~CHAPTER 96~
Harvich glared coldly at Count Chelsea.
“You waited for me just to say that?”
Count Chelsea’s eyes trembled violently.
Seeing Harvich’s chilling expression, he instinctively realized he could get no help from the man and began spilling the information he had valued most.
“Do you remember the war over the diamond mines? That was actually all the Imperial Family’s plan. I, I have the evidence……”
“And?”
“Yes……?”
Count Chelsea stammered, frozen for a moment.
“It’s evidence that could be used to pressure the Imperial Family, Your Highness! Evidence only I possess……!”
“Are you really that worried about your wife?”
Could he really spout such foolishness?
Muttering lowly, Harvich stepped toward Chelsea.
“The only evidence you know of, is it?”
“Y-Yes. Yes.”
“Do you even understand what that means, saying it in front of me?”
A man confidently claiming to hold evidence of a hidden incident was essentially admitting his own involvement.
It was absurd that such a foolish man had been central to the Grand Duchy’s diplomacy.
“Y-Your Highness… I didn’t mean that……”
Harvich let out a dry laugh.
“I, Your Highness……”
How ridiculous he must have looked.
“Ha. To protect such a thing……”
The idea of Chelsea confessing his mistake for his wife disgusted Harvich.
“I had no choice. My wife was poisoned……”
Even shamelessness should have limits.
Harvich had lived under the burden of his father’s suicide.
His father left without taking responsibility for the failed negotiations, leaving a child too young to carry the family’s weight.
Northern nobles helped him materially and emotionally. It was better than abandoning the young heir.
Yet some nobles had participated in the incident that his father had come to regret so deeply that he ultimately took his own life.
Among them, Chelsea had been the one insisting the family take responsibility the loudest.
“The past of the previous generation is regrettable, and I’ll allow that.”
“……Then why?”
The northern nobles had fractured and failed to unite at some point, causing the greatest harm to Lincia.
Those who corrupted the North were separate, yet blamed the Durand alone.
“Ha.”
Thinking that, he could no longer restrain himself.
“The disgrace my wife suffered was because of you.”
“……”
“I loved my wife dearly.”
Harvich muttered lowly.
“Throw him in prison.”
A man grabbed his ankle as he passed by.
“Please, save my wife! She is innocent!”
Harvich stopped and looked down at Chelsea.
“Why should I?”
“……”
“Why should I do that?”
* * *
Time at Welston passed like an arrow. A month had passed since Lincia stayed at the villa.
During her stay, Harvich had not visited her even once.
He sent letters daily with his schedule, but gradually the frequency decreased until he stopped sending news altogether.
Occasionally, he mentioned being busy.
But Lincia thought he was simply tired of sending letters to which she would reply.
While lost in thought, she heard movement below. Only the midwife with medical knowledge, Tereo, and Anna entered the villa regularly.
“I’ll go check just in case.”
Tereo asked permission and left. Lincia had once hoped Harvich might have come, but a month was long enough to erase such expectations.
Soon, Anna’s lively voice came with a loud clatter.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! The Marquess and Marchioness of Welston made baby shoes this time!”
Anna burst into the villa.
“Aren’t they cute?”
She handed the shoes to Lincia. The purple shoes perfectly matched Lincia’s hair color.
“Next time they’ll make them green.”
Lincia held the tiny shoes with unfamiliar awe.
Such a small being. Could she protect it well?
“I’m so grateful. I should thank them properly.”
“I’ll bake cookies. You just focus on your health! Also, they seem happy you have a new hobby!”
“But I’ve already received so much.”
From maternity clothes to a thick fox-fur coat, all made by the Welstons.
Though Lincia could not visit due to her health, the Welstons seemed genuinely kind.
“When you give birth, we’ll dress the baby and go to
