Chapter 121: Who Is A Noble?
"Your Grace... A child wouldn’t have changed his true nature..." Adeline rushed to say, she knew exactly what she was thinking. A child cannot fix things! It certainly wouldn’t have fixed the relationship between her and her ex-husband!
The Duchess frowned and continued, "Do you think that if I had given him a child he wouldn’t have..."
"Done what he did?" Adeline completed her sentence.
The Duchess smiled in such a sorrowful manner that Adeline couldn’t help but feel the melancholy. "Maybe. Maybe not. Who can say? But it doesn’t matter now, does it? The man I once loved is gone, replaced by someone I barely recognize. And I can’t help but wonder... was it my fault? Did my choice push him to this madness?"
She wanted to yell that it wasn’t her fault but she wanted to first let the Duchess finish venting.
Adeline shook her head firmly. "It wasn’t your fault. He made his own choices. You can’t blame yourself for his actions."
The Duchess looked at her, a flicker of surprise in her eyes as if she hadn’t expected such wisdom from someone so young. "Perhaps you’re right. But guilt is a stubborn thing. It clings to you, whispers in your ear when you’re alone."
They sat in silence for a while, the only sound the faint crackle of the fire in the hearth. Finally, Adeline spoke again. "You said you wanted to pass the Duchy to someone worthy. Not by blood, but by merit."
The Duchess nodded. "Yes. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. Why should a title be bound by blood when it can be earned by those who truly deserve it?"