Deceived, Yet Drawn to You - Chapter 142

Isabelle’s shoulders shook violently, as if in a seizure. Her eyes burned with a fierce obsession, as if she wanted to leap from the bed at any moment and wring Blair’s slender neck. But all she could do, her entire body covered in severe burns, was clench the sheets with her blistered fingers and let out a bestial growl.

“Y-you vicious…!”

Just as a curse close to a scream was about to burst out, Isabelle’s face twisted sharply. It was because a pain like being slashed by hundreds of blades swept through her entire body. Benjamin administered the maximum dosage he could prescribe, but it seemed utterly useless against the agony of the burns.

“Ugh….”

The most horrifying trace the flames left behind wasn’t the grotesque exterior melted like dripping candle wax. It was the searing pain that felt as if each nerve in her body was being finely sliced apart. Her tenacious vitality forcibly clung to a life worse than death, and that too was a pain Isabelle had to endure.

Blair didn’t watch that wretched thrashing for long. Supported by Edmund, she quietly turned away, and the sound of Isabelle’s ragged breathing and groans faded behind her.

After that, Blair never once thought of Isabelle again.

***

Soon, Edmund and Blair left the hospital and moved to the townhouse in Chails. It was a decision Edmund made only after confirming that Blair no longer needed to recuperate at the hospital.

At last, everything was over, but as always, he wanted Blair far from the noisy world and the lingering shadow of Isabelle. Chails was the perfect place for that purpose, located in a quiet, affluent neighborhood of the capital yet equipped with everything they needed. Only trusted people could come and go, and that alone put Edmund at ease.

Even so, there was some resistance when they moved. Blair was deeply worried about Edmund leaving the hospital while still injured.

Even though Edmund moved and spoke normally, her heart ached every time she saw the bandages wrapped around his upper body. Even after learning he deliberately kept them on to hide his injuries from her, the sorrowful feeling wouldn’t easily subside.

In the end, Benjamin stepped in, assuring her that his recovery signs were excellent and his naturally robust constitution meant he’d bounce back quickly. He added that a personal physician would remain in Chails all day, which finally eased her concerns enough for her to nod reluctantly.

Thus, they barely returned to their own intimate space.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to stay at the hospital a little longer?”

In the private garden of the townhouse, surrounded on all sides by glass, Blair lay overlapping Edmund on a wide sofa and stroked his hair as she spoke.

“No matter how I think about it, I feel like your discharge was too soon. You should’ve undergone more thorough examinations before coming to Chails.”

“….”

“Ed.”

“Mm.”

“Are you listening to me?”

“I am.”

The man answered shortly and pulled her closer, burying his cheek deeply against her soft breasts. With his eyes half closed under the midday sunlight pouring through the glass ceiling, enjoying her fingers running through his hair, Edmund looked content, like a well-fed cat.

She found that sight oddly endearing for someone with such a large build, but Blair held back her smile and continued to voice her opinion.

“You’re only half listening. What if the wounds on your arm and chest haven’t completely healed?”

“They’re all healed. They don’t even hurt. If you doubt it, go ahead and touch.”

Blair was about to place her hand on his chest when she stopped. Edmund had lifted his head and was staring at her with a somewhat suggestive look.

“Why aren’t you touching?”

“Because you’re looking at me with impure thoughts. Anyway, get examined by Mr. Jensen again this evening.”

“I’m an obedient husband, so I’ll listen to you, but since I keep getting examined so often, the man’s getting tired of me.”

“What kind of doctor gets tired of a patient?”

“Because I’m not a patient anymore.”

Edmund shot back shamelessly and pressed his lips to the nape of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him in spite of herself, yet she couldn’t rid her eyes of their lingering concern.

“You keep overexerting yourself under the pretense of taking care of me. Make sure you get checked to see if any wounds have reopened.”

“Hmm… how am I supposed to prove that all my limbs are perfectly fine?”

Muttering to himself, Edmund let out a faint chuckle, as if some private fantasy had crossed his mind.

“I can’t say anything lewd to my pregnant wife.”

“Then what were you saying in bed last night?”

“It was late at night and we were on the bed, so that grants me absolution.”

“There you go with your strange logic again.”

As if apologizing, he kissed her repeatedly near her ear, then lowered his hand and gently caressed her rounded belly with extreme care. After clearly feeling the baby’s first movements from her now noticeably swollen abdomen, Edmund had become obsessed with placing his hand or ear against her belly whenever he could, sharing its warmth.

Blair loved all of it.

She loved the fact that the fruit of the two of them had firmly taken root inside her, and that he listened to the child’s heartbeat in wonder, marveling at its growth. It made her feel vividly alive. The certainty that they were protecting each other and the relief that there was no longer any need to run anywhere softly enveloped her. He likely felt no differently.

“Speaking of which, I have an engagement to go out next week.”

Blair flinched, about to scold him for thinking of going anywhere in that condition, but Edmund spoke first.

“The royal legal officer and our family’s lawyer are all meeting. It’s not a gathering I can easily skip, so I have to attend.”

“Aren’t they the ones who notarized the late duke’s will?”

“That’s right. It seems the royal family intends to accelerate the succession process.”

According to the will, the ducal title was to be confirmed only after the birth of an heir. However, as Blair’s pregnancy entered a stable stage and repeated diagnoses confirmed that the fetus was developing well, the situation began to shift.

The royal family of the Kingdom of Genoa did not want the head position of a powerful noble house to remain vacant for long, so based on Blair’s medical reports, they intended to proceed with the formal succession.

But if, by any chance, the child failed to be born safely, everything would come to nothing. Blair couldn’t help feeling anxious about that. Having gone through such a shocking incident, there was a possibility of miscarriage, and as the one carrying the child, she had no choice but to be on edge. She was afraid that her mistake or choice might render all of Edmund’s efforts meaningless.

“To me, a title is nothing but a shell.”

Perhaps sensing her burden, he spoke in a low, almost reciting voice.

“To be honest, I still have no attachment to it. Since I wanted to tear it down from the start, I don’t think it would be so bad to break free from the name Libert and remain an ordinary wealthy man. I only changed my mind because I thought Libert might serve as a solid fortress protecting my family.”

The hand that had been gently caressing her abdomen moved up and clasped Blair’s hand. He placed a light kiss on the back of her hand.

“I’ve already reorganized the share structure of the core businesses that were being managed under the family name, in preparation for any possible future. Even if the title and the fief are reclaimed by the royal family, the money that will allow you and me to live in luxury for the rest of our lives will remain firmly in my hands.”

Blair’s eyes widened at his unexpected meticulousness. Edmund had already assumed every possible outcome and designed a future with her in mind.

The world is no longer what it used to be. Even if he fails to receive the title, they cannot expel him from every enterprise where he already exerts influence as the acting executive. The late duke could not lay a hand on the capital that was, in essence, the very substance of Libert, and it was structured to remain entirely Edmund’s regardless of the title.

“My father must’ve known the loopholes in the will as well. But what mattered to him wasn’t money, it was the noble shell of the family itself. He probably wanted me to chase that hollow facade and struggle for the rest of my life, but unfortunately, I’m not as obsessed with the illusion of honor as he was.”

“…Even so, I want you to become the rightful master of Libert.”

Blair looked at Edmund with firm resolve in her eyes.

“I know this name has been the shackles that bound you your whole life. I know how hard you’ve fought under the shadow of this family. But Ed, I don’t want Libert to remain something you must flee from or tear down.”

There was no greed for a title in her voice, only a desperate wish that he overcome the ghosts of his past and find peace.

“I want the fence you struggled so hard to protect to become a warm home that embraces us. A sanctuary that proves your efforts were never in vain.”

She wanted him, who had overcome everything, to inherit the title proudly. More than that, she hoped the first world their child would face would be the world his father had fiercely built and defended.