Whose Child Belongs to the Emperor - Chapter 6 - Part 4

Chapter 6 – Part 4

The greenhouse of the Duke’s mansion was large enough to enjoy a leisurely walk or tea time. One side was filled with colorful flowers, while the other side displayed vegetables and fruits that were rare to see in winter. On an outdoor table where tea could be enjoyed, plump grapes were neatly arranged.

Tenere held Josie’s hand and stepped into the greenhouse. Leonard, who was sitting, quickly stood up.

“Tenere.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Tenere quickly bowed. Josie, with wide eyes, laughed happily when he saw his father.

“Da Da!”

In any case, Josie really liked his father. Although Eric insisted that it was because ‘Dad’ was easier to pronounce than ‘Uncle,’ seeing him open his eyes wide and observe his father each time they met suggested it wasn’t just that.

“Yes, Josie.”

Leonard naturally embraced Josie. He kissed the child’s cheek, then lifted his head.

“How is your health?”

“Thanks to your concern, I have recovered a lot. I apologize for the delay in departure caused by my condition.”

Tenere still spoke politely. Leonard looked at her with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Leonard cautiously extended his hand to Tenere. There was a hint of tension. Tenere hesitated for a moment but eventually placed her hands in his. His hands were, as usual, large and warm.

It wasn’t long after she sat down at the table that the servers brought in a tray. Hot tea, scones, and fresh-smelling fruit were placed on the table. Leonard didn’t speak until after they had left the greenhouse.

“How are you feeling?”

“It’s still not good, and Your Majesty is also…”

Tenere’s words trailed off. She seemed to be quite concerned, and her usually immaculate face appeared somewhat haggard.

She used to love this. The way he was so warm despite the cold words that told him not to hope for love. When she confessed her love, he just apologized for not being able to accept, instead of blaming her for not being able to fulfill her promise.

“Is it because of me? I was worried that I might have hurt you.”

“….”

“It’s not your fault; it’s entirely my fault.”

Tenere thought his words were sincere. He had been a person who worried about her since his time in the palace.

Josie, sitting on Leonard’s lap, hesitated while nibbling on a small scone, then turned his body. He held the scone he was eating tightly and handed it to Leonard.

“Dada, here.”

“Is this for me?”

Bringing Josie was a good choice. The child eased the somewhat awkward atmosphere. Leonard, who seemed to share the same thoughts, patted the child’s head and took a small bite of the scone.

Josie alternated between watching his father eat the reduced scone and making small talk.

“Thank you, Josie.”

“Uh-oh…”

Leonard, who was about to praise Josie, was startled by a sudden sound. The child, who he always thought would laugh heartily, was crying heavily.

“Josie?”

“Mommy…”

Josie, suddenly tearing up, looked for his mother with teary eyes. Tenere, also surprised, hugged the child and froze.

“What’s wrong, Didn’t you give it to Daddy to eat?”

Leonard, who unintentionally made the child cry, couldn’t hide his embarrassment and looked at Tenere. Tenere, seemingly unsure, shook her head and lightly patted the child’s bottom.

“Did you ask him what it was, or were you just showing him?”

Despite Tenere’s various questions to Josie, the child just cried in his mother’s arms. Since the child’s sadness was in a place that adults couldn’t understand, Tenere gave up on understanding and focused on consoling.

“Did I… eat too much?”

Leonard asked with an embarrassed face. From an adult’s perspective, it was just a bite, but he seemed to worry because it was different for the child.

Tenere continued to caress the child while looking at him with her hands.

“I don’t know; the child has a short memory, and I don’t know if he put it out for you to eat and he forgot…… or if he didn’t understand that sharing reduces his share…….””

“Does he not share food most of the time?”

“”That’s because…… I or my brother would just pretend to eat every time…….”

Whatever it was, the child meant that it was wrong to eat something he really wanted to eat. Leonard found something else that could attract Josie’s attention.

When he shook a ripe grape, Josie, who was hopping, grabbed a dangling grape.

“This is a grape, Josie. Grape.”

“Grape.”

Fortunately, the shaking seeds caught the child’s attention. When the child reached out, Tenere and Leonard sighed at the same time and watched him.

Their eyes met, and embarrassed laughter broke out before either of them could stop it. A soft chuckle echoed through the warm greenhouse.

“I have a lot to learn.”

“I don’t know a lot either.”

Tenere said this while helping Josie pick the grapes. The child, who put a fresh grape in his mouth, made a face and spit it out. Tenere also laughed again, deliberately putting a grape in her mouth, seemingly trying to make the child laugh.

Leonard watched the scene while sitting down. The greenhouse was well lit, and the light shining through the lush branches illuminated Tenere and Josie. Even though the light came from the same sky, why did it seem like only one person was illuminated?

“Tenere.”

Leonard spoke with a sense of hesitation.

He had seen such a scene before. The moment when he asked her for the first dance among countless ladies. The moment when, among the dazzlingly dressed people, she stood out to him.

“….I’m sorry.”

Whether it was an unexpected statement or not, Tenere widened her eyes and looked at him.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“….”

“I’ve been troubled all along because I couldn’t respond to your feelings. I thought if I had accepted your feelings, you wouldn’t have run away like that.

Tenere remained silent. She just continued to caress the child, who was absorbed in picking grapes. After a while, Tenere’s lips, which had been neatly closed, moved slowly.

“I wanted to comfort you, even if it was only in hindsight. Rather than take you to the imperial court, I wanted you to…… hear what you wanted.”

“How did you know…… I had a child?”

Tenere asked without any unpleasant expression. Her voice sounded like she was asking about today’s weather.

Leonard hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

“The maid was suspicious that she didn’t speak up at the end, so I questioned the doctor who diagnosed you. She said you were supposed to tell me that you were pregnant.”

“…….”

“Tenere.”

Leonard cautiously held Tenere’s hand. Tenere glanced at the held hand, but that was all.

“I cherish you a lot.”

“…….”

“You’re a good person, a good Empress, and you’re the one who bore my child. When I say that you are the only empress I want, I am not lying.”

Josie shook the plucked grape egg proudly, then tossed it to the floor. He watched as the hard grain bounced and rolled across the floor. Tenere looks at the child, and Leonard looks at Tenere.

Tenere’s lips, which had been pressed together, moved slowly.

“You’re a good man, Your Majesty.”

“…….”

“Bad people don’t feel much even if they make big mistakes, but good people feel a lot even if they make small mistakes. The reason I got angry at Your Majesty for a while… was because Your Majesty is such a good person.”

There was no anger or malice in Tenere’s voice. She remained as calm and gentle as he knew her.

“I realize this is a very small mistake compared to the grace you have shown me. I know that you did not intend to hurt me, Your Majesty, but rather to understand my feelings. You didn’t punish me for my ridiculous stubbornness, but instead, you reached out to me like this…….”

“How could I possibly punish you?”

“You’ve always been someone who speaks like this.”

Tenere smiled softly. Was it because of that smile that their interlocking fingertips tickled? A corner of Leonard’s chest fluttered strangely.

“I truly burdened Your Majesty with unnecessary words that day,” Tenere said again.

“You told me from the beginning not to hope for love, and I did so in vain, though it is because of that that I was able to give birth to Josie…….”

An affectionate gaze was directed at the child. It was the same gaze Leonard had observed since their reunion. The way she’d walked up to him, hugged him, blushed, kissed him, and called his name in her sweet voice, without any formalities or pretense.

Tenere listened to the child’s incomprehensible words for a while and then raised his head.

“It’s alright now, Your Majesty.”

Leonhard couldn’t quite feel that everything was alright.

What was alright?

Why so obediently?

“Your Majesty has always been a steadfast man, and I know that the Empire and the Imperial family are of the utmost importance to you. I will now abandon my greed in favor of your will, and you may treat me as you have in the past.”

There was no hint of anger or sadness in the calm voice.

‘Give up my greed; treat me as I was before.’ What does that mean?

“I don’t understand.”

Leonard spoke quietly. Tenere looked at him and smiled calmly.

“From now on, I will not love you, nor will I ask for your love, so don’t worry…….”

“Tenere.”

Leonard urgently called out to Tenere. Tenere paused for a moment. Her nonchalant face seemed to choke the breath out of Leonard’s throat. Such words are said so nonchalantly…

“I will no longer love Your Majesty, just as I mentioned that day.”

Leonard thought it was a matter of course. It was absurd to continue loving someone who had lied about love. So, he was prepared for her to get angry or resentful of him. But seeing her spit out those words so nonchalantly, instead of relief, a deep anxiety crept up belatedly.

Was it a form of retaliation? Was it because she couldn’t get angry with the Emperor, so she was pleading like this?

“Are you still angry with me?”

Tenere’s face showed a slightly surprised expression at Leonard’s question.

“Do you think I’m angry…… with you?”

A puzzled expression silenced her. After a moment of contemplation, Tenere, as if realizing something, opened her mouth.

“I don’t mean to imply anything else, I’m just trying to follow Your Majesty’s wishes. because, as you say, it will be good for Josie.”

“…”

“While I know that I must go to the palace for the sake of the child, I won’t bring up stories like that day again. I won’t seek to become someone to Your Majesty. So, there’s no need to worry…”

Although Tenere explained calmly, Leonard strangely didn’t feel reassured. She said she wouldn’t love her. She now acknowledges that Josie is his child, and she will go to the palace for him. She’s bending everything to his will, but why is he not happy about it at all?

“You mean to tell me that you are…… okay with that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Tenere nodded slowly. Leonard tried to find a lie in that expression. Not knowing if it was worry or desire.

“Do you mean you’re fine with achieving nothing you desire?”

As he spoke, Leonard’s throat became dry. Tenere turned her head, looking a bit awkward.

“Then will you let me go with Josie, as I told you that day?”

“…”

Tenere laughed softly at Leonard’s inability to answer. The sunlight streaming into the warm greenhouse made her wheat-colored hair and eyelashes sparkle. Just like that, his lips were dry and his throat burned.

Nothing was special, but her laughter caught his attention. Tenere turned the conversation to another topic, but the thirst did not disappear.