Next, three questions. Why did Celeste run away and where did she go?
No one in the Earl’s household knew anything about Celeste’s pregnancy. Hannah, Leev, Cecilia, Lady Margaret, Mueller, and even Kendrick all inquired about Celeste’s whereabouts and activities over the past two years, but no one knew for certain where Celeste had been or what she had been doing.
Hannah claimed that Celeste wanted to study abroad and had left for a foreign country. However, there was no record of her leaving the empire or returning. It meant that she either stayed within the empire or secretly fled by boat.
But why would Celeste attempt to flee? Especially when she was the wealthiest noble in the capital.
Therefore, the answer seemed to lean towards Celeste hiding somewhere within the empire. The crucial point here is the ‘reason.’
The most plausible theory, considering Celeste’s circumstances at the time, was that she did it to safely give birth to her child. She went alone to find Karl, had the child in secret and safety, away from prying eyes, hence she sought refuge somewhere to give birth.
However, even with this theory, the ultimate reason why Celeste had to do all of that remained elusive.
The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. No matter which hypothesis I came up with, the undeniable fact of Karl and Celeste being intimate loomed like a specter in my thoughts.
Though I may be Celeste now, I wasn’t two years ago. The thought of Karl showing affection towards her filled me with unease.
It’s me who now inhabits Celeste’s body, I have no reason to feel upset, yet the mere thought of Celeste seeking out Karl and attacking him made me resentful.
Why did she do that? She wasn’t the type to act in such a way. A deep sigh of frustration escaped me.
In the original work, Celeste did have feelings for Karl. However, it wasn’t pure love for him, but rather a desire to take away his lover, Laila, out of spite.
In a situation where all relationships are twisted and conversations have gone astray, what’s the use of reciting the original work? Feeling lost without finding an answer, my only solace seemed to be in the already distorted content of the original work.
“Count, could you wait here for a moment? I’ll go to the square and call the carriage back.”
As the narrow alley in the square could not accommodate the carriage, they left it waiting while the group walked. Engrossed in conversation, they had unknowingly wandered far away.
Seeing me worry about my sore feet in my shoes, Leev suggested that she would quickly call the carriage and I should sit and rest calmly here.
Trapped in uncomfortable shoes and needing a place to rest my aching feet, I truly did need somewhere to sit. Leev entrusted the baby carriage to the governess and went to find the carriage. I needed to rest my painful legs until her return.
Finding a spot at an outdoor tea table meant to provide some comfort for passersby, I sat down. As I sat, groans and murmurs escaped me; tonight, my legs would likely swell up.
The carriage seemed farther than expected, as Leev disappeared from view. Hoping for her quick return, I waited, until suddenly a commotion erupted in the opposite alleyway.
“What’s happening? Why the sudden uproar?”
Lady Margaret squinted towards the noise. The knights immediately stood guard.
“It seems like just people passing by. I heard there’s a festival in the square tonight.”
Cecilia replied nonchalantly, as if nothing was amiss. Ah, a festival; that sounds fun. Curious but lacking the energy to stay until evening, I quietly kept my mouth shut.
A crowd bustling towards us caught our attention. The path behind us must have connected, diverting their gaze to the view.
“Oh, how beautiful!”
Then, an elderly man stooped halfway, suddenly appeared, addressing me. Startled, the knights quickly intervened between us, on high alert.
“Are you Count Louisette? I saw you in the newspaper.”
The old man, smiling broadly as he spoke, had half of his teeth missing. Despite the visible gap, he showed a grateful smile without any embarrassment, so I returned the smile.
“I congratulate you on your marriage to the Grand Duke.”
Without waiting for a response, the old man disappeared into the crowd swept up by people.
The knights remained vigilant, ready to draw their guns from their waist if anyone approached a bit too close. My nerves were all wracked up for no reason.
“Count Louisette?”
Someone in the passing crowd suddenly called out to me. When I looked towards the voice, it was the same old man from earlier.
As I wondered what he was going to say next, a large man appeared right behind the old man. The man, with a black cloth flipped over his head, did not give off a comforting vibe at first glance.
“Wait. Step back.”
A knight immediately restrained the man who was trying to approach closely.
“Why are you doing this? I want to congratulate Count Louisette on his marriage and give a gift.”
The man extended what seemed to be reluctantly placed in my hand. A small pot with a blooming flower inside.
Receiving a marriage gift from a stranger without any introduction was quite surprising. I tried to reach out, thinking this might be a celebrity lifestyle thing, but the knight blocked my way.
“I cannot pass this gift on to the Count directly. Step back.”
Seemingly preparing for such an eventuality, the situation made me feel embarrassed. I couldn’t just hand the gift over to the knights who were doing their duty properly. Thus, I sat awkwardly watching the confrontation between the man and the knights, and our eyes met.
“Uh…?”
There was a familiar look in his eyes, as if I had seen him somewhere before. Startled, I blinked, and the man suddenly threw the pot he was holding towards me before fleeing.
“Oh my, Count!”
“Your Grace!”
It was truly an incident that happened in a blink of an eye. The vase thrown by the man flew into my arms, causing the soil inside to spill and mess up my dress. Before anyone could react to stop it, chaos broke loose in the vicinity.
“There, stop!”
Two knights ran after the man, but maneuvering through the crowd was not easy due to the chaos. To make matters worse, the people were walking in the opposite direction where they needed to go. Pushing through them proved to be quite a challenge.
“Your Grace, are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m alri…”
As I tried to brush off the dirt spilled on my dress, a sudden dizzying headache hit me. It was that feeling again. The pain, dizziness, and nausea I experienced every time I fell under that cursed magic.
“Gasp…”
However, today it was more intense. The time of feeling the pain was much quicker than the previous occurrences.
With a pain resembling my stomach twisting, I clutched my abdomen and felt like I was about to collapse, staggering as Cecily screamed in terror.
“Oh, my lady!”
Except for two who went after the man, the other knights all rushed towards me. Hannah, Kendrick, Lady Margaret, they all quickly supported me as if I were about to fall.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“My stomach… not feeling well, like I’m going to be sick…”
I couldn’t carry on speaking. It felt like I would retch if I opened my mouth, so I bit my lips hard.
Cold sweat began to form, my hands trembled uncontrollably. It felt like blood was draining from my fingertips and toes.
“Ugh.”
Suddenly my vision started to spin. This was different from before. If the pain at the train station was a 5 and the agony I felt during the confrontation with Franz was a 6, this was closer to a 10.
“Your Grace! Good heavens, what should I do?”
“Everyone retreat!”
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Kendrick quickly urged people to move aside and vacate the area. The man from earlier seemed to sense the chaos and took advantage of the crowd to throw a pot of flowers at me. It felt as if he thought someone might do something unpredictable in the midst of this confusion.
“Step back! Retreat backwards!”
With Kendrick’s lead, two knights began pushing the crowd towards the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Hannah and Lady Margaret were busy checking on my condition without hesitation.
“It won’t work, my lord, we need to lay the viscount down.”
Darkness was already closing in on me. My whole body was drenched in cold sweat, and as someone placed my head in their hands and turned it gently, my mind swirled with dizziness. It felt as if the world was spinning rapidly around me, leaving me feeling dizzy and detached.
