I Never Wanted His Child - Chapter 199

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“The first step is the Spiegel newspaper. I’ve heard that in the upcoming survey, they’ll be searching all the buildings in the city. The King’s shadow will move in secret, so no one will notice.”

“Since there will be some movement to show the newspaper to others, they’ll try to track that, right?”

Count Chevron nodded. He seemed nervous, his dry swallow showed his fear as he watched Mikhail, looking like a terrified herbivore.

“To protect Lady Chevron’s honor, I’ll release the article. If needed, you may use the Duke’s townhouse.”

“Re-really?”

“If they find out we’ve been in contact, your life will be in danger, so we have no choice.”

Count Chevron stood up and bowed deeply to express his gratitude.

“If you need anything, I’ll help however I can.”

“Make sure Lady Chevron doesn’t do anything reckless. That’s your responsibility, Count.”

“I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Mikhail called for Kartho. He instructed him to guide a member of Chevron’s household to stay at the townhouse.

Kartho nodded, then immediately brought over a contract.

“Sign here. If there’s any deceit or harm caused to the Heinrich family, the Chevron family will be held responsible.”

“I understand. I’ll sign it right away.”

“Are you not going to read the contract?”

“Even if I did, there’s no choice, is there? Time is of the essence, so let’s skip that part.”

Mikhail watched as Count Chevron signed the contract without hesitation.

“Do you know when the full investigation will take place?”

“A month from now. Before that, they plan to involve as many people as possible.”

Mikhail nodded lightly.

“Kartho. Make sure to escort the Count to the carriage.”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

Watching the Count leave with Kartho, Mikhail quickly began writing a letter. He needed to contact the Spiegel newspaper.

❖ ❖ ❖

Recently, Marquis Gepetto had noticed some unfamiliar faces around the back streets of Delphora.

“It seems like there’s something unusual going on.”

“I think so too. Do you think the royal family might have caught on to something?”

“No, I don’t think so. There must be some other motive behind this.”

He stroked his chin and frowned.

Although the guards’ increased presence bothered him, it was the people coming and going that made him feel uneasy, as if they were searching for something.

“Should we move?”

“If we do, we might just give them a reason to act.”

His head ached. After all, he was hiding Duchess Heinrich as well. If that were to be exposed…

“For now, tell them to distribute the newspaper in another way. Keep the movements under control, avoid going into the city, and make sure to disguise themselves if needed.”

“Understood. But what if we have guests?”

“What should we do? We’ll get them drunk and put them to sleep. What other choice do we have?”

Marquis Gepetto lit his cigar.

“Rantein, do I smell like roses?”

“From you, Marquis? That’s impossible. You’ve been smoking cigars like that.”

The butler shook his head. The members and the butler all said there was no scent, so why was the Duke so persistent about it?

“I need to meet Madam Heinrich. The Duke’s actions are starting to get to me.”

“Do you think he’s noticed?”

“If he had, would I have returned to the estate safely? If he had caught me, that might have been a different story.”

Mikhail still couldn’t forget Emilia. Even though she had faked her death, he hadn’t given up on the idea of finding her body, refusing to let go.

That persistence was starting to drive him mad, and yet, watching Mikhail deteriorate made him feel strangely conflicted.

He was becoming increasingly confused about whether the man he knew was the same person.

He seemed the same on the outside, but his hair was slightly out of place, his eyes hollow from lack of sleep. The sharp red eyes told him just how on edge he was.

“They say the Bayern family has beast-like instincts…”

Maybe, just maybe, he really did have that forgotten Bayern blood running through him.

‘Does he want to place that child in the seat instead?’

Unlike the Duke, the child named Dahlia didn’t seem used to hiding her emotions.

No, she didn’t even seem to want to hide them. Her eyes, when she looked at Adrian, were full of hatred and a thirst for revenge.

If the two of them weren’t working toward the same goal, blood would surely be spilled again.

Marquis Gepetto puffed on his cigar, trying to shake off the complex thoughts swirling in his mind.

❖ ❖ ❖

Rose scent. The talk of that scent again.

She stared at Marquis Gepetto, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.

“Madam, is something on my face?”

“No, it’s about the rose scent the Duke mentioned earlier.”

“Ah, I asked someone else, and they said they didn’t notice anything.”

“They said I smell like roses. It seems like my scent might have rubbed off on you, Marquis.”

“That’s problematic. It seems the Duke is starting to suspect me.”

“You used an excuse that a woman could wear rose perfume, right?”

The Marquis nodded lightly.

“In that case… he’ll probably go through every perfume shop in the city. I don’t know what scent I have, but perhaps he might get the list of people who bought the perfume.”

“Oh no.”

It seemed like the Marquis agreed with the possibility.

“We’ll need to get that list and ask for help. Otherwise, the Marquis might find yourself in trouble.”

Marquis Gepetto nodded. Emilia still didn’t understand why Mikhail was so insistent on finding her.