I, Who Was Betrayed By The People I Loved Most - Chapter 16

When I shifted my gaze, I saw the tiny body wrapped in a white cloth— cradled not in my arms, but in Marie’s.

No one had brought the baby to me. I hadn’t even been allowed to hold him.

“…Let me hold my baby.”

My hoarse voice barely escaped my lips,
But neither the doctor nor the midwife answered.
They simply glanced at me for a moment—
Then looked away in silence.

It was Marie who finally muttered a response, her face twisted in displeasure.

“You should rest for now, Lady Camille…
I’ll take care of the baby for you.”

The baby.
Not your child, not your son—just the baby.
Even that single careless word made it painfully clear
Just how we were viewed in this household—my son and I.

A little while later, Uncle Oswald appeared in the room.
But there were no words of comfort.
No congratulations.

Just a curt announcement.

“…His name is Rufus.”

“…What?”
I looked up in disbelief.

He wouldn’t meet my gaze.
He simply continued, flatly:

“He’s my child. Naming him is my right. That should be obvious.”

He declared it as if it were a settled matter.
And just like that, he left the room.
Not even a word for me—no kindness, no acknowledgment,
Not even recognition of my existence.

Later, Marie returned, still holding the peacefully sleeping child.
It was the first time I truly saw his face up close.

And in that moment— A feeling I hadn’t expected welled up from deep within me.

I never wanted a child.
I never thought I could love one.
And yet, as I looked down at that tiny sleeping face…
I felt it.

Tenderness.

So this is what it means to feel motherly love…

Without realizing it, I reached out and touched his cheek.
His skin was impossibly soft.
His face, impossibly small.

And then—
I heard the voices of the servants again.

“If he’d been Lady Leticia’s child… he would have been so elegant, so refined, I’m sure.”

That was all they ever said about Rufus.
No compliments.
No joy.
Nothing but whispers of disappointment.

Even Uncle Oswald never once called him “adorable.”

He treated his own son like a burden—
As if Rufus’s mere existence were an inconvenience.

A few days passed.
By then, word of my childbirth had begun to circulate among the nobles.

“Not a single congratulatory gift has arrived from the noble houses.”
Marie reported it with an exaggerated politeness that barely concealed her smirk.

This child did nothing wrong.

And yet…
The world refuses to welcome him.

Why? Why is this happening?

—No.
This isn’t strange at all.

It’s entirely my fault.

I’m the one who foolishly called it a “temporary romance”,
As if life were some sweet little game.

That realization didn’t hit me until much later.
Once I started thinking about it, the regrets wouldn’t stop pouring in.

This baby should have been born into joy.

He should’ve been surrounded by smiling faces,
Embraced by loving hands,
Welcomed with warmth and celebration.

But instead— I stole all that from him.

If only I had listened to Lady Leticia…
If only I had followed her teachings, lived with sincerity— I could have been with Julius by now.

I would have been blessed by the household staff,
Showered with gifts from the nobility,
And looked upon with admiration.

Surely, Aunt Leticia would have cherished this child like her own grandchild.

But now— No one even glances at the baby in my arms.

The life I lived under Aunt Leticia’s protection…
Only now do I understand how blissful it truly was.

“…I was such a fool. Lady Leticia… I want to see you again…”

No matter how deeply I regret it now, No matter how desperately I want to ask for forgiveness— I can never see her again.