Who’s your dad?

Chapter 9 

Hannah was about to open the door but was stopped, and two of Karl’s knights went outside. Then, there was a rush of noise from beyond the door, as if something was tumbling down—sounds like clatter, thuds, and bumps.

After a few moments, the door opened slowly. Peering anxiously at the opening door, it was Detective Alfonso who revealed himself, brought in by force.

“Identify yourself.”

“W-Who are you to ask such a thing?”

Dragged inside and forced to kneel in front of Karl, the detective stammered, “W-Who are you…”

Then, one of the knights beside him drew his pistol and aimed it. Not only the detective but everyone was taken aback by the sudden threat.

“Geez, what’s with pulling out a gun?”

“State your name and identity.”

“W-Why are you… Why? Isn’t this Madam Rebecca’s house?”

“Madam Rebecca.”

Madam Rebecca— the alias I had used since hiding in Urentum. But more importantly, the knight’s gun was too close to Valerie. I discreetly moved away from the knight while still holding Valerie.

“Lower your gun.”

Karl raised his hand to restrain the knight. At his command, the knight immediately lowered his gun, tucking it behind his back.

“Are you the Madame Rebecca he’s looking for?”

“Uh, um…”

As I hesitated on how to respond, the detective, who recognized me, interjected confidently.

“Yes, Madam Rebecca. I’m here just to provide answers regarding the matter madam commissioned me for.”

That rascal. What kind of detective talks so loosely? Aren’t detectives supposed to be discreet about their clients and the cases they’re working on?

Facing a slight threat, he spilled the details of the commission without hesitation, and with that, any remaining trust in him quickly dissipated.

“Da-da, papa-ba.”

Valerie’s whining, which had momentarily paused due to the arrival of strangers, started again. Oblivious to the severity of the situation, she giggled and grabbed my hair, then suddenly began sucking on it.

“Daddy, daddy.”

And now, she started reaching out to Karl, calling for him. Just like yesterday, she called out “daddy” while reaching for him.

The poker face of the large man, who seemed to be Karl’s closest aide, finally cracked. His furrowed brow conveyed how bewildering the situation was.

The knights’ gazes shifted between Valerie, Karl, and then to me.

Those alternating glances felt uncomfortable for some reason… No, it’s not what you’re thinking…! I feel unjustly accused!

The atmosphere became strange. No one spoke up to ask what was going on, making the situation even more unfair.

The outcry of injustice in my heart was drowned in silence. One of the knights hurried to the door and closed it.

—

After a period of bewilderment, Karl was the first to break the silence.

“…So someone left the child in front of the house?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Karl sighed, as if exasperated.

“And you tried to find the child’s identity and parents through the detective?”

“That’s right.”

“Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to go directly to the authorities?”

“I didn’t— I mean, I couldn’t. Why would I hide in this rural area and even use an alias?”

“Exactly. Why did you run away and hide here?”

Uh-oh.

I was speechless. The more I tried to explain, the deeper I dug my own grave.

Hannah quickly moved her hand under the table and poked my thigh, signaling me to keep quiet unless necessary.

“So, do you really not know anything about this child? This… baby.”

“Well…”

“That child is Madam Valerie’s child!”

That rascal, again, without a clue!

Just as Hannah tried to explain or perhaps make excuses, the oblivious detective’s outburst cut her off. Despite my attempts to glare at the detective, his gaze remained fixed on Karl and the knights.

It seemed like he sensed that these men were the ones holding the power here, not me. I thought he was clueless, but it turned out to be the opposite…

“The first day she came to me with the child, I confirmed the paternity of the child with Madame Rebecca. The child is indeed Madame Rebecca’s.”

In the end, everyone knew that this baby was Celeste’s daughter. Once again, the knights’ gazes shifted to me after the detective’s revelation.

Ugh, this is driving me crazy. I let out a deep sigh.

Since Valerie started calling Karl “daddy,” the atmosphere inside the hall had become unsettled.

Without saying much, Karl began interrogating the detective. Although I pretended to be disinterested, I could sense all the knights’ attention was focused on me.

Karl’s expression wavered, as if he was angry, surprised, or feeling an inexplicable discomfort. But soon, any hint of displeasure vanished behind his poker face.

“How did you find out?”

“Well, you see…”

As if asking for permission to speak, the detective squirmed, but before he could say anything, the brown-haired knight approached and untied the detective’s hands. Although it was just a moment, the bound arms looked stiff as the detective winced and then slipped his hands into his pockets.

Then, he pulled out a long glass vial. It looked exactly like the one he had shown me a week ago, claiming it could determine the child’s parentage by observing changes in the blood when a drop of it is mixed.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a potion that helps identify parentage. By dripping blood and observing color changes, we can determine if there’s a biological relationship.”

“Magic potions are prohibited for personal use. How could you have it? You’re not affiliated with the Ministry of Law, so how?”

“Well, you see, it’s just that… It’s difficult to regulate personal belongings in such a rural area…”

Is that detective for real? Doesn’t he realize that saying such things might incriminate himself?

With each word, my trust in the detective diminished.

Hannah shook her head vigorously, clearly exasperated by the detective’s increasingly questionable behavior. Karl let out an incredulous sigh.

“You’re brazenly admitting to committing an illegal act under the premise that you took advantage of lax security. You dare to challenge the royal knights and commit a crime in front of them.”

“What? The royal knights?”

His eyes widened more than before. With a horrified look, the detective finally noticed the golden insignias on the knights’ shoulders and chest. He quickly bowed his head as if he realized he was disrespecting them.

“N-no! No, it’s not! This potion has been in our house long before it was banned by the law. I didn’t defy the royal law or commit any illegal acts!”

Upon hearing “royal knights” from Karl, the detective turned pale and banged his head on the ground.

How can such an inexperienced detective handle this job? His face turned blue for a moment, then he trembled and shivered, even shaking his hands. Watching him, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.

“From now on, Viscountess Louisette. I’m going to need to hear this from you.”

“What? Me, me?”

Why is the spotlight suddenly back on me again? I blinked in surprise at the sudden surge of attention, feeling flustered. While inwardly cursing, I glanced at the detective, who seemed to have drawn everyone’s focus back to me.

“What explanation…….”

“The sudden reason for leaving the capital and hiding in the urentum. And how can you prove that if it’s been over six months since you arrived here, that you didn’t murder Marquis Schwaben, as you claim. And…”

I didn’t need to hear the next question to know what it was about. Since Karl’s gaze was pointedly on Valerie.

“And about that child.”

As expected. The first two questions felt like mere smoke screens. What he truly wanted to know seemed to be the last question. But what should I say? I bit my lip in frustration at the sudden surge of attention.

I’m not from around here. In fact, I just found myself inside the novel I was reading, and that’s why I fled here after fearing I might be executed following the Marquis’ death. As for Celeste, I don’t know why, when, where, or with whom she had the child because it’s not in the book. Should I tell the truth like that? …If I do, they’ll probably think I’m insane.

“I don’t know either. That’s all I can say,” I replied, feeling the pressure of the situation.

One of Karl’s eyebrows rose, his expression clearly asking what nonsense I was talking about.

“Well, um. You see, uh… I…” 

I needed to think. I had to come up with something, anything, a plausible excuse to get through this situation!