The Flustered Proposal
"...That's it."
"Does that mean it's over?"
"Yes. The doctor said it was a bit early to confirm, so I even summoned the shrine maiden, but the result was exactly as Farel had described."
"Eh?!"
After hearing Ivan's explanation, Jeiana jumped up from her seat and raised her voice loudly.
She remembered where she was—the academy—and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. But Idel understood that reaction. She felt the same way herself.
*Real pregnancy? Farel?*
That was impossible. If this were a major incident, the after-school report would have mentioned it.
*Ivan Earnest and the Bright Count would never have been able to help Jeiana.*
Idel crossed her arms and fixed Ivan with a piercing stare.
"Then you came to the academy looking for the empire's history of black magic for this reason?"
"Yes, that's right. Just in case..."
For example, she had come with the hope of grasping even a single straw.
*I could ask Sigmund about it, at least.*
She'd probably complain bitterly, but wasn't there a chance?
Moreover, there were too many points in Farel's words that didn't add up. At least from someone with more information than the Bright Count's daughter, thanks to her brother's after-school report.
*Pregnancy involves life creation. If forbidden magic believers had done it, Melissa wouldn't have hesitated to use it.*
If she could make a man pregnant, Melissa wouldn't have needed to use any other black magic to turn herself into Clementine, right?
*She could have just claimed she was carrying the duke's child.*
Melissa is crazy with love and inferiority. Pregnancy wouldn't have bothered her in the slightest. But the Melissa from the story, who was skilled in black magic, couldn't do it? Farel succeeded?
*Smells fishy.*
But Idel set those suspicions aside for a moment and fell into thought. She couldn't tell whether the event before her eyes had always been destined to happen or whether it was a variable caused by her own intervention.
"..."
Seeing Idel glance down in quiet contemplation, Jeiana rolled her eyes and poked Ivan with her finger.
"Ivan, now!"
"...Huh?"
"You little brat, that's when you pounce! When Idel is thinking!"
She whispered it to Ivan, then nodded firmly as if she had just given the perfect answer.
Jeiana, as if she had suddenly grown up, approached Idel stealthily and lowered her eyes with a flirtatious smile. Her whispering voice sounded almost pitiful.
"We like each other... It's so frustrating to break up because of someone else... Idel, won't you help us?"
"...Ridiculous. How do you think we adults can help with adult affairs?"
"If you find someone to help, then! Tell your dad and mom to look for someone they know! Or... um..."
"Hmph. Forget it. I'm not interested in such trivial matters."
"But you don't like it when the person who harassed you ends up doing well, right? What if that person gets close to the count and touches you too?"
"..."
The slight twitch of Idel's eyebrows made Jeiana flash an impish smile at Ivan.
"Let's think about it together, okay? We've already seen the doctor and the shrine maiden, so... how about asking the magic teacher? Or... no, first expose that the person made it all up! Ivan, you're a journalist!"
Jeiana was so caught up in her own thinking that she forgot her purpose entirely. It was an utterly childish plan.
Idel stared at her for a long moment, then raised her head with a cool expression.
"If I don't help, that uncle will be really happy, right?"
"Ah, um, young miss..."
"If I help like you say, the teaching will come to me, and I'll have to hear useless words from you."
The way the girl tilted her head and rolled her eyes looked quite serious. Seeing the two girls genuinely ready to help, Ivan looked somewhat flustered.
It was true that, when things grew difficult, he had complained to the children, but he had never wanted such an outcome.
*I should have told her not to step in before Jeiana did.*
No, he shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. A grown adult talking about such childish nonsense?
"Alright. I'll help."
"No, please don't!"
The words that had come out of Idel's mouth made Ivan shake his head in panic.
The pair of wide-eyed gazes fixed on him, as if they hadn't expected him to refuse.
Facing the two girls who looked both similar and different, Ivan slowly but firmly stated his opinion.
"What I wanted to say was not to drag the two of you into my work."
"Hmph."
"It may sound like an excuse, but it's true. So please don't say that. Helping you at the café and with your current feelings is more than enough."
His seemingly gentle eyes shone with determination.
Idel could easily read the remorse, worry, and self-reproach in his deer-like gaze.
She watched him for a long moment, then tilted her head coolly and nodded.
"Until Professor Hector returns, I'll guide you around the academy..."
"I don't like it?"
"What?"
"I'm not helping you for your sake. I'm helping because I feel like it. Because of me, not because of you. Got it?"
"...Yes?"
The absurd remark made Ivan's pupils tremble. Even when Jeiana nodded vigorously, as if she understood, his mind grew more complicated.
It seemed that children shared something that only children could understand.
"Yeah, that's right! Now Ivan knows our feelings! Right?"
"Well..."
Ivan, who had long ago begun to doubt his own journalistic instincts, wore a troubled expression. Before he could speak, Jeiana's eyes widened and she quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, Idel, isn't that Professor Hector?"
"Exactly."
"Professor! Here!"
Hector was approaching in a hurry, having tidied up the situation.
Jeiana waved her arms and ran over cheerfully.
The way she dashed out without hesitation resembled a puppy leaving for a walk.
"..."
Ivan rubbed the back of his neck with a helpless look and sighed.
If things went on like this, they would probably sweep the entire matter under the rug.
*Not a chance.*
Idel had no intention of backing out of the matter, no matter what Ivan wanted.
Even setting aside the fact that he was Jeiana's important supporter, the black magic written by Farel was bothering her.
*More precisely, its origin.*
Her sharp instinct was telling her this was an important clue. Besides, she would need to find Sigmund soon anyway.
Therefore...
"Meet me in front of Café Florant at noon two days from now."
"Ah, no way..."
"That's what you thought. I'm saying take it even if you don't want to."
"..."
"Since it's come to this, wouldn't it be comforting to watch us with your own eyes?"
Facing the blue eyes staring back at her, Ivan felt a strange emotion.
Unlike the bizarre words from earlier, the statement Idel had just made was extremely logical. At least, to the extent that he could understand.
*Could she be hiding something?*
The journalist's instinct sent a signal, but the childish voice continued to murmur to itself.
"Hah. I knew it, you dare challenge me? I'll never lose."
"..."
"Huh? Why are you laughing suddenly? Are you making fun of me?"
"Ah, my apologies. It was nothing."
"Hmph."
*It couldn't be...*
When Jeiana saw Hector, she forgot the conversation and ran over as before. It seemed Idel was also acting on a childish whim.
*Unlike Jeiana, though, she seems completely absorbed in one thought.*
Ivan erased his suspicion and calmly sorted his thoughts.
*I need to find a way to stop the two of them at the right moment.*
After half an hour of chatting, he could coax them away with gentle words.
No matter how clever or lucky the young misses were, they couldn't solve the trouble the Count House was facing overnight.
And two days later.
"..."
"Hey, isn't this what you were looking for?"
Ivan had to retract his own words.