Who’s your dad?

Chapter 5

The sudden sound of a child’s cry startled me as much as it did the man.

If the child hadn’t cried, I would have recited the spell to trap the man.

“Waaah, waaah.”

It seemed like the child fell asleep faster than usual and woke up immediately, unable to sleep deeply.

“I, I’m sorry. Just a moment. The child is crying.”

I got up from my seat, but I wasn’t really seeking the man’s understanding.

The child’s crying sounded unusual, as if something had startled them greatly. Hurriedly climbing the stairs, I couldn’t read the man’s face, obscured by bewilderment and shock.

I rushed upstairs to the bedroom. As I opened the wooden door, the child with a flushed face turned towards me.

“Waaah!”

Then, they burst into tears again, extending chubby arms towards me. It seemed like they wanted to be held.

“Shh, shh. I’m here. Don’t cry. There, there.”

“Waaah. Waaah. Mommy.”

“Um…?”

The moment I faced the child, I realized the source of the unease I had felt when looking at the man’s face downstairs.

Deep, ocean-like blue eyes. They were the same eyes as the man sitting downstairs.

***

The Marquis of Schwaben, one of the Empire’s four most prestigious families.

The young marquis, who had inherited his title less than ten years ago, was discovered as a cold corpse just two months ago.

The cause of death was determined to be shock due to acute drug poisoning. It was a murder committed by someone.

Because of his noble status, an investigation team was immediately assembled at the palace to uncover the truth behind the incident. Given the prominence of the Schwaben Marquis House, leaving the investigation solely to the capital’s security department was deemed inadequate.

Since the marquis had left no successor to inherit his title, it posed a significant problem, as both his father and grandfather were only children without siblings to pass on their titles and estates.

The investigation team split into two groups: one tasked with finding the culprit behind the Marquis’s death, and the other with finding a successor to inherit the title. The overall responsibility for this investigation fell to Duke Albrecht.

Renowned for his exceptional intellect and unwavering pragmatism, Karl was considered a competent investigator within the current imperial authority. Therefore, there was an expectation that he would swiftly resolve the murder case of the Schwaben Marquis.

Upon receiving his new assignment, Karl immediately headed towards the Schwaben Marquis House. Despite the vastness of the marquis estate, the mansion itself appeared surprisingly modest.

“The first principle in suspecting a murderer in a case like this is to identify who gains the most from the victim’s death.”

Karl instructed his investigators to find the person who benefited the most from the death of the Marquis. Interestingly, this task intersected with the second investigation team’s mission.

The successor to the Schwaben Marquis’s title would inevitably be the one who gained the most from his death. In other words, the one who benefited the most from the Marquis’ death would be the successor. It was an ironic twist of fate.

“Louisette Viscountess.”

“What?”

“Her full name is Celeste Aisha Louisette. She inherited the title a few months ago and became a Viscountess.”

When Celeste’s name was first mentioned by the investigators, Karl’s ears pricked up with suspicion.

He hadn’t expected Celeste to be connected to the Schwaben Marquis House in this way.

At the unexpected mention of her name, Karl was momentarily lost in thought, recalling a night from two years ago.

“However, Viscountess Louisette has been missing for some time now. No one in the capital has seen her.”

“From now on, the Alpha Investigation Team will immediately track down Viscountess Louisette’s whereabouts with me. Beta will focus on identifying other suspects.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

And after a month-long search, Karl successfully tracked down Celeste’s whereabouts.

In fact, he had been making efforts to meet her for the past two years. However, Celeste’s reclusiveness as a Viscountess had made it difficult for him. And for the past few months, her sudden disappearance had made it even more challenging.

Though numerous estates owned by the Louisette Viscountess were traced and visited, Celeste was nowhere to be found. Despite visiting dozens of estates, the investigators began to grow weary.

Eventually, in the remote village of Urentum, Karl finally discovered traces of Celeste’s life.

Urentum, located at the southernmost tip even within the south, was such a small village that residents knew each other’s business well enough. This lack of privacy worked to the advantage of the investigation team.

The residents of Urentum readily provided information about the woman with purple hair who had appeared in the village about six months ago, even divulging details without being prompted. In truth, there was little need for further description after mentioning a beautiful woman with long purple hair. After all, purple hair was a hallmark of the Louisette Viscountess.

“Finally found you, Lady Cele.”

Looking up at the two-story cabin where she resided, Karl was engulfed in a strange mix of tension and excitement for a while.

Concerned that Celeste might be startled by the presence of unfamiliar visitors, Karl dismissed the investigators and approached her alone.

It had been two years since they last met.

As he stood facing her, Karl wondered how to begin the conversation. He had rehearsed several scenarios in his mind, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching the door. He couldn’t help but feel nervous.

But…

“Oh, just hold her properly!”

Caught off guard by the sudden commotion, Karl snapped out of his reverie.

“How…?”

“It’s uncomfortable for her if you hold her awkwardly like that. My, she might just lose an arm. Can’t you hold a baby properly without being all clumsy about it?”

It was a reunion scenario that hadn’t crossed his mind.

“Can’t you just hold her for a while until the water boils?”

“No, I haven’t held a baby before…”

He had come here intending to have a private conversation. Yet, there was someone else besides Celeste here.

“Waaah, aaah, ummaa, ummammaa.”

Suddenly, the crying echoed upstairs, and Celeste returned with a baby in her arms. The baby, with a flushed face, cried angrily.

In a bewildered state, Karl watched as Celeste approached and handed him the baby, urging him to hold her for a moment.

His posture holding the baby was truly awkward, to say the least.

The baby squirmed in discomfort against his stiff and unyielding embrace, struggling as if going mad.

To think that Albrecht, the next in line for the imperial succession, would be comforting a mischievous child in such a rural cabin…

“I’m almost done warming up the milk. Can’t you handle the baby even for a moment?”

Celeste poured water into the teapot and placed it on the stove before walking over to him.

“Here, sweetie. Have some of this.”

Then she offered the baby a freshly sliced apple. As if to ask when she cried, the baby stopped crying and started eating the apple.

“She almost falls asleep without drinking all the milk. Looks like she’s not getting enough. She usually sleeps soundly after her nap.”

Celeste explained about the baby without being asked, as if she assumed he would want to know.

With the noise that had been ringing in his ears suddenly gone, Karl could finally think a little. He alternated his gaze between Celeste, who was feeding the baby, and the baby sucking on the apple, his face serious.

Celeste and a baby? What kind of combination was this?

“Can you check her diaper? She might have pooped, and I didn’t even realize.”

“Uh… pooped?”

Surely the word “pooped” that came out of her mouth wouldn’t refer to what he was thinking.

No, it couldn’t be.

Could there be a woman of such high standing as Albrecht, the second in line to the throne, asking him to check a baby’s diaper?

But Karl momentarily forgot. Celeste always surpassed his expectations.