I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family - Chapter 97

“Don’t you find it strange?” He was silent for a long time.

“Your Excellency?”

“That’s…”

“Tell me. Don’t you find it strange, too?”

I slowly leaned closer to the man who couldn’t get a word out as if ‘buffering.’

“Then let’s talk about something else. What happened to Duke Arvida? He’s been quiet for a while since Princess Astra showed up last time.”

“Squeezing sand in your palm harder will make it break out faster, so I loosened up a bit now. Thanks to that, they’ve been roaming freely like an untethered foal.”

“Did you intentionally set them loose for that reason?”

“That’s right.” Only then did he nod.

“So they can leave more evidence, right?”

“They’re still as careful as ever, but since they don’t know when the leash will be fastened on them again, they’ve been dropping evidence little by little.”

“What do you want from them? Destroying their family?”

“I don’t want that. I just want them to get their act together.”

Now he finally acted like the original duke. Proud, composed, and confident.

‘Now he really resembles Luca.’

Of course, the man in front of me was not Luca, but Duke Ian Petri.

“Have you come to your senses now?”

“Come to my senses?”

“You only appear an idiot who can’t make objective judgements when it comes to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“…Do I look like that to you?”

It did seem like he finally had come to his senses.

“Very much.”

“Just as you said, I can’t say no to him. Whenever I think of the Emperor, I feel like I’m out of my mind. Especially whenever I visit the Emperor.”

Each time that happened, the duke always changed.

I was sure that he regained some sense a little after talking with me, but he would change again when he returned from the palace.

At that time,

Thud-!

There was a loud sound of something hitting the bowl.

“Re- Rere!”

In the midst of our conversation, Rere, who had dozed off while eating, finally dropped her head in the bowl.

I hurried to hold the child, but Rere only smiled as if she had fallen asleep deeply.

“Oh my god….”

I was anxious when I looked at the child whose forehead was a little red.

“Are you okay? Hmm?”

Only then Rere opened her eyes and raised her thumb.

“I’m done eating.”

Rere only woke for a moment and went back to sleep in my arms.

“Seriously….”

“I-Is she alright?!”

“…She’s asleep.”

“Sigh….Is her head alright?”

Seeing his pale face somehow made me angry.

“So why did you ask to have a meal together today, huh?”

“His Majesty….Sigh……Listening to you made me realize that there’s definitely something strange going on. I don’t know why he wants my daughter so much.”

He bit his lip slightly as if he had finally become aware.

“Rather, if there were other noble families who wanted Rere, I wouldn’t hesitate to turn down their proposal. Even if they were from a ducal family. But….to reject a royal family is a bit…”

“So what are you going to do?”

“If I keep avoiding him, he will eventually come here himself.”

Was it always like this in the past?

In the novel, Rere became the crown princess at a very young age, and ended up falling in love with the crown prince because the adults kept forcing them to meet.

‘If I were the Crown Prince, this kind of forced meeting would rather make me feel sick of Rere.’

Unlike Rere, who fell in love with the Crown Prince at first sight, the Crown Prince particularly disliked Rere.

Now I knew the reason why.

“But you’re going to protect your child, right?”

“Of course. Now that I have come to my senses….I’m going to protect her.”

Meanwhile, the Duke rose from his seat and approached us.

“But is Rere really okay? I heard a loud noise earlier.”

“Don’t worry. Her forehead is a little red, but it’s not swollen.”

“But we still need to call the doctor….”

“Are you finally acting like a father now? You were concerned about her.”

“Aren’t I always like this…?”

I rose from my seat with Rere in my arms.

“I hope you will never forget this feeling. I’ll call the doctor when she wakes up.”

Only then did he nod.

“Do you want me to escort you to her room?”

“No. I’m with nanny and May, so I won’t get lost anymore.”

“…I see.”

At last, the Duke stepped back, and I walked out of the dining room with Rere in my arms.

As soon as I emerged,

“Oh my god. Your head….!” The nanny frowned upon seeing Rere with soup stain on her hair.

“Rere dozed off and hit her head on the bowl.”

“…Ah.”

“I already tried to wipe it….but it’s no use. Let’s wash her.”

“Alright. Aren’t you tired? I’ll hold her for you.”

“It’s okay. I won’t be able to carry her when she grows up.”

The child will continue to grow from now on. And soon she will be old enough to say that she hates to be hugged.

I’ll miss these moments then, so I decided to treasure every hour with Rere.

*** 

That night.

Rere already fell deeply asleep after a tiring day.

The child’s calm breathing sounded like music in my ears, and I went out on the terrace with relief. Even though a few days had passed since the rain fell heavily, the night was fresher than ever.

“Haaa…this is so good.”

“What is so good?”

Luca suddenly appeared on the terrace.

“You’re here?”

“It seems you’re no longer surprised even if I show up like this.”

“I know. I guess I’ve gotten used to it. Luca suddenly appears and disappears.”

I leaned against the railing as I faced him.

“As for me, I’m not sleeping in case Luca comes.”

“Did you wait for me?”

“Yes, I fell asleep quickly whenever I used the oil that Luca gave me, so I didn’t use it today and waited.”

“It’s been a long time since someone’s waited for me.”

His eyes that normally shined like moonlight looked somber today.

“It’s been a long time?”

“Yes, I actually had a younger sister a long time ago.”

“A younger sister? You?”

“Yes, she was a very nice girl who always waited for her bad brother. But I kept her waiting too long.”

“That means….”

“No one is waiting for me anymore.”

His tiny smile looked so bitter that I couldn’t force a word out of my mouth.

“Luca…”

I approached him instinctively and stroked his cheek gently.

“I’ll wait for you. Every night, every hour. I’ll wait for Luca to visit me. So please come every day.”

“I’m so happy. I’m happy that Leona, out of all people, is waiting for me. But I’ll always be next to you, Leona. You don’t have to wait for us to be together.”

He wrapped his hand around mine.

“Leona.”

“But you know what, Luca? Don’t you think our relationship is strange because there’s the Duke?”

I want our relationship to go further, but these awkward and strange feelings are bothering me strongly today.

“What do you mean by strange?”

“We’re only married on paper anyway. So I just need to divorce him soon. Only then I can feel at ease and kiss your lips freely.”

I puckered my lips after I said that, but his face turned a little stiff.

“You can’t divorce.”

“Why?”

“…In any case, you can’t do that.”

As he didn’t give a clear answer, I was convinced.

The fact that Luca was the Duke.

I had asked just in case, but now it was clear.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

It was my trick to surprise an answer from him, who kept his mouth closed, and my certainty was stronger than ever.

“I get it. I’ll definitely stay here.”

A calm smile rose on his lips, and he pulled me into his embrace.

“So please don’t reject me.” He whispered sadly. It felt like I was comforting a child.

“Luca.”

“Every time you call me with those small lips, I feel like I’m going crazy…I bet you don’t even know that.”

His fingers swept my lips.

“Whenever I saw your tender eyes shining like a star, I felt like I was falling into the depths of the sea and swallowed whole.”

He gently kissed my eyelids.

“Everything about you makes me feel sad.”

“Luca…”

“So please….don’t reject me.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. I’d never reject him. From the moment I knew he was the Duke.

I didn’t know why there was Duke Ian and Luca separately, but it didn’t matter.

“I love you.”

“I love you more than you love me, I love you more than myself.”

His lips soon landed on mine. His hot breath slowly flowed into my mouth.

It felt my body burning and so pressed my body closer to his. He slowly took me over as if he couldn’t hold it anymore.

Like a flood was breaking over a dam, he couldn’t hold back from leaving his marks over my body.

*** 

A few days later.

“Rere, I will go to the temple soon. It won’t take long today.”

“Don’t worry about me!”

After Rere finished her meal and proceeded to eat dessert, I was ready to leave.