Three years ago, Charlotte Lania fell into a novel titled 'The Duke's Contract Wife.'
The beginning was similar to any romance fantasy novel. She had an accident on her way home from class, and when she opened her eyes, she woke up in an unfamiliar world.
'Oh, my God. I had only seen it in the novel.'
It was absurd and unbelievable, but her situation was clearly the reality, and she could not deny it.
Sadly, Charlotte had no choice but to admit that she died in an accident and that her soul had crossed the dimension and possessed a body of a daughter of a Baron.
But she didn't realize from the beginning that it was the world of fiction.
That's because Charlotte Lania was not mentioned in the original book.
An extra would be seen for a moment and disappeared. However, Charlotte was just an ordinary noble who never appeared, regardless of the flow of the original novel.
Hence, she learned that this was a world of fiction when she heard the name Heinst, one of the Empire's three greatest Dukes, especially the name of 'Carlisle.'
It was about half a year after she learned about this world.
'Carlisle Heinst? Isn't that the name of the male lead?'
Although there had been so many novels that she had read, she remembered the name simply because she read 'The Duke's Contract Wife' before she died.
Charlotte wasn't surprised after learning that she possessed a book character that was typically common in a romance fantasy novel.
What's the difference between possessing the character and reading the book, anyway?
There was nothing to care about unless 'Charlotte' was the heroine, the villainess tormenting the heroine, or the supporting character who died while sitting next to the heroine.
Even if this place was a novel, her life would not be notably different.
'I will just have to stay the same as the usual Charlotte, I guess.'
The Lania estate where she came to live was a small, secluded countryside estate located in the southern end of the Empire.
So, there was no such thing as being caught up in a social or political conflict like in the original novel.
She just had to get along with her family just like now.
It would be nice to meet a decent man at the right time, get married, have a family, and maybe create a business.
She was pretty much relieved with that expectation.
Yet, just until a little while ago, until finding a child named Theodore Heinst.
'How could the younger brother of the male lead….'
She tried to recall the hazy story of the original novel.
'The Duke's Contract Wife' began with the male lead, Carlisle, sobbing at the funeral of his younger brother and vowing to avenge his younger brother's death.
According to the book, his brother, Theo, was found dead in a forest when he went missing on his way to a nursing home.
He might have been chased by an assassin, but the novel did not specify what happened precisely.
But the location was on Lania Barony's estate.
Charlotte sighed as he watched Theo, who was tired and asleep in her arms.
The Duke's people were almost driven to death by assassins on Lania's estate.
Charlotte, who knew the nature of her father, Baron of Lania, was sure that Lania wasn't involved in this incident at all. Baron Laina cherished his people, especially children. The possibility of him attempting the child's assassination was almost zero.
'But will Carlisle think so, too?'
Carlisle, who lost his brother, killed those who were even slightly involved in the assassination without mercy.
Without any formal trial, he slaughtered them by himself.
What would he think about this situation? Wouldn't he think Lania is involved?
'Even if you know that Lania is not involved in the end, the result will be the same.'
A nobleman is responsible for everything that happened on his estate.
In other words, he'd probably blame the noble who owned the estate for what happened in it.
Everyone in the mansion might be executed if Carlisle held the Lania family accountable, even though he knew they were not involved.
Lania family had only the title of a Baron, but they were a vain aristocrat whose life was no different from ordinary people's.
Even if they protested against the Heinst family, such a humble family would not stand any chance.
In fact, in the original book, Charlotte Lania was caught up in this incident and died.
'I don't want to die again.'
She cried out of frustration.
For the past three years, she has been accepting her identity as Charlotte Lania.
It was unfair enough to die in an accident in her previous life, and she had to die again? Just because of one child?
'I will never let that happen.'
Charlotte gnawed her lip as she looked at the child.
'I'm the one who saved this kid. I will live.'
Charlotte was thankful that Theo was alive. If the child had been found dead in the woods just like the original, the Lania family would have been truly put to their forever rest.
The child is alive. She found him and is now sound asleep in her arms.
If she took good care of the child until Carlisle got here, and if she claimed she saved him and took good care of him,
"…."
'Wouldn't he spare us, then?'
So, Charlotte decided to take care of the child. When he met with his brother, Carlisle would show us mercy if Theo said he likes us.
Hoping it would turn that way, Charlotte hugged Theo tightly. But she still couldn't hide her trembling hands.
Theo never woke up until the carriage arrived at the Lania mansion. He must have been exhausted because he was scared and walked around the forest with such a small body.
"Shall I hold him, young miss?" asked Cedar, who opened the carriage door.
Charlotte, who was wiping Theo's sweaty forehead, shook her head.
She felt like Theo would wake up from his sleep as soon as she handed him to Cedar.
She didn't want to surprise him, so she wanted to let him sleep like this for now.
"I will carry him."
Charlotte got off the carriage with Theo in her arms.
As soon as she took a step, she stumbled for a moment, but fortunately, she didn't fall down thanks to Cedar's quick grip.
She smiled at Cedar in gratitude and headed to the mansion.
The mansion employees did not know what had happened because of circumstances they had not informed about Theo in advance.
The employees who gathered to welcome Charlotte were shocked to see her appearance and made a fuss.
"Oh, my God, young miss, who is that child?"
"What's with this blood? Doctor! Go get a doctor right now!"
"Uh.."
As the surroundings became noisy, Theo rubbed his face on Charlotte's shoulder and whined because his sleep was disturbed.
Charlotte calmed down her employees by putting her finger on her lips.
"It's not my blood. The kid didn't get hurt, so everyone, calm down. But, just in case, please call a doctor."
"Yes, young miss."
"Where are mother and nanny?"
"Both of them are in the backyard."
"Thank you. Oh, by the way, he is staying in our mansion, for the time being, so get him everything he might need."
Charlotte left the maids behind and headed for the backyard.
As she walked into the backyard, she wondered how to explain the situation to Baroness Lania.
No matter how hard she tried to think, she couldn't think of any reason to say.
No matter how she tried to explain the current situation to Baroness Lania, she couldn't lie, and it seemed inevitable that the Baroness would be surprised.
Hence, she decided to just tell her the truth.
"Mother."
The Baroness, who was holding scissors in one hand, greeted her.
"Yes, Charlotte. How was your walk?"
She turned to Charlotte with a smile. When she found Theo in Charlotte's arms, her face went slightly stiff. Charlotte's nanny, who was standing next to her, also turned pale.
That's understandable.
Her daughter, who went out for a walk, brought a blood-stained stranger.
It would be strange if she could maintain her composure after seeing this sight.
Charlotte approached the two with a smile.
The Baroness handed over the scissors to the nanny and carefully examined Charlotte's body, just as she did to Theo.
"What happened? Are you hurt?"
"I am fine, so please don't worry too much. More than that,.."
Baroness gave Theo a quick look, and she calmly grabbed Charlotte's arm.
"Your arms must be hurt. Let's sit down and talk."
Charlotte went to the table in the corner of the backyard and sat down. Then the nanny skillfully took Theo from Charlotte's arm.
"I will hold him for you. Your arms must be hurt."
"Thank you, nanny."
Just like the nanny said, Charlotte's arms were already starting to hurt. It was natural because she had never held a child before.
Charlotte smiled at the nanny, rubbing her tingling arms.
Theo must have fallen asleep deeply because when the nanny held him, he didn't wake up. Instead, his expression seemed more comfortable than before because he liked the nanny's arms, who had raised many children.
"So, tell me, what's going on?"
Charlotte paused at the Baroness's urging.
Charlotte decided to be honest and tell her the truth, but she couldn't say it properly when she tried to.
"It's a long story."
"Speak slowly. We have plenty of time."
The Baroness held her hands tenderly, thinking Charlotte was shocked.
The slightly rough baroness' hands were as warm as the sun shining from above her head.
When she first woke up as Charlotte Lania and confused by the unfamiliar surrounding, Baroness held her hand just like this.
Baronesses, then and now, had a strange power to make people comfortable with her presence.
Maybe that's why Charlotte could start to tell the incident with a lighter heart.
How she met Theo in the forest, Theo being a Heinst duke, and the guard and assassin were all dead in the attack.
Baroness Lania was quite surprised by Charlotte's story.
She thought something unusual would have happened since a child was covered in blood, but this was way beyond her expectations.
She couldn't believe that a young child of the Duke of Heinst would get involved in anything like this. However, she hid her shock and listened to Charlotte to the end.
"I think we should send communication to the Duke of Heinst and protect this child until someone comes to pick him up."
"Yes, we should do that. We could at least do that."
"And I will ask Sir Cedar to investigate this. It's hard to figure out what happened with our own capability, but we are going to let the Heinst Duke know as much as we know to prove that we have nothing to do with this."
Baroness Lania nodded quietly. Charlotte continued.
"It would have been better if we had father or brothers here, but I will be in charge of this because no one's here right now."
Charlotte decided with a determined face.
Her brothers, four and six years apart from her, were now in the Capital.
Her father, Baron of Lania, left the estate yesterday to deal with some urgent matter.
Therefore, Charlotte was the only person who could be person in charge of this incident now, as it would take about a week for them to return.
Baroness Lania was about to say she would take care of it, but Charlotte stopped her.
"I will do it."