Chapter 85

The will was scheduled to be read in the old conference room at the end of the main hall.

Those present would be the duke’s closest surviving family members, senior servants including the old butler, and legal representatives. Two of them were lawyers dispatched from the kingdom’s court, witnesses who had notarized the duke’s spoken will during his lifetime and sealed it together with the documents.

Blair looked quietly up at the man standing in front of her. A question suddenly crossed her mind. Once Edmund achieved his goal, the need for this marriage would disappear as well. Would his attitude remain the same then? And if it changed, how would it change?

“Edmund.”

Standing before the mirror, he paused while smoothing down the tie she’d fastened for him and turned his head. Blair studied his face closely.

Edmund had held her until dawn again today. He’d buried himself in her again and again from behind as Blair cried out, swept up in pleasure. Even early that morning, after waking, he’d pushed his massively swollen desire into her while she was barely conscious.

Yet unlike those moments when he’d pressed in too deeply, now there was not even the slightest stir of emotion on his face. A face that had shaken off all anxiety and tension cleanly. Blair could no longer be certain where she needed to touch him for a response.

“Um… about the contract.”

That perfect expression cracked then. His eyelashes lowered slowly and lifted again, and the eyes revealed beneath them shone coldly. Why?

“The contract?”

Edmund asked back, tilting his chin slightly, “What contract?”

“The contract we signed.”

There was no way he didn’t understand, yet he simply closed his mouth. Blair, biting her lip in confusion, continued carefully, “You needed a wife to receive the title. That’s why you and I… became like this.”

“….”

“Do you remember the first clause of the contract?”

“It was a clear clause. I remember it well.”

Edmund added as he loosened the neatly tied tie slightly, “‘For one year after marriage, the superficial duties of husband and wife shall be carried out with mutual respect.’”

That was it.

Because the Duke of Libert had been terminally ill, their contract period had been set at one year, but they’d never discussed what would happen to their ‘relationship’ if Edmund obtained the title within that time.

That uncertainty frightened her, which was why she wanted to know. Whether he would still need her after achieving his goal. Whether, if there had been no written contract to begin with, her existence itself would have been unnecessary. What she meant to him…. Blair wanted to ask. At the same time, she was afraid she wouldn’t receive the answer she hoped for.

The man who had been looking straight at her continued, “But one year hasn’t passed yet.”

“Because depending on the will today, you might inherit the dukedom.”

“Ah.”

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Edmund’s otherwise emotionless face. Unlike the gentle curve of his lips, his dark eyes didn’t smile at all.

“So you were asking about the termination of the contract.”

“I….”

“If I achieve my purpose, there’d be no need to insist on filling the entire term. But divorcing right away would be difficult. As you know, if I were to separate from you the moment I receive the title, it would invite suspicion.”

Unlike her, trailing off with a trembling voice, Edmund spoke smoothly, as if there were no room for doubt. His calm tone sounded like he was discussing a contract with a business partner.

“So it would be best, if possible, to fulfill the contract period.”

It was a clear answer, but it contained nothing Blair wanted to know. Things like his heart, his feelings, his trust. The things Edmund once called uncertain. Things that could change depending on the situation. None of that existed in his reply.

“Does that answer your question?”

As always, Edmund asked as if he could see straight through her. Of course it wasn’t an answer. Blair didn’t know how to accept the feelings that had strayed so far from her original plan. Even she couldn’t sort them out herself. How was she supposed to put them into words?

“Will you let me go when the time comes?”

The question slipped out almost on impulse. The emotions she’d buried deep inside surged up all at once. Blair immediately regretted it. Resentment and fear tangled together, along with the love she’d quietly hidden, turning everything into a mess.

No, I didn’t hide it. I confessed my love to him clearly. I told him I couldn’t live without him. A man as perceptive as him couldn’t possibly be unaware of these feelings.

“That’s a strange question.”

Only after a brief silence did Edmund reply, his expression still flat.

“I thought we were discussing the contract.”

Her fingertips went cold. In contrast, heat rushed to her cheeks. Facing his gaze that seemed to demand an explanation, Blair felt like a complete fool. Pathetic.

“I… I….”

“Blair.”

“….”

“It sounds like this will take a while, so let’s talk again this evening.”

Edmund wrapped up the conversation and crossed the spacious bedroom. Blair couldn’t easily look away until he stepped over the threshold.

It couldn’t be helped. For a man who had to stand in his assigned place, there were priorities higher than her.

Even though she understood it rationally, the sound of the bedroom door closing left her chest feeling tight. Blair collapsed into a chair and pressed a hand to her forehead. She couldn’t lift her head for a long while.

***

The conference room where the will would be read was located at the entrance of the corridor connecting the main building and the annex. From the moment he left the marital bedroom and headed there, Edmund was gripped by an unplaceable irritation.

“You needed a wife to receive the title. That’s why you and I… became like this.”

Became like this? He thought it was a sly way to put it. Even an animal in heat wouldn’t roll around and cling together as often as they had lately. He wondered why she chose such a roundabout expression, and then.

“Do you remember the first clause of the contract?”

Blair brought up the contract between them, the one he had almost forgotten. That contract they’d reviewed together never included a clause about sharing a bed. In fact, Edmund had assured Blair there’d be no need to share a bed.

Now that all of that had collapsed, what use was a piece of paper like that? And on the very day the will was to be revealed, the woman bringing up the end of the contract irritated him. Why did she deliberately remind him of the possibility of separation, something he’d forgotten while lost in sweet dreams?

Edmund came to a sudden halt at the conference room door. He knew it well. Blair wanted assurance. Assurance that she had his whole heart, some kind of promise spoken from his own lips.

In that moment of realization, Edmund understood the nature of the unease that had lingered since leaving the bedroom.

It was fear. The fear that the woman who whispered that she wanted him, that she couldn’t live without him, might leave. And the cold realization that the only thing keeping her by his side was a single flimsy sheet of paper.

From the crack in the door before him, low murmurs leaked out. Edmund stood there for a moment, steadying his breath.

What use was any of this, really? In truth, all he had was his goal of tearing down everything his dead father and Isabelle had cherished.

For a fleeting moment, he thought about going back to Blair, bothered by their unfinished conversation. In the end, he reached out and pulled the cold metal doorknob.

The creak of old hinges split the stillness of the conference room. As he stepped inside, those seated around the long table waiting for him bowed their heads in greeting. Isabelle and Rufus were the only exceptions.

Only after Edmund took the seat beside the place of honor did the reading of the will begin. Rufus, seated across from him, looked visibly tense.

“From this moment, I will unseal the last will of Duke William Charles Libert.”

The lawyer acting as executor presented the document sealed with wax. Stamped clearly into the dark red wax was the sigil reserved solely for the Duke of Libert.

“The seal is intact. In accordance with procedure, I will now open the will and disclose the wishes of the deceased.”

The lawyer took out the notarized document and began reading in a solemn voice.

“I, William Charles Libert, Duke of Libert, hereby decree that all assets and titles of the family shall be entrusted to my heir upon my death.”

Everyone held their breath. The next line would decide the fate of the family.

“The heir shall be limited to my second son, Edmund Roger Libert, and his authority shall be restricted to a one-year term as acting duke.”

Rufus stared in shock, his mouth falling open. The reading continued without pause in the deathly silence.

“The heir shall, during this period, act on behalf of the family to uphold the honor and order of House Libert. Should the heir produce a successor within this time, he shall formally inherit the ducal title. However, if the heir fails to produce an heir within the designated period, the title and fief of House Libert shall revert to the Royal House of Genoa.”

At that moment, the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop sharply. Someone sucked in a sharp breath, while others couldn’t lift their heads.

Edmund, who had listened without missing a single word, lowered his gaze. A dry laugh slipped from between his twisted lips. A senile old man obsessed with succession, petty enough to remain so even in death.

An heir. An heir. The moment he heard that condition, the face that came to mind was Blair’s.

How would she take this? To him, this title was nothing more than something he’d seized to destroy everything. Would a woman already filled with anxiety truly be able to trust him now?

The silence didn’t last long.

“That’s ridiculous! This is invalid!”

Rufus sprang to his feet, slamming his hand down. His half-brother’s neck flushed red as he pointed accusingly at Edmund.