* * *

Despite that, Felix still seemed displeased, and it left a bitter taste in Lowell’s mouth.

“Is there something you don’t like? I don’t have much in the way of wealth to offer you, so…”

“That’s not it!”

Felix raised his voice unintentionally before quickly clamping his mouth shut.

“Do you throw your life away so easily? And while pregnant, no less?”

Lowell barely managed to suppress a laugh at Felix’s words.

‘I knew he could be moody, but I didn’t expect this.’

It wasn’t long ago that Felix had threatened Lowell, asking if he didn’t value his life.

And now here he was, objecting to the mention of execution in the contract.

Lowell found it amusing to deal with such a complicated man.

“I want to earn your trust, Your Grace.”

Honesty was the best approach for someone like Felix.

A lie would only backfire, and losing his trust would be the worst possible outcome.

“That’s why I’m staking what’s most important to me—my life. To show you how serious I am, I have to put the most precious thing on the line.”

Felix didn’t immediately agree, but the furrow in his brow eased slightly.

Noticing the change, Lowell smiled softly.

“Besides, I wouldn’t have included such a clause if I weren’t confident that I won’t betray you. I understand your concern for me, but please don’t be angry.”

Lowell gently ran his fingers over his already signed section of the contract before handing it back to Felix.

This time, Felix hesitated no longer and signed the contract.

“I hope that conviction of yours never wavers.”

Felix spoke in a way that suggested he still harbored doubts about Lowell.

However, Lowell knew the truth all too well—it wasn’t others that Felix couldn’t trust; it was himself.

Those who’ve long been deprived of love find it difficult to believe they’re worthy of being loved.

It doesn’t matter who the other person is; the habit has already taken root.

Lowell had met many people like that through his line of work and had experienced a similar phase himself.

That’s why he was able to grasp Felix’s mindset faster than anyone else.

And so, he didn’t blame Felix.

‘Rehabilitation, one step at a time, like teaching someone how to walk. If I can show him he’s someone who can be loved, maybe someday he’ll even find someone he truly loves.’

As Lowell watched Felix finish signing the document, he continued his train of thought.

‘Does that mean I’ll have to grant him a divorce later? I’d hate to neglect a child over something like that.’

Lowell stopped his thoughts from spiraling any further. He realized this was still a distant and unnecessary delusion.

‘If it ever comes to that, we can just talk about it. Besides, Felix didn’t even have a partner in the original story.’

Shaking off the pointless worry, Lowell took the signed contract from Felix.

“Now, let’s think about how to announce our engagement to the public.”

Felix sighed deeply, as if the fast-paced developments were giving him a headache.

But before Lowell could make any announcements, an incident broke out.

✨✨✨

‘Those damned temple bastards.’

The temple, which had promised to keep the matter a secret, spread rumors here and there.

Those rumors traveled to the imperial family and eventually reached the Clarke family.

“Are you really planning to get engaged to the Duke, young master?”

Tanya asked nervously, too afraid now even to utter Felix’s name.

Lowell had to suppress the annoyance bubbling within him.

‘I know the people of this world are superstitious, but isn’t this too much for a war hero?’

Lowell kept those thoughts to himself, forcing a smile as he suppressed the corners of his eyes from twitching.

“I can’t exactly pretend nothing happened when there’s a child involved.”

“Then why not just… the child alone in the family… No, forget I said anything.”

Tanya, seemingly on the verge of suggesting raising the child as illegitimate instead of marrying the Duke, clamped her mouth shut.

Seeing Lowell’s resolute expression, she likely judged it wasn’t her place to speak further.

After all, she had only dared to voice such thoughts because Lowell lacked any real influence in the family.

“Tanya, don’t listen to rumors. Look at the person.”

“Pardon?”

“The Duke is a better person than you think.”

Tanya’s eyes widened in shock, her expression screaming, ‘What nonsense is this naive young master spouting now?’

“Anyway, the Count has invited you for lunch.”

He was a distant figure Lowell couldn’t even bring himself to call Father.

In fact, dealing with Tanya was less of a headache than facing the Count.

“Understood. Please tidy up, and head down immediately.”

Tanya, flustered as if realizing this was no time for chit-chat, bustled around, helping Lowell change into fresh clothes and meticulously checking every inch of his appearance.

Her obvious nervousness only underscored the gravity of the situation.

‘This is my first face-to-face meeting with the Count since I ended up in Lowell’s body, isn’t it?’

The Count and his wife, so obsessed with each other that they had little regard for their children, had only ever doted on the eldest son, the heir.

The rest of their offspring were treated like furniture.

As the youngest, Lowell had been viewed as little more than a rolling stone.

‘Even a rolling stone gets noticed in times like these, huh?’

Feeling a bit of Tanya’s tension rub off on him, Lowell clenched and unclenched his slightly sweaty hands.

“Oh no, you’ll be late! Hurry along now!”

After making one last adjustment to his outfit, Tanya gave Lowell a firm push on the back.

Initially taking hesitant steps, Lowell gradually lengthened his stride, walking with confidence.

‘Why should I feel intimidated?’

Sure, having a child before marriage was a major scandal, but Lowell wasn’t about to take criticism from the Count and his wife, who barely cared about their kids yet kept producing more.

“Come in.”

Still, the Count’s commanding voice made him falter for a split second.

‘Ah, the tone of an aristocrat. It’s second nature to them.’

With conscious effort, Lowell maintained his confident demeanor and took a seat.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed. I hear you’ve caused yet another mess.”

The Count didn’t even glance at him, focusing solely on his meal.

His attitude made it clear he couldn’t care less whether Lowell ate or not.

“Well, there was a bit of trouble, but I’d call it a blessing instead.”

Suppressing his irritation, Lowell forced a smile as he replied.

The Count twitched his eyebrows, serving food to his wife as he continued.

“You’ve grown audacious. But I suppose you’d need that to marry a devil like the Duke.”

Taking a sip of wine, the Count carried on.

“For a useless Omega, it’s not a bad choice. I’ve long written you off, so at least this won’t offend the imperial family. The Duke and Crown Prince aren’t on bad terms, so it might even prove useful in the long run.”

Lowell wasn’t hurt by the Count’s harsh words.

They weren’t directed at him in the first place, and he wasn’t emotionally attached enough to feel wounded.

‘What a pathetic excuse for a parent.’

While cursing them inwardly, Lowell took some comfort in the lack of warmth between the couple.

It reassured him that he wouldn’t find traces of his past life’s parents here, sparing him any painful longing.

Still, he couldn’t help but pity the real Lowell, whose whereabouts were unknown.

“It’s an honor to contribute, even in the smallest way, to such a prestigious family.”

Lowell muttered the polite lie to move things along, though his inner thoughts screamed otherwise.

All he wanted was for this tiresome meal to end.

“The banquet during the Month of Blessings—attend it as the Duke’s partner. You can announce the engagement there.”

“Pardon?”

The Count dropped a bombshell just as Lowell had mentally worked his way down to the 12th multiplication table.

“You’re telling me to attend the banquet?”

“Yes.”

Lowell’s horror wasn’t because he’d never attended the banquet before, being the youngest and least favored.

The real problem was what the banquet entailed.

In the original story, the protagonists danced with different partners, sparking conflict.

In other words,

‘I’ll have to dance too!’

At the banquet, every pair was required to perform at least one dance together.

In his past life as Eunoh, Lowell had never failed at anything physical, but dancing was his one glaring weakness.

He could already envision himself stepping on Felix’s feet with every move, a humiliating spectacle for all to see.

‘Won’t it seem strange if a socialite suddenly can’t even dance? I don’t even know where to start!’

He desperately wanted to avoid it.

“Count, as you know, I am with child…”

“Are you saying you can’t dance properly just because you’re expecting a child? Stop making excuses. If you refuse this, people will say the Grand Duke is too ashamed of you to appear with you as his partner at the banquet.”

Lowell, who lacked the strength to argue, couldn’t counter the Earl’s absurd words.

This was the same man who, if his wife were pregnant, wouldn’t even let her feet touch the ground, let alone allow her to go out.

Lowell had no choice but to give up, knowing it wasn’t worth persuading someone like him.

‘In that case, I need to learn how to dance in advance.’

Lowell began thinking of someone who could teach him to dance without arousing suspicion.

The members of the Count of Clarke’s household were immediately excluded.

Claiming to have suddenly forgotten how to dance would only raise eyebrows, and Lowell didn’t want to deal with unnecessary complications.

‘That leaves only one person suitable to be my dance teacher.’

And that person was none other than the father of his child—Felix.

* * *