The Unemployed Prince Covets My Nephew - Chapter 12
“Your Highness, if it’s really Vasa, the only possible place is Lint Port.”
“Right. Send a carrier pigeon to block all ports leading to the capital immediately. Especially tie up all ships entering and leaving Lint Port. I will personally lead the Eligos Knights.”
The Eligos Knights were a prince’s knight order founded by Axel himself, essentially Axel’s personal unit.
Unlike the Royal Knights, composed only of noble scions, the Eligos Knights were selected solely based on skill, regardless of status, and were renowned for always being at the forefront of every war Axel participated in.
“Take me with you. I’ll go with you.”
“You won’t be of any help.”
“Theo is a very shy child. He’ll be scared if there are only adult men around. I need to be there.”
When Axel responded lukewarmly, Hailey kicked off her shoes.
Standing barefoot on the floor, having come down from the uncomfortable and ill-fitting small shoes, Hailey faced Axel.
“You might get hurt.”
“I don’t care. My child might be alone somewhere, terrified….”
“…”
“I can’t just stupidly wait for you to rescue my child.”
Hailey wiped her tears roughly with the back of her hand, keeping her eyes wide open to avoid her vision blurring.
“The woman you married is this kind of woman. So accept it and take me with you right now.”
At least she wouldn’t be a hindrance.
Axel looked down at Hailey’s bare feet, then raised his head to meet her eyes.
Her green eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
“Can those little feet even run?”
“Running is the least of it.”
Axel still didn’t know Hailey well. Hailey wasn’t afraid of abandoning her noble dignity, taking off her shoes, and running barefoot. She had never lived like a noble in the first place.
‘I’m a mom. There’s nothing I can’t do!’
The only thing that truly terrified Hailey was losing Theo forever.
“I have strong enough feet to kick the butts of those who hurt my child, so don’t worry!”
“If you say so.”
“…”
“As you wish.”
Hailey gave Axel a satisfied smile.
But he couldn’t let his newlywed wife go barefoot.
Axel offered her the indoor slippers he sometimes wore in his office. They were large, but they were better than the shoes Hailey had been wearing or going barefoot.
Hailey, who didn’t care about shoes, took Axel’s large slippers without hesitation. Her steps seemed much lighter.
‘A crazy prince and his perfect match.’
Khalid, watching this scene from the side, hurried his steps in shock. Time was tight to get the king’s approval for this absurd situation and to relay Axel’s orders.
* * *
None of the Eligos Knights could guess why they were suddenly summoned in the middle of the night.
‘Read the room’ was Eligos’s most important rule.
But no matter how much they adhered to this, it seemed too much that their lord brought in a noble lady they had never seen before and simply declared, ‘She is my wife.’
No one said it aloud, but half of them were thinking, ‘So what are we supposed to do?’ while the other half wondered, ‘How did he get married when he was single just this morning?’
“My child has been kidnapped.”
“……?”
Did their lord have a child?
The knights’ eyes wavered.
How did their lord, who was single until this morning, get married and have a child within half a day? And now, a kidnapping?
This was the most bewildering moment since the establishment of the Eligos Knights.
“You all know about the recent disappearances of children in the capital. I suspect my child has been taken by that group. There is credible information that these children might have been taken to Vasa.”
“…….”
“Therefore, we are heading to Lint Port now.”
Many members of the Eligos Knights were of commoner origin, and some were from orphanages. Many had been seething with anger over this case.
They always followed Axel’s orders without question, but now they had a powerful motivation.
“The child has brown hair, green eyes like my wife, and is a small boy appearing about 3-4 years old. His name is Theodore. He is very shy, so keep that in mind.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Find the child before sunrise, no matter what. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
Seeing the knights mount their horses in perfect order, Hailey felt a lump in her throat. It was a sight she could never have imagined on her own.
Having no experience with horseback riding, Hailey was to ride with Axel. Axel lifted her up effortlessly.
Axel’s solid chest pressed against Hailey’s back. His thick arms wrapped around her, making it seem impossible to escape.
Axel took hold of the reins.
* * *
Theo had fallen asleep early. He intended to wait for Hailey, but after eating so many delicious and sweet foods all day, he dozed off without realizing it.
He woke up when the mansion’s servants suddenly barged in, throwing the door open.
The small child, who was not important enough to care about, was roughly grabbed by the nape of his neck by the servants and forcibly dragged out.
They threw him down on the floor, causing Theo to rub his sore bottom and side with his hands, almost in tears.
When he looked up, he saw men with terrifying faces staring at him.
Among them was Baron Langston, whom Theo feared the most, and other unfamiliar adults.
The baron spoke to a red-haired man with a long beard.
“This settles all debts.”
“The Count is aware of that. Don’t worry, the Count will send someone in a few days. If everything goes well, the Count will make sure you are well compensated.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. Ahem, but has the Count changed his mind about my daughter?”
“Well, if you give me a little something for my trouble, I’ll speak to the Count again. He’s not an unreasonable man.”
“I know. Of course.”
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Theo cautiously stood up.
As he tried to sneak away, a servant grabbed him by the neck and dragged him back in front of the baron, shouting, ‘You brat!’
The baron clicked his tongue and looked down at Theo coldly.
“L-Let me go!”
The baron raised his hand high. Theo was scared, but he didn’t close his eyes.
He glared up at the baron, and the scary man talking to the baron stopped him.
“The Count doesn’t like it when the sacrifice is injured. The sacrifice is to be offered in the most sacred place in the world. Be careful.”
The baron lowered his hand, coughing.
Theo couldn’t understand their conversation, but he instinctively knew. The baron was planning to send him away somewhere without Hailey knowing.
Theo clung to the baron’s pants.
“Please don’t send me away! I don’t want to go!”
“That’s not for you to decide. How spoiled must you be to dare touch me?”
The baron brushed off the small hand clinging to his pants as if it were dirty.
Theo was pushed back again. He immediately knelt down.
“Please, don’t send me away. I won’t wander around! I won’t go outside! I won’t cry… I won’t eat much. Please….”
With tears streaming down his face, Theo begged the baron with clasped hands.
The servants of the baron’s mansion turned their heads. Seeing such a small, thin child begging not to eat much was too pitiful and miserable for them to watch. But they chose to look away, unable to help.
“Please… at least let me see Hailey. I beg you….”
“Do you like Hailey that much?”
Theo nodded repeatedly, crying.
I love her the most in the world.
“Hailey is not your mother. She needs to marry into a good family. For that to happen, it’s only natural for you to be separated from her.”
“…….”
“If you like Hailey, you need to disappear so she can be happy. If you stay, she won’t be able to marry into a good family. Then she will be unhappy because of you. Will you still be stubborn and throw a tantrum?”
Theo cried silently, unable to say anything.
‘No. Hailey… Hailey said we would be happy together. Does my presence make Hailey unhappy?’
The baron turned his cold back on the crying child without saying another word.
A burly man covered the struggling, screaming child’s mouth and lifted him up.
‘Hailey. Hailey…!’
Theo fainted.