He repeated the words in a low voice, as if digesting this shocking news. An heir with the blood of both Rochefort and Schmidt—the meaning of that went far beyond a simple affair between a man and a woman. It represented a deeper, firmer binding of interests, and it also meant more, and far more complicated, trouble.
After that brief astonishment, the Duke's gaze quickly regained its calm. He lowered his voice. "Then Earl Rochefort... what attitude does he have toward you, and toward this child?"
This was the heart of the matter. Illegitimate children were hardly unheard of among the nobility, but an illegitimate child acknowledged by the woman's family—especially by a nobleman of real power on the level of Earl Rochefort—carried an entirely different political weight and potential risk.
Karl did not dodge the question. He needed his father's clear stance, at least on the surface. "The Earl knows everything. He hopes that I... will end this marriage with the Princess, which exists in name only, as soon as possible, completely break free of the royal family's restraints, and then bring Charlotte and the child back to Carnford with a formal, lawful status."
He did not mention Earl Rochefort's icy warning, nor the terms that had been almost an ultimatum. He only stated the result.
That in itself conveyed enough information. The Rochefort Family had accepted this child, and had also accepted Karl's status as the child's father, but the prerequisite was that he had to resolve his entanglement with the Broomflower royal family.
When his words fell, the tent sank into a brief silence.
In the Duke's eyes, that first trace of astonishment had long since been replaced by another kind of light—a satisfied light.
He leaned back against his chair, his fingers once again beginning to