When the eldest lady suddenly entered his office, Eric immediately asked her why she was visiting.
“What's wrong?”
The eldest lady gritted her teeth and opened her eyes wide.
"Is this correct?"
“What...”
“Cornelia.
Is it true that she is pregnant with your child?”
At that, Eric's eyes widened, and he let out a bitter laugh.
'Well, that's kind of lucky.
At least, she thinks it's my baby.'
If the Grand Lady had known about Cornelia's betrayal, she would have tried to get rid of her by any means possible.
It was clear that she would consider this a betrayal of her son, Eric.
‘But since she thinks it’s my child, the arrows… will be directed at me now.’
Finally, speak up.
“Yes, that's right.
He's my baby.”
The eldest lady frowned.
She hoped it wasn't true, that Cornelia was lying, but the fake son's response was a simple confirmation.
'How dare you, you little bastard…'
She gritted her teeth and raised her voice.
“Did you forget what I told you?
I clearly told you not to sleep with her.”
“…”
When she saw the fake son being silent, the eldest lady felt disgusted and betrayed.
This was not surprising, she knew why the fake son was so cruel to Cornelia.
"She loved your brother.
And you know what her father, the Emperor, did to my son!"
He listened to the eldest lady's words, and clenched his fist tightly, overwhelmed with guilt.
'Yes, that's true.'
Eric, his real brother, disappeared in the battle ordered by the Emperor.
That field was certainly a deadly place for those who saw it.
'That's why I tried to stay away from her.'
The daughter of the enemy who sent her brother to his death.
That's why he tried to push her away.
But… he couldn't push her away in the end.
At first, he thought it was a dream.
With her pride, she always went to sleep first after being rejected at night, and did not try to tempt him because of her strong self-esteem.
Another reason for his misunderstanding was that he sometimes dreamed of her after drinking alcohol.
So he kissed her red lips, considering that moment a dream—the only moment he was allowed to have.
But what he felt was not a numbing illusion but a soft and sweet sensation.
At that moment, he woke up.
No, this has to stop.
He is not the one you love; It's his brother, Eric.
She'd be devastated to find out it wasn't Eric.
However, he couldn't stop himself easily.
The red lips he had tasted once were sweet and intoxicating, like a forbidden fruit that few humans had ever tasted.
That's why he had to take responsibility.
Even though he knew the child was not his, it was clear that he dared to dream of a future with her and nurtured a desire for her.
'I have to protect her from that woman.'
Given the eldest lady's temperament, she would have refused even if the child was his.
But what if the child does not inherit the title of duke?
No matter how uncomfortable it was, he couldn't refuse the baby and her.
As long as he lived, that was his vow.
But if the child belonged to another man, it would be different.
'Surely, they will try to spread this truth in society and expel her.'
He looked the eldest lady straight into her eyes and said firmly, “It was a mistake one night.
But I intend to take responsibility for it.”
“Responsibility?”
At her question, a sinister doubt arose in the eldest lady's mind.
‘Could it be that this bastard intends to make his lineage the heir to the dukedom?’
As she expected, her worry turned into reality.
“We should recognize the child as a Brant child.”
Upon hearing her fake son's words, the princess exploded in anger.
“You vile creature!
That child cannot be recognized as a member of the Duchy’s lineage!”
Eric's eyes cooled as he listened.
'Yes, I expected you to act like this.'
However, as usual, he simply could not obey the Grand Lady's words.
'I swore to her.
I promised her that I would take responsibility for her child in exchange for not divorcing her.'
He'll probably never be able to have children with her again.
So he decided to consider the child his own.
'In the end, it's my fault that she feels lonely.'
He turned to his mother and smiled.
“Mom, you have no choice but to recognize that baby as Eric Lennon Brant’s baby.”
"What?"
"Have you forgotten?
If it's revealed that I'm just a substitute, you'll be in big trouble, right?"
The eldest lady gritted her teeth.
It was certain that if he was known to be the replacement, she would be in serious trouble.
'This bastard, he knows everything and acts like this!
How dare he trick and threaten me!'
The eldest lady looked at the fake son angrily.
His face looked exactly like her real son's, but instead of feeling similar, she felt indescribable disgust.
'This thing is trying to steal my son's life!'
Legend has it that a creature known as a doppelganger appears with a face exactly identical to someone else's.
In the end, he kills that person and takes his place, claiming to be the real one.
And to the eldest lady, that fake son seemed like her son's doppelgänger.
‘But my son isn’t back yet… I can’t get rid of him.’
As disgusting as he was, he was the substitute for her son, the support she could rely on to enjoy her old age.
That's why the eldest lady couldn't eliminate the fake one yet.
To release her anger, she hit him to hurt him, but even that was useless because he was a sword master.
In the end, her hands were the only ones that hurt.
'Damn.'
She was looking at Eric with angry eyes when he said, “However, I will not make that child the heir.”
"What?"
After hearing the unexpected statement, the fake son responded.
“It would be more appropriate if the heir were my brother’s child.
So, there is no need to worry about that child.”
'This means... is he telling me not to interfere with his child?'
The fake son, who never revealed his inner thoughts, always looked scary, like a monster.
But now, the eldest lady caught a glimpse of his weakness.
Finally, she opened her mouth.
“I will turn a blind eye this time, but I will never recognize that child as my grandson.”
With that, I left the room.
'I always felt like he wasn't human because he didn't react no matter how hard I hit him...'
But now she realized that she could still hit the fake son without feeling pain.
As she walked down the hallway alone, one corner of her mouth rose.
'Based on his reaction, it seems like the baby is important to him.'
In the past, she might have left the child alone.
Since the fake son always keeps his word, she might have overlooked this.
But after seeing the fake son not obeying her words, the eldest lady had no intention of leaving the child alone.
'He said he's not interested in making the child the heir, but who knows when he might change his mind.'
Upon her return, she summoned her trusted maid, the head maid.
“Did you summon me?”
“Cornelia, she seems to be pregnant.
I was thinking of giving her a gift.”
Upon hearing the word “gift,” the head maid complained in her ears.
“Madam, scolding her for hiding such an important truth until now seems insufficient, but you are giving her a gift?”
At this point, the eldest lady laughed and responded.
“Why?
Do I look like an idiot to you?”
The eldest lady's voice was gentle, but her gaze was sharp.
The head maid dropped quickly.
"N-No, not at all.
I just couldn't understand it with my limited perspective."
“Aren't you curious about the gift I intend to give that woman?”
“N-Yes, I'm curious.”
With this response, the Grand Lady smiled brightly and said, "It's a secret.
But one thing is certain: it will be a pleasant surprise.
Maybe amazing enough to make one lose one's child."
Suddenly, the eldest lady's blue eyes were filled with poison.
But, immersed in her anger, she failed to notice that someone was eavesdropping on her conversation from outside the door.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Meanwhile, in the jewelry store, Ron sighed heavily.
'So, in the end, it came to this.'
Despite the Duchess's constant praise for her excellent jewellery, she felt as if she was receiving more and more disdain from her mother-in-law, the Grande Dame.
‘No, before judging the acceptability of the gift… How could a mother-in-law react like this to the news of her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy?’
In noble families who had not yet had children, the announcement of pregnancy was usually greeted with joy, even if the daughter-in-law had previously been unpopular.
But instead of a smile, the eldest lady's expression was filled with horror, which was definitely not normal.
‘Furthermore, from our conversations, she usually seemed foul-mouthed, often arming a verbal dagger towards the Duchess.’
When she first heard that there was a bad relationship between the Duchess of Brant and the Grand Lady, she only thought it was a cold relationship.
'But I can't believe she treated the Duchess, who was once a princess, like that!'
Ron's feelings were mixed as she witnessed a scene that might cause a social uproar.
'Anyway, now that I'm back, I have to work again.'
With that thought, I walked into the guest room.
In that usually crowded place, there was only one person sitting elegantly.
"Oh, Ron.
It's been a while, hasn't it?"
“Duchess of Lenheim?”
She was second in command of the Emperor's Faction and one of the Three Ladies of the Empire.
She was also the Emperor's distant cousin.