“I’m your husband.”

Edgar said, pressing down his anger. It sounded like a fierce beast growling, so Rubica started to feel really afraid. It wasn’t like she could say their relationship had been made because of a deal.

“For now, yes.”

However, that reply wasn’t the right answer either. His eyes turned bloodshot.

“Is it that Arman? Where is that bastard?”

“Arman? Why are you talking about him now?”

“Are you defending him?”

Edgar glared at Rubica, and his fierce eyes were almost melting her off.

“He isn’t a good man.”

“How do you know that? Have you ever met him?”

Rubica’s voice shook. How could Edgar be so sure Arman was not a good man? Maybe he knew him.

“I don’t have to meet him to know that.”

Sadly, what Edgar said wasn’t what she had expected. Her slight hope vanished, and she got a little angry. He had been saying all this nonsense while scolding her, and she hated him for that. She rather missed the boredom she felt just a while ago.

“Arman is a good man. You don’t know how kind and nice he is. Don’t you speak ill of him in front of me.”

The anger that had been bubbling inside Edgar like lava eventually exploded.

“He’s kind and nice? Rubica, you’re being fooled. Any man with responsibility and conscience would not let the woman who’s pregnant with his own baby marry another man.”

Rubica could now see why he was doing this. It was crazy, but he hadn’t read her letter. The servant, who took care of the messenger birds, had been sure the congratulation letters would arrive early in the morning and her letter would arrive only shortly after as soon as the sun came up, so she hadn’t worried about that, but something must have gone wrong in the middle.

“Stop liking him! He doesn’t deserve your love.”

Edgar criticized Arman as if he had been Rubica’s father or brother. In a way, Rubica couldn’t understand that. She hadn’t had any kind of physical intercourse with Edgar, and he had heard the news of her pregnancy. In most cases, when a husband thought his wife had become pregnant with a baby that wasn’t his, he didn’t leave that alone. When the husband was merciful, the wife was kicked out, but mostly the wife was either sued or requested to commit suicide. However, even if Edgar was mad at Arman, he wasn’t blaming her.

“Edgar, I think it’s all a huge misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? What kind of?”

“I never got to tell Arman I love him. And…”

Rubica was going to continue, but she had to stop there. Edgar looked so shocked as if he had just been struck by lightning.

“… what?”

He asked back, holding her shoulders. He looked at her belly that hadn’t swollen at all. Rubica soon realized she only worsened Edgar’s misunderstanding. He was just imagining the worst thing he could think of.

“Ed…”

“It’s my baby.”

Edgar firmly cut her off with his blue eyes burning. Rubica had never seen him unable to control himself like that. He usually sat on the sofa elegantly and made fun of what she did. She was usually the one who got mad and pouted when they were together, and Edgar had never lost his reasons.

Even during meals, Rubica glanced at him from time to time, but he just elegantly used his knife. It was as if he was the incarnation of coldness, reasons, and elegance, but now he was so mad that he couldn’t hear a word Rubica was saying.

“What are you talking about?”

“You are Duchess Claymore. The duchess’ baby should be the duke’s baby.”

What was he talking about? It was the most foolish thing Rubica had ever heard.

“It is an extremely rational and logical deduction.”

Edgar added as if he could see what Rubica was thinking. It rather sounded like black comedy, but his voice was trembling with anxiety.

“I have a duty to keep you safe. No, it’s my right. Your baby is my child. If he’s a boy, he will become Claymore’s heir, and if she’s a girl, she will be my daughter.”

“No, Edgar.”

Rubica urgently stopped him, and she had to announce the truth quickly to stop him.

“So, don’t even think about taking responsibility and leaving. I will track you down to the end of this continent. I’m the one who should take responsibility, not you. So, don’t tell me you already have a plan, or I shouldn’t worry. It’s all my responsibility and my duty!”

Edgar sounded as if he was declaring war against Rubica. What he was saying was that he couldn’t bear to see Rubica leave the mansion while pregnant and suffer, so he was going to take care of everything himself.

In a way, that was sweet, but Rubica rather felt chilled as Edgar’s eyes were glistening dangerously.

“And, as for the man who did, did…”

Edgar moaned at the rising anger. That was the moment, so Rubica quickly opened her mouth to tell him it was all a misunderstanding.

“… did this to you, I will capture that man who knows neither honor nor responsibility and make him live in pain for the rest of his life.”

Edgar was now smiling dangerously, and cold sweat started running down Rubica’s back. She missed her moment to speak.

“If he’s a commoner, I will sentence him to the cruelest punishment I can give.”

Edgar stopped there, thinking that describing that punishment to the pregnant Rubica wasn’t the right thing to do.

“And don’t worry, even if he is a noble, I will get your revenge. There are many ways. Poison or assassination, but I would rather let him live in pain. I will not let the man who did this to you live in peace. I will make him regret it forever and ever.”

He turned. He was probably about to call someone, but Rubica grabbed his arm in surprise. She had to stop him before this got bigger.

“Edgar, you’re…”

“Carl!”

His loud voice went through the door and reached Elise who was waiting outside.

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“Get Carl!”

This couldn’t be good. Both Elise and Ann were going to be so afraid, so Rubica had to solve this before it was too late.

“Edgar, please. It’s all a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? What kind of? Don’t even think about calling a criminal committing a crime as a misunderstanding. You are way too generous. Don’t defend him.”

However, Edgar was just too mad and wouldn’t even listen to her.

“I’m not pregnant.”

“You think you can get past this moment with that lie and run away? The baby is mine. You are pregnant with my child, and you can’t disappear to take care of it alone.”

This was serious. He was really mad and outraged. He wouldn’t listen even though Rubica was telling the truth. Now his super intelligence was being rather harmful. He thought Rubica was up to some kind of scheme even he couldn’t look through, but she simply wanted to scream that she wasn’t that smart.

“Rubica, don’t worry. I will raise the baby as if it were mine.”

Now he was thinking about something different with his eyes full of hope. Clearly, he wasn’t in the right state of mind.

“What the, you are going to raise a baby that isn’t yours? What are you? Are you, are you a fool or something?”

Rubica was being dragged into it without noticing it. The moment she realized she had spoken to admit she was pregnant, Edgar smiled brightly. He had been always cold, but now he was smiling brightly like the sunlight.

Bum-

Rubica was shocked to hear her heart suddenly beat so hard. She stared at him, lost in words.

‘… Arman.’

He was smiling just like Arman had smiled to her by the river, in the time that was a distant past and a distant future.

“What am I? Your husband, of course.”

Rubica felt dizzy. Calling him foolish would be an understatement. He was acting like he was out of his mind. How did she even feel that he was similar to Arman? He and Arman were completely different. If Arman had been like the warm spring sunshine, Edgar was like the bright sunlight of the hot summertime. Rubica was about to melt under that intense light.

Then, someone knocked on the door, and the butler had arrived. Edgar brightened up and turned to the door.

“Is it you, Carl?”

“Yes, Your Grace. May I come in?”

Rubica had no time. She dragged his arm to stop him. The gesture clearly meant she had something to say, but Edgar didn’t respond to it. It was all a misunderstanding. Rubica knew her saying she wasn’t pregnant had angered Edgar even more. He was outraged and was not going to listen to her at all, but she had to stop him from giving orders to his knights.

‘Is it the only way?’

It was the way she least wanted to use, but it was the only way to calm him down now.

“Carl, come in…”

Rubica closed her eyes, stood on her tiptoes, and covered Edgar’s lips with hers.