“And he’s also my savior. If Reinhardt hadn’t married me, I would have died.”

Furthermore, her love for Reinhardt was so deep and heavy that she would rather die than not marry him…!

‘I wonder if Reinhardt feels the same way?’

She suddenly became curious about her son’s feelings. Luckily, Reinhardt had taken the truth serum after drinking Irovel’s wine. So if she was to ask him about his feelings for Irovel now, she might get an honest answer.

Camilla entered Reinhardt’s bedroom. Her son, who had fallen asleep without even changing his clothes, lay there in the aftermath of the alcohol.

‘Sigh. He’s unexpectedly weak to alcohol, and it’s so cute to see his cheeks flushed and sleeping soundly. Didn’t he say that my left atrium and right ventricle would suffer from it?’

The thirty minutes of Irovel’s chattering seemed to linger in her mind, and she could hear her voice in her head without even trying. While trying to shake off Irovel’s voice, she shook Reinhardt’s body.

“Son, wake up.”

“….”

After a few more shakes, Reinhardt finally opened his eyes.

“…Mother?”

“Do you truly love Irovel, too?”

She asked bluntly.

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

Reinhardt’s eyes shook vigorously in response to the sudden question. He was clearly taken aback.

‘…So, it was indeed a one-sided love from Lady Irovel’s side.’

It makes sense. In the first place, his stoic son wouldn’t deeply love anyone. Surely, his marriage to Lady Irovel was forced upon him, doing something to get tangled up with him.

As Camilla pondered this, Reinhardt opened his mouth heavily.

“You just said ‘too,’ right? So, could it be… Mother, have you also fallen for Irovel?!”

“What…?”

Despite her usual eloquence, the words did not come out smoothly. It was something that anyone would be flustered about. The idea of a mother falling for her daughter-in-law… what a preposterous notion!

“You said you would never forgive me for cheating, Mother! Though how could you do the same to my wife? I will never let anyone take what belongs to me. My wife, she’s mine!”

“….”

‘Ah, now I understand.’

Camilla thought. She finally grasped what Reinhardt had been trying to say all along.

‘He has serious paranoia, probably flustered and not knowing how to respond.’

As she smiled softly, her eyes twinkling.

“I understand your feelings now.”

“Do you get it now? There is no malicious intent behind Irovel’s laughter. It’s just a habitual behavior, that’s all…”

Thud!

Reinhardt’s words were cut off abruptly as Camilla closed the door as she covered her ears.

“My stoic son is paranoid…”

She murmured as she walked through the corridor. With this, Reinhard had earned the title of ‘severe narcissist’ followed by ‘severe paranoia.’

I was not easily affected by alcohol. Even when I did get drunk, my drinking habits remained mild. I simply dance, sing, and strike an ending pose towards the empty space. While some might view this behavior as a serious issue, it was merely an opportunity to practice what an idol should do for me.

Nevertheless, I was certain that yesterday’s outburst had nothing to do with alcohol… it had to be the truth serum that Camilla administered.

As I stepped into the drawing room, a slight chill ran down my spine.

Camilla sat at the center, with Richard by her side. Memories of my embarrassing comments from yesterday came flooding back, making my face turn bright red. Still, I greeted her with politeness as if nothing had happened and took my seat.

‘…It’s not like I made a mistake because I couldn’t control my drinking. It was all because Camilla reacted strongly to the truth serum.’

I reassured myself that I hadn’t done anything wrong, so there was no need to be embarrassed.

“From the past, there has never been a separate building in Erestein. Not only the main mansion in the Capital but even the Duke’s residence in the north.”

Clank.

Camilla elegantly placed down her teacup and opened her crimson lips.

I was wondering why she had gathered Reinhardt and me since morning, though it seemed that she was about to reveal the purpose now.

“The reason is that Erestein values ‘love’ greatly. There’s no reason for a couple who deeply love each other to stay in separate buildings, right?”

Come to think of it, I might have read about this in a novel before.

Her words continued.

“From that perspective, you two as a couple are following Erestein’s value very well. I never knew you loved each other so deeply.”

Camilla remarked, emphasizing the word ‘each other.’

Why did she use those words? What did Reinhardt say? When I gave him a meaningful look, he just lowered his head with a dark expression.

“In fact, when you said you got married overnight, I wondered if it was one of those trendy novels with a contract marriage. I’m relieved it wasn’t like that. If it had been a joke about a sacred marriage, as the Grand Duke’s mother, I would have taken ‘measures’.”

“Measures? Is there really anyone these days who ties a sacred marriage with a contract?”

I opened my mouth, linking my arm with Reinhardt, pretending to be astonished as if to ask who would have pleaded with him to have a contract marriage. After hearing Camilla’s words, I was glad we didn’t disclose our marriage.

I must never reveal it in the future or get caught.

“While we fell in love at first sight, because of the Emperor’s attempt to take me away, we hurriedly decided to get married. We are a lovey-dovey couple who couldn’t even imagine such things.”

I confidently narrated our marriage story to dispel her doubts about the overnight marriage. Fortunately, it seemed quite romantic when spoken, as Camilla’s eyes softened slightly. She seemed to buy it.

I called for a celebration in my mind and gently nudged Reinhardt’s side.

‘I’m going to turn you into a liar, honey,’ I silently conveyed to him. In the meanwhile, Reinhardt eventually became my accomplice as he struggled to open his mouth and uttered a word.

“A-adorable…”

It was clear that this poor man had no talent for lying.

Even though I was a little dissatisfied, Camilla looked utterly shocked, as if she had heard him say, ‘Camilla, I’m your daughter.’ Well, of course. She knew better than anyone that he was not someone who would say such things, so it was understandable that she was quite shocked to hear him say it.

“You two love each other much more than I had imagined… but there’s something I don’t understand.”

Pausing her words, she glanced at her son as though he was a strange creature before finishing her remark.

“It seems like you use separate bedrooms. Is there a reason for that?”

Fortunately, since I had already prepared an excuse for that, I explained it to Camilla instead of Reinhardt.

“Since we met and got married so hastily, we decided to use separate bedrooms for a while to focus on getting to know each other.”

“Really? That’s a good idea.”

Camilla responded with satisfaction as though my excuse was quite appropriate, but that didn’t last long. She firmly composed her face and spoke.

“However, as the former Grand Duchess of Erestein, it’s not a good idea. The Grand Duchess has the obligation to bear heirs. If you and Reinhardt are sincere, you can’t neglect your duties as the Grand Duchess. So, I hope you join together sooner rather than later.”

Union?

We, with the clause of no approach within 42.195 kilometers?

Sure, we had gotten closer as if forgetting about the no-approach clause due to various unavoidable reasons. However, if we were to officially join together, I supposed we would have to face the consequences.

“I can’t force you if you don’t want to, but if it comes to that, as the former Grand Duchess of Erestein, I will have no choice but to order you to divorce him.”

Camilla continued, creating yet another unavoidable reason in this situation.

—