PEDC | Chapter 02

~Chapter 02~

“What’s your name?”

I thought that if I knew the child’s name, I might figure out whose son he was.

However, as soon as I asked, the child started to look like he was about to cry again.

Panicking, I quickly added more words.

“No, no…! I mean… of course, I know your name! But I just wanted to hear it…”

‘What am I even saying…?’

Even as I spoke, I couldn’t make sense of what I was saying.

In my confused state, I ended up making a ridiculous excuse.

Though he looked a bit upset, the child fortunately answered soon after.

“Hmph, Mommy, you’re silly. My name is Sertien! You always called me Seri! Did you forget? Say Seri! Say it!”

It seemed like he wanted me to repeat his name. Sertien exaggeratedly opened his mouth wide and slowly pronounced “Seri.”

Thinking that he might cry and cause a fuss if I didn’t follow along, I obediently repeated after him.

“Alright, Seri. So what’s your last name? Not just your name, but your last name?”

“…I don’t know.”

“…”

He doesn’t know?

I had just been feeling relieved, thinking I’d finally figure out who his parents were, but now this unexpected obstacle came up.

This was a problem.

I needed to go find Ered right away.

It was urgent, but I couldn’t just leave such a young child alone.

I could ask someone else to take care of him, but there wasn’t even time for that.

‘It can’t be helped…’

The child didn’t seem like he would let go of me anytime soon, and for various reasons, I decided I had no choice but to bring him with me.

His parents were probably looking for him, but I figured I could just let someone in the palace know that I was taking care of him.

So, with that, I headed for the carriage with Sertien.

I felt like a kidnapper doing this.

At the palace entrance, a carriage had been prepared for me.

I saw the coachman and one of my junior knights waiting for me.

I hurried toward them.

“Sorry for being late.”

My knight, seeing me approach, respectfully bowed and said,

“I’ve prepared the carriage as you instructed… but this child… Surely, Commander…!?”

His eyes widened in disbelief as he noticed Sertien, who was clinging to my side.

I could easily guess what kind of misunderstanding he was having.

Just as I was about to clear things up, Sertien spoke again, driving the misunderstanding even further.

“Are we going out to play, Mommy?”

“I knew it…!”

I told you, no!

Even the coachman, who had been standing nearby, was now gaping at me, looking like he might faint at any moment.

“When did the Commander… have a child…?”

Waving my hand quickly, I responded,

“No, no! I just happened to meet him in the palace.”

“But he looks so much like you…!”

“Does he really…? Well, anyway, I’m not sure about that. It seems someone from the palace brought him. If you hear of anyone looking for a child, let them know that I have him.”

Even after explaining all of this, the suspicion in their eyes didn’t disappear.

I cleared my throat loudly, and only then did my knight seem to get the message.

“I… I understand… But in that case, wouldn’t it be better to leave the child with someone else?”

“There’s no time. Plus, the kid doesn’t want to let go of me…”

“I see.”

“Mommy, when are we getting in the carriage?”

Could you please stop saying things that make others misunderstand?

Though the misunderstanding had been cleared up, I felt awkward as I watched the knight and coachman flinch every time Sertien called me “Mommy.”

I quickly opened the carriage door and got in.

For some reason, Sertien didn’t climb in right away, so I asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“Pick me up…”

With a sad look on his face, Sertien stretched out his arms toward me, asking to be lifted.

Looking at him, I realized that the carriage was a bit too high for someone as small as Sertien to climb into on his own.

Seeing his tiny arms reaching out toward me, he looked so adorable and sweet.

I couldn’t help but smile as I lifted him up into the carriage.

I still didn’t understand why he kept calling me “Mommy.”

But as Sertien continued to snuggle into my arms, I couldn’t help but find him cute, so I held him close.

“W-We’re departing now.”

The coachman, who was still giving me a strange look, said that as he started the carriage.

And just like that, I found myself unexpectedly heading to the port with a child I had never met before.

---

This happened just a little before Litya left the palace to look for Prince Ered.

“It’s been a while, Your Grace. You’ve grown more mature since we last met.”

A carriage that looked like it belonged to a noble came to a stop in front of the palace.

The citizens of the capital, where the palace was located, peeked out of curiosity, wondering what was going on.

The fact that the carriage was luxurious was one thing, but the fact that palace officials seemed to be coming out to greet it made people naturally curious.

Soon after, the door of the carriage opened, and a young man stepped out.

People passing by were all impressed by his appearance, wondering who he might be.

He had jet-black hair, jet-black eyes, pale skin, and the face of a handsome man, like a statue, but with a cold expression—he looked like the northern duke from a fairytale.

In fact, this man was Duke Latryne Priscillia.

Latryne’s face remained expressionless, as cold as his appearance.

He responded briefly to the greetings of the palace officials.

“It’s been a while.”

The atmosphere was awkward with his formal greeting.

The officials turned to lead Latryne into the palace.

But just then, another person stepped out of the carriage.

“Wait for me!”

It was a young boy.

Despite the tall adults standing all around him, the boy didn’t seem intimidated and stuck right by Latryne’s side.

Latryne looked down at the boy and smiled warmly, a kindness you wouldn’t expect from someone who looked so cold.

One of the officials nearby asked, flustered,

“Um… who is this child?”

“He’s my son. I apologize, I didn’t want to bring him, but due to unavoidable circumstances, I had no choice.”

“…”

The officials exchanged looks, not knowing what to say.

It wasn’t like they could object to what Duke Latryne said.

Moreover, Emperor Phaedris was very fond of Latryne, so it was clear that he wouldn’t mind if he brought his child.

Following the officials, Latryne entered the palace and headed somewhere with a familiar stride.

When Latryne suddenly started going in a different direction, a startled official asked,

“Duke? Where are you going?”

“I’ll quickly take the child to his room. The room I used to stay in is still empty, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Though it had been a while since Latryne had left the palace, his office had been left untouched in case he returned at any time.

As he entered the room, Latryne knelt down and spoke to the boy beside him.

“Sertien, Daddy will be back soon, so wait here quietly, okay?”

“Okay!”

Sertien nodded energetically.

Latryne smiled and patted Sertien’s head.

The boy was usually well-behaved, and with guards around, Latryne didn’t worry about him wandering off.

“The boy has grown a lot.”

As Latryne was leaving the room and heading to meet Emperor Phaedris, one of the officials commented.

Latryne gave the official a cold glance but said nothing.

The official spoke again.

“Did you receive the letter I sent earlier?”

“…I received it.”

“Then you know what I wanted to discuss.”

Latryne, looking as though he didn’t want to hear it, closed his eyes, but the official continued.

“Of course, I understand that it hasn’t been long since your former wife passed away, and it must be hard to forget. But you are a key figure in our country. You need to marry again and ensure a proper heir—”

“You mean the son I already have isn’t good enough as an heir?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Latryne’s voice, filled with tension, made the official lower his voice.

Yet, despite feeling intimidated, the official persisted in saying what he needed to say.

“In any case, I hope you’ll reconsider the marriage proposal with the Knight Commander that I mentioned in my letter!”

Latryne ignored the official and walked into the audience chamber without responding.

Remarry? That was impossible.

‘Erias…’

With a bitter heart, Latryne recalled a familiar woman.

A woman with luscious pink hair and blue eyes.

Someone who no longer existed in this world, someone he could never see again.