Chapter 28
“Ronschka, this is as far as you go.”
When they arrived in front of the office, Adelle spoke softly to her daughter.
“Yes,”
Ronschka answered, though her expression was tinged with disappointment. Still, she obediently followed her mother’s words.
Once Ronschka disappeared down the corridor, Adelle entered the office together with Lucas.
“There’s really so much work these days,”
Adelle said with a faint smile as she took her usual seat and began sorting through documents with practiced ease. Up to that point, everything seemed just as it always was.
“Adelle.”
“Yes?”
After a brief hesitation, Lucas spoke.
“The Marquis of Weatherfield wants to see you.”
At that familiar name, Adelle froze. Her reply came only after a long silence.
“Didn’t you say I could refuse?”
“I did,” he admitted. “But… this time, I think you should meet him.”
Lucas’s expression was grim.
The hand holding the papers trembled faintly. Her pale pink lips opened and closed several times without producing a sound.
She didn’t want to see him. But would refusing solve anything?
No—it wouldn’t.
Heiron wasn’t the kind of man to give up easily. He would relentlessly pursue Ronschka, the daughter who carried his blood.
If that was inevitable, it might be better to face him once more—to refuse him clearly, directly, and finally.
“…I’ll meet him,” she said at last.
“Good. He plans to leave the mansion tomorrow, so you can meet before then.”
“Yes.”
Adelle’s fingers tightened around the papers until they crumpled, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Lucas watched her silently for a while, then asked quietly,
“If it’s all right with you… may I be there too?”
“Yes.”
She answered automatically, but a moment later, she blinked in surprise.
“Wait—what?”
“I just think it’s unsafe for you to meet him alone.”
Her lashes fluttered. The concern might have been excessive, but it wasn’t unwelcome. If Lucas were there, Heiron wouldn’t dare cross the line.
Of course, that also meant Lucas would find out Heiron was Ronschka’s father—but that was bound to come out eventually anyway.
“If you’d rather I didn’t—”
“No,” Adelle interrupted. “Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”
She decided to accept his kindness this time.
“Then tell me the time, and I’ll adjust my schedule.”
“How about before dinner?”
“I’ll have someone send word to him in advance.”
“All right.”
Time passed swiftly.
Adelle took a deep breath and stood before the door.
Knock, knock—
The door opened almost immediately, as if she’d been expected.
“Come in,” said Albert, the burly man who served Heiron. He looked briefly uneasy when he saw Lucas beside her, but he couldn’t stop him. He didn’t have the authority or strength to do so.
“Adelle. And who’s this—Lucas, isn’t it?”
Heiron’s expression soured at the sight of the uninvited guest.
“I only asked to see Adelle,” he said coldly. “Why did you have to tag along?”
“You already know why,” Lucas replied evenly.
“This is unnecessary sentimentality.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
The sharp exchange of words set a tense air between them, but Lucas showed no sign of leaving.
In the end, Heiron was the first to give up. He turned his attention back to Adelle.
“I can’t understand what you’re thinking. Did you really think this would change anything?”
“I don’t understand you,” she replied firmly, lifting her chin.
“You don’t?” Heiron sneered. “Then stay ignorant. I intend to exercise my rights.”
“What rights?”
“The rights of a father!”
At those words, the strength drained from Adelle’s body. So—Lucas knew everything now.
Heiron had long since known, but Adelle hadn’t realized it until this moment. Even though she had braced herself, the shock still hit her hard.
Her head swam.
But she couldn’t collapse here.
Adelle pressed her fingernails hard into the back of her hand.
Stay strong.
Think. Say something.
“Ronschka’s father isn’t here. He’s dead,” she said firmly.
“That again? It doesn’t matter. A simple blood test will tell the truth. You won’t be able to deny it then.”
The Weatherfield family possessed magical tools for precisely such purposes—devices to verify blood relations, commonly used among nobles.
Adelle remembered that too late.
No. No, that can’t happen!
If they tested her daughter’s blood, she would have no way to deny Heiron’s claim.
“Don’t… don’t do this,” she pleaded.
“You abandoned us! You left me and Ronschka to survive alone. Just forget us. Stop clinging to the past.”
“Abandoned?” Heiron scoffed. “You’re mistaken. I merely left you for a while, due to… circumstances.”
“What circumstances!?”
Her voice rose without her realizing it.
All the buried pain and humiliation came flooding back.
In this world, an unwed mother’s status was abysmally low. And her daughter had been different, marked—so they’d suffered far more than most.
Both Adelle and Ronschka had endured cruelty and isolation.
And now, after all these years, he dared to speak as if nothing had happened? It was shameless.
“There are things I can’t explain,” Heiron said, almost bored. “But I intend to make amends now.”
He stepped closer.
“I’ll make you my concubine. Ronschka will be legally acknowledged and receive proper education. She’ll live comfortably, lacking nothing.”
His offer wasn’t wrong in a material sense. But was comfort all that mattered?
Adelle knew it wasn’t.
If that had been enough, then the Ronschka from the novel—the one fated to tragedy—would have been happy.
“I refuse,” Adelle said coldly.
“Then so be it,” Heiron said flatly. “The child doesn’t necessarily need a mother.”
Adelle’s mind raced. How could she stop him? How could she protect her daughter? Nothing came to mind.
Hatred boiled within her. Her heart pounded painfully.
Then, as her frantic gaze darted about, it caught Lucas’s.
He was thinking—calculating something. When their eyes met, he spoke.
“Heiron.”
“What?”
“You can’t take Ronschka.”
“You too?” Heiron’s tone turned mocking. “You know it’s impossible. Don’t tell me you’ve sunk to the reasoning of a commoner.”
“I’ve told you before,” Lucas said steadily, “Adelle is a wise woman—clever, capable. And above all…”
His voice wavered slightly.
“…she’s lovely.”
Adelle blinked.
…What did he just say?
Judging by everyone else’s startled expressions, she hadn’t misheard.
“Have you gone mad?” Heiron demanded.
“No,” Lucas said calmly. “I’m quite sane.”
He moved to stand beside Adelle, placing himself directly between her and Heiron. As a trained knight, his presence alone exuded power.
“No, you must be insane,” Heiron muttered. “Or my ears are failing me.”
“Neither,” Lucas replied evenly.
“Then what?”
“The truth.”
He spoke with perfect composure.
“I didn’t mention it earlier, but Adelle and I are in a relationship.”
When did that happen!?
Adelle nearly said it aloud but swallowed the words. Lucas looked down at her with a gentle, reassuring smile.
“It hasn’t been long since we decided to date seriously,” he continued smoothly, “but we care for each other deeply. I’m even considering an engagement.”
“An engagement? With a commoner?”
Heiron looked incredulous.
“Yes. And when that happens, Ronschka will naturally become my daughter.”
Heiron pressed a hand to his forehead, exasperated. Clearly, he thought Lucas was lying to protect her. And perhaps he was.
Still, Adelle’s awkwardness didn’t help—her eyes darted nervously, betraying her shock.
But after a moment, she lifted a trembling hand and looped it around Lucas’s arm.
“Y-Yes. That’s right.”
Her voice quivered. A mother’s desperate instinct to protect her child made her play along with the lie.
“Stop this nonsense, Adelle,” Heiron snapped. “Do you even know who Lucas is? He’s the heir of House Frederick. A duke’s successor! He may be living quietly here now, but he could return and inherit the title any time he wishes.”
The heir to a ducal house?
Adelle swallowed hard. She’d suspected as much, but hearing it aloud was something else entirely.
“That’s who he is,” Heiron went on. “There’s no way he could marry someone like you. Such a union could never stand. You don’t really think you can just bluff your way through this, do you?”
And yet… that was exactly what they were doing. Because there was no other way.
