As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

“Anne, is Reiad healthy? Can he speak well?”

“…”

Anne nodded and handed the child to the count. The child babbled, waving his arms. The count checked the child’s condition with an expressionless face and immediately turned away.

“…

.”

Anne cared for the child, using the loudest voice she could muster, constantly reassuring herself that it was okay if he was indifferent because she loved her child enough for both of them.

* * *

The marriage between Count Cloette and his wife was a loveless arranged marriage, but they were quite good partners. It was his wife who, knowing she had little time left, had urged the count to find someone else to bear his heir without any burden. She then passed away just a few days after Reiad was born. The child grew rapidly, and the count, without remarrying, spent his days in dissipation.

Reiad was a child unloved by his father. He understood his father’s feelings. His birth had caused the countess to leave for the heavens. Even he blamed his own birth, so how could his father feel any different? Despite this, Reiad is still a child who needs attention and tries to earn his father’s love.

One day, Reiad overheard Count Cloette talking about him to his nanny, who had cared for him since he was an infant.

“Maybe he’s slow to speak because his nanny is mute.”

From that day, Reiad worked tirelessly to speak fluently. He read books aloud and spoke to anyone he encountered.

The Cloette family was quite an old and prestigious noble family in the capital, and Count Cloette, thanks to his handsome appearance, never lacked female company. Women who wanted to be the countess, those charmed by his handsome face, one-night flings… Many women came and went, and some were even introduced to Reiad as potential stepmothers. His father only smiled at him in the presence of the women he brought.

“Nice to meet you, young master Cloette. I hope we can become close.”

“Yes. I hope so too.”

He used his naturally good looks to win favor with his father’s women and used pleasant words to lighten the mood. Whenever he did this, his nanny had a certain expression on her face. It was the look of someone who had lost something they never had. Then came the resignation and detachment of someone who realized their own insignificance.

“Nanny, what’s wrong?”

“…”

It wasn’t until much later that Reiad understood the meaning of that expression.

* * *

Having often had to gauge women’s moods from a young age, Reiad naturally became quick-witted in that regard. Thus, he quickly realized that his nanny, who had raised him since infancy, had neither a husband nor children.

“Nanny, what happened to your husband or children?”

“…”

The nanny handed him a note with her response.

[They’re no longer in this world.]

“I’m sorry. I wondered why you never met anyone.”

Anne nodded quietly, fiddling with the edge of the paper.

“Could you never speak from the beginning?”

[When I was young, I drew the wrong herbal tea and ended up like this. It seems there was a poisonous plant mixed in that looked similar to the herbs.]

“That must have hurt. Come to think of it, Nanny, you have a lot of scars. How did you get them?”

[…I was clumsy and fell a lot.]

“Even though you’re so meticulous now, you were quite careless. Drinking the wrong tea and getting scars from falling.”

The nanny smiled warmly and nodded.

* * *

When Reiad was about ten years old, the count, drunk, returned to the mansion and leaned back in his office chair, smoking a cigar. It was around the time Reiad had just started his succession education. That day was truly unlucky for him. His grades in estate management were poor, and his father’s romantic ventures had faltered, putting him in a foul mood.

“Born and raised by a lowly woman, that must be why you’re so stupid!”

“Pardon?”

“…Get out.”

Reiad, confused, was chased out of the cigar and alcohol-reeking office. Returning to his room, he confided in his nanny, unable to hide his gloom.

“Nanny, father said I was born and raised by a lowly woman and can only do lowly things.”

“…”

Anne’s face turned pale. Not noticing her expression, Reiad continued.

“Mother was a lady from a fairly prestigious family, wasn’t she? No matter how angry he was, I didn’t think he would speak of my late mother in such a way.”

“…”

“You know, I learned recently that it’s important for nobles to have heirs, so if a wife is unwell, they must have heirs with another.”

“…”

“Am I not my mother’s child then? Is that why he doesn’t love me?”

“…”

“That can’t be true, right? He must have just wanted to belittle me in his anger.”

From then on, whenever the count got drunk, he would often say suspicious things. The severity of these remarks gradually increased until Reiad was convinced he was not the son of the late countess.

“If so, who is my mother that he speaks of her like that?”

“…”

Whenever he spoke like this, Anne would anxiously shake her head, claiming not to know, and took care of him with a worried face.

It was when Reiad was about to enter the academy, an accident finally occurred.

“Ask your nanny. She is the only one in this mansion besides me, who knows who your mother is.”

Reiad was shocked. It was one thing for his father to lie but to think that his nanny, whom he had trusted and followed, had deceived him all this time.

“Nanny, you know who my real mother is, don’t you?”

“…” Anne shook her head anxiously.

“Don’t lie to me. I know it, it was strange. Even though all the other servants were replaced, you stayed. I thought it was just because you were my nanny. But that wasn’t it. He couldn’t send you away because you knew the truth. So, who is my real mother?”

“…”

“Anne, tell me. It’s an order!” Reiad raised his voice with a flushed face and then stopped abruptly.

In his reflection, Reiad saw the image of his father, whom he despised so much. To make matters worse, Anne was trembling weakly, with tears streaming down her face.

“…I’m sorry, Anne. I shouldn’t have gotten angry like that. I must have been really upset.” Reiad ran his hand roughly through his hair and took a deep breath. “Can you tell me who it is? If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to ask father again, saying you didn’t follow my orders.”

“…”

“That would make things difficult for you, right?”

Anne hesitated several times before writing something on a piece of paper with trembling hands.

Tearing it off, she handed it to Reiad and ran out of the room.

[It’s me.]

Her characteristic crooked writing was stained with tears.

* * *

The next day, the count, with a face still suffering from a hangover, spoke in a calm voice at the dining table. “Did you hear about your mother?”

“…Yes.”

“Be grateful that my blood flows through you. She was a maid who took beatings for me when I was young. Being mute and taking beatings for me, she was quite tormented by the other servants.”

“…I don’t want to hear it.”

“Listen. It could have been your life. If you weren’t Reiad di Cloette, you would have lived a similar life. Covered in hideous scars, like Anne.”

“…”

“It’s rare for anyone to employ a disabled servant. So she couldn’t leave the family. I didn’t pay much attention to the servants’ affairs, but a problem arose. My wife was given a terminal diagnosis.”

“…”

“Before my wife died, I needed to find a surrogate. It had to be done in complete secrecy. Blond hair and blue eyes were preferred, but someone with the same conditions as my wife would have been fine. Anne volunteered. Since she couldn’t speak and was often close to me, she immediately offered herself.” The count smiled crookedly.

Reiad had long since put down his utensils. Nausea welled up inside him.

“It would be a wise choice not to keep the one who bore my child around. Considering her muteness, she was tight-lipped and didn’t spread our internal affairs. Anne had been with the family for a long time, so she’s trustworthy.”

The count’s gaze slowly swept over Reiad.

“The conditions were met. She had the same hair color as my wife, and her blue eyes were quite striking. Such blue, like a clear sky, is rare.”

“…”

“You will also live like me. Or you’ll end up living a life where you take beatings for others, bearing hideous scars all over your body, like Anne.”

“…”

“You’re old enough to enter the academy soon, and you don’t need a nanny anymore. Anne will leave the mansion. I’ll ensure she has enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life, so do your duty. Remember, she is just a servant, and you are a Cloette.”

“…Yes.”

Reiad barely managed to answer, suppressing the nausea that surged even without food. Only then did he understand why Anne always had a melancholy face when the count’s potential new wives were friendly to him. She was a mother who couldn’t claim her own child.

Anne was driven out of the mansion with a small house and a substantial severance package on the outskirts of the capital. Reiad, believing she was living well, didn’t seek her out as he sorted his troubled thoughts until the end of his first semester at the academy.

As time is said to heal all wounds, when the vacation finally arrived, Reiad was somewhat able to pull himself together. He secretly sought her out, bringing an expensive notebook, a quality pen, and flowers.