Whose Child Belongs to the Emperor - Chapter 9 - Part 5

Chapter 9 – Part 5

After Tenere and Leonard left the estate, the one facing the most challenges was undoubtedly Eric, who had taken on the responsibility of caring for the child.

He had always taken care of his nephew as if he were his own child, so he thought everything would be fine, but the child’s anxiety at being separated from his mother for the first time was palpable.

Even when he was playing with his uncle as if nothing was wrong, he would suddenly call out for his mom and cry hysterically.

Once he started crying, he wouldn’t listen to anyone who tried to soothe him, and even if he fell asleep exhausted from crying, he would cry again when he opened his eyes.

Unable to speak harshly to the frightened child, Eric could only stay confined in the room, using the child as an excuse.

“Let’s get some sleep, please…”

However, staying confined in the room wasn’t an effective solution.

Being with the child all day long made Eric gradually reach the point of losing his patience due to the continuous crying.

“Mommy. Mama.”

“She’s coming right now. She’ll be here as soon as you stop crying.”

“Mama. Ugh, mama.”

“When you wake up, she’ll be back. Huh? Do you think she’ll come if you keep crying?”

Whether the child understood these words or not, Joshua began to cry even more loudly.

Eric quickly picked up the child, attempting to soothe him.

“Oh, come on… I made a mistake. She’s on her way now. Huh? Josie, don’t you trust your mother? Your mother caught bears. She even chased away birds and wolf packs…Please sleep. You need to sleep, and I need to sleep too.”

Of course, Eric’s dark circles, deeply ingrained under his eyes like a mark of exhaustion, were not known to the anxious child who missed his mother.

Joshua cried as if in a competition. ‘Mama. Mama’. Now, he didn’t even shed tears; he simply wailed.

“Josie, shall we go for a walk? Huh?”

To momentarily stop the child’s crying, Eric had to introduce some other interesting activity.

A tasty snack, a new toy, a small insect, or the cold and fluffy snow.

Since there was a layer of fresh snow outside, taking a stroll in the garden seemed like a reasonable choice.

After dressing the child in warm clothes with difficulty, Eric took him out to the backyard.

As Eric brushed his chubby cheeks against the piled-up snow on the railing, Joshua, who had been crying, suddenly stopped and opened his eyes wide.

“Is it cold? It’s snow. You like it, don’t you?”

“Do..wn.”

When the child extended his lips and pronounced the words, Eric sighed with relief, wiping his cheeks with his sleeve.

Tears and mucus had smeared onto his clothes, but for someone who had experienced getting urine on his face while changing diapers, this was nothing extraordinary.

“Oh, aren’t you the Marquis?”

The unfamiliar voice came at the right moment.

Eric turned his head. A young maid in a servant’s dress smiled brightly, greeting him.

“It seems like you’re taking a walk with the Crown Prince.”

“To escape the stuffiness inside the room. Have I seen you before?”

“I’ve just returned from a short vacation, so I apologize for the late greeting.”

The way she greeted him seemed well-educated, even though she was just a maid from the private estate.

Eric nodded as if it were fine. The maid spoke while glancing at the child.

“You didn’t ask the lady or the masters to show you around?”

“I’ve been here a few times.”

Eric replied simply, and he was more comfortable not being escorted by the people of this estate. They were the ones who were going to give their daughter to his sister’s husband.

There was no way they were going to look good on a subject like that, much less the Empress’s family.

He could tell by the way they dressed the young lady, who was only twenty years old, and held her before him.

It didn’t even occur to them that their sister’s husband would look askance at their manipulations.

Perhaps it was because he remembered his own father, who took Patrona as his second wife despite the jeers of those around him.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I knew how she would be treated at the mansion.’

No, maybe it doesn’t matter. Their daughter’s happiness wasn’t their goal in the first place.

Whatever the case, he had no desire to be associated with these kinds of people.

Aside from personal discomfort, the Marquise of Evan was supposed to be the Empress’s confidante and the Prince’s only family.

Tenere would probably tell him to not even think about it and find someone he loved, but he didn’t want to be like his dead father.

He needed to take a decent lady of the house as his wife, someone who would be useful to the marquis, not a parasite on the imperial family.

“I wonder if…… would mind if I showed you around, if you don’t mind?”

The maid spoke softly, her face pensive. Eric furrowed his brow with a small smile.

“I’ll tell you up front: I don’t engage in any relationship with a maid.”

“You’re ……?”

“I have no intention of dating a maid, so don’t pull any weird tricks on me.”

“Oh…….”

The maid blinks in embarrassment. Then she cautiously opened her mouth.

“I’m…… married.”

“…What?”

“I have children too. Twins, to be exact.”

“…”

“I thought I could be of some assistance, seeing that you seem quite tired. If it’s acceptable, I’d be happy to accompany you.”

Her expression was genuinely kind. Despite the discomfort Eric felt, the mention of being a mother of twins made him soften a bit.

Nodding reluctantly, Eric looked back, and the maid took a step back from his side.

***
“Now the Empress is in trouble. You’re useless.”

Laura was sitting alone on the bed. Her brother’s cold voice echoed in her ears.

“I thought you were going to send her to her mother, so you could get involved with the emperor in the meantime, but he followed her, and you ruined the rest of the inspection and the banquet with your uselessness.”

She hadn’t said anything about the search for Patrona’s whereabouts, and she was still in the habit of blaming others when things went wrong.

But dealing with a brother who was mad as a hatter was as foolish as asking his father to make her a minor viscountess.

“Now that the Emperor’s gone, you’ll have to settle for the Marquis of Evan. You already looked displeasing; you should have gone after Dylan. During this time, you should behave sensibly in your room. If you’re bored, write a letter to Viscount Vlache.

During the three days when the Empress and the Emperor both left the private estate, Laura could not leave her room.

In the morning, the maids provided her with fresh water and changed clothes, and at mealtimes, they brought her food. But that was it.

Even though she pulled the bell rope, not a single soul came.

‘When the Empress returns…’

Laura bit her nails meticulously. However, as long as the Empress returns safely and unharmed, there will still be a way.

Even if she can’t make Laura her handmaiden, she can at least pity her plight and say something.

It wouldn’t make her brother give up on selling her, but it might buy her a little time.

Laura, with a shawl over her shoulders, approached the window. Her room had the best view of the garden.

The decision not to block the window was not for consideration of her well-being; it was rather a reminder of her position, to make her feel like people were enjoying themselves outside.

“Who……?”

In Laura’s eyes, the Marquis and a maid carrying the Crown Prince entered.

Walking and talking cheerfully, they looked quite close.

“What? Is he having an affair with a maid? ”

If she knew it would come to this, maybe she should have aimed for the Marquis from the beginning. If only she hadn’t worn a flashy dress at dinner, there might have been some chance.

Even though she might have given up meeting a prince charming like in romance novels long ago, she still had the habit of assessing the worth of a young man when she saw one.

Laura leaned against the window, looking at him one by one as a habit.

‘He might not be very tall, but his face is clean, and being a young Marquis… Even if there is a significant age difference, it’s not a big deal.

However, she already knew that he didn’t like her.

Falling in love with someone you hate is a common occurrence in romance novels, but she was past the age where she could separate reality from fiction.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure my brother won’t stand for it when he sees her like that.”

Laura had a hunch that sooner or later, the maid would be caught red-handed and sent packing.

No severance pay, no letter of recommendation, and she’d be lucky if she didn’t get whipped.

‘At least if the Marquis sees me, I’ll be able to live.

Whether it was out of concern for a maid she didn’t know or jealousy at the thought that a mere maid could accomplish what she couldn’t,.

Laura watched them with a pouting expression.

“Turn your head. Let me see how pretty you are.”

In the meantime, the most curious thing was the appearance of the maid.

How pretty did she have to be to seduce a marquis?

When the maid slowly turned her head, Laura’s eyes widened.

“Who is that?”

Her eyes weren’t widening because the maid wasn’t as pretty as she expected or because she looked older than she thought.

‘Who is that person? ’

It was because she had never seen the maid before.

Viscount Hale was not wealthy enough to have many servants. And he couldn’t afford a new maid.

So there was no way she didn’t recognize her.

Laura hurried to her bed and pulled at the string.

Quickly tying her skirt into something like pants, Laura pocketed a few gold coins for contingencies.

Whether it was a real crisis she was worried about or the fact that someone was aiming for the prince, or even if she ended up saving the prince in crisis, she might be able to receive a title even as minor as a baroness.

Laura climbed onto the window sill and took a deep breath. The cold wind blew against her as she extended her foot carefully toward the outer wall. The wall was bumpy, and the ceiling was low, making it possible.

It didn’t take long until her foot touched the ground. Because the wall was bumpy and the ceiling was low, it was possible.

Straight away, Laura realized she didn’t have any weapons in her hand.

‘Shall I go to the knights? ’

But what if trouble arose on the way to the knights? Hesitating, Laura suddenly saw something.

“A shovel…? ”

The gardener must have left it behind. Laura swallowed hard and looked around for it.

Then she slowly picked it up.