Rebirth Of The Duke's Daughter

Chapter 170

*Now, this chapter may be short due to having some parts cut out as it may not be appropriate and is likely a very sensitive topic, so I had to cut it out.*

"Where is my wife?" Prince Leroy looked to his butler, who was supposed to know about their schedule. He never knew that his wife would be gone that time of the day.

"I believe she went out for the day. Do not worry. I am sure that she will come back soon. She has been ill for some time, so perhaps she wanted to get more fresh air." The butler had no clue, but Camila had told him that she had 'seen' Lana leave to go out shopping.

"Hm." Prince Leroy just assumed that what his butler said was normal for women to do, letting themselves carry on with their day as if it were any other day. There was no real care or concern on his face about Lana since she was only his wife due to an arranged marriage.
***

In a dark room, there was no light that could be seen. Almost enchanted in dark magic by none other than the empress.

The empress of Mireraweth would observe and almost be draining a life source from someone. An innocent woman, being used throughout this time as the empress's skin and looks never changed in youth. Never once did she look as though she had aged in her life. "Perfect, there will be a replacement soon for that woman." She said with a wide grin within the shadows. 

***

Lana was drinking her herbal tea and enjoying the garden in the Mireraweth castle with her son, walking around and observing. Ever since that day, she has been unable to stop thinking about how shameless she is. In her mind, she felt very unfaithful to her husband. Yunma had been recovering while he kept his word of not messing with her people. 

It had been almost three months that went by in a wink, and she was starting to turn pale once more with more coughing to be found that became more severe. 'Why is my body so sick like this? I cannot even seem to recover.' Knowing that her blood amount being coughed out was increasing each time she glanced at it. Sensing that someone was there near her, she looked up to see that it was none other than Nerva, the sorcerer.

"Greetings, your highness." He smiled, looking to see her calm and the same as any other time.

"No need for such a title. I do not need the title. Lady Lana is better and I prefer it that way." Lana had no intentions of using such a title like she was the princess or empress. It was rather strange for her and she never asked for such a position in the first place. "What brings you here again?" Lana asked, she could not ignore him, or else who knows what he would do to her. She could recall the time that he had forced her to do such indecent things outside.

"Is it bad to get to know the lady any better?" Nerva followed closely to Lana and Luke who were walking around the garden. He looked calm, but inside there was this fire that wanted to come out.

"I suppose not. Why do you even wish to get to know me? I am after all an ill woman who only has a limited time left." Lana was not sure why Nerva was putting the effort into knowing her when she was but taken advantage of by him. Seeing that he was annoying to talk to since he did not treat women in any correct respect, she felt that there was something else hidden in his heart.

"As you said, you want bright and happy memories made. Why don't I just give you the best then?" Nerva had no bad intentions this time as they all returned back to the table where he sat down across from her at the table with Lana allowing him to do so. Luke watched the two who were looking at each other like something was wrong.

"My happiest memories are with my child. Being with him is enough to make me happy, and I know that he will grow up into a fine man who can take care of those he cherishes. I do not wish for him to struggle in the kingdom's power." Lana looked to Luke, who was being given a ton of things to observe, like the plants and critters in the garden. "Prince Leroy can do as he pleases even though he should be in the memories, but if he does not even know or care about his wife then there is no need to include him." Lana had truly given up and wanted to not involve Prince Leroy anymore.

"Do you regret entering the palace?" Nerva then asked, looking only at Lana, who showed no care for her husband or him.

"No, if I did not come here then I would've never had a child. I knew that the chances of me getting the same illness as my mother would be a high chance." Making sure that her son was distracted, she turned to tell him. "It only runs in the family for girls who get this illness. Having a son is enough to make me happy that I have a child who will continue to carry my blood and find his happiness in the future." Lana started coughing again and took out her handkerchief, seeing the blood spat onto it again.

Nerva didn't know why, but his heart ached seeing how Lana was trying to take everything on her own with her illness. He had been treating her like any other woman, and he had taken advantage of her that time. At the same time, he did not even know why he did such a thing, but he felt triggered at that time as if something inside of him made him do it. "Do you know if there is a cure for it?" He then asked after, looking at Lana, who was a bit surprised he would ask for a cure for it. Making sure to keep her composure, she had to remind herself that this man had taken her.

"No, this illness has never had a cure. No one knows why it only affects women the most in my family. Even healers and doctors can never give an estimated time left that we have. We accept it and move on with life. We try to live to the fullest with the last remaining memories we can make." Lana smiled gently to Nerva this time and saw a gleam of sadness and pity in his eyes, which she found rather rare to see in someone like him. "Are you alright?" Lana rubbed his cheek a bit with her thumb, saw what she was doing, and backed away. 'Why did I do that?'

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking," Nerva said, getting up from the table. He knelt down, kissing the back of her hand, and then left, Lana a bit confused by his actions.

'Why do I not hate him? More like... I pity him.' Lana did not know why, but her heart ached for him when she should hate him.

"Mother, why was that man here talking to you?" Luke asked to see if his mother had something going on with him.

"You don't need to worry. Mother finds him as a... friend." Lana smiled at him and started coughing again to the side, with Luke already knowing what was going on with her.

'Just like that sorcerer thought, why do you prefer not to tell us? You only end up hurting us more than you think.' Luke recalled his beloved wife when she was still alive in the demon's home or realm. "Mother, you should rest early. I'll be sure to visit you tomorrow again." Luke said with Lana nodding as she kissed his head and left to rest early. Luke did not understand why his father would visit his mother once and never again, thinking that she would get better when she was really getting worse with a little amount of time left. "Eulalius." He called out once he entered his room.

Coming out from the shadows, Eulalius bowed, looking to see Luke waiting for him. "What do you wish for me to do?" Seeing how Luke did not seem upset, but rather more suspicious of someone, not him.

"I want you to keep an eye on the sorcerer around here. He seems to be getting closer and closer to my 'mother' for some odd reason. I find it rather strange that he would do such a thing." Luke did not know why Nerva was trying so hard to get to know his 'mother,' who was seriously ill and getting weaker by the day.

"I will be sure to do so. I will report to you once I find his motive." Eulalius disappeared to handle the task that his lord had given him.

***

Lana had been resting for the last few days with her body getting weaker and weaker, leaving her unable to leave and spend time with Luke, who visited her daily.

"Are you sure that you do not need a doctor? You look like you've gotten worse over time." Prince Leroy was informed about Lana, who was ill and had been stuck in her room for days.

"I'm fine. You do not need to worry." Lana smiled, hoping he would not give her hope of loving him again. She did not want false love and to grow blind from one-sided love in this type of relationship.

"Make sure to rest. I'll ensure you have the medicine you need to get better." Prince Leroy said, getting up and out of the room. Lana finally lay back down and hoped that she could just leave peacefully. Lana had a deep secret, though. Sniffling, she laid her hand down to her lower belly, where a small bump formed. There was no doubt in her mind; she knew this symptom well since she had gone through it once.

***

A/N: I got a vote that some readers wanted about like 1 chapter a day instead of 2-4 chapters every 2-3 weeks, so in about 1-2 weeks, I am going to try and see if I can publish 1 chapter a day at least. Just a little update.