“Mother. Mommy.”
“Wait. Mommy is getting it now.”
While murmuring with her lips, she didn’t waste any time covering milk with her hands. Before she knew it, she was already with the child…
“Goodness, it’s been a week already. Crazy.”
After entrusting the detective who refused to mix words with abandoning a child with the request to help find the child’s father, a week had passed.
No matter what she said, the disdainful look that never disappeared became undeniable when she mentioned finding the child’s father. Perhaps the detective had decided to see me as a slightly more pitiful child’s mother, rather than a worthless human trash.
Despite all the injustices, there was no choice but to endure. In a remote village where no one knew her, in a situation where her identity had to be hidden, the only one willing to help was the incompetent detective.
Desperate, she had even added extra money to urge the detective to hurry, but after a week, there was still no sign of progress at the office.
My week was truly hellish as I awaited contact.
Could I call it ‘parenting hell’?
Having given up on marriage and never even experienced dating in my past life, taking care of a baby alone was truly driving me to the brink of madness.
“Mommy!”
“I said I’m coming!”
Reflecting on the week spent together, I realized that children were truly miraculous beings.
They could go from seemingly happy to suddenly crying, and their energy seemed never-ending. If I took my eyes off them even for a moment, they would crawl all over the house, leaving me constantly on edge.
I never knew raising a child could be this difficult. And to top it off, not even having the help of a common maid, truly being all alone in this, was exhausting.
In a world where even the vast ocean of information and the knowledge of experts couldn’t be accessed, being a 20-something unmarried woman with absolutely no parenting knowledge taking care of a child was truly, truly challenging.
Just when the baby seemed about to burst into tears, he quieted down once milk was offered and sucked fervently.
Tears gathered at the end of the baby’s long waited eyelashes.
When I lightly touched the tear with my finger as if it might fall any moment, the baby, as if tickled, let out a cute giggle while drinking milk.
“…When they are this calm, there’s truly nothing like an angel.”
I found myself resonating with the saying that the most lovable time for a child is when they’re sleeping.
I was immensely grateful for the brief calmness and peace that had come over us. Thinking about the struggles of making baby food all morning, oh dear, I truly felt a shiver down my spine.
“When on earth will that detective contact me?”
It’s been about a week, shouldn’t we bring some news at least? Though he was said to be the best detective in town, I couldn’t help but think expecting a capable genius in this small rural village was unrealistic from the start.
As the baby, diligently sucking on the bottle, filled his belly to a certain extent, he blinked slowly, perhaps feeling drowsy.
“Full and sleepy?”
Although it wasn’t quite nap time yet, sleep seemed to come earlier today. Carefully lifting the baby to avoid dropping the bottle, I headed towards the stairs.
The small log cabin I chose as my refuge wasn’t very big, but on the first floor, there was a living room, kitchen, and a small guest room. The second floor had a bedroom, suitable for living alone.
*Burp.*
After not finishing the milk completely, I gently removed the bottle swishing with milk, patted the small, delicate back, trimmed the burp, and laid the baby on the bed. I didn’t forget to prop a pillow against the wall to prevent the baby from rolling off.
The baby’s lips, already red, had turned a bright red from sucking the bottle vigorously.
The rosy cheeks of the baby, now flush with color, looked so adorable that I momentarily lost myself in admiration.
*Knock, Knock, Knock.*
At that moment, I was abruptly brought back to reality by the sound of someone knocking on the door downstairs.
“Who is it?”
Who could it be…? Ah! Finally, the baby’s father has come!
Knowing it had to be the detective coming to find me, I rushed downstairs without asking twice and opened the door.
“Why did it take you so long? I even added an urgent fee. If it was going to take this long, you shouldn’t have charged extra. My, how much I’ve… suffered during this time…”
As I poured out all the fatigue accumulated over the week into anger, ready to let it all out, I opened the door and found myself speechless, facing a tall man.
…This person is not the detective?
A man completely different in height, physique, and face from the detective I met a week ago was staring down at me.
And he was fully armed.
“…Who are you?”
“Long time no see. Viscount Louisette.”
The man’s utterance of my name sounded so natural. It felt like a voice I had heard many times before.
“Who are you? Do you know me?”
At my question of ‘who are you,’ the man’s face froze. Did he know me?
“…I didn’t expect much of a warm welcome anyway.”
“What?”
“What is he saying, this man?
“I’m not in a position to be turned away at the door.”
At the unknown man’s words, a red alert went off in my mind for a moment. I must avoid this man. Danger! It felt like an instinctual warning given to me by Celeste.
Already, my mind, tangled from dealing with the child, had no room for other thoughts.
I reached for the handle to avoid the man and close the door.
“It seems like you’ve come to the wrong place. Then, goodbye.”
“I told you I’m not in a position to be turned away at the door.”
However, the man’s hand moved a bit faster. In that moment, he swiftly slipped his hand through the gap, pulling it back in the opposite direction so quickly that I couldn’t prevent the door from swinging open. Wide open.
“Long time no see. It’s been almost two years.”
With a short exhale, the greeting he offered didn’t seem to expect a response from me.
“But, do you plan to leave me standing outside like this?”
“Uh, well, um.”
I quickly wracked my brain. Should I lie and say I’m not Celeste, or should I push him away by saying I can’t receive visitors at the moment?
At least until I knew who this man was, and why he had come, it didn’t seem wise to let him into the house.
“Excuse me!”
However, my deliberation was a waste of time. Before hearing my response, the man strode confidently, moving his long legs inside the house.
“If you didn’t permit me, how could you just barge in like this?”
“Two years ago or now, the Count’s tone is still as fierce as ever.”
Uninvited, the man intruded into the house, nudging past me as he moved towards the center table in the parlor.
Someone could mistake this for being my home. Such audacious people exist. However, seeing no immediate signs of him leaving, I closed the door.
But who is this man really? Is he a character from the original work? Knowing the content of the original work, if this man has appeared in it before, I might be able to recognize him.
Let’s think. Two years ago, Celeste had a lover. A handsome Grand Duke with blond hair and gray eyes, Franz Albrecht Toskur Grand Duke. His name was a bit long and hard to recall, but this man, commonly referred to as Grand Duke Toskur, was the ultimate villain character in the novel.
“…Franz?”
No. Thinking it might be that man, she quietly muttered a name under her breath, but upon a closer look, the man wasn’t blond at all. Instead, he had jet-black hair, and his eyes were far from ash-colored. So, he wasn’t Franz. Then which man around Celeste had black hair?
“If you called me by that name to intentionally provoke me, then you’ve succeeded. Viscount.”
At the mention of Franz, the man who had stopped and turned around furrowed his brow heavily.
Clearly not Franz, and their relationship must not be good either.
Seemingly in a bad mood, the man continued to scowl and gestured as if signaling for her to come over.
As she pretended to walk closer, she narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the man.
His neatly covered forehead was topped by black hair that seemed to disappear among the strands whenever he moved his face, and his eyebrows, matching the same black hue as his hair, accentuated his sharp features below thick lashes. Whether it was the prominent brow bone or deep-set eyes, the dark shadows under his thick eyebrows made his face appear even sharper.
His long lashes sparkled as they caught the sunlight filtering through the window grilles. Beneath them, mysterious turquoise irises captivated her gaze.
The black uniform complemented his skin tone perfectly. From his broad shoulders and muscular chest to his slender yet sturdy legs, the man’s appearance resembled a painting.
She briefly tried to recall. In reality, the characters described in novels were either protagonists or significant supporting characters corresponding to the protagonist. Among them, only one had black hair, turquoise eyes, and a bad relationship with Franz… who was the protagonist.
Was there anyone else but the protagonist?
So, the male protagonist who would bring Celeste to trial in the original work had black hair and turquoise eyes.
Karl Rudolf Johann Albrecht.
He was the Archduke of Otaka and the young Emperor’s cousin, and the typical capable male protagonist who subjugates Celeste and Franz, ultimately ascending to the throne.
But why was he here?
My mind ceased thinking further, as if overloaded.
