ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 147: I won’t feel guilty

Valerie gave a small laugh without humor. "Or you’re the one trying to use it."

Bianca was not offended. "Perhaps," she admitted honestly. "Or perhaps I’m simply tired of watching people become victims of old decisions."

The morning breeze drifted gently. The sun had risen higher now, its light flashing off the pond’s surface.

Valerie let out a long breath.

Demian’s promise. Ivanka’s illness. The pressure of the emperor and the elders. And now, a truth delivered without mercy.

"If you think this will make me distance myself from him," Valerie said at last, her voice calm but firm, "you’re wrong."

Bianca studied her closely. "That wasn’t my intention."

"But if you want me to feel guilty," Valerie continued, "you’re wrong about that too."

She lifted her face, meeting Bianca’s gaze with eyes that were now far clearer. "Whatever happens to Lady Ivanka... that was not my decision."

Bianca nodded slowly. "I know."

Silence settled between them not peaceful, but full of meaning.

Valerie turned her face back to the morning sun. Its warmth remained the same, yet now it felt like a reminder: that today, like the days to come, would never be simple.

And whatever awaited her, she was no longer walking in the dark.

Bianca fixed her gaze on Valerie, as if wanting to be certain that every word she spoke next would truly take root.

"I just want you to know," she said softly, almost in a whisper, "that even with you in the picture... the bond between the duke and Lady Ivanka cannot be severed."

Valerie turned slowly.

Their eyes met and this time, there was no doubt in Valerie’s gaze. No guilt. No fear.

"I’ve already said this," Valerie replied calmly, her voice flat yet firm, "I don’t need to hear that. And I don’t feel guilty about anything you just said."

She stepped half a pace forward, close enough to close the space of the conversation itself. "So there’s no need to discuss it here anymore."

Bianca fell silent.

For the first time that morning, she had nothing more to add. No sharp remark. No half-truth thrown like a blade.

But Valerie had already lost interest.

She turned and walked away, passing Bianca without a second glance without anger, without excess emotion.

Only honest exhaustion.

In the main hall, Valerie’s steps came to a halt when Sean approached her with the formal bearing of a head steward.

"Miss Valerie," he said with a respectful bow, "Count Austin has arrived."

"Very well," Valerie replied shortly.

She then turned to Sera. "Call Bianca. Tell her to come to the sitting room. And tell her... her father is here."

Sera nodded, though her brows knit slightly. There was confusion on her face the way Valerie said her father made it sound as though Count Austin was not Valerie’s father, but Bianca’s. Still, Sera was too well-trained to ask.

Valerie let out a long breath.

Without waiting any longer, she left Sean behind and headed toward the sitting room where Count Austin was waiting.

The moment the door opened,

"Valerie," Count Austin’s voice rang out sharply, with almost no preamble. "Bring Bianca back."

Valerie stopped right at the threshold. She lifted her face, calm.

"What do you mean, Father?" she asked.

Count Austin rose from his chair. His face was flushed with barely contained anger. "She is working in this castle that should never have happened. She is the daughter of a count. The duke has already decided whom she will marry. She should be conducting herself properly now, not working as a servant."

Valerie met his gaze without flinching. "She chose to work here herself. I didn’t force her," she said coldly. "If Father objects, then Father should speak to her directly."

She had barely finished speaking when the door flew open.

"Valerie!"

Bianca rushed in.

Without hesitation, she dropped to her knees before Valerie her movement quick, almost theatrical. She wrapped her arms around Valerie’s legs, as if clinging to a final refuge.

"Valerie, why would you say that?" her voice trembled. "We’re sisters. You said you would save me from Father."

Valerie looked down at her, her expression hardening.

"Get up, Bianca," she said sharply. "Speak to Father yourself. Don’t burden me with this."

She pulled her leg back slightly so Bianca would release her. "I only helped you get work here. Nothing more."

Count Austin snorted. "Bianca, come home. You’ll be married soon."

"I don’t want to!" Bianca shouted, lifting her head, tears welling in her eyes.

Valerie closed her eyes for a brief moment.

Truly she was exhausted.

All of this felt like a farce forced upon her. Promises she had never made, family burdens that were never entirely hers to bear, and drama that kept being dragged to her feet as if she were everyone’s last support.

She opened her eyes again and looked at the room with flat detachment.

"This is between you," Valerie said at last. "Settle it yourselves."

Then, without waiting for an answer without waiting for Bianca’s sobs or her father’s anger Valerie turned and walked away.

Behind her, raised voices began to clash.

But Valerie did not look back.

She was far too tired to be anyone’s savior anymore.

Valerie walked away from the sitting room with measured steps, but behind her straight back lay a weariness that pressed down like a damp weight on her shoulders. Each step felt heavier than it should have been, as though the castle floor itself was reminding her that she had never truly been free from other people’s affairs.

Behind her, Count Austin’s voice still carried firm, commanding, filled with the certainty that the world would fall back into order if everyone simply obeyed the lines he had drawn. Bianca’s sobs slipped between his words, broken and uneven. Valerie shut her ears in silence not because she did not care, but because she knew that if she turned back even once, she would be pulled into it all again.

She stopped at the end of the corridor. Afternoon light poured in through the tall windows, casting long shadows against the stone walls. Valerie exhaled slowly. There were moments when being strong did not mean enduring everything, but daring to set down burdens that were never meant to be hers.

"Lady Valerie."

The voice made her turn. Sean stood a few steps behind her, his expression as composed as ever, though there was a note of caution in his eyes.

"What is it, Sean?" Valerie asked, her voice softer than she expected.

"The Duke... is asking for you," Sean replied. "He appears... very tired."

Valerie lowered her gaze for a moment. That name, Demian always brought two things at once: a calm she had once known, and a wound that had never truly healed.

"I’ll see him,"