My child 2

Chapter 2. The Unbelievable Conclusion

    ***

    If I hadn't gone to the dinner at the palace that day, would Eddie have died?

    I couldn't accept Eddie's early death.

    Of course, six-year-old Eddie wasn't exactly healthy.

    Frail from birth, he was often sick.

    But he wasn't weak enough to die suddenly one day.

    Now I realized that this was strange. I was struck with the uneasy thought that someone had arranged his death.

    Of course, this was just a suspicion that any parent who loses a child in an instant might have, a suspicion that comes from not believing in reality.

    Still, I hoped it was.

    If my child had been murdered, I could blame the killer.

    I could blame the wicked for my child's death.

    But alas, there were no signs of poisoning or burning on him.

    But what if he was killed in a stealthy way?

    It was as if I'd heard such comments at the banquet I'd attended the day before.

    There were shamans who could kill a man without anyone noticing.

    The shaman was said to be able to use a "curse" to kill people without using his hands.

    But who killed my child and for what reason? In such a closed duchy.......

    I was a duchess, even if I was estranged from Henderson.

    And my precious Eddie was a young duke.

    Eddie was loved by all, and there wasn't a single servant who didn't like him.

    Instead, the servants just implicitly ignored and pitied me as a person who did not receive the love of the head of the household.

    "I can't do this. I'll go to Henderson and tell him that Eddie's death is unnatural.”

    Of course, if his demeanor at the funeral was any indication, I shouldn't hold my breath.

    I slid off the bed and threw a shawl over my shoulders.

    I dragged my weary body out and walked to his room, which was not far from mine.

    "Henderson, it's me, may I come in?"

    I knocked on the door a couple of times, but there was no answer.

    ‘Maybe he's asleep?’

    As I turned to leave, I began to hear shouts from down the hall.

    I thought it was Henderson, and I tried to call out to him.

    But he wasn't alone.

    He had an unexpected woman by his side.

    She was Helena, a sensual beauty with waist-length red hair and red eyes.

    Helena was...... also Eddie's tutor.

    While I was startled by Helena's appearance, the two of them slipped into Henderson's room, without noticing my presence.

    I froze in place and let out a shallow breath.

    What were these two trying to talk about?

    At such an odd hour, even on the day of Eddie's funeral.

    In that moment, I began to recall many things from my past that I hadn't considered important.

    "Riley, do you think I could hire someone I know to be Eddie's tutor?"

    It was Henderson who had brought Helena, an earl's young lady, here.

    "My lady. I don't know if I should say this⋯⋯⋯⋯but I saw Helena and the master in the garden together, and I thought you should know......."

    There were a few people who saw Henderson, who didn't get along with people, especially women, being intimate with Helena.

    Nevertheless, I never suspected Helena and Henderson of an affair.

    Helena was a beautiful and intelligent woman.

    I thought she would be a good tutor, and I didn't think that a daughter of a Count with wealth and intelligence would  have an affair with a man who had a child.

    I had assumed they were only seeing each other occasionally because of Eddie’s education. At least until Eddie's death.

    But now, I questioned their relationship.

    Questioning soon led to suspicion.

    ‘Did Henderson fall in love with her?’

    Was that why he asked me not to share a room with him? So he could be with her in the middle of the night?

    My breath caught in my throat at the unbelievable conclusion.

    The pain in my heart, which had been dulled for a while, was choking me.

    I walked slowly to Henderson's room. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, I could feel my fingers trembling. If I gave it just a little ⋯pressure, the doorknob would turn.

    But I couldn't turn the doorknob.

    I didn't have the courage to face them.

    Instead, I put my ear to the door and started listening to the sounds coming from inside the room.

    Soon I could hear them talking.

    "......Well, the promised day is finally here."

    It was Helena's thin voice.

    She continued.

    "With notice so close, and Eddie dead...... Aren't you going to tell the Duchess the truth?"

    "I won't tell her; no, I can't; how did I get here?"

    There was irritation in Henderson's voice as he answered.

    It was clear they had "facts" I didn't know.

    "You must be having a very hard time keeping your ducal title, your face is getting thinner by the day, is it because you can't tell the Duchess the truth?"

    "I can't help it, how am I going to tell Riley about it, she'll feel betrayed."

    "Henderson. If it's too hard for you, you can count on me, we have a future together."

    I couldn't hear Henderson's voice anymore.

    Henderson was probably leaning his exhausted body and mind against Helena.

    I barely pulled myself away from the door and tried to recall what they had said.

    The betrayal I would feel if I knew the truth.

    Helena and Henderson promised a future together that I didn't know.

    Henderson, who refused to sleep with me over a year ago.

    I didn't have to walk into the room to see it, I could tell from their conversation that they were in a relationship.

    ‘The two are in love with each other.’

    I slumped helplessly in my seat. The corners of my eyes were heated.

    ***

    There was a lot of talk about the marriage of Riley Wale Lopez and Henderson Graham.

    Most found it hard to believe that Riley, the youngest princess of the Lopez empire, would marry the obscure Duke of Graham.

    Riley, with her lovely pink hair and clear green eyes, had been inundated with marriage proposals.

    If one married her, they would not only have the backing of the royal family, but they would also have a chaste and beautiful woman.

    But she rejected them all, and it was said that she had a man in mind.

    No matter how handsome, wealthy, or brilliant a man was, Riley was not interested.

    The man she chose was, to everyone’s surprise, Henderson, who had just become a duke after a long exile.

    What's more, Henderson was the illegitimate son of a duke and had been living abroad because he was not in a position to succeed to the dukedom.

    In other words, he was an outcast.

    But when the duke's eldest son died of a mysterious illness, he became a Duke.

    The newly minted duke had nothing.

    The duke's vassals ignored him because he was illegitimate, and other nobles refused to recognize him.

    It was Riley who took his hand and became Henderson's steady companion.

    Riley Wale Lopez.

    It was also my name.

    I stopped reminiscing about the past and looked at the person who had spoken to me.

    "Lady Riley. You don't look too well, I guess you need to talk to me about something.”

    The woman sitting across from me, concerned for me, was Helena.

    The same woman who had brought me down last night.

    "How insensitive of the Emperor to send the Duke out of the country at a time like this......."

    I felt sick to my stomach at how insincere her words were, despite her concern for me. I forced my lips to curl inward.

    True to Helena's word, Henderson had boarded a merchant ship early in the morning, bound for another country. He would not return for another week.

    ‘If I'd known he was leaving so early today, I'd have...... at least tried to talk to him.’

    I tossed and turned all night, still reeling from the shock of what I'd seen last night, and finally fell asleep at dawn. Of course, I didn't think Henderson's early departure was unreasonable.

    It was at the behest of my father, the Emperor, who was not pleased with Henderson.

    ***

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