“……!”

Startled by his words, Aeli reflexively looked up before quickly coming to her senses.

‘My face…….’

It must not be seen.

Lowering her gaze, the brooch still firmly attached to her cloak caught her eye.

However, the fact that the Pope was clearly looking at Aeli made her doubt whether the magic was working properly.

In the first place, it had not shown the performance she expected even to the priests of the temple, including the Ratliff Knight.

Considering that none of her speculations had been accurate, there was a possibility that the brooch was completely broken.

This also meant that Aeli had no idea how she currently appeared in the Pope’s eyes.

‘Being careless could lead to an accident…… but there’s no harm in being cautious.’

Although Aeli had already pulled the hood of her cloak low, she subtly lowered her head in case her face was visible.

Others could not easily notice her even when she was right beside them, so she could not understand why this was happening when facing the Pope of all people.

Judging from the case of the First Princess who could see her when she was still a ghost, it seemed that a certain level of divine power might be somewhat related to the Pope’s ability to see Aeli now.

However, such speculation could not solve the immediate problem.

Rolling her eyes to the side, Aeli looked at Lutis.

Perhaps because there was no answer, the Pope asked again at that moment.

“Your Grace?”

“…… She is the nanny who took care of the child while the mansion was empty.”

Lutis also seemed quite flustered, causing his response to be slightly delayed.

However, it was a subtle difference, and his expression showed no sign of surprise, so his bewilderment was not apparent.

Aeli, who had keen observation skills specifically when it came to Lutis due to watching him since childhood, was the only exception.

In response to Lutis’ answer, the Pope slightly nodded his head and said,

“I see. But I have never heard of a nanny at the ducal residence……”

“It would not be good for outsiders to hear rumors about the affairs of the residence, would it?”

Translated literally, it meant it was none of his business.

No matter how much of a duke Lutis was, it was quite radical behavior towards the Pope, causing the surprised Aeli to slightly open her mouth.

Although she could not utter a word, her exposed lower jaw was more than enough to convey her emotions.

“……”

“……”

Even if Lutis noticed, it seemed unlikely that he would correct the words he had already spoken.

Aeli blankly watched as her identity was transformed into a woman brought from the Maison branch after the Duchess’ death by Lutis’ words.

At that point, she was so dumbfounded that she could not open her mouth.

…… In the first place, it was a situation where she should not speak.

‘No, but- when did he even come up with this setting?’

Putting that aside, if he introduced her as being from the Maison branch, the news would inevitably reach her parents and elder brother, right?

Aeli slightly tilted her head, wondering if this was the agreed upon content.

She had previously heard from Lutis that they had no choice but to not entrust the child due to being unable to contact them.

Even so, she still found it puzzling why they did not come to get the child, even belatedly, while Lutis was away at war, but since it was something she could not immediately know, she let it pass.

‘…… Right now, the two of them are on bad terms.’

Aeli had memories of the conversation Lutis had with the head butler when she was still a ghost.

[Did you call for me?] [Contact the Mage Tower.] [The Mage Tower…… you say.]

The expression of the head butler trailing off with a troubled face was still vividly remembered.

[Do I look like I’m asking a favor right now?] [……] [Whether they have locked the door or declared they will no longer use magic on anything bearing the Ratliff name, that is none of my concern.]

Immediately after, the remark treating the child like a tool also came to mind, causing Aeli’s eyes to naturally narrow.

Even though she later learned that he did not say it with the intention she had thought, she could not help but feel unpleasant.

‘No- this is not it.’

…… Anyway, the important thing was that even just looking at this conversation, it was sufficient to infer that the current relationship between Ratliff and Maison was not very good.

‘…… But it’s also astonishing that it’s not a bad choice.’

In the midst of worrying whether they could handle it if things escalated, Aeli was simply dumbfounded that she herself judged it to be the best option.

In fact, saying she was a commoner would be the easiest way to create a new identity and would not require any proof, making it the most convenient.

In this case, however, it would not make sense for the ducal family to bring in a commoner as a nanny in the first place.

Even Aeli’s own nanny Mari’s mother was the wife of a member of the Maison Knight Order who held a baron title.

Although Aeli did not know what kind of person she was as she had already returned to the earth when Aeli started walking, that was the case anyway.

‘A commoner status would also restrict her actions.’

To stay by the child’s side, she needed to be guaranteed at least the status of a lower noble.

But even if she mentioned a hastily created status, how many people would believe it?

Moreover, whether commoner or noble, unless she openly revealed her face, the choice to rely on magical tools or potions was inevitable, but in this case, the various banquets and events to be held at the imperial palace were also a problem.

The imperial palace prohibited the use of magical tools, including weapons, for those other than members of the imperial family.

Changing hair color or eye color could be sufficiently done with potions, but for the kind that changed one’s appearance, there was no way other than using magical tools unless one wore someone else’s skin.

‘But what if a situation arises where I have to go to the imperial palace while relying on magical tools?’

There was no greater blunder than this.

The most credible way to explain a face that looked exactly like Aeli’s while being able to reveal it to the extent of not relying on magical tools with a noble status.

Nothing beats blood relatives.

It was the moment when Aeli was making such a thought with a dejected expression on her face hidden under the hood.

“…… Huh?”

The child, who was being held in Lutis’ arms and witnessing the series of events, looked at Aeli in puzzlement.

It was a face that showed complete lack of understanding of the situation.

“……”

Unfortunately, Aeli was no different, so she could not give the child a meaningful answer.

Even if she understood, as long as the Pope was right in front of them, there was no way to explain to the child.

The Pope, who was silently looking at the child, slowly affirmed and spoke.

“…… Yes. Then I will assume the person next to you is also here.”

If so, I need to give blessings to the young lord, so could you please put him down for a moment? At his words spoken with a benevolent smile, Lutis looked down at the child.

The child, who had been gripping Lutis’ clothing around his shoulders with both hands, blinked rapidly.

Come to think of it, neither Lutis nor Aeli had properly explained to the child what a blessing was, as they had been too preoccupied.

As the child blankly looked up, Lutis averted his gaze and said awkwardly,

“It’s like a ritual wishing for you to continue growing up safely, as you have been until now.”

“What’s that?”

“A blessing.”

“Ble- ssing is what?”

“…… Something good.”

“Why is it good?”

“……”

Hmm, it seems this conversation is not going well. Aeli clicked her tongue in embarrassment as she listened to the conversation between Lutis and the child.

Even though she wanted to explain again, externally she was now neither the only daughter of the Maison Viscount family nor the lady of the Ratliff Ducal family.

How could a mere nanny arbitrarily interrupt and interject when the duke and his heir were in the middle of a conversation?

Aeli stood docilely in the same spot where she first stopped walking and silently looked down at the hand held by Lutis.

Whatever he was thinking, it seemed he had no intention of letting go of the hand he had grabbed before entering.

‘I wish he would let go at this point…….’

When she tried to slightly wriggle her hand out, he re-gripped it as if to show through action that he had no intention of releasing it.

The child, who had been staring blankly at the dumbfounded Aeli, opened his mouth.

“Momm-”

“Ahem! Mm, hmm! Uh-hum!”

“……”

“……”

“…… I’m sorry, I have a cold.”

Aeli, who was startled by the form of address that came out of the child’s mouth every time, causing her to unintentionally smile, but which should never come out in this situation, coughed incessantly.

Since her presence had already been revealed, she could not just close her mouth as if nothing had happened, so Aeli deliberately lowered her voice and apologized.

At that moment, the child, who had been fluttering his eyes, belatedly read the situation and continued speaking.

“Mo……”

“……”

“Momther uncomfortable, put me down, please……”

“……”

…… Still, it wasn’t bad for being improvised.

Lutis bent his waist and put the child down on the floor of the prayer room.

As his feet touched the ground, the child hesitantly walked up to the platform where the Pope stood.

When the Pope told him to kneel facing the statue of the goddess in front, the child turned his head and looked back at Aeli and Lutis.

“Si, sit here?”

“Yes. Please clasp your hands together and close your eyes.”

When Aeli slightly nodded, the child asked the Pope again. He seemed quite unfamiliar with doing it alone.

The awkward child slowly went in front of the statue of the goddess and knelt down.

The sight of the child sitting in prayer wearing white clothes embroidered with gold thread in front of the huge statue delicately carved out of marble was quite pleasing to the eye, even putting aside personal feelings.

‘…… I never thought I would be able to see this.’

It was a rather complex feeling to put into words.

Although she could not reveal her identity, Aeli was satisfied to be able to see it like this.

The Pope, who tilted a small cup over the praying child’s head, slowly poured the holy water contained in it.

“Ah, it’s cold!”

“……”

You’re not giving me time to be immersed in the moment, I see.

Startled by the cold holy water poured over his head, the child opened his eyes wide and stood up from his spot.

The child looked at the Pope like he was the most absurd person in the world for pouring water on a young child, and the Pope, who explained for a moment that he did not pour it with bad intentions, spoke again while holding up the cup.

The holy water was half remaining in the cup.

“…… Then I will proceed to finish it.”

Fortunately, this time it could be completed without any issues.

It was an extremely ordinary blessing, without the incident they had worried about before coming to the temple.

[This is the timeline separator]

On the late evening of the day Aeli and Lutis’ group left the temple.

Knock knock.

“Your Holiness, I have called the messenger as you instructed.”

“Ah, then please tell him to deliver this letter to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Yes, I will do so.”

The Pope handed the letter he had been fiddling with to the priest and thought,

‘I thought it was a heart that had completely died and would no longer beat.’

It seemed that the Duke had found a new love.