As Expected, My Mind Turns Sharply
Chloe dreamed.
'Ugh...'
In the dream, she called out to Marian, who had grown a full head taller than her. To Marian, whose breasts had surpassed even hers in size. It was a dream of being overpowered by force, pinned down beneath her body.
'Why... why...'
She asked for a reason, but the Marian in the dream gave no answer. She just glared fiercely, like someone seething with anger.
'Ah...'
Chloe hadn't had any nightmares since experiencing her first menstrual cramps six months ago. She wasn't the type to dream much to begin with, and she rarely found anything truly frightening. The initial nightmare had been a novel experience, but she'd adapted quickly after that, sleeping soundly from the second one onward.
'It was a dream... just a dream... so why does my body feel so heavy?'
For some reason, today her body felt off. Not just the usual heaviness from a bad dream making it hard to move—it was literally difficult to budge her limbs. Something was different. Something distinctly unlike the nightmare from six months ago...
"Eh...?"
And she realized what that "something" was the moment she overcame the nightmare through sheer willpower, snapping her eyes wide open to reality.
"Chloe..."
"Aigoo..."
Lying on her back staring at the ceiling, Chloe found Marian straddling her from above. No wonder moving or sitting up was impossible.
But...
"You're a girl yourself—why do you like another girl's breasts so much...?"
The position was oddly surreal. Marian's face buried right in the valley of Chloe's breasts... it was like a kitten nuzzling into its mother's body.
"What should I do about this?"
The deep-seated sense of loss embedded in Marian's heart. The excruciating pain that came with her period. The instinctual need for comfort. An environment with no one she could trust.
By process of elimination, only Chloe remained.
"Is it okay to call this a 'good' state?"
Marian spending the night in Chloe's room again had been her instinctive judgment. Sometimes, like a mother animal in the wild picking up an orphaned kit, she clung to Chloe, begging to be taken in.
"What am I supposed to do...?"
Should Chloe take in the blood of the Evergreen Grand Ducal family? Not as a mother, of course. If a commoner like Chloe declared she wanted to be Marian's mother, Haksen would think she was flirting with him.
The only way for her to become the mother of a bastard child was to become Haksen's concubine and adopt Marian formally. Needless to say, Chloe had no intention of going mad enough to try that.
She pitied Marian, but that was all—no deeper emotions.
"It already feels a bit dangerous."
Regardless of Chloe's thoughts, Marian no longer saw her as just a teacher. She treated her like a mother or an older sister.
"What should I do...?"
Chloe sighed and propped herself up. Marian's sleeping body lifted with her, and Chloe shook her head at the sight of the girl dozing peacefully against her breast.
"No, it's not 'what should I do'..."
Chloe had promised to raise her with affection, and this was the backlash. So, what Chloe needed to do was ensure Marian no longer relied on her.
"The answer's already set."
For now, while Marian was still in a vulnerable phase, Chloe would indulge her whims. But once she came of age... once she was old enough for a fiancé, Chloe would advise Haksen and Rosetta to arrange one for her.
That would disperse the affection Marian currently focused solely on Chloe.
"I can teach her the process of becoming independent as a lesson too, right?"
As expected, my mind turns sharply.
With that thought, Chloe laid Marian back down and stepped out of bed.
"Teacher, I'm he—"
"Ah, Viola..."
"Teacher..."
Viola appeared right on cue, and Chloe got an earful.
# Viola, who had moved Marian back to her bedroom, fixed Chloe with serpentine eyes.
"No, she was asleep, so she climbed into bed with me..."
"Is that something you should be saying? You're about to hit the front ranks after this winter passes?"
"Hing..."
"Don't think acting cute will get you out of this! The material's not bad, but..."
"Material?"
"No, not that... anyway!"
Viola seemed genuinely furious. If rumors spread from this, her hard-earned position as second maid would be at risk.
'Teacher can meet privately with the Grand Duke and Duchess, and the young lady is the young lady. But I'm just a maid.'
She was the most likely to take the blame and face punishment.
"Please, for my sake, be a little more careful. Okay?"
"It's not a problem I can just 'be careful' about..."
No, wait a minute.
"If I make it so I don't have to be careful, that's that."
"Pardon?"
"First, I need to report this to the two of them. Pushing ahead without a word would get my head chopped off, no matter how high I fly."
"What are you suddenly—"
Chloe responded to Viola's plea with a resolute tone, but for some reason, Viola's anxiety only grew.
"Curious? Come with me then."
"No... even so, that's a bit..."
"Yeah, fair enough."
"I don't know what you're planning, but I'll make sure your appearance is impeccable so no one can nitpick."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
Aside from that exchange, everything else proceeded as usual for Chloe and Viola. Chloe surrendered her body to Viola's now-familiar touch without resistance, closing her eyes briefly and opening them to find her outfit neatly changed.
"Then, I'll see you shortly. Teacher."
"See you later."
Viola vanished with her usual curt bow, and Chloe headed straight for the Grand Duke's office. Haksen and Rosetta were conveniently working together, so she'd face them both at once.
Swallowing dryly, Chloe entered and faced the ducal couple.
"What brings you here, Chloe? Do you have a separate report?"
"It's more of a suggestion than a report."
"What kind?"
"Ah, now that I think about it, there is something to report. First, the Lady has become a woman."
"Become a woman?"
Haksen didn't grasp it immediately, but Rosetta frowned faintly and provided the answer.
"It means your daughter can now bear children. Congratulations."
"No, uh..."
Of course, Rosetta's expression as she delivered the truth was far from bright. The shy old lady who'd once asked Chloe for cosmetics was gone.
To Rosetta, Marian was a reverse scale—untouchable.
"So, you're here to suggest finding her a fiancé?"
"No. Can't we find a fiancé when she's a bit older? Right now, the important thing is that the Lady is suffering."
"Suffering?"
Haksen looked to Rosetta again, who nodded reluctantly.
"Teens are hellish. And?"
"In normal cases, parents empathize with the child's pain. But..."
Marian had no such parents to comfort her. Her father was useless, and her mother was nowhere to be found.
"So, I'd like to provide that empathy in their place."
"You said you'd raise her with affection, and now you're a full wet nurse."
"It's for the Lady—what can't I do?"
"Well said..."
"The Lady can't sleep from the pain every night, so from now on, I plan to put her to bed myself. I'm here to request permission for that."
"Sure you will..."
Rosetta pressed her temples, groaning as if she truly couldn't comprehend.
"You're a virgin, right?"
"Y-yes, but..."
"And you're going to raise a child? Play wet nurse? I hear you bathe together once a week already. What more are you going to add? You her mom or something?"
"As I said, if needed, I'd even become her mother. Right now, I think a stable environment takes priority for the Lady..."
"Impressive. Really."
Rosetta clapped as if in awe.
"I was the one who gave you full authority from the start. Do whatever you want. What about you?"
"If that's the lady's will, I'm fine with it too..."
And Haksen... he always shrank a bit discussing Marian in front of Rosetta.
Essentially, permission to put Marian to bed was granted.
"Then, I'll go make preparations."
"Preparations...?"
"I plan to connect the Lady's bedroom and mine with a secret passage. It's for her sake, but if it becomes common knowledge, it could ruin her marriage prospects."
To avoid rumors, she'd create a hidden passage for morning and evening visits. In a few years, she'd have arranged marriages to attend—rumors of a strange woman coming and going at night would be trouble.