So the Duchess Disappeared

60. Whose Child Is It? Part 1

A strange expression briefly crossed the Queen’s face before disappearing.

She gazed at Shilard for a long moment.

The peculiar silence was palpable to everyone present.

Perhaps it was due to the question surrounding the Duke and Duchess bringing a child. It was indeed odd to see them with a child, considering it was a well-known fact that they didn’t have one. 

Psyche was the only one who perceived the Queen’s gaze towards Shilard as anything but ordinary.

She quickly judged that the Queen’s glance at Shilard was not innocent.

However, since they were in public and moving without solid evidence or suspicion would be considered meddling, she was observing the atmosphere surrounding the Queen.

The Queen was already aware that the Duke and Duchess didn’t have a child.

As a strange undercurrent emerged with Shilard’s sudden appearance, Clint stepped forward.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

“Oh, please. My attention has been stolen by the child.”

At that remark, Psyche chuckled softly.

While the Queen seemed to recall her lost child with Shilard’s appearance, she didn’t ask any questions that could be seen as intrusive to the Duke and Duchess. Instead, she quickly redirected the conversation to Psyche.

“Is this the Duchess?”

She warmly accepted Clint’s greeting and immediately asked about Psyche.

Psyche stepped forward with a smile on her face.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace. I am Psyche Valentine.”

“Oh, it’s an honor to meet the lady.”

The Queen’s reception of Psyche was as warm as Clint’s.

“Your wife is so beautiful; no wonder the Duke is so captivated.”

The Queen’s words caused a momentary tension in the surroundings.

No one dared to mention the incident from back then when Psyche fled from the Duchess. Since no one had seen the Duke properly back then, no one dared to speak of it recklessly.

However, the Queen was different.

While assisting the Queen, she keenly remembered Clint, who had been completely focused on finding Psyche. She remembered it vividly.

“There’s no need to bring up the past, Your Highness.”

Clint intervened as if it were nothing.

“Is it already in the past? I still remember that day vividly. The Duke’s face was so noble.”

“…Yes. There’s no need to discuss it further.”

The Queen chuckled lightly in response.

“Oh, my, Duke. Aren’t you ashamed? Did I accidentally offend you?”

“…”

Clint’s lips sealed shut again.

Psyche, who didn’t know what Clint was like back then, couldn’t help but feel that he seemed different for no reason.

Naturally, he must have come to seek Psyche for his successor, but she had never heard of him being so desperate.

But then, except for the brief moment, she noticed that the Queen didn’t pay any attention to Shilard.

‘Perhaps…’

It seemed implausible from the beginning.

Moreover, like something out of a third-rate novel, recognizing a lost child at a glance seemed unrealistic.

Psyche felt that there must be something more certain. However, in the presence of everyone, she couldn’t bring up the topic of the lost child from the past and ruin the atmosphere.

The reason she thought Shilard was the Queen’s child could be summed up into three points:

Shilard resembled the Queen. And the timing of the Queen’s lost child. To add one more, the woman who was with Shilard at the time wasn’t an imperial citizen. Psyche vaguely recalled a woman who strangely had the accent of Tarank. 

Talking about her might bring out something more certain. Psyche thought she should secretly meet with the Queen and have a deep conversation.

Psyche decided to make use of the fact that she had a good relationship with the Duke.

“I’m curious about what your former husband was like.”

“Oh, my, don’t you know yet?”

The Queen chuckled, covering her mouth with a fan.

“About the past—”

“Your Majesty, that’s…”

Clint quickly stepped forward and interrupted her. Psyche quickly interjected.

“Please tell me about it, Your Majesty. I’m so curious.”

“Oh, then shall we meet separately? Who else would I tell about the Duke’s story if not the Duchess?”

Psyche agreed, thinking it was right.

“Yes, then after the banquet, let’s have a short tea time. Will the Duke come too?”

“I’ll make sure he does. Your Majesty.”

“Then in the evening, I’ll send someone over without delay. See you then, Duchess. And the Duke too?”

The Queen smiled faintly.

“Ahem.”

Clint cleared his throat unnecessarily, then quickly made a courteous gesture to the Queen and turned away. He seemed to want to leave here as soon as possible.

Having achieved her goal, Psyche lifted the hem of her dress slightly to show respect. Shilard, who was standing next to her, worked hard to elegantly follow the etiquette of the nobility.

“Your Majesty, have a pleasant evening.”

The Queen burst into laughter again at Shilard’s timid pronunciation.

“What a cute child.”

The Queen, as if scrutinizing Shilard once again, waved her hand and greeted him.

As the Duke and Duchess retreated from the dais, the nobles gathered in groups and began to buzz among themselves.

The Queen, born with a noble disposition, didn’t want to embarrass them by asking about Shilard, but the nobles were different.

Moreover, they were nobles who knew that the Emperor couldn’t belittle the Duke.

After greeting the Queen, Clint, who had other matters to attend to, briefly left his seat.

Then, the curious nobles couldn’t help but gradually gather around Psyche.

“Oh, my, madam, it’s been a while.”

The noblewomen approached Psyche as if they were curious about her recent whereabouts.

“We haven’t seen you in so long. We were worried sick about you.”

“Really, madam, you seem just the same as a few years ago.”

Psyche responded with a smile without bothering to answer their barrage of questions.

They looked at Psyche and Shilard simultaneously, unable to contain their curiosity. Helen, who was not pleased with this obvious ploy, intervened.

“Yes, yes, please excuse us. Our Duchess is very healthy and doing well, so please step aside.”

“Oh, who’s this?”

Helen rudely pushed her way through the noblewomen.

Helen, who didn’t know court etiquette or the psychology among the nobility, was bold.

“What are you going to do over there? How our Duchess lives is none of your business, right?”

“…Um.”

“No, why do you have to…?”

“Why bother asking when it’s written all over their faces?”

Helen lashed out at the people surrounding Psyche, leaving the nobles with extremely embarrassed expressions.

As there was no one among the nobles who behaved like this, they couldn’t respond appropriately.

While they hesitated, Helen struck another blow.

“And don’t you dare show interest in this child either.”

Helen promptly shut down the nobles’ curiosity about Shilard.

“Oh, we were just…”

Before they could ask their questions, the blocked noblewomen showed discomfort.

“You seem so eager to ask questions since earlier, but go figure it out yourselves. I won’t entertain any questions. Our Duchess is tired, so please step aside.”

Helen was utterly brazen.

But thanks to her, the noblewomen, with pursed lips, had to leave Psyche’s side as if they were being chased away.

“Hahaha!”

And watching the scene unfold, Alejandro burst into laughter.

“Madam, where did you bring such a monster from?”

Alejandro looked satisfied, watching Helen chase away the noblewomen with a satisfied expression.

“It’s brave of you not to know, isn’t it?”

“…Sigh.”

Psyche’s tension momentarily eased.

It was very fortunate that she didn’t have to deal with the nobles thanks to Helen’s recklessness, but she felt a bit down because Shilard didn’t seem to be the Queen’s son.

“I think I need some rest.”

“Oh, where are you uncomfortable? Alexa!”

Alejandro, who was enjoying watching the nobles being awkwardly chased away by Helen, changed his expression.

Alexa, who was looking around, quickly approached them.

“Let me guide the lady to her room.”

“Okay.”

Alexa looked worriedly at her.

Psyche headed to the lounge assigned to the Duke and Duchess of the palace with Shilard.

Perhaps because she met the Queen and her tension was suddenly released, she suddenly felt unwell all over.

“I’ve informed the Duke too. He’ll be here shortly.”

“Oh… There’s no need for that.”

Psyche sat on the bed.

“Just let me rest for a bit. I’ll be fine after a short nap.”

Although she pretended not to, she was actually very concerned about Shilard’s situation.

She didn’t get the desired conclusion, or perhaps, she might be suffering even more because of that.

“Go out. Let me be alone.”

“Okay. Shall I go out with you, Sir Shilard, to let the lady rest?”

Shilard puffed his cheeks as if they were full of wind.

Then, with a disappointed look on his face, he spoke.

“Mama Mama, don’t be hurt.”

“Yeah, Shilley. I’ll rest for a bit…”

“If Mama is hurt, Shilley, Slofo…”

“Okay. You’ll feel better soon if you rest.”

With that, Shilard vigorously nodded and held Alexa’s hand as they left the room.

As soon as they left, Psyche leaned against the bedhead.

“Sigh…”

She knew it from the beginning, actually.

How low her chances were in this gamble, and how foolish she was.

She knew she stubbornly persisted, forgetting her reason and her thoughts, all to atone for losing her child.

Then suddenly, she remembered seeing Clint and Shilard in the carriage.

Their friendly relationship seemed almost like a father and son.

“Now… I don’t have to insist that he’s my child…”

Clint was actually treating Shilard well beyond her expectations. It was evident that stretching the lie any further would only deepen the conflict.

“A contract is a contract… I have to talk properly about Shilard.”

That’s what Psyche thought.

“I… must’ve been so… tense.”

The disappointment of things not going as she planned and the burden of standing in front of the nobles after so long had instantly crushed her body.

She wanted to close her eyes and rest right away.

“But when Clint comes…”

She forced herself to open her eyes.

She felt she shouldn’t prolong the misunderstanding any further.

Struggling to wake herself up from overwhelming drowsiness, she reluctantly got up from the bed.

Her vision momentarily spun.

“Oh… Is it the effect of the contraceptive pill? It lasts quite long.”

Psyche held her head and managed to steady herself.

That’s when it happened.

The door banged open, and Clint entered the room with a surprised expression.

“Clint…!”

Psyche greeted him with a faint smile.

Their eyes met in an instant.

Then Clint’s face crumpled in an instant.

He was surprised by Psyche’s completely different appearance from a while ago at the party.

“What’s… this?!”

Clint, who supported the swaying Psyche, was once again surprised. Her body felt like a burning lump.

“I, I have something to tell you, Clint.”

Clint quickly reached out his hand to Psyche’s head and furrowed his brows deeply.

“Clint…! The truth…”

A hot feverish sensation escaped her lips into the air.

“Madam, why is your body so hot!”

Surprised, Clint interrupted Psyche’s words. He hugged Psyche and quickly pulled the covers over her.

She thought she should keep talking, but somehow, she felt warm and cozy, and her eyes closed on their own.