I open the door.
Even such a simple action takes immense effort.
"Ugh!"
And after walking a little further, I couldn't endure anymore and collapsed.
Has Ceres always lived in a body like this?!
I already knew she was pitiful, but experiencing it directly made her seem even more unfortunate.
"Ugh, I won't lose!"
Fueled by determination, I somehow manage to move.
If I couldn't walk, I would crawl. Twisting my body, I found I could move.
This probably would have been impossible for the original Ceres.
She was said to be too weak in the arms to even operate a wheelchair properly.
Am I relatively healthier because I'm male? Still, I wouldn't be able to move for long.
I continued crawling as much as possible, looking for a place to hide.
I planned to hide somewhere quiet and wait until Alios left, but just then...
"What are you doing?!"
Someone spotted me.
An incredibly beautiful woman with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail.
Tall and slender, she rushed towards me on her long legs.
"Aren't you Young Master Ceres? What on earth are you doing here!"
Who is she? I don't remember seeing a woman like this in the novel.
Is she perhaps a servant of this County? She called me 'Young Master' right away, so it seems likely.
This is a Count's household, so there are many servants. That's why they came running earlier when I made noise.
In fact, I think I was lucky not to be discovered until now.
Maybe everyone was busy attending to that Alios person, and only this woman found me.
"Where is your room? Excuse me, but I'll escort you there!"
The woman used both hands to lift me.
Even though my current body is slender, I shouldn't be light enough for a woman to lift! What incredible strength!
"Poor gentleman. Please forgive me for touching you."
The woman spoke apologetically.
She seems nice, probably trying to return me to my room with good intentions.
"W-wait a minute!"
It was unnecessary kindness. I stopped the nameless woman.
"Not right now. Instead, hide me somewhere out of sight."
"Why?"
"A, a strange person came to the house."
This situation is so absurd, and my body hurts so much that I can't think of a good excuse. Confused, I ended up telling her almost the truth.
"The Hero Alios has fallen for me and is trying to get me pregnant."
"Excuse me?"
"It's hard to believe, but it's true. That bastard is really like that!"
As I explained desperately, the woman wore a dumbfounded expression.
Then...
"Hahahahaha!!"
She burst into laughter.
Is she laughing because my words are absurd?
Well, to someone who doesn't know the situation, it must sound like a madman's rambling.
Even if she didn't believe me, I was about to ask her to hide me anyway when I heard words I couldn't ignore.
"But I'm the Hero Alios? What did you say I was going to do to you? Haha!"
What?
"Pfft, haha, how can a woman get a man pregnant? You're quite an amusing person."
The woman, Alios, laughed as if it were hilarious, but I felt my blood run cold.
She says she's Alios? Come to think of it, she does look similar.
The original Alios was a handsome blond man with a polite tone, and this woman is a similar blonde beauty.
It felt like this is exactly what Alios would look like if he became a woman.
"What's this commotion?"
As I froze at the unbelievable situation, another person appeared.
A beautiful woman with short silver hair and a cold aura.
I'd definitely never seen her before, but she flinched upon seeing me.
"Sir Alios, why are you holding my son in your arms?"
Son? What is she talking about?
The original Ceres didn't have a mother. She died long ago, and hair color was inherited paternally, so she wasn't silver-haired either...
Could this woman be Ceres's father, Count Ares?
Full name Ares Whiperion.
Ceres Whiperion's parent and the current head of the Whiperion County.
Known throughout the country as a highly capable man, but he's become a woman.
"I asked why you are holding my son. What kind of absurd behavior is this for a guest? Put him down immediately!"
Ares glared at Alios, who was holding me, and spoke.
Her demeanor showed she didn't care that the other party was the heir to a Dukedom and the Hero.
That makes sense. The Ares I knew seemed cold, but he cherished his daughter Ceres more than his own life.
She's a woman, but she must be Ares. Her attitude convinced me.
"Just a moment. It's a misunderstanding."
Alios, receiving Ares's murderous gaze, made an excuse.
"Lord Ceres had collapsed here. I was just trying to take him to his room."
"What? A child who cannot even walk alone couldn't possibly collapse here."
"Well, about that..."
Alios gave a faint smile.
She was about to repeat what I had said, so I quickly interjected.
"I came out to meet this person here, Mother!"
I hid the truth, thinking mentioning pregnancy would raise suspicion.
And honestly, it was embarrassing.
Saying Alios, a woman, was trying to get me pregnant – how ridiculous does that sound?
"I couldn't contain my excitement at the thought of meeting the Hero Alios. I wanted to meet her as soon as possible."
"Then why didn't you call the servants?"
"There was no one around."
"...It seems the servants attending you were pulled away to prepare for Sir Alios's reception."
Ares, believing my excuse, frowned.
"My mistake. I apologize, Ceres. Sir Alios, I apologize for the misunderstanding as well."
After apologizing, she gave Alios another harsh look.
"How long are you going to hold a grown child? Hand him over now."
"...Very well."
Alios hesitated for a moment before handing me over.
The two women passed me back and forth lightly as if I were some kind of doll.
Though not as much as Alios, Ares was also established as being quite skilled.
It seems her physical prowess remains even after becoming a woman.
"Ceres, are you alright?"
"Yes."
Held in Ares's arms, I quietly nodded.
Being held in the arms of stunning beauties one after another, but I felt nothing.
The situation was too messed up to afford such feelings.
After a short while, a servant came and announced that preparations were complete.
"All is ready. Let us go, Sir. You too, Ceres."
She was taking me along to entertain Alios.
"Why me?"
"Didn't you say you came out to meet Sir Alios? I'll let you talk in the banquet hall, so just wait a moment."
I couldn't say no in this situation.
Like a mute, I couldn't say anything and was dragged to the banquet hall.
As expected from an all-out effort by the servants, the banquet hall was laden with all sorts of delicacies.
"Ceres, sit here."
Ares placed me, whom she had been carrying, in the seat next to her.
Her touch was extremely careful, as if handling something fragile.
"Sir Alios, over there."
She offered Alios a particularly good seat, but Alios just stared blankly instead of sitting down.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, I prefer this spot."
Saying she preferred this seat, she sat down in the spot next to Ares's side – meaning, next to me.
Out of all the available seats, she deliberately chose the one next to me, causing Ares's eyebrow to twitch.
My expression hardened too, but perhaps she didn't notice our reactions.
Alios, having taken the seat beside me, kept talking to me with a bright face.
"You're as beautiful as they say. I came because I heard the rumors, but you exceeded my expectations."
Her compliments on my appearance left me unimpressed.
Ceres was originally established as the nation's greatest beauty. It was only natural that I, whose appearance remained the same despite the gender change, would be beautiful.
Besides, it wasn't my real face anyway.
"Instead of spending time coming to see someone else's face based on rumors, perhaps you could use that time for something more valuable?"
Unlike before, I used polite language, but my tone was incredibly blunt.
Even though her gender was different, knowing this woman was that Alios, I just couldn't think favorably of her.
This might make her think poorly of me, but that was exactly what I wanted.
Given my earlier slip-up too. I hoped things like this would make her lose interest in me.
"Fufu, you're just shy."
Damn it. It's not working.
She probably thinks I'm deliberately acting strangely to get her attention.
Even though I'm being blunt, she's looking at me with eyes that say 'how cute.'
"Thank you for the hospitality. I truly enjoyed myself today."
Eventually, it was time for Alios to leave.
"Someone once said that seeing Lord Ceres at least once before dying is worth it. Indeed, those words were true."
"What foolish nonsense."
Ares said what I wanted to say.
"Now that you've seen him, please leave. Preferably, don't come back."
"Why not?"
"Ceres will be uncomfortable if an unrelated woman keeps visiting."
"Hmm, I wonder?"
Alios looked at me with mischievous eyes.
"What do you think, Lord Ceres? I'd like to meet you often."
Here it comes.
This line was also in the original novel.
Ares, dishappy with Alios showing interest in her daughter, tries to shut him down.
So Alios asks Ceres directly for her opinion instead.
In this situation, there was only one answer I wanted to give.
Don't come!
The real Ceres, thinking she was making a friend, naively told him to visit.
Knowing everything, I had no intention of doing so and wanted to refuse immediately.
But even if I say no, won't she just use her power to come anyway?
She's the heir to a Dukedom and a Sword Master. It would be difficult for our County to refuse her request.
Still, I pondered whether to try refusing, when...
"Lord Ceres, just a moment."
Alios whispered so only I could hear.
"I've taken a liking to you. I'll come see you even if you say no, so just give me permission."
...Obsessing already.
Even though her gender changed to female, she really is the original male lead Alios!