I Never Wanted His Child - Chapter 161
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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She then made her way to the drawing room on the second floor. Broken sections of furniture and walls caught her eye, remnants of a fierce struggle.
“Duke Loren, this is Duchess Heinrich.”
With the servant’s announcement, the door opened. Emilia had expected her mother and father to be together, but there was no sign of her mother anywhere.
Seeing her look around, Duke Loren spoke.
“Your mother isn’t feeling well, so she couldn’t come out.”
“…Is she really that unwell?”
“She’s been under a lot of stress lately, so it wouldn’t be strange if she collapsed. With everything that happened at the wedding reception, and all the things she didn’t need to see, it’s a wonder she’s lasted this long.”
“I came to see my mother.”
“Looks like that won’t be possible today. Unless you plan on dragging a sick person out of bed and sitting them here, that is.”
When Emilia had received a letter from her mother, there had been no sign of any issues. She was about to mention the letter her mother had sent, but then fell silent.
From her father’s lack of response, it seemed clear that her mother had sent it without his knowledge.
Emilia sat down in a chair.
“I wanted to have a long talk with you, just the two of us.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible.”
“You haven’t forgotten that I came as Duchess Heinrich, have you?”
Once again, she brought up Mikhail. There was no other way. Emilia had to speak to her father alone.
“It’s fine for you to stand at the door. I just want to talk to you, father, just the two of us, for the first time in a while.”
“…I understand. However, if anything happens, I’ll open the door immediately.”
Emilia gave a light nod, and the servants in the drawing room quickly exited.
Even after the door closed, the servant’s gaze remained on Emilia and Duke Loren.
With a soft click, the door closed, and Emilia fixed her eyes firmly on her father.
“I need to hear it now, father. Why did you abandon me and leave the banquet hall so abruptly that day?”
“Your mother felt faint, so we left. There’s no other reason.”
“You saw Dahlia that day, with her red eyes and murderous intent. Didn’t it remind you of the former royal family?”
At Emilia’s words, Duke Loren remained calm. His demeanor was much different from the anxious and fearful expression he had shown during the wedding.
There was no sign of the uneasy, fearful look he had worn, as though he had been running from something.
“Yes, I think I know what you want to hear.”
As he sipped his tea, Duke Loren smiled. His upward-curled lips sent a shiver down Emilia’s spine.
It felt as if she was finally seeing her father’s true nature.
Emilia instinctively tensed and clenched her fists.
“Yes. That day, I thought your words were ridiculous. But when I saw Duke Heinrich’s cousin at the banquet, my body instinctively reacted.”
A murky light flickered in her father’s eyes.
“When I saw her golden hair and red eyes, I felt the power that only their noble bloodline could carry.”
His hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly.
Her father was clearly still afraid of the Bayerns, though he was trying to hide it.
If they had driven out those who had ruled with tyranny, they should not have been afraid. They should have stood proudly, maintaining their dignity.
But the way her father was now, it only seemed like he wanted to hide his own ugly truth.
“So it was not a revolt, but a betrayal, wasn’t it?”
At Emilia’s words, her father’s eyes widened. She pressed on.
“Were you afraid that the sharp wine glass in her hand would be turned toward you, rather than me?”
“Emilia, even if it had been a revolt, to their family, we are still enemies.”
“No, father. If it had been a revolt, they would never have set foot here again.”
Her father remained silent.
“It always struck me as strange why the Duke didn’t refuse the King’s order to marry me. But now that I think about it, I understand what he wanted.”
The death and despair of King Konrad, their sworn enemy, and the bloodline he left behind.
More than that, it was revenge against those who ruthlessly trampled on his family and led them to brutal deaths.
At that time, her father had been at the forefront, participating in the betrayal. Normally, they too should have been eradicated, as part of the faction that supported the first prince.
But the King didn’t do that. There must have been some behind-the-scenes negotiations with Duke Heinrich.
The reason he accepted the marriage and pretended to follow the King’s orders, staying here, was for one purpose.
To reclaim what was taken and inflict even greater pain on those who had stolen it.
“When did you know?”
“I was certain on the night of the banquet.”
“…Then why didn’t you say anything to me?”
“What good would it have done? Isn’t it better that you and the Duke don’t know? It’s probably for the best that neither of you understands. You know why the Duke spared your life, don’t you?”
Her father set down his teacup. His confident posture remained unchanged, even in this situation.
Emilia felt disgust rise within her. Everything she had believed until now was a lie.
The twisted truth—ugly and cruel—made her stomach churn.
“Because you don’t know, he keeps you close. That’s why I told you to have his child. He couldn’t kill you once you carried his child.”
Hilale
I hate her father