~Chapter 46~
[I first met William at the World Expo hosted in the Western Empire.
My father and brothers had plastered the main art gallery with my paintings.
Not satisfied with just that, they grabbed every visitor and made them stare at each painting for at least ten minutes. My face was red with embarrassment.
“I’ve seen people beg for money, but never for spectators. Are my father and brothers royalty or some new breed of beggar?”
“Samantha!”
I ran out of the exhibition hall to escape them.
The fresh sky outside, unlike the glass ceiling of the expo hall, finally let me breathe.
It was a secret garden where only royals and the highest nobility were allowed, so I could enjoy a sense of freedom there.
As I caught my breath on a bench, I sensed someone nearby.
‘Over there?’
Peeking behind the bench, I saw a man standing in front of a bed of red flowers.
His eyes were so black, deeper than any paint could capture.
I’d never been so mesmerized by a person before.
‘Is he even human?’
As I stood without realizing it, William spotted me, eyes wide.
I ran over and grabbed his collar, pulling him down to my eye level.
I wanted to see his mysterious eyes more closely.
“What are you?”
The closer I looked, the more stunning his black eyes were.
His quivering eyelashes told me how flustered he was.
After blinking several times, he finally spoke.
“They said if you came to the Western Empire’s garden, you’d see a rare flower you’d never see again in your life…”
He had been admiring rare poppies imported from the East.
“You’re like a poppy.”
I took it as a jab at my red eyes and shook his collar more roughly.
“So you’re saying my eyes are red like a poppy? That it?”
William smiled softly, even as I shook him.
“No, Your Highness. I meant everything—your entire face is flushed like a poppy. I feel like digging up the whole flowerbed and taking you with me.”
Well then. Start digging.
Dad, I want to go to the Eastern Empire.
]
[Ethan was born.
He looked exactly like William. I’ve practically made another William—go me.
I didn’t have you because some curse said disaster would strike without heirs.
Your dad and I, we’re going to break this cycle in our generation.
]
[I had to ask him.
“William, why Ethan? He’s the second son.”
William had inherited the Kenwolf curse from his father.
Yet when it came time to pass it down, he chose the second son, Ethan, not the eldest, Merrick.
“Why did you decide alone, without discussing it with me?”
He smiled warmly, as always.
“Because I didn’t want to ask you which of our sons you wanted to see suffer longer.”
Ah… how could I be so thoughtless?
Even though he looked calm on the outside, I was speechless.
“I couldn’t choose. Ethan chose. He said he resembles his father more than his brother does.”
Back then, I didn’t realize… our child had already decided his own path far too early.
]
[More and more days came when William couldn’t fight the “thing” inside him.
It was much earlier than it had been for the previous Duke.
Our hope to find a way out before the kids grew up was slowly fading.
He began to avoid me.
William feared that the vile words coming from the “thing” would hurt me.
He must think I’m stupid. That I can’t tell when it’s him and when it’s not.
I can always tell by your eyes, your voice—that it wasn’t you.
Keep talking.
The best part of my husband is his cute nonsense. Don’t take that away from me.
]
[When William wanted to gift horses, Merrick and I each picked one.
Ethan didn’t.
“Horses live a long time. I’ll pass. What happens if the owner disappears one day?”
Ungrateful child.
Saying he wouldn’t live long right in front of his mother.
Where did he learn to talk like that?
Ah, right. I lived like that too.
]
[He’s gone.]
From that point on, the diary had no more entries.
Riden, who had been flipping pages, instinctively wiped the corner of her eyes.
‘This is just a novel—why is the mother-in-law’s backstory so heartbreaking?’
Maybe it was the effect of reading the duchess’s diary, but in Riden’s mind, the image of the Duchess softened a bit.
Not too much, though—because Riden already knew someone who gave unconditional love to her family.
‘Mom…’
Just like the Duchess loved her family deeply, Riden’s mom, Kim Si-eom, cared so deeply for her sons.
A little jealousy stirred in her heart.
What must it be like to live protected by such a parent, even if the rest of the world hated you? It must feel so safe.
The longing for something she’d never had made her call for a staff member.
She cooled her throat with a chilled sherbet, then flipped to the next page.
There was something new.
[My daughter-in-law appeared. A chick? Small and adorable.
She looks like you could squish her with a poke—makes you nervous just watching.
**Ah! Merrick agreed, too.]
]
[Ethan said he hoped the girl would get along better with me or Merrick than with him.
Because he thinks he knows what his future holds, I suppose.
Foolish boy!
But Ethan, life’s worth isn’t measured in years.
**If you keep saying things like that, I’ll send you back into my womb.]
]
[Ethan seems to think she tried to use the family curse against him.
So funny.
When I chose William, the Kenwolf curse meant nothing to me.
It was neither a weakness nor a strength—because I loved him.
But Ethan… does that chick love him already? Why the panic?
William neutralized the curse with his face alone.
So why can’t Ethan, with the same face, win over one chick?
**If he keeps this up, maybe I should send him back into my womb after all.]
]
[I hope she’s not hurting.]
[She says she hates me. Tell me that’s a lie!]
‘This “she”… is she talking about me?’
She used the names Merrick and Ethan—but “the girl” was just “that child.”
Riden gently placed her fingertips on the line.
Brushing the words, her heart tickled a little.
‘Well, if the sedative gets hurt, Ethan’s in trouble.’
She closed the diary with a soft thud.
Then she heard noise from below—customers had arrived.
Riden pulled her bonnet low.
A group of noble ladies entered the cafe and sat at a table. Among them was one young girl who seemed out of place.
When their ice creams arrived, their gossip began.
“Isn’t the ice cream here amazing?”
“Right? It’s such a shame you can’t take it home!”
So many orders for early afternoon… how much was all that?
“But seriously, who owns Hagenz?”
‘The owner of Hagenz?’
Riden slightly lifted the left side of her bonnet.
“Is it really operated by the royal family?”
One of the women delicately scooped her ice cream as she asked.
“The royal family?”
