Opening the door.
Even performing such a simple action is incredibly difficult.
“Ugh!”
Then, after walking a little, I couldn’t bear it any longer and collapsed.
Has Ceres always lived in this body?
I already knew she was pitiable, but experiencing it firsthand made me feel even more sorry for her.
“Ugh, I won’t give up!”
I gritted my teeth and tried to move somehow.
If I couldn’t walk, I twisted my body and tried crawling, which made movement possible.
If it were the real Ceres, she wouldn’t have been able to do something like this.
She said her arms were weak, so she couldn’t even move a wheelchair properly.
Am I healthier because I’m a man? But still, I won’t be able to keep moving for long.
I tried crawling to find a place to hide.
I thought I’d wait quietly until Alios passed by, but then—
“What are you doing?!”
Someone discovered me.
A very pretty woman with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail.
She was tall, slim, and quickly ran toward me with her long legs.
“Are you perhaps Master Ceres? What are you doing here?”
Who is this? I’ve never seen this woman in the novel.
Could she be a servant of the Count’s family? She immediately called me “Master,” so it seems like she might be.
There are many servants in the Count’s household. That’s why when I made a noise earlier, the servants immediately came running.
It’s surprising that I wasn’t discovered sooner.
Maybe this woman is the only one who found me because everyone else was busy with entertaining Alios.
“Where’s your room? Excuse me, but I’ll take you there!”
The woman used both her hands to lift me up.
Even though my body was thin, it wasn’t light enough for a woman to carry me—her strength was incredible!
“Poor gentleman. Please forgive me for touching you.”
The woman spoke apologetically.
She seemed like a kind person, so she probably meant well in trying to take me back to my room.
“Wait, wait a minute!”
I stopped the unnamed woman.
“This isn’t the time. Instead, hide me somewhere out of sight.”
“Why?”
“There’s… someone strange at the house.”
This situation was so absurd, and I was in so much pain that I couldn’t come up with a better excuse. I blurted out the truth in a confused state.
“The hero, Alios, has fallen for me and is trying to get me pregnant.”
“What?”
“I know it sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. That guy is really like that!”
As I desperately explained, the woman looked at me with a dazed expression.
Then—
“Hahaha!!”
She burst out laughing.
Is she laughing because what I said was ridiculous?
I mean, if someone doesn’t know the situation, it would sound like nonsense.
Even though she didn’t believe me, I was about to ask her to hide me when something I couldn’t ignore was said.
“The hero, Alios, is here. What are you going to do about me? Haha!”
What?
“Hehe, how can a woman get a man pregnant? You’re really an interesting person.”
The woman laughed, calling Alios funny, but my blood froze.
She says she’s Alios? Now that I think about it, she does resemble him.
Alios was a polite, blonde handsome man, and this woman is also a beautiful blonde.
She looks like what Alios would look like if he were a woman.
“What’s going on?”
As the absurdity of the situation left me frozen, another person appeared.
A cold-looking beauty with silver short hair.
She was someone I’d never seen before, but as soon as she saw me, she flinched.
“Alios, why are you holding my son?”
My son? What is she talking about?
Ceres doesn’t have a mother. She died a long time ago, and since her hair color is from her father’s side, it’s not silver…
…Could it be that this woman is Ceres’s father, Count Ares?
Full name: Ares Hyperion.
Ceres Hyperion’s father and the current head of the Hyperion family.
He’s known as a highly competent man throughout the country, but now, it seems he’s a woman.
“Why are you holding my son? You came as a guest, and this is what you’re doing? Put him down immediately!”
Ares glared at Alios, who was holding me.
He didn’t seem to care that the other party was a duke’s heir and a hero.
That makes sense. From what I know, Ares is a cold man, but he cherishes his daughter, Ceres, more than his own life.
Even though she’s a woman, it must be Ares. I could tell by his attitude.
“Wait a minute. It’s a misunderstanding.”
Alios, under Ares’s piercing gaze, tried to explain.
“Ceres was collapsed here. I was trying to take her to her room.”
“What? A child who can’t even walk by herself would be collapsed here?”
“Well, you see…”
Alios gave a silly smile.
I was about to explain what I had said earlier, but I quickly cut in.
“I came out to meet this person, mother!”
Since talking about pregnancy might raise suspicion, I hid the truth.
And frankly, I was a little embarrassed.
It was so ridiculous to say that Alios, who was a woman, was trying to get me pregnant.
“When I heard the hero Alios was here, I couldn’t control my excitement. I wanted to meet him as soon as possible.”
“Then why didn’t you call the servants?”
“There was no one around.”
“…I see. You sent away all the servants who should have been attending you in order to prepare for Alios’s reception.”
Ares, believing my excuse, frowned.
“My mistake. I apologize, Ceres, and Alios, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”
She apologized first, then gave me another harsh glare.
“How long will you continue to carry this child? Hand him over now.”
“…Alright.”
After a brief hesitation, Alios handed me over.
The two women exchanged me like I was some kind of doll.
Even though she was a woman, Ares’s power seemed intact.
“Are you alright, Ceres?”
“Yes.”
I nodded quietly in Ares’s arms.
Though I was held by two incredibly beautiful women, I felt no emotion.
The situation was so chaotic that I didn’t have the mental space for any emotions.
After a while, one of the servants came and said that everything was ready.
“It’s all set. Let’s go lady. Ceres, you too.”
They were going to entertain Alios, and I was going with them.
“Why me?”
“Didn’t you come out to meet Lady Alios? You’ll have a chance to talk in the banquet hall, so please wait a moment.”
In this situation, I couldn’t say no.
I was dragged into the banquet hall like a mute.
The servants were all out, and they had prepared all sorts of delicacies in the banquet hall.
“Ceres, sit here.”
Ares carefully sat me down next to him.
She was gentle, as if handling a fragile object.
“Lady Alios, this way.”
Alios was given a special seat, but she just stood there, staring, not sitting.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Oh, I prefer this seat.”
She said she preferred this seat, and sat next to Ares—right next to me.
Out of all the seats, she chose to sit next to me, which made Ares’s eyebrow twitch.
I also stiffened my expression, wondering if they couldn’t see our reactions.
Alios, who took the seat next to me, continued talking to me with a bright face.
“As I heard, you are beautiful. I came to meet you after hearing the rumors, and it exceeded my expectations.”
I wasn’t impressed by his compliments.
Ceres was already known as the most beautiful woman in the country, and since my appearance didn’t change despite the gender swap, it was only natural that I’d be considered beautiful.
Besides, this wasn’t even my real appearance.
“Rather than spending your time coming to admire someone’s appearance, how about using it on something more valuable?”
I spoke somewhat curtly but with honorifics.
Since this woman was Alios, even if her appearance had changed, I couldn’t think of her favorably.
I probably wouldn’t be looked at kindly by her either, but that’s what I wanted.
I hope this makes her lose interest in me.
“Fufu, you’re embarrassed.”
Ugh. She’s not getting it.
It seems like she thinks I did something strange on purpose to get her attention.
Even though I’m being curt, she’s looking at me with a gaze that seems fond, as if it’s cute.
“Thank you for the warm hospitality. I had a great time today.”
Then, finally, it was time for Alios to leave.
“Someone once said that before dying, one must see Ceres at least once. And it was true to those words.”
“That’s really a stupid thing to say.”
Ares spoke the words I wanted to say.
“If you’ve seen him, then leave. If possible, I hope you never come back.”
“Why?”
“If a woman from outside keeps coming to visit, Ceres will be uncomfortable.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure?”
Alios looked at me with mischievous eyes.
“What does Ceres think? I’d love to meet you often.”
Finally, she said it.
This was a line from the original novel as well.
Alios, who shows interest in his daughter, and Ares, who dislikes it and tries to chase him away.
So, in the original, Alios would ask Ceres for her opinion instead.
The only answer I wanted to give in this situation was one thing:
Don’t come!
The real Ceres, thinking she was making a friend, would have innocently invited him to meet.
But knowing everything, I had no intention of doing that, and I wanted to refuse right away.
However, even if I said “don’t come,” wouldn’t she just use his power to visit anyway?
She’s the heir to a duke family and a sword master. Refusing a request from someone like him would be difficult for a count’s family like ours.
Still, I was contemplating at least trying to refuse when suddenly—
“Ceres, just a moment.”
Alios whispered into my ear so only I could hear.
“I’ve developed feelings for you. Even if you say no, I’ll come to meet you, so just allow it.”
…Already getting obsessive.
Even though her gender has changed to female, it’s clear that this is the same Alios from the original work!