Ludwig Hamond was an illegitimate child born to a commoner mother.
According to the doctrines of the Berdio faith, a man could only have one wife at a time, but there was no limit on the number of mistresses.
The king of Hamond, who mingled with various women, accidentally fathered a few illegitimate children. The fate of such children was usually predictable.
Either they would grow up unaware of their lineage, or if they dared to step forward, they would be killed. These were the most common outcomes.
Among them, Ludwig Hamond was considered somewhat fortunate.
He had inherited his mother’s beautiful looks, and the king had taken a greater liking to her than expected.
Despite the disdainful gaze of the queen, the king adopted Ludwig as his son.
However, though he managed to survive, the king’s affection was as fleeting as the wind.
The king soon turned his attention to other women, and Ludwig Hammond, who had accidentally become a prince, was gradually forgotten.
“Arrange for him to marry the daughter of the Marquis of Verben.”
The queen, who had also forgotten about him, gave this command regarding the king’s son.
“That handsome face of his turned out to be quite useful. An illegitimate child marrying the daughter of the Marquis of Verben—it’s a stroke of luck for someone of his low birth.”
As usual, her words dripped with sarcasm, and his other siblings snickered and mocked him. Ludwig nodded silently.
Thanks to his good looks, he was being sold off like a prized stallion to a noble family.
He recalled Lady Verben, whom he had encountered a few times at various balls. Though his memory was vague, he seemed to remember her blushing at the sight of him.
‘What a pointless reaction…’
Though the idea annoyed him, he had no intention of resisting. This was something he had long expected.
He considered himself lucky not to be sold off to some aging foreign queen or noblewoman. Rebellion was simply out of the question.
He met with Charlotte Verben a couple more times, but he wasn’t particularly moved.
She wasn’t much different from the other aristocrats he had grown up enduring all his life.
Then, one day, during a banquet celebrating the birthday of one of his brothers—whose name he couldn’t even remember—he easily spotted his fiancée among the crowd.
“…Lady Charlotte?”
After saying her name, he realized this was the first time she hadn’t sought him out at a ball.
It felt strange that the gaze she usually directed toward him had shifted elsewhere.
“Oh, right! Mrs. Neumann was full of praise for your poetry. Could you teach me sometime, Lady Charlotte?”
One of the young ladies singled her out, and all eyes instantly turned to Charlotte.
“Though my skills are lacking, it would be a great honor to recite my poem in front of so many people.”
Her response was composed and graceful. The woman who had mentioned her clearly hadn’t expected this and fluttered her fan awkwardly.
“Then would you please do us the honor?”
“Of course.”
As she stepped forward, the crowd instinctively parted.
Unlike usual, her voice that day was calm yet firm.
Ludwig couldn’t quite remember what poem she had recited. He wasn’t one for literature.
He was merely impressed by this new side of his fiancée, whom he had assumed was only skilled at adorning herself with jewels.
On any other day, he would have ignored her preoccupation with mingling with others, but not today.
Today, he had learned something secret.
“Lady Charlotte, would you care for a dance?”
“Ah…”
She hesitated for a moment, glanced around, and then nodded.
“…Very well.”
As the music played softly, he whispered words far from sweet.
“You should prepare to break off the engagement.”
“What?”
Though they were dancing, and his hand rested on her waist, this was not a suitable conversation.
“A war is coming.”
“What did you say?”
“Quiet. Just listen. It’s not something others should overhear.”
She quickly fell silent, seemingly understanding the weight of his words.
“I will be appointed as the supreme commander.”
She looked at him in shock, and understandably so—Ludwig had no experience in war.
For him to be named supreme commander was absurd.
“It’s not a position I’m expected to survive. I think you can figure out what that means.”
The queen was clearly trying to have him killed, and the king wasn’t going to stop her.
In the Kingdom of Hamond, it was customary for a wife to mourn her husband for three years if he died in war. Charlotte, as his fiancée, would be no exception.
And in the noble society, three years was a long time. Once her mourning period ended, the chances of her remarrying a decent man would be close to zero.
“If you don’t want to be stuck in widowhood, I suggest you break things off early…”
“How kind of you.”
“What?”
“To warn me in advance like this.”
Ludwig was taken aback. How could she be so calm in such a dire situation?
‘I’m a discarded child with a clear fate, but… doesn’t she realize her entire life is about to be thrown in the trash?’
There was no way he could remain so composed otherwise. Even for a lady who was out of touch with the ways of the world, this was difficult to believe.
“It seems you don’t quite grasp the situation…”
“No, I’m fully aware.”
—–
“Ah, so you’re saying they both found each other unexpected and just fell in love, huh?”
Natasha interrupted Vasily’s vivid reenactment. He grumbled as he had just been approaching the climax of the story.
“But this is where it gets good!”
“Yeah, sure. It’s predictable anyway. So, when he mistook Jeanette for Charlotte, he felt a strong attraction. Afterward, he met Charlotte several more times but couldn’t find the same emotions, growing confused. Then, just before heading to war, he reunited with Janet and spent a passionate night with her~. That’s what happened, right?”
“Spot on.”
“I’ve heard it before.”
Aside from minor details, Vasily’s beloved romance stories typically followed that pattern.
“Becoming a hero in a war he was practically exiled to. He’s like a novel protagonist.”
“The best part is~ right after returning, he voluntarily gave up his right to the throne, tired of hearing rumors about being a threat to the crown, and instead became a grand duke!”
Vasily was gushing. He was particularly obsessed with these fairy tale-like stories.
“I’m jealous of Natasha. To be able to watch them both up close!”
“You could do that too if you wanted.”
“Nah, it’s different for me.”
As he smiled, his eyes shimmered, displaying a beautiful hue.
“Someday, I’ll meet my savior, and we’ll get that ‘happily ever after’ ending!”
“Sure. Good luck with that.”
Natasha nonchalantly replied while cleaning her ear with her finger.
“What a waste of time. I thought the Marquis of Verben had some grand conspiracy, but in the end… it all played out as the prophecy foretold.”
The twins were labeled as “impure” for that very reason.
As the only blood relatives to share a soul, their “sameness” constantly led the world to test them.
“Which one is real, and which one is fake?”
The trials to determine this truth brought forth all manner of misfortune, making the mere existence of twins taboo.
“They say one must die for the misfortune to end, and the surviving twin is rewarded with a proportional amount of good fortune.”
In the end, Charlotte died, and Jeanette survived.
Considering she had ‘coincidentally’ met Natasha, received help, and ‘coincidentally’ succeeded in opening a bakery, the prophecy’s meaning was hard to ignore.
“Right! It seems they tried to amplify that effect using black magic but failed. If it had succeeded, Charlotte Verben might have become the luckiest woman in the world.”
But now, it was just a pointless hypothetical.
“It’s time for me to go.”
“Already?”
“Aren’t you busy, being the leader of ‘Delete’?”
“Of course! I’m always working late, chasing traces of my savior!”
How convincing. Natasha shrugged.
“Let’s go, Ivan.”
“Okay.”
Just as the two were about to leave, Vasily called out to Ivan.
“Ivan.”
“Yeah?”
“Let me know if you ever run into trouble.”
He stuck out his tongue and pointed playfully. Ivan simply waved dismissively without responding.
Step. Step.
Vasily watched them as they walked down the dark hallway until they disappeared from sight.
Once the silence returned to the room, he donned his leather mask again and switched off the light. Darkness settled over him.
Suddenly, someone popped down from the ceiling.
“Shouldn’t you have shown them out?”
“They’ll be fine. I gave them instructions when they arrived.”
“But the woman didn’t seem to have a trained body like the man.”
At that, Vasily burst into laughter. After a long bout of chuckling, he finally spoke again.
“Don’t worry, kid.”
He smiled, chewing on another herbal leaf.
“Natasha… has a good sense for these things.”
***
Ludwig continued, as if Jeanette, who had her eyes closed as though refusing to face the truth, wasn’t even there.
“When I told you about the war that day… it wasn’t Charlotte Vervain. It was you.”
“….”
“It wasn’t just that time. It was you in the garden, and again in the market. Am I wrong?”
“….”
“You won’t answer.”
Jeanette stubbornly kept her lips sealed. It was a past she wished to forget. One she wanted to bury and move on from.
“But you can’t deny this.”
He took a few steps closer to her.
“The one who spent that night with me, just before I went to war…”
“…Yes.”
She couldn’t deny that much with Lowell present.
“It was me. Charlotte asked me to go in her place.”
A brief flicker of emotion passed over Ludwig’s face.
“But that’s all there was to it. I don’t want to remember the past, and now that the Verben family has been wiped out… I’m no longer Jeanette Verben either.”
“Are you saying you’re denying our relationship?”
“I can’t deny that you’re Lowell’s father. But beyond that, I want us to keep our distance.”
Jeanette’s firm words caused Ludwig’s expression to darken.
“Why are you pushing me away?”
“I just… no longer…”
“Mmm…”
At that moment, Lowell stirred and let out a small moan. Both Jeanette and Ludwig froze.
“Mmm… Mom…?”
“Yes, Lowell. Mommy’s here.”
“Mom… I had a scary dream…”
“Shall I sing you a lullaby?”
“No… It was a strange dream…”
“Shh. It’s okay. Mommy’s here.”
Jeanette’s whispered reassurance calmed Lowell, and he slowly closed his eyes again.
Ludwig watched them for a moment before quietly leaving, vowing to return another time.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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