I Don’t Need the Grand Duke’s Regret - Chapter 121

Mirabel’s face twisted in anger as she finally understood the reason. She roughly removed her veil and glared at Ricardo.

“Is this just to satisfy your own desires? If I could have called a maid, I wouldn’t have had to leave Charles alone and go out of the room.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know the child would fall ill.”

“I told you not to create more reasons for you to apologize.”

Mirabel spoke coldly. She wanted to raise her voice, but since Charles was sleeping nearby, she kept it low and continued in a whisper.

“It was foolish of me to be grateful to you, even for a moment.”

“Mirabel…”

“You haven’t changed at all. You’re still selfish and still extreme. Oh, but there is one thing that has changed.”

Mirabel laughed coldly. She looked at the downcast Ricardo and said sharply,

“You’ve become very brazen, Your Grace. You’re ‘trying,’ you say? Is this your idea of trying? Controlling everything to your liking?”

“I won’t do this again.”

Ricardo looked up at Mirabel when her voice trembled. He pleaded with a pained expression as he faced her angry gaze.

“I was in a hurry. Now that the snow is starting to melt. And I was afraid you might leave…”

“I’m sick of it.”

The cold words came out immediately. Mirabel continued in a flat tone.

“I’m sick of you wronging me and then apologizing too late.”

She raised her hand to point at the door. She said, without even looking at Ricardo.

“Leave. And don’t ever try such schemes again.”

Ricardo stared at Mirabel in silence. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Mirabel turned away.

No amount of pity from him would make her forgive him.

He doesn’t understand the desperation of searching through the entire building for someone to help when the child is ill.

If he did, he wouldn’t have done this.

She didn’t even want to imagine what might have happened if Charles’s fever hadn’t gone down while the building was empty.

“It would have been better if you had just asked me directly to let you see the child. That would have been better than pulling these stunts behind my back.”

Mirabel shot Ricardo with a piercing, cold look. His gaze faltered under the weight of her resentment, and he turned his head. Ricardo looked at Charles with a worried expression before speaking.

“I’ll make sure this never happens again. While you’re here, I’ll keep the doctor in the adjacent room. I’ll also instruct the staff to respond to calls from the green room within five minutes.”

Mirabel didn’t respond. Instead, she turned away from him.

Ricardo turned his body as Mirabel averted her eyes. Her cold demeanor remained even as the door closed behind him.

The blue eyes watching the spot where Ricardo had stood glinted with the chill of a winter sky.

* * *

Sophie, who had returned from the greenhouse with Luce, was puzzled to see that Charles had gone to bed without even having dinner.

Hearing that Charles had had a fever, she let out a sigh of relief.

“It could have been a real disaster if His Grace hadn’t been here. It’s a good thing the Grand Duke was around.”

“Indeed.”

Mirabel replied with a hint of bitterness, patting the sleeping Charles on the chest. Seeing her expression, Sophie tilted her head and asked,

“Is something wrong? Did the Grand Duke do something wrong? I thought he helped bring down the prince’s fever.”

“Well, it’s just that…”

Mirabel trailed off. Sophie seemed to have misunderstood the relationship between her and the Grand Duke.

It seemed that Sophie thought there was mutual affection between them.

If it were just a simple misunderstanding, she could ignore it. After all, she wouldn’t be staying in Renato much longer.

However, the problem was that Sophie was actively trying to bring them together.

Sophie, hoping for a romantic relationship, constantly brought up Ricardo in conversation. She frequently showered him with praise and observed Mirabel’s reactions closely.

Mirabel found Sophie’s behavior awkward. While most maids would have given a nonchalant response, it was difficult to dismiss Sophie, who had grown up with her since childhood.

Moreover, Sophie had a knack for piercing through evasions, making it hard to brush off her questions.

“Is something bothering you about the Grand Duke?”

Even now, Sophie read Mirabel’s expression and went straight to the point.

Mirabel’s hand, which had been soothing Charles, froze at the sharp question. She turned her body to face Sophie directly and said with a resolute expression.

“The truth is, yes.”

“Is it because you were once betrothed to him?”

Nodding, Mirabel took Sophie’s hand in hers.

Sophie, sensing something was off, straightened her posture. Mirabel lowered her voice and began to speak.

“I have a request for you, Sophie. Will you listen?”

Mirabel gently patted Sophie’s hand. She let out a small sigh before continuing.

“I’d like you to stop talking about the Grand Duke in front of me from now on.”

Sophie blinked, her face full of questions. However, Mirabel ignored her curiosity and pressed on.

“Don’t ask why.”

Her voice was calm but filled with sadness. Sophie looked at Mirabel with a thoughtful expression, her golden lashes trembling slightly as she lowered her gaze.

‘Have I misunderstood?’

Sophie had seen Mirabel regaining her vitality in Renato, and she had thought it was due to love rather than anger.

But if Mirabel found the Grand Duke uncomfortable, then the driving emotion might be anger after all.

Sophie didn’t understand why Mirabel was upset with the Grand Duke. She could only tell from her expression that it wasn’t mere ill will.

Want to read more? Advanced chapters are available on Patreon: