Chapter 34
“But that just won’t do.”
Jonathan clicked his tongue harshly and muttered.
Even imagining it left a bad taste in his mouth.
If Julia were sent to the Grand Duchy, it was all too obvious that that woman and her daughter would seize the chance to flee far away, out of his reach.
“If that happens, everything will fall apart.”
Jonathan Blanche wore a displeased smirk on his lips.
And there was another reason why Julia couldn’t be sent.
Lately, his biological daughter’s condition had worsened.
She had been born weak to begin with.
Recently, she had just barely regained her senses, so he’d told her that she would have to live in hiding as the nanny’s daughter’s shadow for the next nine years. But upon hearing that, she couldn’t control her fury and fainted again.
“Who does that little brat take after, to have such a temper?”
Jonathan was usually soft when it came to his own blood, but this time, even he was dissatisfied with his daughter’s personality.
Still, what could he do?
She was his one and only blood relative.
So at the very least, he had to keep Julia, whom the girl adored, by her side.
Jonathan began tapping his fingers slowly on the desk.
No matter how hard he racked his brain, no solution pleased him.
Sending Julia wasn’t even an option to begin with, and he certainly didn’t want to go to the Grand Duchy himself.
He was starting to feel that spending time thinking about the nanny’s daughter was a waste.
Casting a glance at his butler, he asked,
“Is it some terminal illness?”
“I’m not certain, but I don’t think it’s that serious.”
“Tch. So you’re saying it’s not even anything major.”
“We also need someone to replace Bonpiju. Why not take this opportunity to send a new monitor?”
Jonathan clicked his tongue again and stretched out.
“Hmm, not sure. There’s no need to send someone openly and raise suspicion.”
This time, the butler offered no response.
It was not something he dared to comment on.
“We’ll find a roundabout way. I was already planning to insert someone new anyway.”
Jonathan seemed to have made up his mind.
He truly believed that Erica would never betray him.
As long as Julia was firmly in his hands, that girl who knew no one but her mother wouldn’t dare harbor any thoughts of defiance.
Besides, hadn’t he already planted that orb inside her delicate throat, to ensure she kept the secret?
There was nothing to worry about.
The nanny’s daughter would surely know how to conduct herself.
Born in low status, she’d do anything to survive—even if it meant never displeasing her superiors.
Jonathan didn’t doubt for a second that Erica would act accordingly.
“For now, we’ll just show a decent amount of concern on the surface.”
Let it appear to others like a father worried for his daughter, but to Erica, it would look more like a veiled threat—that would be ideal.
“Good.”
Satisfied with his own conclusion, Jonathan Blanche looked relieved.
He gave a short command to the butler.
“Send someone to Julia.”
“Are you planning to send her to the Grand Duchy temporarily and bring her back?”
“As if.”
Jonathan grinned slyly.
He laced his fingers together and leaned back in his chair.
“That’d cost too much in money and time. And what if my daughter Erica’s condition worsens in the meantime? Who’s going to take responsibility for that?”
Even the thought of it made Jonathan grimace in disgust.
Then, he issued more specific instructions.
“Have Julia mention that my daughter is sick. That’ll get the nanny agitated and push her to send something her daughter might need.”
He intended to send that item to the Grand Duchy.
Maybe, seeing something from her mother would snap the girl out of her daze.
It would also serve as a silent warning: Do your job properly.
Marquis Blanche let out a sinister chuckle, fully revealing his dark intentions.
Finally understanding his master’s orders, the butler bowed deeply.
“Yes, sir. I will follow your command.”
Erica’s bedroom door burst open.
Sebastian, having finished his day’s work, rushed inside.
He had skipped knocking, but no one commented on his rudeness.
This had been happening for several days now—everyone had grown used to it.
He quickly approached the bed, his expression grim as he looked down at Erica.
Lying motionless on a bed several times larger than her own body, Erica looked deathly pale.
His throat moved with a heavy gulp.
Without taking his eyes off her, Sebastian asked,
“How is she?”
Joanna, who had been wiping the sweat from Erica’s forehead, bowed her head apologetically.
“She still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“……”
Sebastian swallowed hard.
How long had he been standing there?
The doctor soon entered, followed by Vincent and Felix.
Sebastian didn’t bother greeting Felix, but the Grand Duke didn’t scold his son for the slight.
On the day Erica met with Felix alone, she had collapsed, coughing violently and vomiting blood.
That was when her high fever began.
A doctor had been called to the mansion immediately, but they hadn’t been able to bring her fever down.
“She’s had weak lungs since childhood… Coughing up blood is to be expected. It may continue to happen from time to time.”
At that moment, both Sebastian and Felix’s faces twisted in fury.
Father and son turned to glare at the doctor with savage expressions.
“What the hell are you saying?”
“You call yourself a doctor and say something like that?”
The doctor, feeling as though his life was in danger, flinched instinctively.
Had Lady Alma and Vincent not stepped in to stop the two, he might have fainted on the spot.
Still, the doctor insisted that lowering Erica’s fever was the top priority.
She’d been in poor health to begin with, and the strenuous journey from the capital to the Grand Duchy likely exhausted her further.
“She’s been blessed, so her life isn’t in immediate danger.”
But the problem was—the fever wouldn’t break.
Sebastian turned to his father and asked quietly but accusingly,
“What exactly did you say to her that day?”
“Nothing much,” Felix replied, gazing down at his left arm.
Sebastian’s red eyes followed that gaze instinctively.
“I simply told her about my condition and gave her a choice: tell Marquis Blanche or don’t.”
Sebastian’s brows furrowed.
“Why would you do that? I told you I’d handle it myself.”
Felix remained silent for a while before speaking softly.
“You seemed too soft.”
Click. A quiet sound as if he clicked his tongue.
Felix’s eyes turned to Erica.
“If I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have said it.”
At the end of his gaze was a faint glimmer of regret.
Felix had harbored deep resentment toward Jonathan Blanche since his youth. The man was sly and manipulative.
That’s why he assumed his daughter would be no different.
Just as Sebastian had inherited his own nature, he believed Erica would mirror her father.
But she wasn’t.
It was as if her bloodline had been scrubbed clean—aside from the red hair, there was nothing about her that resembled Jonathan.
And so, Felix began to regret pushing her too hard.
Sebastian asked, his voice weary,
“Has there been any word from the Marquis?”
“Of course there has.”
Felix replied curtly, clicking his tongue.
Someone from the Blanche household had arrived just that morning.
It was faster than expected.
Felix had requested they send someone close to Erica, someone who could help her feel at ease.
But as if mocking that request, Marquis Blanche sent no one.
All he sent was a quick-footed errand boy carrying some money, a few strengthening herbs, and a couple of items Erica had used back at the Blanche residence.
“Did he think we were short on herbs or something… tch.”
It was absurd.
Everything about it contradicted the idea that Erica was his precious daughter.
Feeling frustrated, Felix instinctively reached for the cigarette case in his inner pocket.
“You’re not seriously planning to light that here, are you? Smoke outside.”
Faced with his son’s icy glare, Felix added defensively,
“I was going to. I’m not that thoughtless.”
With that, Felix quietly exited Erica’s room, leaving the door behind him.
Sebastian’s eyes returned once more to Erica, still lying unconscious in the bed.
