Whose Child Belongs to the Emperor - Chapter 8 - Part 1

Chapter 8 – Part 1

Tenere sank onto the bed with a thud as soon as Laura left the room. Joshua, who enjoyed playing alone, quickly noticed his mom’s downcast expression and rushed to cling to her knees.

With his little hand caressing her cheek and awkwardly mimicking her with his small lips, he tried to give her a comforting kiss. It was a clumsy attempt at consolation, but somehow it brought a smile to Tenere’s face.

“It’s okay, Josie. Mom’s just tired.”

Tenere reassured his son while gently patting him. Joshua, after confirming Tenere’s expression, smiled again and embraced her.

Remaining in that embrace, Tenere lay down on the bed with Joshua still in her arms.

“Were you surprised because I suddenly screamed?”

As she played with the child, tossing and turning his body, the child burst out laughing as if he had never been anxious before.

As she lay face down on the bed and watched her child play, she felt a belated sense of fatigue.

‘…I’m tired.’

To Tenere, Laura Hale was such a person. Not someone she hated for no reason, but not someone she wanted to get close to either.

The reason she got down on her knees now and apologized for what happened in the past was the same, and the reason she tried to shake her by mentioning something she had already decided was the same.

“I know Patrona’s whereabouts.”

What use was that information? Whether she was the Empress or before becoming one, her mother never sought her out, even now as they are about to return to the palace with Leonard.

No, perhaps the reason her mother left the North a few years ago was because she was afraid that she, now empress, would find her.

That thought had been with her since she settled in the North. If Tasha had any intention of meeting her, even a little, they could have met much earlier.

“She’s heading to Albalero. It seems she even purchased a ship. She’ll leave in two days at the earliest, three days at the latest.”

If you think about it positively, it may be that she doesn’t want to harm Tenere, who was already endangered by her father’s treason.

Being known as the daughter of a traitor who hadn’t been pregnant for years after marriage, if her mother, known for her low lineage, were to appear, it could cause trouble for Tenere.

However, deep down, perhaps the resentment toward the mother who left her behind in that ruined place was the reason why she didn’t want to think that way.

Even though it was hard for her mother to bear the life in the social circle, she hated that she had left her daughter in a ruined place.

Despite understanding it was unavoidable and telling herself she understood, in reality, she also wished her mother would have taken her along.

“Mom, look, doo-doo.”

Playing with a toy while muttering to himself, Joshua ran over with a duck model.

Perhaps because the maid saw the duck and said it was ‘floating’, Joshua saw the duck and called it doo-doo.

Tenere said it with a smile.

“It’s a duck, Josie.”

“Duck.”

Perhaps he was originally going to ask for the name, but Joshua nodded and ran off again as if his business was over.

If it had been Eric, he would have grumbled that she was being cruel, and Leonard might look at Tenere with a somewhat bewildered expression before smiling.

Having a child made one understand a parent’s feelings, but every time Tenere looked at Joshua, she found it harder to comprehend her own parents.

How could someone strike their own child? How could you leave your child alone in a place like that?

Especially when it was a child who deserved only good things from the world.

‘…It’s all in the past now.’

There were things she couldn’t undo and things she didn’t even want to undo.

She had no intention of foolishly loving her mother, who neither missed her nor loved her.

Didn’t she feel the same for her father?

She knew that he was someone who would hate her no matter what she did, so she decided to cut him off in the end.

It was the same for the mother. Whether that person leaves the empire or if they never meet again, she plans to pretend that she never existed.

Without any regrets again.

***

As soon as Leonard returned from the inspection and saw Tenere, he asked about Laura’s visit.

Whether he had given reports beforehand or whether the knights who believed the emperor loved the empress reported on their own, it was not clear.

In fact, either way, it was not an important story.

The most important thing was that he cared for her, and because of that, the position of both her and Joshua would become more secure.

“You don’t have to worry about it. She just came to apologize for what she mentioned in the past.”

“Why did she just apologize now?”

Leonard also found it strange that Laura was apologizing only now for something that happened several years ago.

“Did she never apologize to you when you were in the palace?”

“It seems that Lady Hale was anxious because it seemed like you had no intention of taking her as a concubine. After doing some investigation, it seems that there were several families that sent letters of marriage to Lady Hale. however… … .”

Since she was at Viscount Hale’s estate, it wasn’t that difficult to find out about Laura Hale.

The servants of the estate were tense just by meeting eyes with Tenere, but when spoken to with a smile, they answered the questions with a slightly excited expression.

According to them, there were five letters of courtship that came to Laura Hale. It was natural because she was quite beautiful at the age of twenty-five.

However, the senders of these proposals were not all suitable men.

Among the five, three had some rank, but the youngest was thirty-eight, and the oldest was over seventy.

Those close to Laura’s age not only had no titles but were either overly debauched or mentally unstable.

“All of them were wealthy, but they were not the kind of man she would want to marry. It seemed like she wanted to become a palace maid to avoid marriage.”

She did not bring up the topic of her mother. Since she had decided not to look for her anyway, she didn’t want to bother him by bringing it up.

It was kind of a decision. She had no regrets left, and she wasn’t going to let anything Laura Hale said sway her.

“Have you accepted?”

“She said I would need her to keep a check on Lady Salvatore, but I declined because of what you’ve said before and because I don’t think we’re compatible. I want to surround myself with people I can trust.”

Tenere was able to dismiss Laura’s words because of what Leonard had said before.

He said that Lady Alaina Salvatore did not dislike her, and she had no intention of becoming the empress.

Although Leonard did not love her, he is not one to turn a blind eye to those who would harm her, so Tenere decides to take him at his word.

“You did well. Of course, you will be the one to judge in accepting your maid, but I hope your heart remains steadfast even if Lady Hale requests again.”

Leonard gently advised. Tenere nodded obediently, though she wondered how much of a softie he thought she was.

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

When Tenere replied, Leonard began to talk about the upcoming banquet a few days later.

Tenere tried to forget unnecessary things and listened to his words.

But no matter how hard she tried to shake them off, they would not go away.

Her father, who scolded her, her mother, who fought against it, the warm embrace and affectionate touch, the mocking words about her lowly bloodline, the big and frightening hand that inevitably came whenever she disobeyed, the scolding and shouting that she took after her mother.

‘Try to make some sort of acquaintance with Lady Salvatore before she becomes Empress!

“Do you even see me as a human being?”

“Why, are you going to run away like your mother? Where do you think you can go with your petty existence?”

“I’m not just your decoration!”

Her deceased father’s voice and her absent mother’s voice constantly echoed in her ears. Tenere reproached herself.

‘If it were me, I wouldn’t have done that.’

‘If it were me, I wouldn’t have run away, leaving my child behind.’

‘At least, I would have tried to take my child with me. Not irresponsibly abandoning him like that.’

But even if she blamed her mother as much as she wanted, there was no one to justify her actions.

There was no rebuttal, apology, or excuse. There was no one to say that ‘if she were in their shoes, it would be different.

Tenere found it somewhat frustrating and a little sad.