I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 170
Ricardo examined Charles’s condition seriously. It hadn’t been long since he fell ill, and now he had another fever.
Even if the change in environment could be the cause, the frequency of the fevers was too short.
He carefully laid Charles back down on the bed and searched for the medicine bottle that Mirabel had left with the child. This time, he tried to remain calm, not wanting to startle Charles or panic.
“Uncle… Charles… cough!”
While looking for the medicine bottle, Ricardo turned around when he heard Charles’s cough. Startled, he turned his head, and his eyes widened in shock.
“Cough! Cough!“
Charles was coughing painfully, and with each cough, blood leaked from his mouth.
* * *
Ricardo looked on with a serious expression as Charles lay on the bed, eyes closed, in his arms.
His purple-colored eyes turned toward Ugo, who had arrived after Ricardo called for him.
“Do you know what illness this is…?”
“Cough!“
Ricardo was about to ask Ugo when he quickly pressed a white gauze against Charles’s mouth. As the white cloth turned red at an alarming rate, Ricardo’s chest heaved with deep breaths.
“Do you know what illness this is?”
“I have a guess, but…”
Ugo, who had been called in, rubbed his wrinkled eyes. His usual calm and assured voice was now trembling slightly.
“It’s strange… very strange. The prince shouldn’t have caught this illness.”
“What illness is it?”
“Well…”
Ugo, who was about to answer Ricardo’s anxious question, slowly turned his head to the side. He gestured for his assistant to leave the room, then sighed deeply.
“Before making a diagnosis, I need to consult with the princess.”
“Consult with her? Why?”
“If…”
Ugo hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“If the illness the prince has is what I suspect, there is a chance it is incurable.”
Ricardo’s face twisted in shock as he listened to Ugo’s explanation. Holding the sleeping child tightly in his arms, he spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Incurable?”
Ricardo shook his head in denial, refusing to accept the reality.
“That can’t be true. It could just be temporary symptoms, right? Isn’t that why you’re not so sure?”
Ugo looked uncomfortable at Ricardo’s interrogation. He stared at Charles’s dark hair before turning his gaze back to Ricardo.
“At the very least, it’s not temporary. It’s likely related to the prince’s bloodline.”
“Bloodline? So, is this a genetic issue?”
The unexpected cause made Ricardo grow anxious. Raising his voice, he urged Ugo to continue.
“Your Grace, this is just my guess. The only way to be sure is to ask the princess…”
“The princess asked me to take care of her son. I can’t just blurt out to her that her child is suffering from an incurable illness.”
“But, Your Grace…”
“Tell me. This child is like my own son.”
Ricardo’s firm attitude caused Ugo to look at him in surprise.
He knew that Charles was special to the Grand Duke, but he hadn’t realized how deeply he thought about him. Ugo hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“…It seems that the prince has inherited the imperial bloodline. The coughing up of blood seems to be related to that.”
At Ugo’s response, Ricardo’s eyebrows furrowed. His expression seemed more puzzled than shocked. He gently rubbed his chin and tilted his head.
“Why would that be?”
“Are you not surprised?”
“I’m more curious about how that explains why Charles is coughing up blood. I’ve never heard of an imperial family’s child suffering from a fatal illness like that. I haven’t experienced it myself.”
“Well, Your Grace, you grew up next to the late Grand Duke, after all.”
Ricardo lowered his hand from his face at Ugo’s explanation. With a gesture to continue, Ugo spoke again.
“Members of the imperial family must stay within the influence of their father’s magic from birth through their childhood. If not, their own magic will run rampant in their bodies. Coughing up blood is an early symptom of that.”
“So, you’re saying an imperial family’s child has to grow up by their father’s side?”
“Yes, a child follows their father out of survival instinct. That’s why, when you were a child, you clung to the late Grand Duke so much.”
“And if it’s not the father?”
“Pardon?”
“No, can the magic of someone other than the father also help stabilize the child’s magic?”
“That’s possible. The magic of an adult male can suppress a child’s magic from running wild.”
Ricardo’s purple eyes darkened as he processed the information. Ugo, noticing his reaction, continued to explain.
“It seems that the prince grew up without exposure to the magic of an imperial family’s male. That’s why his magic is running rampant in his body. Coughing up blood is just one of the symptoms. If it progresses further…”
“What then?”
Ugo fell silent, and his silence spoke volumes.
Death.
An imperial family’s child who doesn’t grow up by their father’s side dies before reaching adulthood.
That was the tragic fate of a child abandoned by their father.
‘I won’t let that happen.’
Ricardo clenched his fists tightly.
The reason he had managed to survive after being abandoned by Mirabel was because of Charles.
But now, this child was going to die because of him?
That could not happen.
Charles had already endured so much pain just because he inherited Ricardo’s bloodline.
The lovely child, who should have been celebrated for his birth, had faced trials from the very moment he was conceived.
His father had denied his existence and tried to separate him from his mother’s womb.
Charles had struggled to grow inside his mother’s belly and was barely born.
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