Chapter 10 – Part 11

Eric had been in the capital for several days now, and his color was improving by the day.

He put down the newspaper he was reading as soon as Tenere entered and greeted her.

“You come?”

“Uncle!”

Joshua giggled and ran to his uncle. Tenere quickly restrained him.

“No, Josie, no. Your uncle is still not feeling well.”

“Ehh.”

“It’s okay, I’m okay. Josie, come here.”

“But…….”

“It’s okay.”

Eric said again, and Tenere helped him onto the bed.

Eric half-raised his upper body and spread his arms. But when Joshua lunged into his arms, he squealed and wrapped his arms around his sides.

“Josie!”

“Marquis!”

Tenere and Laura screamed at the same time.

Tenere quickly pulled Joshua away from Eric, and Laura examined his wounds.

“Are you okay, brother? Should I call for the physician?”

“It’s okay. Because I was just surprised. Just try to calm him down.”

Tenere quickly froze at the upset child.

Although she tried to call for help, Eric insisted, so the two of them settled into their chairs.

“I thought you had your dress tailored today?”

Eric was the first to speak. It was surprising how quickly he had heard about what had happened during the day. Gossip spread quickly.

“The palace is buzzing with rumors. They say the Emperor went to the Rose Palace himself. What’s this about having seven weddings?”

“…….”

‘What is it with rumors and that kind of thing? ’

She’d passed it off as a joke earlier, but now that she heard it from her brother’s mouth, it made her feel hot.

“The emperor is just joking; it just means that the designer is so good that it’s hard to choose.”

“Huh? I thought he said that to mean that Her Majesty the Empress is beautiful no matter what she wears…….”

Laura interrupted, and Tenere’s jaw dropped. Eric chuckled at her reddened face.

“Look at that. I caught you. Are you lying in front of your son?”

“……It’s not like that.”

Tenere turned away coolly. She saw a folded newspaper lying at the head of the bed.

She wasn’t close enough to see what it said, but seeing the words Marquis of Salvator written on it gave her a vague idea of what it was written on.

Realizing where Tenere’s gaze was directed, Eric nonchalantly picked up the paper and tossed it aside.

“By the way, I heard the Marquis talking nonsense.”

His voice was light, as if he were describing the weather today.

Tenere nodded slowly, and Laura, hugging the child, muttered softly.

“He’s crazy, really.”

“Laura.”

Tenere glanced at the child, and Laura covered her mouth in anger.

Joshua wiggled as if he wanted to be put down.

Once out of the nanny’s arms, he began exploring his uncle’s room on his own, and Laura quickly followed.

“Are you …… okay?”

Eric asked in a low voice. Tenere nodded.

“It’s a rumor that’ll probably die down soon anyway.”

“Hey, but maybe…….”

Eric was about to say something, but then he glanced up and shut up.

But Tenere seemed to know what he was going to say.

“Is it because of the Marquis’s close relationship with Her Majesty before?”

“Well, sort of. Since they were prospective in-laws, it’s natural for them to be close.”

Eric had been the one to inform Tenere that Beatrice had been close to Marquis Salvatore when she first became close to her.

It was tempting to say that it might not be completely unfounded.

But Tenere shook her head.

“If that were true, he would never have betrothed the princess to the Emperor in the first place.”

“That’s true, but… it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing a madman would say while being arrested.”

“…….”

“Well, did His Majesty say anything else?”

“It would be great if he could tell me something. Whether he needs help or if there’s anything I need to do…”

Since he didn’t say anything, Tenere felt as if she was useless.

It was hard to say anything right now, but if he asked her to wait until later, she would be happy to wait.

Eric opened his mouth to say something comforting, just as she was about to say something.

“Um… I’ve been thinking.”

It was Laura, who had finally returned, who spoke up, and she glanced at Tenere and Eric.

“…Can I speak?”

“Of course.”

“What do you think about having a new prince?”

In her cautious tone, Tenere and Eric looked back at her at the same time, as if to ask what she meant.

Laura lifted the child and continued.

“It’s funny, because the sixth member of our family looks nothing like our parents, but he looks just like our late grandfather.”

“…….”

“So if the prince born of the Emperor and Empress looks like the late Emperor… even if the Marquis comes up with plausible evidence, it would prove to be a lie, wouldn’t it?”

It was an opinion that seemed both ridiculous and strangely plausible.

After all, it was because Joshua, who was not born in the palace, was treated as a prince due to his appearance resembling that of the Emperor.

So if a child born to Leonard resembled the late Emperor, suspicions surrounding him would quickly dissipate.

But even so, Tenere couldn’t easily agree with Laura’s words.

“Isn’t it too early to tell who the newborn prince will resemble?”

It was Eric who opened his mouth in disbelief.

Aside from the fact that the ceremony had not yet taken place, even if the child were to be born now, wouldn’t it be nearly a year before the child was born?

Laura responded.

“Not exactly, but…… in fact, even if the Marquis has plausible evidence, His Majesty is a person who was born and raised as a descendant of the imperial family. I don’t think they will immediately try to oust someone who is already on the throne.”

“That’s true, but…”

“After all, the Marquis gave the nobles something to weaken imperial power, so it seems like a long-term problem, so I think His Majesty should think of a long-term solution…… Prince, that’s…. noooooo.”

Laura interrupted Joshua, who was about to put a petal that had fallen from the vase into his mouth.

The child spat out the petal with the gnaw marks and grimaced in disgust.

Tenere, who had been still, spoke up.

“But… no one knows who the newborn prince will resemble. He might resemble me.”

Did Laura’s family, which had been fertile for generations, have a secret recipe for producing children who resembled their ancestors?

It was a confident assertion that even seemed somewhat absurd.

Of course, there was no such mystical secret.

Laura held up five fingers.

“So, if you give birth to about five children…… and one of them is…….”

“I’m sorry, but are you insane?”

“… … Brother.”

The impatient Eric raised his voice a little, and Tenere quickly shushed him.

When Eric realized Joshua was there, he frowned and lowered his voice.

“…What are you saying to someone else’s sister? If giving birth is so easy, why don’t you do it instead?”

“No, why would I bear the prince when the Empress is clearly here? And I……thought you were just thinking about it, so I told you the first thing that came to mind.”

“Ah, that’s because you’re talking nonsense. How can a person bear five children?”

“Why doesn’t it make sense? I’m going to have seven.”

Laura’s eyes narrowed, and Eric’s mouth fell open as if he were speechless.

He couldn’t find words when he remembered her siblings he had seen at Hale Estate.

“Anyway, thank you, Laura. I’ll discuss it with His Majesty.”

“Hey, what’s the point of discussing…….”

“I think it would be good for Joshua to have siblings.”

As Tenere spoke, Laura looked at Eric as if to say, ‘see?’

Eric still seemed disgruntled.

* * *

Leonard looked at the newspaper with a stern face.

The words muttered by the imprisoned Marquis were already being covered by many newspapers.

While major newspapers with a friendly relationship with the palace focused on the Marquis’s alleged partial treason, those allied with the nobility were a bit different.

While appearing neutral at a glance, they excessively detailed the Marquis’s claims.

In addition, the newspaper that the aide brought to him out of contemplation included a letter from the Empress Dowager that he had obtained exclusively.

Although it was only a few lines, just the fact that such content was published would cause quite a stir.

Perhaps it would only be a matter of time before it spread beyond the capital.

‘It looks like the aristocratic faction is moving.’

The power and dignity of the nobility were supposed to be granted by the imperial family, but there were too many people who wanted more than what they were given.

Emperors, especially those who ascend to the throne at a young age, are always subject to dissenting nobles.

Since the Marquis in prison could not have moved, it was most likely the work of his close associates.

Leonard studied the list of the Marquis’s visitors.

His brother, Viscount Stuart, and other nobles of the noble faction. And, although not on the list, …….

‘Alaina Salvatore.’