Carl burst into laughter. Pulcheria approached, holding Valerie in her arms, and held Valerie next to Carl’s face, repeating the words, “Look, don’t they look so alike?” about ten times.

“Does Valerie resemble me a lot?”

“Is that even a question? Can’t you see it with your own eyes?”

“Well, I’m not sure, Aunt.”

“Ah, right. You wouldn’t know what you looked like as a child. Valerie looks exactly like you when you were a baby. If your father or elder brothers were still alive, they would have said the same thing as me.”

Carl had never thought that Valerie resembled him. Before he even realized that Valerie was his child, he had briefly doubted Franz upon seeing the child’s blue eyes, and the memory made Carl chuckle.

Clovis had eagerly explained that the blue eyes resembled His Highness, but while Carl could consider the possibility in his head, the words about the resemblance didn’t really sink into his heart.

But now that his aunt, who had watched his entire growth process, said that Valerie was the spitting image of him, Carl felt his mood gradually becoming strange.

How should he describe this feeling? Should he say it was like an itch deep in his chest, or that his stomach was churning? In any case, it was clear that an indescribable, peculiar emotion had blossomed within him.

“Aunt, aren’t you accepting this too easily…?”

“Just look at this child’s face. How could you deny that this is your child after seeing this face?”

“Still, you’re someone who does everything with certainty, Aunt.”

“I’ve heard everything. I heard you’ve already done a paternity test.”

He looked at Celeste again. She was pouting her lips and blinking rapidly, seeming quite uncomfortable with the situation.

It was understandable. An elder of the imperial family suddenly barged into the house from the morning, holding her child and showering her with overwhelming love, saying how cute she was and whatnot. How could she not be uncomfortable?

Even so, in the midst of it all, his aunt seemed to have asked about everything she was curious about. Seeing that she had already heard about Valerie’s paternity test.

“So when are you planning to have the wedding, Carl?”

Now that the child’s existence was acknowledged, naturally the next step was to accept the child’s mother and discuss marriage. Pulcheria’s casual question about the wedding date still left Carl flustered.

“Ah… After the state funeral ends, we plan to set an appropriate date.”

“There’s no point in delaying it. How about holding the ceremony right after the state funeral ends?”

This was something he needed to discuss with Celeste. Looking at her again, Celeste still had an awkward expression, taking a step back from the situation.

“No, it’s better to just combine right away.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s no reason to separate when you already have a child. For Valerie’s emotional well-being, it would be better for her parents to be together as soon as possible.”

This opinion didn’t fit into any of the scenarios he had thought of beforehand. Caught in an untimely storm, Carl was busy trying to sort out his chaotic mind.

The storm that completely shook his mind. It was none other than the storm of love created by his aunt.

Pulcheria, who acted as if she would spend her entire life with Valerie at that moment, reluctantly left after a full two hours of doting on Valerie.

It was partly because it was Valerie’s nap time, but more so because the state funeral had not yet ended and Pulcheria had a mountain of work to do.

If Layla had not kept persuading her that she had to leave out of concern that Pulcheria might forget her duties, Pulcheria might have really spent the entire day with Valerie.

“Baby, Grandma will come again tomorrow.”

As she handed the sleeping Valerie to Liv, Pulcheria’s face looked as if she was about to cry. Her face overflowed with love to the point where anyone would think she was going through a lifelong separation.

No matter how cute our Valerie is, isn’t that a bit too much of a reaction? I honestly found it difficult to fully understand Pulcheria’s behavior.

I know that she has a close relationship with Carl, almost like a parent and child, but still, to fall so in love with her nephew’s grandchild like that…

“Madam.”

As we were leaving the estate to see off Pulcheria, someone cautiously spoke to her. It was Layla, who had been quietly watching them by Pulcheria’s side the entire time she was cuddling Valerie.

She was wearing a different outfit from yesterday’s black dress, and her appearance was so dazzlingly beautiful that I decided not to look directly at Layla.

“Yesterday, I was truly grateful. Count.”

“Pardon?”

It seemed she was referring to when that rude Tecla or whoever it was picked a fight yesterday.

“Oh, that. You don’t need to thank me for that. It’s nothing.”

“No, I’m really grateful. Actually, it was a really difficult situation, but when you appeared, Count… I’m truly thankful.”

She even blushed shyly as she said that. Isn’t it cheating to be this pretty, pure, and kind?

“But does that woman often do that?”

“That woman? Ah, ah, Te- Tecla.”

Layla stammered, perhaps taken aback by my blatant expression of ‘that woman’.

“I don’t often encounter her, but whenever I do…”

She trailed off, as if realizing she was about to say that Tecla harassed her whenever they met.

“Anyway, I’m truly grateful. I really wanted to express my gratitude, but yesterday the situation didn’t allow it. I’m so glad to see you again today like this.”

If she keeps thanking me like this, it seems rude not to accept her gratitude. I awkwardly smiled and accepted Layla’s thanks.

“Oh, and about today… I apologize to you, Count.”

“About today?”

“Didn’t Madam hold Miss Valerie for too long? I thought you might be surprised.”

“Ah, yes.”

Of course I was a bit surprised. Actually, not a bit, but a lot.

“Please understand. Madam really loves children.”

She likes children with such a terrifying face? It was the most unexpected story I had heard recently.

“And also… For Madam, who loves children so much, she has no children of her own, so perhaps Your Highness’ child was even more welcomed.”

Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve heard that Pulcheria has children. There was no such explanation in the novel either.

“She had a child with great difficulty, but lost the child in an unexpected accident… Since then, she hasn’t been able to have children, as far as I know. On top of that, Your Highness is a cherished blood relative, so imagine how joyful and lovely Miss Valerie must have been to her. She must have held Miss Valerie for so long with those feelings. So please kindly understand Madam’s sudden actions.”

I see, there was a story behind it. I did think that Pulcheria was overly welcoming Valerie. She even had tears in her eyes just because Valerie resembled Carl.

They say there’s no grave without an excuse and no life without a story. It seems that everyone lives with their own circumstances. Even the ultimate villain, Franz, had a plausible narrative and background.

A lowly half-blood lineage, the disregard and contempt stemming from it, and the inferiority complex and victimhood that arose from that disregard. All of those became the reasons for his misdeeds.

“Then, I’ll be going now. I think we’ll see each other again soon. Until then, take care.”

Layla flashed a bright smile and nimbly jumped into Pulcheria’s carriage. Her dazzling smile, as if it had absorbed the sunlight, lingered like an afterimage long after she was gone.

The funeral of the ill-fated Emperor Maximilian had come to an end. Of course, even after the state funeral ends, all ceremonies and events cannot be held for some time. The period of commemorating and honoring the supreme ruler of the empire is set by imperial law to be one month, but it was often carried out for two months or even longer on moral grounds.

It varied depending on the achievements and popularity the emperor had built up during his lifetime, so there were not many who honored the young Emperor Maximilian, who had only been on the throne for a mere two years, for a long time.

Perhaps to avoid disrupting the mourning atmosphere, the Grand Duke Albrecht remained silent amidst the interest and questions surrounding his marriage.

However, there was no one in the capital who didn’t know the news of his marriage. Although the wedding was not officially announced, anyone could tell that Grand Duke Albrecht was getting married just by looking at Pulcheria’s actions.