So the Duchess Disappeared

45. Give birth to my child.

As Clint stared intently at Psyche, Helen, with a puzzled look, slowly turned her head.

“Yes? Where…?”

She looked around, thinking that Clint was playing a prank.

It was unimaginable for her that Clint was pointing at Psyche.

“Madam, what do you think?”

“…”

Clint gazed fixedly at Psyche.

“Yes? Wait. What?!”

Dropping the spoon she was holding, Helen stood up abruptly.

Alejandro and Claude sighed heavily, and the only person at ease here was Clint.

Psyche put down the fork she was holding with a loud noise and quietly wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“Uh, sister, really?”

Helen asked with wide eyes.

“…”

Perhaps thinking it couldn’t go on any longer, Alejandro intervened again.

“Excuse us for a moment.”

He spoke to Helen, who seemed unaware of the atmosphere and was likely to continue asking questions.

“Why?”

Helen looked at Alejandro as if he were a strange person.

“Well… His Grace and the Duchess…”

“Since the lady and her husband have something to discuss alone, it would be nice if everyone could vacate the seats.”

Clint interrupted Alejandro’s words.

“Oh my, really, is it true?”

Helen muttered to herself while looking into the air, then glanced at Psyche again.

“Sister, why did you hide this?”

“Well, it’s something I should ask, so please step aside for a moment.”

The Duke said with a smile.

Eventually, the forcibly dragged-out Claude led Helen outside.

After a while, the hall, now left alone with just the two of them, fell into silence as if water had been poured in.

Then, Clint wiped his mouth lightly and opened his mouth.

“I have made up my mind.”

“…?”

“The child will come up with us too.”

“What is this…?”

“Even if the child is from another man, it doesn’t matter. Madam.”

Psyche, pondering what he meant, recalled the strange sounds from last night when Clint visited her bedroom.

“Could it be…”

“But not with that man.”

“What?”

Psyche was speechless and could only stifle a bitter laugh.

“He’s talking about someone named Claude or Clad. Why is he always sticking around the lady?”

She had no desire to answer that question.

Claude…

He was not at all someone who could be misunderstood like that with Psyche from the beginning.

Of course, it was true that he harbored tender feelings for Psyche, but it was not a rational interaction.

Claude was a man who had received the teachings from his father to be loyal to the Alistair family, and he was one of the very loyal ones to Psyche because of his strong affection for the Alistair family.

He returned with the determination to dedicate everything to the reconstruction of the Alistair territory.

So, from the beginning, he was one of the very loyal ones to Psyche because he had a special attachment to the Alistair family.

Therefore, Psyche found it embarrassing when Clint entangled them.

“I’m just working with him. And I suppose you won’t have any say in my personal relationships.”

“If that man is the father of your child, the situation changes, doesn’t it?”

“What in the world…”

A very serious misunderstanding was deepening, but Psyche gave up on explaining because she didn’t know where to start correcting it.

She wished he would just give up on their relationship due to such misunderstandings.

“Isn’t your child the same as my child? I’m saying I will acknowledge that child.”

“…”

The conversation was going downhill.

“Instead, the next one will be my child.”

“What?!”

“Why are you so surprised? You should have thought that way when you saw me.”

Clint seemed to be suppressing his anger when talking about Claude and the child.

Psyche sighed.

“Is there a reason why it has to be me, Your Grace?”

“From now on, call me by my name. I find it awkward to be addressed as Your Grace. Madam.”

“…”

Clint corrected the title persistently.

“There are too many reasons why it has to be Madam, but let me tell you two.”

Psyche calmly looked into his eyes.

“First, as I mentioned yesterday, the contract was not fulfilled due to the death of our child.”

Clint finished speaking and took a moment to breathe.

“I cannot be with another woman if she is not Madam, you know that.”

“…”

Psyche swallowed her dry saliva.

“So, Madam cannot abandon her obligation.”

Psyche’s thoughts became complicated at his words.

Assuming that she follows him and gives birth to a child, there is no guarantee that he won’t kill her once she becomes unnecessary after giving birth to the child.

“You’re going to kill me,” the words came up to her throat, but she couldn’t spit them out.

At the same time, she thought there was no need to dispel the misunderstanding about the child.

“Give me time to think.”

“I’m impatient, Madam.”

“…”

Psyche was surprised. He had never acted hastily in front of her before.

Having escaped from the duke’s mansion, he now seemed completely different.

Although he was obviously the same person, Psyche didn’t feel good about him treating her like a different person.

“Until Madam decides to return to my surname, I plan to stay here. So, please choose wisely.”

“…”

It was almost like a threat.

“Take the child, but remember you cannot take that man.”

“…”

“I will wait for Madam’s wise decision.”

He finished speaking, approached her, patted her hand again, and walked gracefully out of the hall.

Watching his elegant and neat back, Psyche’s thoughts became even more complicated.

❖ ❖ ❖

Suddenly, she missed Shilard.

So, she decided to postpone all her schedules and go see him.

“Mama!”

Shilard hugged Psyche enthusiastically as soon as he saw her.

“Feeling lonely by yourself?”

Psyche asked while gently stroking Shilard’s cheek.

When Shilard grinned, all her worries seemed to disappear.

Feeling sorry for not paying attention to Shilard because of Clint, Psyche didn’t even have a chance to look at him after hiring a servant.

For two days, she felt like she was being tossed around by Clint.

“Yeah, I missed you too.”

“Even Mama?”

Shilard kept calling her mom.

Every time the child called her that, it made her chest feel bitter.

“Yeah, Mama will always be there for you.”

Claude, who had come to see Shilard, made a remark as he saw him.

Seeing him, Psyche remembered Clint’s words that she had forgotten, making her feel awkward again.

“Oh, no! My lord. How can you make such a disgusted face when you see someone? Should I leave?”

Claude asked with a worried expression.

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

Putting his sword at his waist, Clint approached Shilard.

“Bae! Papa!”

“…It seems like a big problem.”

Claude froze as Shilard called him dad instead of Clint.

Psyche burst into laughter, finding the situation amusing.

“Are you laughing? Right now, His Lordship is Mom, and to me, he’s Dad. This guy who makes me, a single woman, into a dad is a truly terrifying one!”

Claude pretended to emit smoke.

“Moreover, if His Lordship hears this. Ugh, just thinking about it is dreadful.”

Despite already facing such a misunderstanding.

But Psyche decided not to say that ignorance is bliss.

“Claude. If I go back to the duke’s mansion again.”

“Oh, are you going back as the duchess again?”

Claude asked in surprise.

“No. It’s about the family. Just listen to the end.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to find Shilard’s parents?”

Claude’s face visibly sank.

“No, isn’t it already difficult to find this child’s parents? Just raise him as His Lordship’s child! And that’s it!”

“You really have a way with words.”

Psyche tapped her fingers, as if indicating she was bored.

Then, Claude, who burst into laughter, suddenly put on a serious expression.

“Don’t worry about it here. I’ll be here. And the fact that you are the duchess will be even more helpful to the Alister territory. So, you don’t need to worry here.”

“…”

Psyche lost words at his statement.

She hoped Claude would leave, but instead, he pushed her on.

And now that she thought about it, he wasn’t wrong because if the word spread that the Alister’s lord received the duke’s protection, she wouldn’t have to worry about the succession and other matters.

There were many benefits in many ways.

She had left this place as if abandoning it at first, but now the situation was a bit different.

“As expected… I guess.”

Things became more complicated for no reason.

Shilard, who was squirming in Psyche’s arms, giggled.

“Oh, for today, I’ll spend time with Shilard and sleep here together.”

“Understood. How should I convey it to the duke?”

“I’ll probably stay here for a while. Just keep that in mind.”

So, Psyche, who decided that way, spent time with Shilard.

She read him books and played with toys together.

Eventually, they fell asleep together in that place.

The next day, Psyche was shocked to wake up to Shilard, who was sleeping in her arms, in a state she didn’t expect.

T/N: I changed the Child’s name.