When he saw Celeste again, how should he put it, she seemed like a different person. Carl overlapped the image of Celeste from 2 years ago with the Celeste of now.

Come to think of it, even when Celeste came to find him 2 years ago, she looked quite different from the glimpses he had seen of her before.

“Carl, there’s something we must talk about.”

They had only passed by each other from afar and never exchanged a single word. But suddenly, the Celeste from 2 years ago who came to find him acted as if she was close to him.

“There’s no time, Carl.”

She even came all the way to his hidden villa, and without hesitation, called his name.

“Papa.”

Warmth brushed against his fingertips. Carl woke from his memories of the past and looked down at what had touched his hand.

“Bwabwa.”

The child, who had been sleeping soundly until just now, was looking up at him with sparkling blue eyes. He had tried to speak as quietly as possible, but it seemed to have become a noise that disturbed the child’s sleep.

The child blinked a few times, then fully lifted his eyelids and showed a bright smile towards him.

“Pa, pa.”

It was definitely not a mistake. The child was looking straight at him again and calling him ‘Papa’. Celeste had explained that it was the best pronunciation the child could make while babbling, but Carl felt strange anyway.

Carl withdrew his hand to avoid the child who seemed to be trying to grab it by stretching out and waving his arm.

“Ah, right. There will be another paternity test conducted at the imperial palace to confirm if this child is indeed the biological child of the Count and that detective.”

“What? Didn’t we already do that?”

“We couldn’t properly confirm the results.”

In fact, Carl had seen the potion with the mixed blood of the detective and the child spill on the ground right after the explosion. He unconsciously felt relieved inwardly when he saw the still reddened liquid. Even though he wasn’t aware of it.

“But……”

“Recently, the number of infant abduction cases has been rapidly increasing, especially in the capital. According to a recent ordinance issued by the Security Bureau, the administrative departments of each region must unconditionally confirm the biological relationship between the child and the guardian for any child whose birth is not registered.”

Celeste bit her lip hard. Carl didn’t know if she was aware, but Celeste seemed to have a habit of biting her lips like that when she was deep in thought or faced with a difficult situation.

What could she be thinking with that small head of hers? Carl suddenly became curious about Celeste’s mind.

She suddenly appeared and messed up his days as she pleased, then disappeared. And now, she showed up again with a completely changed appearance, even carrying a child. She was truly an unpredictable woman, like a rubber ball that could bounce anywhere.

“If, after retesting, it is clearly revealed that the detective is not the child’s father, then… you will only test to confirm the biological relationship between me and the child, right? You won’t try to find the father’s side again or anything……”

Was there a reason why the child’s father should not be known?

Carl was displeased with Celeste’s attitude that seemed to be trying to hide the existence of the child’s father. No, maybe he just didn’t like the very existence of the child’s father.

“We need to find the child’s father too.”

In fact, there was no real need to go that far. If it was clearly proven that Celeste was the biological mother, there would be no problem with registering the birth, and if a registered child was living with a definite guardian, there would be no reason to conduct further investigations.

Nevertheless, Carl lied in the moment. That they must find the child’s father.

“It’s the regulation. Even if it is accurately revealed that you are the biological mother, because you gave birth out of wedlock and the legal father is not registered……”

In case Celeste became suspicious, Carl gave an unsolicited explanation. On one hand, he felt fortunate that she didn’t know it was a plausible lie to cover up his true feelings.

“Huh. You said you don’t even remember giving birth to the child. Then all the more reason to find the child’s father, don’t you think? Find him, hold him accountable, and let him know his duties as a parent.”

He didn’t even know why he felt so displeased.

“But how do you intend to find the child’s father when even the biological mother can’t remember him?”

“Well, we’ll have to narrow down the people who could possibly be the child’s father and test them……”

Suddenly, someone flashed through Carl’s mind. His relative, Franz, who was well known as Celeste’s lover and whom he hated the sight of.

“Baba, papaa.”

As he glanced down at the child who called for him again, Carl had to face the turquoise eyes that were a mysterious mix of blue and green.

Blue eyes. Eyes that looked just like Franz’s.

Yes. This unpleasant feeling must just be anger at the irresponsibility of someone who made a child and then ran away without taking responsibility.

That’s what it was. That’s what it had to be. Carl deliberately ignored the child’s yearning gaze. He didn’t want to see the small face that resembled Franz.

At this point, Carl was unaware, although he wouldn’t want to admit it, that his own eyes were the same blue color as Franz’s.

The peculiar blue eyes tinged with green were not only Franz’s, but a characteristic possessed by the imperial family.

Carl’s words kept echoing in her head. In other words, when they arrived at the capital, Carl was going to gather all the men who were presumed to have had some kind of relationship with Celeste and confirm their biological relationship with Valerie.

“What is that? It’s not like we’re checking the breed of a cow!”

It was absurd. No matter how much of a femme fatale Celeste was, captivating the hearts of numerous men, Carl’s words about finding candidates for the child’s father and comparing them felt deeply unpleasant.

“Not even knowing it’s your own child.”

She barely restrained herself from saying, “It’s your child!”

Celeste and Carl had slept together at least 2 years ago. Valerie was the proof of that.

But how could he talk so indifferently, as if it were someone else’s business, about things like ‘paternity candidates’ and ‘comparison’? Did he not know that he should be the first one on that candidate list, more than anyone else? No, how could he not know?

“Could it be that their relationship was one of… mutually fulfilling each other’s desires?”

No matter how one looked at it, the way Carl treated me did not seem like how one would treat a woman they love or loved. If he saw a child from a woman he didn’t love, there was only one answer. A night of passion, something like that.

“…He wasn’t that kind of character, though?”

A one-night love! With a woman who’s not even the protagonist? Isn’t that a fatal flaw that the male protagonist of a novel should never have?

Above all, I couldn’t believe that the perfect male protagonist, Carl Albrecht, who was known to be as cold as stone towards women, would impulsively sleep with the villainess whom he would later kill with his own hands.

But even if it was just a night of impulse, he couldn’t possibly not know the possibility of a child being born. I couldn’t understand at all how Carl could so confidently say he would find the candidates for the child’s father.

If an investigation is conducted, everything will be revealed, so his name will surely be on the list too.

“My lord.”

Hannah, who had left saying she needed to talk to the Grand Duke Albrecht’s aide, returned. What kind of conversation did they have that it took so long? I was already feeling suffocated by various thoughts about Carl and wanted to let it out somewhere.

“What did you talk about? I saw His Highness the Grand Duke coming out a little while ago.”

“It’s a conversation we had a few times even before boarding the train.”

“What conversation?”

“The assassination of the Duke of Schwaben, and Valerie’s paternity test.”

“Oh my, you could have done that after returning to the capital, why do it here again?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“Our little lady Valerie is awake, oochie coochie. Isn’t she pretty?”

When Hannah made cooing noises at Valerie, the child saw this and grinned. The way she stretched out both arms, wanting to be held, was really lovely.

If she takes after the face of the world’s strongest handsome man, of course she’d be pretty. Hannah too had her heart stolen by Valerie’s adorable appearance long ago.

“Ah, right. We talked about that too.”

“About what?”

“His Majesty the Emperor… suddenly passed away?”

“What?”

“Oh my gosh. Why are you shouting like that, Hannah?”

“His Majesty the Emperor passed away? Why?”

“I don’t know that either. They didn’t tell me that much.”

“Uh, when?”

“I’m not sure about that either… but they said the Emperor’s seal was stamped on the search warrant related to the Duke’s assassination case, so it must be within two months from now at the latest.”

“But why is it so quiet? I haven’t heard anything like that anywhere?”

“They said they’ve blocked the information for now because it was too sudden. That it shouldn’t be known…”

“Oh my god, O Lord.”

Hannah’s face was filled with confusion. It was the first time I saw her make such a serious expression while holding Valerie. Yeah. It’s a natural reaction when the Emperor of a country has died.

“My lord, wait a moment.”

“Hm?”

As if she suddenly thought of something urgent, Hannah stopped me.