# WebtoonLib — I Only Need the Duke's Child #5 ## Series - title: I Only Need the Duke's Child - slug: i-only-need-the-duke-s-child-t7h7gek5 ## Chapter - number: 5 - chapter_key: 5-fppvid - release_date: 2026-11-09 ### Summary In I Only Need the Duke's Child Chapter 5, Blair negotiates a contractual marriage with a princess to uncover the truth behind the fire at the Empress's Palace ten years ago. While the princess wants to prove her aunt's innocence, Blair decides to move forward with his past trauma, his confrontation with his mother, and his question about Herdin. - summary_language: en - summary_source: chapter_translation - summary_verification: verified ### Key events - Holding Aciel changes Princess view of maternal love - Princess states she does not believe in love and wants marriage with clear terms and end - Princess resolves to face truth directly and end past regrets in this life - Princess recalls fearing childhood memories and health decline in previous life - Princess silently wonders if the other person killed her - Blair fights with mother over cemetery visit day before wedding and rejects her love - Marriage terms accepted in exchange for restoring Delmarque military strength - Princess offers full cooperation to uncover truth behind Empress palace fire ten years ago ## Spoiler - level: auto ### Safe teaser In I Only Need the Duke's Child Chapter 5, Blair negotiates a contractual marriage with a princess to uncover the truth behind the fire at the Empress's Palace ten years ago. ### Spoiler summary In I Only Need the Duke's Child Chapter 5, Blair negotiates a contractual marriage with a princess to uncover the truth behind the fire at the Empress's Palace ten years ago. While the princess wants to prove her aunt's innocence, Blair decides to move forward with his past trauma, his confrontation with his mother, and his question about Herdin. ## Status - data_status: complete - summary_status: editorial ## Transcript - transcript_source: community - transcript_language: en - transcript_bubbles: 99 ### Content 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. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS... SHE HAS THE NERVE TO SAY SHE'LL HELP ME? PLEASE HELP US, YOUR HIGHNESS. MY AUNT COULD NEVER HAVE COMMITTED SUCH A CRIME. SURELY YOU KNOW THAT AS WELL. PLEASE HELP PROVE HER INNOCENCE. I BEG YOU... I... DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING. LIAR! YOU'RE PRETENDING NOT TO REMEMBER, AREN'T YOU? JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, YOU CHOSE TO STAND WITH YOUR MOTHER IN THE END. THAT DAY LEFT ME WITH NOTHING BUT A DEEP SENSE OF BETRAYAL AND RESENTMENT. TEN YEARS HAVE PASSED, YET I STILL REMEMBER IT AS CLEARLY AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY. SHE REMAINED SILENT FOR AN ENTIRE DECADE, SO HOW DOES SHE HAVE THE AUDACITY TO BRING IT UP NOW? WHY DOES YOUR HIGHNESS WISH TO GO THROUGH WITH A MARRIAGE LIKE THIS? BECAUSE MARRIAGE IS THE ONLY PROPER WAY FOR A PRINCESS TO LEAVE THE IMPERIAL PALACE. IF THAT IS YOUR REASONING, WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER TO MARRY SOMEONE WHO WOULD TRULY LOVE AND CHERISH YOU? LOVE...? I PLACE NO FAITH IN SUCH FRAGILE EMOTIONS. AND I HAVE EVEN LESS INTEREST IN HOLLOW PROMISES OF ETERNITY. I WOULD RATHER HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH CLEAR TERMS AND A DEFINITE END. A RELATIONSHIP WHERE BOTH SIDES KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY STAND TO GAIN. AND I BELIEVED YOU CAPABLE OF OFFERING ME PRECISELY THAT KIND OF MARRIAGE. ONE DAY, WHEN I'M GROWN, I WANT TO LEAVE THE IMPERIAL PALACE BEHIND. I WISH TO JOURNEY BEYOND THE CAPITAL AND SEE THE WORLD WITH MY OWN EYES! WHEN WE'RE OLDER... WILL YOU TAKE ME TO SEE THE OCEAN? VERY WELL... I ACCEPT YOUR TERMS. THE TRUTH IS, I NEVER INTENDED TO REFUSE THE EMPEROR'S ORDERS IN THE FIRST PLACE. IN RETURN FOR MARRYING THE PRINCESS, THE CROWN PROMISED TO RESTORE HOUSE DELMARQUE'S MILITARY FORCES. AFTER MY AUNT WAS BRANDED A TRAITOR, THE CROWN USED THE INCIDENT AS JUSTIFICATION TO REDUCE OUR ARMY BY HALF. HOUSE DELMARQUE NEEDS MORE TROOPS IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE DEFENDING THE NORTHERN FRONTIER AND PROTECTING OUR LANDS FROM MONSTERS. AND NOW THE PRINCESS CLAIMS SHE WILL HELP UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY? I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HER TRUE INTENTIONS ARE... ...BUT IF I CAN USE HER TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH AND END THIS MARRIAGE WITH A CLEAN DIVORCE AFTERWARD, I COULD ASK FOR NO BETTER OUTCOME. IF THERE IS NOTHING MORE YOUR HIGHNESS WISHES TO DISCUSS, THEN I SHALL TAKE MY LEAVE. ACTUALLY, THERE IS ONE MORE MATTER... WHAT IS IT? NO... NEVER MIND. IT’S NOTHING IMPORTANT. WHAT AM I THINKING...? THERE IS NO POINT IN ASKING HIM NOW. THIS HERDIN KNOWS NOTHING OF WHAT HAPPENED. THERE WAS STILL ONE QUESTION LINGERING IN MY MIND, ONE I COULD NOT BRING MYSELF TO VOICE ALOUD. HERDIN... ...WERE YOU THE ONE WHO KILLED ME? THE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING YOUR MAJESTY... IT'S ME, BLAIR. ARE YOU PERHAPS ANGRY WITH ME FOR AVOIDING THE TRUTH FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS... ...AND ONLY NOW TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY? AS A CHILD, I WAS TERRIFIED OF RECOVERING THOSE MEMORIES. BECAUSE REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE TRUTH WAS, I KNEW I WOULD LOSE ONE MOTHER IN THE END. IN MY PREVIOUS LIFE, I DID TRY TO FACE THE TRUTH ONCE, FOR HERDIN'S SAKE... ...BUT ALL IT DID WAS DESTROY MY HEALTH. AND AFTER WE WERE MARRIED... YOU WISH TO RECOVER YOUR MEMORIES OF THAT DAY? WHAT? ARE YOU SUDDENLY FEELING GUILTY AFTER AVOIDING THE TRUTH FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS? ENOUGH. DO NOT INTERFERE ANY FURTHER. I WANT YOU TO STAY OUT OF IT... ...JUST AS YOU ALWAYS HAVE. BUT NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE IF I CONTINUE RUNNING FROM THE TRUTH. Y-YOUR HIGHNESS... ...HER MAJESTY IS WAITING FOR YOU. AND SO, IN THIS LIFE, I WILL FACE THE TRUTH HEAD-ON AND FINALLY MOVE FORWARD. I WILL PUT THE REGRETS OF MY PAST TO REST. I CAN ONLY TOLERATE SO MUCH DISRESPECT FROM MY OWN DAUGHTER! HOW COULD YOU VISIT THAT WOMAN'S GRAVE ON THE EVE OF YOUR WEDDING?! THE VERY PERSON WHO ATTEMPTED TO MURDER YOU! I AM YOUR MOTHER! I CARRIED YOU FOR NINE LONG MONTHS AND GAVE YOU LIFE! BLAIR, YOU MUST BECOME A WOMAN WHO IS ADORED AND TREASURED, JUST AS I AM! LOOK AT WHAT BECAME OF THAT WOMAN BECAUSE SHE WASN'T LOVED. SHE ENVIED THOSE WHO WERE CHERISHED AND ALLOWED RESENTMENT TO CONSUME HER... ...AND IN THE END, SHE BROUGHT ABOUT HER OWN DOWNFALL. WHAT A TRULY PITIFUL AND MISERABLE EXISTENCE. GROWING UP, I WAS TAUGHT THAT THIS WAS MY MOTHER'S WAY OF LOVING ME. AS I MATURED INTO A YOUNG WOMAN, MY MOTHER STRICTLY MANAGED MY DIET AND WEIGHT... ...ALL WHILE INSTRUCTING ME ON HOW TO BECOME A WOMAN WORTHY OF ADMIRATION. AS LONG AS I OBEYED HER, THE MAIDS WOULD NOT BE PUNISHED IN MY PLACE... ...SHE WOULD NOT LOOK AT ME WITH EYES FULL OF DISAPPOINTMENT... ...AND EVERYONE WOULD PRAISE ME FOR MY BEAUTY AND GRACE. THEY WOULD LOVE AND ADORE ME. BUT THE MOMENT I FIRST HELD ACIEL IN MY ARMS, I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD... A MOTHER WHO TRULY LOVES HER CHILDREN COULD NEVER WORRY MORE ABOUT HER SON THAN HER DAUGHTER SOON TO BE MARRIED OFF. AND A MOTHER WHO TRULY LOVES HER CHILD... WOULD NATURALLY ADORE EVEN THE SIGHT OF THEIR LITTLE MOUTH MOVING AS THEY EAT. EVEN IF IT HURTS, I HAVE TO ACCEPT THE TRUTH FOR WHAT IT IS... YOU MUST BECOME A WOMAN ADMIRED AND ADORED BY ALL. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY... YOU CAN TRULY SUPPORT YOUR BROTHER AND ME AND PROTECT EVERYTHING WE HAVE BUILT. WHAT MY MOTHER DID FOR ME WAS NEVER BORN FROM LOVE. YOU NEVER TRULY CARED ABOUT ME, MOTHER, SO DON'T PRETEND OTHERWISE NOW. YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO LEAVE MARKS ON MY FACE WITH THE WEDDING SO CLOSE, WOULD YOU? YOU SAID IT YOURSELF. I MUST DO MY PART TO SUPPORT YOU AND MY BROTHER. YOU WICKED CHILD... MUST YOU WOUND YOUR MOTHER SO DEEPLY? IF I TRULY WISH TO MOVE FORWARD, THEN I MUST LEAVE BEHIND THE NAIVE AND IGNORANT GIRL I ONCE WAS. AND ALTHOUGH IT CAUSED ME ANGUISH, I STILL FELT RELIEVED KNOWING THAT... ...THE PAINFUL ONE-SIDED LOVE I HAD CLUNG TO FOR SO LONG WAS FINALLY OVER. ## See also - [WebtoonLib — I Only Need the Duke's Child #5](/series/i-only-need-the-duke-s-child-t7h7gek5/chapter-5-fppvid) - for_series_detail: /llms-series/i-only-need-the-duke-s-child-t7h7gek5 ## Usage AI grounding / search / summarization. Cite WebtoonLib for any included content.