The Duke Only Needs My Child - Chapter 8
“Really, the Duke is too much. How could he leave his bride alone on the first night after consummating the marriage?”
Lina, who was combing Blair’s hair after her bath, expressed her indignation. Her voice sounded as if she herself had suffered such treatment.
Meanwhile, the person in question was smiling as she listened to the criticism, seemingly unbothered.
“I’m fine. It’s actually more comfortable to sleep separately.”
After all, nobles usually used separate rooms except for the consummation night. This wasn’t much different from that custom.
But Lina’s anger didn’t subside.
“Still! Yesterday wasn’t just any day, it was the first night!”
“…Lina, you’re pulling too hard on my hair. It hurts.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got carried away.”
Lina’s grip on the comb loosened, but her anger didn’t completely disappear.
“Anyway! It’s not right to do that to a beautiful bride who came to this unfamiliar mansion, full of strangers, solely for her husband. This is grounds for revoking his husband license.”
“How does an unmarried lady like you know so much about these things?”
“It’s all knowledge gained from books, which are treasures of wisdom and nourishment for the soul.”
Blair smiled, remembering the red-stickered books Lina used to read all night, squealing with a flushed face.
“Well, the Duke’s appearance is honestly like a male protagonist straight out of a book… but his character remains to be seen.”
Listening to Lina’s chatter improved Blair’s mood, which had been somewhat dampened earlier.
As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, gradually becoming more composed, she noticed something shimmering between her neck and collarbone.
‘…A magic circle?’
Blair quickly opened her collar to check the spot. But all she could see were the red marks he had left the night before.
Seeing them brought back memories of the previous night, causing her face to flush with heat.
Blair hastily covered her collar. She must have been mistaken.
Lina tilted her head curiously.
“My lady? Is your dress uncomfortable?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”
As Blair shook her head in embarrassment, she suddenly noticed a thin bandage wrapped around Lina’s finger.
It was something she hadn’t seen last night when Lina was helping her bathe.
Blair asked,
“Did you hurt your hand?”
“Ah…”
A momentary look of surprise flashed across Lina’s face as she was combing.
“I’ll call a doctor for you. Let’s get it treated.”
At the mention of calling a doctor, Lina jumped up and protested.
“No, no! It’s fine. It’s just a small cut.”
“How did you get hurt?”
“Oh, well… Ah, I did it while working this morning. You know how clumsy I can be.”
Although Lina insisted it was fine, Blair’s concerned gaze didn’t waver.
Lina had just said that Blair was a bride who came to this unfamiliar place trusting only her husband, but the same could be said for Lina.
It worried her that the girl who had left her familiar space and beloved colleagues, trusting only Blair, had gotten hurt.
Especially since the memories of her past life came to mind.
‘In my past life, I was so caught up in my own situation that I hardly paid any attention to Lina.’
Reading Blair’s expression, Lina added in a deliberately light tone,
“It’s really nothing to worry about. I just wrapped it in a bandage to avoid getting blood on Your Highness— I mean, my lady’s hair.”
“…Really?”
“See, there’s no blood seeping through the bandage, right?”
It did seem that the wound wasn’t deep, as she said.
“You should only worry about how to live well in this mansion and how to make that handsome-faced Duke cry, my lady.”
Lina’s playful words eased Blair’s mind a bit, but at the same time, raised a question.
‘If it’s a cut, that means a knife. But Lina isn’t in charge of kitchen duties, so she shouldn’t have many occasions to handle knives. Could it be that she’s being bullied…?’
But Blair’s doubts were cut short.
“Ta-da! All done now. I’ll escort you to the dining room.”
Lina, having finished styling Blair’s hair, helped her up.
Following Lina’s guidance to the dining room, a waiting servant opened the door.
It was customary for newlyweds to have lunch with the groom’s family on the first day of marriage.
While in other families, the first meal after the wedding would be bustling with immediate family members, in this spacious dining room, only Herdin was seated.
He had no family.
Herdin had grown up alone, having lost both parents early and without any siblings. To him, Empress Esmeralda was as good as a parent.
Seeing the empty dining room, Blair could understand why he hated her so much. Regardless of her own resentful feelings.
The butler who pulled out Blair’s chair skillfully filled her glass with an aperitif before leaving the dining room.
Left alone in the dining room, Herdin raised his glass and asked,
“Did you sleep well?”
It was a somewhat ironic question coming from the very person who had tormented and made Blair cry all night, only letting her go at dawn, but Blair answered obediently.
“Yes.”
The meal began after this brief exchange of greetings.
An oppressive silence continued, far too bleak for a newlywed couple who had just had their wedding ceremony and first night together yesterday.
Herdin was the first to break the silence.
“After the meal, the butler will introduce you to the staff.”
He continued speaking while skillfully cutting his steak with a knife.
“After the staff introductions, you’ll be given a tour of the mansion. There’s no schedule after that, so you can rest if you’d like.”
“Thank you.”
“If you have any questions or anything to say, feel free to speak up.”
“How do you plan to investigate the fire incident from ten years ago?”
His knife paused mid-cut.
His blue eyes, which had been dry all along, turned towards Blair.
Even though it was a contract marriage made for that purpose, he hadn’t expected her to bring it up so soon, especially today.
And this was right after their wedding ceremony and first night, when both body and mind should be tired.
“Since you say you have no memory of that time, we’re currently looking for a hypnotist.”
Blair’s body flinched at the word ‘hypnosis’. It was because memories of the past surfaced.
“Hypnosis… I’ve tried it a few times before, but it didn’t work.”
“Well, this time might be different.”
Herdin replied nonchalantly, but his words had an edge to them. He suspected that Blair wasn’t really amnesiac, but pretending to have lost her memories.
“…You’re suspicious of me.”
“How could I trust you?”
His tone suggested that it was such an obvious thing to ask.
Although one might try to hide their true feelings when exposed, he seemed to have no intention of concealing his true thoughts, remaining composed.
“Whether you’ve really lost your memories, or if there’s another reason you’re pretending to have lost them, only you would know.”
The daughter of the Imperial family, a political adversary.
That alone was reason enough for him not to trust her.
Blair was fully aware of this from her past life, having experienced it firsthand.
But there was a difference between vaguely thinking about it and actually facing the raw hostility of the other party.
“Accepting the contract doesn’t mean I trust you.”
His words were right.
This was a contract.
A contract made after weighing the pros and cons, not a marriage based on love and trust. Wasn’t it this side that proposed it first?
Having made the contract, she needed to explain herself in the face of his suspicion.
Blair calmly acquiesced to his demand.
“…I understand. Then, as you say, let’s try hypnosis first.”
And so ended the newlyweds’ first intimate meal together on their first day of marriage.
* * *
After the introductions to the staff were over, Mason, the butler, took charge of the mansion tour.
Having served the Delmark Duchy for generations, he had a deep loyalty to the ducal family, took pride in his position, and knew the history of the duchy better than the current Duke, Herdin.
The tour of the mansion continued even after dinner had ended.
Although Blair, who had lived in this mansion until her regression, already knew all this information, she listened attentively to Mason’s explanations. Seeing it all again after returning from death gave her a fresh perspective.
As they headed towards Blair’s bedroom after the tour, Mason apologized as if he had just remembered something.
“You must be tired after just having the ceremony yesterday, I’m afraid I’ve been too eager and inconsiderate.”
“These are things the lady of the house should know. Thanks to you, I was able to quickly grasp the ins and outs of the mansion.”
Like most people in the Duke’s household, Mason wasn’t particularly friendly towards Blair, but he had never shown his personal feelings in front of her.
Even if Blair was an unwelcome mistress, she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable when he had treated her with respect as his mistress. Besides, she had genuinely enjoyed the tour of the mansion.
They had finally arrived in front of Blair’s bedroom.
“If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask at any time.”
“I’d like to see the staff roster and the household inventory ledger.”
Mason was surprised by Blair’s request.
It was indeed the duty of the lady of the house to know how much was being paid for the staff’s salaries, the inventory of household items, and other financial matters related to the family.
However, in reality, it was rare for the lady of a noble house to do this work directly. As examining and managing numbers was quite a headache, it was usually done by subordinates.
Yet she wanted to do this work herself.
“Are you saying you want to handle these matters personally?”
“I’m now a member of the Delmark family too. It’s only right that I do my part.”
Before her regression, Blair, like other noble ladies, had left the internal affairs of the duchy to Mason.
It was partly because the duties of the lady of the house were difficult, but more importantly, because the people of the Duke’s household didn’t look favorably upon her involvement in family matters.
But now, she didn’t care what others thought. Even if she was only going to be the Duchess for a year, she wanted to do her part.
Not to gain recognition from others, but because she no longer wanted to feel inferior to herself.
*
Save yourself from story hunger — the novel below will blow your mind!
[su_service title=”My Husband Asks for a Divorce Every Day (Female-dominant)” icon=”icon: star-o” size=”16″][/su_service]
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.]
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
