TSHLWTL Chapter 40

Episode 40.

Almost two years had passed since Selena’s death when a strange visitor came to the Valentine Duke’s mansion.

She had deep blue eyes and long golden hair—it was Rachel, once known for her beauty and arrogance, now appearing in worn-out, commoner’s clothes that didn’t suit her at all.

“Marriage? You and me? I thought that topic was over long ago,”

Rachel said bluntly as she requested a private meeting with the Duke Hereis, and suddenly proposed marriage.

Hereis stared at her, in disbelief and annoyance.

“That’s ridiculous. You’re no longer my fiancée.”

“I know. I also know you married Selena… and that she passed away,”

Rachel replied coldly as if she was talking about a stranger’s death.

“…And I know you haven’t remarried. It’s been years.”

Hereis’s fist slammed onto the table in anger.

Bang!

“How can you speak about her like that? She was your sister! Your own family!”

If Rachel had truly considered Selena her sister, she would have at least pretended to grieve, not come here proposing marriage.

“Not all siblings are close. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”

Rachel smirked as if Hereis’s rage amused her.

“And don’t misunderstand. I’m not here out of love. I’m here for a mutual deal. You need a Duchess. I need a powerful household.”

It was true—Hereis couldn’t keep the duchess’s seat empty forever. His children were still young.

“I need the support of a noble house. You need someone to manage things when you’re away,”

Rachel said, clearly aware of what he was thinking.

“…I have children,” Hereis finally said.

“I do too,” Rachel replied without hesitation, making Hereis raise an eyebrow.

“What, you ran off in the name of love? That must’ve been a scandal in your family.”

Hereis almost laughed at the thought—selfish Rachel, speaking of love?

“Well, my second child’s father isn’t the same as the first. It was… an unfortunate accident,”

she said vaguely.

“During that time, I met a man. A commoner. He had platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes. He told me his story—he was raised as a noble family’s illegitimate son, but later found out he wasn’t blood-related at all.”

Rachel’s voice was calm, but Hereis began feeling uneasy.

“A father who loved him more than his real children… And he eventually left, unable to handle the guilt towards his half-siblings.”

Hereis clenched his fist. He recognized the story.

It was about Francis Valentine, his once half-brother.

“What’s your point?” he asked sharply.

“The noble father gave him a family heirloom and told him to come back anytime. But instead, he left it for my daughter. He died from illness a few years ago.”

Rachel chuckled softly after finishing her story.

Hereis didn’t feel anything upon hearing of Francis’s death. He’d never understood him anyway.

“I’ll never return. So don’t get attached to me, Hereis.”

Francis had said that long ago.

He’d been brought into the family as a result of their father’s affair—Hereis’s mother was devastated.

She’d clung to Hereis, growing more obsessed by the day.

“You’ll never leave me, will you, my son? You’re all I have…”

Hereis’s father ignored her completely, treating Hereis as nothing more than a future heir while showing affection only to Francis and his maid mother.

Growing up, Hereis had lived in fear that his position would be taken away.

Francis, to Hereis, was always the threat, the one who might take everything.

Then Rachel pulled out a necklace—an amethyst diamond, the same one said to be passed down from the founder of the Valentine family to his wife.

Of all things, Francis had given Rachel this sacred family treasure.

Hereis sighed.

“Still not convinced?” Rachel asked with a sly smile.

“…Francis was the one told to return, not you. And certainly not your children.”

“Then… Why don’t you meet my daughter? I think you’ll like her very much.”

Hereis was about to tell her to leave.

But Rachel simply turned to the door.

“Catherine, come in.”

Creeeak.

The door opened slowly, and a young girl peeked inside.

Hereis’s eyes widened.

“…!”

Her hair was platinum-blonde, flowing in soft curls down to her waist.

She wore a black ribbon in her hair. Her eyes—those bright blue eyes—struck Hereis like lightning.

‘Selena…? No… It can’t be…!’

The girl, Catherine, had Selena’s exact eyes—those eyes he had thought he’d never see again.

His heart skipped a beat.

“Cathy, what do you say?” Rachel prompted.

“H-Hello! My name is Catherine!”

The girl gave a polite bow. It wasn’t a noble’s etiquette, but it was respectful enough.

“…So your name is Catherine.”

“Yes! Are you… the man who’s going to be my new father?”

She asked confidently, sweetly, with big trusting eyes.

“…How old are you?”

“I’ll be 11 this year!”

She looked at him with the innocent certainty of a child who expected to be liked.

“…I see.”

Rachel leaned in.

“She looks familiar, doesn’t she?”

She looked like Selena.

Though her overall beauty seemed to come from Rachel, the shape of her eyes, the color, even her expressions—they were all Selena’s.

“Is she yours? She doesn’t look much like you.”

“Oh, she’s mine. I gave birth to her myself,”

Rachel said with a flat tone, not at all like a loving mother praising her daughter.

“Catherine, go wait with Alex now.”

“…Okay.”

Catherine glanced at both of them once more, then quietly left the room.

Hereis kept staring at the door she had just walked out of.

“…Selena looked just like her mother. So this child resembles my mother more than her,”

Rachel commented with a twisted smile.

“So… are you still going to reject my offer?”

Rachel knew Hereis wouldn’t say no—not after seeing Catherine.

And she was right.

Those blue eyes, so much like Selena’s, had stirred something in Hereis’s heart. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“The choice is yours, Duke.”

“…I…”

And just a few days later, the Valentine estate had a new Duchess.