My Name on Every Front Page

"Come to think of it, you worked through the night again yesterday! The most important thing for an expecting mother is her health. You really ought to cut back on work for a while. Who knows—there might even be a baby on the way..."

A baby. Right.

"Laura. Please, calm down. You think children come into the world that easily?"

"Even so! When you wish upon the heavens, you're plucking stars from the sky, aren't you? And... well, you did see it, didn't you? That sky. Hand in hand with His Highness."

And that was no ordinary sky, either—as Laura was quick to remind me, loudly. It was a very large, very monumental sky by the name of Leon Obsidian.

'Yes, I did see that sky. The problem is that I didn't see it myself.'

"When you put it that way, I feel a bit wronged."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

I shook my head, telling her to pay it no mind. My inner thoughts had apparently slipped right out of my mouth before I could stop them.

'If I at least had a memory of it, I wouldn't feel quite so unjustly accused.'

But to be dragged into a mess over something I never actually did—I had no idea where to even lodge a complaint. I felt utterly adrift.

"Anyway. It was only one night."

"Only one night, you say. That doesn't necessarily mean just once, does it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. The number of times you looked up at the sky that day... could have been more than one, couldn't it?"

...

Good heavens, Laura.

Her entirely unforeseen line of reasoning left my head ringing. Unfortunately, there was no way to verify it, either.

How would I even go about asking?

'Um. I'm terribly sorry, but... how many times did we do it that day?'

I couldn't exactly put it that way. The mere thought of it was enough to make me squeeze my eyes shut.

"My, my—what on earth are you picturing that you've got your eyes screwed shut like that? Did some dizzying scene spring to mind, perhaps?"

"I'm being serious right now."

"Oh, what's there to be serious about? You should be celebrating! And why wouldn't you be—we're talking about the Grand Duke of Bernstein here!"

Laura, thoroughly worked up, clenched both fists and cried out.

"Back when he was a priest, sure, they plastered him with labels like forbidden fruit and the empire's supreme false listing. But now? He's just an ordinary man. No—better than ordinary. The single most perfect marriage prospect every noble daughter in Orden dreams of!"

...

"And *you*, my lady, have claimed that magnificent prize for yourself!"

Not me.

I didn't do it. I just opened my eyes one morning and he'd rolled right into my hands.

"And that's not even the best part! All those other ladies have been sneering at you behind your back for years, haven't they? Especially that vixen, Countess Oscar!"

Laura ground her teeth, declaring that the mere mention of the woman's name made her blood boil.

"She's reigned over high society like its crown jewel while dragging your name through the mud—whipping up the other noblewomen to do the same!"

"And don't forget the brother, either!" Laura added. "He was always nagging you about your marriage prospects. Once people find out about you and His Highness... the whole capital is going to lose its mind."

"Just imagining it already feels like a weight off my chest," Laura murmured, and then she smiled a distinctly sly smile.

"You know what? That settles it. I'll tell the servants right now and let the rumor spread by tonight—"

"No! You absolutely cannot let anyone else find out about this!"

"Why on earth not?"

At my desperate outburst, Laura shot back a wounded look—as if to say, I'm dying to blab about it this very second, and you're standing in my way.

'Not that I don't understand where she's coming from.'

Laura had worried over me more than anyone. Still, this—this was absolutely out of the question!

'I haven't sorted out my own feelings yet. The two people involved haven't even finished talking it through!'

"Listen carefully, Laura. I'm telling only you, so keep it strictly between us. Not a word outside this room."

"Oh, what now?"

Laura scrunched up her face as if bracing for disaster.

Phew. After a long, steadying breath, I spoke with all the gravity I could muster.

The truth was...

"...I did spend the night with him. But I don't remember it."

"I'm sorry—what?"

"I messed up, yes, but I have no memory of that day at all. I just... woke up and there it was? It all happened without my knowledge, so... Well, I mean, obviously I did go along with it, but—"

Wrong. Everything I said came out sounding insane.

But there was nothing for it. Possession, another soul, whatever you wanted to call it—no one would believe the truth even if I told it straight.

As bitter as it was, it seemed better to own up to the mistake as my own.

So there I was, doing my level best to explain, when—

"My lady."

Laura, who had been listening in silence, stared at me levelly for a long moment—and then broke into a perfectly serene smile.

Ah, thank goodness. She understood what I meant, I thought, letting out an inward sigh of relief—

"Are you joking with me right now? Surely you're not about to say that since it never happened in *your* memory, the whole thing simply never happened. You can't possibly be saying that."

"Wh-what?"

"Good heavens! I never raised you to be this irresponsible!"

What on earth was she talking about? I had a separate nanny for that.

And for that matter, she was only four years older than I was.

Granted, she'd helped me out behind the scenes in countless ways, but did that really count as *raising* me?

Laura fixed me with a look of profound disappointment. Terrified of being branded the kind of trash who makes a mess and then refuses to clean it up, I hurriedly plastered a smile back on my face.

"N-no, of course not! What I mean is... that's why I can't remember how many times we, er, looked at the sky. Yes. That's what I was trying to say."

"Right, of course. Whew, I was this close to losing all respect for you. My lady would never—her sense of responsibility is legendary!"

"...That's right. Take the responsibility out of me and there's nothing left but a corpse. A corpse."

I nodded along, my smile creaking at the hinges like a rusty gate. The quill in my hand felt damp with cold sweat.

"Well, I suppose that's true. Even if you claimed you couldn't remember and therefore wouldn't take responsibility, it wouldn't do you any good."

"Huh?"

"You saw the paper, didn't you? His Highness the Grand Duke confessed everything, and now his dismissal is all but certain. What do you think that means?"

"Wh-what does it mean?"

"It means His Highness feels responsible for what happened, of course. A former high priest *and* Commander of the Holy Knights—what else would you expect!"

"Honestly, they must be soulmates," Laura sighed dreamily.

Meanwhile, the world before my eyes only grew darker.

"But why won't you let me tell anyone, then? The moment you give the word, I'll dash right out and spread it far and wide!" Laura chirped, practically bouncing on her heels.

"I need time to think. This isn't just anything—my whole life is on the line. This is not a decision to be made in a matter of days."

"I suppose that's true..."

Laura's mouth twitched as though she had more to say, but one look at my grave expression and she swallowed it back.

"Very well, I understand. But... I'm not sure it'll stay quiet for long. Everyone in society is absolutely desperate to find out who managed to capture the Grand Duke's heart."

"Don't worry about that. No one will ever guess it's me."

Even as I said it, a hollow little laugh escaped me.

Who could possibly imagine Erna Zacherete as his mystery woman? Even after turning the idea over a hundred times in their heads, it might cross their mind once—maybe.

Yes. So there'd be no problems for now. Everything would be fine.

That was exactly what I believed.

Until...

"What are you going to do now, my lady?"

...

"You said it would be fine! And—just so we're clear—I haven't breathed a word to a single soul!"

Laura demanded, hovering over me like a prosecutor at trial. I pressed my lips together into a thin, bloodless line.

She was right. What on earth was going on?

The desk was buried under newspapers and gossip sheets, every last one of them plastered with my name.

And if that had been the end of it, I might have counted myself lucky.

...Damn it all!