Chapter 194

Chapter 194

However, Deatrice couldn’t help but furrow her brow and reread the letter from the beginning. If these letters were exchanged during the time of the epidemic, Lucius could not be excluded from the story. Considering the timeline, Lucius must have been in Bella Anise’s womb when these events transpired.

However, in the letters exchanged for nearly a year, there was no mention of pregnancy or any hint at it. It was strange. She was engaged to a man who had left, and she was pregnant, so why wouldn’t she mention it?

There was the possibility that they already knew and didn’t need to discuss it, but even then, there should have been some reference to her physical condition. However, the letters were filled with everyday matters, and there was no hint of a woman expecting a child.

Baffled by this, Deatrice set the letters aside. Then, she heard a rustling sound coming from the box. To investigate, she cleared the papers aside, revealing a tarnished platinum rocket pendant. It had an intricate design, and it was evident who would be inside.

Bella Anise.

Without hesitation, Deatrice opened the pendant. With a soft click, the rocket unlocked, revealing a beautiful woman with platinum hair and striking red eyes painted inside.

However, Deatrice unknowingly shivered and dropped the necklace.

The woman inside the rocket was not Bella Anise, whom she had seen in the reception room six years ago.

***

After that, it’s uncertain how Deatrice managed to gather her wits and return to her senses.

What she does remember is that amidst the chaos, she calmly organized the rocket, placed the letters back into the box, and securely hid it in an inconspicuous place. It was as if she were someone committing a crime and attempting to conceal it.

However, the rocket pendant still remained in her small handbag. Deatrice couldn’t help but think that the faint jingling of metal whenever she moved was like the sound of a guilty conscience.

“The Duke must have paid her off. Otherwise, how could she have appeared in that reception room at such a perfect time and revealed all the facts?”

The revelation of Lucius being the count’s illegitimate child was such a dramatic event that it had people gossiping relentlessly. They believed the Duke had willingly used the birth mother for his own purposes, orchestrating the whole exposé right in that reception room.

Now, it had become more than mere rumor; it was a well-established fact circulating in high society. Deatrice herself believed it, and her father, the Duke, never stepped forward to deny it.

While the Duke’s actions of paying Lucius’ “birth mother” to break his daughter’s

engagement were undoubtedly shameful, in reality, people didn’t find fault in this.

Rather, some people scorned Lucio who they said, dared to cheat his status and seek princesses.

Some argued that if someone could go to such lengths to break an engagement and pursue the lady of the house even when they knew she had an illegitimate child, they could do far worse things to achieve their desires.

For similar reasons, Deatrice couldn’t entirely condemn the Duke’s actions. After all, from the beginning, he had never favored her engagement, and once the secret of Lucius being a love child came out, it was impossible not to reveal it. While the means were utterly vulgar, she understood that it was one of the Duke’s ways of expressing his anger and betrayal.

“But that was before finding this locket,” Deatrice murmured to herself.

She nervously opened the pendant again.

There was nothing certain, but if Lucius’s birth mother was truly the woman in the portrait, then who was the woman she had seen in that reception room? Did her father set up someone else as Bella Anise’s double for his elaborate schemes?

An indescribable sense of betrayal washed over her. But she shook her head determinedly.

“There’s nothing definite.”

After all, the portrait was just a painting, and it could easily be distorted. Besides, the portrait depicted Bella Anise in her younger days, and it had been six years since Deatrice had seen her in that reception room. There was plenty of room for error.

After making sure she had examined everything, Deatrice closed the locket.

Upon arriving at the mansion and entering the reception room, Lucius, who had arrived earlier, greeted her.

“You’re here?”

As soon as he saw her, a faint smile spread across his face, and Deatrice felt a sharp pang in her heart. With a seemingly natural smile, she nodded her head. Tom Wilson was seated opposite Lucius. It seemed like he had grown taller or perhaps developed a certain seriousness in his boyish face.

“Wilson is here.”

“Reporting in. I’ll be here for a few days. There’s some business to attend to.”

Lucius explained as if making an excuse, knowing that the relationship between Tom and Deatrice wasn’t the best. Tom glanced at the master once and then lowered his head to greet her.

“I’ll be in your care, Madam.”

“Don’t worry about it and make yourself comfortable while you’re here. I’ll check upstairs then.”

Deatrice, who only made a brief stop in the reception room before heading straight to her duties, was caught by Lucius.

“Don’t go. It’s all over anyway, right?”

With a meaningful glance, Lucius held her back. Tom, hesitatingly flipping through some documents, nodded his head.

“Of course. It’s all settled. I’ll leave first then. Goodbye.”

He stood up abruptly, giving a curt farewell before exiting. Deatrice, who felt somewhat uncomfortable about the whole situation, sighed.

“It feels like he was just kicked out because of me.”

But Lucius, ignoring her comment, reached out to touch her face.

“Your face is cold.”

“…Because it’s winter.”