The two of them walked onto the balcony to have some privacy. However, the people's gaze followed them, and they started to be suspicious.
"You should stop this, Duchess Ledroux," Denary straightforwardly told her.
"No! " Shyneth firmly refused.
"For goodness sake! You are carrying his child! " Denarius blurted out.
Shyneth bit her lower lip. Denarius never raised his voice to her.
"It's not like I wanted it to happen! " she said hurtfully. Her eyes started to be teary.
Denarius sighed deeply. "Look, Shyneth. The rumors about you are not favorable. They are talking badly of you." Calming himself down.
"At least you called me by my name again, Denary," she sniffled.
Denarius paused and realized what he said. He brushed it off.
"Stop this foolish action," he said firmly.
"Why? We loved each other, right? We could run away. We could raise the child as if it were ours," she said desperately.
"Do you hear what you are saying? "Denarius looks grim.
Tears fell from Shyneth's eyes seeing Denarius's reaction. She clenched tightly on the hem of her dress.
"Why is this happening to me? " she said in a low voice. "Why do I have to be the one to suffer the most? " looking down.
Denarius's expression softened, and he gently grabbed her by her shoulder. "Shy…"
"TELL ME WHY! " Shyneth raised her gaze to him, her tears falling nonstop. "I'm the one who got lost here. Why am I the one who should be suffering? " Shyneth looked at him with confusion in her eyes.
"Shyneth…"
"You said you love me, right? We love each other," she said in her cries. "Why did you leave me? Is it really so easy for you to throw me away? Because I'm having trouble doing that."
"Listen…"
"You said you will marry me. You will ask for my hand. But why? Why did you let me marry someone else? Why did you let it happen? I became the wife of another man," gripping tightly on his clothes as if they were her lifeline.
"I'm sorry…," he said with a low voice. "I hadn't realized you'd take it seriously. It was an expression."
Shyneth paused for a moment.
"Yes, I love you. I love you only as a sister. "
Shyneth's eyes widened hearing Denarius's confession. She let go of him and distanced herself.
"At the very end, you can't fight for me."
Denarius felt something strike in his heart.
Shyneth stepped forward and tiptoed. She put her lips on his. Denarius stands still for her sudden action.
"Goodbye, Denarius," Shyneth said with her eyes teary and smiled at him. She turned around and left the balcony.
Denarius, who reacted so late, reached out his hand, but Shyneth was already far from his reach.
"Ha… haha… hahaha! "Denarius laughed and put his hand on his face.
"What? Are you going crazy now that you've done that?"
Denarius flinched and glanced at the owner of the voice. He saw Heinz standing at the entrance, leaning on the frame with his arms crossed on his chest.
"You have a bad habit of eavesdropping," Denarius remarked bitterly.
"What? At least I'm not that coward," shrugging his shoulder.
Denarius chuckled and lifted his head up. "Really? I'm a coward." Tears fell from his eyes. "But that makes us two."
"Hey, why are you counting me in? " Heinz complained.
Denarius wiped his eyes and gazed at him. "Didn't you tell her about your true feelings for her because you can't cross the bridge? "
Heinz flinched. "Huh," he scoffed. "I just know it too late."
"Too late, huh… and now you are throwing your tantrums by acting like a womanizer."
"Shut it…" Heinz felt embarrassed. "Why don't you come with me to have a drink? "
"Sounds good…" Denarius smiled sadly.
*************
Days passed by, and the duchess gave birth to a boy. The child looks exactly like his father but has her mother's eyes. The duke held the child in his arms and experienced an unexplainable sensation.
"I know I shouldn't be happy. This child was born out of love. But I couldn't help but be overjoyed that my son was born from the woman I love. "Even though she didn't love me back," the duke reflected while holding his son in his arms.
"I want to stay in the territory," Syneth suddenly voices out.
Ruan got surprised hearing Shyneth's voice. Shyneth hasn't spoken to or looked for him since their marriage. He avoids her because he knows how much Shyneth despises him as the son who murdered her father. If Shyneth did not refuse the marriage because of her father's last will. Ruan could also refute it, as his father's will stated that he could only succeed to the dukedom if he married Duke Engelsen's daughter.
If he did not inherit the dukedom, they would lose their territory, as well as his father's efforts to rebuild it and achieve independence in the dukedom affair. His father does not have any other relatives to take over. If he fails, the dukedom will fall under the emperor's control. His father warned him that they should not allow the emperor to have any influence over the dukedom.
"As you wish," Ruan answered.
The two depart with their child after the duchess recovers her health from giving birth. Despite their son looking like the duke, the duchess raised the child with love and care. The duchess and the duke started to become friendly to one another. Everything is going well, and the three of them live peacefully in the northern territory.
The duchess heads to the east, where her father's territory is located. Since no one else can inherit her father's estate, she pays a casual visit to the mansion to check on the status of their territory. She sometimes brought her son, Klave, with her, or the three of them would visit the east.
One day, the duchess travels to the east to check. However, news reached the north that the duchess's carriage had been involved in an accident. The duke dashed towards the location, only to discover that the carriage was at the bottom of the hill, with burn marks visible. He looks through only to find a body that was burnt inside. The duke didn't want to believe it was the duchess, but when he saw the ring on her finger, cold water splashed on him.
How could he not recognize the ring he placed on her finger when they married? It is the ring he always sees on her and on his finger. The ring has a sign of being burnt, but then it still survives the fire.
The duke fell on his knees and yelled out his pain. "AAHHHHHH! "