To My First Love, With Regret - 44

—If you don’t want to live with soldiers, and I need to fulfill Kentrell’s duty, there is one good way to satisfy both of us.

Eve turned her gaze not to the curious Chantal, but to the man who was staring only at the wall as if she wasn’t there.

—Dr. Kallas is now a member of the Kentrell family, isn’t he?

The doctor whipped around to face Eve. His pupils trembled. Did he truly mistake her words for a sincere acknowledgment of him as a family member? Big dreams, indeed.

—So, if the Doctor enlists to represent Kentrell, I will withdraw the officer accommodation plan.

The Doctor looked troubled, and Chantal was horrified, quickly raising the white flag by changing the subject.

—It’s time to leave.

This hallway didn’t even have a clock, so how she knew the time was a mystery. As Eve turned toward the stairs, Dr. Kallas hesitated and asked,

—Wouldn’t it be better for the Lady to take a different car?

—Why is that?

The Doctor paused again without answering. She thought it strange that he was so timid—he was Chantal’s puppet, but not so weak he couldn’t even speak his mind—and then she understood why:

—There’s a saying that if the groom sees the bride’s dress before the wedding, lifelong regret and unhappiness will follow the marriage.

Now she finally knew why he had been staring only at the wall the moment he saw Eve, as if he had seen her in just her underwear.

—Haha!

Eve burst into loud laughter, then immediately hardened her expression and asked,

—Doctor, do you wish for this marriage to be happy?

It was true that this marriage was a contract for the selfish happiness of the two interested parties. However, the subjects of that contract were not the bride and groom, but two women. It was a handshake between Eve and Chantal, with knives hidden behind their backs.

The groom, who was merely a puppet of those two women, aspired to an ordinary happiness, even knowing his own circumstances.

The only one who dreamt of sincerity amidst this extreme hypocrisy. Could anyone be more out of their mind? Owen Kallas was, by far, the biggest lunatic in this house.

—Does that mean you are also prepared to carry me into the bridal chamber for a happy marriage, Doctor?

—That’s absolutely not what I meant…

The Doctor blushed, flustered. Chantal glared at her lover, as if she could chew him to death for daring to dream of a happy marriage with another woman, whether he meant it or if it was a slip of the tongue. Then, she suddenly smiled sweetly.

—Tony! My baby!

Tony had just rounded the corner, appearing at the end of the hallway. The child’s expression was fierce as he walked toward them, glaring.

Why is he sulking again?

Tony, too, was a Sherwood: his temper was fiery, his will was stubborn, and his moods were volatile. Because of this, he was a difficult child, both physically and emotionally.

The little boy marched right up to them, his eyes wide enough to show the whites, glaring at the three adults. Was he upset with the grown-ups?

Chantal, as always, noticed his appearance before his emotions.

—Oh, my handsome Duke! What is wrong with your hair?

—You were running around. Anthony, I told you not to run.

Eve, meanwhile, had a priority that superseded the child’s mood: his health.

Tony had been born with a hole in his heart. The surgery was miraculously successful, but the doctor had warned that he must be careful for life. Of course, a child who listens is no child.

—Oh? Sweetheart, were you crying?

Chantal, crouching down to face Tony, was startled. Since he was looking down, eyes only half-raised, she hadn’t noticed the tear tracks on his cheeks. Eve was also taken aback.

Because Tony was physically weak, he couldn’t go to school and grew up surrounded by adults who doted on him at home. Because of this, his speech was advanced for his age, but his actions were childish. However, since last year, he had started insisting he was all grown up and rarely burst into tears.

—Who dared to make our Duke cry? Mommy will punish them this instant…

Chantal reached out her hand to wipe away the tear tracks.

—Get your hands off me, you whore.

A curse that would make the devil cringe burst from the mouth of a nine-year-old boy with the face of an angel. In that instant, the adults froze as if they had all been slapped.

—Your Grace, you mustn’t use such bad words.

The Doctor was an idle bystander who watched as Chantal ruined Tony, never intervening. The only reason he was overstepping now to scold the boy was because his lover had been insulted. And this time, naturally, the Doctor was the one who was verbally abused.

—You’re a slave, so shut up.

It was not the time to laugh, but Eve wanted to laugh out loud for them all to hear.

She hadn’t been able to find Tony good parents and had ended up living with him. Eve had decided to raise the child she had once tried to abandon correctly now, but she was plagued by Chantal’s interference.

Chantal had stolen someone else’s child, yet she guarded him as if Eve were trying to steal her own child back. She couldn’t possibly have affection for Tony. She was simply clinging fiercely to her cash flow. Whenever Eve tried to discipline him strictly, Chantal would coddle the boy and drive a wedge between them.

—The Duke is allowed to do that. Of course, he is. Absolutely.

Tony’s previous naughtiness had always been defended like this, so Eve wondered why Chantal wasn’t defending him this time by saying, The Duke is allowed to call me a whore.

Didn’t you teach him that he was allowed?

Frankly, while it was gratifying, Eve was also stunned that Chantal seemed genuinely shocked and hurt.

Did you never think that if you raise a child like a beast, they will bite you someday? How foolish.

Chantal had fallen into the trap she had set for herself. She couldn’t get angry because scolding the child would ruin her relationship with her sole source of income. She merely squeezed out tears and acted pitiful.

—Tony… How could you say such a thing to the mother who gave birth to you?

I don’t recall Tony calling me a whore.

To claim to be the mother who gave birth to Tony—how shameless.

Perhaps Tony needed to be punished because he was wrong. That woman wasn’t a whore; she was a swindler. They were distinctly different crimes.

Fine, you be the mother. Take all the responsibility for failing to raise the child correctly.

Then she would be free to speak her mind.

My God, how did a woman who claims to be his mother raise this child? When a common woman raises a child, the child loses all refinement.

She wanted to mock her like this, but she held back for her own sake. She didn’t want to become the same kind of person as Chantal by using the child as a means of retribution.

—Anthony Sherwood.

Eve called the boy’s name in a voice as cold as ice, completely devoid of warmth.

—Where did you learn such filthy language?

There was no reason to cover for Chantal. She was purely scolding Tony because she wanted him to grow up correctly.

—That word must never leave your mouth again. If you break this rule, you will be punished.

—Why not? Whose permission do you need?

The child didn’t show remorse but challenged her insolently. If Eve said something was wrong, Chantal insisted it was right. Because of this, the child didn’t judge right, wrong, good, or bad according to social convention but defined them based on whatever was advantageous to him.

Chantal was now paying the price. Tony pointed a finger at Chantal’s face and uttered that dirty word again with an unbelievably innocent expression.

—Mommy is a whore, and the Doctor is a slave. Am I wrong?

Her head was throbbing. Why do I have to suffer because of you? Eve shot a chilling glare at Chantal, then faced Tony again.

—Even if something is true, you must not say things that hurt others. That is not manners.

—They are both lower status than me, so why should I be polite?

No need to show manners to those of lower status. The moment Tony uttered the same words Harry had long ago, Eve’s heart sank coldly. Over the face of her angelic son, the phantom of the demon she had despised and loathed all her life seemed to be superimposed.

If I don’t cut this weed at the root, my son might grow up to be a demon someday. Eve decided to administer the cruelest, most potent remedy she had held back.

—Tony, you are just like Harry.

Tony looked as shocked as if his sister had cursed him. Although he had never met Harry, he had heard enough about who he was and how he died to be sick of it.

—Do you want Chantal to kill you just like Ethan Fairchild killed Harry? Don’t forget that those you mock will come to kill you someday.

The medicine was instantaneous. All color drained from Tony’s face, and he offered no further retort.

Eve had quelled the plague reaching even her child, but she tasted only the bitter defeat of spitting blood. The name Ethan Fairchild was not a remedy but poison to her. She had even used her own child’s biological father to instill fear in him.

I am truly a terrible mother.

Chantal shot a venomous look at Eve, as if to warn her against causing trouble, then turned an angelic face back to the child.

—Your half-sister is slandering your stepmother again? Why would Mommy kill you? I love you, my treasure.

Tony shoved Chantal away fiercely as she tried to hug him.