Chapter 12

Hearing this for the first time, Anais’s face turned pale.

In the Empire, illegitimate children weren’t considered nobles. By law, children born out of wedlock weren’t even recognized as family. That was why Rex Orelcian was registered as the son of the Viscountess, not a mistress. Unless a noble family made a rare exception and quietly accepted the child, they were thrown into orphanages and raised like commoners.

“A grand duke born of an imperial consort and a princess’s illegitimate child… A perfect match, don’t you think?”

Rex raised an eyebrow as Anais stood frozen in silence.

“But what do you think will happen when they find out the bride they paid a fortune for is really just a lowborn bastard? Do you really think the Grand Duke or the imperial family will stay silent?”

Of course, Anais wouldn’t escape unscathed. No, she would be the one forced to shoulder all the blame.

“When that time comes, do you really think Father will protect someone who isn’t even his own blood?”

He let out a scoffing laugh, watching Anais’s ashen face.

“He’ll abandon you first. Then he’ll claim he didn’t know anything, maybe step down from his title as a viscount, get a light punishment, and walk away free. But you? That won’t happen for you, will it?”

If all this came to light, the only fate awaiting Anais, who was cast out by the Orelcians, would be death.

Only then did she realize that this marriage had been doomed from the start. Her death had always been part of the plan. The box of poison Madame Jade had given her, and every moment she’d been cast aside and excluded in the viscount’s house—it all made sense now.

As that truth hit her, the heart that had already been shattered was ground into dust.

Rex leaned in close to her ear and growled in a low voice.

“So you’d better behave if you know what’s good for you. As the next Viscount, I’ll be the one deciding whether you stay in this family or not.”

If you want to survive as an Orelcian and remain a noble.

He gave a soft chuckle, then leaned in and whispered as he observed Anais’s completely shaken state.

“Think carefully, Anais.”

Leaving those words behind, he walked away with a satisfied smile.

Left alone, Anais stood there for a long time, leaning against the wall, paralyzed. As she stood frozen, her eyes dropped once more to the box still in her hand.

‘Poison. Death. Illegitimate.’

As Anais repeated each word thrown at her in her mind, she walked forward in a daze, her face vacant and hollow.

“I have to ask Father myself… There’s no way this is true…”

The small hope she had clung to had already vanished, but even so, she couldn’t bring herself to give up just yet.

“What if Rex misunderstood something?”

Her voice trembled gravely, betraying the fact that deep down, she already knew the truth, though she chose to ignore it. Even in the chaos of her thoughts, her quiet, nearly silent footsteps carried her to Nectar’s door. But once there, she couldn’t bring herself to knock.

As she hesitated, her father’s voice drifted out through the slightly open door, speaking with a visitor.

“I received a large sum from both the imperial family and the Grand Duchy in exchange for the marriage. I’ve just been so busy with business preparations that I forgot to mention it.”

“How could you forget something like that? Especially to me.”

His guest, unsurprisingly, was Madame Jade.

But what she heard next shattered Anais.

Even though she had suspected that money was involved in exchange for the marriage, she hadn’t known he had taken money from both sides. And now, the burden of that marriage and all its consequences would fall squarely on her as the bride.

It felt like death had become a giant pendulum, its weight bearing down on her, ready to crush her.

“I’ll tell you next time, so calm your anger.”

“You promise?”

As her father’s endlessly affectionate voice was directed toward his mistress, Anais felt as though the air had been sucked from her lungs. It was a side of him she had never seen before.

The very warmth she had spent her life desperately wishing for.

While she stood frozen, barely breathing, the voices from inside the room continued to spill out.

“Raising a child who isn’t even your real daughter… at least you’re getting compensated for it now.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s a shame we couldn’t get more out of it, but the amount was big enough, so let’s just consider her sold off. Who knows, if we play it right, we might be able to squeeze even more out of it.”

Thud.

Anais’s heart plummeted to the depths as the truth confirmed itself so easily.

“Oh, right. Before the wedding, the Grand Duke’s side kept making a fuss about sending guards and such, so I went ahead and gave her the poison and contraceptives in advance.”

“Tsk. You should’ve waited until the wedding was done and seen how things played out. That would’ve saved us from any mess.”

“I know, but the Grand Duke keeps looking down on us, so I thought it’d be best to remind her of her place before the marriage.”

“Hah.”

“Don’t worry, I talked to her properly.”

Even the poison in the box… everything was true.

As the truth settled in, Anais’s eyes were empty and void of light.