CH 21

“Well then, let’s take a seat.”

Rennesia said she wanted to sit beside the prince, and Frederick had to swallow the bitter pill once again.

Eventually, Renee settled between Frederick and Gerard. Renee seemed to be in a good mood, although the two heads of the family only talked about boring topics to each other.

How many times did they talk about domestic and foreign affairs? Abel, who was whining because he couldn’t cut his meat, caught Gerard’s attention.

“Abel, can I help you?”

“No, I can do it alone!”

Gerard nodded after he said that he could do it by himself.

“Yes, let me know if you need any help.”

He didn’t want to be a parent who intervened in what his child did. The purpose of parenting is to instill independence in children. Gerard had several beliefs in parenting, and that was one of them.

“Oh my, but looking at it like this, they really look alike. It’s so obvious!”

Leila, who was bored with their complicated conversation, was amazed by the appearance of the father-and-son pair.

Leila’s reckless remark wasn’t wrong. Abel, who had Gerard’s blond hair and even his regal posture, was the only successor of the Blanchett family.

The corners of Abel’s lips went up. He never got tired of being compared to his knightly father.

“I see. I think he’s more like my wife.”

Gerard rebutted as he lifted his wine glass to his lips. Gerard’s words were spoken sincerely. Abel’s blue eyes resembled Chloe’s.

The eyes that reminded him of the sea he went to for summer vacation. Blue eyes that seemed cold, but warm like the sky when you looked closer. That was absolutely what Abel’s eyes looked like.

Abel also had a completely different personality. Unlike Gerard’s ruthless nature, the child couldn’t easily feign indifference to pitiful things.

One day, he carried a little bird in and said he found it lying dead in the garden. They held a funeral for it later that day. He knew how to respect his subordinates, despite being an only child, and yielded well to the more knowledgeable.

It was all because the child had his wife’s personality. Gerard naturally thought of Chloe whenever he looked at Abel.

“True, Abel certainly resembles you. By the way, have you and your wife planned for a second child?”

Leila asked very casually. It was the type of question that could be asked whilst drinking with a couple friends. However, it wasn’t an appropriate topic to be brought up at this table.

It was a question regarding the couple’s nightlife, and there were children listening.

“Ehem.”

Frederick coughed, but Leila didn’t understand his hint. She was burning with an unexpected sense of obligation to somehow strengthen the relationship between her friend and his wife. She wanted to convey her sincere feelings to Chloe through this.

“I haven’t discussed it with my wife yet.”

Gerard tried to bring the conversation to an end by giving a simple answer. It would be nice if Abel had a sibling, but he hadn’t talked about it with his wife. His wife’s doctor had to approve first.

However, Leila was persistent.

“No, what about you? What’s your opinion?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

Gerard felt that Leila was strange today. As a child she wasn’t bound by noble etiquette, but this was the first time that she spoke so blatantly.

“Think about it. A daughter who looks exactly like Chloe. How cute would it be if she ran after you while calling you father?”

Gerard naturally began to imagine. A daughter, a daughter. A daughter who looked like his wife! He knew she would be cute without even seeing her.

Gerard’s eyes naturally turned to Renee. It was obvious that she would look really cute when her hair was tied with a pink ribbon like Rennesia, who was sitting beside him.

He thought he could understand why Archduke Anata kept holding his daughter in his arms. If he had a daughter who looked like Chloe, he would feel guilty if his daughter’s feet touched the floor.

“Does the child’s gender matter?”

Gerard said so, but everyone sitting around the table noticed. He had more than enough qualities to be a doting father.

***

Early morning the next day, Chloe finally woke up. She didn’t suffer from body aches, slept well, and ate well, so she was able to wake up normally. No, rather, she was very energized after having a good rest.

Gerard must have slept with Abel in another room in consideration of her being sick. Chloe stepped out of the room wearing a thin shawl.

“You’re awake, Madame?”

“Are you feeling better, Madame?”

Two knights of Blanchett who were guarding the door greeted her. One knight was guarding Chloe’s room, while the other was guarding the room Gerard and Abel occupied.

This was why Frederick disliked the Blanchett Knights. They were escorting their masters in an already safe castle. There was no need to waste manpower for that.

However, the Blanchett Knights had good reason for it. The best unit of men came to the North with the Madame, but they didn’t have a lot of things to do. As they were unable to relax, they decided to devote themselves to escorting the Madame.

“Yes, I’m feeling more energetic now. Are you ending your shift soon?”

However, they couldn’t protect their Madame during the most important moment… The Knights of Blanchett had an indescribable sense of debt towards her now.

“Yes, We’re about to get off work!”

“You did a great job staying up all night. Thanks to you, the night passed peacefully.”

“Please don’t mention it! It’s our duty.”

As the two knights listened to the Madame’s gentle gratitude, their anger towards their Lord last night slipped their minds.

–I believe I ordered you to offer your life to protect the Madame… The Knight Commander of Anata was the one who saved my wife, right? I’ll punish you all when we return to Blanchett.

–Tell me why an Anata protected my wife?

He gave a terrifying warning that after they returned, he would go increase the intensity of their training.

Gerard’s creepy gaze came to their mind, and the two knights shuddered slightly. Chloe pointed to the room beside hers and asked the other knight.

“Are my husband and son sleeping in this room?”

“Yes, Madame.”

The knight answered with a nod. Chloe smiled to express her gratitude, and opened the door.

Gerard and Abel were sleeping soundly. Chloe’s expression became anxious as she approached the bed and looked at both of their faces.

She still had no idea what to do about their relationship.

Was it right to break this peace? Would she be able to preserve their family if she pretended to be fine? Would it be right to cover up everything for Abel?

She didn’t have a clue what was best for Abel.

‘This is for the sake of protecting our family, so it’s not like I’m cowardly running away, right?’

However, Chloe’s inner thoughts revolted, and spat in hatred and anger.

His sleeping face was the one she loved so dearly. They lived together for eight years, but that face still made her heart flutter. However, just thinking that he had deceived her with such a face made her despise it.

‘You pushed me into this pit and yet you can sleep soundly like this?’

Chloe was vexed when she looked at her husband’s peaceful expression. 

Should she ask him about everything? Then, she wondered what kind of expression she would make. Did she want to be friendly? Or maybe she should just spit out the question, and he would end up asking when she found out about it.

‘Then…Then what should I do?’

Chloe clasped her hands together fearing something that hadn’t even happened yet. It scared her more than anything else. Her husband’s expression, eyes, and voice that look at her coldly.

Her imagination escalated to be more scary and cruel.

‘Didn’t you know everything and still decide to marry me? I love Leila. Let’s get a divorce then. I’m starting to get tired of this.’

Chloe’s heart ached at the harsh tone that lingered in her ears. It was true that the person who loved more was the weak one in a relationship.

Chloe was terrified and threatened to leave him because she was angry at him.

‘Divorce? You said you would like a divorce?’

Chloe even thought about threatening to divorce him, but she actually had no intention of getting a divorce.

If they got divorced, she might have to part with the sole heir of Blanchett Family, Abel. Gerard couldn’t give up Abel.

Even if she somehow managed to take Abel and they returned to the Roem family, there was no place for the poor child. There was already a successor to the Roem family.

Furthermore, it was clear that their divorce would cause a bad reputation for Abel. She would never allow it to happen. She couldn’t defame her son with her own hands.

‘Can’t we just run away to a foreign country where no one knows us?’

She didn’t know anymore! Actually… she couldn’t quite imagine breaking up with Gerard regardless of all this. She hated him so much, but she couldn’t give up on this man. Her brain told her to give up on him, but her heart kept insisting that he was the one, her man.

When she imagined Gerard, who had divorced her, marrying someone else, her anger rose. Would he act as affectionately to her? How faithful would he be to her?

“Phew.”

Chloe sighed at the endless self-destructive thoughts in her head.

“…I want to know.”

She wanted to know what her husband was thinking. What kind of thoughts was he hiding under that soft blond hair?

‘What do you think about me? Did you have no choice but to marry me? Do I mean anything to you?’

At times like this, she hated the book in her dreams that disappeared after Leila’s happy ending.

What she really wanted to know was how her husband felt at that moment. She resented the fact that he told her everything she didn’t want to know and didn’t tell her everything she genuinely wanted to know.