A Contract Marriage with My Child’s Father - Chapter 21

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 21

Annoying brat. Tsk. Celia clicked her tongue.

She couldn’t understand it.

What exactly was so good about that woman?

For three years as his personal maid, she had brought him meals, done his laundry, and taken care of all sorts of things for him.

Yet Jayden had completely lost his heart to an apothecary who had only rolled in here a few days ago.

Just moments ago, it had been the same.

Knock knock.

As soon as she knocked on the door, Jayden’s voice came from inside.

“Viola?”

His voice was so delighted and bright that she doubted her ears the moment she heard it. She wondered if this was really the same arrogant brat as usual.

But the moment he opened the door and confirmed it was her, Jayden’s expression instantly turned cold.

“…Oh.”

“Young Master, I’ve brought your meal.”

“Leave it there and go.”

Thinking about it again made her blood boil. How could he be so rude to his future aunt? Celia roughly fanned herself to cool down.

‘That woman called an apothecary is definitely no ordinary schemer.’

Anyway, seeing how she had managed to seduce the prickly Jayden, she must have some sinister ulterior motive.

She was probably trying to win over the child to make him her ally, then use that as a stepping stone to seduce the Duke.

Since Celia had tried to do the same thing, it was obvious.

‘I guess being a mother makes her disgustingly good at appealing to children.’

But it was ridiculous. Did she think the position of Duchess could be obtained through such means?

That woman was a commoner unwed mother, while she was a precious Count’s daughter raised with care.

‘How dare she covet my position?’

Hadn’t she personally gone to warn her as the future Duchess of Ashern?

But like a stupid commoner, she clearly hadn’t understood the message.

Moreover, she was impudent beyond her station.

“The future Duchess of Ashern is watching closely, so be careful with your actions.”

“That doesn’t make sense…”

Suddenly, she recalled what Viola had said.

As expected, she wasn’t ordinary – with those innocent eyes, she had thoroughly gotten under Celia’s skin.

“Insolent commoner…”

Celia gritted her teeth.

At first, she had tried not to pay attention to someone like Viola. She might act important as Jayden’s healer or whatever, but she would leave the manor eventually anyway.

‘Even the renowned physicians have all failed at this.’

There was no way a mere commoner apothecary could succeed.

She would surely be exposed as a quack and kicked out within a few days.

But by now, a corner of her heart kept feeling unpleasantly disturbed.

It was because of Jayden’s attitude toward her, which was completely different from how he treated Celia, like flipping a palm.

“Ugh! Anyway, that disgusting brat is the problem.”

Unable to contain her anger, Celia had spent the past two days diligently digging into Viola’s background.

Finding one or two weaknesses of an unwed mother abandoned by her husband shouldn’t be difficult.

However, the maids and servants all answered in unison as if they had made a pact, saying they didn’t know anything.

The situation yielded no results at all. But rather than feeling bad, Celia became triumphant instead.

They’re desperately hiding something, aren’t they?

She must definitely have some tremendous secret.

“If she were innocent, how could no one know who the child’s father is or where she used to live? She must have been rolling around with some back-alley thug.”

Ha. And yet she dares to target our Duke.

Celia had already accepted her speculation as fact.

The maids and Jayden all revered that woman as if she were some saint. She definitely had to uncover that filthy truth somehow.

After leaving Jayden’s room, Celia was walking irritably down the corridor when something caught her eye. At the far end of the corridor, she saw familiar faces.

Marie and Becky. Those maids who had insolently confronted her in front of the laundry room recently.

Between them, a pink-haired girl was giggling cheerfully.

‘They look exactly alike.’

Anyone could see she was that woman’s daughter.

This worked out well. That child would at least know about her father.

Celia immediately approached them.

“Hey, you.”

“…Lady Celia?”

Becky, who spotted her, was startled and tried to block the child.

But Celia was faster. She irritably pushed Becky’s shoulder.

“Could you move? You’re in the way.”

Thud. Becky fell down.

“Woo?”

Melody frowned deeply and looked up at Celia.

Jayden was like this, and this child too.

Why do children these days have such insolent looks in their eyes?

Celia felt quite offended and looked down at the child crookedly.

“Hey, where did your father go?”

“Woo!”

“I asked where your father went.”

“P-please stop, Lady Celia.”

Marie stepped forward as if to protect Melody, but Celia ignored her.

Ha. Mother and daughter are equally annoying.

“What? Why can’t you speak? Don’t you have a mouth?”

“…Lady Melody, don’t listen!”

Becky, who had fallen, hurriedly covered the child’s ears, but Celia spat out what she wanted to say.

“Tsk tsk. The mother is an unwed mother with a child, and the daughter is a deficient child. I guess blood can’t be fooled. Birds of a feather…”

That’s when it happened.

“Lady Dorn.”

At the cool voice from behind her, Celia startled and turned around.

Conrad was standing there with a cold face, having appeared at some point. His eyes behind his glasses glinted sharply, unlike usual.

“Lady Melody is a precious guest under His Grace’s patronage. She is not someone Lady Dorn should speak down to like that.”

His tone clearly drew a line. But Celia pretended not to know and feigned innocence.

“…Speaking down? What do you mean? I was just worried because the child couldn’t speak.”

At her shameless answer, Conrad seemed to have no intention of being fooled and only raised the corner of his mouth in a cold smile.

“You’d better watch your mouth. And…”

He took a step closer and added quietly.

“I keep receiving reports that you’re digging into Lady Viola’s background.”

“I’m digging because there’s something worth digging into! Conrad, do you know how cunning that woman is-“

But Conrad cut off her words.

“You seem to have trouble understanding what you’re told.”

“What, what did you say?”

“I understand that Count Dorn exerted quite a lot of effort to secure the young lady’s maid position for you.”

Conrad’s face bore a smile, but his eyes were utterly menacing.

“It would be troublesome to make your father Count Dorn’s efforts go to waste, wouldn’t it?”

“…!”

He’s saying he’ll fire me depending on how I treat that woman? What? After all the hardship I’ve endured taking care of that unpleasant dragon blood brat!

Celia’s face turned red and blue at the blatant threat.

All because of one rolling stone that just happened to tumble in?

While Celia trembled with indignation and anger, Conrad turned around dramatically and scooped Melody up in his arms.

“Miss Melody, you were startled, weren’t you? Shall we go together?”

“Woo!”

Melody swung her fists toward Celia, huffing angrily.

Conrad coaxed the child as if she were adorable, patting her gently before leaving.

“Now, let’s go have some delicious snacks.”

Marie and Becky pretended otherwise, but with expressions that seemed inwardly refreshed, they snorted and followed behind him in a line.

Left all alone, Celia let out a hollow laugh as if she couldn’t believe it.

* * *

High in the sky hung a crescent moon.

Under the softly descending moonlight, Cain walked alone through the garden.

The cool night air. However, Cain’s mind was nothing but complicated.

It was because of the report he had received from Conrad an hour ago.

『Analysis of Mechanisms and Principles of Pharmacological Reactions Acting Specifically within Dragon Blood Physiology』

The ancient book that Viola had supposedly found in the Duke of Devoroe’s study.

According to Conrad, it was surprisingly a book that had originally been stored in the ducal mansion but was lost. Three hundred years ago, no less.

‘This is strange.’

Even though it was long ago, this wasn’t something to take lightly.

Information about dragon blood was handled extremely sensitively. It could become Ashern’s weakness in itself.

So much so that all records related to dragon blood were stored in the mansion’s secret library. A place that couldn’t even be opened without dragon blood flowing through one’s veins.

But there was no way to know why a book that had been properly stored suddenly ended up flowing into the Marquis’ Household’s study.

Moreover, it couldn’t have been stolen.

‘Unless one was of Ashern bloodline, they wouldn’t even be able to take that book out.’

It was at that moment when he was walking lost in thought.

In the distance, he saw a figure wandering around the garden with bouncing steps.

He saw a woman with curly pink hair.

Cain unconsciously lifted the corners of his mouth.

‘Since when were squirrels nocturnal creatures.’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————