I Suddenly Returned as the Insane Grand Duchess - Chapter 20

As the question came, his eyebrows twitched slightly. Seeing that as a sign of displeasure, Selene quickly added more words.

“Actually, I lost consciousness and fainted in the middle. So I’m not sure.”

“…”

“If nothing happened, that’s good… but if something did, I’ll apologize. Even if nothing happened, I’ll apologize. For showing an unsightly appearance, for holding you back from leaving… I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

A heavy silence hung in the room. In the silence where one second felt like a minute and one minute felt like an hour, Selene waited for his response.

The uncomfortable stillness was broken after exactly the amount of time Boreas had been waiting for.

“…Your body.”

The question he posed after pondering for a while was somewhat abrupt. Body? Selene, who didn’t understand the question for a moment, felt Boreas’s gaze upon her and answered anyway.

“It’s fine. I’m perfectly alright now.”

“Fortunately, it seems the medicine was effective.”

“Medicine?”

“Yes. Medicine to cool down the fever. Yesterday after you fainted, the physician came right away. Luckily it wasn’t anything serious, and he said you’d be fine after taking medicine and resting for a day.”

“It must be a very effective medicine. Thank you, even if it’s late.”

Selene lowered her gaze gently and softly expressed her gratitude. The sunlight passing through the window fell diagonally on the face of the woman giving thanks. It glistened like dew in her black eyes.

For a moment, a faint ripple of emotion stirred in his heart.

Thank you, she says. What’s so special about those few words?

Boreas hid his emotion under an impassive gaze, putting strength in his eyes.

“Nothing happened yesterday.”

Boreas concluded with a firm tone, shifting his gaze from Selene’s lips. It was the result of imagining her reaction if he told the truth.

He could vividly picture Selene’s face contorting in disgust. The contrast was even more stark because she had just been thanking him.

Normally when one is sick, they dislike being alone and want to cling to someone and whine. And last night, Selene was in a lot of pain. If it hadn’t been him by her side last night, Selene would have grabbed onto anyone else just the same, begging them not to leave.

Boreas lowered his gaze slightly then raised it again, concluding his thoughts.

A mistake made in extreme pain.

Now that she’s recovered, that’s probably how Selene views last night’s incident. However, if she knew her mistake was worse than expected, she would surely be displeased.

He remembered a woman from some moment in the past who had shouted that just seeing his face irritated her.

It wasn’t difficult to conclude that it was better to let it go rather than questioning everything in detail.

Sometimes there are truths that should be kept hidden. Ignoring the sharp pain spreading in his chest, Boreas collected his thoughts and glanced at Selene.

“Let’s just consider it a minor happening. I hope we won’t become awkward or avoid each other because of this.”

His voice was as cold as his expression.

Selene’s face clouded over as she observed the wrinkles that formed on his previously smooth forehead. To her eyes, he seemed angry. Maybe not a lot, but a little. Selene lowered her head and unconsciously touched the scar on her forehead.

Even if it wasn’t intentional, she had caused him trouble. She had startled him and touched him carelessly. It was a natural reaction for him to be angry. But understanding with the head and accepting with the heart seem to be different things.

Selene raised the corners of her eyes with gentle force.

“Yes, let’s do that. That’s what I wanted too.”

* * *

Upon returning to her room, Selene belatedly learned that there had been a commotion in the early morning.

Last night, under Boreas’s orders, the servants of the Grand Ducal Palace had been summoned. They were all those who had prepared the tea set used for last evening’s tea time, or carried the tray, or were nearby.

After a thorough investigation, the main culprit was narrowed down to Fritten Crosse Lenoir. This was the result of a maid’s testimony that during the tea time preparations, a maid from the Lenoir family had entered the kitchen with a suspicious excuse.

When the testimony was added that her sneaking around looked just like a little mouse, the suspect became even more clear.

After hearing this news from the maids helping her dress, Selene went to find Boreas again and said,

“I heard you’re going to lodge an official complaint with the Lenoir family. I’ll do that myself, so I want you to step back from here. I’ll wrap up this incident on my own.”

“What?”

“The Grand Duke’s reputation is already bad enough because of me. I don’t want you to be the subject of people’s gossip too by making this public.”

After repeatedly dissuading Boreas, who questioned why reputation mattered, Selene walked down the corridor, thinking.

What should I do now?

Today is the very day Fritten Crosse Lenoir is set to return home. She’s probably packing her bags right now. Not knowing that the investigation would be over in less than a day.

Selene stopped walking as she crossed her arms, tapping her fingertips. She roughly threw open the door to Fritten’s room and coldly ordered.

“Search.”

As soon as the order was given, the maids who had followed her moved in unison. They shook out the luggage bags, turned over the bedding, and searched everywhere including the console drawers and on top of the console. The once tidy room was instantly in disarray.

At that moment, a shrill voice erupted from behind. Fritten, who had returned from a walk, shouted with astonished eyes as she looked at the scene.

“Kyaa!”

It was at the same time that one maid said she had found something and handed Selene a bottle containing white powder. As Fritten recognized the identity of the glass bottle, a look of horror filled her face.

So this is it.

Twirling the glass bottle, Selene smiled at Fritten who stood frozen.

“Ah, you’re here, young lady.”

“Your Highness, what is this!”

“It’s fortunate. If you had been a little later, I might have suspected you of plotting something strange again. For example, trying to put this in other teas.”

At these pointed words, Fritten clutched her skirt and raised her voice.

“What do you mean by plot? More importantly, how dare you intrude into someone else’s room like this!”

“Ah.”

Selene smoothly cut off her words and asked with a slanted smile.

“I was so curious that I just… What could this be?”

Selene turned to face Fritten and raised the glass bottle mid-sentence.

At that moment, Fritten couldn’t hide her crumbling expression. However, thinking that she could only avoid the crisis by being brazen, she straightened her back.

“It’s medicine I’m taking because I’m feeling a bit under the weather.”

“So someone feeling under the weather came all the way to the cold north? You must be the type to seek out hardship, young lady.”

“Not only do you unpack my neatly organized luggage, but you also mock me. I don’t understand what kind of rudeness this sudden behavior is.”

“I think you know the reason better than anyone, young lady.”

“It seems you can’t discern who should be demanding explanations right now.”

Selene let out a laugh as if this situation was amusing. As her cold gaze pierced like an arrow, Fritten gulped. Selene thrust the glass bottle forward as if to say ‘see for yourself with your own eyes’ and spoke coldly.

“After having tea time with you yesterday, young lady, my body suddenly became very ill. My body, which had been fine when we started the tea time, deteriorated bizarrely quickly. It seems the cause is right here.”

“It’s just ordinary cold medicine, I tell you.”

“Then would it be alright if I tried taking some? Oh, come to think of it, the Duke and young Duke were coughing too, so it might be good to give them some. If it’s medicine so effective that someone with cold symptoms can come all the way to the north without even coughing once, who wouldn’t want to take it?”

Selene handed the medicine bottle she was holding to the nearest maid. Fritten, who had been following the process of transferring the item with shocked eyes, staggered and burst out angrily.

“No matter how much you dislike me, to take my belongings as you please and not believe my words. I don’t know what to do anymore. I came to resolve the conflicts we’ve had so far, but things have only gotten worse. I’m devastated.”

Fritten began to plead her innocence while wiping away tears.

“You must have been busy with the visitation day approaching, Your Highness. It seems that accumulated fatigue led to yesterday’s incident, but you’re slandering me without any evidence. It’s really too much.”

Having decided to become a tragic heroine, Fritten even crossed her arms and ran them down her body.

“It’s time for me to return home, and if you don’t return it, from my position I can only think that it’s been ‘stolen’.”

“Stolen, you say…”

Selene softly repeated the words. It seemed like a ploy to cleverly escape by implying that she was committing theft right now. Selene gestured to the maid and took back the glass bottle, extending her hand forward.

“Here, then take it.”

Top Celebrity Younger Brother Bears Her Child (Female-dominant)

One-line summary: Forced to live stream romance with a top celebrity in a female-dominant world.

Yan Jin transmigrated into a brothel, with a fellow transmigrated junior beside her.

Hearing the obscene words coming from outside, the unfortunate junior covered his ears tightly, his cheeks flushed red, and whispered to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you escape.”

“Don’t worry, I will definitely defend your chastity.” Yan Jin looked at the flawless and delicate features of the unfortunate junior and gently comforted, “Because we have transmigrated into a female-dominant world.”

※※※

Top celebrity Yu Shu suddenly fell into a coma during a concert.

Research scientist Yan Jin fainted in the lab after working overtime.

Two people with no connection were rushed to the same hospital.

Three days later, neither of them had woken up.

Suddenly, the entire nation discovered that a live streaming app had been forcibly installed on their phones.

Upon opening it, they heard the two discussing how to escape from the brothel.

The entire internet was in an uproar.

After the two successfully escaped from the brothel, Yu Shu’s fan group rushed to make a banner and sent it to the hospital overnight.

“Big sister bravely took action to defend the chastity of our idol!”

※※※

When Yu Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, Yan Jin stared at his belly for a long time.

Covering his stomach, he muttered gloomily, “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get an abortion.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Yan Jin hugged Yu Shu and said softly, “I just feel like I’m not human.”

Yu Shu comforted Yan Jin, “I was already an adult when we got together.”

Yan Jin hesitated, “But you won’t be of legal marriageable age even after giving birth to the child.”

At the same time, a flood of bullet comments appeared in the live streaming room that the two couldn’t see.

[Although it’s inappropriate, I also want a young and handsome boyfriend to have my child.]

①Male pregnancy (highlighted)

The female lead is five years older than the male lead, and the male lead is already an adult when he appears.

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