Obviously, It’s My Child - Chapter 112

“Whether it was because the Empress had this weakness in her grip to use against Countess Schneider or whether it was her emergency plan remains unclear.”

In fact, Claire had her doubts ever since hearing the story from Levi Times’s reporter.

There couldn’t possibly be a ghost. So, it’s reasonable that there’s someone resembling the deceased prima donna.

Coincidentally at the same location, with such a similar face, it’s surprising that no one spoke of this fact despite many recognizing it.

There had to be a reason to keep the secret and protect it.

Whether the Empress intervened to that extent or if Stefan handled it on his own, it’s hard to tell.

“Miss Lina didn’t have a clue, and it seems that Iris has never seen her face at the opera. She was well hidden.”

Claire considered that she might be speculating.

As much as Levi Times insists on fact-checking, they are a newspaper that prioritizes chasing after exciting stories like entertainments and ghosts.

There are people who love their lover’s child as if it were their own.

Stefan Heinz might have just gaslighted Lina.

Thomas Borjans, being fearful and not very cautious, might have caused trouble once he knew that Stefan was meeting Claire.

If Lina was nothing, there was no reason to harm her.

But Iris was taken aback by Lina.

After Iris left, Claire joked that maybe Iris was surprised because Lina was too beautiful, but it couldn’t have been like that.

“Perhaps she knew the face. While she might not have known Lina’s face, she could have recognized the face of the deceased prima donna.”

“Certainly, the Count is not the type to hide the existence and face of the birth mother from Iris. He probably even sincerely told her that he genuinely loved her mother.”

Now, the condition was added that ‘if she was truly your birth mother.’

Claire mumbled, lost thought.

“It’s ironic. Deliberately recognizing the birth mother and admitting her to the family, it must have been a difficult decision because of the rumors.”

While it may be essential to let the child know that she has a birth mother and make her understand that she is loved, it isn’t an easy task.

Claire, even as an aunt, always had that concern.

“But it turns out, the birth mother is the Countess, and she’s the one who’s not his real daughter.”

“It’s somewhat puzzling. Did Iris already know that she wasn’t the Count’s biological daughter? If not, seeing someone resembling the prima donna wouldn’t have been that shocking.”

“She was six when she came to the County. She might have some memories.”

It was an age when one would forget many things if the environment changed entirely and the parents didn’t help reconstruct the memories, but there might still be some recollections.

“It’s unimaginable what the Count must have felt.”

Though Erich’s words were brief, the emotions behind them were profound. This was the second time Claire heard those kinds of statements.

Claire hesitated for a moment but used the excuse that she couldn’t see his face behind the partition and asked.

“It seems you’re quite fond of Count Schneider.”

“More a sense of duty, than fondness.”

“A sense of duty?”

“When Father passed away, Count Schneider wept a lot. Perhaps half of the tears shed at the funeral were the Count’s.”

Erich said.

It was the funeral of the Rommel nobility. Expressing emotions was considered unseemly, so staying at the funeral home was not about grief and mourning but about solemnity and grandeur.

Even Louisa played the role of the brave widow, managing to hold back her tears with her eyes only reddening slightly. At home, she wept enough to pass out.

Erich had thought that perhaps the tears shed silently by Count Schneider in front of the coffin were more genuine than Louisa’s tears.

“It felt strange, but I felt grateful. Father must have been lonely.”

“Erich…”

“The Count is a man of deep emotions. Well, it was true that Father had asked me to take care of him.”

Erich’s voice trailed off.

Yet Claire thought that perhaps it was Erich himself who had been lonely, not his father.

“What you felt wasn’t a sense of duty, but gratitude. Friendship.”

“…”

Certainly, the Rommel nobility didn’t approve of such words. But without denial, the intention was surely conveyed.

Claire smiled slightly.

“And I believe the former Duke was not lonely. He seemed to have had a happy married life with your mother, and he had you, and he had friends who wept for him like that.”

“That’s true.”

For a brief moment, Claire thought about her past and present self.

Both times, it was similar. There were relatives, her parents’ friends and acquaintances that had mourned.

Her own friends had come and offered words of comfort.

But she herself hadn’t cried so much. It wasn’t that the sadness wasn’t much, she was lost in thoughts about what life was all about.

Despite living as ordinary people with nothing particularly exceptional, her life felt heavy. It felt as if the life of the deceased was being layered onto her own, and her back might break under the weight.

Sometimes she wanted to ask. To Elisa as well. Or to others.

Did you feel the same way? It’s not like their parents were carrying the weight of her life along with theirs, and their lives ended completely with their own, so why is death so heavy?

It seemed like she hadn’t cried at her parents’ funerals in her second life.

Fortunately, as Rommel’s influence had already spread to the south, instead of being looked down upon, she heard words praising her dignity and nobility.

Bravery, sorrow, heartbreak. It felt rather strange to express funerals in such terms.

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