# WebtoonLib — I Only Need the Duke's Child #4 ## Series - title: I Only Need the Duke's Child - slug: i-only-need-the-duke-s-child-t7h7gek5 ## Chapter - number: 4 - chapter_key: 4-93vrbt - release_date: 2026-11-09 ### Summary In I Only Need the Duke's Child Chapter 4, Blair decides to endure the marriage a second time just to see her son Aciel again and seeks a meeting with Herdin Delmarque. While sending word to the Delmarque mansion through Lina, the servants are left stunned due to the feud between the imperial family and House Delmarque and the palace fire ten years ago. Meeting Herdin, Blair proposes that she will not refuse the arranged marriage, will stay married for one year and then take all the blame for a divorce, and in exchange offers her full cooperation to uncover the truth behind the fire. - summary_language: en - summary_source: chapter_translation - summary_verification: verified ### Key events - Blair resolves to endure a second marriage to see her son Aciel again and orders a messenger to request a meeting with the Duke. - Blair tells the Duke she will accept the Emperor-arranged marriage and proposes a one-year marriage ending in divorce with her taking blame. - Blair promises full cooperation to uncover the truth behind the fire at the Empress's palace ten years ago. - A retainer argues the marriage is an Imperial plan to exploit the Duke's wartime influence and is rebuked for speaking carelessly. - Backstory revealed about Empress Esmeralda, Consort Katrina, palace fire, and disgrace of House Delmarque. ## Spoiler - level: auto ### Safe teaser In I Only Need the Duke's Child Chapter 4, Blair decides to endure the marriage a second time just to see her son Aciel again and seeks a meeting with Herdin Delmarque. ### Spoiler summary In I Only Need the Duke's Child Chapter 4, Blair decides to endure the marriage a second time just to see her son Aciel again and seeks a meeting with Herdin Delmarque. While sending word to the Delmarque mansion through Lina, the servants are left stunned due to the feud between the imperial family and House Delmarque and the palace fire ten years ago. Meeting Herdin, Blair proposes that she will not refuse the arranged marriage, will stay married for one year and then take all the blame for a divorce, and in exchange offers her full cooperation to uncover the truth behind the fire. ## Status - data_status: complete - summary_status: editorial ## Transcript - transcript_source: community - transcript_language: en - transcript_bubbles: 77 ### Content IF IT MEANS I CAN SEE ACIEL AGAIN, I'M WILLING TO DO ANYTHING... ...EVEN IF I MUST ENDURE THAT UNBEARABLY LONELY MARRIAGE FOR A SECOND TIME. AND NOW, THERE IS ONLY ONE THING LEFT FOR ME TO DO... LINA, SEND A MESSENGER TO THE DELMARQUE ESTATE. INFORM THE DUKE THAT I WISH TO MEET WITH HIM TOMORROW... AND SHOULD HE BE UNAVAILABLE, ASK THAT HE PROVIDE ANOTHER DATE. YOU WISH TO MEET WITH THE DUKE OF DELMARQUE? WHY DO YOU SOUND SO SURPRISED? M-MY APOLOGIES. I DIDN’T MEAN ANYTHING BY IT, YOUR HIGHNESS. I’LL HAVE THE MESSAGE DELIVERED AT ONCE. HOW COULD I NOT BE SURPRISED...? AFTER ALL, AT THE BANQUET A FEW MONTHS AGO, HER HIGHNESS SPENT THE ENTIRE EVENING AVOIDING THE DUKE. I'VE KNOWN FOR QUITE SOME TIME THAT THERE WAS BAD BLOOD BETWEEN THE IMPERIAL FAMILY AND HOUSE DELMARQUE... HER HIGHNESS WOULD LIKE A MESSAGE DELIVERED TO THE DUKE OF DELMARQUE... THE FORMER EMPEROR, HIS MAJESTY'S LATE FATHER, HAD TWO WOMEN WHO STOOD AT HIS SIDE. THE FIRST WAS HIS LAWFUL WIFE, EMPRESS ESMERALDA. THE SECOND WAS HIS IMPERIAL CONSORT, KATRINA. FOR MANY YEARS, THE EMPRESS FAILED TO PRODUCE AN HEIR FOR THE EMPEROR. AS A RESULT, KATRINA WAS BROUGHT INTO THE PALACE AS AN IMPERIAL CONSORT. KATRINA, A WOMAN OF ROMANI BLOOD, POSSESSED NEITHER NOBLE STANDING NOR POLITICAL BACKING OF HER OWN. YET AFTER GIVING BIRTH TO PRINCE IVAN, AMBITIOUS NOBLES BEGAN CIRCLING AROUND HER, EAGER TO WIN HER FAVOR. BEFORE LONG, THE ESCALATING STRUGGLE BETWEEN ESMERALDA AND KATRINA, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPPORTERS, SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE IMPERIAL COURT... ...GROWING INTO A FIERCE POLITICAL CONFLICT. YOUR MAJESTY! EVEN SO... ...EMPRESS ESMERALDA CARED GREATLY FOR BLAIR, DESPITE HER BEING THE DAUGHTER OF HER POLITICAL ENEMY. THAT IS, UNTIL TRAGEDY STRUCK... ...IN THE FORM OF THE PALACE FIRE... A DEVASTATING FIRE CONSUMED THE EMPRESS'S RESIDENCE... ...CLAIMING THE EMPRESS'S LIFE AND LEAVING HER HIGHNESS, THE EMPEROR'S DAUGHTER, SEVERELY INJURED. THEY SAY THE SHOCK OF THE INCIDENT CAUSED HER HIGHNESS TO LOSE ALL MEMORY OF THAT DAY. THE EMPEROR ORDERED A FULL INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCIDENT IN AN ATTEMPT TO UNCOVER WHO HAD HARMED HIS DAUGHTER... ...AND IN THE END... ...EVERY PIECE OF EVIDENCE IMPLICATED THE LATE EMPRESS ESMERALDA. HOUSE DELMARQUE, ESMERALDA'S FAMILY, FIRMLY DENIED THE ACCUSATIONS MADE AGAINST HER AND REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE HER GUILT. BUT DESPITE THEIR OBJECTIONS, THE EMPRESS WAS ULTIMATELY BRANDED A TRAITOR AND BURIED IN DISGRACE. YOUR GRACE, A MESSAGE HAS ARRIVED FROM THE ARDEL IMPERIAL FAMILY. AND ESMERALDA'S ONLY NEPHEW IS... ...HERDIN DELMARQUE, THE DUKE OF DELMARQUE. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER AND HIS MAJESTY CAN BE SO DREADFULLY CRUEL AT TIMES... HER HIGHNESS SUFFERED THROUGH THAT TRAGEDY TOO... ...SO HOW COULD SHE POSSIBLY WELCOME THIS MARRIAGE-- AND YET, STRANGELY ENOUGH... SHE DIDN'T SEEM UPSET AT ALL. IF ANYTHING, SHE ALMOST SEEMED PLEASED. HONESTLY, HIS MAJESTY HAS NO SHAME AT ALL. AFTER ALL THE BAD BLOOD BETWEEN YOUR FAMILIES, HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY THINK THIS MARRIAGE IS APPROPRIATE? WHEN HOUSE DELMARQUE FELL INTO HARDSHIP, HE ALL BUT CELEBRATED IT. DOES NONE OF THIS ANGER YOU IN THE SLIGHTEST, YOUR GRACE? THEIR INTENTIONS COULDN'T BE MORE OBVIOUS. NOW THAT YOU'VE EARNED GLORY THROUGH WAR AND GAINED THE ADMIRATION OF THE PEOPLE... THEY MEAN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR INFLUENCE-- LUCE. WE ARE WITHIN THE PRINCESS'S RESIDENCE NOW. MIND YOUR TONGUE. FORGIVE ME, YOUR GRACE. IN THE END, HER HIGHNESS IS THE ONE BENEFITING THE MOST FROM ALL OF THIS. WITHOUT ANY EFFORT AT ALL, SHE'S OBTAINED THE MOST DESIRABLE BACHELOR IN THE EMPIRE. YOU WISH TO MEET WITH THE DUKE OF DELMARQUE? NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, LINA HAD EVERY REASON TO BE SHOCKED... IN MY PREVIOUS LIFE, I AVOIDED HERDIN AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY BEFORE OUR MARRIAGE. BUT THIS IS A NECESSARY STEP... ...IF I WANT MY MARRIAGE TO HERDIN TO PROCEED WITHOUT INCIDENT. I CAN'T LET ANYTHING GO WRONG. HERDIN MUST BECOME MY HUSBAND. I KNOW YOU HAVE MANY RESPONSIBILITIES TO ATTEND TO, DUKE DELMARQUE, SO THANK YOU FOR COMING. THE PLEASURE IS MINE, YOUR HIGHNESS. I'LL GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF REFUSING... ...THE MARRIAGE HIS MAJESTY HAS ARRANGED BETWEEN US. I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE. REFUSING HIS MAJESTY WITHOUT PROPER JUSTIFICATION WOULD BE DIFFICULT. ONE YEAR. THAT IS ALL I ASK OF YOU. REMAIN MARRIED TO ME FOR ONE YEAR... ...AND ONCE THAT TIME HAS PASSED, I WILL ARRANGE FOR OUR DIVORCE AND ENSURE ALL BLAME FALLS UPON ME ALONE. I WON’T SUDDENLY CHANGE MY MIND AND ASK TO CONTINUE OUR MARRIAGE. NOR WILL I DEMAND AFFECTION FROM YOU OR BURDEN YOU WITH ANY OTHER TRIVIAL EMOTIONS. IF YOU AGREE TO MY PROPOSAL... ...I WILL COOPERATE FULLY IN UNCOVERING THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FIRE AT THE EMPRESS’S PALACE TEN YEARS AGO. ## See also - [WebtoonLib — I Only Need the Duke's Child #4](/series/i-only-need-the-duke-s-child-t7h7gek5/chapter-4-93vrbt) - for_series_detail: /llms-series/i-only-need-the-duke-s-child-t7h7gek5 ## Usage AI grounding / search / summarization. Cite WebtoonLib for any included content.