Episode 12
The next morning, I woke to the bustling sounds of the maids and a strangely sweet scent.
I cracked my eyes open slightly, only to be met with an unexpected sight.
‘What is all this? Am I still dreaming?’
My mind was already troubled by the magic diary, and now the entire room was filled with colorful baskets of flowers.
“Phoebe…?”
I called out blankly, and Phoebe came scurrying over.
“Your Highness! You napped yesterday and still slept in so late today?”
She had once suspected I was pregnant, which made me a little uneasy, but now she was just asking cheerfully again.
“By the way, you two… is today some kind of special day, perhaps?”
“Wh-what?”
As I stared back at her, bewildered, Phoebe stepped aside and gestured towards the assortment of large and small flower baskets.
“His Grace, the Grand Duke Callisteon, sent them. They say the hallway is full of them too, to the point where they can’t all fit in the room. The young maids are delighted, as if they’re gifts for them.”
I recalled the Grand Duke’s expression when the pregnancy was mentioned.
‘He was clearly happy.’
My face flushed for no reason, and I tried to avert my gaze from them, but the room was so packed with flowers that there was nowhere to look.
Phoebe, looking amused, teased me.
“Oh my, Your Highness. Are you even embarrassed by flower gifts?”
I ended up finishing my toilette while sitting in the middle of the room, which had turned into a veritable flower garden.
Afterwards, Phoebe brought in a large golden box.
“Would you like to open it before breakfast?”
“Uh, yes.”
I managed a smile and answered.
‘To be honest, I need the medicine more than gifts…’
Once Phoebe had discreetly left, the first thing I did was take two spoonfuls of Len’s morning sickness medicine.
Then, I opened the gift box. Inside, along with an assortment of snacks like before, was a small, glowing orb.
I carefully picked it up, and it rolled around on my palm.
—Thump! Thump!
Then, it bounced a few times on the floor towards the wall near the window and stuck to it with a faint smack.
As I watched in wonder, the small orb crawled up the wall, tracing the shape of an arched door.
‘What is this now…?’
It’s clearly the book I wrote, so why were there so many magics in it I didn’t know about?
The moment the trail of the magic artifact stood firm as a shining door, another magic occurred.
—Click.
The door drawn in light opened, and a sudden winter wind came swirling through.
And someone appeared out of nowhere.
‘Starlight-like silver hair, dark eyebrows, piercingly blue eyes, pale cheeks…’
A pure white fur swayed on his broad shoulders, which were tall enough to just barely pass through the door. With every step he took, the sound of his long sword brushing against his thigh could be heard.
‘He’s perfection incarnate…’
He didn’t even smile when our eyes met. He looked exactly like the Northern Grand Duke I knew.
“…Cal.”
Having had two video calls with him, I could call his name quite naturally.
Callisteon strode over and knelt on one knee before me. As if enchanted, I placed my hand on his offered palm, and soon, cool lips touched the back of my hand.
“Lou.”
The next moment, instead of rising, he pulled me into an embrace. His cheek, smelling of the wind, pressed against the thumping area near my heart.
“It was the longest fortnight in the world.”
Callisteon whispered as if in agony.
So, it seemed only a fortnight had passed since Louise returned from the academy.
He rubbed his cheek against mine slightly and grumbled like he was complaining.
“I never want to hear news of you from that mad magician again.”
Oh, damn…
‘So, this perfect man really is here to insist he’s the father?’
I stood frozen, not knowing what to do, and he looked up at me.
“I sent that Len fellow back in one piece. Aren’t you going to praise me?”
Praise?
‘Me, praise you?’
I dared to place my palm on the crown of the silver-haired Grand Duke’s head, a head too exalted for me to praise. The texture of his hair against my skin was so vivid that it finally brought me to my senses.
_’Crazy, insane…!’*
Who cares who the father is? Should I just marry him?
The light from the yellow chandelier shimmered, reflecting off his pale silver hair.
With a nervous touch, I awkwardly stroked his hair. Callisteon nuzzled his head against my palm like a puppy, then frowned with a dissatisfied expression.
“This time, even though the wretch dared to claim your child as his own, I let him live.”
Snapping out of my daze, I finally started and gently pushed him away.
‘So, Callisteon is also insisting he’s the father.’
He looked at me with his autumn-sky blue eyes.
“You have been excessively fair to them until now. You always turn a blind eye to my suffering simply because I am strong, and even for me, it hurts.”
Huh?
He continued speaking to me, who was still bewildered.
“Well, there are women lining up to choose me because I’m a Grand Duke.”
Then he gave a wry smile and stood up.
“It’s not terribly unpleasant that you’re the one who doesn’t. But…”
Now I had to look all the way up to meet his gaze.
Callisteon tilted his head and gently cupped my cheek with his large hand.
“Thankfully, you’re with child. The next Grand Duke of Babenberg.”
Just how did Len convey the message?
“But Cal…”
Before I could even utter the words that I didn’t know who the father was, he cut me off.
“It is the successor of Babenberg. Don’t hesitate, Lou. Just come to me.”
His quiet voice held the commanding power unique to those in authority.
For a moment, I almost stepped forward to be held by him again, but I barely regained my composure just before my foot moved.
I took his hand and gently removed it from my face, shaking my head.
“Cal. The child in my womb, who hasn’t even been born yet, isn’t the Babenberg successor. It’s just my child.”
“Lou…”
He sighed, but I repeated what I had said to Ernst and Len.
“I’m begging you. Proposing to me immediately because of the pregnancy is difficult. My brother has just returned, you see.”
His jet-black pupils were distinct within his clear blue eyes.
Callisteon raised one eyebrow and insisted.
“I told you I don’t want to hear the family excuse anymore.”
Of course, it was certain that he held the most advantageous position socially.
I tried to persuade him carefully.
“Brother really, really seems to be in a precarious state. And if it’s about marriage, Brother is the more urgent one. Right now, no matter how you look at it…”
He asked back, somewhat gloomily.
“Have I still not fully won your heart?”
Struck in a weak spot, I flinched.
Hadn’t Ernst said it too?
“If you were going to choose Cal, you could have done so at any time.”
The fact that I hadn’t, perhaps meant that Louise’s heart truly lay with someone other than Callisteon.
‘Of course, now that I’ve become Louise, I’m not necessarily obliged to stick to the previous choices…’
But still, if Louise had chosen someone, there must have been a reason for it.
Unable to say anything, I averted my gaze. Cool lips touched my forehead.
“It’s fine, Lou.”
He pulled up the corners of his mouth, pretending to acquiesce.
As he bent down and straightened up again, his fur cloak slipped slightly to one side. My gaze, which I had struggled to lower, stuck to his broad, firm chest and wouldn’t move.
“If the path to me seems too long, I will build bridges for you and tear down mountains.”
His pouring gaze was too intense. Even without making eye contact, my face was burning crimson.
‘To think that academy life involved facing three men like this every day.’
How did Louise ever manage it?
My heart felt ticklish and my vision gradually blurred.
Then, a now-familiar explosive sound rang in my ears.
—Bang!
After the pungent smoke vanished with a distinct pop, a bleak voice was heard.
“Take your hand off her, Cal.”
