Chapter 4

Agatha, who entered the estate in the carriage of Count Betrika, seemed embarrassed by the atmosphere of no one welcoming her after coming with her nose in the air. The Duke yet to see her or Carlos since Marilyn gave birth, nor was he aware of the audition the Count was having to find a new Duchess.

He did not come to see Agatha, the new Duchess candidate and Agatha seemed very upset when his aide, who was not even Count Betrika, greeted her. After getting off the wagon with help from an aide, I saw her pushing his arm, and I snorted. Listening to Marilyn's cough, I only watched through the window. Agatha did not immediately take control, perhaps not forgetting that this place was a Duke's residence. She didn't hit the maid who greeted her.

Soon after, Agatha found out that Marilyn was still alive and that I was also a guest at the residence.

"Why are you here?"

Agatha grumbled at me with an angry face. I was heading to Marilyn's bedroom with a nanny holding Carlos in my arms, but I stopped because Agatha blocked me.

"I came because it is Marilyn's house. Get out of my way. I'm on my way to her."

Agatha gave me a fierce look and turned to Carl in my arms. Her eyes glinted intimately.

"Is that him?"

"Prince Carlos. Keep your manners." [T/N: Duke's kids get title]

Agatha snorted at my words.

"You'll be my son now."

She reached for Carlos and I pulled the child back half a step in my arms.

"He's Marilyn's son. Come on, you can't be polite!"

"Ha!"

Agatha was dumbfounded, but when I didn't back down, she clenched her teeth and bowed her head. Carlos was a young baby less than a year old, but he was the Duke's only son and an heir.

When Carl grew up, he would be a young master, the Duke's successor, and the next Duke after the Duke's death.

"This is Agatha Blanche de Bell, the lady of Belle. I greet Carlos."

Agatha gritted her teeth. Originally, the upper-class aristocrats who receive greetings must receive it in a higher position, but Carlos was not big enough to do that, so Agatha raised his body. Once she was standing upright, she glared at me with sharp eyes.

"You're still full of confidence in Marilyn, aren't you?"

Her voice was sarcastically criticizing me, but it didn't hurt at this point.

"The Duchess of Demanche. How dare you put the Duchess' name in your mouth?

Agata snorted with an angry face and murmured in a small voice, "A Duchess who will die soon". Then she turned and left. I sped up my steps in return, thinking back to when I played with her hair, "What does that mean to Marilyn?" Holding onto his fist, Carlos looked as if he's about to cry, he clenched his teeth and we headed to Marilyn's bedroom.

After such an encounter, Agatha remained calm for a while, perhaps conscious of my existence. She seemed to think of me as a rival for the next Duchess after seeing me in a situation similar to her, taking care of Carl in place of Marilyn who was withering away. She opened her mouth to find fault with me and tried to gain favor with Carl whenever I was away, but she kept looking even though she failed repeatedly.

Then she found out that I had a fiance named Oscar. In my life, I didn't expect to hear Agatha congratulate me on my engagement, but, of course, she began to show her true colors. Marilyn slowly lost her position, while Count Betrika did not call for a new candidate, Agatha began to act as if she had already become the Duchess. At first, she would slap or punish young maids but when no one stopped her, she gradually became bolder and bolder.

"Lady! Miss, in the nursery right now! Lady Bell!"

A maid screamed and ran to me, while I was wiping Marilyn's body with a towel soaked with warm water. Marilyn and my eyes met. Looking at the Duchess, I noticed Marilyn's giving me a knowing look, she urged me to go quickly. Not wanting to leave her side I reluctantly handed the towel over to another maid and headed to the nursery with the maid.

"Lady Belle hit the nanny and the prince is crying!"

"What? Why?"

"The nanny told Lady Belle her necklace and brooch were too big, so she should take it off before she hugged the prince."

The maids told me what happened from the beginning while we made our way to the nursery. She said it with such urgency that her words mixed in with her heavy breathing. As soon as I heard the story, I could guess the rest of the situation. I didn't know she'd think of hitting a nanny. In this society, the nanny of a high-ranking aristocrat was different from the commoner nanny who took care of Agatha and me when we were growing up. They were all the wives of the Duke's vassals! So one was a Baroness, and the other was a Countess. The wives of his men, whom the Duke trusted enough to entrust his son with.

"What are you doing?! Are you crazy, Agatha?!"

The nanny, who was entangled with Agatha, was Count Desman's wife. And she was unilaterally beaten by Agatha. Both of them forgot about their dignity and tore each other's hair and hit each other's cheeks with their palms from time to time. Another nanny, the Baroness, was not around. While the nanny and stepmother were fighting each other, Carl was crying his lungs out in the cradle. I picked up Carl in a hurry. When Carl hugged me, he began to cry out more.

If the previous cry was like crying to indicate he was there and not happy, the current cry was a sad cry to ask why Amanda is just coming now. I forced the maids to separate Agatha and the Countess, and also took Carl out to the hallway to escape the disturbance. Several maids rushed into the nursery.

"Oh, my Carl was very surprised, I know you were surprised. Yeah, yeah. Grown-ups scared you, didn't they? Shh, it's okay, it's okay now."

I ran into Count Betrika, who was rushing to the nursery, as I was comforting the baby. He slowly stopped and saw his only grandson in my arms fiddling with my hair.

"Count."

He let me bow lightly while holding Carlin in my arms. Yeah, it's hard to say hello with a baby.

"I heard Agatha made a scene. You seem to have handled it."

"No, first of all, I only brought Carl out. They might still be fighting inside. Let's go in."

"Huh, I didn't expect her to fight Countess Desman."

Count Betrika stupid in front of me, not entering the nursery room where you could still hear the shouting coming from. I picked up my place, hugging Carl, who was getting heavier.

"...are there any other candidates?"

"You're the only other one that comes to mind."

I realized Count Betrika was trying to play chicken with me. Are Agatha and my family the only ones that can satisfy Count Betrika criteria? He was from a noble family, and he was able to find as many women as he could to take good care of the child. He's just convinced that I'm the best choice but I won't budge.

Marilyn may still have some time left, but if I hold out until the end, Count Betrika will put a woman like Agatha, who would want her to wither away, in Marilyn's place. And I honestly don't know if that guilt won't eat at me.

"You'll have to find someone else, not Agatha."

I slightly bent my knees to express my gratitude while saying this and head for Marilyn's bedroom with Carl in my arms. The best way for Carl, Marilyn, and I is for Marilyn, the biological mother of the child, to get up and be healthy. Marilyn looked bluer than yesterday as she greeted us in her bedroom. Her recovery would be a miracle.