I Will Raise this Baby as Another Man’s Child - Chapter 33
T/N: I just found out this has a 1.7-star rating in novelupdates? ʕ ಡ ﹏ ಡ ʔ please leave a rating there everyone~ or please show your support by leaving comments! else i might think no one likes this and drop it (;へ:)
Chapter 6
After resting for one night, my body recovered enough to move freely the next day. It was thanks to Lutz’s superhuman endurance throughout the night.
As soon as we arrived in Hawkwick, we headed to the agreed meeting place.
Evan, who had been waiting anxiously, came running out to greet the two.
“Your Highness, Your Highness! I’m so glad you’re safe!”
Evan ignored Hinael, who was in a terrible state, and focused solely on examining Lutz.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
“I was planning to stay one more day when you didn’t arrive. But as expected, Your Highness never fails to meet expectations.”
“If I hadn’t arrived today, I might have failed to live up to your expectations.”
“Oh, not at all. As if I would dare to commit such insubordination.”
While they were enjoying the joy of a safe reunion, Dea also rushed out.
Dea burst into tears as soon as she saw Hinael.
“Your Highness! Your Highness… Do you know how worried I was? When I went to your room in the morning and you weren’t there, I felt like the world was ending. Sob. Sniff… Let me take a look at you.”
She grabbed Hinael and examined her thoroughly from head to toe.
Dea’s face turned pale with each wound she discovered on the precious body.
“H-how did this happen… Really Cou-“
Having heard from Evan who was responsible, Dea hesitated, trying to be careful with her words and stopping herself from saying ‘Count’ completely.
Dea let out a series of tearful sighs before hugging Hinael tightly.
“It was terrible. To treat Your Highness like this… it was really… terrible. Sob.”
“Thanks to the Prince arriving on time, I wasn’t hurt too badly.”
“What do you mean not hurt badly? Just looking at the knife mark on your neck makes my heart sink. How scared you must have been. Sob… I should have been the one taken instead.”
“Don’t say such ominous things. We’re together now, that’s what matters.”
Lutz frowned as he watched Dea sobbing and saying they should never part again. Then Evan, in stark contrast to Dea’s attitude, said crisply,
“Please come inside. Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“I chose an inn on the outskirts to avoid attention, but the food is excellent. I’ll tell them to prepare a meal right away.”
Leaving Hinael behind as she exchanged greetings noisily, Evan guided Lutz inside.
As Lutz walked with Evan, he quietly opened his mouth.
“There was no sign of anyone following from Kailo?”
“No. Even if they had followed, since we rented out the entire inn, they wouldn’t have been able to figure out that Your Highness and your wife weren’t here.”
Even if this situation was discovered now, it would be fine. They could just say they went out for some fresh air nearby with his wife.
“Let’s rest for a while and depart late in the afternoon.”
“Yes. I’ll make preparations accordingly.”
Evan, who hadn’t raised his voice, let out his indignation freely once they entered the bedroom.
“I received a report from our operatives. Has Chetter gone completely mad?”
“He must be mad to have done such a thing.”
“There’s nothing to gain, so why on earth did he do it? No matter how much I think about it, I just don’t understand.”
“That guy. He already looked suspicious even when doing nothing, and on top of that, he’s obsessed with women.”
Unable to sympathize with that either, Evan snorted.
“No matter how obsessed he is with women, shouldn’t he still be able to tell right from wrong? And she’s already married… And she’s not just any wife, but the Prince’s consort!”
“Is he the only one who loses all sense when it comes to women? We have someone like that around us too, so why are you getting so worked up?”
Evan thought for a moment before opening his mouth in shock.
“Surely you don’t mean His Majesty the Emperor? If someone hears this, it could be considered blasphemy…”
“You heard it. Are you going to report me for blasphemy?”
“Of course not, but still, you need to be careful with your words and actions.”
Lutz replied dryly while rotating his stiff neck.
“I gratefully take note of my aide’s advice.”
His face didn’t look grateful at all, and there wasn’t even a speck of intention to heed the advice.
The one whose neck should be stiff from rising blood pressure was Evan. Evan pressed his lips into a straight line and put on an artificial smile.
“Then rest well, Your Highness.”
Lutz lay down on the bed and pressed his temples.
As he pushed away the piled-up worries, the bed he was leaning on finally felt comfortable.
“Hinael Flake.”
She’s a woman boasting beauty so outstanding that one can’t help but keep their mouth open. He acknowledged that, but it wasn’t enough to drive him mad like Chetter.
Since their marriage, he had been forcibly imprinting on himself that she was his wife. His companion, and his one and only Princess Consort.
But when he asked himself if he could love her, he would answer ‘no’ without hesitation. He didn’t have the mental capacity to care for her attentively.
He wouldn’t deny that he was intoxicated by her body, but he firmly drew the line there.
“I might be able to love your body.”
***
After taking a short rest, the group packed their belongings again.
The carriage began to rattle down the road. The winter in Trycas was so harsh that everywhere you looked was covered in snow.
Sleet was falling from the sky.
Hinael stretched her hand out the window to catch the falling snowflakes, but suddenly startled, she quickly closed the window. It was because the scenery of the Nuhol Mountain unfolded like a vision.
The familiar forest path and tree trunks. Chetter appearing there.
The series of events that started in her past life and led to the present were chillingly cruel. Although they didn’t repeat exactly the same way, an ominous feeling overwhelmed her, dragging her into an abyss of fear.
“Your Highness, are you cold?”
It seemed she had shivered from the irresistible fear. Still, just having Dea in front of her was comforting.
“Everything will be alright. Right?”
“Of course! If we can’t turn back time, we can design anew from now on.”
“I didn’t know you could say such things.”
“I’m not as scatterbrained as Your Highness thinks. I have this thing attached to me too, you know.”
Dea poked her own head repeatedly with a comical expression.
Dea was right. Hadn’t a new life already begun? There was no answer other than forging ahead on her own.
Even if her ankle got caught in a snare, all she had to do was cut the rope. But for that, she would need to grasp the knife handle.
“When we enter the palace, there will be difficult things everywhere. The women of the imperial court might be territorial, or they might try to challenge Your Highness and put you down. Also, there will be times when you need to please His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Hearing you say it makes me really feel the hardships ahead.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I know. You’re telling me to be prepared and face it courageously.”
Dea pursed her lips in admiration and gave a thumbs up.
Hinael thought she wanted to arrive quickly, but then also wished they could take a roundabout route and arrive late.
The sound of wind clawed past the window as if to tease her.
***
The capital of Trycas, Tubon, had many gray stone buildings that reminded one of a sturdy fortress.
It felt like a completely different world compared to the Sarr Kingdom, which had many quaint wooden buildings.
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar atmosphere, Hinael couldn’t take her eyes off the scenery beyond the window.
“Wow… There are so many tall buildings. I wonder what that place is for?”
“Well, maybe it’s a temple for worshipping gods? It seems like it needs to be that size for the gods to be satisfied.”
“Is that so?”
Far from being tense at the unfamiliar scenery, she was quickly excited and busy looking around. There was no time to be bored while passing through the bustling area filled with houses and shops.
It was only when the imperial palace came into view in the distance that excitement was pushed aside and only tension filled her. Even though only a part of the palace was visible, its majestic aura was apparent.
Dea, who had been cheerfully encouraging her, also became less talkative. After being quiet for a while, she finally uttered a careful exclamation.
“The imperial palace is certainly different. It seems like even if you put several of Sarr’s royal palaces together, they couldn’t match up.”
Hinael nodded vigorously. It was a country founded by pioneering the harsh northern lands. On top of that, they had to subdue the monsters that appeared, so the financial losses must have been substantial.
Yet they achieved wealth and military power, so how solid must their foundation be?
It was a powerful nation equipped with both financial and military strength.
‘What courage did Sarr have to think of messing with such a country?’
Was it really because of the rare minerals buried in the Nuhol Mountain…
Since a battle actually took place at the Nuhol Mountain, that reason seemed most plausible.
Soon, Hinael tried to erase the thoughts as the mountain path and ice wall where the shadow of death loomed came to mind. For a while, she didn’t even want to think of the ‘Nu’ from Nuhol.
She placed her hand on her pounding chest.
It was time to send tension through her inhales and exhales.
“Your Highness, the Princess Consort.”
It was Evan’s voice. Hinael sat up straight and answered.
“Yes.”
“We’ll stop the carriage for a moment.”
“What’s the matter?”
There was no answer.
The carriage’s speed gradually decreased, and the sound of hooves grew closer.
safira
bagiku ini cerita yang sangat menarik 😁