Chapter 36
“…What?”
“…Huh?”
Not only the priest, but Lucy and Edward’s aides also stared in shock.
Edward looked directly at the stunned priest.
“I’m telling you this lady isn’t an object.”
“She is my fiancĆ©e.”
“Fi… fiancĆ©e?”
“Are your ears as ugly as your face? Is that why you can’t understand? Are all people from the Temple like this?”
Edward reached for the dagger at his waist as if he were about to help the priest hear better.
The priest immediately took a step back.
Only then did Lucy realize what was happening.
Her ears quickly turned bright red.
“Has he gone crazy?!”
If he said something like this in front of the Temple, there was no taking it back.
Whether it was real or just for show, it meant they would actually have to get married.
“Hasn’t this gotten way too big?”
Edward noticed Lucy’s panicked expression and smiled.
Then he deliberately put on a gentle face and pulled her closer by the waist.
He couldn’t let this frightened little mouse run away now.
At the same time, he couldn’t help remembering how that same waist had moved on top of him in his dream.
Suppressing the urge to kiss her red ears, he leaned down and whispered,
“Think about it carefully.”
“About what?!”
“The Temple can kidnap an experimental subject whenever they want.”
“But they can’t do that to the Duchess of Tesseron.”
“Huh?”
It made perfect sense.
Lucy froze.
“That’s… actually very convincing.”
She had never wanted to become the Duchess.
The problem was that a priest was standing right in front of her trying to take her away.
Even if Edward protected her today, the Temple could always try again.
Last time they had sent Holy Knights to chase her.
Now they had sent a priest to demand her return.
It proved one thing.
“I’m a very important test subject to them.”
Too valuable to simply give up.
It wasn’t surprising.
People born with holy power as strong as Lucy’s had become incredibly rare.
She was the last experimental subject left in the Temple.
“So no children with strong holy power have been born recently.”
Thinking about it, she realized the Temple might do something even worse.
“What if…”
“What if they secretly sneak into the Duke’s mansion and kidnap me?”
If she disappeared as nothing more than a servant, no one would have much reason to protest.
She wasn’t even sure anyone would go that far to save her.
“But the Duchess is different.”
Touching the Duchess of Tesseron would mean declaring war on Tesseron itself.
The Temple wouldn’t dare.
The situation had become much bigger…
“But he really is protecting me.”
Maybe Edward was like the typical tragic male leads.
Once he accepted someone as his responsibility, he protected them completely.
Even so, Lucy’s heart began beating faster.
Just moments ago, she had felt strangely disappointed after hearing Edward say that what happened with Sepina had only been purification.
Now…
Even though the situation had become absurd…
The warmth of his hand resting over her lower stomach somehow comforted her.
“I never imagined he’d go this far.”
Both in her previous life at the shelter…
And in this one…
She had believed she would always have to survive alone.
Knowing someone was willing to protect her made her chest ache.
She wasn’t worried about stealing the heroine’s place.
The original story had already changed too much.
Besides, the heroine had never actually become the Duchess in the original novel.
“Alright.”
Lucy made her decision.
Still smiling, she leaned comfortably against Edward.
Then she gently placed her own hand over the large hand resting on her stomach.
As though she really were pregnant.
“That’s right, honey.”
“…”
“They say ugly things are bad for the baby.”
“Please get rid of him.”
Thus…
A perfect husband-and-wife team of liars was born.
The problem was…
Even their own allies believed them.
“W-Wait…”
“Does that mean there’s already a little Duke…?”
“…”
“…”
Oops.
Lucy quickly looked toward Tepe.
She wanted to signal that wasn’t what she meant.
But Tepe was already too shocked to notice anything.
“This is huge… I-I have to tell everyone…”
“Wait, Tepe!”
“The people! No… everyone in the mansion!”
Before Lucy could stop him, Tepe sprinted away.
Even Gorgo silently ran after him.
Meanwhile, Edward simply watched Tepe leave while gently rubbing Lucy’s lower stomach.
As though he were carefully kneading a soft rice cake.
Rosendal had been standing frozen like a statue this whole time.
“We’ll fix this somehow later!”
Lucy scratched the back of Edward’s hand, trying to send him a signal.
Edward didn’t react.
Instead, his smile only grew wider.
As though her tiny attempts amused him.
To everyone watching…
He looked exactly like a man lovingly doting on his fiancƩe.
The priest, who had seen and heard everything, was completely stunned.
“Could it be…”
“The Duke stole that experimental subject…”
“Because he fell in love with her at first sight?”
“And now he plans to marry her?”
“Impossible!”
The priest could practically see his dream of being promoted to the capital disappear.
In his anger, he finally shouted,
“Y-You filthy experimental subjeā”
Crunch.
Before he could finish…
Edward’s hand shot out and grabbed the priest’s jaw.
His grip was so strong it looked ready to crush it.
“Experimental subject?”
“…”
“Go on.”
“Say the rest.”
Lucy quietly broke into another cold sweat.
“Wow.”
“So when he covered my mouth and nose before…”
“He was actually holding back.”
“Ggh…!”
Even while she realized that…
Edward kept tightening his grip on the priest’s jaw.
“Do you even know who you’re insulting?”
It looked like the priest might actually die.
“But that’s too much!”
Lucy hurriedly slapped Edward’s arm.
“Hey!”
“Are you trying to start a war with the Temple?”
The moment she said it…
She realized Edward might simply ask,
“So what if I am?”
Lucy immediately smiled and added,
“Don’t make my honey work so hard.”
“…”
“Wars are a huge hassle.”
“They’re so troublesome.”
As Lucy quietly signaled for him to stop…
Edward slowly turned his red eyes toward her.
“So…”
“You’re worried about me?”
Nod! Nod!
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
Lucy nodded rapidly and hugged his arm even tighter.
Edward immediately released the priest.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Alright.”
Without paying any attention to the priest collapsing onto the floor…
Edward simply hugged Lucy even closer.
“If my honey tells me not to do it…”
“Then I shouldn’t.”
He casually smiled at the priest.
“Did you hear her?”
“It’s bad for the baby.”
Then he spoke to Rosendal.
“Get rid of him.”
“And call a designer.”
“A designer?”
“Yes.”
“Choose someone famous for wedding dresses.”
While they casually made their sudden marriage announcement seem completely official…
Tap! Tap!
Clara, who had been watching everything quietly from the side, suddenly ran off.
Crash!
A teacup fell to the floor and shattered.
The maids and retainers nearby turned pale.
“Dowager Duchess!”
“Are you hurt?”
Everyone rushed toward the Dowager Duchess, who had gone completely pale and dropped her teacup.
Clara, who had delivered the news, also stared helplessly at the floor.
Even she had never imagined that the two of them had already become that close.
