Returning with light steps after resolving the misunderstanding.
"Tsk, come to think of it, it was a problem that could have been verified immediately."
Ryan muttered from the side.
Unable to withstand Ryan's relentless questioning, demanding to know what Vania had said.
"Oh, right! I think I heard that pregnant women don't have their periods!"
...I didn't know.
He must have learned it at some point, but it was a common sense that had long since evaporated from Nike's mind.
"Oh dear, I did something foolish. I just made my daughter feel embarrassed for no reason. I should have thought it over discreetly instead of prying."
"I know. Get some rest now. I'm on my way."
Nike, who did not want to talk at length about the subject, quickly greeted Ryan in front of his room.
Ryan's hand was placed on Nike's shoulder as he was about to leave.
"But why did she tell Your Highness such an embarrassing story instead of me?"
A sinister voice.
Nike frozen.
"I am her father and brother, and we are family."
"Well..."
Nike slowly turned around.
"Because you're lovers? But didn't you say you didn't receive the memories?"
“...”
“...I know.”
Before he knew it, Ryan's face was right in front of him. Raising his beast-like golden eyes wide, he muttered.
“Could it be that something happened between the two of you without me knowing that might make the embarrassing story easier to talk about...?”
“…”
On the way back with light steps after clearing up the misunderstanding?
No way!
New suspicions and misunderstandings began to sprout again!
The next day.
With my face becoming even shinier overnight, I finished getting ready to go out.
Originally, the schedule was to pay our respects on the fourth day of entering the palace, the day His Majesty the Emperor returned from recuperating.
'I suddenly ended up staying for three more weeks!'
I couldn't just goof around since I wasn't actually pregnant.
So, since I'm here in the capital, I plan to go out to take care of some business I had planned to handle while I was at it.
"Please refrain from going out."
No way!
The maid in my room bowed respectfully to Nike.
"Young Lady must maintain absolute rest during the early stages of pregnancy."
"I told you it wasn't."
I covered my mouth with my hand as I was about to burst out laughing.
Everyone believed me because I was so adamant that I wasn't pregnant, but I couldn't go out alone because there was a one-in-a-million chance.
Unless it is the power of Nike.
"You're not going to keep me locked up for the whole three weeks."
“…”
At the end, the maid stepped aside with a sigh, and I leisurely left the room with Nike.
We stood in front of the disguised carriage Nike rode out of the Imperial Palace while working for the secret society.
"Please take good care of Vania."
I welcome Ryan.
"You know he's clueless right now, right?"
"I know."
Ryan cannot accompany us on today's schedule because we are going to meet Richard 'Wassenberg'.
"Please make sure not a single hair on their head is harmed. If they get hurt, we won't be able to treat them."
"Don't worry."
"I have to protect my daughter, but I can't go with her because I'm afraid her father will suspect me."
"Hey."
Nike, who had been silently listening to Ryan's tiresome pleas, patted him on the shoulder.
"She is also my lover."
?!?!?
Uh, how could you say something like that?!
I clutched my flushed cheeks in surprise. Ryan let out a hollow laugh when he saw my expression.
"That's interesting..."
"And I've been cleaning up the messes your family has caused for five years now. No matter what variables arise, I can handle it with my eyes closed."
"Could you please not link me to this? It's been 16 years since I was excommunicated, you know?"
“Anyway, I'll be back.”
As if to pick me up first, Nike placed his foot on the carriage footrest and reached out his hand.
“I'll be back, Dad!”
I was about to go to him, barely greeting him.
"Don't go messing around!"
"Ah!"
Ryan gave him a light tap on the head.
Nike got angry when he saw that.
"Why did you hit her! Are you crazy?"
"Heehee."
Actually, it was just a playful tap on the head that didn't hurt at all, but I pretended to be in pain, put on a tearful face, and got into the carriage in Nike's arms.
Our destination is Bunsen.
It is a nearby territory famous for its casino, and it takes only about an hour and a half from the capital if you alternate between carriage and horse.
I came here to meet my brother, Richard Wassenberg.
"I'm not sure about the sisters, but I'm not sure about the brother. Will it be okay?"
Nike looked at the casino building in the distance and worried.
I, who was sitting on the bench, turned around.
Nike, wearing an unfamiliar face skin, appears to be a man in his early 30s.
“...Don't look.”
Nike spoke, as if he felt the gaze.
"Why? You're handsome."
“…”
“I don't care what you look like, Your Highness, so please don't worry about it.”
Nike was silent.
It isn't obvious since he's in disguise, but his real face, which is immune to such words, is probably turning red.
"Besides, I'm going to check because I'm not sure."
I looked at the casino building and recalled what Alex had said.
The day Christa came to find Alex was on her father's orders.
“When I asked Christa about Richard's whereabouts, she told me exactly that he was at the 'Bunssen Casino.' I think that was a signal sent to us.”
I agree.
You mean Richard suddenly grew up to be a gambling addict?
It seems like you've even fallen out with Christa, who was your closest friend?
It was hard to believe, but it made sense that this was a strategy to avoid his father's eyes.
"I can't help but trust Christa. The 'evidence' she secretly gave me would be fatal to Wassenberg if leaked. She risked her life to give it to me."
I was so surprised at first to hear that.
Thirteen-year-old Christa, who knew nothing, came to us and sobbed, saying that her father seemed like a bad person.
At the time, I didn't have much to say to her.
Swallowing my sincere promise that I would definitely come to pick her up someday, I merely told her that she must listen to her father.
While living their respective lives like that.
My smart sister.
She must have realized why she had no choice but to follow her father's will for the time being.
She must have thought about what she would have to do later to betray her father and wash her hands of the family.
She must have made her own plan and steadfastly endured it in that wretched house.
“You know that document Christa secretly gave to Alex?”
"Yes."
Data kept as top secret at the family's supernatural abilities research institute.
It contains the entire physiology of the power known as supernatural ability that has been researched so far.
“Before the regression, I tried to steal it exactly twenty-six times, and failed every single one of those twenty-six times.”
Nike, who was listening to me, paused.
"I couldn't do it. It might have been different for my other brothers, but I was a counter-revolutionary. I also had a long history of handing over various things to the Prince. So, simply accessing the archives was difficult."
However, Christa did it.
That means.
"It means Christa completely gained the family's trust to the point where she was able to steal the data without any suspicion."
Do you think I can make you believe that I am of the same kind as you, without rotating together?
No, absolutely not.
Christa must have had to let some of her flesh rot to gain her family's trust and prove that she, too, was a Wassenberg.
While following the orders of her father and brothers.
Witnessing rude and nasty sights while pretending nothing is wrong.
...not?
For some reason, Nike stared intently at my face nearby, as if entranced.
I felt a lump in my throat, perhaps because I was nervous.
'Huh?'
Could this be... a twist?
I felt a sense of deja vu. Because there had been many similar situations before the regression.
Before Nike set out on his expedition, we would meet regularly and pray for each other's safety.
I told Nike not to get hurt, and he told me to be careful...
We shared a kiss of tearful prayer!
'Th-this person really mustered up the courage~!'
Knowing Nike's personality, I couldn't help but cheer for him.
I immediately placed my hand gently on my pounding heart and closed my eyes.
“...”
“...”
However, there was no sign of anyone approaching.
I slowly opened one eye.
“Uh, no, uh.”
Nike was flustered and scrambling, then quickly turned his head and spoke.
"I'm sorry if I misunderstood."
"Yes?"
"I... I should have said it right away, but in that moment... Um, you... You were so beautiful. I couldn't think of anything."
"?!?!?"
It's good, but...!
"What about the kiss?!"
"That wasn't it."
“…”
"Tsk, come to think of it, it was a problem that could have been verified immediately."
Ryan muttered from the side.
Unable to withstand Ryan's relentless questioning, demanding to know what Vania had said.
As soon as Nike said, “Tada-dal…,” he understood immediately.
...I didn't know.
He must have learned it at some point, but it was a common sense that had long since evaporated from Nike's mind.
"Oh dear, I did something foolish. I just made my daughter feel embarrassed for no reason. I should have thought it over discreetly instead of prying."
"I know. Get some rest now. I'm on my way."
Nike, who did not want to talk at length about the subject, quickly greeted Ryan in front of his room.
But then, wait a minute.
"But why did she tell Your Highness such an embarrassing story instead of me?"
A sinister voice.
Nike frozen.
"I am her father and brother, and we are family."
"Well..."
Nike slowly turned around.
"Because you're lovers? But didn't you say you didn't receive the memories?"
“...”
“...I know.”
Before he knew it, Ryan's face was right in front of him. Raising his beast-like golden eyes wide, he muttered.
“Could it be that something happened between the two of you without me knowing that might make the embarrassing story easier to talk about...?”
“…”
...I can't even sigh anymore.
On the way back with light steps after clearing up the misunderstanding?
No way!
New suspicions and misunderstandings began to sprout again!
***
The next day.
With my face becoming even shinier overnight, I finished getting ready to go out.
Originally, the schedule was to pay our respects on the fourth day of entering the palace, the day His Majesty the Emperor returned from recuperating.
'I suddenly ended up staying for three more weeks!'
I couldn't just goof around since I wasn't actually pregnant.
So, since I'm here in the capital, I plan to go out to take care of some business I had planned to handle while I was at it.
"Please refrain from going out."
No way!
The maid in my room bowed respectfully to Nike.
"Young Lady must maintain absolute rest during the early stages of pregnancy."
"I told you it wasn't."
I covered my mouth with my hand as I was about to burst out laughing.
Everyone believed me because I was so adamant that I wasn't pregnant, but I couldn't go out alone because there was a one-in-a-million chance.
Unless it is the power of Nike.
"You're not going to keep me locked up for the whole three weeks."
“…”
At the end, the maid stepped aside with a sigh, and I leisurely left the room with Nike.
***
We stood in front of the disguised carriage Nike rode out of the Imperial Palace while working for the secret society.
"Please take good care of Vania."
I welcome Ryan.
"You know he's clueless right now, right?"
"I know."
Ryan cannot accompany us on today's schedule because we are going to meet Richard 'Wassenberg'.
"Please make sure not a single hair on their head is harmed. If they get hurt, we won't be able to treat them."
"Don't worry."
"I have to protect my daughter, but I can't go with her because I'm afraid her father will suspect me."
"Hey."
Nike, who had been silently listening to Ryan's tiresome pleas, patted him on the shoulder.
"She is also my lover."
?!?!?
Uh, how could you say something like that?!
I clutched my flushed cheeks in surprise. Ryan let out a hollow laugh when he saw my expression.
"That's interesting..."
"And I've been cleaning up the messes your family has caused for five years now. No matter what variables arise, I can handle it with my eyes closed."
"Could you please not link me to this? It's been 16 years since I was excommunicated, you know?"
“Anyway, I'll be back.”
As if to pick me up first, Nike placed his foot on the carriage footrest and reached out his hand.
“I'll be back, Dad!”
I was about to go to him, barely greeting him.
"Don't go messing around!"
"Ah!"
Ryan gave him a light tap on the head.
Nike got angry when he saw that.
"Why did you hit her! Are you crazy?"
"Heehee."
Actually, it was just a playful tap on the head that didn't hurt at all, but I pretended to be in pain, put on a tearful face, and got into the carriage in Nike's arms.
***
Our destination is Bunsen.
It is a nearby territory famous for its casino, and it takes only about an hour and a half from the capital if you alternate between carriage and horse.
I came here to meet my brother, Richard Wassenberg.
"I'm not sure about the sisters, but I'm not sure about the brother. Will it be okay?"
Nike looked at the casino building in the distance and worried.
I, who was sitting on the bench, turned around.
Nike, wearing an unfamiliar face skin, appears to be a man in his early 30s.
This is the disguise I wear every time he works for the secret squad that cleans up after our house.
Nike spoke, as if he felt the gaze.
"Why? You're handsome."
“…”
“I don't care what you look like, Your Highness, so please don't worry about it.”
Nike was silent.
It isn't obvious since he's in disguise, but his real face, which is immune to such words, is probably turning red.
"Besides, I'm going to check because I'm not sure."
I looked at the casino building and recalled what Alex had said.
The day Christa came to find Alex was on her father's orders.
“When I asked Christa about Richard's whereabouts, she told me exactly that he was at the 'Bunssen Casino.' I think that was a signal sent to us.”
I agree.
You mean Richard suddenly grew up to be a gambling addict?
It seems like you've even fallen out with Christa, who was your closest friend?
It was hard to believe, but it made sense that this was a strategy to avoid his father's eyes.
"I can't help but trust Christa. The 'evidence' she secretly gave me would be fatal to Wassenberg if leaked. She risked her life to give it to me."
I was so surprised at first to hear that.
Thirteen-year-old Christa, who knew nothing, came to us and sobbed, saying that her father seemed like a bad person.
At the time, I didn't have much to say to her.
Swallowing my sincere promise that I would definitely come to pick her up someday, I merely told her that she must listen to her father.
While living their respective lives like that.
My smart sister.
She must have realized why she had no choice but to follow her father's will for the time being.
She must have thought about what she would have to do later to betray her father and wash her hands of the family.
She must have made her own plan and steadfastly endured it in that wretched house.
“You know that document Christa secretly gave to Alex?”
"Yes."
Data kept as top secret at the family's supernatural abilities research institute.
It contains the entire physiology of the power known as supernatural ability that has been researched so far.
“Before the regression, I tried to steal it exactly twenty-six times, and failed every single one of those twenty-six times.”
Nike, who was listening to me, paused.
"I couldn't do it. It might have been different for my other brothers, but I was a counter-revolutionary. I also had a long history of handing over various things to the Prince. So, simply accessing the archives was difficult."
However, Christa did it.
That means.
"It means Christa completely gained the family's trust to the point where she was able to steal the data without any suspicion."
Do you think I can make you believe that I am of the same kind as you, without rotating together?
No, absolutely not.
Christa must have had to let some of her flesh rot to gain her family's trust and prove that she, too, was a Wassenberg.
While following the orders of her father and brothers.
Witnessing rude and nasty sights while pretending nothing is wrong.
She must have held on and endured.
Maybe she has done the dirty work herself and even gotten blood on her hands.
"Richard is probably the same."
I looked at the casino building again.
Even if Christa hadn't told us, rumors about her had spread enough to be known if one looked into it.
The prodigal son of the Wassenberg family was obsessed with alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.
This is not a tactic built up over a day or two; now, it is a state where no one can distinguish whether this is a life meant to deceive Father or not.
At the same time, the father attempted to contact Alex and me first through Christa.
An environment was established where I would not be suspected at all, even if I went to find Richard, and Christa subtly left a message through Alex.
Richard is at the casino in Bunsen.
Go and meet him.
"Let's go now!"
I jumped up.
However, Nike immediately grabbed my arm and sat me back down.
"Eek."
I staggered for a moment and ended up sitting right next to him. Our faces were so close that both Nike and I started.
The silence that followed as both were flustered.
'W-why did you suddenly grab me?'
It seemed like he was worried.
I decided to go in alone because of a one-in-a-lifetime variable.
"Don't worry. I'm just going to meet you, you know."
“No, that's not it...”
Maybe she has done the dirty work herself and even gotten blood on her hands.
"Richard is probably the same."
I looked at the casino building again.
Even if Christa hadn't told us, rumors about her had spread enough to be known if one looked into it.
The prodigal son of the Wassenberg family was obsessed with alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.
This is not a tactic built up over a day or two; now, it is a state where no one can distinguish whether this is a life meant to deceive Father or not.
At the same time, the father attempted to contact Alex and me first through Christa.
An environment was established where I would not be suspected at all, even if I went to find Richard, and Christa subtly left a message through Alex.
Richard is at the casino in Bunsen.
Go and meet him.
"Let's go now!"
I jumped up.
However, Nike immediately grabbed my arm and sat me back down.
"Eek."
I staggered for a moment and ended up sitting right next to him. Our faces were so close that both Nike and I started.
The silence that followed as both were flustered.
'W-why did you suddenly grab me?'
It seemed like he was worried.
I decided to go in alone because of a one-in-a-lifetime variable.
"Don't worry. I'm just going to meet you, you know."
“No, that's not it...”
...not?
For some reason, Nike stared intently at my face nearby, as if entranced.
I felt a lump in my throat, perhaps because I was nervous.
'Huh?'
Could this be... a twist?
I felt a sense of deja vu. Because there had been many similar situations before the regression.
Before Nike set out on his expedition, we would meet regularly and pray for each other's safety.
I told Nike not to get hurt, and he told me to be careful...
We shared a kiss of tearful prayer!
'Th-this person really mustered up the courage~!'
Knowing Nike's personality, I couldn't help but cheer for him.
I immediately placed my hand gently on my pounding heart and closed my eyes.
“...”
“...”
However, there was no sign of anyone approaching.
I slowly opened one eye.
“Uh, no, uh.”
Nike was flustered and scrambling, then quickly turned his head and spoke.
"I'm sorry if I misunderstood."
"Yes?"
"I... I should have said it right away, but in that moment... Um, you... You were so beautiful. I couldn't think of anything."
"?!?!?"
It's good, but...!
"What about the kiss?!"
"That wasn't it."
“…”
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