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Chapter 08
The contents of Gray’s letter were as follows:
He wrote that he wanted to take a walk near the nearby lake and asked whether he would be allowed to go out. He said he wanted to visit the outside world and enjoy the scenery before the seasons changed while staying at the duke’s estate.
However, he added that since he was still young and felt uneasy going alone, he would like to bring a protector—his sister-in-law Anne Ferro—along with a servant if possible.
It was his first outing, and he had written the letter addressed to the Duchess. For Anne, the confident tone of the writing was somewhat incomprehensible.
Why did he assume it would naturally be permitted? It wasn’t as if he was being confined. He could have simply reported it to the steward. Did he intend to involve even her in this?
Anne suddenly had a thought and shook her head in a panic.
It must be Jamie. That boy must have encouraged him.
Deciding she would have to properly scold him, Anne stayed late at the servant hall. Only when Jamie finally arrived did her eyes sharpen.
“Jamie Ferro.”
“Sis… I’m sorry. I was summoned by the lady. And the young master really did apologize.”
Jamie’s shoulders drooped, which made him look pitiful. He was her younger brother, after all. Seeing him as family made her feel both nostalgic and affectionate. But she couldn’t let this slide.
“I told you not to treat others the way you treat the young master. Didn’t you consider how the Duchess might feel when delivering that note?”
“The young master said it would probably be fine…”
A good master. To Jamie, Gray Benton’s kindness outweighed concern for status or hierarchy.
Sigh.
“That’s all the Duchess expects from the young master. To stay out of sight and live as if he’s dead. You’re the servant of someone like that.”
“That’s too harsh, sis.”
“Jamie. Do you remember I used half my wages to support our aunt’s household before you came here?”
“…What?”
Clearly unaware, Jamie’s mouth fell open.
“The reason I brought you here is simple. I thought this place would be a better opportunity for you. To study, to find a good master, to become a proper servant.”
“The young master Gray is a good person.”
Despite Jamie’s defense, Anne spoke coldly.
“Gray Benton is not a good master.”
At those words, Jamie’s face visibly twisted. Anne continued without concern.
“Let’s be honest. He’s the illegitimate son of the duke. And since the Duchess dislikes him, even if he becomes a knight, he won’t rise very high.”
If Duke Hans Benton and Edwin, the heir, were still alive—if Gray had safely graduated from the academy and become a knight—
Then the Duchess would have been the first to send him to the battlefield.
Anne, who had personally experienced how cruelly and persistently the woman could torment those she disliked, knew it better than anyone.
“So just stay here for a few years, gain experience, and find a better—”
“Sis.”
They would no longer run away together. Gray’s life would only become harsher. Jamie didn’t need to suffer alongside him.
“The young master Gray likes you.”
At that unexpected statement, Anne stopped.
“Even Aunt, a noble bastard-born woman, lives well, right? If you marry the young master, you could live happily too. He would treat you well—”
Bang!
Anne slammed the table, cutting him off.
Her fingertips trembled as she met his eyes, her gaze filled with anger.
“Do you want your sister to marry a noble bastard just to improve her life?”
She had thought Jamie simply didn’t understand boundaries with Gray—but perhaps she had been wrong.
Maybe he truly believed he was helping her by encouraging a relationship with Gray.
“Even if he’s a bastard, he is still far above commoners like us. Sis, the young master is truly a wonderful person. He is kinder than any servant has ever known. So imagine how devoted he would be to someone he loves.”
Anne, who had already experienced what lay at the end of such hope, felt a chill run down her spine.
“No.”
Her voice grew rough without her intention.
“But the young master Gray really does like you—”
“No. Stop it, Jamie.”
Anne cut him off coldly.
“I don’t want that.”
As she looked at her brother, Gray’s figure seemed to overlap in her vision. She shook her head in disgust.
“So don’t ever say something like that again. If you don’t want both of us thrown out of this estate, stop imagining nonsense.”
I will never like Gray Benton.
Reaffirming this to herself, Anne turned away with a firm expression.
Not this time.
Absolutely not. Please. Not this time—
Anne, the Duchess of the Benton family, was desperate. She had never been so desperate in her life.
Every night she prayed.
Every moment she focused all her senses on the miracle growing inside her abdomen.
“I’m pregnant.”
Gray, returning from an all-night party with the smell of alcohol still clinging to him, only briefly widened his eyes and smiled.
“Good.”
That was all.
He was already thirty.
He had already experienced one miscarriage, and in the meantime, even his feelings for his wife had drifted far away.
There was nothing Anne could hold onto anymore.
The husband who habitually sought her out and mechanically embraced her—through that repetition, an unexpected life had appeared. It was nothing short of a miracle, her last chance at life, and a blessing.
She stopped eating food sent by the Dowager Duchess and replaced her servants with ones free from her influence, with Gray’s help.
Whenever food was served, she made sure the chef tasted it in front of her. She even demanded constant checks from servants to ensure safety before intimacy, obsessively verifying everything every day.
“Lowborn filth pretending otherwise.”
The Dowager Duchess already had a candidate in mind for the future Duchess.
She had heard that Gray had been meeting that woman recently and that their relationship was good. The maids’ messages quickly reached Anne, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
It felt as though the Dowager Duchess was deliberately tormenting her.
“Watch your words. I carry the duke’s heir.”
Fearing contamination, Anne covered her abdomen with both hands.
She could no longer endure it.
She would do anything to protect this child.
“A faint laugh escaped.”
The Dowager Duchess sneered.
“Such stubborn weeds. Let’s see how far you can go.”
Anne asked Gray for help.
She wanted to go to a villa or countryside estate—anywhere. Before her belly grew larger, before things became more dangerous, she wanted to escape the web the Dowager Duchess had spread throughout the estate.
“Stay home and take care of yourself. My mother promised she would look after you well.”
Gray stroked her tear-streaked cheek and spoke empty words of comfort.
Do you even know what your mother did to me?
I lost my first child because of her!
“Have you already forgotten how our child was lost?”
“It’s a misunderstanding, Anne. Why do you keep thinking negatively? It’s bad for the baby.”
If she had investigated more thoroughly—even her own weakened condition and first pregnancy might not have been blamed for the miscarriage.
Anne begged Gray in tears every day. With each passing day, the relationship between them fractured further.
Gray became exhausted by Anne, who grew increasingly anxious, suspicious, and pessimistic.
To be precise, he no longer wanted to carry her burden.
It had simply become tiresome.
A brighter, easier, more glamorous world was spreading a red carpet before him. And Anne, standing beside him, kept trying to retreat into shadow.
“For the sake of the child, Anne. Change your mind.”
My family—and your family too.
Gray referred to the Dowager Duchess and urged reconciliation.
Anne could not refuse the food that was brought out at that moment.
She stroked her belly with one hand and ate a specially prepared soup.
But the moment she took a bite, the Dowager Duchess’s faint smile twisted in her mind.
That night, she vomited everything she had eaten.
“No… absolutely not…”
Her belly had grown. It had already been six months.
Anne trusted only the maid she had personally chosen and the housekeeper who had watched over her since she was a servant.
“I’ve brought the physician, my lady.”
“Come in.”
Anne habitually spoke politely to the housekeeper, despite always intending to correct herself.
“Both the child and the Duchess are healthy.”
“Thank you.”
The housekeeper answered on her behalf as the physician bowed and left.
In the sweltering summer heat, lying still made her sweat heavily.
The housekeeper soaked a towel in water, wrung it out, and placed it on her forehead.
“You should avoid moving too much in this heat. It may cause dehydration and exhaustion. It’s not good for the baby.”
“Thank you.”
“As always, please speak comfortably, Duchess Benton.”
Anne looked at the housekeeper’s white hair and deep wrinkles and felt a rare sense of peace.
Unaware that Gray Benton was watching this quiet bond.
He had just entered the room to change his clothes—and upon seeing the housekeeper attending to Anne, he exploded in anger.
“Why did you call the housekeeper into your room when I wasn’t here?”
