CHAPTER~05
Bearing a Child
“What importance does mere emotional play have in a crucial business opportunity? You just buy the one that holds the greatest value.”
“Cedric.”
The grandson, who hadn’t even chosen a wife yet, appeared relaxed as if he had some secret advantage.
Carlyle clicked his tongue at Cedric’s inscrutable attitude.
“Father.”
The dining room door opened, and Catherine stepped inside.
“Oh, Cedric. You’re here too.”
Her lips twitched when she spotted Cedric belatedly, but she quickly composed herself. The restraint in her emotions never ceased to astonish.
While the servants prepared her meal, Catherine let slip a hint of disappointment.
“You didn’t even invite us to a family meal.”
“There’s no need to throw a party just because a son has passed. No point making a fuss in the morning.”
“It’s not a celebration, but a memorial. Families should be closer at times like this. So we don’t dwell too long in sorrow.”
Cedric listened to their conversation like it were someone else’s story, continuing his meal leisurely.
“So, I was thinking of hastening Derrick’s engagement. Once a new family member is confirmed, perhaps his absence will feel a little less empty?”
Engagement. And marriage.
Hearing Catherine utter the word again, Carlyle shot Cedric a sharp glance.
See? Not exactly the time to be so carefree.
Though his eyes seemed to reproach him, Cedric ignored it and sipped his tea with casual ease.
Sighing at his grandson’s attitude, Carlyle reluctantly replied to Catherine.
“If they’re happy with it, the old man has no reason to stop them. Let them do as they wish.”
Having received the response she wanted, Catherine turned her gaze to Cedric.
“By the way, Cedric, don’t you have any lady in mind? It does worry me a bit that your younger brother is marrying before you.”
Cedric’s lips curved into a lazy smile.
“You always worry over such trivial matters, Mother.”
At Cedric’s dismissal of marriage as a ‘trivial matter,’ Catherine’s composed expression faltered.
“Do not worry. There is nothing to concern yourself with on that front.”
Cedric put down his empty cup and stood.
“I have an appointment, so I’ll take my leave first. Enjoy your meal, Mother. Even in sorrow, the living must live.”
He did not forget to offer a polite smile to his stern stepmother.
Yet as Cedric turned, his gaze hardened, cold as ever. The lingering scent of Catherine’s strong perfume brushed against his nose.
Brushing away the unpleasant fragrance, he was met by a servant approaching him.
“Ah, Cedric.”
“What is it?”
“Earlier, a maid from the Leroy Ducal House came by. This jacket… is it yours, Sir?”
The servant held the jacket Cedric had lent to Yvonne a few days ago.
Cedric let out a small chuckle.
“Yes, it’s mine.”
“She asked me to thank you for your kindness the other day and to apologize for not visiting personally.”
‘Apologize… right.’
Cedric’s lips twisted slightly.
“Then leave the jacket in my room.”
“No, please take care of it now.”
Cedric snatched the jacket from the servant.
The floral scent faintly clinging to it, from the trembling woman at the rainy train station, lingered.
He grasped the jacket tightly, muttering.
“Interesting.”
He sensed this would not be easy.
Yet simultaneously, the challenge sparked his interest.
***
The Leroy Ducal House’s townhouse contained a massive greenhouse built for the Duchess.
Although winter’s chill still lingered outside, the greenhouse was alive with a variety of blooming flowers.
Even Adele, who had worked at an herbal shop before Yvonne’s time and had seen countless flowers, noticed some she had never seen before.
Yvonne, curious, wandered through the greenhouse, stopping at a particularly exotic flower.
“How lovely… what is your name?”
The calm fear that usually lingered on her face was absent.
Yet upon glimpsing the blue sky beyond the greenhouse glass, the sparkle in her pale green eyes vanished.
The garden and greenhouse were the only places in Lucerne where Yvonne could move freely.
The Duke had forbidden her to go out.
Exposing a fragile fake daughter to the outside world carried too much risk; it was safer to prevent the possibility entirely.
Hence, Yvonne could not even request the detective agency to find her mother.
*‘Perhaps I should ask the Duke one last time.’*
A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the cold barrel of the gun against her forehead.
In truth, she already knew the answer.
Yet desperation made her want to cling one more time.
“Miss.”
Startled, she turned to see Cindy, whom she had sent on errands to the Glaston estate.
Yvonne composed herself and greeted her.
“How was the trip?”
“Fine. I delivered the jacket to the servant and passed along your thanks.”
“Thank you. Thirsty? Want to have some tea in the room?”
“Oh, no! I was just doing my duty.”
Cindy scratched her cheek awkwardly, unaccustomed to praise, and reluctantly followed Yvonne back to the townhouse.
Then, as if remembering something, she spoke.
“How can this be such a coincidence? The person you lent the jacket to at the station turns out to be your fiancé! It feels so romantic.”
“……Is that so?”
Cindy had mistakenly assumed the owner of the jacket was Derrick, since she only delivered it without knowing the real owner.
Hearing this, the true owner naturally came to mind.
“Was it the first time…? Somehow he feels familiar.”
A man whose kindness was enough to help a stranger, yet enough danger to threaten a younger brother’s fiancée—he was unpredictable.
Kind yet unsettling.
‘That settles it.’
The jacket had been returned, and she had claimed to everyone it was the first time they had met. There would be no further private encounters.
It should be fine—but why did the uneasy feeling linger?
Lost in thought, they soon arrived at the townhouse.
“Cindy, prepare tea and go to my room first. I’ll talk with Father for a moment and then come up.”
“Oh, yes!”
After parting with Cindy, Yvonne climbed the stairs, her expression tense.
Her steps stopped in front of Logan’s study.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked cautiously.
“Father, it’s me. If you have a moment, I’d like to talk.”
The address, awkward on her tongue, flowed naturally in the moment of need.
After a short wait, the door opened, and a butler appeared. He nodded to Yvonne and left the room.
Yvonne swallowed hard and stepped inside.
Logan, smoking a cigar while reviewing documents, glanced briefly at her, then returned to his work.
Even when Yvonne reached the desk, his gaze remained cold, chilling her as when he once pressed a gun to her forehead.
His eyes, so similar to her own, sent a shiver down her spine.
She clasped her hands together and spoke.
“Please let me see Mother.”
Logan’s gaze shifted toward the door behind her, then returned to Yvonne.
“If I may see only Mother from time to time, I will fulfill the role you’ve entrusted me with to the best of my ability.”
“Is this a threat?”
“No. A negotiation.”
“You, huh?”
Exhaling cigar smoke, Logan asked again.
Though she knew he could refuse, Yvonne steadied herself and remained firm.
Her eyes held a rare determination, as if daring to hear his answer.
“I will take every precaution to ensure nothing happens, so please…”
“Bear a child.”
It was not a suggestion, but an order.
Yvonne’s long lashes trembled in disbelief as Logan fixed her with his dry, unyielding gaze.
“Glaston’s child.”
His eyes treated her not as a person, but an object.
“Then at that time, you shall meet your mother.”
Once the child is born, escape would be impossible.
Or more precisely, she would no longer be of use. Even if Logan broke his promise and sent her to a convent, it would not matter.
Knowing this, Yvonne dared not resist.
Despite the disadvantageous and unbelievable condition, it was her only lifeline.
Logan moved on to the next topic, as if knowing her answer without hearing it.
“From now on, twice a week, you will go to the Glaston estate for bridal lessons. Lady Glaston will instruct you in place of Isabella, so prepare accordingly.”
Typically, bridal lessons were a mother’s duty.
But as the Duchess Isabella could not do so, a close relative was supposed to take the role—yet Logan entrusted it to Catherine for some unknown reason.
Why Logan, who had practically confined her to the townhouse, decided to send her to the Glaston estate, or what deal was struck with Catherine, mattered little.
‘That day, I can leave this house.’
She might even have a chance to visit the detective agency.
- Yvonne’s eyes, trembling moments ago, now shone with new hope.
