Deceived 103

Chapter 103

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Edmund gently lifted Blair, who was sitting on his lap, and stood up. Blair swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around his neck. He walked slowly toward the bed and laid her down on the soft comforter. The hand that had been clenched around Rufus’s neck just moments ago now tenderly caressed her cheek. He was as careful as if handling a glass doll that might shatter at any moment. Even though it was the same hand, it felt like it belonged to a completely different person.

Why was that? Why was he being so gentle?

Edmund turned away, turned off all the lights in the bedroom, and returned to the bed. As his large frame approached, the scent of rich soap wafted over. Blair blinked, feeling his arms naturally wrap around her.

She still couldn’t tell if this warm touch was born of love for her, or of desire for a woman’s “usefulness.”

The distrust was agonizing. It kept weighing heavily on her. Edmund was undoubtedly the man she loved, and she felt immense satisfaction in his arms, yet the seeds of doubt that had taken root wouldn’t let her rest for even a moment.

Even though she was receiving such deep affection—the kind that would leave no room for doubt if anyone were watching—she still questioned its authenticity. That was why, even as she lay in Edmund’s arms, she found it difficult to fully trust him with her heart.

“Ed, do you remember?”

Blair, catching her breath, spoke without thinking. He responded by slipping his hand inside her robe and caressing her smooth abdomen, as if to encourage her to continue.

“You said you had absolutely no desire to have children.”

“I did.”

“That feeling… has it changed?”

His answer didn’t come immediately. Even so, his slow, lingering touch trailed down her belly, leaving a cool sensation in its wake.

“No.”

Edmund spoke in a calm voice, even as he sensed all the emotion behind Blair’s question.

“It has changed.”

“…Do you want a child now?”

“What about you?”

The hand that had been gently caressing her settled on her flat lower abdomen. Blair slowly turned her head to look up at the man holding her. Her eyes, not yet accustomed to the darkness, couldn’t make out the expression on Edmund’s face.

“I…”

She hesitated, her lips trembling slightly, before continuing.

“I’ve always wanted to bear the fruit of love.”

Raised to be a demure woman, Blair had lived her life ashamed of being swept away by personal emotions. To her, her mother—who had run away in pursuit of love—was a figure she could never understand.

She vowed never to live like her biological mother. She hated and resented the woman who had been blinded by love and thrown everything away.

What on earth was so great about it that it could bewitch a person and lead them down an irreversible path?

As she spent more time alone, Blair often found herself consumed by that thought. She was afraid of love that bound people and drove them to extremes. Then, suddenly, she became curious. Before she knew it, a desire to understand love had begun to grow in a corner of her heart.

It seemed the blood of a woman who had abandoned even her family to prioritize her own love was flowing through her veins as well. Perhaps it was the most secret legacy she had inherited from her mother.

Yet she never forgot, not for a single moment, that she was someone who had been abandoned because of love.

Blair wanted to prove love in a different way—a way that didn’t hurt others, didn’t lead anyone to ruin, but firmly bound their lives together.

Blair’s lips parted cautiously.

“And… I believe a child is the fruit of love.”

It was a belief she had long kept hidden, a hope she had never confided to anyone.

Edmund, who had been listening in silence, pressed his lips to her forehead. He gently imparted his warmth and murmured softly.

“I feel the same way.”

“……”

“You must be tired after today. Let’s get some rest.”

Edmund whispered softly as he tucked the blanket around her. Blair closed her eyes gently, cradled in his broad embrace. If only their hearts were truly in sync. Because she couldn’t quite be sure, she lay awake for a long time, even after such an exhausting day.

***

The sound of footsteps on the marble floor echoed heavily. The steps were steady and unwavering, as if a machine were moving along a predetermined path.

Edmund, impeccably dressed, strode toward the reception room where the master of the house receives guests, lost in deep thought the entire time.

“You said you had absolutely no desire to have an heir.”

He couldn’t possibly be unaware of the woman’s intent in asking that.

“That thought… has it not changed?”

In the woman’s eyes, as she looked at him, anticipation, anxiety, and fear were tangled together in a chaotic jumble. Blair simply couldn’t bring herself to believe him—the man who had confessed his love to her in Borsa.

“…Hah.”

Her suspicion was justified. After all, with the will—stating that he could only formally inherit the title if he had an heir—now made public, how could she possibly take his words at face value?

Trust, faith, love. They were always so easily shattered.

He agreed with Blair’s assertion that their relationship should have ended before the will was made public. But the past could not be undone, and Edmund was a man who, in his entire life, had never once looked back on the past with regret. Regret was a useless emotion; it only clouded one’s judgment.

“I believe a child is the fruit of love.”

A child. It was a word that felt as foreign and uncomfortable as a foreign object. Edmund’s opinion on the matter had, in fact, not changed.

He had not the slightest interest in such things as the family line or the duty to preserve the bloodline. There wasn’t even a speck of room in his mind for such nonsense.

Yet suddenly, a certain possibility came to mind.

The simple thought that Blair might have a child of her own created a crack in his mind, which had been sealed by reason.

Come to think of it, a child was the strongest bond that could keep the woman by his side forever.

Words like “love” and “fruit of love” were ultimately just expressions born of a hungry heart, but a bond forged by blood was different. Blood ties were something you couldn’t sever even if you wanted to.

Something that could bind her and himself together forever.

In that moment, Edmund fully understood the phrase “fruit of love” that Blair had used.

He had judged that saying he wanted a child would be more effective than any other confession.

“In that case, I feel the same way.”

Therefore, those words were the absolute truth, without a shred of falsehood.

Besides, standing before the woman who might already be carrying his child, how could he possibly say he did not want an heir?

Reaching the door to the parlor, Edmund paused for a moment before reaching out to throw it open. As he stepped inside, Isabelle, who had been standing by the window, turned to look at him and raised her eyebrows. Her face was twisted with venom.

“We meet often, Mother.”

“You are the seed of misfortune.”

The room, bathed in the morning sunlight, grew suddenly chilly.

“Every time I see you, misfortune spreads throughout the entire household.”

Judging by the way she immediately spat out those curses, she must be quite heartbroken over what happened to Rufus. Edmund chuckled softly and lowered his eyes.

“You should have summoned Rufus as well.”

“…He’s not feeling well. If it’s a matter of the family, wouldn’t it be enough to relay it to me?”

Isabelle crossed her arms defensively.

“If you have something to say, get it over with. I don’t have the time to sit here drinking tea with you.”

“Then I won’t hold back.”

Since he disliked wasting time, there was no need to have pretend pleasantries. Edmund continued speaking without even glancing at the cooling refreshments, remaining where he stood.

“Sending one’s son to marry into the Rorschach family is not a decision any noble can make lightly. His Majesty the King has also deeply considered our intentions and sent a gift as a token of his favor.”

“…So?”

“The gifts are a ceremonial sword bestowed in honor of Liberte’s glory and a townhouse located near the Rorschach diplomatic mission. It’s close to the center of Borsa and seems like a decent place.”

Edmund flashed a perfectly composed smile.

“I’ll share some with you as well.”

****

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