IDSTD 11

Chapter : 11

“Come to think of it, you worked through the night yesterday too! Health is the most important thing for a pregnant woman. You should really cut back on your work for the time being. Especially when there’s a chance you might have conceived a child……”

What child?

“Laura. Please calm down. Do you really think children are that easy to make?”

“But still! They say you have to look up at the sky to pick a star. And…… you saw it, didn’t you? That star. While holding His Grace’s hands tightly.”

As if that weren’t enough, Laura exclaimed that it wasn’t just any ordinary sky. It was the enormous, incredible sky known as Leon Obsidian.

Yes. I did see that sky. The problem is, I wasn’t the one who saw it.

“Come to think of it, that does feel a little unfair.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

I shook my head, telling her not to worry about it.

It seemed my thoughts had slipped out before I realized it.

If I at least had the memories, maybe I wouldn’t feel this wronged.

And yet, I had somehow gotten dragged into all this over something I hadn’t even done.

I had no idea who I was supposed to complain to about it, and it left me utterly at a loss.

“Anyway. Even so, it was only one night.”

“It may have been one night, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it only happened once, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just what I said. The number of times you looked up at the sky that day…… could have been several, couldn’t it?”

“……”

Good heavens. Laura.

My head went blank at this completely unexpected approach.

Unfortunately, there was no way to confirm it.

How was I supposed to ask?

‘Excuse me. I’m really sorry, but how many times did we do it that night?’

There was no way I could ask that.

Just imagining it made me dizzy, so I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Oh my, what could you possibly be remembering to squeeze your eyes shut like that? You must have recalled a scene intense enough to make you dizzy, huh?”

“I’m being serious right now.”

“Oh, what’s there to be serious about? You should be excited! I mean, it’s the Grand Duke of Bernstein!”

Laura clenched both fists in excitement and exclaimed.

“When he was a priest, he was weighed down with all those labels like ‘forbidden’ and ‘false advertisement,’ but now he’s simply an ordinary man. No, he’s the perfect marriage prospect every young lady in Orden is dying to have!”

“……”

“You’ve actually won over someone that incredible, Your Excellency!”

I didn’t.

I’m telling you, I didn’t do anything.

I just woke up and found him rolling right into my hands.

“Is that all? Other noblewomen have looked down on you behind your back this whole time, too. Especially that white fox of a Countess Oscar!”

Laura ground her teeth, saying that even hearing the woman’s name irritated her.

“She ruled high society as its flower and slandered you, didn’t she? She even incited the other noblewomen to join in!”

“And that’s not all.”

Laura continued.

“Her younger brother, too! He was always pestering you about marriage. Once people find out about the relationship between you and His Grace…… they’ll all go completely crazy.”

“Just imagining it makes me feel so refreshed.”

Laura added with a sly grin.

“This won’t do. I should tell the servants right now and make sure the rumor spreads……”

“No! Absolutely not! You must never let anyone else know about this!”

“What? Why?”

Laura asked with a dissatisfied look at my desperate outburst. She clearly wanted to blab about it immediately and couldn’t understand why I was stopping her.

Of course, it’s not that I don’t understand how Laura feels.

She had worried about me more than anyone.

But this absolutely cannot happen!

I still haven’t sorted out my own feelings. And more importantly, I haven’t even finished discussing this with the person actually involved!

“Listen carefully, Laura. I’m only telling you this because I trust you. You absolutely cannot tell anyone outside.”

“What are you going to tell me now?”

Laura frowned as though she was already anxious about whatever I was about to say.

I took a deep breath for a moment before speaking seriously.

The truth is……

“……It’s true that we slept together, but I don’t remember it.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s true that I caused the accident, but I don’t remember anything about that day at all. I just…… woke up and found things had turned out that way, I suppose? It happened without me even knowing……. Well, of course, I did go along with it too.”

No. This is wrong. No matter what I say, it sounds strange.

But there was nothing I could do.

Even if I told her the truth about transmigration and another soul inhabiting my body, she would never believe me.

As unfair as it was, I thought it would be better to take responsibility for the accident myself.

So I tried my best to explain.

“Your Excellency.”

Laura, who had been silently listening, stared at me intently before soon giving me a gentle smile.

Ah, what a relief. Perhaps she had understood what I meant.

I was just beginning to feel relieved when—

“Are you joking right now? Surely you aren’t trying to say that since you don’t remember it, you’re going to pretend none of it ever happened, are you?”

“W-What?”

“Oh, my goodness! I didn’t raise you to be such an irresponsible person, Your Excellency!”

What is she talking about? I have a separate nanny.

And she’s only four years older than me in the first place.

Of course, she had helped me in many ways behind the scenes, but could that really count as raising me?

Laura looked at me with profound disappointment.

Afraid she might start treating me like some trashy person who caused an accident and refused to clean up the mess, I hurriedly smiled.

“N-No, of course not. What I mean is…… I just don’t remember how many times we looked at the sky. Yes, that’s what I was trying to say.”

“Right? Oh, goodness. You almost made me disappointed in you, Your Excellency. Our Marquis is an incredibly responsible person, after all!”

“……Right. Of course. If you took away my sense of responsibility, there’d be nothing left of me but a corpse. A corpse.”

I gave an awkward laugh and nodded stiffly.

The quill in my hand seemed to be growing damp with cold sweat.

“Come to think of it, you’re right. Even if you didn’t remember and said you weren’t going to take responsibility, it wouldn’t matter.”

“Huh?”

“You saw the articles, didn’t you? His Grace confessed everything himself, so he’s now on the verge of being dismissed from his position. What do you think that means?”

“W-What does it mean?”

“It means His Grace feels responsible for what happened too. As expected of a former priest and the commander of the Holy Knights!”

Laura smiled contentedly, saying there couldn’t possibly be a more perfect match.

Of course, I felt as though the darkness before my eyes had only grown thicker.

“But why are you telling me not to let anyone around us know?”

“If you give me permission, I could run outside right now and tell everyone,” Laura said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I need time to think. It’s not just anything—it’s a matter that affects my entire life, isn’t it? This isn’t something I can decide in just a few days.”

“That’s true, but……”

Laura moved her lips as though she had something else to say, but after seeing my serious expression, she closed her mouth again.

“All right. I understand. But…… I don’t know if that will be enough. Everyone is currently desperate to find out who the person who captured His Grace’s heart is.”

“Don’t worry about that. There’s no way they’ll figure out that the person is me.”

Even as I said it, I let out a hollow little laugh.

Who would ever think of Erna Zaherette as his partner?

It was a combination that wouldn’t occur to anyone even after wracking their brains a hundred times.

Yes, exactly. So there wouldn’t be any problems for the time being.

Everything would be fine.

I was certain of it.

And yet……

***

“What are you going to do now?”

“……”

“You said it would definitely be fine! And, just so you know, I really haven’t said a single word to anyone!”

Laura shouted at me, almost hounding me for an answer.

At her words, I pressed my lips tightly together.

Right.

What on earth was this situation?

[EXCLUSIVE] The Identity of the Grand Duke’s Woman Finally Revealed? She Is None Other Than the ‘Marquis of Zaherette’!

[SCOOP] Even the Imperial Family Didn’t Know?! Orden’s High Society in an Uproar Over Their Secret Romance! Who Is the Woman Who Stole the Grand Duke’s Heart, ‘Erna Zaherette’?!

[COMING SOON] Why Did the Grand Duke Choose Her? At Last, All the Pieces Have Fallen Into Place. ……The Rest of the Story Will Be Revealed in a Three-Part Series Through !

The newspapers and gossip sheets covering my desk were plastered with my name.

It would have been nice if that were where it ended.