GTMDWH | Chapter 83

~Chapter 83~

Luckily for Leah, Johann had been super busy lately.

He’d leave the house early in the morning and come back late at night—and for some reason, he even went to the duke’s castle.

“Hmmm~ Rafi knows why Daddy’s busy these days!”
Raphaella sang as she lay on the carpet doing a puzzle.

“Daddy said it’s a secret, but I don’t keep secrets from Mommy. Uh-oh!”

It sounded like she wanted someone to ask her about it.

“Mommy, aren’t you curious why Daddy’s so busy~?”
She kept singing, sneaking glances at Leah.

“Why is he busy, Rafi?”
Leah asked with a smile, trying to hide how cute she found her daughter.

“It’s a secret, but I’ll tell you just a tiny bit, only for Mommy,”
Raphaella sat up and got close, cupping her small hands around Leah’s ear.

“Daddy said he’s busy because he wants the three of us to live together and never be apart.”
She whispered, giggling as she finished.

“…What? He really said that?”

Leah was caught off guard.

“Yup! And he said he’s going to make sure no one can treat Mommy badly anymore.”

Raphaella said with a serious look, hands on her hips.

“So he told me to wait just a little longer.”

“…I see.”

Leah didn’t know what to make of what her daughter just said.

Live together? Make sure no one mistreats her?

Why?

‘Why is he acting like we’re a real family now…?’

He was so cold to her at first.

He couldn’t have forgotten the last line of their contract:

[‘Leah’ will leave the Blunhardt estate after Raphaella’s 8th birthday.]

And now he wants them to live together?

‘Is it just because of Raphaella? Maybe he thinks it’s easier if I stay for her.’

Since the engagement was already broken, it might not be such a burden for her to stay.

…Maybe that kiss a few days ago was also a mistake.

Maybe he was just trying to accept the mother of the child he loves into his family.

‘It should make me happy that he cares this much about Raphaella… So why do I feel so awful?’

Did I actually get hurt?

I promised I’d never fall for him again.

Why am I hurting?

slap slap

She lightly tapped her cheeks, trying not to cry.

“Rafi, want to finish this puzzle while we wait for Daddy?”

Leah cleared her throat and asked.

“Okay!”

She told herself to focus only on Raphaella—
Only on her daughter’s happiness and safety.

Over and over, she repeated it in her head to push away the other thoughts.

—

Meanwhile, at the Emperor’s drawing room…

“…Your Majesty, what did you just say?”

Narcissa froze, teacup in hand.

“I said I solved Patrizian’s mistake with almost no loss,”

The Emperor proudly said, puffing out his chest and stroking his beard.

“And how is that not a loss?”

Clink!

Narcissa slammed her teacup down, gritting her teeth.

‘That clueless idiot!’

How could he smile like he did something great?

“Giving up land, allowing a noble to marry a commoner, officially recognizing that woman as part of the Blunhardt family, and letting her enter the palace freely—that’s not a loss?”

He counted the “deals” on his fingers, confused.

“That’s not a loss??”

Narcissa snapped.

“W-well… not exactly?”

The Emperor’s voice shrank at her sharp tone.

“Sigh… and you didn’t even consult me before making that decision.”

Her voice cooled, but it was even more intimidating.

“I can’t discuss every little thing in the palace with you…”

He mumbled weakly.

“This wasn’t a little thing. It involved the Duke of Blumhardt—Patrizia’s former fiancé!”
Narcissa spoke slowly and firmly, like teaching a child.

‘Ugh, he’s so clueless it’s painful.’

She barely stopped herself from sighing out loud.

“If that woman walks into the palace on the Duke’s arm, how do you think Patrizia will look?”

He needed everything spelled out for him.

“And what’s wrong with that…?”

The Emperor asked dumbly.

He was more worried about preserving a royal heirloom than the shame his wife and daughter would face.

She married a fool, and now she had to deal with it.

“…What about my dignity as Empress?”

She looked him dead in the eye, her expression stiff.

The Emperor shrank under her glare, turning his eyes away.

“If the Duke breaks off the engagement with Patrizia and proposes to a commoner, imagine how the nobles will gossip about us behind our backs!”

“…Well, b-but he showed the potion Patrizia used. What was I supposed to do?”

He scratched his cheek.

“You should’ve just denied everything! A potion isn’t real evidence!”

Narcissa frowned deeply.

“…You know I’m not quick-witted like you…”

The Emperor mumbled like a kid getting scolded.

“…Yes, you’re just too softhearted.”

She looked at him with disappointment and took a sip of tea.

“I should’ve stayed by your side constantly. It was foolish of me to leave you alone.”

She had no interest in arguing further.

She’d said all she needed to.

Without asking permission, she stood up.

“Wait, Empress, you’re just leaving like this—”

But before he could finish, she had already stormed out.

Narcissa had been extremely irritable for days now.

Her maids and servants followed behind her nervously.

Outside her room, she suddenly turned and glared at Carmen—the maid among them.

If only she had succeeded in killing Raphaella’s real mother that day,
Then none of these foolish promises the Emperor made would matter.

‘You swore you’d handle it, and you failed spectacularly.’

She’d even given her a demonic poison to make sure of it.

Now, the Duke probably knew Narcissa had targeted Raphaella’s real mother.
He’d be protecting her more than ever.

And he might’ve found out about the demon poison, too.

Even if someone showed proof of the assassin and poison, she could just deny everything.
That wasn’t the issue now.

‘The real problem is… once they get engaged, killing her will be way harder.’

Now that she’s about to go from a nobody to a duchess,
Everyone—society, the capital—would be watching her.

Narcissa pressed her temple and turned back to her room.

‘Why is everything going so wrong…?’

A maid cautiously opened her bedroom door.

“No one is coming in.”

Her voice was cold and terrifying.

Everyone bowed even lower, trembling.

—

At the same time…

Patrizia, who was still confined to her palace, also heard about the Emperor’s deal with Johann.

“What! Are you serious?!”

The one who told her was Florian, who had been let off early from his confinement.

“Yep. And because of that, Mom’s super mad. The atmosphere in the Empress’s palace is no joke.”

He casually popped grapes into his mouth.

“Why would Father give him that kind of reward?!”

Patrizia yelled in frustration.

“You know how soft he is—he can’t say no.”

“Still! If they really get engaged, how am I supposed to show my face at a ball again?!”

She started throwing pillows and decorations everywhere.

“Waaah! What am I gonna do?!”

She cried like a child, sobbing loudly.

Florian just watched with indifference, finishing the grapes.

None of this would’ve happened if she hadn’t done what she did in the first place.

True to his nature, he didn’t care about their situation.

‘…Honestly, I’m kinda looking forward to seeing her at the ball.’

She was pretty even in plain clothes—
So how stunning would she look all dressed up?

He left the palace thinking he couldn’t wait to see Leah at a formal event.