My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 167

“Hello, Duke. Have you been well?”

Elodie bowed her head in greeting. She still seemed a little shy, but much more at ease than before.

Ethan responded with a silent nod.

Elodie asked cautiously, “Um, are you… feeling better now? I heard you were badly injured…”

For a moment, Ethan was confused, but then he remembered—he had officially announced he’d been seriously hurt during his duel with Vincent.

“Yes. I’m perfectly fine now.”

“That’s a relief.”

Elodie sighed and patted her chest lightly.

“…Come to think of it, you sent me a letter back then, didn’t you? Thank you. I wasn’t able to reply, but I appreciated it.”

Ethan recalled Camille showing him Elodie’s letter, saying how sweet and thoughtful it was.

At his words, Elodie waved her hands in a fluster. “Oh, no! I know you’re busy, Duke. I wasn’t expecting a reply. Just hearing that from you makes me happy.”

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly. “You even know a word like ‘busy’?”

No matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t a term a young commoner girl like her would normally use.

“Ah, yes. I read it in a book.”

“Right, you said you like books.”

He remembered running into her in the ducal library. Back then, Elodie had been so terrified she couldn’t even meet his eyes or hold a proper conversation.

“…You used to be so afraid of me. Are you alright now?”

“Oh, yes! I’m really sorry about that.” Elodie bowed again.

“It’s alright. But tell me—what changed?”

“Well… ever since that day, every time we met, the Duchess would talk a lot about you. She said that even though you might seem scary, you’re actually very kind and gentle.”

“…She did? Camille?”

“Yes.”

Honestly, it was surprising. Thinking back, the old him had been neither warm nor gentle.

Now, he did his best not to lose Camille again—but that hadn’t been the case for long.

The thought that Camille had defended him like that made his heart swell with gratitude. Especially since, back then, he thought she hated him.

Lost in thought, Ethan snapped back to himself when he noticed Elodie staring up at him.

“What is it?”

“Oh! Nothing. It’s nothing.”

She waved it off, but then after a moment of hesitation, spoke again.

“Um… Actually, there’s one more reason I’m not scared of you anymore.”

“What is it?”

“Your expression isn’t scary anymore. It’s much softer than before. You even smiled just now.”

“…I smiled?”

Elodie nodded. “Yes.”

Unconsciously, Ethan touched his face.

Just now… he had been thinking about Camille.

A faint smile curved his lips again.

“Camille is waiting upstairs. She needs to be careful right now, so let’s go see her together.”

“Why? Is the Duchess unwell?”

“No, nothing like that. I’ll explain when the time comes.”

Ethan began walking ahead. Elodie quickly followed.

Despite how tall he was, it wasn’t hard to keep up. She realized he was matching his pace to hers.

From behind, Victor watched them with a look of astonishment.

***

As before, we dined together and chatted over tea. The only difference was that we stayed in my room the whole time.

It was a delightful afternoon. While seeing Elodie again made me happy, that wasn’t the only reason.

What truly warmed my heart was that Ethan had suggested inviting her again—and that he joined in our time together so warmly. Unlike before, he now conversed with a gentle expression.

Eventually, it was time for Elodie to leave.

Last time, she had looked a little relieved to be going back to the orphanage, unsure of how to behave around us.

But today, she seemed reluctant to part.

“Thank you so much for today, Duke, Duchess. I had such a wonderful time, I didn’t even notice the hours passing.” Elodie bowed deeply.

I smiled. “Me too, Elodie. You’ll come visit again, right?”

“Yes! If you invite me again, I’d be more than grateful to come.”

The way she used such mature words for a child was impossibly cute. Ethan seemed to think so too; a faint smile played on his lips.

“This way, please.”

Victor gestured to her. Elodie bowed to us once more, then followed Victor out.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright.”

Ethan placed a hand on my forehead, then led me to the bed. He laid me down and pulled the covers over me.

I gazed up at him quietly.

Ethan had said he wanted to see Elodie again. That could only mean one thing—he was considering adoption.

I was burning to ask what he thought, if he’d made up his mind. But I was afraid that pressing him might ruin everything.

‘Let’s not rush. Today’s mood wasn’t bad, so if we keep spending time together like this, we’ll grow closer.’

That’s what I was thinking when Ethan suddenly spoke.

“We’ll do as you wish.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Elodie. Let’s adopt her into the duchy.”

At those words, I couldn’t believe my ears.

I stared blankly at Ethan for a long moment before asking again, “…What did you just say? Adopt Elodie?”

“Yes.”

“But how… so quickly, why… all of a sudden?”

I stammered, and Ethan let out a small laugh.

“Why? Do you not want to?”

“No, it’s not that… Are you really okay with this?”

“Yes. It’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“……”

I lowered my gaze for a moment, then looked up at him again.

“You don’t need to force yourself just to do what I want. If we adopt Elodie, she won’t just be my daughter—she’ll be yours too. So don’t sacrifice yourself for my sake.”

It was my honest truth.

Of course, I wanted to adopt Elodie right away. Not just out of a sense of responsibility for changing her fate, but because I truly wanted to welcome her as my daughter and watch her grow.

But if Ethan wasn’t fully certain yet, I didn’t want to pressure him. Even if he needed more time to be ready to accept her as family, that would be enough.

I was also prepared to accept it if he ultimately said no.

In that case, Elodie wouldn’t become a duke’s daughter like in the original story, but I would do everything in my power to compensate her.

With those thoughts, I looked Ethan straight in the eye.

He smiled. “It’s not a sacrifice. If she’s that precious to you, then of course she’s precious to me, too.”

“But…”

Ethan gently took my hand. Stroking the back of it with his other hand, he said, “Do you remember the first day we invited Elodie to the mansion? We went out to the garden to eat sandwiches.”

“Ah, yes. Of course I remember.”

“That day, you suddenly suggested having lunch outside, asked the chef for sandwiches, and even made a point of eating in front of Elodie… It was all for her, wasn’t it? Because she was too nervous to eat anything.”

“…Yes. You noticed.”

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it. I never imagined you could be that way. Watching the two of you sit together and laugh like that, I suddenly had a thought. That I wanted a family. That I wanted to become a real family with you.”

“……”

I was at a loss for words.

Ethan continued, still holding my hand, “Up until then, I didn’t even know what I really wanted. I was startled by how you’d changed, drawn to you, yet I didn’t understand my own feelings. But that was the first time I had a clear wish. You, and me, and a child between us… The three of us smiling happily together. That’s the future I dreamed of.”

“…Ethan.”

I called his name in a slightly choked voice.

I couldn’t help it. I knew what his life had been like—how he’d lived.

He had lost both parents at a young age and guarded Dumont alone ever since. Clutching the legacy they left behind in his small hands, he had endured with nothing but duty.

He had longed for a family more than anyone, yet hadn’t become one with the wife he married. Of course, that wasn’t only Camille’s fault. Ethan bore responsibility, too.

But when I thought about the burden he had carried all this time, I couldn’t bring myself to blame him.

In the original story, Ethan finally gained the family he so desperately wanted after meeting Elodie.

Even though things had played out completely differently this time, I couldn’t help but feel it was fate that Elodie had helped him realize that wish once again.

“That’s why I said we should try for a child that day. Back then, I didn’t imagine you’d bring up adopting Elodie.”

“…I see.”

At the time, I honestly thought it was a random comment. I hadn’t realized what deep feelings lay behind it.

“So, it’s okay. If you want that child, then I’m okay with it, too. I might not be able to love her as much as you do, but I’ll do my best. That’s what being a father is, right?”

I couldn’t hold back my tears. I pressed Ethan’s hand to my face and rubbed my cheek against the back of it.

“Thank you. Ethan. Really… thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. If anything, I’m the one who should be grateful.”

Ethan wiped away my tears.

“Are you really, truly okay with this? Elodie is still a commoner, and we’ll soon have a child of our own…”

“So what? I’m the Duke of Dumont. If I say so, who could dare object?”

He said playfully, then gently placed a hand over my belly.

“And this child… is lucky. Even though they’re the firstborn, they already have an older sister. I was an only child, and I always wished I had siblings. Like you and your brother.”

“…Ethan.”

Tears welled up again. Ethan wiped them and kissed my damp eyes—then kissed my lips.

Hand in hand, we shared a long and tender kiss.