The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 33
Herdin watched the cigar—barely smoked—burn away with the firewood, then headed toward the table where the kettle sat. His throat felt parched.
Beyond the drinking glass, Blair lay fast asleep. He was quietly observing her when it happened.
A dizzying sensation swept over him, and a hazy vision unfolded before his eyes.
The bed before him was drenched in bright red blood, with Blair collapsed upon it, bleeding profusely from her back.
At the sight, Herdin’s heart plummeted. It felt as if all the blood had drained from his body. His grip on the glass instantly went slack.
‘What the….’
In that instant, the vision vanished.
Where the vision had been, Blair now lay asleep just as she had been moments before.
Herdin quickly caught the glass before it could fall.
What was that just now?
Though the vision had disappeared, his startled heart refused to calm.
Herdin strode over to the sleeping Blair and placed his index finger between her lips and nose. He felt her breath.
When he gently touched her cheek with his finger, he sensed warmth. As if feeling it, Blair’s brow twitched slightly.
“Mmm….”
Only then did Herdin exhale the breath he’d been holding.
‘Looks like my mental state is more disturbed than I thought.’
Just like during the New Year’s Festival—and again today—seeing things that aren’t there.
Though the vision had vanished, the emotion he’d felt lingered like an afterimage, leaving him unsettled.
Just as Herdin was about to pull his hand away from Blair, her eyelids fluttered open. Her violet eyes, filled with the sunlight seeping into the room, blinked slowly.
Her gaze gradually focused and fixed on him.
“…Herdin?”
Her breath, escaping with her voice, tickled his fingertips.
Still staring at Blair, he traced her lips with his index finger, then leaned down and claimed her mouth.
Only when he felt her trembling lips, her pained moan, and their entwined, heated breaths did the unpleasant afterimage of the vision finally fade.
She was alive. Right here in his arms.
[This is the timeline separator]“His Grace is still in his bedroom.”
Upon arriving at Delmarque Manor precisely on time, Ruth heard this news from Mason instead of a greeting.
Understanding what those words implied, Ruth’s brow furrowed slightly.
It had already been ten days since Herdin began spending the night in Blair’s bedroom and staying until morning.
Exactly since the day he’d been dismissed from his study around lunchtime.
‘Back then, I was glad he finally had time to rest.’
At that moment, Mason asked Ruth, who was heading toward the reception room,
“Shall I bring tea?”
“That would be lovely. Please bring the same as yesterday.”
While Ruth, having reached the reception room, opened his personal notebook to review Herdin’s schedule and the key matters requiring decisions today, Mason brought the tea.
He set the tea down before Ruth.
“How about adjusting your working hours for now? After all, you’re newlyweds.”
“It’s fine. My commuting hours are already fixed anyway. Besides, he’ll tire of it soon enough.”
Ruth spoke as if it were no big deal, but inwardly, he was uneasy about Herdin’s attention toward Blair.
His lord, who had never shown interest in women before, suddenly becoming captivated by one.
Though it should have been a cause for joy—given his lord’s prestigious lineage—the problem lay with who the woman was. Of all people, Katrina’s daughter.
While Ruth was lost in thought, staring blankly at his open notebook, Herdin appeared unexpectedly behind him and calmly walked over to sit across from him. He wore a robe, as if he’d just bathed.
‘Goodness, you startled me.’
Normally, Herdin would summon him to the study upon waking, so Ruth hadn’t expected him to come to the reception room himself.
Moreover, having survived battlefields for so long, Herdin had unconsciously mastered the art of moving without making a sound. Because of this, Ruth always jumped whenever Herdin appeared suddenly—especially when he’d just been thinking about him, as he had moments ago.
“Good morning, Your Grace.”
At Ruth’s greeting, Herdin merely nodded, crossing his long legs. Just then, a servant entered with Herdin’s portion of tea and cigars, lit his cigar, and left the room.
Herdin inhaled and exhaled a plume of smoke, then picked up one of the documents Ruth had brought.
“Is this the mithril mine development proposal we discussed earlier?”
“Yes. Please review and approve it by today. And this one—I’ve selected it as something you might want to review alongside it.”
Ruth handed over the document summarizing proposals linked to the main project and looked at Herdin.
Through the loosely tied robe, glimpses of his well-toned body and his strikingly handsome face—so captivating even to another man—combined with the cigar between his lips, made for an undeniably sensual sight.
Wherever he went, women flocked to exchange even a single word with him—a fact that filled Ruth with considerable pride.
Blair’s relationship with him should have been like any other: she’d adore him unilaterally while he remained indifferent.
But their relationship seemed to deviate slightly from that expectation. Though Herdin never discussed personal matters, making it impossible to know details, Ruth sensed it instinctively.
Perhaps it was connected to that unease he’d felt when he’d urged Herdin to marry a suitable woman before the imperial decree arrived—and Herdin had taken no action at all.
“Your Grace.”
Herdin responded by lifting his gaze from the documents to look directly at Ruth.
“You’ll surely handle things wisely on your own… but just in case—be careful when sharing a bed.”
At the mention of Blair, Herdin’s eyes turned icy cold, like a beast spotting an intruder threatening its prey.
“You mean I should watch out in case she’s hiding a dagger to stab me?”
“Your Grace wouldn’t fall for such a clumsy attack. What I meant was… something else.”
Ruth cleared his throat awkwardly and added in a lower voice,
“Contraception. The Imperial Court might be waiting for your wife to bear Delmarque’s heir.”
This concern stemmed from the fear that once Blair bore Delmarque’s heir, the Imperial Court—her maternal relatives—might eliminate Herdin and absorb the Delmarque influence.
That was why Ruth had previously suggested Herdin father a bastard child instead.
He held no ill will toward Blair; in person, she seemed entirely unlike her mother.
But blood runs thicker than water.
From Ruth’s perspective as a loyal servant of House Delmarque, the mere fact that she belonged to the Imperial family made her someone he couldn’t afford to trust.
He knew producing a bastard would be immoral and damage the family’s honor, but nothing mattered more to Ruth than Herdin’s safety.
After all, the late Duchess—the one who had given him a second chance at life—would have wanted it that way.
As he listened to Ruth, Herdin thought of Blair—and the contraceptive pills always resting on her bedside table.
She was a woman determined to end this arranged marriage cleanly and leave his side. If she became pregnant, it would trouble her more than him.
But since Ruth didn’t know the terms of their agreement, his worry was understandable.
Herdin swept back his still-damp hair, extinguished his cigar, and declared firmly,
“That won’t happen.”
Things with Blair would end cleanly—for the sake of her desperately beloved lover, if nothing else.
Though he couldn’t understand why that thought left such a bitter taste in his mouth.
[This is the timeline separator]Blair finally opened her eyes around lunchtime.
Ten days had already passed since the day she’d clung to him in his study. During those ten days, she’d barely left her bedroom.
The clause in their contract stating “a maximum of two times per month” had proven utterly ineffective.
He’d interpreted the contract however he pleased.
“Since only cohabitation is binding, kissing shouldn’t count, right?”
With that reasoning, he’d pressed kisses all over her body until she was desperate with need.
“If the other party desires it, then mutual desire isn’t restricted by the contract’s specified frequency.”
He’d made sure she couldn’t help but want him, then embraced her as if he’d been waiting for it all along.
Blair had protested at first, but eventually gave up.
Night after night—and sometimes as early as late afternoon, once his duties ended—he’d worn her down until she passed out from exhaustion. Even when she barely regained consciousness, she was still in his arms.
And then he’d have her again….
He’d tormented her so persistently through the night that now, the absence of his warmth felt strangely hollow.
After being worn out by him all night, she couldn’t gather her wits even during the day when he was away handling business.
It felt as though he’d drained every ounce of her strength.
“How can a human possibly have that much stamina?”
Thinking back, it had been the same in her past life.
In that life, Herdin hadn’t let her go—not until late spring, when their relationship had already fractured after marriage. Every night, he’d clung to her like a beast.
“I’d thought even that was just an act….”
Since this was a marriage of convenience, she’d assumed he wouldn’t spend nights with a wife he no longer wanted. But the desire evident in his body seemed undeniably genuine.
She knew this interest would fade soon enough, so there was no point in opposing him. Their current cooperative arrangement suited her well.
Besides, she’d been frustrated by her lack of progress in recovering memories of the fire incident. Knowing she could give him something else he wanted eased her mind considerably.
“Since I’ve decided not to doubt him anymore, I should be able to move more freely now.”
Blair forced her aching body upright and tugged the bell pull.
She couldn’t lie in bed all day again. She had too much to do.
Planning for life after divorce—and tracking down the assailant who’d killed her.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
MANGA DISCUSSION
7 Comments
Chapter Comments (775)
I’m eager to know if Herdin, who went back in time with Blair (although he probably doesn’t remember it the same way she does)
I dont think he went back with her in time because when she mentioned her son he thought he was her lover
I think her mother or brother is behind her death the had many reasons to do it after he had her son
Inline Comments (5000)
Though she never became one, that effort granted her some ability to interpret c
I want to apologize, I underestimated her in the early chapters 😭 my cutie is capable woman 🫶🏻
That thought made it impossible to stay idle any longer.
Oh wow, this actually cleared up more of her behavior for me. Whenever she got apologetic towards him, it was because she didn’t want to burden him even more since her brother is using him through the marriage
For the first time, she truly grasped that he was the Empire’s sole Magic Swords
I wonder if seeing her dead made him go berserk like it did to his dad when he list his wife. So perhaps like what someone else mentioned, he might very also regressed by doing so
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hoor포플러
This part made me laugh when he said, “You mean I should watch out in case she’s hiding a dagger to stab me?”—as if he were saying, “Do you really expect me to be wary of something so small?” Honestly, I didn’t like how he looked at Ruth while talking about Blair, as if Blair were some kind of prey. Thanks for the translation.
Mipanzu
I really want to know what happened in the past?
Just speculation but I think she’s back, because herdin
Salima Merci
Oh my God, things are getting exciting, as the duke begins to remember his past life.
Baremara
i’m curious what happened and the drifted apart. It was because of the pregnancy?
Mimi
I don’t like Ruth, I hope he doesn’t interfere in their relationship.