Chapter 169
Read ahead of public and coin chapters ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ GoM kofi ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊
Vanessa calmly set down the glass after taking a sip of water.
The “River Ross” seated across from her felt like a complete stranger.
It wasn’t just that everything he wore was far too refined to belong to a mere naval sergeant’s salary.
It was the atmosphere that was overwhelming, almost suffocating. The way his blue eyes seemed to observe her, the long, straight lines of his body wrapped in a formal suit, the colder cast to his features than usual, the wary glances of the staff watching them.
How had she ever mistaken a man like this for an ordinary sailor?
Even if he had worn worn-out shirts, been covered in dust, or slouched carelessly on that shabby sofa in the shed, sketching with charcoal…
“……”
Just recalling those days made it hard to breathe. Even the last fragile piece of hope she had clung to sank quietly.
There was nowhere left to run. This was the moment she had to accept it. This man was not the same “River Ross” from the summer rose garden.
And now that she knew the truth, she could never go back.
Theodore Liam Battenberg.
A name that belonged to a man she had no place knowing or to be entangled with. Not as the daughter of a declining count’s family.
Vanessa quickly composed herself before her thoughts could show on her face. She lifted her lips into a smooth, practiced smile.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I came?”
“I’d like to.”
“And?”
“But right now… I’d rather look at your face a little longer.”
His gaze, faintly smiling, lingered on her. Slowly, deliberately, it traced her features—her forehead, the bridge of her nose, her lips, her jawline… and lower still. As if committing her entirely to memory.
As if he already knew what she was about to ask of him.
A chill ran through her. She hated that thought. That perhaps he regretted it. That perhaps he, too, felt some measure of remorse for everything.
Vanessa bit her lip again—the same place she had already bitten too many times. In the end, it had been his choice not to tell her until things reached this point.
“I can’t say I have no idea why you’ve come all this way.”
His eyes lowered, settling briefly on the faint trace of blood on her lips before he let out a quiet sigh.
“You look tired, Vanessa. You should go upstairs and rest. Whatever you want to say… we can talk tomorrow.”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
“I came today to ask you about the future, River Ross. I want to know if you’ve ever considered any kind of sustainable future between us.”
“Future.”
A faint smile touched his lips. Its meaning was unclear—was it a sigh, amusement, or irritation? Dressed to match the gray city of Linden, he felt entirely unfamiliar.
Vanessa’s fingers tightened unconsciously in the fabric of her skirt.
“The contract is about to end. I wanted to make it clear that afterward, we shouldn’t interfere in each other’s lives.”
“How considerate.”
“As you said, we ‘enjoyed each other.’ And now… I want a child.”
“…A child?”
“You said you needed a pension. So I was thinking—what if… there were a child between us?”
She forced herself not to tremble as she met his blue eyes head-on.
The Duke leaned back slowly in his chair, his fingers brushing thoughtfully over his lips. Then his expression cooled, his gaze turning distant and sharp.
Silence fell between them. Then, as if to smooth over the tension, his voice returned more controlledly.
“I’m trying to understand, Vanessa. Why you would say something like that.”
“……”
“First of all, it’s an unnecessary assumption. I’ve been taking Trinil regularly.”
“……”
“So I suppose that’s why you came all this way, talking about ending the contract. Because you saw the pills.”
He spoke as if it had always been inevitable. As if the moment he handed her the key to that shed, he had already accepted this outcome.
Perhaps it had never been much of a secret to him. Perhaps he had never even considered it a deception.
Vanessa bit down on her pale lips.
“And if, by some miracle, you are carrying a child, then we’d have to arrange a marriage quickly. And in the process, some unnecessary scandal would inevitably follow.”
