“Why are you standing there so blankly? Don’t you know how to check a diaper?”
“No, it’s just…”
Karl was at a loss for words, too astonished to know what to say. Celeste approached him, who was behaving like a fool, just looking at her.
“You can tell by looking like this whether or not the baby has soiled the diaper. If you can’t see it, you can always smell it.”
It was information Karl did not particularly wish to know. He frowned.
“But this child…”
He almost asked if the child was hers, but Karl refrained from asking aloud.
In truth, he didn’t need to ask; he knew this baby was Celeste’s.
The baby’s hair was the same purple as Celeste’s, a distinctive trait of the Luizet family. Had she fled the capital and gone into hiding for this reason?
“Paapa. Baabaa.”
The baby, who had been nibbling the apple with tiny teeth, seemed to cheer up instantly, munching on the apple while babbling happily.
Karl felt odd as the tiny being wriggled in his arms. The small, delicate creature tickled his heart. He looked into the eyes of the baby he was awkwardly holding.
But then…
“Papa?”
“What… what did you say?”
“Papa, papa. Papa.”
The baby called him ‘papa’. Karl squinted his eyes, thinking he heard wrong, but his heart sank with the repeated sound.
“Papa!”
“Papa…?”
Karl doubted his ears. ‘Papa’, as in father? He looked at the baby, who was smiling gleefully at him, a face filled with innocence and devoid of any wariness.
“Did the baby just call me ‘dad’?”
He looked up. Celeste, with a flustered expression, alternated her gaze between him and the baby.
“Me?”
Silence ensued for a moment. Only the baby’s adorable babbling filled the space between the man and woman staring at each other.
Papa, baby, papa. Mama. Mama. Papa.
He hadn’t misheard. The baby had indeed called him ‘dad’. Karl’s face stiffened.
Tap, tap.
Tadak, tap.
In the temporary barracks’ meeting room on the outskirts of Urentum, Karl’s fingers drumming on the table caused the knights to flinch and tense.
They had been chasing down Luizet in the southernmost part of the empire, in Urentum, for over a month. The knights were visibly weary from the strenuous journey.
Some lamented that it would be better to be in battle than to stir up the empire just to find one person. When a consensus emerged that the task was unreasonable, Karl granted the knights an unexpected rest and disappeared alone.
Returning hours later, he sank into deep thought, skipping meals and ignoring his closest knight, Clovis’s words. Karl remained unflappably upright, his expression sour, just tapping on the table.
Given his meticulous and sensitive nature, the knights speculated whether something in the investigation displeased him.
If only he would just say what was bothering him.
Their superior, Duke Albrecht, was not a lenient man. One wrong step, and one could be shaken out like dust.
“Clovis. You don’t know anything, do you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“Yes.”
Even if they knew, they would pretend ignorance. The knights heaved a sigh.
“Clovis.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Did Clovis’s nod catch Karl’s attention? Having been silent, Karl extended his hand to summon Clovis, who immediately rushed to his side.
“Did you call me, Your Grace?”
“Just now….”
“Yes?”
“How old is a baby that’s just starting to walk?”
“……Yes?”
This question seemed utterly random. Clovis blinked rapidly.
On a mission to find the assassin of Duke Schwauben, their leader, deep in thought, asked about the age of a toddler just starting to walk.
“A baby, you mean?”
Clovis’s eyes darted around, trying to grasp Karl’s intention. Royals are taught from a young age to express their feelings and thoughts indirectly rather than directly.
But still, what could be the meaning of this question about a baby in this context?
“It seemed to be just starting to walk. It had to hold onto something to stand, and would fall over otherwise….”
Karl looked up at Clovis standing beside him, his expression asking why he hadn’t responded.
It seemed like a genuine question of curiosity rather than an indirect inquiry.
Clovis hesitated, his lips twitching as he contemplated a response.
“Don’t you have a niece or nephew about that age, Clovis?”
“Yes? Yesss, Your Grace. My second niece just celebrated her first birthday….”
“That’s right. The child was about that age. So, about 1 year old then.”
Tap, tap. Satisfied with the answer, Karl turned his gaze and resumed tapping on the table.
‘What is he thinking?’
Clovis anxiously awaited Karl’s next words.
“A 1-year-old child… they would recognize and call their parents, wouldn’t they?”
“Well… I suppose so, though it varies. They seem to definitely recognize and call their mothers.”
“What about fathers?”
“Yes?”
“Fathers? If they can definitely call their mothers, they must be able to call their fathers too, right?”
“Well, that’s….”
“A child living for a year should know what it’s saying, right?”
Why is the Grand Duke acting like this today? Clovis found Karl’s behavior unfamiliar.
Duke Karl Ludwig Johann Albrecht was known to be a cold, capable prince, merciless in his duties.
Which means, the Duke and ‘baby’, a word denoting cuteness and affection, are an ill-fitting pair.
“He certainly said that.”
“Pardon me, Your Grace?”
“Certainly… said that.”
Realizing the words were not meant for him, Clovis remained silent. Whatever Karl was pondering, he seemed unable to engage in a proper conversation until resolving his internal conflict.
“I clearly heard it…”
Even Clovis, standing right beside him, had to strain to hear Karl’s murmurs. Combining the increasingly cryptic murmurings, Clovis tried to form a conjecture.
“…Dad.”
‘Dad?’ Karl definitely just said ‘dad’.
Child, 1 year, parents, dad. The core keywords from Karl’s mutterings came together, but Clovis was still baffled.
“Clovis.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“If, hypothetically speaking.”
“Yes, please go on.”
“I reunite with a woman after 2 years, and she appears with a child.”
“Yes?”
“And that child calls me dad.”
A brief sigh escaped Karl’s lips, and Clovis blinked repeatedly in that instant.
“What would you do?”
“……Pardon?”
Clovis, the right hand of the head of the Imperial Knights and leader of the elite Alpha Investigation Team, which rushed to the southern end of the empire to find Countess Louisette, faced the most difficult question after serving for seven years under Duke Albrecht.
No matter how challenging the cases he had handled, nothing felt as sudden and perplexing as this. Clueless about where to start, Clovis, who had been rolling his eyes in thought, finally slowly opened his mouth.
“Who… brought the child here, Your Highness…?”
“…….”
This time, it was Carl’s silence.
“And that child calls you father……?”
Again, no response. Only unanswered questions were thrown, but no answers to Clovis’s inquiries.
“Were there any circumstances that made you sufficiently suspicious? Previously……?”
Silence was an affirmation. From Carl’s unusual expression, Clovis, straightening his bent back with resolve, stood up.
What to do, indeed.
The answer was already determined.
“You must take responsibility, Your Highness!”
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
