While Arasila and Demian were away in the west, Oscar came to the capital.

And it wasn’t just a short visit, he had bought a mansion and settled down.

The recent increase in women meeting Demian on 4th Avenue street was all after Oscar came to the capital.

Since they weren’t in contact with the Vandermir ducal family and were focused on the assassination case, neither Demian nor Arasila knew Oscar was here.

‘Wow, it feels like a weak point has been thoroughly exploited.’

This was even more so because when investigating the ducal family regarding the Ken incident, they focused more on the Duke and Duchess than on Oscar.

Feeling like she had been unexpectedly attacked by an opponent she had underestimated, Arasila briefly reflected on her carelessness.

Still, she could roughly guess why Oscar had been impersonating Demian. In fact, it was quite obvious.

‘He sold out Demian because he didn’t want his parents to find out about his debauchery in the capital.’

He also used his cunning to minimize problems by only meeting commoner women and using Demian’s name with them.

Noble women would quickly figure out Oscar’s true identity.

‘Claire’s pregnancy was also likely an accident rather than intentional.’

It wasn’t meticulous enough to have been done with the purpose of framing Demian.

Even with just a little investigation like this, circumstances could be found suggesting he was the culprit, so it couldn’t have been done intentionally.

Anyway, as members of the same family, the Vandermir ducal house wouldn’t be very pleased about Demian having an illegitimate child either.

It was more correct to think that Oscar had accidentally impregnated Claire and recklessly pinned it on Demian.

‘But this alone isn’t enough to prove that Oscar Vandermir is the biological father. If they deny it to the end, that’s that.’

The best method would be to make Oscar confess with his own mouth or have Claire directly correct the statement.

Judging from her telling Mia that the man she met might not be Demian, there was a high possibility that Claire had noticed Oscar’s identity to some extent.

Even if she didn’t know Oscar was Oscar, she must have known at least that he wasn’t Demian.

‘So it seems better to persuade or coax Claire into telling the truth.’

After pondering for a long time on what to do, Arasila made a decision.

For Demian’s sake, let’s become a little, no, quite a bit more underhanded.

After the scandal, Demian began working from home.

Reporters were everywhere waiting eagerly to interview him, so he simply couldn’t go outside.

Moreover, people’s harsh stares also made him refrain from going out.

Demian, half-confined at home by others’ will, exuded a gloomy aura.

He gave off an atmosphere as if he had become a criminal under house arrest.

Unable to bear seeing this, Arasila strongly urged him to take walks in the garden every morning, lunch, and evening.

It was hard to just watch as a person withered like a flower deprived of sunlight.

Demian obediently followed Arasila’s words.

He ate his meals regularly and went out to walk in the garden.

Today too, after finishing breakfast and taking a brief walk around the garden, he returned and encountered Arasila at the front door.

Then, noticing that she was wearing casual clothes instead of her magic tower uniform, Demian made a curious expression.

“Where are you going?”

“I have someone to meet.”

“Who?”

“Claire.”

Arasila answered calmly. Demian flinched slightly at the discomfort caused by Claire’s name.

As he moved his lips, not knowing what to say, this time Arasila asked a question.

“Demian, I’m curious about something. Can I ask?”

“Yes, ask freely.”

Demian nodded with a solemn face. Arasila looked straight at him and moved her lips.

“By any chance, is your type a woman with a puppy-like face but a nice body?”

“…Pardon?”

Demian’s eyes shook slightly, surprised by the unexpected question.

He had naturally thought she would ask something related to Claire, but he didn’t expect her to suddenly mention his type of woman.

However, seeing Arasila’s face without a trace of a smile, he cleared his throat and answered seriously himself.

“No, it’s not.”

“Then what kind of person is your type?”

“If I had to say…”

Golden eyes gazed intently at Arasila. Demian slowly closed and opened his eyes once before speaking.

“I like someone who looks like a rabbit but is as elegant as a deer, and as bold as a tiger.”

“…That’s very specific? Do you have someone in mind?”

Arasila retorted a bit primly without realizing it.

She hadn’t expected Demian to give such a detailed answer.

Come on, how can three animals all fit into one person?

Imagining a tiger with a rabbit’s face and a deer’s body made her feel not so good.

Unlike her, whose expression had become slightly pouty, Demian’s face was faintly flushed.

He felt embarrassed, wondering if he had spoken too blatantly.

Needlessly rubbing the back of his neck, he said,

“Anyway, have a good trip.”

“Alright.”

Arasila nodded half-heartedly and turned her body.

Demian, who briefly blocked her way, spoke in a low and serious voice.

“Please don’t overexert yourself for my sake. There’s no need for my wife to wallow in the mud with me.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. And we’re a married couple, how could only one of us be covered in mud?”

After a brief pause, she added,

“How could I just stand by and watch only you rolling in the mud?”

It was Arasila who said she would prove his innocence and asked him to trust and leave it to her.

Demian hadn’t given any hints, but she had voluntarily said so first.

Because she couldn’t let Demian be ruined by false accusations.

Whether it was because they were a contract couple, or because of the affection built up over time didn’t matter.

What mattered was Arasila’s determination not to leave him alone.

“I’ll be going now. I might bring back some good news, so wait quietly.”

“…Understood.”

Arasila smiled brightly. Demian nodded, letting out a laugh like a sigh.

Soon after, the carriage carrying Arasila vigorously left the mansion. Its back view was truly majestic.

Claire’s house was in a corner of a quiet alley.

As a result of being harassed by reporters no less than Demian after revealing her pregnancy, she had moved to a place with few people.

“Hello, Claire. Have you been well?”

“…Hello, madam.”

Claire greeted Arasila with a worse complexion than expected.

Arasila briefly observed her face, which looked somewhat anxious and nervous, then entered the house and sat down at the table.

“Just a moment, I’ll bring some tea.”

“No, tea isn’t necessary, so sit down. We have a lot to talk about.”

Claire then hesitantly sat across from Arasila.

Somehow, her complexion was even paler than when she had visited the Vandermir mansion.

She looked the opposite of how she should be much more at ease now than when she was suffering alone knowing about her pregnancy.

“What did you come to say…”

“I’ve decided to accept you.”

“What do you mean…”

“I’ll acknowledge the child as Demian’s, as you wished.”

Claire’s eyes widened in surprise. She slightly bit her lip and fidgeted her hands nervously.

It was a reaction that seemed bewildered and awkward for someone who had achieved the desired result.

“Thank you for accepting me, madam.”

“No, but you might have to leave the capital and stay in the ducal territory for a while. Is that okay?”

“Yes, I heard that you mainly stay in the ducal territory anyway.”

Claire nodded, having prepared herself mentally since then. Arasila looked at her with a faint smile.

“I see. Demian has never lived in the ducal territory except when he was very young, but the man you met said the ducal territory was his main residence.”

Nodding and muttering to herself, Arasila then sharply fixed her eyes on Claire.

“Well, it’s natural since that man is the Vandermir young master.”

“…!”

Claire’s already pale face turned completely bloodless, looking almost bluish.

Arasila, without dropping her smile, met Claire’s gaze and continued speaking.

“So you did lie knowing that the person you met wasn’t Demian Vandermir but Oscar Vandermir.”

“…”

“Why did you do it? Did the Vandermir young master make you do it, or did you do it on your own? Tell me.”

Claire trembled all over but stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

Arasila silently let out a sigh. If it’s like this, she had no choice but to go about it in an underhanded way.

“If you don’t want to speak, don’t. Instead, I’ll formally report you.”

“…Pardon?”

“You damaged my and my husband’s reputation with lies, right? I’ll demand compensation for mental and material damages, and have you punished for the crime of slandering nobles.”

“Ah, no! Please, anything but that…!”

Claire jumped up from her seat and desperately shook her head. Tears were even welling up in her eyes.

Arasila looked at her with cold eyes and said,

“Then spit out the truth.”

“That’s… difficult…”

“Claire, you don’t know how capable a magician I am? No matter how much you resist, I can just throw you in the magic tower’s underground prison and cast a spell that makes you speak only the truth.”

In fact, magic that can directly affect a person’s mind doesn’t exist in the world, but she said so deliberately to scare Claire.

Claire, who didn’t know much about magic, seemed to think it was all over now, as she tightly closed her eyes and slumped down in the chair.

Then Arasila softened her voice and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“If you speak honestly now, I won’t touch you. I’ll even help you. I can really swear to it.”

“…”

“But if you keep lying… I’ll have no choice but to abandon human decency. Do you want me to do that?”

Claire took a deep, shaky breath and shook her head. Finally, she opened her tightly closed lips.

“I’m sorry. What you said is right. I lied.”

“Why did you do it?”

“The young master Vandermir… threatened my life and the baby’s, so I had no choice.”

On the day she found out about her pregnancy and visited the Vandermir mansion, Claire felt something was off when she saw Demian from afar.

Other than having silver hair, Demian’s eye color and overall atmosphere were completely different from the man she had been meeting.

Confused, she looked into it from various angles and realized.

The Vandermir she had spent the night with wasn’t Demian, but Oscar.

After deliberating, Claire thought she should meet the real him and searched for Oscar’s mansion to visit.

At first flustered, Oscar let her in, but when actually faced with her and asked why he had lied, he said this:

“What nonsense are you talking about? Who are you? I don’t know anything about this.”

Shocked by his brazenness, Claire impulsively revealed her pregnancy.

“I, I’m carrying your child! Are you still going to deny it?”

“What?”

Oscar, who had been sitting casually on the sofa until then, suddenly changed his expression and jumped to his feet.

Then with a terrifyingly serious face, he approached Claire and gripped her shoulders tightly.

“Don’t lie, how is that possible? How could someone as lowly as you be pregnant with a Vandermir’s bloodline?”

His demeanor was quite threatening, so Claire was intimidated for a moment, but thinking that he was the one at fault, she spoke up confidently once more.

“No matter what you say, the fact that I’m pregnant doesn’t change. You need to take responsibility…”

“Shut up! Why should I do that!”

Oscar, who had been shouting roughly in excitement, soon muttered something to himself with his eyes half-crazed.

Watching this up close, Claire became very frightened.

‘What if… what if he kills me…?’

He had shown a gentlemanly and mannerly attitude, though not affectionate, until now.

So she had expected him to soften a bit when told about the baby, but the current Oscar seemed capable of killing her to avoid any flaws, which terrified her.

As she shrank her shoulders and trembled silently, Oscar, having finished organizing his thoughts, grabbed her forearm tightly and said,

“Say it’s Demian Vandermir’s child.”

“W-What…?”

“Say it’s that bastard Demian’s child, not mine. If you want to live.”

Oscar twisted his lips in a vile smile.

Seeing his eyes gleaming with murderous intent, Claire had no choice but to nod.

From that day on, Claire moved as Oscar wanted to preserve her and her child’s lives.

She marked dates on the calendar according to when Oscar told her Demian was away, presented the family handkerchief he gave her as evidence, and took the lead in dragging Demian’s reputation to the ground.

But Demian strongly denied it, and Arasila’s reaction was more lukewarm than expected.

As things unfolded differently than anticipated, she became anxious.

Even after taking the drastic measure of exposing it to the newspapers, her uneasiness didn’t disappear.

Rather, she was so afraid that Oscar might harm her or the baby even if her demands were met like now, that she couldn’t even leave the house.