Whose Child Belongs to the Emperor - Chapter 4- Part 1

Chapter 4- Part 1

Anger, nervousness, and seemingly uncontrollable glee flashed across his clean-shaven face.

After a long moment of silence, he spoke up.

“Are you saying that the empress is pregnant?”

“It’s just my speculation.”

Alaina replied nonchalantly, but she quickly realized that the Emperor still referred to Tenere as the Empress.

And Leonard sat there, dumbfounded, as if he’d been punched in the face, unaware of what he’d called her.

She had a child.

My child

How desperate were he and Tenere to bear a child in the past?

Leonard visited the Empress’s palace every day, especially after the Dowager Empress died and talk of a successor began to circulate.

Ignoring the officials who clung to him and wanted to see the Crown Prince through the concubine.

“Why…”

It was news he had been looking forward to for so long, but he couldn’t think of anything. No, he’s thinking too much.

‘Why did she run away…’

In the indescribable emotions, one question was clear.

If she had a child, she should have reported it immediately. She should have taken her place back right away. Why did she run away without saying anything?

What was she so afraid of? What was so unbearable?

“If it’s certain that the Empress is carrying a child, do you intend to reinstate her as Empress?”

“Of course.”

There was no hesitation in his answer. It wasn’t a bad thing for Alaina as well.

She didn’t want to marry Leonard, and if the Empress who bore the Crown Prince stood firm, her father couldn’t make her Empress.

But separate from that, she found it somewhat amusing that the Emperor, whom she thought she knew, was revealing a side she had never seen before.

Alaina looked intently at Leonard as he called for an aide and urgently ordered him to trace Tenere.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

As the aide left the room, Alaina spoke with a smile.

“What does that mean?”

“That you’ve found a good excuse to make her Empress again.”

The playfulness of the words pierced Leonard’s heart, and when he didn’t respond, Alaina giggled in amusement.

“I thought you weren’t interested in women because you never gave the other young women a second glance, but I never thought you’d fall for Lady Tenere.”

Alaina spoke like a younger sister who had discovered her brother’s love life.

Leonard looked a little puzzled but then shook his head as if coming to his senses.

“I’m just trying to put the empress back where she belongs.”

“That’s a lot of care for a traitor’s children. You didn’t confiscate their titles or property, you don’t kick them out of the capital, and you often go to the Empress’s court…”.

“They had nothing to do with the treason, and they reported without delay their father’s rebellion. We learned of the treason early enough that we had little difficulty suppressing it, so they shouldn’t be harmed, and…….”

Alaina watched him closely, her chin resting in her hand. Seeing him stammer, she quickly changed her words.

Leonard kept his mouth shut, not wanting to say anything about the sting in her gaze.

“We’ve been living together for a while, so we’ve gotten to know each other, that’s true, but it’s nothing personal. I just treat her like a family, so to speak…… and nothing more than that…….”

“Your Majesty even sleeps…… with a member of a family?”

Alaina blurted it out without realizing it. But when she saw the emperor’s expression, she quickly changed her tune.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. I misspoke soon after returning to the court. Please forgive me.”

“If you’re done, leave.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. And since my father is also chasing Tenere, it would be wise to hurry.”

Leonard nodded, but as Alaina stood up and reached for the door, he suddenly spoke, as if he had just remembered.

“Lady Alaina.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Alaina turned around as if asking if there was anything else. Leonard looked puzzled.

“You address the Empress by her name.”

“…Ah.”

“I heard that you weren’t particularly close even before.”

Although Tenere had tried to engage in a conversation, they never became friends.

It had come as a surprise to Tenere when Alaina had invited her to go hunting.

“It’s not that I don’t like you.”

Alaina said. She hesitated for a moment and then laughed as if her pride were hurt.

“I probably don’t even remember her face.”

Alaina didn’t add anything and left the room. Leonard rose to his feet.

* * *

Shortly after Alaina returned to the ducal residence, Leonard had the doctor who had examined Tenere summoned.

The doctor, a middle-aged woman with brown curly hair cut short, tightened her grip on her head as soon as she saw Leonard.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I heard you examine the Empress not long ago.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Did you know that the Empress was gone?”

Doctor Evelyn was unaware of Tenere’s escape. She only remembered that the Empress had said she would speak directly to the Emperor after calming her mind.

She didn’t know why he’d summoned her instead of letting a court physician examine him.

“Is the Empress really with a child?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, that is my diagnosis.”

Evelyn answered clearly. Leonard covered his face with his hands.

“Why…….”

His voice was muffled in his palms.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Taken aback by the reproach, Evelyn didn’t know how to respond. However, faced with the Emperor’s question, she had to answer.

“I apologize, Your Majesty, but I did not tell the Imperial Household because Her Majesty said she would speak to you directly after she had calmed herself.”

“Is that so?”

Leonard replied in a low voice. He wondered if it was true that she was lying to buy time to escape.

No, she wasn’t good at lying; maybe she was going to tell him the day she’d asked for an audience.

‘I shouldn’t have refused.’

He should have considered that there was undoubtedly a significant reason for a dethroned Empress to request an audience from him. He had been too careless.

“You may leave now. I will find you a place in the palace, and you will stay here for the time being.”

Leonard ordered. Evelyn looked puzzled, but she respectfully nodded her head.

After the attendants took Evelyn to her accommodations, Leonard headed to the Empress’s palace.

It was ridiculous that he had set foot in a place he had vowed never to return to after only a few days.

The child was made in this room. Leonard walked around, taking deep breaths and exhaling.

“Why.”

He thought she loved him.

Right here in this room, she spoke of love, kissed him, and wiped away his tears.

Why did she choose to run away instead of coming back? What made her so anxious and fearful?

‘…was it me? ‘

Did she think I would harm her? Did he make her uneasy? Was he nothing more than a person of that caliber to her?

Did she end up disappointed because he didn’t accept her feelings?

She said she would let go of her lingering feelings for him; is that the reason she ran away?

On that night, in this room, she confessed her love multiple times. Is love such an easily discardable emotion to her?

A dizzying mix of resentment and self-pity tangled within him.

It wasn’t supposed to end like that.

If I had told her I loved her, even if it was a lie, she might have come back to me in peace.

I shouldn’t have let her run away.

‘I loved you, Your Majesty.’

That voice and that expression echoed incessantly in his mind. And simultaneously, a question arose.

Isn’t it strange? The child we had been waiting for so eagerly happened to be conceived that night.

‘The one who has been interfering with the Empress’s reign…….’

The face that had been anxious about the Empress’s abdication for years and the voice urging her to focus on finding a concubine all remained vivid.

‘Marquis Salvatore…’

Leonhard clenched his fists at the realization that all of this might have been someone else’s doing after all.

It had been his negligence.

He’d thought he’d gotten away with it when he’d seen Alaina gone and hadn’t objected to having a new empress.

It never occurred to him that he would harm Tenere to put Alaina back in that position.

The sheets he tightly gripped wrinkled deeply. Leonard called his aide, Delus Cyan, again.

As he rushed in, not allowing a moment to catch his breath, Leonard asked without delay.

“Have you found the Empress’s whereabouts?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. Although I ordered the knights again, it seems they had already given up on the pursuit.”

He couldn’t blame Delus; after all, it was the Emperor himself who decided to let the fleeing Empress go, but the aide bowed his head in guilt.

“She’s changed carriages several times, and it looks like she’s already left the capital. I doubt we’ll be able to find her quickly, Your Majesty.”

Leonard’s expression hardened at those words. Breathing felt stifling, as if he had lead in his chest.

“Search without hesitation, using any means necessary. We can’t afford any delays.”

Leonard was a reasonable emperor. At least, that’s what Delus knew.

He didn’t burden his subordinates with unnecessary tasks, and he neither got angry nor blamed. But the current Leonard was not the one Delus knew.

Surprisingly, Delus was stunned when Leonard answered his question.

“Has the Empress committed a grave sin?”

Delus asked cautiously. It was hard to understand why he had hastily decided to bring her back after saying he would let her go.

His question also hinted at whether she should be forcibly brought back if she resisted.

When Leonard answered, Delus was utterly shocked.

“The Empress is pregnant with the Imperial heir.”

“What?”

“Marquis Salvatore is also chasing the Empress, so we must find her before him.”

Leonard didn’t allow any room for questioning. Delus quickly bowed deeply.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Ensure not to harm even a strand of her hair. Bring her back with the utmost care.”

At the stern command, Delus hurriedly left the room.

Leonard stood in the room where the familiar scent had dissipated for a long time.

‘Don’t let anything shake you.’

His dead father’s voice echoed. It was a voice that had entered his ears countless times. It grabbed his ankles and blocked his throat.

‘…No.’

It was for the Imperial family.

He was just looking for a child who inherited the royal bloodline and its mother.

To find the Empress, to reinstate her, and to make her Empress again was solely because she had conceived the Imperial heir.

So, I’m not shaken.

Even if I were to confess my love to her belatedly, it would only be to soothe her.

That’s all it is.