The Person I Loved Hated Me - Chapter 24

A tall, slender young man with black hair and black eyes was waiting for Clara to finish work. With an expressionless face, he said, “Lord Dian is waiting for you,” and guided her. She was taken by carriage and arrived at a mansion.

She had shared two meals with Dian before. Both had been during the day, so Clara had assumed this would be dinner until her feet froze in place.

The first time Dian invited her, she had reported it to Isaac, but the second time, she kept it to herself to avoid worrying him. Since that day, Isaac seemed busy with something, rushing about, yet she could tell he was trying to hide it.

Feeling she was already a burden, she didn’t want to cause any extra concern and acted as if nothing was wrong.

She never imagined it would come to this.

“Please, go ahead.”

The expressionless young man urged her from behind as Clara hesitated.

“Um… I just remembered something I have to do. I should go home.”

“Please proceed.”

It was clear her opinion wouldn’t be heard. The expressionless young man wouldn’t allow Clara to refuse.

Inside, the spacious entrance hall had a high ceiling, with a central staircase branching left and right to the second floor. It looked almost like a ballroom. As she gazed upward, she heard her name called: “Clara!”

Dian appeared, his footsteps echoing on the white marble floor.

“Clara, I’ve been waiting. Sorry I couldn’t come to get you myself. Flurey, you’re dismissed.”

“Excuse me.”

The expressionless young man called Flurey bowed and disappeared into a room to the right. Before Clara could watch him leave completely, Dian called her name again “Clara” and after a pause, she reluctantly looked up at him.

“We didn’t have any plans, did we?”

“Is that so? More importantly, what do you think? Do you like this mansion?”

There had been no promise of him coming to get her, and the two lunch invitations had been sudden as well. Promises or Clara’s circumstances probably meant nothing to him.

And as for the mansion being asked if she liked it put her on the spot. She didn’t reply, merely pursing her lips into a frown.

Dian was surely someone of very high status. Even the expressionless man called Flurey had acted condescendingly toward Clara, yet Dian could command him without even meeting his gaze.

Maybe he’d think she was an impudent, ill-mannered girl, unworthy of him. Hoping he might, she hadn’t answered his question but Dian paid no mind, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Let me show you around.”

She suppressed the urge to shake off his arm. Dian, in high spirits, began giving her a tour.

The door on the right, where Flurey had vanished, led to the dining room and kitchen; the one on the left, he explained, was the drawing room. Beyond the entrance hall, which also served as a grand hall, were a library, two guest rooms, and a study.

With his hand still on her waist and now holding her hand, he led her up the unnecessarily wide staircase to the second floor. There was a game room, a room for drinking, and even a music room.

It was a massive mansion, with a master bedroom and three guest rooms with attached baths.

But there was no sign of anyone. Though fully furnished, it felt like no one lived there. It struck her as bleak.

“It might feel a bit small, but it should be plenty for you and the children, right?”

Dian’s green eyes sparkled with satisfaction. Unable to comprehend what he meant, Clara let out an involuntary “Huh?”

Children… What is he talking about? This can’t be a joke.

“Not satisfied?”

“…Satisfied or not, I live with my brother. I’m not moving here.”

What she had feared was happening and so suddenly.

Clara deliberately pretended not to understand, stating that her life lay elsewhere.

“Clara, let’s talk.”

Dian never stopped smiling, as if amused by something. Seemingly gentlemanly and kind, he nonetheless guided her firmly to the southern drawing room and sat her down beside him on a deep green upholstered sofa.

“Clara, I have a request.”

He took both her hands and drew closer. Clara was already shaking her head before he spoke.

“I want you to bear my child.”

“No!”

She answered immediately and tried to flee, but Dian’s grip was unexpectedly strong; she couldn’t stand. Even leaning back, the armrest blocked her escape.

“Clara.”

The moment his hand touched her cheek, Clara cried out, “Why me?!”

His hands were beautiful, unblemished—unlike her brother’s or Aydric’s. Compared to Clara’s, roughened from holding engraving tools, his were immaculate, yet large and masculine. His palm brushed from her temple to her lower eyelid.

“Because I’ve grown fond of you.”

“That’s a lie. You don’t like me, Lord Dian. Anyone can see it, your eyes don’t hold any affection for me!”

“Is that so?”

He didn’t deny it. That was answer enough.

“You’re cute. I enjoy being with you. I want to give you things and make you happy. Is that so wrong?”

“Yes, it’s wrong! And you’re married, aren’t you?”

“Would it be better if I weren’t?”

“Married or not, it’s wrong. If you are, it’s even worse.”

“That’s your way of thinking.”

“Eek?!”

He pulled her shoulders back, and the next moment she was lying on the sofa, pinned beneath his gaze. Trapped by his arms, she curled in on herself.

“You will bear my child. That’s decided. I won’t allow any refusal.”

His jade-green eyes gleamed down at her like a predator’s.

She tried to shift her disadvantageous position, but the difference in their strength made it futile. Still, she stretched out her hands, pushing against Dian’s chest in rejection.

“Such beautiful eyes.”

As if mocking her resistance, Dian leaned his weight onto her.

“If a child is born with eyes like yours, I’ll take it in as my wife’s. In return, you’ll live here with any other children. I promise you a comfortable life and support. It shouldn’t be a bad deal.”

“No.”

So, he wanted a child with purple eyes tinged with gold or red; enough to pass off as his wife’s trueborn heir. She’d thought nobles prized bloodlines, but wanting a child with her eye color made him seem like a collector.

“Absolutely not. What do you take me for?”

“I said it’s decided, didn’t I?”

“No!”

She refused loudly. At that, Dian’s smile vanished, and he looked down at her coldly. “Hmm, I see.”

“Do you think you can defy me?”

The question carried the weight of authority, the pressure of a superior addressing an inferior.

“Think carefully. Will you defy me?”

Perhaps pleased by her caught breath, Dian pressed gently, as if advising her.

“You’ll bear my child, won’t you?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Dian. Does it help if I say I’m the man who will be this country’s next king?”

“N-No way!”

Her voice trembled at the outrageous confession. Her mind flashed to Isaac and all the people connected to her.

What would happen if she refused? The mere thought drained the blood from her face.

“I’m not like your father, who failed in his responsibilities. I can’t publicly claim you, but I’ll love you and the child properly.”

He didn’t even love her now, yet he spoke of “loving” her as if bestowing a favor.

That’s just how nobles are.

Her own father had never stepped forward, and her mother never told her who he was. Because of that, she still didn’t know where she came from or who he was. He must have been a terrible man.

And this man trying to make her his mistress was just as terrible.

She wanted to struggle, to resist wildly but she was too afraid of the consequences for those around her. All she could do now was accept. That was the difference between the one who commands and the one who obeys, the gap between Clara and Dian.

Resigned, Clara relaxed her body and closed her eyes.

Clara, the mistress’s daughter. She’d probably end up just like her mother, seducing nobles and living the easy way.

Lucky she was born with a pretty face.

She’d use that face to flatter her way into a comfortable life.

If her mother was like that, the daughter must be promiscuous too.

She’d been hurt by such baseless slander, insisting it wasn’t true, ignoring the insults.

But in the end, this is how it would be.

People would point behind her back, whispering gossip just loud enough for her to hear.

Isaac and other kind people told her, “Don’t mind them,” or “They’re just jealous.” But the mean ones had been right all along.