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Chapter 39
The two of them stayed silent side by side.
Iellie gently glanced at Zachary. Even though his steps were still a little fuzzy, she thought he was pretty much awake now.
“Hey, Len?”
Zachary, who arrived at Iellie’s room, called her carefully. He seemed to know why she was offended. At the same time, she glared at Zachary with all her might.
She then opened her mouth.
“Stupid idiot.”
Having said that, she slammed the door shut.
‘Why is she doing that?’ Zachary was bewildered.
Zachary was slowly walking down the hallway of the night. The light was dimmed to its fullest, and the lights flickered scarlet. His gaze wandered into the darkness. But, in reality, he was thinking differently.
‘Len’s lips were too close.’
Whenever he thought of Iellie’s red lips, his face heated up.
‘Kiss. Kiss me…’
Zachary thought the word and closed his eyes tightly. He secretly raised his hand and grazed his lips lightly.
‘What the hell were you trying to do to me, Len?’
In fact, they were a couple, though they had nothing to do with even that much physical contact. In addition, in reality they hadn’t even shared rooms yet.
It was because, without Iellie’s consent, Zachary didn’t want to do anything.
‘By the way, was she angry? Should I apologize…?’
With that thought, he reflected on the events of the day and put on a worried expression.
However, right then.
“Cough, cough!”
A heavy cough leaked through the thick, half-open door. He instantly turned with a puzzled face.
‘Father?’
The sound was coming from the Duke’s office. Wasn’t he all cured? Come to think of it, he hasn’t slept until this hour? Zachary reflexively turned towards the Duke’s office.
“Cough, cough! Cough—Ha.”
Inside the room, the Duke was coughing violently, covering his mouth with a white handkerchief, bent down to his waist. The coughing finally stopped.
When he took off his handkerchief, red bloodstains were all over it.
Zachary’s eyes widened. The lingering drunkenness disappeared in an instant. He called the Duke.
“…Father?!”
“….”
The Duke looked back at Zachary with a bewildered look.
After that, with a neat expression on his face, he said to Zachary.
“You look like you drank too much.”
His face was too clean for a person who vomited blood. Did he see something wrong? Zachary was momentarily confused. Nevertheless, the white handkerchief in the Duke’s hand was still smeared with bright red blood.
“Father, what is this?!”
“You don’t have to worry.”
“You vomited blood, how can I not care!”
He raised his voice. Seeing Zachary like that, the Duke burst into laughter. Then, he tilted his head obliquely and asked.
“Are you worried about me now?”
“That…!”
Zachary felt speechless.
Worried about the Duke? For a moment, he was confused. When asked if he had any affection for his father, he was likely to say no. Though now, the situation was…
“My daughter-in-law did a good job. I live to see my son worrying about me.”
The Duke continued with an expressionless face. Zachary shot the Duke. He was frustrated to the depths of his chest.
‘Even in this kind of situation, my father was still crooked.’
He then sarcastically raised his head. He answered, looking directly into his father’s eyes.
“Yes. The only thing my father was good at was bringing Len as my wife.”
Zachary’s voice was only cold.
The Duke looked at Zachary, and opened his lips.
“Actually, Iellie is precious to you and me.”
In response, the Duke slowly blinked his eyes.
Now. That was his honest intention. Trying to be a father now. Still, trying to do it now seemed rather ridiculous. Besides, Zachary’s attachment to the Duke was useless.
‘There is not much time left, anyway.’
The end of his life had already been decided by himself. A man in the position of a monarch sometimes had to use his own death. And, the Duke has already chosen.
He answered coldly.
“You know I’ve been wanting to kick you out for a long time.”
He was startled. His heart that was about to move to his father froze. Zachary bit his lip.
“But, you still haven’t made up your mind about kicking me out.”
Zachary replied coldly. The eyes that raised his chin softly and met his gaze, closely resemble those of the Duke’s.
“If I disappear, Hessenweitz will disappear.”
The Duke, hearing his son’s cold words for the first time, felt his heart tighten.
‘I’ve never been like this before.’
Thinking that, he laughed at himself. Has he ever wanted to be treated like a father? It was selfish and stupid.
“I know you well.”
“Well, I didn’t know this before… I always had to be afraid of being abandoned by father.”
Zachary tilted his head. Dark blue eyes are just as cold as the deepest winter glacier.
“Well, I also understand that the mind did not move according to its will.”
A cold voice spoke without hesitation. A cold face that had lost even the slightest bit of affection for his father…
“Though it seems a bit silly to say this while already acknowledging my needs.”
“….”
The Duke felt speechless.
Moments later, Zachary took a step back. It was an obvious rejection.
“Of course, I don’t really care what father thinks.”
Saying that, he smiled brightly. However, there was no warmth left in that smile.
‘Yes, whoever should be the next Duke of Hessenweitz should be like that.’
Still, even as he thought that, his mouth was bitter. The Duke opened his mouth in a semi-impulsive mood.
“Zachary.”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever thought that Iellie might not be happy because of you?”
Zachary paused.
The Duke’s eyes were indifferent. It was a very old question. Adelaide was never happy by the Duke’s side. What about Zachary, who has the power of a monster?
“If you make that child unhappy… What are you going to do?”
Hearing that question, Zachary was silent for a moment. Then, Iellie’s brightly smiling face came to mind.
He bit his lip and answered.
“It may be selfish, but… Len is the only miracle and light in my life.”
The Duke gazed at his son with a smile. Zachary added slowly in a low, suppressed tone.
“I want Len to be happy. However…”
He took a deep breath, feeling guilty when he put these words into his mouth.
“…The place where Len should be happy is right next to me.”
Is it right for him to tie him up by his side in order to survive? Is it okay for him to love her…?
A question he has asked himself countless times. A mixture of old guilt and love was mixed and confusing…
“Because I… I can’t survive without Len now.”
Even so, Zachary brought out the most intimate answer in front of the Duke. It was a sincere voice.
“So, I will make her happy as much as I can. Even if I give my life.”
“…Is that so?”
Zachary nodded his head slightly. He took a deep breath.
The dark blue eyes were trembling.
“My father’s question was…from the very start, it presupposes conditions that I cannot accept.”
“It is an unacceptable condition.”
“I never imagined that Len would leave me. No, you’re right, it’s an unacceptable condition.”
After saying that, Zachary smiled bitterly. The eyes that resembled each other.
“…In this respect, I may be similar to my father.”
Hearing the voice like a confession, the Duke understood without knowing it. In the end, that was it. The two father-and-son understood each other perfectly at this moment.
No love.
They are weak beings who cannot survive unless they beg for love and warmth from those who have given their hearts to them—that was the two of them…
“More than that, Father.”
Zachary, who wiped the smile from his face, looked straight into the Duke’s eyes. The Duke then met his gaze.
“Please be honest. How is father’s health?”
“I must have told you several times that you don’t have to care.”
Hearing that answer, his eyes deepened. Zachary opened his mouth in a sarcastic tone.
“My father is in charge of the Duchy. So…”
Blurring his words, he stared straight at the Duke. The voice that finished speaking was sharp and strong.
“As a successor, of course, I should be concerned, but I remember that I answered like that in the past.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Yes…?”
Zachary gave a puzzled look. The Duke spoke, clutching his bloody handkerchief in his hand.
“Nothing will happen that will upset you and Iellie.”
“That’s what…”
“I mean you won’t have any problems taking on the title of Duke.”
The voice of the Duke who explained that was full of determination, as if he had promised himself.
“…But, don’t tell Iellie about this.”
After hesitating for a while, the Duke asked Zachary in a slightly softened tone. Hearing those words, he was gripped with indescribable emotions. What was he supposed to think?
His breath becomes clogged.
‘Saying that there’s nothing to worry about…’
At least, it meant he didn’t need to worry about his illness right now.
Zachary bit his lip. He wanted to call a doctor right away and ask about his father’s health, though the time wasn’t right since there was now an imperial family in the Duke’s castle.
‘If father ever finds out that I am in contact with the doctor.’
If so, the Prince might notice the Duke’s health…
That fact had to be prevented as well.
“All right. Have a good night, Father.”
As Zachary greeted with a suppressed voice, the Duke looked without saying a word. He then stepped forward.
The door closed silently.
The Duke, who was left behind, stared at the closed door for a long time.
The next day.
In the morning, a hunting party was held.
The place where the hunting party was held was the hunting forest near the Duke’s Castle.
Flags of various families were fluttering in the vacant lot in front of the dense hunting forest. Among them, the most prominent flags are the Duchy and imperial flags.
Iellie observed the appearance of the hunting club.
‘The two most powerful families of the Empire, with the Asha flower as the same symbol…’
Iellie, looking at the flags of the two families fluttering competitively, thought about it with a new feeling.
Looking back, today the Duke vacated his seat. Naturally, interest in the Duke’s health flowed.
‘He seems to have a bit of a cold, so he’s taking a break today… Is he okay?’
He seemed to have been in poor health lately. With that thought, she narrowed her brow slightly.
Suddenly, from afar, Zachary ran towards Iellie. He was calling his name in an urgent voice.
“Len.”
“…Zachary?”
Iellie welcomed Zachary with a weird expression.
The appearance of last night, when he was very drunk, was not seen, and Zachary was now a neat figure worthy of the position of the Heir Apparent.
He then asked bluntly.
“Did I do anything wrong yesterday?”
“Wrong?”
With her eyes round, she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
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“No, you haven’t made any major mistakes.”
“However… Why do you keep avoiding my eyes?”
Saying so, Zachary had a guilty expression on his face, like a dog that had had an accident.
Nonetheless, the blue eyes that obsessively followed the light green eyes were determined to never back down until they found out the reason.
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