About

The Kingdom of Arden, located in the western part of the continent, possesses a long history and tradition of aristocratic society. Centered around the royal family, a strict hierarchy of Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron exists, and for noble families, bloodline and heirs are considered more important than anything else. --- Among them, Leopold von Kreutzen is a Count from a prestigious noble family, and I first encountered him at a banquet. We fell in love at first sight and shared a love so warm that even other lovers envied us. We eventually held a dream-like wedding amidst brilliant flower petals. We promised to devote our entire lives to one another. However, After spending our first night together, all the cracks began to form. No matter how hard I tried, I could not conceive a child. His attitude changed abruptly after he learned that I had a body incapable of producing an heir. Before that, he always prioritized me over himself, and I always felt loved when we were together. Roses in June, zinnias in July—whenever flowers bloomed each season, he would offer them to me with all his heart. Now, as if mocking those memories, he spits out thorny words he had never uttered before. "A useless woman." "Marrying you was the only blemish on my life." He was no longer the man who had wooed me by sending flowers every single day until three years ago. Meals with him became an obligatory act at some point. I always had to walk on eggshells, even within the mansion. If our eyes happened to meet by mistake, he would let out a sigh and leave the room. Just as our conversations were nearing a complete halt, on the evening of my birthday, he called my name in that gentle voice of old. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. "My lady, it is already your birthday." "You have turned 27 before I knew it." "...What do you think about bringing in a surrogate?" It felt as if my heart had dropped into my stomach. "A surrogate...?" "...Because I am infertile?" He only nodded and stood up from his seat. As if he wasn't even curious about my opinion. Only the empty dining table and my existence remained to guard that spot. The next day, when he returned to the mansion after finishing his work, he had his arm around another woman's shoulder. "I just need to bear the child well, right?" I wasn't terribly anxious since she was just a surrogate. But what was this girl in front of me? She was a girl far more lovely and full of life than I. A girl with brilliant blonde hair flowing down to her waist that was almost blinding. Compared to her, I felt like a witch secluded in a mansion, unable to properly lift my head. The girl spoke with a cruelly beautiful smile. "Are you the wife?" "I've heard so much about you from the Count!" "Is the rumor that you can't have children really true?" "I was worried it might just be a mean rumor..." I couldn't bear to face her as she looked at me with wide eyes and an innocent expression. "Lillia." Leopold warned Lillia as if telling her to shut her mouth. Ha, is he saving face for me in his own way? Because I'm his wife? --- His plans were always carried out exactly as he desired, and Lillia became pregnant with his child. After that, Leopold became even more indifferent toward me. As if treating a weed growing by the roadside, he didn't spare me a single glance.