I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 119
Ricardo watched the small chest rise and fall steadily when suddenly, hurried footsteps approached from beyond the slightly open door.
Mirabel’s frantic voice echoed closer.
“Grand Duke…!”
Mirabel entered the room with her face pale with worry. Caught by surprise, Ricardo bit his lip, anxious to explain why he had entered without permission.
“I heard crying from inside, so…”
“Charles!”
But it was as if she hadn’t heard him. With a stern expression, she pushed past Ricardo and examined Charles.
“Oh, thank heavens…”
Mirabel placed her hand on the child’s sweaty forehead and sank to her knees. Her red lips trembled as she silently held the sleeping child’s tiny hand and swallowed hard.
“Thank you.”
Ricardo’s eyes widened in shock and bewilderment.
Mirabel saying thank you?
She covered her face with her free hand, her entire body trembling as she began to speak.
“I sent Luce and Sophie to the greenhouse, and just as I was about to go out, Charles suddenly had a fever. It happens sometimes because he’s still so young. I rang the bell for a maid, but no one came. I… I didn’t know what to do…”
Mirabel couldn’t continue and closed her mouth. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
She felt on the brink of tears. She was unable to explain how scared and helpless she felt.
Charles’s fever kept rising, and there was no one to help. The child kept crying, and the fever worsened.
The more he cried, the higher his fever soared. She tried using a wet cloth to cool him down, but it wasn’t working.
Why did it have to be today of all days that the maids didn’t come?
Her insides felt like they were burning with worry and anxiety.
According to Louise, Charles had vomited recently. This sudden fever was not a good sign. She needed to bring his temperature down quickly.
Mirabel paced anxiously before finally deciding to leave the room. Desperately, she searched for Ricardo, the only person she could think to ask for help.
Mirabel knew that Ricardo could make Charles better. He had often cured her headaches in no time.
But he was nowhere to be found in the study or the office. It was driving her crazy.
What kind of day was this? The mansion felt completely deserted, and there were no servants around to fetch Ricardo.
Desperate and on the verge of tears, she returned only to find Ricardo already tending to Charles.
The relief she felt at that moment was overwhelming.
“I’ve lowered his fever with magic for now. The doctor will be here soon.”
“…How scared he must have been, all alone. I should have taken him with me.”
Mirabel blamed herself while watching the child. Ricardo tried to comfort her, looking down at her tenderly.
“If you had taken him outside, the cold could have worsened his fever. You did the right thing.”
“I can’t be without Charles.”
Mirabel said in tears. Her deep blue eyes were filled with tears.
“He’s all I have. I…”
“Master! I’ve brought the doctor!”
Walter’s voice interrupted her. Ricardo quickly placed the veil back over Mirabel’s head and spoke to the doctor.
“You’ve been briefed. Get on with the examination.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Sitting still with Charles’s hand in hers, Mirabel recognized the voice of the approaching man and gasped.
‘Ugo…?’
The doctor, carefully examining Charles’s condition, was indeed Ugo, the one who had kept her pregnancy a secret until she fled.
‘I thought the Grand Duke would have killed him.’
Ricardo had said that the doctor had informed him about her pregnancy. Naturally, he must have also known that Ugo had kept this secret.
Ricardo did not tolerate being deceived. Usually, those who did faced death.
It was said that the Master of Renato never forgot a debt and always repaid them.
In Ricardo’s lexicon, the word ‘forgiveness’ did not exist.
‘Now that I think about it, the other punishments have been rather lenient for him.’
With Charles now settled, Mirabel found herself able to think more rationally.
And this wasn’t the only strange thing.
The same was true for Bianca and Paolo. A simple dismissal was too lenient a punishment for Ricardo.
Not that she regretted it. Without a recommendation letter, they would struggle to find work, and being disgracefully dismissed from the Grand Duchy would make them outcasts.
However, Mirabel felt troubled about Ezio. He had been demoted because of her.
So perhaps it was a good thing that Ricardo had become more lenient. If not, she would have been burdened with an unforgivable guilt towards Ezio for life.
“My apologies, Princess.”
Lost in thought, Mirabel was startled by Ugo’s hesitant voice.
“You need to let go of the prince’s hand so I can examine him.”
Mirabel quietly released Charles’s hand and stood up to give Ugo more space for the examination.
But as she tried to get up, her legs gave way.
“Ah…!”
It was Ricardo who caught her before she could fall, swiftly wrapping his arm around her slender waist to support her.
Held securely by his strong arm, Mirabel found herself in Ricardo’s embrace.
The fresh, cool scent reminiscent of a forest at dawn surrounded her. The warmth of his body reached her.
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