“Haah!”

“Delicious.”

The Duke said, licking even the ar*ola broadly with his tongue.

“Even after you give birth to the child in the Winter Castle, I’ll suck your milk.”

“Duke, please, not the Winter Castle.”

Beatrice pleaded, holding the Duke’s neck, her swollen belly protruding.

“If you send me to the bitterly cold Winter Castle, your child, ah, will be miscarried.”

“I don’t care about a bastard. The same goes for you.”

The Duke spat in a nasty voice, biting Beatrice’s n*pple. Soon, the sound of gulping milk filled the study. He greedily sucked the milk and then wiped his mouth, saying:

“There’s only one woman who will give birth to my heir anyway.”

At that moment, the Duke’s eyes turned her way.

She was breathless.

Elise’s emerald eyes froze.

The only woman who could inherit Bernhardt’s name. Surely, that woman must be her mother, but it felt like the words were directed at someone else.

The heir.

The Duke’s daughter, who inherited the name Bernhardt.

It was only Elise.

But was she really the heir?

Calling herself the heir to the Duke’s business, she spent her days aimlessly.

A few days later.

“Huh?”

As usual, Elise headed towards the wardrobe, then stopped with a puzzled look on her face. It was so pitch black and dark that she was afraid to go in right away.

After a while, once she got used to the darkness, Elise looked around inside the wardrobe.

The large hole in the wardrobe had been completely filled.

It was perfectly filled, as if to deny that there had ever been a hole in the first place.

However, a once-broken crack tends to leave a trace somehow. Elise felt a slight split near the filled hole with her fingertips.

Whose intention it was, she could not tell.

She instinctively knew that this place was no longer her secret place.

That also meant there was no reason to come here anymore.

That evening.

The time when the sunset spread out in a red glow.

Far away on a hill, the howling of wolves could be heard, a signal that the moon would soon rise.

At that time, Beatrice, pregnant, was driven to the Winter Castle. Her haggard face and the way she left without anyone’s farewell looked like she was being banished.

Elise stood by the window and watched the butler help Beatrice into the carriage.

The rather plump lady leaned on the butler’s arm to get into the carriage, and before leaving, buried her face in his arm and cried.

“……”

The carriage that carried her soon became a black dot and disappeared into the distance.

The rumors that had briefly swirled around chaotically soon subsided, and no one seemed to care about Beatrice at all; only mundane daily life continued. It was as if nothing had really happened. It stayed that way until rumors about her began to resurface some time later.

Through the servant girls’ gossip, Elise learned that Beatrice had given birth to a daughter, and that the pitiable illegitimate child had been abandoned to grow up in the Winter Castle, without receiving the name of the Bernhardt family.

‘That’s only natural.’

Elise thought so and emotionlessly nodded her head.

The Bernhardt family had been a pure-blooded lineage. A child born of the dirty and lowly maid Beatrice’s blood, such as hers, could never have received the name of Bernhardt.

‘Surely not.’

Perhaps.

Perhaps somewhere there might be another person who has inherited her father’s blood.

Elise thought about how many other maids Duke Bernhardt might have had relations with besides Beatrice, and how many more illegitimate children might have been born from those relationships.

‘Ah……’

Elise had always thought that she was alone, but she realized she might have many siblings she didn’t know about. Her neck felt cold, and she inexplicably shuddered. The mere thought gave her chills, the idea that some lowly person passing by on the street might share her blood.

Surely not. It couldn’t be.

It can’t be.

Elise chuckled nervously, as if trying to dispel her anxiety.

Her father wouldn’t be without that much discernment. If there were any illegitimate children, they would be raised in seclusion like Beatrice’s child, so as not to dare to come out into the world and tarnish the name of Bernhardt.

‘……Seclusion.’

Elise suddenly recalled a dollhouse she played with in her childhood. In that house, there lived two female dolls and a male doll. The male doll soon disappeared somewhere and burned in black smoke.

Elise gave her name to the pretty doll and named the slightly ugly doll Rosaline. Then, she used to play with the dolls, holding them in both hands.

?Hello, Rosaline.?

?Hello, Elise.?

?Elise, let’s go outside and play.?

?No, I can’t go outside the house.?

?Then, will you get scolded by Mom??

?Yes. Very badly scolded.?

The doll Elise covered her face and trembled in fear as she replied.

Doll Rosaline tilted her head and asked.

?Why??

?Because, that’s……?

Elise unknowingly stopped speaking.

“What’s the reason?”

She couldn’t find the reason at all. A cold wind cut through a corner of her heart and passed by.

The secluded illegitimate child, and herself, who grew up trapped in a large mansion.

Elise’s long eyelashes trembled for a moment. She soon shook her head to dispel the absurd thought.

What a foolish thought she’s having. She’s Elise von Bernhardt. She’s different from the likes of a bastard child.

But, the name.

If asked what exactly is different between herself and that bastard child, other than having inherited the name of Bernhardt, Elise could not find an answer.

* * *

Not long after Beatrice was driven to the Winter Castle, Duke Bernhardt left the mansion. The reason was that he had to go to the capital for business reasons, but Elise faintly suspected that this was just a superficial reason.

Exactly what the reason was didn’t really matter to Elise. The fact that her father was leaving was never something she regretted. The only thing that mattered to her was the toys he brought back when he returned home.

The toys he would buy when he returned.

Elise always hid them where they couldn’t be seen. But as soon as her father left, they were soon destroyed by her mother’s hands, to the point where it seemed meaningless that they had been in her possession for even a moment.

The young Elise was heartbroken about this, but at some point, she became resigned to it. She knew that no matter how much she cried and pleaded, nothing would change.

But this time, it was different.

Elise looked alternately at Argen, who was soundly asleep beside her, and the empty collar, biting her lip. Perhaps they were things that might soon be broken without a trace.

‘It won’t happen. This is an official gift from my father.’

Elise tried hard to think that way, clutching the leash, but she couldn’t hide the anxiety that kept welling up. She forcibly woke Argen, tightened his leash tightly, and tied him next to the bed, as if to say that no one could take him away.

……!

In the meantime, the fifth bell rang.

The maid opened the door and cautiously peered in.

“Miss, you really have to go now.”

“I said I know.”

It was the last dinner together before her father left. Due to the Duke’s schedule, it was so late that it was almost like eating dinner in the dark.

“I’ll be back.”

Argen, who was still not fully awake, nodded his head gently.

“Take care, Elder.”

Elise patted his head, sighed deeply, and moved on to dinner. She felt like livestock being led to the slaughterhouse.

She had no appetite, and after knowing about Beatrice’s affair, she couldn’t bear the cold air between her father and mother. Moreover, she couldn’t bear to see her father’s face, who clung to Beatrice like a beast.

Elise’s brow furrowed involuntarily. Thinking that Duke Bernhardt would hide his ugly bottom and filthy instincts and become a graceful and elegant nobleman again made her stomach churn with disgust.

That might have been disgust towards herself, who had felt s*xual excitement while peeping at a filthy and vile affair. Whichever it was, Elise had to suffer all the way while going for dinner, and even during the meal.

“……”

“……”

“……”

As always, only silence prevailed at the dining table.

Unconsciously, Elise looked to her mother for a sign, but she maintained her usual dignified posture and kept silent. Her father was the same. He continued to eat with an indifferent expression, as if nothing had happened.

In the quietness, where even the sounds of chewing and swallowing seemed to be heard, a chilly and heavy atmosphere flowed. She felt suffocated by the atmosphere. Even the smallest sound of breathing seemed loud, and Elise suppressed her breath even more.

Unlike her parents, who were eating with unconcerned faces, she was hardly eating. She just pretended to eat by poking the meat on her plate, which was oozing blood, with the tip of her fork or knife.

‘If it had been Argen, he would have finished it quickly.’