“Hey, you cute little guy, should Grandpa give you some candy?”
At that moment, Demian jumped down from the Emperor’s lap.
“Demi wants to go to the bathroom!”
The Emperor then called for his attendants and knights.
“Escort my grandson to the bathroom safely.”
When they arrived at the bathroom, Demian smiled and said to the attendants,
“I can go by myself. So don’t follow me! It’s embarrassing.”
The attendants smiled and nodded.
“Understood. We’ll wait outside the door.”
With the attendants left outside, Demian entered the bathroom alone and soon wore a wicked smile as he muttered,
“Now, let’s go and give that brat a lesson.”
At that moment, Demian’s body was enveloped in light and disappeared.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Meanwhile, Fritz, who was locked up in the tower, was kicking the door and causing a ruckus.
Bang! Bang!
“Open the door! Damn it! Do you think you can lock me up here and get away with it?”
The abandoned palace was originally a place where guilty royals were imprisoned for their crimes.
That’s why the door was sturdy, and kicking it only hurt his foot.
Fritz was consumed by rage and shouted curses.
“Damn it! When I become Emperor, I’ll kill you all!”
Finally, Fritz clenched his fists and wore a fierce expression.
“Yeah, this is all that damned crow’s fault! Once I get out of here, I won’t let that woman off easily…”
“Don’t say bad words.”
The sudden sound of a child’s voice made Fritz look around in surprise.
“Who’s there?”
Then, with a giggle, a cute blonde child appeared.
“How did you get here…?”
Just as Fritz was bewildered, the child said, “Hello, Uncle!”
Upon hearing the term “uncle,” Fritz recalled who the child was and wore a wicked smile.
“Who is this? It’s my little nephew!”
Fritz slowly approached the child.
‘If I can just take this little brat hostage, I can force Cornelia to give up the throne.’
Although he didn’t understand how the child had suddenly appeared here, capturing him was the top priority.
‘A little kid like that? I can easily take him.’
Once captured, he would make Cornelia and that annoying Duke Blant kneel and beg.
Then he would have them sign a document relinquishing the throne, and he could return to being the crown prince.
‘And when I become Emperor, I’ll send that crow into exile in the north so he can never have foolish dreams again.’
“Uncle, you just had a bad thought, didn’t you?”
Demian’s words made Fritz feel as if his thoughts were being read, and he shook his head.
“Of course not! This uncle is a very good person. So be good and come here!”
“No way! You’re a bad uncle, so I won’t go.”
At that, Fritz felt his shallow patience wearing thin.
“Come here, you little brat! Don’t talk back to your uncle like that!”
But instead of being scared, Demian stuck out his tongue.
“You’re the one who’s being rude, Uncle!”
Finally, Fritz’s patience ran out, and he revealed his true colors.
“You, you little brat! You’re just like your crow mother! Today, you’re going to get a good spanking from your uncle!”
With that, Fritz quickly lunged at Demian.
But…
“Ugh! What the hell!”
As his body suddenly lifted off the ground, Fritz wore a look of panic.
At that moment, a cheerful voice rang out.
“Uncle, you’re going to get a spanking today!”
“Damn it, what the…”
Bang!
Before he could finish his curse, Fritz’s body slammed against the wall.
“Ahhh!”
Screaming in pain, Fritz finally grasped the situation.
“Damn it, does this even make sense? Magic?!”
Bang!
As Fritz was slammed against the wall again, Demian smiled brightly.
“Yay! Playing with Uncle is fun!”
“You idiots! An intruder is trying to kill me! Hurry and… Aah!”
Fritz desperately called for the guards.
However, the guards outside didn’t even think to look inside the room.
And it made sense—
“Ha! There’s no way an intruder could have gotten in. The only entrance is this door.”
“Tsk, the foolish prince is trying every trick to get out.”
“If he makes another mistake, the captain will punish him, so just ignore it.”
“Alright.”
It was because of the situation described above.
“Save me! Please, save me! Damn you all!”
After a considerable amount of beating, a battered Fritz began to plead to the child, who was no taller than his waist.
“Little one, your uncle was wrong. I won’t act up anymore.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! If I act up, I’ll go to hell! Not as a prince, but as a damn dog!”
“But my grandfather said that you’re a dog, Uncle. So doesn’t that mean you already are one?”
Fritz felt his blood pressure rising at that, but he suppressed his anger and replied.
“Alright. Then you can do whatever you want with me. So please, just let me off this once!”
Hearing his desperate voice, Demian waved his hand.
And just like that, the bindings were released.
‘Damn it, I thought I was going to die.’
Just as Fritz caught his breath, a sharp energy brushed past his cheek.
“Ah!”
As a startled Fritz fell backward, the child appeared in front of him.
“Uncle, you better behave from now on. Otherwise, you really will die.”
With that chilling voice, the child made a slicing motion across his neck while smiling.
Frightened, Fritz fainted on the spot.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
My father and I had a long conversation about the direction we should take.
How much time had passed like that?
I recalled what I had been keeping in mind all along.
‘Why on earth is he taking so long to come back?’
Demian hadn’t returned since he went to the bathroom.
I anxiously glanced at the clock.
‘Should I go look for him myself?’
At that moment, the child bounced into the room.
“Demian, why are you so late?”
“Demi played in the bathroom! There are so many cool things in the imperial palace bathroom!”
I looked at the attendant, who sighed and said, “After a long time passed and he still didn’t come out, I opened the door and found him playing with the water.”
“Ah, I guess he was fascinated by the faucet.”
Thanks to the blessing of the first empress, who was a water spirit, the imperial palace had faucets that provided water when you touched them and prayed.
I had seen it since I was young, but for Demian, who had only seen pump-style faucets, it must have been quite fascinating.
‘Besides, there’s also a fountain in the bathroom with a fish statue that sprays water from its mouth, so there were definitely plenty of things to play with.’
As I was justifying Demian’s delay, he suddenly yawned.
“Yawn, I’m sleepy.”
Stumbling a bit, Demian soon nestled into my arms and yawned.
Seeing this, Father let out a hearty laugh.
“Haha, our cute grandson seems very tired.”
“I apologize.”
“Apologize? The poor child has been outside for a long time; he must be exhausted. Head back now.”
At my father’s words, I sighed and nodded.
“Yes, I’ll go back then.”
Just as I was about to pick up the child to leave the office, Erich picked up the half-asleep child.
“Let’s go.”
Having taken care of the child alone for quite a long time, it felt awkward, but thinking about it, it wasn’t such an unfamiliar sight.
‘Before the regression, he always held the child.’
Was it because I caught a glimpse of my father’s true feelings today?
As I looked at Erich, a sudden question arose in my mind.
What had his true feelings been before the regression?
‘I don’t think he would have tried to harm me or Demian. So why did Erich chase after me that day?’
Just then, as I was recalling his fierce expression while chasing me, my father’s voice broke my thoughts.
“Well then, we’ll talk during the state council meeting. Don’t forget my advice.”
Father’s advice was to not dwell on my weaknesses.
To be honest, I still didn’t feel confident, but I nodded.
“Yes, I will.”
Then he embraced me.
Honestly, this situation was unfamiliar, so I hesitated as I nestled into his arms.
At that moment, a soft whisper reached my ear.
“Your husband is more capable than you think, so make good use of him.”
In that instant, I let out a small laugh. But I responded nonchalantly.
“Yes, take care.”
In response to my greeting, Erich also bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, I will take my leave now.”
And Demian, who had been in Erich’s arms, waved his hand as if he had just woken up.
“Grandpa, take care!”
“Alright, kid. Be careful on your way!”
After exchanging greetings, I left the palace and headed towards the carriage.
“Just a moment.”
Erich laid the child down in the carriage before extending his hand to me.
“Take my hand.”
“Okay, thank you.”
If it had been before, I would have found that gloved hand uncomfortable, but now I was accepting his kindness as if it were natural.
‘Is this what it means to adapt?’
As I unconsciously sighed, worries began to flood my mind when I thought about the reality before me.
‘By the way, I have to persuade the nobles at the state council meeting. Will I be able to do it well?’
At that moment, Erich asked, “Why do you keep sighing?”
I tried to respond that it was nothing.
But…
“Do you not want to become Emperor?”
I couldn’t give a vague answer to the concerned look he was giving me.
I slowly shook my head.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that I feel burdened. I worry whether the nobles will readily accept me as the next Emperor, and I’m also concerned about whether I can do well.”
It was merely a lament, but it seemed Erich took it seriously.
“It certainly won’t be an easy task. However…”
His aquamarine eyes gazed intently at me.
Just then, I unconsciously clenched my fists in tension.
“The Count of Herde is one of the finest territories I’ve seen. If you were able to develop a failing territory so well, you will surely be able to convince the nobles.”
The position of a mere local lord couldn’t even be compared to that of the Emperor, who governs the entire empire.
But, for some reason, hearing his words made me feel a little lighter.
