Given that he saved my life and the fact that he’s Valery’s father, I had been feeling a sense of closeness to Carl in my heart. So, his sharp tone felt very strange to me.
“I thought you said you didn’t consider me a suspect…”
“What I think of the suspect is a separate matter.”
“A suspect?”
His attitude, treating me like a real criminal, was unpleasant.
“A person under investigation for a crime, whose guilt has not been clearly established yet. That’s what we call a suspect. Since there is no clear evidence of your alibi, you are still a suspect.”
His words were cold. If I were actually a lying criminal, his sharp tone might have made me confess right away.
He risked his life to save me, and now he’s making such a scary face? A sense of betrayal slowly crept up on me.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Countess?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
I felt foolish for feeling hurt by his cold treatment. But then again, Carl and I share a child, Valery, a lovely child who unmistakably resembles him.
I don’t have Celeste’s memories, so let’s assume that, but Carl has all of his memories. Why is he being so cold to me, Celeste?
How would he react if he knew he was the father of the child? Would he be shocked?
Now that the relationship with the child has been confirmed, I couldn’t just let it go.
“Boo…”
Valery’s babbling broke the silence. Both Carl’s and my gaze naturally shifted to the baby lying in the middle of the bed, fast asleep.
With my, or rather Celeste’s, child undoubtedly here, we had to bring her to the capital, but what to do next was still an open question.
In this era, the implications of a woman raising a child alone were unclear to me. The perception of single mothers wasn’t entirely positive even in modern times, let alone in this era.
Of course, Celeste wasn’t exactly alone. She had numerous servants and immense wealth… If she could just endure the public’s gaze, it might not be too challenging.
But what about Valery growing up without a father?
What if I told the father, “This is our child, let’s take responsibility together!”…
While I was thinking, our eyes met again.
“Why are you looking at me again?”
“I didn’t look at you in any particular way…”
In the awkward silence, Carl, who seemed to have something to say when he came in, fell silent and deep in thought. Left alone with him in this silent space, I awkwardly adjusted Valery’s blanket.
“I need to sort some things out before we reach the capital.”
“Huh?”
“Exactly two months ago. That’s when Duke Schwaben died.”
“Ah…”
“Did you know that Duke Schwaben was found dead at his residence?”
“No, I had no idea until you mentioned it.”
“You claim you know nothing about Duke Schwaben’s death?”
“Yes, of course.”
It was frustrating to be interrogated for a crime I didn’t commit. His attitude, questioning me as if I were already half-convicted, was also quite unpleasant.
“I’ve been here for half a year, and I had nothing to do with Duke Schwaben.”
“So you claim to have no relation with the Duke?”
“No, of course not. I understand why you might suspect me, but I am not that greedy or bad.”
“Why do you think I consider you a greedy and bad person?”
“Isn’t it? You suspect me of coveting the Duke of Schwaben’s wealth and causing trouble, right?”
The quiet atmosphere couldn’t last long. The culprit was Valery. The sound of something spilling, falling, and then Valery’s cries, as if trying to bring the house down, forced a halt to the conversation.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“You suspect that I coveted the Duke of Schwaben’s estate and orchestrated something. That sounds like you knew in advance that a considerable fortune would come to me upon the Duke’s demise.”
I was taken aback. Now that he mentioned it, that made sense. Celeste’s relationship with the Duke of Schwaben was only revealed after his death. If the real Celeste was indeed innocent, she wouldn’t have known this fact.
But the fact that I seemed to know in advance inevitably put me under suspicion.
“Ah… I misspoke.”
“What do you mean?”
I inadvertently let a comment slip.
“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, it’s truly tragic and heartbreaking that the Duke passed away.”
It might sound odd to empathize with a person I never met, but it was sincere. After all, the Duke, who was related to Celeste through blood and died at a young age, didn’t feel entirely distant to me.
“It has nothing to do with me. I don’t know how many times I have to say it.”
But as tragic as it may be, being wrongfully accused is another matter.
I’ve been trying not to end up like the unjust and meaningless death of Celeste in the original story since I took over her life. Didn’t I give up all the luxurious city life and sociable activities to hide in the countryside, enduring six months of boredom, only to walk back into the path of a predetermined death?
“It would be a waste of time to interrogate me.”
Carl ran his hand through his hair, seemingly frustrated.
“Actually, the situation has changed.”
“Changed how?”
“My mission was to apprehend the perpetrator of the Duke of Schwaben’s assassination under imperial orders. But the mission has lost its effectiveness.”
“The effectiveness of the mission?”
Carl hesitated to answer. I had never seen him so indecisive. What was he trying to say?
“The person who assigned me the mission has suddenly passed away.”
“The person who assigned it?”
This sudden spate of deaths sent a chill down my spine.
“Yes. His Majesty the Emperor has passed away.”
“What?”
I almost jumped out of my seat. The Emperor died? When? How?
“The Emperor, His Majesty passed away? But why is it so quiet? The sun of a nation has set, and it’s this quiet?”
“It’s still highly confidential.”
My head was spinning. I couldn’t grasp what was happening.
“Only a few people within the imperial palace know about His Majesty’s passing.”
“Is that even possible? Can such a fact be hidden?”
I was about to ask that when I remembered the difference between this world and the modern era, where everyone has smartphones.
“In a world where magic and spells are trusted a bit more than science, if they wanted to keep something secret, it could surely be kept hidden.”
“…It could be hidden, then.”
“It’s not being hidden. It’s just being kept under wraps until the full details of the case are understood, to prevent chaos.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Hiding something and not yet disclosing it are fundamentally different.”
“…Sounds like wordplay to me.”
Muttering to myself, I sensed something odd in Carl’s words. If the Emperor’s death was highly confidential, then:
“Why are you telling me this?”
What could be the reason to disclose such a secret to a criminal who was to be apprehended by imperial order? Especially when he was tight-lipped yesterday, why reveal it today?
“I’ll be frank with you. There are too many uncertainties to simply label you as the culprit.”
The person who had spoken with an icy voice about transporting a suspect to the capital now seemed to be suggesting I might not be the criminal. This man, truly inscrutable.
When in the original story did the Emperor die? I gazed at the man, trying to recall.
“But currently, you are still the prime suspect.”
So, what now?
“Baba.”
The conversation ended there. Valery, whom I thought was sound asleep, had woken up.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
