I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 107
As Mirabel watched the ball, the color drained from her face. Her expression crumbled, setting off tears from Charles on the other side of the ball.
[“Huwee, Mommy, don’t, hiccup, don’t crrrryyyy.”
“…Sophie.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Barely managing to speak, Mirabel called for Sophie, who quickly took the ball and stood up. Sophie soothed Charles through the ball as she moved to the next room.
The sound of the child’s cries echoed loudly before gradually subsiding.
Mirabel did not speak until Charles’s cries had completely stopped, nor did Ricardo.
A suffocating silence filled the green room. Mirabel swallowed hard as her mind whirling.
It had been less than five minutes since she had lied about Charles being her lover.
The problem wasn’t just that the lie had been exposed, but that Ricardo had seen Charles’s face.
‘No, not yet…’
Mirabel tried to calm herself.
Ricardo didn’t know she had been pregnant. Therefore, he couldn’t suspect that Charles was his child.
“Charles, that was his name.”
But Mirabel’s assumptions were spectacularly wrong.
“Our child’s name, it was Charles.”
At that moment, hearing his voice filled with emotion…
“No.”
Mirabel quickly shook her head defensively, her knuckles white as she clutched her skirt.
“There’s no child between us.”
“Mirabel.”
Ricardo let go of her shoulder and stepped in front of her. He sank to his knees and spoke.
“I’ve heard it from the doctor. I know you were pregnant.”
Startled by Ricardo’s declaration, Mirabel clenched her eyes shut, then opened them.
“Charles’s father isn’t you.”
“Then who is it?”
Instead of an answer, silence returned. Ricardo stared at her, throwing another question.
“How old is the child? When you were pregnant, there was only me. So…”
“It’s not like that.”
Avoiding Ricardo’s gaze, Mirabel finally looked directly at him. Her eyes were venomous as she glared at him.
“You said if I ever had a child, you would kill it. That no one could have your child.”
Her red lips twisted as she bitterly recounted the cruel past.
“Did you really think that I forgot how great your obsession was, Your Grace? Even when I pleaded with you to stop, you were only concerned with covering up your own mistakes?”
Ricardo’s eyes hardened as he was struck speechless by Mirabel’s accusation. Mirabel glared at him and continued.
“Your child died then. You killed it, along with Armilla.”
Ricardo’s expression twisted. He ran a hand over his pale face.
“I’m sorry. I was scared of having a child. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s so easy for you to apologize.”
Mirabel threw a cold sneer at Ricardo as he looked down. She then tapped his shoulder sharply.
“If you really are sorry, get out of my sight. I can’t stand the sight of you.”
“Mirabel…”
“Do you think I don’t know your true intentions? It must be a relief for you that I am not just a nobody, but a princess. You must be happy that your son was not born to some woman on the streets, right?”
“No, that’s not it. It doesn’t matter who you are.”
“Then why was Armilla not acceptable, but Mirabel is?”
Ricardo was taken aback by the unexpected question. Mirabel twisted her lips and bitterly said as she vented her anger.
“You were ready to kill Armilla’s child. But why do you welcome Mirabel’s? Because I, Mirabel, am a princess, right?”
“No!”
Ricardo exclaimed desperately. He had never thought of it that way.
His failure to express love to Armilla was due to his ignorance. He didn’t understand what love was.
It was only after losing her that he realized his feelings were love. That’s why Ricardo now wanted to hold onto her, even if it was too late.
But no matter how he explained, Mirabel wouldn’t believe him. Not with how things stood.
Unfortunately, it was the perfect misunderstanding.
However, Ricardo couldn’t just let Mirabel’s suspicions go unanswered. Not expressing his feelings had already cost him once. He wouldn’t let it happen again.
“I never wished for you to be a princess.”
Ricardo said earnestly. Though skepticism filled Mirabel’s eyes, he didn’t care.
“I know I’ve committed unforgivable sins. But it’s not because of your status. It’s because of me.”
Ricardo cautiously placed his hand over Mirabel’s. Her frown made his heart skip, but he continued speaking.
“I realized I loved you only after I lost you. Even though I loved you, I didn’t know that it was love, nor did I know how to properly love.”
“Love?”
Mirabel stood up abruptly at Ricardo’s heartfelt confession.
Ricardo seemed disgusting to her, making slick speeches as if everything could be rationalized under the guise of love. If that was his mistake, he was sorely mistaken.
Because Mirabel hated ‘love’.
There was a time when she yearned to hear words of love from Ricardo.
But that was a distant past. She was different now. Nothing hurt Mirabel more than love.
“Love. What a convenient excuse.”
The very mention of love left Mirabel’s whole body feeling ice cold. She shivered as if chilled to the bone.
“You thoroughly trampled on my love. And now you come claiming you loved me? I don’t need your love….”
Tears welled up in Mirabel’s blue eyes. Turning her back to Ricardo, she struggled to continue.
“It’s too late now.”
Mirabel finished her words and pursed her lips tightly. She swallowed her sorrow, and spoke resolutely.
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