I Only Need the Duke's Child — Chapter 3

THAT'S NOT HERDIN.

I CAN'T SCREAM.

I CAN'T RISK WAKING ACIEL IN THE NEXT ROOM.

HE CANNOT DISCOVER THAT MY CHILD IS HERE.

PLEASE...

...SOMEONE HELP ME!

PLEASE DON’T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO MY BABY!

THAT'S HER GRACE'S BELL.

WHY WOULD SHE RING FOR US THIS LATE AT NIGHT?

COULD SHE BE FEELING UNWELL?

THIS IS MOST STRANGE...

UGH...!

YOUR GRACE, YOUR GRACE!

ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, YOUR GRACE?!

THANK GOODNESS...

ACIEL SLEPT IN ANOTHER ROOM TONIGHT...

NO... I CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS...

MY SON...!

WHEN HE WAKES UP, HE'LL WANT HIS MOTHER... OH, MY POOR BABY...

YOUR GRACE!

THERE WERE... STILL SO MANY THINGS I WANTED TO DO FOR YOU...

MY PRECIOUS BABY...

ACIEL!!!

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS...?

I WAS CERTAIN I HAD DIED...

I-IS ANYONE THERE?! PLEASE, SOMEONE ANSWER ME!

WHERE IS MY CHILD?!

YOUR HIGHNESS...

YOU'RE AWAKE. GOOD MORNING.

LINA, WHERE'S ACIEL?

PARDON? ACIEL...?

YES, ACIEL! IS HE SAFE?!

DO YOU PERHAPS MEAN THE STRAY CAT THAT'S BEEN WANDERING AROUND THE BACK GARDEN LATELY...? IS ACIEL THE NAME YOU GAVE IT?

LINA, THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR JOKES.

WHERE IS ACIEL? WHERE IS MY SON?!

ONLY THEN DID I BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT SOMETHING WAS AMISS.

THIS ROOM...

ABOVE ME STRETCHED THE FAMILIAR CEILING OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE. I REALIZED I WAS FAR AWAY FROM HOLSTEIN MANOR...

WHY AM I HERE...?

YOUR HIGHNESS... WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?

YOUR GRACE, YOUR GRACE!

WHY IS LINA CALLING ME "YOUR HIGHNESS"?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOUR SON?

YOUR HIGHNESS... YOU HAVEN'T EVEN MARRIED YET. HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE A CHILD?

SUDDENLY, AN ALMOST IMPLAUSIBLE THOUGHT CROSSED MY MIND...

LINA... HOW OLD AM I RIGHT NOW?

THAT'S A STRANGE THING TO ASK, YOUR HIGHNESS...

YOU TURNED TWENTY THIS YEAR.

YOUR COMING-OF-AGE CEREMONY WAS NOT LONG AGO...

I HAD GONE BACK THREE YEARS INTO THE PAST...

...TO A TIME BEFORE ACIEL WAS BORN...

...AND BEFORE I EVER MARRIED HERDIN.

HAD ALL THOSE DAYS BEEN NOTHING MORE THAN A DREAM?

OR PERHAPS DEATH HAD BROUGHT ME HERE... TO RELIVE THE PAST ONE FINAL TIME.

AND IF NEITHER WERE TRUE...

YOUR HIGHNESS.

HER MAJESTY THE EMPRESS DOWAGER IS ADDRESSING YOU.

HONESTLY, BLAIR...

YOUR MIND HAS BEEN ELSEWHERE ALL MORNING.

KATRINA ARDEL, EMPRESS DOWAGER OF THE ARDEL EMPIRE

IS THERE SOMETHING WEIGHING ON YOUR MIND?

IVAN ARDEL, EMPEROR OF THE ARDEL EMPIRE

MY APOLOGIES. I HAD RATHER AN UNSETTLING DREAM LAST NIGHT...

WHAT WERE YOU SAYING?

NOTHING PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT. WE WERE DISCUSSING YOUR MARRIAGE TO THE DUKE OF DELMARQUE.

MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS PREPARED FOR THE WEDDING.

I'VE ALREADY MADE MY INTENTIONS CLEAR TO HIM.

I'VE OFFERED TERMS GENEROUS ENOUGH THAT I DOUBT HE'LL REFUSE.

AND DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FACT THAT I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR OPINION FIRST.

YOU ARE AN IMPERIAL PRINCESS. THIS IS YOUR DUTY.

I TRUST THAT YOU'RE NOT CHILDISH ENOUGH TO PROTEST AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE.

A MEMORY I HAD LONG SINCE FORGOTTEN SUDDENLY RESURFACED.

YOU COULD HARDLY HOPE FOR A MORE DESIRABLE HUSBAND.

THERE ARE COUNTLESS WOMEN ACROSS THE EMPIRE WHO'D DO ANYTHING FOR THE CHANCE TO DANCE WITH THE DUKE EVEN ONCE.

THIS MARRIAGE IS MEANT TO MEND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUR FAMILIES. YOU SHOULD REGARD IT AS A GREAT HONOR...

NO...

I'M SORRY, BUT I DO NOT WISH TO MARRY HIM.

IN MY PREVIOUS LIFE, THIS WAS WHERE I CONFESSED THAT I DID NOT WISH TO MARRY HERDIN.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD EVER GONE AGAINST THEIR WISHES.

BUT THIS TIME...

I WILL DO AS YOU ASK.

...THINGS ARE DIFFERENT.

IF THIS IS YOUR MAJESTY'S DESIRE, THEN IT IS ONLY PROPER THAT I OBEY.

ONCE I'D MANAGED TO CALM MY THOUGHTS, I KEPT TURNING IT OVER AND OVER IN MY MIND.

WERE THOSE MEMORIES NOTHING MORE THAN A DREAM...?

OR HAD I REALLY DIED THAT NIGHT, AND THIS WAS MERELY A DREAM OF MY PAST?

BUT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I QUESTIONED THE REALITY BEFORE ME...

THIS CANNOT POSSIBLY BE A DREAM.

THE SOUND OF ACIEL CALLING FOR ME...

THE WARMTH OF HIS LITTLE BODY IN MY ARMS... HIS TINY FACE...

I CAN STILL REMEMBER IT ALL SO CLEARLY.

AND PERHAPS THAT IS WHY THIS MOMENT FEELS SO PAINFULLY EMPTY.

MY CHILD...

MY HOPE, MY REASON FOR LIVING.

EVEN IF FATE TRULY BROUGHT ME BACK THROUGH SOME MIRACLE...

...A WORLD WITHOUT ACIEL IS NOTHING BUT A LIVING HELL TO ME.

AND SO, IN THIS LIFE...

...I HAVE A REASON WHY I MUST MARRY HERDIN, NO MATTER THE COST.