I Never Wanted His Child - Chapter 222

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“Sit down. I know you came because you’re curious about the story.”

At Mikhail’s words, Emilia sat down. She met the Marquis’s gaze and gave a slight nod.

“Well then, shall we have a proper conversation now?”

He initiated the discussion.

Emilia swallowed hard and clenched her hands. From his gaze, it seemed he knew everything.

The Marquis appeared to share the same thoughts as him.

“First, I should thank the Marquis.”

“There’s no need for gratitude. I merely offered some help.”

“It sounds like you’re saying you would have helped anyone in the same situation.”

“You heard correctly.”

At the Marquis’s words, Mikhail’s expression softened considerably.

“Thank you for helping Emilia.”

“I have many questions, but I’ll hold off for now.”

“That’s a wise decision.”

As she watched the exchange between the two, Emilia carefully interrupted.

“I don’t understand why you two are talking about me. Shouldn’t I be the one expressing gratitude?”

“I’m the one who should thank him for taking care of my wife.”

His mention of ‘wife’ made Emilia blink in surprise and glare at him.

How could he say it so casually? His shameless attitude made her tongue involuntarily click in disbelief.

“It seems the story in the newspaper isn’t a lie. I’m relieved to see that the two of you don’t have a bad relationship.”

“Not everything you see is the whole truth.”

Emilia responded to the Marquis’s words.

In fact, it wasn’t even something that needed to be said.

Having escaped the Duke’s estate and hidden in the back streets of Delphora, she didn’t need to hear the details to understand what was going on.

“Isn’t that how a married couple is supposed to be?”

But the Marquis, with a casual tone, tried to ease the mood.

“You’re not even married, yet you seem to know so much about it.”

“I’ve learned a lot from watching my parents.”

He didn’t lose his smile, and it was so confident it seemed genuine, not fake. Emilia couldn’t help but let go of her lingering resentment toward him.

He was, objectively, a good person. Knowing she had fled with a child, yet still acting like this, there must be a reason for it.

“I see. Anyway, thanks to you, I’ve been able to stay comfortably. I won’t forget your kindness.”

“I think I’ve already repaid that kindness more than enough.”

Mikhail pulled out a document and handed it to the Marquis. It was the financial statement of the Spiegel newspaper.

“How…?”

It was a document that only an investor would know about. To see it in Mikhail’s hands was a surprise.

Mikhail spoke nonchalantly.

“They said a full investigation would take place in a month, but I didn’t expect it to be pulled forward this quickly.”

He hadn’t anticipated that the Duke would be the one to tip them off.

But when he put together everything that had been said so far…

‘Why the Duke?’

Emilia’s gaze instinctively turned to the Marquis. Had he come to the same conclusion? His eyes were wide in shock.

“…!”

The Marquis’s face showed a hint of distress. It seemed he had heard something unexpected, and he quickly adjusted his posture.

“…I didn’t expect the Duke to be the one who reported it.”

“I never imagined you were the owner of the newspaper.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to prevent a major disaster.”

“I was taken aback by how the investigation started differently than expected, but in the end, it turned out fine.”

Mikhail quickly shifted the subject.

“By the way, did you take the role of the newspaper’s owner?”

“I’m just the most suitable person for the job. Isn’t it safer than anyone else doing it?”

The Gepetto family had maintained neutrality, so no one would have suspected them.

“I also understand Your Grace never appeared at any of the meetings.”

“There’s no harm in being cautious. That goes for you as well, doesn’t it? Even if there were meetings, you probably wouldn’t have shown your face.”

“That’s correct. My goal was just to confirm those who shared the same intentions.”

“So, did you manage to identify them?”

The Marquis nodded lightly.

“Then does that mean Your Grace supports the disbandment of the royal family?”

“I don’t see any reason to oppose it. There’s no benefit in maintaining it.”

“I was a bit surprised to hear Your Grace think that way.”

“More importantly, when you came to the Duke’s estate, you must have known your identity would be exposed.”

At Mikhail’s sharp question, the Marquis awkwardly chuckled.

“To be honest, I couldn’t avoid coming because I was worried about the Duchess.”

“As you can see, she’s fine. Though, as you can also see, she’s not exactly thrilled about it.”

“I think I was worried because she didn’t come back voluntarily.”

“Well, in a way, she did come back, didn’t she?”

Mikhail curled the corners of his mouth into a slight smile. However, his eyes were still sharp.

The Marquis cleared his throat and changed the topic.

“I was surprised to hear about the engagement with Sir Byne. I thought Your Grace would have inherited the Bayern bloodline.”

“Everyone who’s seen Dahlia probably thinks the same. They’ve certainly been more confident in Dahlia’s bloodline than in mine.”

The Marquis nodded lightly.

“Since you made the first move before the royal family could act, there’s no need to worry.”

“If Your Grace lends your strength, everyone will gain courage. They were all hesitant because they believed Duke Heinrich was standing with the royal family.”