I Don't Need the Grand Duke's Regret - Chapter 72
But she couldn’t keep it a secret. It was impossible to give birth in secret. At this moment, Mirabel desperately needed her family’s support.
She soon lifted her head with a resolute face.
“I know. Is the baby safe?”
“A baby?”
“What? Are you pregnant?”
Louise and Sophie exclaimed in shock, asking questions simultaneously.
Mirabel didn’t respond to them but instead fixed her gaze on Asil. He sighed deeply and nodded.
“The baby is safe. There were some complications, but now everything is fine.”
At Asil’s words, Louise and Sophie’s expressions turned grave. They looked at Mirabel with their faces full of unspoken questions.
Under everyone’s scrutiny, Mirabel blinked slowly. Her expression remained unchanged.
“That’s a relief.”
“Is that all? Come on, talk. What exactly happened? And who is the father?”
Louise, ever impatient, cut to the heart of the matter. Mirabel responded with a bitter smile.
She had anticipated such questions from Louise, so it wasn’t a big deal for her.
Here in Segollinde, Mirabel wasn’t ‘Armilla’ but a noble princess.
In Renato, revealing her pregnancy would have put her at risk of being killed by the Grand Duke, but not anymore.
However…
“I don’t remember.”
There was a need to lie for the sake of the child.
“I don’t know what happened while I was missing. I remember being pregnant, but nothing else.”
“How can that be?”
Louise was shocked by Mirabel’s response, but Mirabel continued calmly, as she had resolved.
“Please don’t announce my return to the outside world. At least until I can safely give birth and raise this child, I want to keep it a secret.”
“But the people must be informed. They’ve mourned your death so deeply.”
“If rumors spread that I’ve returned pregnant, it could complicate relations with Arcangelo. Please, Louise.”
“…Alright.”
Louise reluctantly nodded in agreement to her beloved sister’s request. Mirabel’s argument made sense.
Even if Mirabel had made unreasonable demands, Louise couldn’t have refused.
She would have done anything for Mirabel. Louise had a soft spot for her younger sister by six years.
She vividly remembered the moment Mirabel was born, as did Asil. Louise, stroking Mirabel’s blonde hair, spoke tenderly.
“Just coming back alive is enough. Don’t worry. If mother says anything, I’ll handle it.”
“Thank you.”
Mirabel smiled softly at her sister, who looked at her with a gaze full of affection.
The Armilla who was thirsty for love had died.
The nights tormented by love would no longer continue.
Mirabel had buried the memories of Armilla in the cold, swirling snowstorms of Renato.
She had decided never to revisit those memories.
After all, Ricardo would soon forget about Armilla too.
When he learned of Armilla’s escape, he would rage over the loss of a toy he had played with.
But that anger would not last long. After his marriage, he might even forget that someone named Armilla ever existed.
Mirabel accepted this bitter truth calmly.
As Armilla, she had feared being forgotten by him, but now, she simply wished for Ricardo to forget her as soon as possible.
Mirabel looked out the window where birdsong could be heard. A smile formed on her lips as she gazed at the bright garden bathed in green.
Her desolate life, trapped in the everlasting winter of Renato, had ended.
Completely.
* * *
Luce sobbed quietly. She wanted to cry out loud but couldn’t. She was currently summoned by the Master.
Ricardo’s oppressive gaze was fixed intently on Luce.
“Didn’t Armilla say where she was going? Think carefully.”
It was a question that had been asked over and over again. Luce insisted she didn’t know, but Ricardo did not stop his questioning.
Lying prostrate on the floor, Luce stuttered in response.
“I really don’t know… anything…”
“You were Armilla’s maid. And you say you don’t know?”
Ricardo’s angry question made Luce tremble.
After returning from Isota Canyon that was dyed red with the beasts’ blood, Ricardo had turned the mansion upside down.
He gathered all the servants, demanding any clue about Armilla. As the frightened servants hardly spoke, he started calling them one by one privately.
Thus, every servant in the mansion had a one-on-one with the Master.
From the butler and chief maid, everyone faced questions about the Grand Duchess.
When was the last time they saw the Grand Duchess?
What conversations did they have with the Grand Duchess?
Ricardo asked about even the minutest details persistently.
Here, Ricardo discovered a surprising fact. Most of the employees had never conversed with Armilla. It was puzzling how that could be the case, given she was the Grand Duchess.
The few servants who had spoken with Armilla disliked her. They couldn’t hide their animosity towards the Grand Duchess even in front of their Master.
Their nitpicking and gossiping were evident. They regarded Armilla as the vilest of villains.
Faced with such clear malice, Ricardo asked what wrong Armilla had done. But no one gave a straight answer.
Because she didn’t know her place, because she loved the Master, because she became the Grand Duchess.
Ricardo was astounded by the petty reasons they gave for hating Armilla.
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