Chapter 07…
When Kevin told Catherine that he wanted to begin their married life together, she showed open disgust.
Even though his brother’s daughter, Marianna, would inherit the count’s family, Kevin still wanted Catherine to bear another child for the sake of the Carmine family.
As Kevin’s wife, it should be Catherine’s duty to give birth to that child—but when he had invited her earlier, she had said that the very thought was “disgusting.”
He remembered that his mother had once said something similar about having children, though back then she’d burst into tears.
It had seemed as though she meant she would only bear the child of the man she loved—her brother—but that must have been an act.
Having lived together for some time now, Kevin couldn’t feel that Catherine had ever truly loved his brother.
Just because two people share a bed doesn’t mean they must love each other.
Even so, as Kevin’s wife, she ought to at least make an effort to bear another child for the Carmine family.
That is, after all, the duty of a noble’s wife.
And yet, Catherine had no intention of doing so.
“There’s no way I’d have your child! If I did, you’d definitely make your own child the heir instead of Marianna.
And if it were a boy, the family would push him as the successor over Marianna. I absolutely refuse!”
In this country, where male heirs are given preference, that was indeed a possibility.
Kevin personally thought Marianna should inherit, but others might not agree.
Still, both would be her children—why was she so against the idea?
If it were because she loved his brother, he could still understand—but now he felt not even a trace of that love.
Could it be that she simply hated men?
Or perhaps she still couldn’t forget her former fiancé?
He’d heard that her engagement had been broken off when the man got his mistress pregnant—did she still have lingering feelings for him?
Hatred of men, or attachment to a lost fiancé… No, neither explanation quite fit.
He couldn’t make sense of her.
“You do understand the reason nobles are expected to have at least two children, don’t you?”
Compared to a generation ago, the mortality rate had declined, but children under five were still more likely to become seriously ill than adults.
And sometimes, a child deemed unfit to inherit would have to be passed over for a younger sibling.
If Catherine refused to bear Kevin’s child, the Carmine family would eventually be inherited by one of his aunt’s children or grandchildren.
“It’s fine. Marianna will be raised with great care.”
Of course she would be.
“Then why did you marry me? You could’ve just remained as Marianna’s mother.”
“If I did that, I wouldn’t get many invitations to social gatherings. Widows need partners to attend, and if I kept changing escorts, it would make life here difficult. It wouldn’t be good for Marianna, either.”
He understood that staying here, protected by her position as Marianna’s mother, gave her a more comfortable life than returning to her family home.
So she had married him simply because it was convenient—because it allowed her to remain in society.
There was no point in saying anything more.
“Fine. Then don’t complain if I find someone else outside to take care of my needs.”
“Do as you please.”
Kevin couldn’t help but think—
he had married the worst possible woman.
