Two years ago. It was the time when the accession of the current Emperor Maximilian, who suddenly passed away not long ago, was being discussed.

Although there was opposition that he was still too young, Maximilian, as the eldest son of the previous emperor, ascended to the imperial throne at the age of 12 and entered the political arena, despite the concerns of many ministers.

There was public opinion that his mother, Empress Dowager Monica, should act as regent, but Monica immediately handed over the throne to her son.

Although that was the conclusion, there were many twists and turns until it happened.

At that time, there was a candidate who was mentioned to ascend to the throne instead of Maximilian, and that was Carl.

Carl retreated to his grand duchy, leaving the capital so as not to harm his young cousin. He intended to show his face only at the coronation ceremony once Maximilian’s accession was confirmed.

But Celeste came to visit him there. The villa where he was hiding was a place unknown to the public. Only a few of his closest knights knew about this place, where Louisette, the young viscountess with whom he had no connection, had come to visit.

“How did you come here?”

He was so surprised to see Viscountess Louisette appear before him. Until then, to Carl, Celeste was just the Louisette Viscountess, the flower of Kellevert society, an ice-cold woman, and Franz’s lover. That was the extent of her meaning to him. They were acquaintances who had only seen each other fleetingly from afar, never even having exchanged casual conversation.

But what kind of relationship could they be said to have now? Carl looked down at the person sitting in front of him. Celeste’s face turned red, then darkened to black, and soon turned pale blue.

Seeing her again after two years, how should I put it, while I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, it was easy to grasp what emotions she was feeling.

Looking at her face changing color moment by moment, he wondered if this woman was really the same ice-cold Viscountess Louisette from the past, but on the other hand, she felt quite similar to the Celeste who had suddenly visited him in the past.

Was that why? Carl suddenly offered Celeste, who had come to visit him unexpectedly, a place to stay. He couldn’t coldly turn away the woman who had found her way along that treacherous path alone, without an aide.

“Please answer me, Celi. Is Valerie.”

And that night she visited became a completely erased memory for him.

The day when he, who couldn’t drink even a sip of alcohol, mistakenly downed a glass of distilled liquor, all memories were deleted until he opened his eyes to greet the morning. Carl’s question was directed at that night.

“My…”

Today, he had to hear the answer. About that night when there were countless things he wanted to ask.

“Is it my child?”

And perhaps Valerie, is she the result of some time we spent together on that night I can’t remember?

Leaving the two who had gone into the study to have some private conversation, the employees of the Louisette family began a serious discussion.

First, it started with Cecil’s barrage of questions directed at Hannah.

Who is that young lady, what do you mean she’s the Viscountess’s child, what on earth happened while she was away from the mansion, how could you bring a child out of nowhere when I told you to take good care of the Viscountess – these words were closer to an interrogation than pure questions.

“Well, I told you. Someone suddenly brought the child.”

“Does that make sense? Considering the child’s age, the young lady must have been pregnant about 2 years ago and given birth a year ago, but that never happened! Yet you say it’s the young lady’s child!”

“I thought exactly the same as Cecil at first. But remember about a year and a half ago when the Viscountess suddenly went abroad to study? She came back after about half a year. She didn’t take anyone from the estate with her, saying she didn’t want to make a fuss about going to study. If she had conceived a child then… she could have given birth without us knowing.”

“That’s nonsense. Our Viscountess would never… No, and if such an absurd thing had happened, you should have caught and questioned the person who brought the child. There must have been someone who brought the child.”

“I wanted to do that too. But while I was briefly away in the capital, I mean here, someone brought the child and disappeared without a trace. What could I say to the Viscountess? Could I have asked why she didn’t quickly open the door and chase after whoever left the child and ran away?”

“Even so…”

Cecil sighed deeply. An unmarried noble woman with a child. Isn’t this too fatal a scandal? Giving birth to a child secretly while studying abroad? That doesn’t make sense.

Even if Celeste had really become pregnant without anyone knowing, she would have certainly needed help at the time of delivery. And if she needed help, she should have definitely sought out Cecil.

“And why did Grand Duke Albrecht come to visit? And what’s with the Imperial Investigation Team!”

Even without adding such a scandal, Celeste already had many enemies.

There were those dissatisfied with the Louisette family’s monopoly on mining rights, and many noblewomen who were jealous of her beautiful appearance but not very sociable personality.

It is said that if humans can’t have something, they try to destroy it. The numerous men who had sent love letters, enchanted by Celeste’s beauty and wealth, turned into anti-forces in an instant when they didn’t receive the desired response.

This means that there are plenty of people ready to tear apart Celeste and the Louisette family at any moment if given a proper justification.

To such people, Valerie’s existence would be the perfect prey to tear into. Her face might appear on the front page of the Maledicto newspaper, which deals with society gossip, as early as tomorrow, alongside Celeste’s.

Cecil clutched her head with both hands. This was the Viscountess she had raised with utmost care and affection, and she couldn’t bear to see her being torn apart by the words of those blinded by jealousy.

“They said they came to investigate the accident that happened to Duke Schwaben.”

“What? The Duke… No, why are they looking for our Viscountess to investigate that accident?”

What is this now? Cecil couldn’t believe her ears.

“I don’t know for sure, but it seems there’s some connection between the Schwaben ducal family and our Viscountess. They say the Duke was a distant relative of the late Madam, and that the Duke’s death is expected to bring a massive inheritance to the Viscountess.”

It’s one thing after another. Cecil’s only wish was for Celeste to live a peaceful life.

That’s why she had reluctantly let her go when Celeste suddenly said she wanted to leave the capital after injuring her head in a carriage accident. She had hoped that after recovering, Celeste would find a suitable husband and get married.

“Of all things, she lost all her memories, so we couldn’t find out anything related to the child.”

Hannah let out a frustrated sigh. Although she had volunteered to take care of Valerie, who was clearly Celeste’s flesh and blood, she was just as perplexed.

Mueller and Cecil, Hannah and Kendrick, and Liv – the five people who cared most for Celeste gathered and put their heads together. But the words coming from the five lips were just sighs.

“Bubu…”

The sound of breathing drew everyone’s attention, momentarily forgotten. Valerie, who had been held by the chamber maid, had woken up and was looking around with big round eyes. Her chubby cheeks, flushed as if she had slept well, were quite lovable.

Hannah’s face, which had been armed with sighs, melted in an instant. A troublemaker is a troublemaker, but Valerie is Valerie. How could one look at such a lovable and cute young lady with a frown! Hannah ran with open arms and picked up Valerie.

“Still, as expected of our Viscountess’s flesh and blood, isn’t her beauty already considerable?”

What a doting thing to say. Cecil, who had been shaking her head, met Valerie’s eyes.

As Hannah said, Valerie was indeed a baby so cute you’d want to bite her. Her large eyes, which seemed to take up half her face, held a deep sea blue color.

“Blue eyes…?”

Yes, Valerie’s eyes were blue. A pure blue without a hint of green or yellow. There aren’t many people with such eyes. Someone’s face quickly flashed through Cecil’s mind.

“Co-could it be, not His Highness the Grand Duke?”

At that moment, Liv asked in a trembling voice. It seemed that Cecil wasn’t the only one who thought of a certain someone upon seeing Valerie’s blue eyes.

“Which Grand Duke?”

“Th-the one with blue eyes…”

“So, who?”

Blue eyes, almost like a mark of royalty. And there were only two Grand Dukes with blue eyes in this country. In other words, there were ‘as many as’ two candidates for Valerie’s father.

“Grand Duke Toskur.”

Liv whispered as if revealing a tremendous secret. She was extremely cautious, as if afraid someone might overhear.

But everyone gathered here – Butler Manager Mueller, Head Maid Mrs. Margaret, Nanny Cecil, Aides Hannah and Kendrick – were all people who loved Celeste Aisha Louisette more than anyone else in the world.

“What? That’s nonsense!”

Mrs. Margaret intervened in the conversation with her characteristic sharp voice. Grand Duke Toskur? Impossible!

“It’s not nonsense, Madam Margaret. There were rumors that the two were lovers from before, weren’t there?”

Liv mumbled with her eyes wide open.

“What are you saying? No matter if he’s the Grand Duke, how could you associate such a philanderer with…”

The implication was clear. How dare such a completely promiscuous man with our Viscountess! Sparks flew from Mrs. Margaret’s eyes.

“It’s not entirely impossible, is it? Grand Duke Toskur actually often invited the Viscountess to his mansion, and because of that, there were even rumors in Kellevert society…”

“No, Liv. It can’t be.”

Hannah, who had been watching while holding and soothing Valerie, cut in as if frustrated.

“Why, Hannah? Do you know something?”

As Hannah was the person who had been with Celeste in Urentum where the child suddenly appeared in front of the amnesiac Celeste, did she have some proper information? Cecil’s eyes held expectation. At the very least, the expectation that Franz could be excluded from the list of potential fathers.

“In my opinion…”

“In Hannah’s opinion?”

“The child’s father,”

“The child’s father?”

“I think it might be His Highness Albrecht.”