Meanwhile, Dalia, despite her checkup being over, seemed unwilling to leave and bombarded the doctor with endless questions.
"So, when does my belly start to show? When will the morning sickness stop?"
At first, the elderly doctor had earnestly answered her questions, but now he shook his head, looking exhausted.
Then, glancing at his watch, he mumbled loudly enough for Dalia to hear.
"Oh, dear! Is it this late already? I completely forgot I have a house call today! Madam, if you have no more questions, the consultation ends here. The exit is over there. Ahem."
"What? But I still have more to ask…"
But the doctor disappeared inside without looking back, leaving Dalia clicking her tongue regretfully.
Well, it wasn't her only chance anyway. Since she planned to continue getting checkups here until she told Clayton about her pregnancy, she quickly brushed off her disappointment.
"Well, I guess I should get going, too."
She was told to rest for a while, and she planned to quickly return to the mansion and revise her plans.
Dalia stood up and placed her payment on the table.
She turned the doorknob and swung the door open to leave the clinic.
Thunk.
Just as she opened the door, she bumped into someone who seemed to have been about to enter.
The sudden impact made her body half-recoil, but the man caught her.
Thanks to him, Dalia managed to regain her balance and sighed in relief, apologizing. But then—
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see… huh?"
Through the robe that slipped, short, reddish hair fluttered lightly.
As her gaze intertwined with soft features and green eyes, Dalia realized the man's identity and gasped.
"Lloyd?"
It was Lloyd Hertz, and not in disguise as a woman, but in his original appearance.
"Duchess…?"
Lloyd blinked, seemingly just as startled as Dahlia to meet her here.
Dahlia carefully looked the man in front of her up and down.
Maybe it was because she had only ever seen him in dresses. At a glance, she almost mistook him for someone else.
He really looks like a completely different person…
She wondered how she could have mistaken him for a woman when they first met.
It was just that his hair was shorter, and his attire had changed.
Dahlia, who had been staring at Lloyd absentmindedly, quickly snapped out of it.
No, more importantly.
"What are you doing here?"
The place where the two met wasn't an ordinary shop but a clinic.
It was quite unusual for the heir of an earl's family to visit a clinic in the old district rather than consulting a family physician.
"Ah, well…"
As expected, Lloyd trailed off, as if he were hiding something.
Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, then suddenly seemed to realize something and asked her a question in return.
"What about you, Duchess? Why are you here? If you're feeling unwell, you should consult the mansion's physician—mmph."
Before Lloyd could finish, Dahlia clamped her hand over his mouth.
She was startled by him addressing her as "Duchess."
Worried someone might have overheard, Dahlia looked around and lowered her voice.
"Don't call me Duchess! What if someone hears?"
Lloyd, taken aback by Dahlia's scolding tone, nodded reluctantly like a chastised younger sibling.
Dahlia released her grip on him only after getting the response she wanted.
"From now on, just call me by my name when it's just the two of us."
"What? How could I possibly... hmm, call you by your name so casually?"
"It's fine. It's just the two of us; what's the harm?"
Initially resistant, Lloyd eventually gave in, nodding as Dahlia repeatedly patted his shoulder.
"...A-alright... Dahlia."
Dahlia nodded, seemingly satisfied with how he addressed her, and continued speaking.
"I only came here because I heard this place has a famous physician renowned among noblewomen. The details aren't really something I'd share with someone your age... so why are you here?"
Dahlia's manner, now adept at lying, was remarkably nonchalant.
"Ah, I... I have to pick up some medicine I need to take regularly from here."
"Really?"
Seeing his reluctance to answer earlier, she figured there must be some personal circumstances involved.
Dahlia nodded and patted Lloyd's shoulder a couple of times.
"Alright, go take care of your business! I'll head off now. Let's meet again later!"
Just as she was about to leave without hesitation, Lloyd suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Dahlia tilted her head at Lloyd, who had suddenly grabbed her hand.
Her gaze demanded an explanation for his actions.
"Well, it's just..."
Was he about to say something difficult? Lloyd opened his mouth hesitantly and faltered for a while.
"You know today marks the start of the celebrations for His Majesty's birthday, right?"
"Celebration?"
"Yes. The celebration lasts four days, leading up to the Emperor's birthday."
Ah, that explains it. No wonder there were so many people around today. It seemed they had come from all over the regions to visit the capital for the festival.
A festival in a romance fantasy world… I'd like to take a look.
A new curiosity sparked within her. Perhaps Lloyd noticed Dahlia's interest.
Lloyd, who was standing across from her, cautiously asked.
"Would you like to go see it with me?"
"Huh?"
"I thought we could pick out some things the cat might need as well…"
"Hmm…"
At his suggestion, Dahlia glanced toward where Samantha and Daniel were.
They were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't even notice Dahlia's consultation had ended.
If I wanted to, I could probably sneak off for a bit…
But feeling tired and wanting to rest today, she ultimately refused.
"Sorry, but I don't think I can today. I have people I came with."
As she said this, Dahlia gestured toward Samantha and Daniel.
Following her gaze, Lloyd spotted the two and asked innocently.
"So, we just need to ditch them?"
"What?"
And before Dahlia could fully respond, he pulled her along.
"Come on. We can sneak out through the back door."
"W-wait a second, Lloyd…!"
And so, Dahlia unintentionally ended up messing with Samantha and Daniel once again.
* * *
At the same time, on the second floor of the Hertz mansion, a woman was gazing at the unusually clear sky.
Her skin was so pale it seemed translucent, contrasting vividly with her blazing red hair.
With a blank expression, she seemed lost as she gazed endlessly at the drifting clouds.
The voice of a maid entering the room with a trolley broke the silence.
"Miss, it's still chilly. You'll catch a cold if you stay by the window like that."
The woman turned her head, pulled out of her thoughts by the maid's concerned words.
Her name was Rosé Hertz, strikingly similar in appearance to Lloyd but exuding a distinctly different aura.
She was Lloyd's twin sister.
Rosé glanced at the medicine the maid had brought, a faint smile forming on her lips.
"The celebrations start today, don't they? I just felt like being by the window."
There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice. Rosé had never once left the mansion.
It was partly due to her frail health since birth, but mostly to avoid complications since her brother Lloyd had been living as her.
"Miss…"
The maid, who understood Rosé's feelings better than anyone, lowered her gaze sympathetically.
Sensing the pity in the maid's eyes, Rosé forced a bright tone and asked.
"Where's Lloyd?"
"Oh, he's out at the moment. He said he needed to pick up new medicine today."
"Ah, I see…"
But the cheerful tone she had forced quickly crumbled.
Because she knew better than anyone what medicine Lloyd had gone to get.
Medicine that halts growth.
It was the medicine Lloyd had to take regularly to appear like Rosé, as his body matured rapidly.
A deeper shadow fell over Rosé's eyes.
To her, Lloyd had always been a burden on her heart.
As the eldest daughter of the Hertz family, she felt as if she had pushed all her burdens onto her brother because of her frail body, leaving her chest heavy as lead.
"That medicine… it must be harsh."
A medicine that forcibly halts growth could not possibly be good for the body.
At his age, he should have been enjoying sports and spending time with a young lady he fancied.
She felt endlessly sorry and pitiful toward her brother, who bore the weight of her weakness and their family's duties.
"Don't worry, Miss. There aren't many days left for him to take that medicine."
As always, the maid offered comfort to Rosé, who was tormented by guilt.
She reminded Rosé that freedom for both of them was not far off.
It was a day Rosé and Lloyd were eagerly awaiting.
"By the way, the cat seems very fond of you. It doesn't seem to want to leave your arms."
The maid deliberately pointed at the cat in Rosé's arms to change the mood.
It was the cat Dahlia had entrusted to Lloyd.
"Yes, it's so calm and adorable."
The cat, entrusted by the Duchess, had clung to Rosé as if she were its original owner from the moment they first met.
Rosé, who had always loved animals, found the cat so endearing that she often spent the whole day with it by her side.
"The Duchess of Seyer must be a very kind person, seeing how well Lloyd follows her."
"It seems so…"
Lately, Lloyd had been mentioning the Duchess of Seyer more and more frequently.
Since becoming close to the Duchess, his demeanor had noticeably brightened.
While she was happy to see her brother like that, she also couldn't help but worry.
"Getting too close to the Duchess won't lead to anything good…"
She was none other than the wife of Duke Seyer. Being close to such a man's wife would bring Lloyd no benefit.
Moreover, she dreaded how the Duke might react if he found out about their closeness.
"Don't worry too much. The young master takes after the late Count in many ways. He'll surely handle things wisely. So stop worrying and take your medicine."
The maid, adept at comforting Rosé, handed her the medicine.
Rosé let out a quiet sigh and was just about to take the medicine.
Crash.
A loud shattering sound echoed through the room as a strong gust of wind blew in.
Startled, Rosé paused and quickly looked up.
"Ah, the picture frame…"
The frame lay on the ground, shattered into pieces, alongside the last family photo of Rosé, Lloyd, and their late parents.
The wind-blown curtains had toppled the frame from the windowsill.
Rosé let out a sorrowful sigh as she put the cat down and stood up.
She bent down to pick up the scattered photo on the floor, but the maid, seeing this, tried to stop her, saying she'd do it instead.
"Ah!"
A drop of blood formed on Rosé's finger, cut by the glass, and fell to the ground.
Her bright red blood spread ominously over Lloyd's smiling face in the photo.
"Oh no, Miss! You should've let me do this! Is your finger alright? Shall I call a doctor?"
The maid fussed over her, quickly staunching the wound. But Rosé stood frozen, as if a screw had come loose in her mind.
"...I have a bad feeling."
"Pardon? What do you mean? Let me go downstairs and fetch some disinfectant—"
The maid stood up, leaving the frozen Rosé behind.
Bang!
"Miss!"
Simon, the ever-composed butler, burst into the room, flinging the door open.
His breathless, hurried appearance felt ominous.
"The Duke of Seyer… he has come to the mansion."
Rosé's ominous feeling had been right.