Then I opened my eyes after a while
At first I thought I wasn't dead.
It wasn't even a prison, I just thought it was weird being in my marriage bedroom.
But when I saw that maid who died in an accident five years ago, I thought there was something strange.
It wasn't long before I figured out what was going on.
'I went back seven years'
In this life, I wanted to live a long and happy life with my child.
In order to do that, I had to do something first.
“Cornelia”
A voice broke my train of thought.
He was looking at me with an unhappy face, probably noticing that I was thinking about something else.
“Oh sorry, what did you say?”
He frowned a little and sighed,
“I said we can't divorce as long as we have a child.”
When he said this, I smiled and rubbed my stomach.
“Yes, there is a child here. It is the child of someone I loved.”
Then I looked directly at him and opened my mouth,
“But not your child.”
“Not my baby? I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean it”
Eric was pretending to be a good father to Damian in front of people.
He was so caring and hospitable that I was blown away.
'But now I know who you really are'
He abandoned me and my future child.
Even that wasn't enough, he stubbornly pursued me to kill us while I was escaping.
Although he didn't kill her himself, she couldn't help but say that he played a role in their child's death.
Eric put aside the honorifics and spoke fiercely.
“Cornelia Odile Brant, speak clearly.”
I could not accept this man with a dual personality as the father of my child.
In my heart, I didn't even want to mention having a child with him.
However, there was a good reason to reveal my pregnancy.
“I told you, you are not the father of my child. The father is someone else.”
Although he didn't want to marry me, he never mentioned divorce.
'Maybe it was because of my father, the Emperor.'
What if I hid from him that I was carrying a child and divorced him?
In the future, the Emperor will use this as a means to threaten me with the child.
Knowing that Eric would never divorce me for anything.
In other words, I needed a mistake that would give me a reason to divorce him smoothly.
“You must already know how difficult it is to have a baby from one night.”
When I told him about my pregnancy for the first time,
I saw a slight agitation in his eyes.
He never held my hand until the day he made that mistake with me.
But, just one night, due to a mistake,
The woman he hated so much had a child carrying his blood.
I can't understand how terrified he was in denial.
So I decided to deny the horrific truth as he wanted and all the blame fell on me.
'This is what you want, isn't it?'
I twisted the corner of my mouth and continued,
“It's been five years since you took me away from you. Is it wrong to have a lover to get rid of loneliness? You don't care about me anyway...”
“Cornelia!”
“Don't scream, even if it's a mistake, I won't abandon the child.”
Yes, it's an act, it's a lie, but at least it's honest.
I will risk everything to get revenge for Damian.
But he, who had no way of knowing my true intentions, must have been surprised by my attitude.
“It is a respectful attitude for a traitor.”
"Honestly, if I hadn't told you, you would have fathered someone else's child. Shouldn't you be thanking me for telling the truth?"
I honestly admit that my words are rude.
If these words were said to me, I would slap the person in the face without holding back my anger.
However, Eric kept his mouth shut as he stared at me.
'Yes, maybe that's why you put up with my actions until now.'
He always looked at me with an uncomfortable look.
He didn't show it, but he was suppressing something.
For more than 10 years since the moment we got married.
I guessed what it was, but I tried to ignore it.
But I didn't understand why he was so patient with me all this time
Until I was stripped of my humble position.
"Isn't that good? You always regretted marrying me. Now that I've made an excuse for it, can't we get a divorce in peace?"
“Stop”
Anger and disdain sparkled in the blue eyes that stared back at me.
In the past, even when I was doing evil, I felt afraid of those eyes.
I was afraid he might hate me and break up with me.
But now there was no reason to fear that he would hate her.
“Don't you want to not hear my voice? If you divorce me, you won't hear it for the rest of your life.”
At my provocative words, he looked at me silently.
How can he remain silent?
He broke the silence and asked me,
“Who is the baby's father?”
At those words, I stared directly at the high-ranking scoundrel in front of me.
But to tell the truth, the divorce plan will be in vain.
I chose to be sarcastic as usual.
"Why? Are you trying to find out who he is and get revenge? Or are you going to try to thank him for dealing with the annoying woman?"
Was I being too rude?
He looked at me blankly and then said tremblingly, “It’s not worth talking about anymore.”
I said as I watched him get up from his seat.
"You'd better decide quickly before it's too late. Wouldn't it be a big problem if you divorced me late and your reputation, which you cherish so much, has to go to waste?"
Instead of responding, he turned his back.
'What do I do now?'
He is a man who takes care of things elegantly without changing his facial expression even when he is in a bad mood.
But the accident he had today must have been beyond what he could handle.
'You can't divorce me right away because of the Emperor, but since you're a man, nothing can be done.'
No matter how patient he is, he will not be able to bear a woman pregnant with someone else's child.
'Moreover, I am a woman he hates so much.'
It was a fact that I denied in the past,
But now I feel somewhat lucky.
‘The question is, does Eric trust me?…’
If he doesn't believe me, how can I make him believe my lies as truth?
For a while, I lay on the sofa and gently stroked my stomach.
I was still in the early stages of my pregnancy, so my belly wasn't moving and sticking out, but I felt like I wasn't alone.
'Damian, don't worry Mama will definitely protect you this time.'
I started singing my baby's favorite lullaby.
I was tired and the baby was tired too.
I hastily closed my eyes.
* * *
After leaving the room, Eric's face involuntarily contorted.
'An affair?'
And it's not just any relationship, it's from the woman who always only looks at Eric Lennon Brant. To the point that anyone who sees it may get bored.
Her goal was always constant.
'Yes, she must be trying to get my attention again.'
Eric clenched his fists tightly.
'However, I think I need to know the reason for her ridiculous mention of divorce.'
Then Randon came and beckoned to him.
“Your Excellency, Anna will go to the seminary tomorrow.”
Eric nodded when he was told that he had gotten rid of the maid who knew of Cornelia's pregnancy.
“Well done”
Madeleine also closed her mouth, so it would be fine if Cornelia didn't reveal herself.
When he returned to his office, Eric called out to someone.
جانيت ، المرأة الوحيدة بين فرسان عائلته.
“I will entrust you with shadow escorting the Duchess.”
Shadow escort.
In other words, you should not be caught while escorting the target.
“She is pregnant, so stop disturbing her and report immediately if anything happens.”
“Okay.”
When he was left alone again, he left the office after a while.
He went into the bedroom, but Cornelia was nowhere to be found.
'Is she still in her room?'
Eric entered Cornelia's room, found Cornelia sleeping on the couch, and brought a blanket.
'It's really selfish'
His hand, as he wrapped the blanket around her body, was as careful as handling something precious.
Then Cornelia opened her lips and called someone's name.
“Dami...Damien”
Eric's face hardened.
It was the first time she called someone other than him's name with sadness and tenderness.
'Who the hell is the creator of hell...'
The moment he clenched his fists so hard that their tendons emerged,
The words she said flashed through his mind.
'Could these words be true?'
Just as Eric was involuntarily clenching his teeth,
He heard the sound of a handle turning.
‘How dare anyone enter her room without knocking…’
Eric quickly turned away from Cornelia and looked at the uninvited guest who had arrived without warning.
“His Excellency the Duke”
A handsome young man with his head down, his manners were impeccably perfect, like that of a high-ranking gentleman, with gray-brown hair.
But on the back of the young man's neck was a slave tattoo.
The young man's dark hair also belonged to the northern barbarians,
who were looked down upon in the empire.