56
It was now about a week before the wedding.
The news that I had overexerted myself protecting the empire and suffered a natural miscarriage had already spread throughout the entire empire.
However, what mattered to me was not the rumors of the world. It was the reactions of the people around me who felt sorry for my miscarriage as if it were their own affair.
The previous grand duke, the marchioness, Bedel, the servants….
Everyone watched me and Kaiden’s reactions. They did not openly comfort me for fear that I might be sad, but their actions were unusually kind and affectionate.
I felt sorry for them, yet at the same time my heart felt lighter.
The thought that the lie was finally over made me feel at ease. And I hated myself for feeling this way.
“Marian. Don’t think too deeply.”
At Kaiden’s words, I muttered in a powerless voice.
“…My heart is complicated.”
Kaiden, who had been sitting on the sofa across from me, stood up and came to sit beside me. He pulled me into his arms and gently comforted me.
“The situation couldn’t be helped. Who would have known that monsters would suddenly invade the capital in large numbers?”
“Yes… that’s true.”
“The fact that you saved the empire’s citizens remains unchanged. And it has also become a fact that you miscarried because of that incident.”
So he meant we should bury this matter.
I slowly nodded. Yes, let’s shake it off.
There were mountains of other problems to think about besides this.
Stella’s words came to mind.
‘A world that’s going to be ruined anyway.’
I had been thinking about it the whole way back to the grand duke’s residence.
Why would the protagonist of the world say such a thing? In the original work I saw in my previous life, she simply ended happily.
After much thought, one hypothesis came to mind.
Could she possibly be a regressor?
Just as I am a reincarnator who remembers my previous life, what if she has already lived one life and returned? If she had lived a life beyond the original story, it would make sense.
And if the end of this world that Stella had truly seen was destruction….
“Marian, where did you say you were from?”
“Yes?”
I was startled. It felt as though I had been pulled back to reality from being immersed in my own world by Kaiden’s voice.
“Why are you so surprised?”
I quickly brushed it off at Kaiden’s question.
“Ah, no, it’s nothing. What did you say?”
“I asked where you are from.”
“Me? I’m from Baltstein.”
“Hmm… before that?”
Kaiden was looking at me with a troubled expression. I looked back at him in confusion, not knowing what he was asking. After hesitating for a moment, he asked more specifically.
“I want to know which slum area you came from.”
“……”
Why is he suddenly curious about that?
After a moment of silence, I opened my mouth.
“…The west side of the capital.”
“Really? Are you sure it’s the capital?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm….”
Kaiden fell deep into thought about something. I looked at him for a moment and then turned my head away.
For some reason, my neck felt stiff and my fingertips turned cold.
Kaiden asked again.
“By any chance, do you feel any particular emotion when you see Marquis Fernandi?”
“Marquis Fernandi?”
“Yes.”
Is he talking about that elderly noble I saw at the grand banquet?
I shook my head with a puzzled expression. He seemed slightly disappointed. But Kaiden did not give up and continued to ask.
“Marian. Do you have any memories of your parents?”
“…Suddenly my parents?”
He was looking at me with serious eyes. I looked at him and with difficulty opened my mouth.
“I don’t.”
“At all?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
He now looked completely disappointed and fell back into thought. And looking at him, all sorts of thoughts swirled through my mind.
Now that we’re about to get married, is he dissatisfied with my origins? Perhaps something inconvenient has come up because I have no parents? Do I have to bring in some hastily made-up parents?
The worries I had just had about the world disappeared cleanly, and in their place only anxious feelings filled my chest.
Why did he ask about Marquis Fernandi?
I heard that the Fernandi marquisate is as old a family as Baltstein, could he have heard something from him?
Like high nobles do, did he question my status and legitimacy? Or was he told that at the very least the bride should have parents?
Thoughts kept connecting one after another.
Even when commoners marry, they say it’s a flaw if even one parent from either side is missing.
I, who had nothing, was full of flaws. And the opponent was none other than the empire’s only grand ducal house.
I was scared. Kaiden had said the wedding would proceed as planned, but people’s hearts can change in an instant.
And I myself felt like a shameless person who dared to overstep and try to marry the grand duke.
I don’t know why Kaiden asked me those questions. But I couldn’t ask him anything. I didn’t even have the right to ask.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock
“Who is it.”
“Your Grace. The grand duke is calling for you.”
“Understood.”
When Kaiden stood up, I stood up as well.
“Marian, I’ll be back in a bit. Rest more.”
He gently tucked the hair by my cheek behind my ear. I forced a smile and nodded.
Click.
As soon as he closed the door and left, I collapsed onto the sofa.
Bled quietly sat on my lap. He didn’t say anything, but worry was evident in the eyes looking up at me.
My head hurt. It felt like after climbing one mountain, even bigger mountains were blocking the view ahead.
“Should I run away…?”
But the moment I uttered the word “run away,” I realized.
“…I don’t want to part with him.”
I hugged Bled to my chest and lowered my head.
* * *
“Eat a lot, Marian.”
“Yes. Haha.”
Dinner time with the grand duke.
He still kept recommending various foods to me. It was reassuring, but it was difficult because nothing would go down. Still, I didn’t want to show it, so I pretended to eat diligently.
“By the way, we still can’t figure out why the monsters invaded the capital. Has any news come in?”
The grand duke asked Kaiden in a worried voice.
“We are investigating, but nothing conclusive has come up.”
“I see. It’s strange. It feels as if someone orchestrated a plot.”
“…It does feel artificial.”
Kaiden agreed with the previous grand duke’s words. The two slightly frowned as if something felt off. Seeing them look so alike, I thought they really were grandfather and grandson.
And I felt relieved seeing the two of them acting as usual. Because it gave me the reassurance that I could still stay by their side.
“So, how is the situation in the east?”
“It’s not good. Monsters have been attacking for 20 years, and the last 3 years have been the worst, they say.”
“I see.”
The previous grand duke stroked his chin with a serious expression. Kaiden looked at him and asked.
“Grandfather. Since when did the north start being attacked by monsters?”
“Hmm. It’s been 20 years for us too, but actually we didn’t think much of it back then. Monsters occasionally appeared in the north even before that. But certainly the frequency increased starting then.”
“Do the demon race that are said to manage the monsters really exist?”
“They do.”
The previous grand duke sank his eyes and fell silent for a moment, then sent away all the servants around us. I was wondering if I should excuse myself too when the previous grand duke spoke first.
“You listen too, Marian.”
“Yes.”
I answered and inwardly felt glad.
The previous grand duke cleared his throat and slowly began the story.
“100 years ago, and 1000 years ago as well, high-ranking demons existed. And it is said that the king of those demons, the Demon King, also exists.”
“Th-the Demon King?”
I couldn’t help but raise my voice in surprise. And that was only natural— in the original work, the Demon King had never even been mentioned.
At that moment, I felt Bled, who had been sitting on my shoulder, jump in shock and fly up.
‘Bled? What’s wrong?’
‘Bled? What’s wrong?’
[Ah, it’s nothing.]
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
