Lariella decided to sit on that bench and wait for Kais, who would soon rush there.

But someone was already sitting on the bench. From her oblique view from behind, she couldn’t see the face, but the person sitting on the bench wore a black uniform and black boots, with a black cloak draped over them and a black mask that came down to the tip of their nose.

Lariella hesitated, stopping in her tracks when she saw this strangely familiar attire.

Today, Kais was wearing an elaborate jacket embroidered with gold thread. It had been tailored to match Lariella’s dress. So this figure wasn’t today’s Kais but the outfit he wore when he occasionally appeared as Sir Morini.

She wondered if he would play such a prank on a day like this, in a place like this, but she found herself unconsciously murmuring that name aloud.

“……Sir Morini?”

The man sitting on the bench sharply turned his head toward Lariella at her soft voice.

The lips beneath the mask, having spotted Lariella, spread wide into a smile, and the man jumped to his feet and began striding toward her.

“Ah, you’re far more beautiful than I was told. Meeting such a beauty is truly an honor, my lady.”

The moment she heard the man’s light, exaggerated, and even frivolous voice, the color drained from Lariella’s face.

No. ……That’s not Kais.

Having confirmed it wasn’t Kais, Lariella suddenly realized she was alone with a strange man in a secluded place. She shook her head and backed away cautiously.

But the man reached out his hand and approached her more quickly than she could retreat.

“My lady? Why are you suddenly acting this way? It’s me. I am Sir Morris. I’m the one who arranged to meet with you today, my lady.”

Something was wrong.

She was clearly shouting in her mind that she had mistaken him for someone else, that he should stay where he was, that he should stop approaching, but her mouth wouldn’t move. Someone seemed to be choking her, and a high-pitched ringing filled her ears.

Suddenly her head spun and her vision blurred. Trees and lanterns merged and whirled around, and her consciousness began to fade. Lariella clutched her chest with her left hand and flailed her right hand forward.

“My lady? Are you alright?”

Just as the man who had approached right in front of her grabbed her arm, Lariella’s eyes rolled back and her entire body swayed.

“Lariella!”

In her fading consciousness, she heard Kais’s voice calling her, but she couldn’t tell if it was real or not.

Kais, ah, Kais!

Lariella’s lips moved feebly, trying desperately to call Kais’s name, but she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

“Lariella, Lariella! Wake up, Lariella!”

By the time Kais rushed over and took her in his arms, Lariella had already completely lost consciousness.

Behind Kais, who was wailing while holding her motionless, delicate body, brilliant fireworks beautifully decorated the dark sky with loud bangs.

* * *

Kais paced in front of the door with a grim expression. It was a terrifying expression that could make him a serial killer if looks could kill.

Lariella hadn’t regained consciousness even after receiving emergency treatment at Count Viller’s house and being moved to Elmano Castle. The doctor who went in to examine her hadn’t come out for a long time, leaving Kais feeling like his heart was burning up with anxiety.

With his hands tightly clasped together, Kais paced anxiously in front of the door and asked Worklan, who was approaching with quick steps, in a spitting tone.

“What kind of bastard is he?”

He was asking about the man who had been with Lariella in the garden earlier.

Kais had dragged the man away, looking ready to strangle him, and thrown him to Worklan. Worklan had taken him to the underground prison, but the man, already terrified by Kais’s demeanor, had blurted out his circumstances before any interrogation could begin.

“His name is Morris, claims to be a knight but hasn’t been formally appointed, seems he’s been wandering around as a mercenary.”

Morris. Knight.

There was a strangely familiar feeling. Come to think of it, his attire had looked familiar too.

Could it be that Lariella had approached him thinking he was Kais dressed as ‘Sir Morini’?

Kais grabbed his hair, letting out a deep sigh.

“His swordsmanship is quite poor, but he’s quite skilled at seducing women and has a decent face, so it seems noblewomen have been keeping him as a lover. This time too, he was waiting because the Marchioness of Devers said she would introduce him to a new noblewoman.”

“So he thought Lariella was that new noblewoman he was supposed to meet?”

“That’s right. According to him, your wife called him first. What was it… she called him ‘Sir Morini.’ The name was slightly different, but since she appeared there at that time and called out to him, he naturally thought she was the noblewoman he was supposed to meet. So he greeted her warmly, but then she suddenly collapsed. He claims he didn’t do anything and that your wife collapsed on her own. He’s crying and wailing about how unfair it is, making quite a racket.”

“That’s nonsense! Why would Lariella suddenly faint if he didn’t do anything?”

How could she, being so strong and healthy!

Even when she encountered him wearing a mask in the middle of the night, she shouted loudly and kicked!

“Should I kill that bastard?”

Kais asked, grinding his teeth.

Worklan nodded vigorously. Kais’s enemy was his enemy too.

“Yes, let’s kill him.”

“If we kill him, we can’t just let him die comfortably. First, I’ll break all the joints in his fingers and toes, crunching them one by one. Then I’ll break every other joint in his body without exception. And I’ll fill every hole in his body, from his mouth to his nostrils, ear holes, and anus, completely with sand, seal them tightly with wax, and then throw him into a jar filled with seawater.”

Worklan made a disgusted face at Kais’s words, which sounded more cruel and brutal for being so specific.

“No matter what, that seems a bit too……”

When Worklan raised an objection, Kais turned his hate-filled, blazing eyes to glare fiercely at him. It was a look that suggested he would throw anyone into the jar in place of that man if they didn’t agree with him.

“Right. That’s fair. Still too lenient. Yes, let’s do that. Should we fetch the seawater first, or get the jar first?”

Just then, with a clunk, the door finally opened.

Kais stopped trying to choose between seawater and a jar and rushed toward the doctor.

“How is Lariella? Has she woken up?”

“Yes, she has awakened.”

Kais let out a long sigh of relief and felt so dizzy for a moment that he had to lean against the nearby wall with one hand.

“What happened? Is she injured somewhere? Or has she contracted some illness?”

“No, Your Grace. The Duchess has no injuries, nor has she contracted any illness. She is very healthy.”

“Then why did she suddenly collapse? Was it really that bastard……”

“She didn’t collapse because of anyone else. The Duchess is with child.”

Kais momentarily froze, unable to continue speaking, at the doctor’s words delivered with a gentle smile.

“……A child, a child? Lariella is?”

“Yes. That’s right. Calculating the dates, you should be able to hold your adorable baby before summer ends. Congratulations, Your Grace.”

Kais’s mind went blank, and he couldn’t properly understand the words he had just heard with his own ears.

He repeated the same words over and over like a parrot just learning to speak.

“So……. that child……. Lariella’s child……. my child……”

“Yes, Your Grace. And since early pregnancy is dangerous and the mother’s physical strength declines significantly, you must refrain from s*xual intercourse. It appears today’s collapse was due to excessive intercourse.”

Even after the doctor left, having added a few more words of caution, Kais couldn’t move easily, like someone whose feet were stuck to the ground. He showed no reaction even when Worklan approached and poked him in the side with his elbow.

“I told you to take it easy. Who were you going to break what and seal where and throw where? Now it seems the one who should die is you, not him.”

Clicking his tongue, Worklan called an aide and ordered him to release Morris, who was crying in the underground prison.

“What are you standing there for? Go in now. You were so worried.”

“……Oh, oh, yes, I should.”

Worklan patted Kais’s back as he finally managed to move.

He could vaguely guess why Kais wasn’t purely happy at the good news and was acting like someone in a daze. It was probably because the shadow of his father, which he thought he had erased, flickered when he heard the news that he was becoming a father.