Chapter 212

Chapter 212

“Why did you allow the engagement with Lucius back then?”

“I never allowed it. Didn’t you jump off the terrace without my permission?”

“I thought my father had called a clergy to treat me, and you had granted permission. I thought it was the one time in my life you made a choice for the sake of my happiness.”

“You interpreted that as consent? What should I have done when you jumped, leaving you injured?”

Looking at the astonished elderly face of the duke, Deatrice calmly said,

“You should have slapped me.”

“What?”

“You should have slapped me as if you were beating a disrespectful child for making a decision that dishonors her father. What’s the big deal about confining one crippled child?”

The duke’s face frowned. His expression, looking at her, seemed like he was observing a strange creature he couldn’t comprehend.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you treating me this way because I won’t comply with your request? Do you think your father is that kind of person?”

“No, I’d say it would have been better. Rather than exiling a pitiful person, it would have been better.”

If that had happened, she could have ended up as the victim instead of Lucius. Even if she and Lucius were forever separated, he would have retained what rightfully belonged to him.

However, the duke’s ambition, and her stubbornness, led to cast Lucius as the captive instead of her. That decision marked her as his accomplice. Now, Deatrice could never rid herself of that sin.

Because the duke’s blood was flowing inside her body, he ultimately made that choice for her.

“Bringing up that story from six years ago again? I don’t understand why there’s such a fuss about it. It’s not like I did anything extraordinary…”

“Please, stop with the act. We all know it by now.”

Her feverish body wavered. She grasped the protruding part of the sofa. Her head was throbbing with unbearable pain.

“I met Bella Anise, or rather, Elena Anise, on my way back. She revealed that her father had known all along that she was an impostor.”

After Deatrice’s confession, silence lingered in the study for a while.

The duke scrutinized her carefully, squinting his eyes, trying to figure out how much she knew. However, Deatrice, focusing on keeping her fading consciousness intact, didn’t notice how the duke observed her. Even if she did, it wouldn’t have made a difference. She already knew everything.

“Father must have known that Lucius was the son of Connor Fenry. He couldn’t have overlooked Chris’s injury records.”

“Deatrice…”

The duke called his daughter’s name with a sense of helplessness, but she was no longer interested in his excuses. Holding her throbbing head, she spoke.

“At this point, it doesn’t matter whether father knew about Lucius being the son of the deceased count or that Connor and Bella got married. Things have to be done fairly this time. Father needed to face the consequences of his sins. I will make sure father faces the worst punishment possible.”

“What… Connor Fenry and Bella Anise got married?”

The duke exclaimed in surprise as if hearing the news for the first time. He then groped through fading memories, trying to recall what was stated in the documents he had received at that time.

“That’s not… Such information wasn’t mentioned. Deatrice, no. I didn’t know that fact. How could I have known that they got married?”

“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, Elena Anise will claim that Father knew everything. I’ll make her say it. I’ll have her as a witness.”

Before rushing to the duke as a messenger, Deatrice urgently sent Tom to capture Elena Anise as a witness before the duke could take her. In doing so, she briefly wrote down the facts he needed to know—about Connor Fenry.

Tom, who had always valued Lucius’s honor restoration, would probably handle the matter skillfully upon hearing the news that Lucius wasn’t an illegitimate child. He would immediately take knights and go somewhere Elena Anise would be safe from the duke’s reach.

Perhaps Lucius might learn about this fact in the process. Deatrice had initially wanted to be the first to reveal the truth, but now it didn’t matter anymore.

Heatedly making judgments without considering the consequences might have been foolish. Once she recovered, she might think that she should have pleaded with Lucius as soon as she was well. However, with her current mindset, such considerations were not her responsibility—especially regarding who delivered the news.

Just as the events six years ago unfolded swiftly for Lucius, revealing this truth should also happen swiftly.

“Even so, I am still your father.”

The duke stood up and grabbed her slumped shoulders.

“You’ve blinded yourself with infatuation for a man and betrayed your father. Can you claim to understand humanity even after doing that? Think about why I made such a choice back then. It was for you. I did it to rescue you from falling into ruin, entangled with the illegitimate child.”

“That’s why I’ve rushed here to tell you. Be prepared.”