The Voiceless Duchess - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lohengrin looked at him with cold, dead eyes. There was not a flicker of hesitation in her gaze, which made Dietrich flinch.

Your Highness, there is a contradiction in your argument. You said you wanted your heir to be without blemish.

Of course, something like this would never happen, but let’s say we do formally adopt the child.

We are to be married next spring, and suddenly a five-year-old child appears. What will the others think?

Will that truly be a heir without blemish? Do you think the vassal family, who you are so worried about, will follow that child?

Dietrich’s eyes changed as he read Lohengrin’s criticism. However, his expression seemed to indicate that he had already thought of something rather than realizing something he had not considered.

He opened and closed his mouth as if he was hesitating to say something, and then squeezed his eyes shut.

“Isn’t it fortunate that Vincent looks just like me?”

Lohengrin’s fingertips, which had been tapping the desk, suddenly stopped.

“There is nothing suspicious about it. You lost your voice and did not attend the Imperial Ball for two years. So…”

‘Stop.’

“If we say he is our child….”

She tried to stop him with a glare, but Dietrich, with his eyes squeezed shut, continued to speak as if he did not notice.

“Of course, there will be those who do not believe us. But who would dare to speak out against us when the Duke and Duchess say so?”

Lohengrin’s hands, which were clenched into fists, trembled.

Not only did he want to make an illegitimate child the heir, but he also tried to tarnish her honor. If Werner had been there, he would have already drawn his sword.

No, if she could, she would have…

Lohengrin tried to regain her senses as her head burned with anger.

She heard him babble on about ‘our child,’ and she realized that he did not have much affection for Renée. He thought a child born to a mute woman would be defective, but he did not want to give up Nordvant. He did not want an orphan either…

She could not understand what he wanted or how he could come up with such absurd ideas.

The flames of the fireplace entered her blurred vision, which was clouded with anger.

The flames seemed to be about to explode. Lohengrin squeezed her eyes shut as she watched them turn blue, black, and a fiery, ominous color, following her anger.

Fortunately, Dietrich did not notice the strange phenomenon as his back was turned. She tried to suppress her anger and gripped the pen tightly.

I was foolish to try to have a conversation with you.

I am more ashamed that I named you as my fiance than that I lost my voice.

At least I can be proud that I lost my voice and have nothing to regret.

Lohengrin, her lips almost bleeding from how hard she was biting them, scoffed inwardly.

You should be grateful that Werner and the knights of Nordvant are not here.

Otherwise, the tragedy of Dovrant would have been reenacted here as the tragedy of Gideon.]

The tragedy of Dovrant. About 200 years ago, Helga Nordvant, the 42nd Margrave, had annihilated all but the fifteen-year-old young lord of Dovrant, the traitor of the North.

If the rest of Nordvant had been present, Dietrich’s life would not have been spared. Dietrich’s face hardened like a statue at the blunt warning that his life was spared.

I have nothing more to say. I shall take my leave…

“Anyway.”

Lohengrin began to write faster than usual, as if she no longer needed to be considerate of him. Dietrich did not even try to read her lips and interrupted her.

“You don’t have a choice. Do you think I don’t know that?”

Dietrich growled and slammed his hands on the table again.

“Are you going to break off the engagement with me and get engaged to Carlisle Ansgar? That guy would be happy to have a mute woman like you. He’s smart enough to accept the Nordvant name without hesitation. He’ll probably just take your money and dump you.”

Dietrich sneered at Lohengrin, who was staring at him expressionlessly.

“Rather than Nordvant, which only embraces its worn-out name, Harnoncourt is better. Ah, did you know that he has been seeing Lady Valerie for a long time? You’ve been so busy with your pride that you’ve been ignoring all the news from the social circles.”