danger and the ducal family began to crumble, he abandoned his master without hesitation.

He no longer saw a future with Grit and Steve.

In that sense, the butler wanted Clea to kill Steve to justify his decision.

“I’ll just let him live, but I won’t interfere with others’ actions.”

However, Clea had no intention of killing Steve. She didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble.

‘My goal wasn’t Steve anyway.’

After the truth is revealed, his life won’t be worth living anyway.

The butler nodded at Clea’s words. It was none of his concern anyway.

“It may not be my place to ask, but may I inquire about your future plans?”

The butler added a question.

He seemed curious about what she intended to do from now on.

Since someone who had already betrayed wouldn’t return to the other side, and it didn’t matter if others knew, Clea kindly answered.

“I’ll take everything they have.”

Family, wealth, honor, everything without discrimination.

To do that, the first place Clea would deal with was the Hersher family.

She intended to take everything from there to the Odoi family.

Hearing this, the butler seemed to understand and bowed his head as he replied.

“The ducal family is ready to follow Your Highness. So please give us appropriate punishment for our rudeness when everything is over.”