The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“Your Highness, Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager is waiting for you.”
Upon hearing the news from Rina, Blair immediately returned to the Imperial Princess’s Palace.
The moment she stepped into the reception room, Katrina’s hand greeted Blair.
Slap!
Blair staggered from the unexpected blow.
“Your Highness!”
Rina, who had followed behind, caught Blair as she swayed.
Katrina raised her hand once more but, unable to strike again, burst out in furious tears.
“There’s a limit to ignoring your mother! How could you visit that woman the day before your wedding? That very woman who tried to kill you!”
Though her cheek stung, Blair looked at Katrina with calm eyes, not uttering a single groan.
Katrina, whose humble origins were a deep insecurity, cared intensely about others’ opinions. No matter her private feelings, she always tried her utmost to behave like a noble—graceful and refined.
Thus, it was extremely rare for her to resort to slapping someone herself.
Blair had touched Katrina’s rawest nerve.
“I am your mother! I carried you for ten months and bore you in pain—not that woman!”
A fierce madness flickered in those violet eyes, so strikingly similar to Blair’s own.
Seeing this, Blair gave a faint, mocking smile.
Her mother, who loathed Blair’s devotion to Esmeralda, actually regarded her daughter merely as a chess piece for her son’s benefit.
Ever since Blair began developing into womanhood, Katrina had meticulously controlled her daughter’s weight.
If Blair exceeded her target weight by even a little, the palace maids would be punished in her stead—beaten until their calves bled and starved—allegedly for failing to serve their mistress properly.
Katrina whispered that all this was for Blair’s own good.
“Just think of that woman’s miserable end—consumed by jealousy and self-destruction because she was unloved. How pitiful and useless a life.”
“……”
“You must become a woman who is loved, Blair. Just like your mother.”
Thus, you must become the strong support behind your brother and me—behind this imperial house I’ve built…
Whenever Blair even suspected she’d gained the slightest weight, she’d force herself to vomit everything back up by poking her throat.
The nausea brought tears to her eyes from sheer agony, yet she told herself it was fine. She truly believed it was okay.
After all, Mother only does this because she cares for me, because she worries about me.
If I just endure it, the maids won’t be punished in my place, Mother won’t hate me, and everyone will see me as beautiful and lovely.
Everyone will love me.
Yes, it’s fine.
If it means I can be loved, this much truly doesn’t matter at all…
But the moment she held the newborn Asiel in her arms, she realized.
“You must make Herdin Delmarque fall for you. That way, he’ll become a solid ally for your brother. Do you understand?”
If she truly loved her, she wouldn’t worry more about her son than her daughter on the eve of her wedding.
If she truly loved her, she couldn’t possibly find anything but joy in watching her child eat happily.
No matter what others said, to her own eyes, this child was so exquisitely precious.
It pained her heart, yet she could no longer deny it—Katrina’s so-called love for her wasn’t love at all.
That was why.
That was why she could finally speak back to Katrina.
“When did you ever cherish me so dearly, Mother?”
Blair’s calm yet reproachful voice and gaze struck Katrina deeply.
“You…!”
Stunned by her daughter’s sudden defiance—this daughter who had always clung to her love—Katrina raised her hand again.
At that moment, Blair spoke.
“Won’t it be troublesome if the bride’s face is marked with bruises?”
At Blair’s words, Katrina’s hand, poised to strike, faltered.
Trembling with suppressed rage, Katrina finally lowered her arm.
“So you insist on driving another nail into your mother’s heart, you insolent child…”
Katrina brushed past Blair and Rina and walked straight out of the reception room.
Blair closed her eyes, listening to the fading sound of her footsteps.
That sound brought her both a pang of sorrow and a sense of relief.
It was the end of a painfully one-sided love.
[This is the timeline separator]The wedding ceremony was held at the temple located outside the capital city.
Countless crowds gathered to witness the marriage between the Emperor’s only younger sibling and Duke Delmarque—not just nobles, but commoners as well.
In the bridal dressing room, personal maids were busily putting the final touches on Blair, the day’s honored guest.
“At least the swelling has gone down considerably—that’s a relief.”
The maid, carefully applying makeup to the cheek Katrina had struck yesterday, sighed in relief.
“It’s all thanks to your quick care. Mother really ought to reward you generously.”
“Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager went too far! What kind of face is this for a new bride?”
Blair merely smiled gently at the maid, who seemed even more upset than she was.
Just then, Rina, holding the veil, glanced out the window and let out a soft exclamation.
“Oh! It’s snowing outside.”
“Even the heavens have come to celebrate Your Highness’s wedding.”
Looking out, they indeed saw tiny, white snowflakes drifting down—just as they had on the day of her first wedding.
Back then, Blair had watched those same snowflakes with excitement and trepidation; now, she observed them with quiet composure.
The knock at the door shattered that calm.
“Are you ready?”
Hearing Ivan’s voice, the maids quickly placed the veil over Blair’s face—after all, only the groom should be the first to see the bride’s beauty.
The maids bowed their heads as Ivan entered the bridal room.
“If you’re ready, let’s go.”
Ivan approached Blair and held out his hand.
Blair stared at it for a moment before placing her own upon it.
As they stepped out of the bridal room together, Ivan spoke.
“The surest way for a woman to secure her place in her husband’s household is to bear him a son. You know that, right?”
Blair gave no response.
Ivan frowned, displeased by his younger sister’s silence despite his well-meaning advice.
“And as your elder brother, let me give you another piece of advice—you’re far too stiff as a woman. Grace and refinement are fine, but in bed, you must learn to be a little more alluring if you want to be loved.”
“……”
“Mother has been very worried about you.”
Blair, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke at the mention of “Mother.”
“Please tell Mother not to worry—her daughter will thrive wherever she goes, Brother.”
Anywhere on this continent.
Blair had already decided that once this arranged marriage was over, she would leave her imperial duties behind and travel freely with her beloved son, Asiel.
As Blair emerged holding Ivan’s hand, the waiting crowd greeted her warmly.
The nobles, catching sight of Blair’s silhouette through the veil, couldn’t contain their admiration.
Even veiled, her face wasn’t entirely hidden.
“Goodness, she looks just like an angel descended from heaven!”
“Or a snow fairy!”
Herdin listened with one ear to the nobles’ praises as he watched Ivan and Blair approach.
To him, this wedding stirred no emotion whatsoever.
When Ivan finally reached him, he placed Blair’s hand into Herdin’s.
“She’s a precious child, raised with utmost care. Please treat her kindly.”
“Could I possibly refuse an imperial command?”
The two stood side by side before Pope Gerard, who was officiating the ceremony.
He looked at them with a satisfied smile.
“It fills me with pride to see Her Highness safely grown and now entering matrimony.”
He was the very man who had healed Blair after the fire at the Empress’s palace—he owed him her life.
He had also attended the funeral of the late Duke and Duchess in his capacity as Pope, delivering the eulogy himself.
Thus, their connection had endured to this day, leading him to personally officiate their wedding.
The ceremony soon continued.
Amid the excited crowd celebrating the union of the Empire’s most beautiful couple, only the two principals remained utterly indifferent.
“Then, Your Graces, please exchange your vows with a final kiss.”
Herdin lifted Blair’s veil. Their eyes met at once.
In that instant, his eyes—calm as a winter lake all day—rippled faintly like disturbed water.
Her pure white gown and fine platinum hair accentuated every hue upon her.
Beneath the veil, her pale face flushed slightly with warmth, her translucent violet eyes like amethysts, and her crimson lips—
all framed by the delicate snowflakes drifting past the window.
A snow fairy.
A woman of pure white, perfectly embodying those words.
Herdin decided the nobles’ praises weren’t entirely empty after all—and willingly pressed his lips to the fairy’s.
[This is the timeline separator]After the temple ceremony, a banquet was held at the Imperial Palace.
Hosted by the Emperor to share the imperial family’s joy with all, the banquet also showed consideration for the newlyweds—allowing Herdin and Blair to leave early.
Ruth, having finished organizing the documents that had arrived for Herdin throughout the day, opened the office door to leave.
At that exact moment, he collided with a large shadow.
“Ah! You startled me!”
Before him stood Herdin in a robe, his hair still damp as if he’d just bathed.
Ruth placed a hand over his racing heart and stared at him.
“Why are you here at this hour?”
“Do I need a reason to enter my own office?”
“No, that’s not what I meant—it’s your wedding night!”
“There are documents that need handling.”
“Nothing urgent enough to require attention on your wedding day.”
“So you were hoping I wouldn’t come to the office.”
“Of course! Who’d want to be alone with their boss at this late hour—especially when he got married today?”
The boss visiting his aide’s office instead of his bride’s chamber on his wedding night—
a combination that could easily spark unsavory rumors.
Ignoring Ruth’s horrified expression, Herdin walked past him indifferently, sat at his desk, and lit a cigar.
Stubborn workaholic.
Watching Herdin genuinely review documents, Ruth clicked his tongue, then cautiously asked,
“…By the way, what will you do from now on?”
Though the object was omitted, Herdin understood exactly what Ruth meant.
“I agreed to cooperate as much as possible in uncovering memories related to the incident ten years ago.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Whether she truly lost her memory or is pretending for some other purpose—I don’t know yet.”
He had accepted Blair’s proposal and married her, but he still couldn’t trust her.
‘…It doesn’t really matter.’
Whatever her motives, she was now in his hands—and while she remained there, he’d use her to the fullest to uncover the truth.
Watching Herdin lost in thought, Ruth carefully asked,
“But… are you really not going to your bedroom?”
Suddenly, Herdin recalled the woman who’d worn the same doll-like expression beside him all day.
A cold glint entered his blue eyes as he remembered her pale face.
She was probably already fast asleep from exhaustion—such a demanding day would have been too much for that fragile woman.
Besides, in a marriage of convenience, there was no need to perform rituals like the wedding night. She surely felt the same.
As this thought crossed his mind, his decision abruptly changed.
Herdin, who had been silently pondering while touching his lips, rose from his seat.
“Are you leaving?”
At Ruth’s question, Herdin replied calmly,
“I’ve grown curious all of a sudden.”
Curious to see what expression that doll-like woman would wear upon receiving her reluctant husband’s unexpected visit.
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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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (968)
You should keep your mouth shut, every word out of your mouth is annoying ML
yes donate your sperm as soon as possible and be over with it
This novel its verry briliat i hope they get the happ ending
Inline Comments (5628)
“I won’t grant a divorce.”
oh no this might come back and bite her, just pay some fines
“What are your plans regarding the investigation into the fire incident from ten
i love how she communicates, straight to the point no nonsense lol
Having lost both parents at a young age and with no siblings, Herdin had grown u
so they both have the empress as their parental figure
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VKotaku28
Keep your curiosity to yourself.. we only need Asiel