IHTN 10

Chapter: 10

“Wait, what are you even talking about? The father of the child is the Grand Duke Cassian?”

Duncan rushed into the room, shouting at Catherine who was following behind him.

“Shh! Keep your voice down!”

Startled, Catherine, who had been closely trailing him, turned around and quickly checked both sides of the corridor before shutting the door.

Her hands were trembling slightly as she firmly locked it and turned back.

“Wasn’t she in the same room as Jerome that day?”

Duncan angrily yanked off his tie and threw it onto the bed.

The blue tie didn’t stay on the bed for long and immediately fell to the floor.

Turning around, he took a metal pipe from inside his jacket, lit it, and hastily bit down on the other end.

Soon, dark smoke began to drift from the pipe.

“I thought so too. I’m sure Yulia was always taking care of Jerome, so they would’ve been together… and by the time the effects kicked in, I thought she would’ve gone into the room with Jerome…”

“Didn’t Jerome clearly say he was with Yulia? Those two are never apart to begin with.”

“That Jerome would lie… I never imagined…”

Catherine brought her trembling hand to her mouth and began biting her long nails.

Her carefully manicured nails were being chewed away anxiously.

That day, Catherine had grabbed Jerome after he returned from the graduation banquet and questioned him about everything.

Was the banquet as enjoyable as its reputation said? Did he meet many friends? And…

…was he with Yulia?

“Wasn’t the medicine wrong in the first place? That shameless bastard must have scammed us. We paid so much money for it…”

“Yulia did show symptoms that day. She said she remembers nothing after drinking.”

Catherine bit her lower lip.

The medicine she had given Yulia was, of course, not a simple hangover cure.

She recalled a conversation she had months ago with an apothecary from the Kingdom of Cleric.

<Then how about this medicine?>

<What kind of medicine?>

Catherine had looked at the apothecary’s transparent glass bottle with a disinterested expression.

<It’s originally a covert investigative drug used to extract hidden intentions or find evidence…>

The apothecary smiled faintly as he continued.

<When taken with alcohol, it makes one become more deeply intoxicated.>

<Isn’t that just speeding up alcohol intoxication?>

<I wouldn’t say it like that if it were only that. This medicine deepens drunkenness and, using that influence, makes the person speak honestly.>

…So it was an interrogation drug.

Catherine shook the glass bottle up and down.

The transparent liquid sloshed inside.

<And in the end… it erases all memories from when the person was drunk.>

<All memories…?>

Catherine stopped moving.

<I previously made a special drug for you, didn’t I? I think combining them might work quite well…>

The apothecary’s small eyes gleamed brightly.

Catherine swallowed nervously.

“Haah…”

She had hoped that Yulia’s habit of becoming affectionate when drunk, combined with Jerome’s feelings toward her, would lead to something happening at the graduation banquet.

Even if nothing happened, both would forget everything anyway, and with the special drug Catherine gave her, Yulia would merely believe she was pregnant herself…!

Everything was supposed to go exactly according to Catherine’s plan.

“…The problem is, I was too flustered by Yulia’s answer earlier and couldn’t properly stop her from going to Ishade Castle.”

She had been so certain the child’s father was Jerome that she had confidently persuaded her—only for everything to fall apart.

Grand Duke Cassian, of all people?

She had no idea where that name had even come from.

Catherine bit her lip in irritation.

“Yulia said she’ll go to Ishade Castle tomorrow. We need to follow her immediately and explain the situation to His Grace.”

“Wait. You’re telling me to go meet Cassian Ishade?”

“Yes.”

“No way! I refuse! Just seeing that young duke’s eyes is enough to make me sick.”

Duncan shook his head violently, eyes tightly shut.

Grand Duke Cassian was Duncan Duke’s number one avoidant target.

Duncan, who had spent his life dealing with people and manipulating them to his advantage, was skilled at steering conversations in his favor and gaining benefits through them.

It was how he had turned a once modest ducal house into the most powerful in Tritan.

However, none of that worked on a duke in his mid-twenties who had just graduated from the royal academy.

Even when Duncan approached him warmly, Cassian would respond coldly, and often acted as if he already knew Duncan’s intentions before he even stated them.

“I can never tell what he’s thinking…”

Despite Duncan’s attempts to connect with Cassian—his former schoolmate Jerome—in order to build ties with the imperial family, he kept hitting a wall like a fortress.

“So what are we supposed to do? Just let Yulia marry Grand Duke Cassian?”

Catherine shouted sharply.

“Let her marry him, then! Eventually Yulia’s pregnancy will be revealed as false, and after that whether she’s expelled or stays married is her own fate.”

Duncan exhaled smoke continuously.

“That’s not the issue right now! What about Jerome! What about Jerome?! Wasn’t this all to keep Yulia tied down because Jerome likes her?”

“Ugh…! If this is how it is, you should’ve just convinced Yulia to marry Jerome instead!”

“Then who in the world would marry a stuttering ma—”

“What?”

Duncan glared sharply at Catherine.

“N-no, I mean Yulia wouldn’t accept that! She’s already thinking about jobs and not marriage at all—how else were we supposed to hold onto her? Honestly, this is so frustrating!”

With the loud voices ringing out, Duncan covered his ears.

He had been the one jumping around saying he had a good plan before, and now she was yelling at him like this. He couldn’t even handle a simple task properly.

Duncan, a chronic avoidant, stood up from his chair.

He crossed the large room and stepped into the corridor, slamming the door behind him.

Left alone in the room, Catherine stared at the shut door, fuming.

“Our Jerome…”

He had everything—looks, family background, education, personality—everything perfect, except for one incurable flaw that held him back.

From a young age, Jerome had been so intimidated by people’s cold and cruel gazes that he couldn’t speak to anyone.

Except for one person in this world—Yulia.

Jerome deeply loved Yulia.

And Catherine wanted to give Yulia to the Jerome she loved.

No matter what it took…

Catherine turned and walked toward the window where the full moon shone.

Under the moonlight spilling through the window, she gripped the frame and lowered her head.

“…Tomorrow, I must somehow convince Duncan and go to Ishade Castle.”

Jerome’s face, hurt by the sudden news, vividly appeared before her eyes.

She could not just sit back and let Yulia marry Grand Duke Cassian.

Catherine clenched her fist tightly as she thought of Yulia’s bright face.

The next day, Yulia visited Ishade Castle.

“Whatever the case, as the father of the child, he should at least know…”

Yulia looked up at the massive estate.

It was their first meeting since the graduation banquet.

In the meantime, the equal status of academy students had disappeared. Cassian was now a member of the imperial family and a Grand Duke, while Yulia was merely a graduate.

“…Should I speak formally?”

Yulia followed the butler quietly as he guided her to the reception room, lost in trivial thoughts.

Knock knock.

“Your Grace, Miss Yulia Heibel has arrived.”

Hearing her own name from Avil made her more nervous than ever.

What would Cassian say? Would he tell her to leave immediately? Would he ask why she came after saying to forget everything?

…What would he say when he heard she was pregnant?

Yulia bit her dry lips anxiously.

She had been biting them so much from nerves over the past few days that they were no longer in good condition.

After a long silence, a low voice came from beyond the door.

“Let her in.”

Avil opened the door, revealing Cassian sitting on a sofa in the corner of the reception room, legs crossed.

Cassian lifted his head from the documents and met Yulia’s eyes.

He silently stared at her for a moment, then stood up and walked to the table near the door.

“Avil, prepare some warm tea.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Cassian spoke coldly.

Without even glancing at the awkwardly standing Yulia, he pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the table and sat down.

“Sit.”

Yulia, standing stiffly under his gaze, awkwardly moved and carefully sat on the long sofa opposite him.

The velvet seat was very soft.

“…Um.”

Now that she was facing Cassian, her words wouldn’t come out easily.

“Th-that is… so…”

“Where did all that confidence from last time go?”

Cassian’s low voice cut through the air.

“Last time” clearly referred to that night—when she ran away shamelessly after spending the night with him.

His cold reaction made it even harder for Yulia to speak.

She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly until Avil returned with two cups of tea, and only then could she finally speak.

“Hello, Your Grace. The reason I came here is…”

Yulia, who had been agonizing over her words, finally spoke formally.

She knew what she was about to say would not be pleasant for him, so she decided to be polite first.

“Speak comfortably.”

Cassian cut her off.

At his interruption, Yulia clenched her hands tightly on her lap.