Chapter 87

It was a brutal stretch of waiting.

After Edmund left for the conference room, Blair sat frozen in front of the round table, unable to move.

Letting time pass without knowing anything was torture. The black tea she hadn’t even finished a few sips of had gone cold, and the focus in her eyes, fixed on empty air, gradually blurred. Even so, the second hand of the wall clock kept turning without concern, yet the man she was waiting for didn’t show even a shadow.

Thinking of Edmund made her chest feel tight again. Blair let out a deep sigh and covered her face with both hands.

‘I brought it up for no reason.’

Only then did regret hit her. What had she even said to a man who must already have been in turmoil, facing something so important? A surge of resentment had come first, and she’d ended up pouring out words without sorting her thoughts.

Like an idiot, had her desire to know even a fragment of his heart pushed him away instead? She wished she’d been just a little more honest. Instead of talking about contracts and succession, she should have simply said she was anxious, asked whether his feelings matched hers. If she had, she wouldn’t be sitting here blaming herself in this answerless wait.

Blair never thought the moments she’d glimpsed from Edmund were lies. The gaze that lingered on her when she woke suddenly in the blue dawn, the hand that reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, the soft kiss that landed on her forehead. She believed those couldn’t be false.

She just couldn’t be sure. Because Edmund was a man who always spoke only the truth.

His words were always cold and precise, leaving no room for lies. But there was no emotion layered over them either. That was why, even while holding her with such desperation, he never whispered that he loved her, never once promised a future. Blair cut her hand on that sharp truth, yet still couldn’t let go of the hand clinging to him.

‘What happened to the will?’

The torrential rain that had poured down relentlessly throughout the funeral had stopped as if it were a lie. Today, Eldenvale’s sky was clear without a single cloud. Bright sunlight, rare for this place, poured down over the mansion.

Maybe there was good news for Edmund. Blair truly hoped so. She hoped his path ahead would be smooth, that he would no longer be hurt by futile struggles, that a future would come where he wouldn’t have to stand against anyone.

That was when a knock echoed through the bedroom heavy with silence. Blair flinched, her shoulder jerking as she lifted the cold teacup, then stopped. She pushed back her chair and stood, moving a little faster than necessary. Forcing her pounding heart to calm down, she flung the door open.

“…Ah.”

But the face standing outside wasn’t the one she’d been hoping for.

“Duchess.”

It was Isabelle. She was dressed elegantly as always, but her face was filled with an unusual depth of sorrow. Blair looked at her briefly, then glanced down the corridor. Edmund was nowhere to be seen.

“Were you alone?”

“…Yes, madam. What brings you here?”

“The will my husband left was made public a little while ago. If you stayed in the bedroom, you probably haven’t heard yet.”

Isabelle lowered her eyes with a sorrowful smile. Caught off guard, Blair didn’t know what to say.

“By the way, doesn’t it feel stifling?”

“Ah….”

“You’ve been cooped up inside the mansion for days now. Young people need fresh air a bit more than that.”

Isabelle naturally turned her head toward the window at the end of the corridor and continued, “There’s a very nice café in Eldenvale. You must have felt stifled during the funeral. Why don’t we go out together for a change of pace?”

Blair didn’t answer right away and studied Isabelle’s expression carefully. There wasn’t a trace of joy on her face. It was a stark contrast to how overjoyed she’d been when she’d announced she’d throw a party for Rufus.  That alone told her everything.

Edmund. Not Rufus. He inherited the title.

Her heart pounded hard. Relief washed over her, followed by a subtle sense of unease. It was something she should clearly be happy about, yet for some reason, a chill crept into the corner of her heart.

If Isabelle had already left the conference room, Edmund would return here before long as well.

What kind of look would the man who had finally become duke turn on her? Just imagining facing him made her chest tighten painfully. The conversation they’d shared only hours ago still drifted through her mind, unfinished, leaving behind a tangled confusion.

“I thought it might be nice for a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to have tea together for once… but if you don’t want to, it can’t be helped.”

Isabelle’s gentle voice pulled her back to reality. It was hard to refuse a request like that. Maybe she wanted to step away from this place for a moment as well.

After a brief hesitation, Blair made her decision.

“No. I’ll get ready quickly.”

“I’ll wait here.”

Isabelle smiled as she lifted the corners of her mouth. The moment the bedroom door closed, the smile vanished from her wrinkled face as if it had never been there.

***

It wasn’t a comfortable meeting.

Their destination was an open-air café in the center of Eldenvale. Every seat on the sunlit terrace was set with a white tablecloth and fresh flowers. The view was excellent too. With a turn of the head, Eldenvale’s fine scenery spread out before them.

But there was no time to admire it.

Sitting across from Isabelle and drinking tea was nothing but tension. Blair knew the woman clearly had some intention, yet she revealed nothing, which made it all the more uncomfortable.

Blair wet her throat with tea, faintly scented with roses. The warm, fragrant liquid seemed to loosen the tension she’d been holding down, but only for a moment.

“Did I ever tell you? My husband and I used to come here often when we were young.”

Isabelle spoke first and smiled gently at Blair. Blair, who’d been lifting her teacup again, stopped and met her gaze.

“He was so splendid. Truly, William was a wonderful man.”

She was speaking of William Libert, the duke who had passed away not long ago.

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every eligible woman in high society wanted him at the time. The sole heir of House Libert, impeccable noble character, and ah… that face. He really was a magnificent man. I fell in love with him at first sight at a ball.”

A bittersweet smile flickered in Isabelle’s blue eyes as she reminisced about the distant past. There was longing there for someone who would never return. But Blair knew that beneath it lay old grief and anger, burned deep into her heart.

“Think about it, my dear. Marrying such a perfect man, everyone envied me. To be honest, I worried a little before the wedding… but not at all. Will was truly a perfect man.”

“….”

“For a time, I thought I had the whole world. I was very happy. For a brief while.”

As if recalling someone, Isabelle suddenly fell silent. Her lips trembled as if she were grinding her teeth, and the hand clenched into a fist beneath her gloves shook faintly as well. Cracks slowly began to form across that refined, beautiful face, like an old portrait worn by time.

“Duchess….”

“Don’t call me that anymore.”

“…What?”

“That title is yours now.”

The calm words Isabelle spoke fell quietly onto the table.

“That’s what the will decided. Edmund, that woman’s son, ended up taking everything William owned.”

Blair didn’t know what she was supposed to say. Should she thank her? The woman in front of her had lost both her husband and the title of duchess, and her precious son Rufus received nothing.

“But my husband wasn’t ordinary either. He didn’t leave the inheritance to Edmund without conditions.”

“Madam, I….”

“He only granted him the authority of acting duke for one year. If he fails to produce an heir within that time, everything belonging to House Libert will revert to the royal family.”

Isabelle suddenly burst into laughter. Her face, which had remained composed until then, twisted as thin, drawn-out laughter spilled from her lips. Blair, frozen stiff, could only watch. A cold shiver slid down the back of her neck.

“Isn’t it strange? In the end, to preserve the name of Libert, it still requires the body of another woman!”

Her cold laughter finally quivered like a sob.

“I wish he’d thought of Rufus just a little. Perhaps I knew all along this would happen. I told you, didn’t I? Edmund will do absolutely anything to get what he wants.”

Isabelle, who had been muttering as if to herself, suddenly fixed her gaze straight on Blair.

“Even accepting the first night’s witnessing ritual without hesitation.”