Now, the familiar order proceeded smoothly.

The knights approached to hold Valerie, pricked her fingertip with a needle to draw a little blood, and handed back the crying child who was in pain. Since they had done this once before in Urentum, they moved quickly, omitting all unnecessary steps.

However, there was one thing different now compared to when the paternity test was first conducted.

“Waaah!”

“Oh my, oh my, our young lady.”

“Goodness gracious, who did this to our young lady?”

“Our young lady Valerie, there there. Oh, how pretty. Shh, shh. It’s alright.”

“I’m right here. Young lady, shh, stop. Don’t cry, shh.”

Here, there were many people besides me to look after Valerie. As soon as Valerie’s painful cry burst out, eight hands clung to the child.

Except for Kendrick, who was flustered and stood a step back not knowing how to handle a baby, four people were in a frenzy trying to soothe the child.

I wasn’t sure if having so many hands that I didn’t need to care for the child directly was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was certainly true that it made things easier for me physically.

Valerie examined the faces of those who reached out to her one by one, then struggled, saying she wanted to go to the familiar Hannah.

Liv, who had been making a fuss about how cute even her worried face was, pouted and looked sad when Valerie passed her by and went to Hannah’s arms. But that didn’t last long; soon she was burning with determination to become young lady Valerie’s closest confidant.

I wonder if there’s not much work at the Count’s mansion… I couldn’t understand why they were all so eager to do childcare.

“We need a drop of blood from His Highness the Grand Duke as well.”

Carl obediently extended his arm. The tall knight named Clovis swiftly drew a few drops of blood from Carl and dropped them into the potion vial containing Valerie’s blood.

The blood of the two people whose paternity relationship was to be confirmed was now in the potion. The results would appear within minutes.

Since I already knew the outcome, this was essentially not a place to satisfy curiosity, but rather a place for Carl to officially become Valerie’s biological father.

As everyone waited for the results in a fuss, Mueller calmly approached and removed the wristwatch from Mrs. Margaret’s wrist, placing it on the table next to the medicine bottle.

Tick, tick. Everyone except me watched the medicine bottle intently with tension. As the noise in the room disappeared, the sound of the second hand grew louder and louder. Tick, tick.

“The color of the potion…”

The potion containing the drops of blood from the two immediately turned bright red. It was as red as fresh blood that had just flowed from someone’s body.

Tick tick, the second hand kept moving busily. A white swirling band appeared in the potion that had been completely red. What is that, someone’s whisper appeared and disappeared briefly, and tick tick, the second hand moved again.

“It’s changed!”

Exclamations burst from people’s mouths simultaneously. Someone’s astonished gasp and another’s excited shout mixed together.

“The, the color.”

The silence was broken. People now began to murmur with excitement. Cecil brought both hands to her mouth, and Mrs. Margaret pretended to dab her eyes with a handkerchief she pulled from her bosom.

Kendrick raised his hand to his chest and wore an expression of utmost emotion, while Liv jumped up and down in her seat.

“It’s turned clear…!”

Carl Ludwig Johann Albrecht. It was the moment when His Highness the Grand Duke of the noble Albrecht Imperial Family, who was respected by all as an exemplar of righteous living, became an unmarried father.

On the way back after satisfying our curiosity. It’s easy to say ‘satisfy’, but in fact it was a place where an enormous secret was revealed.

His Highness the Grand Duke Albrecht, a righteous man who had never been embroiled in scandal, was actually a father…

If even a little of this story leaked to third-rate newspapers, it would become the best prey, perfect for tearing apart.

Clovis recalled the words he had spoken in the past. Although he had joked lightly about ‘taking responsibility’ and asking if he wasn’t ‘the Count’s baby daddy’, he hadn’t been certain that Carl was truly the father of the child born to Count Louisette.

Is this a dream or reality? Faced with this unbelievable fact, Clovis kept sneaking glances at Carl unnecessarily.

After learning what they were curious about, they left the Count’s mansion and boarded the carriage, following Carl who said he should return.

The servants at the Count’s mansion didn’t say it outright, but their gazes towards Carl were filled with joy as if they had seen a ray of light.

Their mistress who had returned as an unmarried mother, and the frustrating situation where she couldn’t even find her partner due to losing her memory – they seemed relieved that everything was resolved.

It was quite the opposite of the expressions of the shocked and confused Imperial investigation team members.

Clovis’s head became complicated. He was both the captain of the knight order guarding Grand Duke Albrecht and a close friend. He was the person who had worked harder than anyone to firmly establish the reputation and social standing of his superior, who was like a brother to him.

Especially in a situation like now, when the Emperor’s throne was vacant due to the sudden death of His Majesty the Emperor, he was being even more careful to prevent any unfavorable rumors from circulating.

Yes, the Emperor’s seat was vacant. Carl’s young cousin Maximilian, who had now become the late Emperor, had met his death for unknown reasons. In other words, it meant that a new Emperor needed to appear quickly.

Since it was impossible for Maximilian, who was only 14 years old, to have descendants, it was natural that the current Grand Dukes were being mentioned as candidates for the next Emperor.

Among them, of course, the most likely was their superior, Grand Duke Albrecht.

If we only consider the bloodline of the late Emperor, Grand Duke Toskur could also be a potential candidate, but when it came to personal character and ability, he was no match for Carl.

How dare that man, who had no ability of his own except inheriting the Emperor’s blood, be a match for our lord?

Even just looking at the surname, the legitimate successor who should inherit the imperial throne was Grand Duke Albrecht. Franz was the child of a royal concubine. Originally, he couldn’t even become a member of the imperial family, but the late Emperor showed generosity and accepted the son born to the young concubine as a prince.

A prince who is not the child of the Empress cannot inherit the surname of the Albrecht imperial family. Franz received the title of Grand Duke when he came of age, but he had to inherit a surname other than Albrecht. That’s why he is called Grand Duke Toskur, not Grand Duke Albrecht.

Moreover, his private life was so messy that if such a person were to ascend to the throne, it was obvious that young babies of unknown name and lineage would appear from all over the country claiming to be the children of His Majesty the Emperor.

If things continued to flow smoothly, the imperial throne would naturally belong to Carl. At least that’s what Clovis and the members thought.

Only the nobles who couldn’t become Carl’s people, or those with vested interests in the industries that the late Emperor had passed on to Grand Duke Toskur, wished for Franz’s accession.

But to become a father in such an unstable political situation. And the other party is the Louisette Count family.

It wouldn’t be so bad to be entangled with the Louisette Count family, the wealthiest and quite influential family in the empire – no, it would be more than enough to be a strong backing – but the problem was that the Count had been involved in a scandal with Franz in the past.

If this fact were to be published in newspapers and made known to people, it was difficult to even calculate what kind of aftermath would follow.

“Your Highness.”

Is he thinking similar thoughts? Carl kept looking out the carriage window all the way to the Grand Duke’s residence.

“What are you thinking of doing?”

It was a very careful question. Although I know he’s not the kind of scoundrel who would disown his own bloodline, given the nature of the situation…

“What do you mean, what am I going to do?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you asking about the cases we’re currently handling, or my thoughts on the vacant imperial throne, or how I’m going to resolve this situation of becoming an unmarried father?”

“Well, of course…”

Isn’t it the last one, Your Highness! Clovis’s expression was more resolute than ever before.

“It’s not like you to ask questions with predetermined answers, Clovis.”

“What do you mean by questions with predetermined answers?”

His expression says, why are you asking about such things? His brow furrows and the ends of his eyebrows go down as if in disbelief. Clovis sighed.

“At this crucial time when we’re discussing the next imperial throne, I can’t even calculate how fatal such a scandal could be. I’m worried, to be honest.”

“There’s a saying.”

“What… saying is that?”

“Crisis is opportunity.”

Crisis is opportunity. It was a very simple phrase, but from it, Clovis could read at least a glimpse of the thoughts in Carl’s mind.

For a potentially fatal scandal to turn into favorable public opinion, only the perspective of people looking at the same problem needs to change. If you can’t change what has already happened, the key is how well you package and present it.

From an irresponsible man who created a child before marriage, to a prince with a burning heart who seemed cold but was actually on fire with passion. A wonderful man who proudly takes responsibility for his choices. The child as the result of passionate love, not a moment’s impulse.

It was a moment that needed plausible packaging.