Chapter 38

“Everyone in the viscount’s house knows that I am the kingdom’s illegitimate child. But the only one who knows that I know the truth is Rex Orelcian.”

The Grand Duke listened with solemn attention as Anais spoke. She took a deep breath and went on.

“If Rex ever tries to use that secret to demand something of you or to threaten you, ignore him.”

His brow furrowed sharply, but she didn’t stop speaking.

“If the imperial family should learn of my secret and it brings harm to the grand duchy, then, regardless of this contract, you may cast me aside.”

To keep from giving him a reason to kill her, she spoke softly.

“I’ll disappear quietly.”

She had never imagined that Nectar and Rex would come rushing to exploit her once more. With a heavy face, Anais reproached her own foolishness.

“I’m sorry. Because I’m an illegitimate child abandoned by the kingdom… you may now bear risks from this marriage that you should never have had to face.”

After gaining a fortune from the marriage and even being handed poison through the mistress, surely they wouldn’t demand anything more from her. She had thought that if she simply told the Grand Duke beforehand that she was illegitimate, no further trouble would come.

That belief had been her mistake.

Nectar and Rex, who never knew when to give up, would inevitably come back to her with threats, demanding she offer up anything of value to them. In the end, the Grand Duke would be forced into conflict with the Orelcian family through her, and her death would be sealed, just as in the future she had seen in her dream.

Because of that, she revealed everything with honesty and begged him to keep his distance from the viscount’s house. So that her secret wouldn’t, in time, become his greatest weakness and give him reason to kill her.

Meanwhile, as he quietly listened to her words, Diego’s face had grown rigid.

It was the first time he had heard any of this. The banquet at the viscount’s house, that night in the moonlit garden, and the box Anais had carried in her hands. Recalling it all, he ground his teeth together, then repeated to himself in a voice cold as ice.

‘I will have to move a little faster.’

His fist clenched so tightly the veins stood out, until instinctively his gaze turned to Anais, pale and stricken. Now that she had finished speaking, her head was bowed low. Searching for the violet eyes that had disappeared from sight, Diego spoke at last, his voice quiet.

“The fact that you aren’t the Viscount’s trueborn daughter will have no effect upon this marriage.”

It wasn’t the answer she had expected. She lifted her head to look at the Grand Duke. He smiled at her as though it were nothing of consequence, just as he had when he first learned she was an illegitimate child.

“The imperial decree was delivered, as you well know, because Anais Orelcian carried the kingdom’s bloodline.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Anais remember the simple truth she had overlooked. The unease that had plagued her heart slowly began to subside.

“Since I know now that you have no connection to the Viscount’s house, there will be no reason for me to become entangled with them either.”

At his resolute words, she felt her heart settle in relief. As she slowly regained her composure, the Grand Duke spoke in the endlessly gentle voice he always used.

“And in place of attending the wedding, the kingdom sent flowers to adorn this hall.”

“…Pardon?”

Anais widened her eyes, unable at once to grasp his meaning.

‘Flowers to decorate the hall…’

She recalled the white blossoms she had seen while waiting for the Grand Duke’s return. Those small, bell-shaped flowers flickered before her eyes.

‘Why would the kingdom…?’

It was an action she couldn’t fathom. Reason told her it must be a gesture of courtesy toward the empire, nothing more than a diplomatic gift of flowers.

At that moment, the Grand Duke said to her.

“The flowers that filled the hall today were lilies of the valley.”

Only then did she learn the name of the pure white blooms. Searching her memory, she remembered: among the flowers of the kingdom was the lily of the valley. A flower used almost exclusively by the royal family, one so rare it couldn’t be exported to foreign lands. Unless sent by the king himself as a gift, it was unobtainable.

Puzzlement clouded Anais’s face, for the empire and the kingdom were bitterly at odds.

Then, the Grand Duke spoke softly.

“Did you know that the lily of the valley means ‘happiness regained, happiness assured’?”

He looked at her quietly and gave her a gentle smile.