I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 106
“I haven’t heard of the princess getting married.”
“I have no intentions of marrying. Someone has taught me that marriage doesn’t hold much meaning.”
Her cold words made Ricardo clench his fists. Mirabel faced Ricardo who stood before her like a criminal and said with an indifferent tone.
“How many times must I ask you to leave?”
“…Are you happy with him?”
“I am.”
With Mirabel’s response, Ricardo looked as if the sky had fallen. He seemed at a loss, then began to trudge away heavily.
The sound of his heavy footsteps echoed as the door of the room opened and closed.
After Ricardo had left, Mirabel took a deep breath. She placed her hand on her racing heart, trying to calm it.
‘It’s okay, well done.’
Charles’ name being heard by Ricardo was an unexpected variable. But it had led him to misunderstand that she had a lover.
It was a somewhat clumsy lie, but Ricardo had believed it. Perhaps because he hadn’t fully regained his composure yet. Mirabel hoped she could leave Renato before he discovered the truth.
“Sophie, come in.”
Mirabel knocked on the door of the following room, calling Sophie. Sophie entered the green room with the crystal ball, and Mirabel smiled comfortably.
“Shall we see Charles?”
Sitting on the sofa, Mirabel placed her hands on the ball and chanted the spell softly. The interior of the large, pearl-like ball rippled.
Soon, a bright light filled the room, and the scenery of the Segolinde palace appeared within the ball.
“Charles?”
[Mommy!]
The child’s face filled the ball, probably because he had brought it close to his face. Mirabel chuckled and spoke tenderly,
“Charles, did you listen well to Aunt Louise today?”
[Yes! Mommy, how many nights until you come?]
Faced with her son’s hopeful question, Mirabel furrowed her brows. She exchanged glances with Sophie sitting next to her and pursed her lips.
She had to tell him that she would still need to stay here longer. But seeing her son’s bright eyes made her throat tighten.
“Charles, the thing is…”
[Mommy, when, hing, are you coming…?]
Sensing something amiss, the child beyond the ball began to whine. Mirabel quickly spoke to him through the ball.
“Be good, Charles. Mommy will come as soon as she can. Just a little longer…”
“Mommy?”
As Mirabel was calming Charles, an ominous voice echoed from behind, causing her eyes to widen in shock.
Ricardo had returned.
The realization made her heart sink.
Silently approaching, Ricardo placed his hand on Mirabel’s shoulder. He frowned at the sight of Charles in the ball.
“It seems we need to talk again, Princess.”
Rooted in her seat, Mirabel clutched her skirt. She stared fixedly at the ball without turning to face him.
The child, with hair like Ricardo’s black locks, was tearfully looking at his mother.
* * *
Mirabel has a lover.
This simple and cruel fact tore through Ricardo’s heart.
It should have been obvious.
Mirabel was beautiful, noble, and lovable. She deserved love from everyone. So, having a lover was not surprising.
Why hadn’t he considered that possibility? That was the real surprise.
“Damn it…”
Standing with his back to the door of the green room, Ricardo felt miserable and cursed under his breath.
He managed to step outside, but his legs wouldn’t carry him further. The world seemed upside down, and his stomach churned.
Frozen like a statue, Ricardo exhaled deeply. As he breathed, the cravat that tightly cinched his neck felt suffocating.
He loosened his cravat nervously and grabbed it. Dressing up to impress Mirabel seemed foolish now.
It was already too late, and he hadn’t realized it.
He had bathed in perfumed water, neatly combed his hair, and put on his sharpest outfit.
Ricardo sneered at himself. Mirabel, or rather, Armilla, no longer loved him. She had completely forgotten him. She loved someone else. The reality was painful.
He could accept that Mirabel hated him, but the fact that she loved another was too much to bear.
Can Ricardo give up on Mirabel?
He grimaced at the question he posed to himself. He couldn’t give her up. To do so would be akin to giving up on life itself.
For Ricardo, Mirabel was life itself.
‘Even being second … would be enough.’
Thus, Ricardo didn’t need much deliberation to conclude that he would be willing to be Mirabel’s second choice.
What did it matter if he was second?
Being by Mirabel’s side in any way would be more than enough. His pride had long been discarded.
Ricardo steeled his resolve and lifted his head. He intended to ask her to accept him, even as a mere consort.
He tied his cravat solemnly and turned towards the door.
Whaa—
At that moment. A brilliant light spilled from the gap under the door.
Startled, Ricardo pressed his face against the door. He considered entering immediately but hesitated, unsure if it was a crisis that needed such intrusion without permission.
Instead, he decided to listen first…
[“Mommy!”]
The unexpected voice of a child came through.
Ricardo narrowed his eyes, not understanding what was going on. Then, hearing Mirabel’s voice follow, he pushed the door open.
Through the opened door, he saw Mirabel, her maid, and the ball they were facing. With a trembling heart, Ricardo approached them.
[Mommy, when, hing, are you coming…?]
Seeing ‘Charles,’ the child Mirabel loved, Ricardo inhaled sharply.
In the ball, Charles, the child.
He had Ricardo’s black hair and Mirabel’s clear blue eyes.
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