The Duke Only Needs My Child - Chapter 139

Miela’s sudden words caused Blair to furrow her delicate brow.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, barging in like this.”

“It wasn’t difficult to understand.”

Miela spoke again as if bestowing a great kindness, elaborating on her words.

“It’s exactly as you understood. I think it would be better for you to leave His Excellency’s side. After all, you came here to run away from him in the first place, didn’t you?”

“…”

“I’ll help you. So you can run away again.”

At first glance, it sounded like she was looking out for Blair, but to Blair, who knew what feelings Miela harbored for Herdin, it was a laughable story.

“I don’t intend to involve anyone else in that matter anymore. It’s between a husband and wife.”

Blair drew a firm line with a resolute expression. Implying it was not something for Miela to interfere with.

At this, Miela’s expression, which had been wearing its usual benevolent smile, contorted for the first time.

Husband and wife.

The solid, official, and legal framework of ‘husband and wife’ that she could not interfere with in the slightest shattered Miela’s composure.

“Then you intend to stay by His Excellency’s side? Even with another man’s child?”

At Miela’s words, Blair’s expression hardened.

“What… what are you talking about?”

“That child, it’s not His Excellency’s, is it?”

Miela said, gesturing towards Blair’s belly with her eyes.

Taken aback by the unexpected topic, Blair was at a loss for words. Miela, thinking she had hit the mark, continued speaking.

“The man with brown hair. Wasn’t it with him that you ran away? Why did you come back to His Excellency?”

When Mikhail was mentioned from Miela’s lips, Blair’s eyes wavered for a moment before quickly growing cold.

Miela knew about Mikhail’s existence.

That meant Miela had witnessed her with Mikhail at some point.

And perhaps—

“So it was you who spread the rumor that I was carrying another man’s child.”

“Everyone has the right to know the truth.”

Miela spoke as if she were an apostle of justice, solemn and dignified.

Looking at the woman intoxicated by her own beliefs, Blair felt a chill.

Thanks to the rumor Miela spread, she had safely escaped from Herdin, and it had removed any justification for him to search for her.

It was both amusing and unpleasant that a rumor born of malice had ended up helping her.

“Others need to know how selfish you are, Madam. How could you, the daughter of an enemy, think to become that person’s wife?”

“…”

“I feel sorry for him. If he had met someone else, he surely could have been happy…”

Miela’s expression contorted as if the mere thought of Herdin pained her heart.

For the first time in both her past life and this one, Miela had honestly revealed her feelings for Herdin in front of Blair.

However, far from being hurt by Miela’s words, Blair looked at her with a relieved expression.

“Miss Miela.”

Her upright gaze and gentle yet chilling voice cut through the silence.

“If I become the villain like that, does it justify your feelings?”

Miela’s eyes, which had been confident until now, wavered at Blair’s piercing words. However, she quickly composed herself and asked with a forced nonchalant face.

“Is it wrong to simply wish for his happiness?”

“Then is it right to judge someone else’s happiness and unhappiness by your own standards and act as you please?”

“I…!”

“No matter how much you slander me and try to disguise your feelings, in the end, it’s just a vulgar heart desiring a married man.”

Blair’s calm voice dug into the truth hidden deep within Miela’s inner self.

The moral standards she had rationalized, justified, and turned a blind eye to.

Feeling as if she had been suddenly stripped naked in front of the woman she disliked the most, Miela trembled all over and lost her composure, revealing her emotions all over her face.

“It’s all because of you!”

“Miss Miela.”

“If only you hadn’t married him, if he had married another good person, I would have gladly wished for his happiness—”

Just as Miela was shouting, the door suddenly opened and Herdin entered. A cold glint flickered in his eyes as he approached.

He strode over, roughly grabbed Miela’s wrist, and dragged her out of the room. As soon as they were in the corridor, he let go of her as if throwing her and pushed her against the wall.

As Miela tried to protest, Herdin grabbed her chin to silence her. His eyes were blazing with murderous intent. It was a far cry from the facade of politeness he had maintained until now.

“It seems you’ve given up on your act of being a righteous priestess, so I’ll drop the pretense of courtesy and warn you.”

“…”

“Don’t let me see you again. If you value your life.”

Though he found it detestable that she dared to seek out Blair and spout nonsense, he was backing off now because Blair was watching. After all, he didn’t want to show her his rough side.

Herdin released Miela’s chin, which he had been gripping roughly, and turned away.

Miela, who was about to call out to him with eyes considerably hurt, bit her lip in front of the door that closed mercilessly.

However, soon the sorrow in her eyes faded, leaving only a chilling madness.

Miela muttered in a bleak voice.

“I clearly gave you a chance, Madam.”

A chance to protect yourself and the child in your womb.

* * *

That night, when Blair returned to the room after finishing her bath, she paused.

Herdin, whom she had thought would naturally be in his office at this early hour, was already in the room waiting for her.

He had been fiddling with a lighter, but upon seeing Blair, he approached her.

Blair knew he had something else to say to her, but she deliberately avoided his gaze.

She knew that the incident with Miela during the day had nothing to do with him.

His using Miela was in the past life, not this one. Miela wouldn’t have memories of the past life.

She understood this logically, but her heart dredged up the wounds from the past life. She found herself hating him helplessly.

But even that hatred, she knew, stemmed from her love for him, which is why she didn’t want to show it to him.

Because it was an emotion she had decided to cut off.

However, Herdin caught Blair’s hand as she was about to go to the bed.

“Blair.”

Before she could make an excuse about being tired, he continued.

“I’ll teach you how to light the fireplace.”

Blair, who had been planning to refuse whatever he said, hesitated at this unexpected topic. Herdin didn’t miss this opening.

“I remembered I hadn’t taught you how to light the fireplace.”

“…”

“Winter is coming soon.”

The warmth from the fireplace, which the maids had lit and then extinguished, had already dissipated, leaving the air chilly.

As the cold crept into her body, Blair suddenly recalled a memory from the past.

Right after giving birth, when she needed to keep her body warm, she couldn’t light the fireplace. Because of that, her body had weakened considerably, and she had become prone to minor illnesses afterward. She had always felt sorry to Asiel for that.

But if she could light the fireplace, wouldn’t her body be less weakened than before?

Having thought that far, Blair decided and answered.

“Alright.”

Herdin smiled upon finally hearing the answer he had been hoping for. But somehow, that smile looked bitter.

“If it’s even a little difficult, tell me right away. Not overexerting yourself is the most important thing.”

Blair nodded.

Herdin led Blair to the fireplace. Inside the fireplace that the maids had extinguished before leaving, only charred logs remained.

Herdin put new logs into the fireplace and placed paper on top of them. Then he picked up a candle he had prepared in advance.

“We’ll light this candle and transfer the flame to the paper. Usually, you’d light the paper and throw it into the fireplace, but that might be too scary with the lit medium so close, so we’ll do it this way.”

After finishing his explanation, he handed the lighter to Blair.

Blair tried to light the candle as she had practiced before, but perhaps because it had been too long, her hand trembled.

At that moment, Herdin’s hand overlapped Blair’s hand holding the lighter. As if by magic, the trembling in her hand stopped. Thanks to that, she was able to light the candle without much difficulty.

“Now, try to light that paper with this.”

Blair looked at the lit candle with anxious eyes and carefully lifted it. This time too, Herdin covered her hand with his.

But when she tried to lean her body towards the fireplace, it wasn’t easy to bend her upper body due to her swollen belly. Noticing this, Herdin wrapped his arm around Blair’s waist to support her.

Finally, Blair succeeded in lighting the paper. The ember burning through the paper transferred to the logs, and the fire gradually grew larger.

Watching this scene, Herdin gently caressed Blair’s cheek.

“You seem less scared than I thought. Well done.”

Blair blankly stared at his eyes looking at her with affection, but suddenly remembering last spring, she turned her gaze away as if avoiding the memory.

Herdin, watching such a Blair, also turned his gaze to the fireplace.

Seeing the flame she had created, memories of last spring came to mind.

The marshmallows they had eaten together.

You, who smiled so happily as if you had the whole world with just a piece of roasted marshmallow.

And the arrogant me from back then, who had driven you to the brink of death.

Herdin opened his mouth, self-deprecating his past self.

“…There was a time when I wished you would fear fire forever.”

Blair’s gaze, which had been blankly staring at the fire, turned to him. Herdin continued speaking as if confessing his sins.

“So that you would stay by my side, even if it was because of the fire, because of the warmth. I was foolish.”

“…”

“I’m sorry.”

Only then did Blair realize why he was teaching her to light the fire.

“When this matter is settled…”

It was an apology for his past arrogance—

“Let’s separate. As you said.”

And a respect for her choice.

So that even after she left his side, her winters would be warm.