Chapter 190. I have something to tell you
“……What?”
Deborah hugged the baby in her arms tightly once more and stared straight at her opponent.
At Mrs. Charlotte, who had an absurd look on her face as if asking what on earth that was supposed to mean.
“Please tell her that I will continue to feed the baby myself from now on…….”
Having firmly conveyed her intentions with a resolute expression, Deborah added one more word at the end.
“So, a wet nurse is not needed.”
Last night, Deborah had thought and thought again while looking down at her sleeping baby for a long time.
No matter how much she thought about the Grand Duchess’s action of imposing a wet nurse on her child, it did not sound genuine.
It could only be interpreted as an indication of the Grand Duchess’s intention to take the child under her wing.
She did not know if that meant she would be accepted as a member of the Duraken marquessate, but what was certain was that the decision was not good for her.
Thinking that way, Mrs. Charlotte’s act of taking the baby away also felt unsettling.
As if the child who left the room like that would never return to her arms again.
Deborah pulled the baby tighter into her arms.
Watching that, Charlotte let out a long sigh.
“Deborah, you seem to be ignorant of how things are—all children of noble families have separate wet nurses from birth—”
“No.”
Deborah cut Charlotte’s words off sharply in the middle.
It was an act she would never have been able to do usually, but she was cornered and had no leeway to think about such things.
“I am here, so my child doesn’t need anything like a wet nurse.”
“…….”
“And, this child is my child…… not a child of a noble family.”
So, a silent warning not to even think about separating the child from her.
She looked as sharp as a mother beast trying to protect her young.
In front of such an opponent, there was nothing Charlotte could do.
***
The air in the drawing room froze cold in an instant at the words Charlotte, who had returned empty-handed, conveyed.
Although it was an expected reaction—
At the stiff, frozen appearance of the Grand Duchess, Charlotte’s expression soon sank heavily.
“Charlotte, now…… who, did what?”
The first to react was Cecilia, who was sitting beside her.
She had ground her teeth at the mere mention of Deborah, but it seemed her nephew, who resembled her brother, was different.
Cecilia, who had been sitting in the drawing room waiting for the child as usual, saw her eyes turn into those of a wildcat immediately at Charlotte’s words.
“How dare that lowly thing…….”
Seeing her trembling with uncontrollable rage seemed dangerous somehow, and eventually, Cecilia kicked her chair and stood up.
She looked ready to charge straight into the guest room where Deborah was.
What stopped her taking a step forward were the words that came from the mouth of Eleanor von Cheister, who had been sitting quietly until then.
“Stop it.”
Cecilia, who faltered for a moment, turned her head sharply to glare at her mother.
“Mother!”
“Don’t do useless things and sit down.”
Despite the shrill sound, Eleanor only repeated the instruction to remain seated.
However, the more she did so, the more fiercely Cecilia’s expression crumpled.
“What do you mean by useless? Everything is like this because you are too lenient, Mother!”
“Cecilia—.”
“Even if a person like her gives birth, in the end, it’s nothing more than a lowly bastard—.”
Ignoring the low-toned warning, Cecilia’s mouth, which had been racing, eventually spat out words that should not have been said.
“Will you not shut your mouth!”
At the shout that echoed loudly throughout the drawing room, the shoulders of everyone present shuddered for a moment.
That was the same for Cecilia as well.
Startled by Eleanor’s livid face, Cecilia bit her lip tightly.
“Even if you are immature, you still cannot distinguish between what to say and what not to say!”
“…….”
It was an action for which there was no particular counterargument.
Revealing antipathy toward Deborah was one thing, but calling her a lowly bastard—.
That was no different from insulting her brother, Raymond von Cheister, who was the child’s father.
That was why Eleanor was so unusually enraged.
For a long time, a quiet silence, where not even the sound of breathing could be heard, descended upon the drawing room.
The silence was broken as Eleanor, who had been sitting with her back straight until now, rose from her seat.
At that movement, everyone’s gaze turned to her.
“Lead the way.”
Her gaze, which had briefly glanced back at Charlotte, moved toward the front again.
“I must meet that child.”
Eleanor’s expression as she said those words looked so calm that Charlotte felt it was rather unsettling.
But even so, was there anything she could do?
The face of Deborah holding the newborn flashed through her mind for a moment, but it was only for a second.
Soon, she just followed the command and took a step forward.
***
-You should see him , just once.
On the way back from an outing.
Inside the rattling carriage, Raymond recalled the words Greig had spoken this morning.
It was an ambiguous statement with the subject missing, but he knew what it referred to.
The child who was born, ……or the woman who gave birth to that child.
Although quite some time had passed since the child was born, Raymond had not once sought out the child, nor Deborah.
As if he were going to clear them out from right before his eyes as soon as the child was born—time was continuing to pass without him doing anything, to such an extent that it made his previous fierce attitude seem ridiculous.
The person who considered his behavior more suspicious than anyone else was his mother, Eleanor.
He knew all too well the meaning of her carefully watching him and asking him tentatively what he was going to do.
In case he covered up everything and went back to being blind like before.
He knew well that she was worried about exactly that.
However, saying that he would do so.
The words that he would drive the woman away as planned since the child was born could not escape his lips.
Even after being so thoroughly deceived.
With a woman who lied every time she opened her mouth, and whose words were impossible to tell where truth began or ended, it would be enough to just clear her from his sight like before.
Yet, like a fool, he was hesitating again.
-……It hurts…… it…
-It hurts so much…… it feels like I’m going to die…….
“…….”
The words that came out faintly from the woman’s mouth when she was on the verge of death.
Every time he recalled that moment, the maximum patience he could muster was barely holding back the urge to call Charlotte immediately and ask several times whether the woman was okay now, and whether she was really not in pain anywhere…….
However, Raymond also realized that this situation could not continue forever.
That he had to end it somehow now.
And that the faster that decision was made, the better.
“…….”
Perhaps because of his suffocating state of mind, he felt as if his throat was being tightly constricted.
As he pulled on his cravat roughly, Raymond let out a long sigh.
***
He sensed something strange the moment he passed the entrance hall.
How should he put it, he couldn’t pinpoint it, but it felt as if the air surrounding the mansion had sunk heavily.
It struck him even more clearly because it was quite different from the recent atmosphere, which had felt like spring for a few days due to the newborn baby.
However, he didn’t think to investigate why.
His head was already about to burst just from the worries he had, he didn’t want to add another one to it.
But still, he hadn’t known it would be this kind of matter.
Having returned from the outing, Raymond headed straight to the study on the second floor.
He told Greig not to bother when asked about his meal, and added instructions for no one to be allowed into the study on the second floor.
However—
Knock knock.
Had it been about ten minutes?
He felt a momentary surge of irritation at whoever it was that knocked on the study door, ignoring his earlier instructions.
Pressing his throbbing temple with his hand, Raymond let out a low voice only after a long while.
“Come in.”
As soon as permission was given, he heard the sound of someone entering along with a click.
However, Raymond did not bother to lift his gaze to check who was entering.
He was still leaning one elbow on the desk, continuing to press his temple.
Well, he thought the person entering was obvious.
Robin, who was usually quite quick-witted but occasionally did ridiculous things.
Or his grandfather, Greig.
Or Charlotte.
There was no way any other daring person in this mansion would knock on this study door besides those three.
However…….
Raymond’s thought changed at the sound of fabric brushing against fabric.
So, what it was, was the sound made by women’s skirts moving.
And another strange thing was the sound of footsteps walking quickly.
Slowly, Raymond’s closed eyelids lifted.
At the same time as his gaze lifted, that distinct sweetness wafted to the tip of his nose.
Raymond’s blue eyes flickered as if they were having a seizure for a moment.
“…….”
The moment the face of the person he was so curious about entered his field of vision, Raymond was suddenly struck dumb.
That face, slightly haggard but still captivating his gaze.
The woman opened her mouth with a somewhat urgent look.
“I have…… I have something to tell you.”
