"I, I was the daughter of the King! It was my master who rescued me from the Duchy. Incredible, isn't our master? Ah! And I even met the Witch of Foresight. My goodness! The Witch of Foresight, that one. My goodness, my goodness, I really met her. It seems she was an acquaintance of my master. Our master is truly amazing! To think she knew such an incredible witch!"

  Tatiana seemed extremely excited.

  Her eyes sparkled.

  Give me back my worries.

  Somehow feeling drained, I collapsed on top of her.

  "You're heavy, Rafa!"

  Beneath me, Tatiana squirmed.

  Feeling her alive relieved me, so I stayed like that for a while.

  It seems she struggled for a bit to push me off.

  Gasping for breath, she finally calmed down.

  Maybe her excitement had settled a bit.

  She then said quietly, "You're my guardian star, you know. Hahahaha."

  What odd things to say.

  Do witches do astrology too?

  Anyway, forget it, all that star and guardian stuff can be just attached as they please.

  That's not what's important.

  "I was worried, Tatiana. You were unconscious for a whole day. You have no idea how worried I was."

  "Oh... I'm sorry."

  Tatiana murmured softly, squirming again.

  Too heavy?

  I lifted myself slightly but didn't move away.

  Give me a little more reality that you're alive.

  Thinking this, I felt her warmth when Tatiana said, "Master covered my memories. Probably, the words spoken by the official were the key. Certain words or situations would make me remember. I can't create many keys, but our master could. She was really an incredible person."

  She seems to admire Witch Dorothea a lot.

  Every end of her sentences dripped with pride, and I felt slightly jealous.

  Tatiana moved a bit.

  She raised her head and pressed her lips to my cheek.

  Something soft touched me and then withdrew.

  "!"

  Startled, I looked down to see Tatiana, her face red, hesitating before saying, "Being unconscious for a day was a mechanism to revive my memories safely. The more keys there are, the deeper the memories are hidden. I'm sorry for worrying you..."

  "It's okay since you woke up without any issues."

  Saying this, I gently kissed her forehead.

  Feeling her warm skin against my lips truly reassured me.

  Her body temperature was a bit low while she was unconscious.

  It was slightly cold, and really, really scary.

  I thought of Snow White who had bitten the poisoned apple.

  It was frightening.

  With a slight kiss on her forehead and looking at Tatiana, her face to her neck turned bright red.

  She seemed to be expecting a kiss, lips slightly puckered and eyes closed.

  "..."

  Is it real?

  I was just worried, but is it turning into such a moment?

  If so, I should meet the expectation.

  A loud rumble sounded just as I was about to press my lips closer to her face.

  ".... Ah... I... must be hungry."

  Tatiana murmured in a dying voice, her face turning red to a deep crimson.

  I couldn't help but laugh.

  "Of course, you must be hungry. You haven't eaten anything in a day."

  I sat up and offered her some broth I had prepared earlier.

  Not that she was sick, but it might heal or even prevent something unknown.

  Shortly after, the official rushed in with food suitable for Tatiana.

  Hey, how did he know just the right time?

  It's not like there's a telescope in this world that they could use to watch us, or a hidden camera installed somewhere.

  A slight suspicion arose, but I couldn't say anything to the official offering food with an innocent face.

  It seemed like I'd be the bad person if I said something.

  The food the official brought was something I had never seen in this area.

  "I will step out for a moment."

  He left the food and exited, probably thinking it was time for Tatiana and me to talk.

  As she ate, Tatiana somewhat disjointedly shared her regained memories.

  The exact situation is unclear, but her father apparently feared losing her so much that he chained her by the ankle.

  Hearing this, I nearly broke the bed.

  She doesn't remember her exact age then but was no older than five since she was already about four or five when living with Witch Dorothea.

  To chain such a young child?

  That's insane.

  Well, it's insane even for an adult, but a child, really a child?

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Even if not in his right mind due to fascination, if such a thought occurred, he's not normal from the start.

  Tatiana said she doesn't want to meet because the hypnosis might break, but regardless, he's someone you should never meet.

  "But, Tatiana," I called, and she looked at me with sparkling eyes.

  "Yes?"

  I hesitated slightly before speaking.

  "Do you ever want to see your father or mother? Like, miss them or something..."

  "Uh."

  Tatiana's eyes widened.

  She seemed to ponder quietly for a moment then tilted her head.

  "I haven't thought about that at all."

  Maybe her master did something.

  That's what it seemed like from her expression.

  Tatiana shook her head.

  "I don't think it's something my master did. I'm not sure how to explain it, um, there's a longing for family. I've always felt lonely on my own, thinking I could never have a family, so I've always wanted one."

  "..."

  "But."

  Tatiana tilted her head again.

  "I don't feel they are my family at all. Maybe that connection broke when I was abandoned to my master. Maybe because I learned from my master that witches and humans are somewhat different entities."

  A witch is indeed human.

  But just as in the feline family a tiger is different from a cat, there is some boundary between witches and humans.

  Tatiana didn't exactly explain it that way, but it seems that's the gist.

  "You really have no feelings at all for the King and Queen?"

  "Yes."

  Looking at Tatiana's too-clear face, I realized this was different.

  There’s no emotion for her actual parents.

  No anger, no longing, just total indifference.

  If there was even a slight emotion, but this was just too indifferent.

  She doesn't think so, but maybe Witch Dorothea did something.

  "..."

  I can slightly understand why humans fear witches.

  If emotions can change without one knowing, and you can't even realize it, that's a bit scary.

  "Uh, what?"

  As I stroked Tatiana's head, she tilted it, puzzled.

  "You're cute."

  "..."

  At my words, she blushed.

  Cute and pitiable.

  But if Dorothea did so, it must have been a necessary action at that time.

  I continued to stroke her hair for a while.

  Then again, Tatiana once said my face had destructive power, which did hurt a bit.

  "..."

  Well, if she thought of me as her guardian star because of it, my fierce look isn't all bad.

  After hearing all from Tatiana, I called the official back in.

  He seemed to have been waiting just outside the door all this time.

  As I opened the door, I was startled to see him standing solemnly in the dark corridor.

  As soon as the official entered, he prostrated himself on the floor.

  "I am truly sorry."

  He spoke solemnly to Tatiana.

  "It's okay, it's not your fault," Tatiana reassured him, but the official remained bowed down for a while.

  I placed a chair next to him.

  Tatiana and I sat on the bed.

  "No need for apologies, please continue with what you were saying before."

  At my prompt, the official bowed his head again.

  "Yes, my lord. First, I must inform you how dangerous the current situation is. Unfortunately, if the royal family thinks the heir of the ducal house has married a commoner, they might force the marriage to proceed."

  My situation in the marriage market is ambiguous.

  As a direct descendant of the ducal house, and specifically the son of an heir, I am definitively the next in line.

  Everyone who knows the Duke thinks so.

  "..."

  Hold on, wait a minute.

  While I understand that I am to enter the ducal house by bloodline, I don't think they'll let a very valuable cow just wander off.

  But being an heir to the ducal house is not what I want.

  Such a troublesome role, am I mad?

  My dream was to be a warrior.

  Now, having discarded such dreams, I only work hard as an adventurer to earn a lot of money, thinking of having twelve kids and living well, but still, my childhood dream was to be a warrior.

  That's a hundred and eighty degrees different from being an heir to a ducal house.

  Even if I concede a hundred times and enter the ducal house, that's just a matter of fencing, not about the profession.

  I want my job to be something comfortable.

  My previous life was horrendously difficult, so I want to go a bit easier this time.

  Not an heir.

  Certainly, there are no plans to marry into another family either.

  There's no reason to talk about the marriage market.

  No, I'm already married, and that's known even to my grandfather, so it's just telling me how others view me from the outside.

  I know.

  But it's a bit shocking.

  The official, noticing my face turning pale, moved on.

  "However, marriage with the domestic nobility is not advisable in the current situation."

  It would be problematic if the future head's spouse came from a family too lowly.

  A family with outstanding lineage and connections was required.

  But my mother is the issue.

  Half of my blood is the noble blood of the ducal house, but the other half is Enorthonian blood, which people disparagingly call barbaric.

  High-ranking nobility, who value face and lineage, might shun it.

  A lower family might welcome it with open arms, but a family of a similar stature as the ducal house would likely be hesitant, frankly speaking quite a lot.

  Again, nobility is nothing without face, and especially the high nobility.

  Common sayings go like if the face can feed you, but for nobility, it literally does.

  Being labeled barbarians, the Enorthos bloodline as an heir would probably be considered as shocking as a perverted family in a noble society.

  That's due to the unique circumstances of the ducal house.

  "Ah, I see."

  Now the entangled situation was becoming clear.

  The royal family might push aside that I married a commoner and shove a royal spouse into place instead.

  They are much stricter about bloodlines than regular nobility, yet they might still consider a match with me.

  "This must be urgent."

  I sighed softly, and the official grinned, continuing, "That's where the Duchy becomes a key. Although it's a large territory for a duchy, it's poor and powerless. Because of the country's situation, if this side proposes a marriage, they have to follow."

  The official looked at Tatiana.

  "Moreover, Madam Tatiana strongly resembles the Duchess of the Duchy. Anyone could see she's related by blood. So much so that the Duke ordered an investigation about the princess."

  I crossed my arms.

  "Does that mean someone who has met the Duchess could recognize Tatiana?"

  "Exactly that."

  "... Then seeing Tatiana might prompt something from the Duchy's side."

  For example, putting a marriage proposal to the fake princess in the Duchy to exploit Tatiana.

  Tatiana is the princess of the Duchy, so they could marry her off first and then claim she's their wife.

  As I said this, a proud look crossed the official's face.

  Ah, I know that expression.

  Father used to make a face diluted a thousand times like that.

  When I correctly solved a problem, he'd look a bit proud.

  But that was when I was younger.

  Now, facing such an expression feels more embarrassing than proud.

  So don't make that face.

  I hummed to bring him back to attention and asked, "So, what does grandfather intend to do?"

  "He originally planned to proceed with the marriage while subtly revealing Madam Tatiana's existence and then formally establishing a relationship."

  But now we cannot let Tatiana meet the King.

  If he was connected to her with chains due to his obsession, he wouldn’t let go of the real Tatiana when she appears.

  There’s also a risk the hypnosis might break, absolutely not.

  Even if they don’t meet, knowing of Tatiana's existence, the Duchy might refuse a marriage with the ducal house.

  Even though she's married to me, she's currently a commoner, and in their eyes, a false identity.

  In this world, a woman's decision rights lie with her father or husband.

  If the obsessed King knows of Tatiana, she will definitely be taken to that country.

  Even though I'm her husband, I currently have no legal authority to stop that.

  Threats from the ducal house might not work against a madman.

  "If that happens, are we heading to the Forest of Magic in a plunder-marriage situation?"

  In the worst-case scenario, that might be it.

  I thought deeply and then raised my head.

  "Please tell grandfather to proceed with the marriage as is. Ensure the marriage happens here, with the fake princess coming to this country."

  "Ah!"

  Tatiana, who had been listening quietly, exclaimed in surprise.

  "No!"

  She spoke loudly and then said, "That's... that's a wish. It’s a double marriage. To marry someone else besides me... I don't like that."

  "No, that wouldn't happen."

  I grinned, and the official nodded as if he understood.

  "That's right. A fake is just a fake. Even if the fake signs the marriage contract acting as a double, it doesn't matter."

  I embraced Tatiana's shoulder.

  "We just have to switch with the fake before the marriage."

  We don’t know the King’s current state of mind or why he’s keeping a fake princess in the palace, but he wouldn’t obsess over a fake princess.

  According to the official, although he initially visited the fake princess a few times, that was it.

  He has long stopped visiting, and he might not even remember what the fake princess looks like by now.

  If it benefits the country, they’ll just let her go.

  The King might say something later, but initially, it was their side that sent the fake.

  The mistake lies with the Duchy.

  Since the fake princess has been kept hidden, no one knows her face, and with Tatiana's face resembling the Duchess exactly, no one would suspect her.

  Except for the King, Queen, and the fake princess herself.

  "First, please gather evidence that the princess over there is a fake."

  "That's of course taken care of with evidence and witnesses. Don’t worry, my lord."

  The official smiled cunningly.

  'Well, if that doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.'

  In the worst case, there’s still the option of going to the Forest of Magic.

  To live beside my parents.

  It’s okay.

  With that thought, I hugged Tatiana’s shoulder again.

  The next day, a doctor from the ducal house arrived.

  He examined Tatiana politely and then, finding no pregnancy, somewhat consoled me and returned to the ducal house.

  What's that supposed to mean?

  I'm doing my job; she'll get pregnant eventually, but for now, it's still good just the two of us.

  Don't set up such flags, doctor.

  I'm still a newlywed.