* * *
After calming her down to some extent with sweet snacks and drinks, only then did Narnia open her mouth.
“My sister absolutely refused to let me go! So, we had a huge fight, and I ran away.”
“… Good heavens.”
“But how could I just stay still? It’s a popularity contest! We need to get to work right away, behind the scenes, and do everything we can to secure votes. There is even talk about fake ballots in Lord Yulpe’s fan club!”
“Do you think they’re going to make fake ballots?”
“They surely will! And I can’t just stand by and watch that happen. How dare they… take the position that rightfully belongs to our future Archduchess…!”
Grumbling. Flames practically ignited around her. After crying, she now looked fired up. Narnia furiously chewed on a cookie, her eyes burning brightly.
“This is also a battle between fan clubs. Lady Crisiona also has a fan club, albeit small in number. They must be going crazy right now.”
“Aha… … .”
The underground world of fan clubs is intense. Now, the aura of ‘My favorite is definitely number one!’ was fluttering around Narnia. But there are certainly more than just one or two people like Narnia.
“So, I… can I stay in that dormitory you made?”
Narnia, who was talking passionately about what the fan club should do, asked with a sheepish grin.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”
“I’m not going! There’s no way I can go home before this battle is over!”
“… Hmm, alright.”
What would I do if my future child acted like this? I was lost in realistic concerns as I looked at Narnia with a complicated gaze.
No, maybe I could use this as an opportunity to solve the doctor checkup problem I’ve been struggling with…?
I cleared my throat and continued speaking.
“But if you recklessly run away from home, your parents and older sisters will worry. How about this: I’ll hire you for about two weeks.”
“W-What? Hire me?!”
“Yes, you’ll be working, so… I’ll pay you two weeks’ worth of wages in advance. You can use that to do whatever you want.”
“Oh my God, how can you be so kind-hearted…? I could die right now with no regrets.”
“Please don’t die. But in return, I need to ask you something.”
“Yes, yes!”
Narnia’s face had completely brightened. I had worried that she might still be upset from not seeing me after I returned from the desert, but thankfully, it seemed her mood had completely improved.
I cleared my throat lightly and subtly broached the subject.
“This isn’t for me, but for a friend.”
“Yes!”
“Do you happen to know any doctor?”
Narnia often mingled among commoners, handing out fan club flyers. She wasn’t your quiet and pampered noble lady, so I figured she might know a lot of people. Maybe she personally knew a doctor? Or at least someone who knew one? I prodded Nania with that expectation.
“Hmm, it’s vague to say yes and vague to say no….”
As expected, Narnia gave me an answer.
“But there’s this doctor I knew. He has been a doctor for 10 years, so he has a lot of experience.”
“Really? Can you get him to meet with me?”
“Yes, it is possible. However, he’s a commoner and from a rough neighborhood, so they might not have the best manners. He could come off as rude.”
“That’s okay.”
It doesn’t matter. As long as I could confirm the pregnancy. Narnia nodded vigorously.
“Then I’ll introduce you tomorrow!”
“Thank you!”
If I leave under the guise of taking Narnia back to the dormitory, I can escape Lacius’ eyes. If it turned out that I was truly pregnant, I would tell Lacius by tomorrow evening. The anticipation made my heart race.
I told Narnia where she would stay today and asked Maynard to visit the Zerpienter family. I was so looking forward to tomorrow.
* * *
The next morning.
The area in front of the bookstore and newsstand was crowded with people. There was almost one topic discussed in the noisy streets, and that was the ‘popularity contest.’
“Hey, over at that tavern, they’re giving silver coins if you vote.”
“Oh my god. That’s a lot of money spent on just a piece of paper. They must be an aristocrat whose money is rotting away.”
“Well, it’s a fight between really great families. I can’t predict who will win.”
Her Royal Highness’s birthday was a national feast that everyone awaited. However, nothing this noisy and interesting has happened since two months ago.
“With all the kids I have at home, this is great. I’ll take the silver coin and buy my wife that meat she’s been wanting.”
“Right. All we have to do is enjoy ourselves!”
From the very first morning of the popularity contest, shady activities started to crop up all over. However, since they only said, “If you vote, you’ll get silver coins,” not, “If you vote for a certain candidate, you’ll get silver coins,” There was plenty of room to claim it was simply encouraging people to vote.
‘Who’ to vote for will be announced through a very secret signal only to the people who are there. Narnia, who was walking down the street to go to the doctor, overheard these conversations and became angry.
“This is outrageous! Look at them doing this because they think they’re going to lose!”
“Right, they’re quick on their feet.”
“Ha, we can’t even offer two silver coins. If we did, they’d just raise it to five.”
“Yeah, don’t do that. We’ll manage without doing anything like that.”
“But those votes weren’t all supposed to go to them…! It’s so frustrating!”
Narnia stamped her feet and screamed. I smiled awkwardly and pulled my hood down a little more.
“Hoo, it’s this way. We’ll just take three turns down the alley…”
Narnia must have come to this a few times already, as she was moving easily through the twists and turns. After a few more minutes, we finally stopped in front of an old, dilapidated building.
“You can just go in!”
“Really?”
The building was old and looked like it needed immediate repairs. It felt like standing at the entrance to some dungeon from hell. Could this really be a clinic? But since Narnia had confidently gone inside, I cautiously followed her.
“Tao! Taaoo! Where are you?”
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