“So, what is it that you want to say?”
In the end, I gave up on him speaking first. It’s better to be upfront, and I prefer getting answers quickly to ease my impatience.
However, even with my direct question, Karl just calmly poured tea from the teapot. His gestures of filling my cup and then his own were too slow, frustrating me.
“The aroma is nice.”
“Yes.”
Whether he knew about my frustration or not, Karl savored the tea’s scent. Perhaps maintaining composure is something nobles always do. It seems I’m the only one eager to engage in conversation.
Despite my frustration, smelling the tea lifted my spirits. Suppressing a slight smile, I lifted my cup.
“It seems the Viscount enjoys floral tea quite a lot.”
What a random thing to say.
“You still seem to really enjoy teatime.”
Teatime, a new hobby I’ve picked up in this world, especially favoring floral tea. But how does Karl know this? The Celeste of the past wouldn’t share my interests.
“It seems you enjoyed floral tea two years ago as well.”
Two years ago? What is he talking about? Karl’s face remained remarkably calm while speaking, almost as if you wouldn’t know he was talking with only his mouth covered.
Uninfluenced by my response, he quietly took a sip of tea. Well, the aroma really was nice, just as Karl said.
“You probably had a Valerie around that time, based on the child’s age.”
“Ahem, I see, but why?”
Unexpectedly, the name Valerie slipped out of his mouth. Startled, I gasped and began coughing uncontrollably.
“I’ll ask bluntly then. Do you have a talent for turning around conversations?”
“Cough, cough. What are you trying to ask?”
After a fit of coughing and some nasal pain, I stared at Karl, who slowly opened his mouth again.
“Is Valerie my child?”
***
The conversation Franz and I had at the train station was meaningless. In fact, it wasn’t even a grand conversation, just thorns pricking to provoke each other’s hearts.
Amidst the meaningless exchange, Franz took a step back.
“I’ve seen Cele’s innocent face. Looks like you’re escorting her all the way to the Marquis. I guess I should step aside now.”
Karl made an uncomfortable face seeing Franz grin meaningfully at Cele’s baby.
What was the meaning behind that smile? Whatever it was, Karl didn’t like it. It reminded him of a useless guy who squanders state funds like a reckless prince.
Karl felt he wasted over 10 minutes on the platform. Mumbling that even a minute was too precious to waste on such a person, he boarded the carriage, followed by Clovis.
“We didn’t know the Duke would come.”
“I sent a notice to the Marquis, so he must’ve heard.”
“Still, we didn’t predict he’d come all the way to the platform. He’s not the kind to bid farewell to or welcome a woman.”
“Just trying to verify the rumors…”
He wasn’t someone who easily showed emotions, but alone with Clovis, Karl let his guard down a bit, as if seeking approval. Hence, a faint line appeared between Karl’s eyebrows.
“If those are just rumors.”
Oops, Clovis abruptly stopped talking, remembering the gossip about Duke Toskur and Countess Louisette.
Indeed, they were a publicized couple, receiving compliments for being a perfect match. Yet, since few had witnessed them together, opinions varied on whether the rumors were true. Until today when he went to greet the Marquis at the train station.
Handsome Duke Franz, who neither detained nor stopped any woman, was the subject of much gossip, but being in a satisfactory position, no one gave him any special treatment.
Thus, many thought his relationship with the Countess was just another passing scandal, forgotten by those who carried rumors. However, the Duke’s personal escort of the Countess upon her return from the provinces was no trivial matter and was likely to become a major scandal reported prominently even in the lowest tabloids dealing with the royal gossip.
“I will return to the palace.”
“No.”
“What?”
“The cockroach of the royal family must meet expectations. Follow Viscount Louisette.”
“Are you saying you will escort the Viscount Louisette? Shall we also provide an escort as the Duke of Toskur suggested?”
Is it true that the lover of the Duke of Toskur, who is closely connected to Albrecht, will be escorted all the way to the house? It’s a perfect gossip for the social circles to speculate.
“Have you forgotten why Viscount Louisette came to the capital with us?”
“Ah… It’s not an escort, it’s surveillance.”
She returned to the capital to cooperate in the investigation as a suspect in the murder case of Duke Schwaben. Being escorted to the mansion by Karl, the chief investigator of the investigation team, was more about surveillance than protection.
The carriage, leaving the train station, traveled for a while, passing through Kellever Square. As you pass through this bustling street of the capital, Kellever Street, and head east along the Manus River, a tall hill stands alone, all owned by Viscount Louisette.
At the best spot on the hill, an elegant mansion boasted a grandeur not inferior to a royal palace.
Though she had glimpsed Viscount Louisette from afar while inspecting the Manus River for a royal event, this was her first time stepping inside to see him. Following Celeste into the mansion, Karl promptly requested an audience with her.
He was a man who needed answers to his curiosity and resolved any suspicions to satisfy his conscience. Such a character greatly aided him in handling his duties as the chief investigator of the royal investigation team.
Led by the Viscount’s steward, the cozy study room they were guided to seemed perfect for private conversations.
However, as Celeste stepped inside, she awkwardly glanced around as if it was her first time, even in her own home. Did she truly have amnesia? Karl was still skeptical about her claim of having lost all her memories.
“I’ll ask you directly, since beating around the bush isn’t my style.”
Celeste began to cough nervously, indicating that she was embarrassed. Karl, curious about the reason for her embarrassment, finally brought up the question he had been pondering since hearing someone mention that Valerie looked just like him.
“Valerie, is she my child?”
He didn’t expect an easy answer. According to her claims, Celeste truly didn’t know who the child’s father was.
However, the issue regarding Valerie’s paternity was something he had to wait for the official inquiry date related to the Duke of Schwaben’s assassination case. Still, asking such a question as he followed her home was, in fact, quite inappropriate.
Toskur Grand Duke and Louisette Count had been rumored to have a certain relationship for some years now. Karl had always thought of Franz, who had long been stamped as a leech on the Huang family due to his messy private life, as someone he didn’t need to know about, regardless of who he met or what he did.
Furthermore, among the numerous women mentioned as his companions, it was uncertain how many of them were actual lovers.
Celeste Aisha Louisette. Being the illegitimate daughter of one of the most prominent noble families in the empire, she received envy and jealousy in abundance in the capital. With outstanding beauty and a solid family background, she seemed to lack nothing.
Thus, it might not have been surprising that scandalous rumors surrounded Franz with his notorious reputation that even made flowers on the roadside blush with his handsome appearance.
However, for Karl, who focused on maintaining his aristocratic dignity and self-control, the inquiries about these two were irrelevant. Until Celeste suddenly came to find him two years ago…
“Do you plan to brush this off with another claim of not remembering this time as well?”
Initially, he thought the child’s blue eyes resembled Franz. Considering the child was just over a year old but had distinct features, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was a close relationship. Nonetheless, since the two were known to be lovers, it was a possibility.
“I really don’t remember. I’m not lying.”
Celeste’s repeated statements of not knowing anything and not remembering seemed to unfairly burden her. Her furrowed brows and pressed lips appeared genuinely troubled, a familiar expression he had seen somewhere before.
When was it? Perhaps that night two years ago.
“That night.”
“What about it?”
“Do not say that you forgot until that night, Celeste.
However, there are circumstances for suspecting Valerie’s birth. Does the timing not fit appropriately? If, as Clovis says, Valerie’s blue eyes resemble me rather than Franz, then it makes sense.
“I have never forgotten that night for a moment.”
