I opened my eyes at the sudden clacking of utensils that fell on the floor.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry." An old woman apologized.

I sat on the bed.

Where am I?

What happened??

My last memory was... being with Erden before the explosion.

It was our supposed-to-be date before he left for the frontlines...

For some reason, I remember Erden being accused of setting fire to the armory.

And he was dragged.

"Where am I, ma'am?" I asked the old lady after recollecting my memories.

I tried to move but... my body was greatly hurt.

"Settle down, child." She rushed towards me and patted my shoulders. "A soon-to-be mother like you should rest more."

My eyes met hers.

Five minutes... Six minutes passed while I just looked at the woman who called me a mother.

Soon-to-be... mother?

My eyes widened. How could it be?!

5 years later

"It must be... huh?"

"Ehh? The Duke??"

"The... empire is open to any gender though.."

"But... But... isn't it more probably that he is just impotent??"

"Impotent?!"

"Oh... I knew it! From commoner to noble? He's too lucky without exchanging it for something."

"What are you talking about?" I asked the ladies with me.

We are currently in a wash-and-dry place, for the common women who doesn't know how to read and write, society deems us fit to be the best washerwomen, and like the usual days, the laundry seems to be filled with the juiciest stories once more.

Like those well-known tea parties I've attended before.

The only difference is while our mouths moved, our hands kept moving too.

"Eustia! You're there!!"

Oh?

Did I really master stealth after all these years of hiding??

"Hello Annie." I kindly greeted her. "Hmm, what were you talking about?" I asked again.

"The news!!" Clora, who was washing clothes beside her exclaimed. "My god Eus! How could you not know?"

That's because you people are like the newspaper.

I wouldn't waste any cents to buy a newspaper when I could always just listen to them.

They're like a live show!

"Know what?"

"Duke Abaddon!!!" The girls replied in chorus like a choir.

Duke Abaddon.

I was used to hearing his new surname but it looks like my heart still swells greatly for that man.

The ladies' eyes sparkled one by one, the women who were nearing their thirties looked like teens fangirling over an idol.

"What about him?"

"Duke Abaddon is almost thirty, but he still hasn't picked a bride."

Ah...

It looks like he's passed the age of marriage.

People within the Callua Empire get married at around eighteen to twenty-seven.

Eighteen to Twenty-one are ripe fruits, twenty-one to twenty-five is the best age, and by around twenty-six to twenty-seven, people will begin telling you to lose hope.

And around this time... Erden Abaddon must be... twenty-eight.

"The newspapers that Milady was reading earlier said that he was either gay or impotent."

It looks like Annie and Clora heard the news from the baron lady that we are serving.

Both of them cannot read, after all, that was also why we all rely on word of mouth.

"Oh! I would rather accept that he is gay than impotent, you cannot pass great genes if you are impotent!" Clora angrily muttered to herself.

"Really?"

"Really!!" They spat out words with fire in their mouth. "He could at least have an heir with a woman even if he settles with a guy."

"Right, right!" Annie agreed. "Then... milady also said earlier that, that... the emperor himself is hosting a fight for the position of duchess!"

"Fight for the position of Duchess?"

"Yes, yes! Lady said that since the Duke was said to be gay or impotent, his dear friend the emperor asked him for this request to help him find his love."

"But what if the Duke was actually in love with his dear friend Emperor Kailus?"

"That's possible... since.. the Duke was saved by the Emperor when he was said to be a terrorist, wasn't he?"

Clora and Annie gasped as if what they knew was the profound truth. Annie wiped her imaginary fake tears with the wet clothing. 

Listening to them, it sounds like a noon-time drama.

"Really, it's so sad..."

I listened more to their stories, ones that they heard the lady read from the newspapers, and then from time to time, they returned to the topic of the Duke.

But how could he be impotent?

Isn't he the father of my four-year-old child??