I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Translator: effe
Considering what Durante saw on the day of the funeral, it is not entirely impossible. The Grand Duke, who was indifferent to everything, cherished the woman?
Like love.
“That’s not good.”
Durante, who became anxious, grabbed the armrest and jumped up. His eyes sparkled with the will to meet the Grand Duke today.
* * *
“Marriage?”
A sharp voice echoed through the study. Ricardo looked at the other person with cold eyes. The middle-aged man, who was so vain as to not take off his fur even though he was in a warm room, smiled shyly.
“Yes, the Princess’s funeral has been held, so we need to find your next spouse.”
“My godfather is short-tempered.”
Ricardo sneered and roughly untied his cravat.
A week has passed since the funeral. Meanwhile, Ricardo was having a hectic time. He sent a document announcing the Princess’s death to the Emperor, and also informed Segolinde that he had held a grand funeral for the Princess.
The Emperor accepted Renato’s report without hesitation. The problem was Segolinde’s side.
They raised the objection whether the body found in Renato was truly that of the Princess.
So Ricardo answered that the woman was wearing the clothes of Segolinde court handmaid, had blonde hair, and, above all, was wearing a pendant with a lily engraved on it.
It is common for royals to swap clothes with their attendants for safety reasons during long journeys.
The pendant with the Princess’ favorite flower engraved on it had a seal indicating that it had been made by a royal craftsman. Only after sending the pendant to Segolinde was Ricardo able to complete the arduous confirmation process.
It was only today that he finally took a breather and tried to rest.
Durante, who had not yet returned, appeared and brought something that got on Ricardo’s nerves.
“Is this what you wanted to say?”
“It’s an important matter.”
Durante answered the question with a red face and a smile. He didn’t look happy at all, but he laughed out loud and brought out an unbelievable word.
“My daughter, Julia, will become an adult next spring. Make that girl Your Grace’s spouse….”
“Amazing.”
“What?”
“The Count’s ambition is truly amazing.”
Ricardo sat down on the leather sofa in his office and continued speaking while rubbing his temples.
“You give up your daughter who is still just a child.”
“A child? Seventeen is enough to be Renato’s Madam!”
“If she’s ten years younger than me, she’s a child.”
Ricardo, who immediately cut off Durante’s rebuttal, frowned. He said grimly, glaring at Durante with sharp dagger-like eyes.
“Did you stay here a week just to talk about something like this?”
As Ricardo gave him a reprimand, Durante’s face became so red that he could no longer do anything. He repeatedly cleared his throat and took a long breath. It seemed like he was trying to calm down his temper that was about to explode.
Ricardo stared at Durante with cold eyes.
The moment he heard Durante talking as he pleased, he wanted to cut off his head. This would have been the case if Durante had not been a member of the noble council.
Seventeen is enough? He can’t believe the nonsense that came out of that mouth.
What was Durante like when Ricardo was seventeen? He told the Emperor that he was uneasy about entrusting Renato to a boy who had become a Grand Duke at such a young age.
Then, he tried to take advantage of his position as Riccardo’s godfather to steal Renato.
The young Ricardo, tried desperately to protect Renato from Durante.
He would definitely become a great Grand Duke, that he would stay away from the imperial family, and that he would bury his bones here in Renato.
Because he swore to his father.
Ricardo’s father, Sergio Vittore, passed on his surname to his son, who was born from his wife’s affair, and gave him the life of a legitimate child rather than that of an illegitimate one.
Although he may have been the worst husband to his wife, he was a good father to Ricardo. Unlike his mother who was the worst wife and worst mother.
‘Mom doesn’t love your father, Ricardo. Mom loves someone else. That person…….’
Ricardo closed his eyes tightly as the sorrowful woman’s voice echoed in his head. When he closed his eyes, he saw a vision of a red room with flowing red cloth. And the figure hanging in the air and shaking helplessly.
‘Shit.’
Ricardo opened his eyes and clicked his tongue. The memories that had been buried deep in his heart were pulled out because of Durante.
What about his mother? A woman who died after suffering misfortune all her life because she was forced into a marriage.
What is so great about marriage, what is so great about love? It made dirty blood flow through Ricardo’s body.
Ricardo hated marriage and love. If he clings to such things, he will only live a miserable life.
“…… Are you listening to me?”
The middle-aged man’s complaint entered the ears of Ricardo, who was looking out the window. Ricardo slowly turned his gaze to look at his godfather.
Count Durante Adalberto.
A close friend of the previous Grand Duke Vittore, and a benefactor of Renato, who was suffering from food shortages due to the severe cold.
Without the grain sent every year from Adalberto, many people in Renato would die of starvation. In exchange, Renato sent knights to protect Adalberto territory, which was adjacent to the border of Jacquette.
In short, they are indispensable to each other, like a crocodile and bird. If it continues like this, there won’t be any trouble.
However, Durante revealed his hidden ambition. This may be because his daughter is about to reach adulthood.
While looking into his daughter’s marriage, Ricardo must have come to the fore. Ricardo is the bachelor with the highest status in the Empire next to the Crown Prince.
Ricardo, whose thoughts had reached that point, looked at Durante with sharp eyes.
“Count. Do you know? If I marry the Count’s daughter, she will become the Grand Duchess.”
“Of course I know.”
“The Grand Duchess, that’s it. There is no way for the lady to attain a higher status than that. If you want to make her the Crown Princess or Empress, send her to the imperial palace.”
As Ricardo spoke in a warning tone, Durante’s face turned white.
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