“I was wondering about that too.”
How could everything suddenly go back to normal? This time, I hadn’t even recited the spell.
I felt overwhelmed, thrown into a situation that made no sense at all.
“Anyway, I’m glad to see you like this.”
Karl called out loudly, announcing that he had found the Grand Duchess.
I was curious about what had happened; it seemed that while I had been wandering around two years ago, there had been chaos here as well.
The royal investigators and even the Count’s people had searched high and low, unable to unpack their belongings, desperate to find me after I had vanished.
“Countess, or rather, Your Grace!”
Hannah, with a face nearly bursting into tears, was the first to rush over.
Though this wasn’t something I had caused intentionally, her face looked so terrible that I felt an unnecessary sense of guilt.
Moreover, despite it not being particularly hot, Hannah’s hair and body were drenched in sweat, showing how hard she had searched for me.
Clearly, Hannah needed rest more than anyone else, yet she insisted on hiding me safely in the blankets she brought and led me into a room.
“It’s okay, Hannah. I’m fine,” I reassured her repeatedly, but she insisted on pushing me into the safest bedroom within the palace to settle my nerves.
Just like that, the crowd that had rushed to see her quickly dispersed again.
Once the last of the servants who had come to confirm my wellbeing was gone, it was just Karl and me left in the bedroom.
“I’m truly relieved that it wasn’t something that happened to you, Celeste.”
It was indeed a relief to return safely from two years ago, but… I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that there was something I needed to resolve within me.
I realized something belatedly—the day I spent two years ago seemed to be that ‘one night with Count Louisette’ that Karl had mentioned.
“Valerie is doing well.”
Thinking I might be curious, Karl informed me about Valerie’s condition. Valerie. Yes, the troublesome secret seemed to revolve around her.
While there was no love, that night was driven by impulse. Wasn’t Valerie the result of that night?
If the day I experienced two years ago was indeed the night Celeste spent with Karl, then Valerie’s existence would be impossible.
Karl and I had not gone through with anything after all.
I shared a kiss that could sweep anyone’s mind away, and while we did something even more intimate, that was as far as it went. There wasn’t enough physical contact to create a child.
It’s not like we were Bluetooth; with no contact beyond our lips, there’s no way sperm and egg could suddenly meet.
So how was Valerie conceived?
It was all so confusing.
Reflecting on Karl’s words, I thought of Celeste, who suddenly appeared at the Grand Duke’s residence, the one who tricked me into drinking, and then vanished without a trace. I was certain of all this.
“Your Highness, have you ever met me somewhere other than here two years ago?”
“No. I met you here, and there is exactly a two-year gap until our next meeting. You literally disappeared, and I did not see you anywhere.”
“That’s impossible…”
I recalled the moment Valerie appeared.
Celeste showed up out of the blue with a letter. Yes, there was a letter.
What did it say? I had asked Detective Alfonso to find the person who abandoned the child, providing the letter as evidence…
I searched my memory hard.
“This is Miss Valerie, the child of Louisette. The promised time has come, and we are bringing the miss back.”
The person who wrote the note knew both Valerie and me well.
And they must be connected to the Countess Louisette enough to know about Celeste’s child, who nobody else knew about.
“Something feels off, Your Highness.”
Thinking alone wouldn’t lead to any conclusions. I needed at least one more person to brainstorm with.
“Valerie is a child who can’t be born.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s about Your Highness and me…”
How could I say this? That we hadn’t slept together? That we didn’t spend the night? No matter the words, it felt too embarrassing to say out loud.
“Uh…”
Why was this so awkward? But I had to speak up. With my eyes tightly closed, I threw out the next words.
“We’ve never slept together!”
***
The news of the simple covenant ceremony of Grand Duke Albrecht spread rapidly through the mouth of Lady Pulcheria.
Count Louisette had officially become the Grand Duchess of Albrecht, and some who learned of the news were astonished at her elevated status, incomparable to any woman in the Empire.
Lady Tecla, who had been envious of Celeste and consistently sought conflicts with her, was a prime example.
Until the wedding actually took place, she had comforted herself with the thought that no one knew how things would turn out. Now, having become the Grand Duchess, she trembled in fear of any revenge from Celeste.
Who was Grand Duke Albrecht? He was not just any royalty; he was considered the closest contender to become the next Emperor.
It was only natural for Tecla and her friends to feel frightened, realizing they had treated the Duchess consort of such a significant figure carelessly.
“Isn’t it a big deal that the Countess of Louisette has sided with His Highness Albrecht?”
Count Edward of the Imperial Family hadn’t been able to sleep for days.
Several nobles, rushing to him after hearing about Albrecht’s covenant, expressed their unease, saying they couldn’t sleep a wink.
“If I had known it would turn out like this…”
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying you would betray us now?”
“What else can we do? Isn’t it clear this fight is going nowhere?”
It seemed the next imperial throne was entirely tilting toward Grand Duke Albrecht.
Some factions that had supported Duke Toskurr looking to gain benefits for themselves were thrown into confusion as the Louisette family completely sided with Grand Duke Albrecht.
The Louisette family had been the most reliable support and financial backing for Grand Duke Franz, after all.
Count Edward gritted his teeth in anger.
“Did His Highness know about this? He hasn’t said a word…”
“He likely knew. Yet, being silent must mean something important.”
“If he knew, would he remain this quiet? Shouldn’t he have said something!”
“That’s why he summoned us today. Lower your voice.”
Edward had received a message to come to their secret meeting place from dawn.
Franz had never called upon them first before, but given the circumstances, Edward thought, “He can’t just stay quiet forever.”
Edward and his group hurried to the place where Franz was waiting.
“If there is no strategy to turn the situation around for His Majesty, we must reconsider whether we should continue moving together in the same boat.”
***
At that moment, in the capital, Lahart.
The members of the Imperial Investigation Unit who remained at their post, not accompanying Karl, were busy carrying out their assigned tasks.
This was due to the unresolved murder of Duke Schwaben.
The suspect, Count Louisette, was divided into Investigation Units Alpha and Beta. While she couldn’t completely shake off all accusations, she became the target of the investigation led by the Unit Chief, His Highness Duke Albrecht.
In effect, they had to return to square one and completely shift the direction of their investigation.
As the search continued, the unit’s knights discovered hidden magical stones in the Duke Schwaben’s residence.
Even though it was for the sake of investigation, they couldn’t recklessly search through the residence of the Duke Schwaben, a noble family recognized as the founding contributors of the Empire. Thus, the magical stones were found only after a considerable time had passed since the investigation began.
The magical stones that lacked the imperial seal were all illegal replicas traded on the black market.
The investigation unit immediately began tracking the confiscated magical stones and began researching how many similar illegal replicas were circulating in the market.
What started as a murder investigation expanded into a probe of illegal magical stone distribution in the capital.
Furthermore, it progressed toward eradicating the illegal magical stone trade throughout the Empire. This was an extensive investigation conducted under the special orders of Duke Albrecht.
Not long after the large-scale investigation into the illegal magical stone trade commenced, the investigation unit uncovered a connection between the explosion incident in Urenatum and the magical stones found at the Duke Schwaben’s residence.
The forms of the illegally processed magical stones discovered at both locations were alarmingly similar.
As a result, the situation shifted dramatically, and all suspicions directed toward Count Louisette were nullified.
Instead, Count Louisette’s status transformed completely from suspect to victim, prompting the investigation unit to urgently search for new suspects.
The enormous scale of the illegal magical stone trade being uncovered left the investigators astounded.
It was too vast for them to conclude the investigation without their unit leader.
Hurrying, the deputy commander, Ammon, sent a message to Captain Clovis, stating that this incident required direct reporting and action from His Highness the Duke.
