“We should be safe here.”
At Heit’s words, Robert let out a sigh of relief.
‘How did I end up in this situation?’
Even up until the moment he betrayed Reinhardt, he had been conflicted.
He knew that betraying Reinhardt would bring severe repercussions.
‘If it’s the Archduke, he won’t spare not just me but my family as well.’
But as the image of Erich Blant surfaced in his mind, his fear of the Archduke became insignificant.
‘That monster wasn’t enough, and now this monster is threatening me too, so I had no choice but to obey.’
Robert, who was glaring at Sardin, who had come to the hideout with him, turned to Heit and asked.
“But is my family really safe?”
“Yes, they’ve been taken to a secure location. Our people are taking care of them, so you don’t need to worry.”
Even with that assurance, Robert couldn’t feel at ease.
He had heard that they had been taken hostage by Duke Blent’s men.
“I’ve been helping you so far, so can you tell me the plan…?”
At Robert’s words, Heit grew irritated.
“There’s no need for you to know anything right now, so just stay quiet.”
As expected, the Duke of Blant’s subordinates did not relax their vigilance even around the captured hostages.
Robert let out a deep sigh.
‘If the Duke of Blant gains the upper hand, this choice will be the best one, but if he loses, it will be a terrible mistake. Is it really okay to go on like this?’
“I’ve been helping you so far, but can you tell me the plan…?”
‘If these guys win, I’ll be able to live, and so will my family.’
At that moment, Sardin stood up.
“Then I will go carry out my mission.”
At those words, Heit nodded.
“I will inform the lord.”
Watching this, Robert quietly prayed.
‘Please, let these damned fools outsmart the Archduke Tarrant.’
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The next day, I woke up to some good news.
First, I heard that an intoxicated intruder had entered the palace and attempted to attack Fritz but failed.
‘He’ll be too scared to do anything reckless for a while.’
The second piece of news was that my subordinate was expected to return in the evening after completing a difficult mission.
‘I should tell them to serve roasted duck for dinner tonight.’
I smiled for a moment, thinking of my hardworking subordinate.
“Mom! How do I look?”
Seeing my child twirling in a blue outfit in front of me, I couldn’t help but smile brightly.
“Oh my, I don’t know whose baby this is, but he’s really handsome. Our Demian.”
At that, Demian pouted his lips like a baby duck.
“I’m not a baby.”
I struggled to contain my laughter at his adorable protest.
‘Originally, babies don’t like being called babies, and adults are happy to hear baby talk.’
But if I told him the truth, he would definitely get upset.
I picked up the child, who was standing with his back to the door, puffing out his belly.
“Oh, our son is so handsome, I almost fell in love…”
I found myself staring at the door, unable to speak.
Erich was standing there, dressed in a blue outfit just like my child, looking at us with a charming smile on his handsome face.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
My child’s question snapped me back to reality, and I shot Erich a glance before quickly responding. “Oh, it’s just that my son is so handsome.”
At my words, Demian blushed and smiled shyly.
Though he hated being called cute or a baby, it seemed he didn’t mind being called handsome.
“Hehe, you’re beautiful too, Mom!”
“Thanks, sweetie.”
That conversation with my child lasted only a short while.
‘Is it because Demian is growing up? He’s definitely getting heavy. I should hurry to the carriage.’
I adjusted the child in my arms and asked Erich.
“Are you ready?”
“Everything is ready. Have you finished preparing as well, madam?”
“Yeah.”
As I nodded in response, Erich extended his hand.
‘Wait, why is he reaching out when I have no hand to offer?’
Since I was holding the child, I shot him a glance to signal my confusion.
At that moment, Erich extended both hands.
“Demian, if you keep clinging to Mom like that, she’ll get tired. Let’s go with Daddy, okay?”
Seeing him consider my comfort and hearing him call himself “Dad” for the first time since my return left me stunned.
“Okay! Dad!”
Seeing the child reach out to him, I placed my child in his arms.
The child settled comfortably in his embrace, as if it were second nature.
“Let’s go! To the palace!”
I was worried that Erich might not like the order that came out as if he was ordering a coachman.
“Alright, let’s get there as quickly as possible.”
He adjusted his pace to match the child’s rhythm.
Suddenly, fragments of the past came to mind.
<Demian, come here. Dad will give you a piggyback ride.>
Although Erich wasn’t the warmest father, there were times when he could be as kind as the sun melting the frost.
And when I saw him like that, I had no doubt that he loved the child.
And then…
“Wow, it’s high!”
The sight of him giving a piggyback ride now was strikingly similar to that time.
Yes, just like back then, when I believed without a doubt that he was a good dad.
‘Now that I’ve revealed the truth to Demian, I should tell him that he is his biological father too, right?’
At that moment, Erich gazed at me.
“Cornelia, do you have something to say to me?”
“Huh?”
“You keep staring at me.”
I felt an impulse to reveal the truth to him, but I shook my head.
‘It’s still not the right time.’
Soon, I replied calmly, “You don’t have to indulge the child too much.”
Then Erich smiled his radiant smile once again.
“It’s alright. He’s my son, after all.”
Those words made my heart flutter.
I tried to turn away from that sight and climbed into the carriage.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Upon arriving at the palace, I blinked in surprise at the unexpected scene.
“Grandpa! Can I eat this snack?”
“Hahaha! What a cute little guy! Of course! Demian, eat as much as you want!”
In just a short while, Demian had won over the Emperor and was sitting on his knee, munching on cookies.
‘He’s so natural at this.’
I had always thought that my child was good at making friends.
“Demi, if you want something else to eat, just say so!”
“Okay, then I want cheesecake!”
“Did you hear that? Tell the chef to make some!”
But I hadn’t expected it to be like this.
The Emperor’s face had melted into a gooey expression, clearly smitten with Demian.
Honestly, it felt completely unfamiliar to me.
‘How did it come to this?’
Before the regression, the Emperor would occasionally smile at Demian, but he would quickly compose himself and be strict.
And Demian, scared of that strict grandfather, always hid behind my skirt.
“Grandpa is the best!”
“Hahaha, you like your grandfather that much?”
“Yeah!”
But now, seeing them being so affectionate and playful with each other was, frankly, surreal.
‘But then again, it’s already strange that the Emperor, Erich, and I are all together like this.’
As I was thinking this while glancing at my husband, who had subtly joined the conversation, the Emperor called out to me.
“Cornelia.”
“Yes.”
“About the next emperor, have you thought it over again?”
At that question, I let out a small sigh and opened my mouth.
“I understand what Your Majesty is concerned about. However, Duke Hauzen…”
At that moment, the Emperor handed me a few sheets of paper.
“What is this…?”
“Read it.”
As I skimmed through the contents, I furrowed my brow.
It was no wonder, as the document recorded that the Duke had made requests to the empress in the past.
‘So he had already made connections with Fritz beforehand.’
Moreover, his corruption was not limited to just that.
He had bribed nobles from the Emperor’s faction before the state council meeting and had turned a blind eye to Fritz’s misdeeds in exchange for gifts from the Empress.
He had even forged official documents to seize imperial land for his own gain, evicting the commoners who lived there.
Each revelation was nothing but disappointing.
“Do you think someone like this should become emperor? Even if you turn a blind eye and support him, Reinhardt will surely know about this corruption. He will definitely attack the Duke.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
I nodded along for a moment, but then I felt a headache coming on.
‘Then who should we make emperor?’
At that moment, the Emperor spoke.
“I thought you had a good eye for people, but I guess not. You have someone with the potential to be Emperor right next to you.”
At his words, I stared at Erich, who was quietly sipping his tea.
‘Could he be talking about this man?’
But the Emperor shook his head firmly.
“You’ve got it wrong.”
As I pondered again, I looked at my child, who was eating snacks on the Emperor’s lap.
Soon, I felt chills running down my spine and spoke to the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, Demian is still too young!”
The emperor chuckled and patted my child’s dandelion-like hair.
“Hohoho, even if he’s young, he’s better than his uncle. Isn’t it okay to make him emperor? If we start educating him now, he’ll be a wise and great ruler.”
“Father!”
I raised my voice without realizing it at that moment.
“In about 15 years.”
As I heard his words, I felt my tension dissipate.
The Emperor chuckled at my reaction.
‘What? Are you teasing me right now?’
Feeling a strange thirst, I lifted my teacup and took a sip.
‘Then who is he thinking of…?’
Just then, the Emperor spoke up.
“You silly child, why can’t you understand what your father is saying? I’m talking about you! You!”
And at those words, I nearly spat out my tea.
