ATRF Ch 7

“Now, are you really serious?”

Count Noirose, who had been glancing between the two of them nervously, finally revealed his true feelings.

“Father!”

She raised her voice in frustration. But instead, he began to calm Dalia and tried to persuade her.

“But Dalia, think carefully. It’s already the fifth month. Rather than sending the child to a distant relative and making it unhappy, wouldn’t it be better to let it grow up with its real parents? It’s not a bad choice for you…”

“No, Father!”

He must be planning to spill everything.

How could he say such things right in front of Leonald if he wasn’t out of his mind?

Her face went pale as she shouted.

“I can’t marry Lancaster. I told you—I can’t marry him!”

Leonald’s expression also froze coldly after hearing her words.

Seeing that, Dalia’s shoulders flinched.

She had known Leonald since they were young, but it was her first time seeing him so angry.

‘Of course he’s angry…!’

Her mind was in panic, going completely blank.

Dizziness swept over her, but she managed to steady herself by grabbing onto the wall.

“Stop.”

Leonald furrowed his brow darkly and locked eyes with her.

“This can all be solved if we just get married.”

Dalia couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye.

She knew Leonald better than anyone.

She knew what he loved most, what he hated most—and what he utterly despised.

Having to marry, have a child, and continue the family line—

The very thing Leonald had always said he loathed, and now he was trying to do it just to take responsibility for her? The thought made her shudder with horror.

“Stop it. I’m not marrying you. I told you, I’ll take care of it myself!”

“What do I have to do for you to agree to marry me?”

He grabbed her hand and forced her to look at him.

“If I kneel down and beg, will you marry me? Should I kneel right now?”

Her vision spun.

Even though Leonald was asking her to marry him—offering to kneel before her—deep down, the power dynamic was painfully clear.

And she was very aware that she was the one below.

“Don’t do this, Lancaster!”

‘Don’t pity me. Please…’

There was nothing Dalia hated more than being pitied. Pride alone had kept her going all this time.

Then suddenly—beep—a ringing in her ears.

She touched her temple and blinked slowly.

Her father’s lips were moving, and Leonald’s lips moved too, but…

Their words no longer reached her.

“Ugh…”

She let out a groan and staggered.

“Dalia…!”

“Dalia!”

The two men reached out toward her.

A faint stain of blood appeared beneath the hem of her dress.

If only this were all a dream.

Wishing that, she collapsed and lost consciousness.

---

How long had she been asleep? Slowly blinking, Dalia sat up.

Nearby, Leonald was reading an incredibly thick book.

“…You’re awake?”

Even as he closed the book, his gaze quickly checked her complexion.

Relief flashed across his face as he confirmed the color had returned to her once-pale skin.

“…The baby?”

Dalia’s voice trembled unintentionally.

Leonald handed her some lukewarm water and spoke.

“Fortunately, the baby is healthy.”

While she felt relieved that the baby was safe, her heart sank at the same time.

“…Fortunately?”

Dalia’s eyes slowly turned to him.

“Do you really think so, Lancaster?”

She curled one corner of her lips into a bitter smirk and spoke poisonously, against her true feelings.

“It would’ve been better if you just left me. Better for the baby to be reborn than to grow up with a mother like me. Don’t you think? Would it really be good for the child to be born into such an abnormal relationship like ours?”

She had tried everything to get rid of the baby. That much was true.

But now, her feelings had changed.

Still, she had to stop this marriage no matter what.

And there was only one way to break through his stubbornness.

“You know, Lancaster. You know it better than anyone.”

To dig into Leonald’s deepest wounds.

“You know it well…!”

In fact, there was another reason why he hated his own father so much.

“Because you’re that kind of child, too—aren’t you, Lancaster?”

Leonald had been born out of wedlock.

He hadn’t known until both his parents died.

After inheriting the dukedom—punished for their crimes and executed—he discovered the truth through the former Duke Lancaster’s notebook.

The former duke had a mistress, and Leonald was her child.

But the mistress had fled as soon as he was born, not wanting to be tied down by a baby.

The duke’s lawful wife—despite knowing all this—had raised Leonald with love.

“Are you confident?”

Dalia asked, on the verge of tears.

“Are you confident you can love this child?”

No answer came from him.

Holding back her tears, she delivered the final blow.

“I’m not. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to give birth. And now, being forced into marriage and acting like a parent when I didn’t even want this…!”

“Dalia.”

After a long silence, Leonald finally spoke.

“What I want…”

He carefully chose his words before speaking.

“…is for you not to suffer.”

His sincerity stopped her in her tracks. Her lips moved, but no words came out.

She had endured nausea and anxiety all alone. She had still done her work, pushing herself to calculate and research until her head hurt, all while surviving with sheer will.

The past five months had been nothing short of exhausting.

“My mind is made up.”

Hearing that he understood all of it… choked her up.

“I’ve already spoken with Count Noirose.”

Even if it was all just pity and a sense of duty, she wanted, for once, to lean on someone and pretend she knew nothing.

“You’ll come with me to the Lancaster estate today.”

“…What?”

“We won’t make a public announcement. It’ll just stir gossip. Let’s start with the wedding preparations. If we begin now, we can finish in at least two months—”

Her mouth dropped open in shock. This was absurd.

“It’s already been five months. Everyone will find out!”

“There’s a way to deal with that. Don’t worry.”

“What way?! Lancaster, why won’t you even ask for my opinion and just decide everything—?”

“You were always the one doing things without asking.”

With a faint, tired smile, he continued.

“So just this once, I’ll do things my way, Dalia.”

Leonald gently pushed her down and helped her lie back.

“Rest. We’ll need to move soon.”

Then, as if he didn’t want to discuss it any further, he picked up the book again.

Only then did the title of the book come into her view:

Complete Encyclopedia of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Childcare.

Dalia let out a disbelieving laugh.

Reading that kind of book… in this shabby room… in her tiny space?

Was this really the right choice?

She pulled the blanket over her head and turned away.

Guilt toward Leonald, gratitude, and shame about the baby swirled inside her.

She couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. Dalia bit her lip and wept silently.

Then he quietly got up and opened the window wide.

The once-silent room filled with birdsong and the rustling of wind.

Leonald said nothing more.

He simply stayed by her side.