The Dragon Duke's Wife - Chapter 3
“By ‘prove,’ do you mean I would need to undergo a medical examination?”
“That alone won’t be enough.”
The assistant looked at her with a deeply troubled expression before lowering his gaze.
“It’s difficult for me to say this to a lady, but are you aware that the Velados family is a ‘dragon-blooded’ lineage?”
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of it.”
It wasn’t unusual for imperial families or noble houses to claim descent from gods or dragons.
“For the Velados family, it’s not a legend—it’s a fact. Even now, there are rare instances of dragon-blooded heirs born within the direct line of the family. The Duke, who recently inherited the title, is one of them. Typically, dragon-blooded individuals find it difficult to have children with a woman.”
“Is, is that so?”
Ancia quickly understood what the assistant was implying. It seemed that unless she became pregnant, it wouldn’t be clear whether she could bear a child for the Duke.
There was some internal conflict and hesitation, but she asked for time to think and left the meeting. She was likely being asked to prove that she could conceive with a man who might be as hideously disfigured as the burn victims she had cared for in the past.
However, that very evening, the creditor arrived at her door. She had no choice but to proceed.
If she was going to marry a noble, she would have to bear an heir. No matter how repulsive her future husband might be, she had to fulfill her duties as a wife.
She had already mentally prepared herself when she responded to the marriage advertisement. Even if the marriage failed, the 5,000 gold settlement would make her life much easier.
When she contacted the assistant to accept the terms, he moved quickly. Within half a day, her debts were cleared, and she was given 1,000 gold to settle nearby expenses and buy whatever she needed.
There wasn’t much to tidy up. Since she would need to obtain most of the necessary items at the Duke’s residence, Ancia used the 1,000 gold to pay off some outstanding debts and treated her former colleagues at the hospital to a meal.
A week later, having settled her past, she arrived at Duke Velados’s residence.
She knocked on the door, and a man dressed in a formal, old-fashioned suit opened it. Ancia tried to speak with composure.
“I am Ancia Fillermon.”
“Ah, Miss Fillermon. If you had contacted me beforehand, I would have gone to greet you… I am Niro Bernard, the butler. Please, just call me Niro.”
With an elegant bow, the man picked up Ancia’s small bag, which she had left on the floor.
The bag was small. It first contained mostly clothes, shoes, and everyday items, none of which seemed appropriate for Duke Velados’s residence, so she had disposed of most of them. What remained in her bag were just a few comfortable outfits, some underwear, and a bundle of letters she had exchanged with her mother.
“Miss Fillermon, let me show you to your quarters first. I’ll have the household staff ready to greet you before dinner. We weren’t sure when you would arrive, so we couldn’t have them all prepared in advance.”
“Yes.”
“Please, make yourself comfortable.”
Niro spoke again.
Ancia was guided to a clean room on the eastern side of the second floor of the mansion. The space she was given had a beautiful bedroom with a full view of the garden, a spacious dressing room, an elegant sitting room, and a modest study.
It was clear that everything had been carefully prepared to welcome the new Madam . Ancia let out a small sigh of admiration as she looked around the room. Niro spoke again.
“I will send the maids to attend to you shortly. Once you’re ready, please let us know, and you’ll meet the seamstress who will make your new clothes.”
“And the Duke?”
“You will be dining with him tonight.”
“Understood.”
Ancia answered, feeling nervousness and a slight sense of unease. Niro bowed politely and left.
It was only then that Ancia had the chance to fully appreciate the beauty of the room. She didn’t know what Duke Velados was like, but she felt she could spend the next six months here relatively happily.
The view was particularly pleasing. Having lived in a room with barely enough sunlight, moving to a space like this was a welcome change for anyone.
The garden outside was bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
A strange feeling washed over her. Life, as they say, is unpredictable.
When she first volunteered as a nurse, she never imagined she would continue in the profession after the war. Even less did she expect that, because of her experiences caring for people, she would end up marrying and settling her debts.
Her wartime service felt like a blackened scar on her life. At the time, she believed that the experiences she had there would completely change the course of her future.
But now, looking back, she realized that while her life may have changed, her heart had not. The first few months had been filled with emptiness and exhaustion, but as she became caught up in the daily grind, she had forgotten that feeling.
Whether it was because of the difficulty of those memories or because the experience felt so detached from reality, it now seemed like a distant dream.
At the time, she was twenty years old. Once she became an adult, it became difficult even to stay with distant relatives. She had reached the age for marriage, but no man would take a bride with no dowry.
And especially during the war, when there were fewer young men available, her chances were even slimmer.
