The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
“My lady went to the guild.”
It was the first thing Ruth said upon entering Herdin’s study late at night, where Herdin was reviewing documents after returning home.
Herdin, who had been smoking a cigar without looking up from his papers regardless of who entered, now stared at Ruth in surprise at this unexpected news.
“What on earth are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Sir Jerome, who was patrolling the estate, saw my lady and a maid sneak out about an hour ago. He followed them and said they entered the guild district.”
Herdin set down the cigar he’d been holding and asked,
“At this hour, right now?”
“Yes. They’ve just returned to the mansion.”
A faint chuckle escaped Herdin’s lips.
He never would have guessed that his seemingly demure wife had a taste for such cheeky little escapades. The unexpected blow to the back of his head left him rather dazed.
“Shall I find out what her commission was about?”
“Why would you?”
“She might be plotting something with the imperial family—perhaps even planning to absorb Delmarque.”
“If that were truly their goal, they wouldn’t risk sending the imperial princess herself. There are plenty of others the emperor could use instead.”
“You’re right, that makes sense.”
“And though they might be making such plans far in the future, it certainly isn’t happening now. The emperor still needs my strength.”
The powerful piece that would secure victory in the conquest war.
Ivan’s motive for pushing this marriage could be vaguely inferred from their conversation during the imperial luncheon last time.
“Then why did she go to the guild?”
At Ruth’s question, Herdin irritably swept back his still-damp black hair and pressed his temples, throbbing with a headache.
That was precisely what he himself wanted to ask.
What on earth was going on inside that small head of hers? What was she scheming?
But the guild would never so easily reveal a client’s purpose, and forcing them to talk would only escalate matters. If Blair found out he’d meddled, she’d simply hide her true intentions altogether.
After sitting silently for a while, lost in thought while smoking his cigar, Herdin finally gave a low-voiced order.
“For now, just provide escort—discreetly.”
[This is the timeline separator]New Year’s Festival was now just one day away.
It was also the last day of the year.
Blair came down to the dining room for breakfast as usual. Herdin’s seat was empty again today.
“His Grace had some business and left the mansion early this morning.”
Mason, pulling out her chair, offered the explanation almost apologetically.
And understandably so—it had been since the incident with the maids that Herdin and Blair hadn’t shared a meal together.
But for Blair, this was already familiar.
‘Still, I really wanted to thank him for handling Rina’s matter.’
She didn’t want to owe him any more emotional debts.
Blair finished her meal, resolving to express her gratitude the next time they met—before it grew too late.
Afterward, she tried on the New Year’s Festival dress sent by Baroness Cionel and took a short rest.
“My lady, Madam Lorelain has arrived.”
Blair woke with a start at Rina’s voice—she’d dozed off—and realized it was time for her tea appointment with Agnes.
Heading to the greenhouse where Agnes waited, she was warmly greeted by the woman.
“Good afternoon, my lady. It’s been quite cold—how was your week?”
“Yes, thank you. And you, Madam Lorelain?”
“Very well, thanks to you.”
Having made this appointment during their first tea meeting last week, today marked their second gathering—meaning this was truly their first proper consultation.
Blair nervously smoothed the rim of her teacup.
Normally, she wasn’t fond of meeting strangers, yet rarely felt nervous—after all, as an imperial princess, she’d long grown accustomed to obligatory meetings with unfamiliar people.
The one exception had been dealing with members of the Delmarque ducal household before her regression.
Their constant scrutiny always felt like they were judging whether she was worthy of being duchess, whether she suited Herdin.
Since returning to the past, those gazes no longer frightened her—but strangely, facing Agnes still made her tense.
It felt as if Agnes could see straight through her.
She wasn’t used to sharing her own story with anyone. Not since Esmeralda’s death had she ever confided in another person.
Agnes warmed her chilled hands with a cup of hot tea and began gently,
“It feels like just yesterday we welcomed the new year, yet here we are already at the year’s end. Time truly flies.”
“Yes, it does.”
Blair didn’t want to give just a curt reply, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Having always lived a life where someone else effortlessly carried the conversation, she struggled to force words of her own.
Fortunately, Agnes seemed unperturbed.
“We agreed to start sharing old stories today, didn’t we?”
“Yes. Which story should we begin with?”
“Hmm… it might be hard to recall things randomly. How about sharing memories related to the New Year’s Festival?”
“The New Year’s Festival?”
“The year the accident happened—do you remember anything from that festival? Even the smallest detail would be fine.”
Blair easily recalled that day.
After all, it was the day she first met Herdin.
[This is the timeline separator]The day before Blair turned eleven.
On this final day of the year, relatives who rarely met would gather early to exchange New Year’s greetings.
Blair took extra care with her appearance that day and visited the Empress’s palace—partly because Esmeralda had been unusually busy lately, making it hard to see her.
‘I’ll challenge Her Majesty to a card game. I’m definitely going to win today.’
With high hopes, she stepped into the Empress’s quarters.
But there was already a guest.
“Oh, Blair! You’ve come at just the right time.”
Beside Esmeralda, who greeted her with her usual gentle smile, sat a boy Blair had never seen before.
He had the same fine black hair as Esmeralda, pale skin, and strikingly blue eyes—a refined and handsome youth.
Blair recognized him instantly.
He was Herdin Delmarque, the young heir of the current Delmarque ducal house and Esmeralda’s only nephew.
Esmeralda had often spoken of him.
“He’s such a lonely child. It would be wonderful if he had a good friend like our Blair.”
Wanting to reassure Esmeralda, Blair had once promised, “If I meet him, I’ll be his friend.”
Yet now, face-to-face with Herdin, Blair eyed him warily. She resented this uninvited guest for interrupting her cherished time alone with Esmeralda.
“Go ahead and greet him, Herdin. This is Her Highness the Imperial Princess.”
Esmeralda gently placed a hand on Herdin’s shoulder as she introduced Blair.
The boy with the cool demeanor rose politely from his seat.
“Herdin of Delmarque greets Your Highness, the shining star of the Empire.”
Though his bow was impeccably courteous, his eyes betrayed unmistakable boredom.
Blair flinched at that look.
Accustomed to living surrounded by kindness, she found the indifference of this boy—just a few years older than herself—strange and unsettling.
But she couldn’t flee after receiving his greeting, nor disappoint Esmeralda, so she stammered out a reply.
“N-nice to meet you… Duke Delmarque.”
“I’d hoped you two might meet someday. I’m glad it’s happened like this.”
Esmeralda rejoiced at their meeting, but Blair found Herdin’s presence deeply uncomfortable. Fortunately—or unfortunately—he seemed utterly uninterested in her.
Noticing the two children avoiding each other’s eyes entirely, Esmeralda suggested,
“How about a card game today?”
“Yes, let’s!”
Excited at the prospect, Blair eagerly agreed, while Herdin joined the game with his usual indifferent expression.
But as round after round passed, Blair’s enthusiasm faded. Herdin had already won four games straight.
Even Herdin, constantly winning without challenge, began to lose interest.
Blair desperately wanted to win; Herdin had no intention of letting her.
They barely spoke, hardly even glancing at each other. At this rate, no amount of games would bring these two closer.
Worried, Esmeralda devised another plan.
“We’ve played the same game too long—it’s getting dull. Shall we try ‘Thief Catcher’ this time?”
And so, the Thief Catcher game began.
At first, matching cards quickly paired off, speeding up the game until only a few remained—time for psychological tactics.
“Oh dear.”
Esmeralda let out a small gasp as Herdin drew a card from her—meaning he’d taken the thief card.
Now it was Blair’s turn to draw from Herdin. Expressionless as ever, Herdin held out his cards toward her.
But Blair hesitated, unable to reach for his cards right away.
‘He’s… scary…’
To play mind games, she needed to read his face—but staring directly into Herdin’s eyes frightened her.
Partly due to his icy demeanor, but mostly because rumors about the “power” passed down through the Delmarque ducal line suddenly came to mind.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
MANGA DISCUSSION
2 Comments
Chapter Comments (942)
I know must of you hate him, but I can understand why he was like that in the past timeline, from his point of view, she is his enemy.
If only they start off a little better, I guess they could atleast have somewhat kind of attachment from their childhood…😭🤣
That’s sad hearing about what happened to his parents I’m sure he feels so much pain and sadness poor him
Inline Comments (5572)
People lamented the downfall of House Delmarque to their faces, yet whispered be
Ooh, this makes me curious, what if in Blairs past life after she was assassinated, Herdin actually went into a rampage…😶🌫️
In return, he received a powerful body capable of wielding both aura and magic s
I really loved this kind of concept in a fantasy world where average human has limited capabilities
Yet great power always comes at a great cost.
With great power come great responsibilities, words said by a great personality 😎
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Lily San
I knew it someone followed them and I can’t wait to see more of his jealousy
debban23
herdin is a little rough aroubd the corner but he’ll get there