~Chapter 06~
After finishing our meal, I was heading to a clothing shop to change Sertien’s clothes.
“Mom, where are we going?”
“To buy clothes. Your clothes are dirty, so we need to get new ones.”
There was only one shop nearby that sold clothes for a child Sertien’s size.
The clothes in the shop all looked quite expensive, but I had enough money, so it didn’t matter.
As we walked towards the shop, Sertien suddenly spoke up.
“Mom, you were so cool earlier!”
‘Oh… right, I did beat up those thugs in front of Sertien…’
I felt a bit regretful as soon as I heard Sertien’s words.
It was an unavoidable situation, but maybe it wasn’t the best example for a child to see.
I felt like I wouldn’t be able to face Sertien’s real father later.
Without knowing how I felt, Sertien happily kept talking.
“When did you get so strong? You used to get sick just from running a little. You were always lying in bed, so I promised I would protect you, but now you’re the one protecting me?”
“…Is that so?”
I seemed to have learned something new again.
It looked like Sertien’s late mother had been weak or sick.
I was unintentionally learning more and more about his family, and it made me a little worried.
‘Maybe his mother passed away because of illness… or maybe not.’
Anyway, it wasn’t something for me, an outsider, to get too involved in.
Holding Sertien’s hand, I pushed open the door to the elegant clothing shop.
“Welcome.”
An old man came out and greeted us. He seemed to be the shop’s owner.
“I want to get some new clothes for this child. I don’t mind if the clothes are already made, as long as they fit. Since we’re in a hurry, it’d be better if they’re pre-made.”
“Understood. We should have a few. Please let me know if anything catches your eye.”
I smiled in thanks.
Holding Sertien’s hand, I headed to the section the owner pointed to, when he suddenly spoke again, looking at Sertien with a fond expression.
“You came to look at clothes with your mom?”
“Yes!”
I was mistaken for his mom again. By now, I could guess how Sertien would react, so I couldn’t even deny it outright.
Sertien’s cheeks flushed red with happiness, pleased that the owner had assumed we were mother and child.
Even I had to admit Sertien was adorable like that. The shop owner must have thought so too, because he spoke again.
“Haha, you’ve got such pretty eyes, just like your mom. You must be proud to have such a cute son.”
“Um… well… yes… he is cute.”
I couldn’t properly confirm or deny it, so I gave a vague answer and started looking at the clothes.
After looking for a while, I found an outfit that seemed to suit Sertien best and asked about it.
“Excuse me, how much is this one?”
“Oh, that outfit is a bit pricey. Even for someone with plenty of money, it might feel a bit too much for a casual purchase…”
“It’s fine. Will this be enough? You don’t need to give me change.”
Since I hadn’t brought cash, I pulled out one of the jewels attached to my clothes and offered it.
The shop owner stared at the jewel in shock, his face turning pale as if he had seen a ghost.
‘What’s wrong with him…?’
Was the money not enough? But this should be more than enough… As I wondered, the shop owner, looking like he might faint, spoke up.
“This is too much… Yes, the outfit is expensive, but it’s not worth this much!”
“It’s fine… I’m in a hurry, so I don’t mind. Please sell it to me.”
“I can’t! My conscience won’t allow it!”
What the…
Even though I insisted it was fine, the old owner refused to sell me the clothes.
After a long back-and-forth, we finally agreed that he would give me the outfit along with some extras to make up for the overpayment.
“But even with the extras, you’re still giving too much…”
“It’s fine, really.”
By the time Sertien disappeared to change into the new clothes, I was completely exhausted and responded half-heartedly to the shop owner’s comment.
Soon after, I heard the sound of Sertien’s little feet approaching.
“Mom!”
I turned around at Sertien’s voice.
At that moment, I felt my heart skip a beat.
Sertien looked incredibly cute. The clothes suited him perfectly.
I almost hugged him right there but held back, instead gently poking his cheek.
“Huh? What’s wrong, Mom?”
‘Oh, he’s so cute I couldn’t help it…’
Barely holding back a smile, I replied.
“It’s nothing. Seri, it suits you really well! Shall we go now?”
“Do I look cool? Does it suit me? Am I as cool as my dad?”
‘I’m not sure how cool your dad is, but you’re definitely adorable…’
In my mind, I was already gushing over how cute he was.
“Welcome.”
While I was talking with Sertien, the shop owner called out to someone at the door.
As I stood up and looked towards the door to leave, I saw a familiar face and couldn’t move.
“Oh… oh!”
As I pointed and shouted, I saw the other person’s face fill with surprise.
“…Oh no.”
With that one word, the person turned around and quickly ran away before even entering the shop.
I barely had time to properly thank the shop owner.
“Stop right there! Ah, goodbye!”
I quickly said goodbye and instinctively glanced at Sertien, who was following me closely.
The person running away was none other than the reckless prince I had been looking for, Ered Lichellan.
Ered was stuck, unable to move forward because of the crowd.
I shouted, “Seri! Catch that person!”
“Okay, Mom!”
I didn’t know what I was thinking when I said that, but Sertien immediately leaped and latched onto Ered.
‘What an incredible jump…’
I stood there, mouth open in shock, staring at them.
“Ugh! What is this kid!”
Ered, who was surprised, shouted while holding onto Sertien, who was clinging to him and not letting go.
Even as this was happening, Sertien grabbed at Ered’s blonde hair and said,
“Mom said not to let you go!”
“What!? Mom?”
‘What is even going on here…’
It was complete chaos.
“Not being able to go out as I please… I feel like livestock.”
“Of course, you can’t wander around freely. You’re the prince of this country,” I said, emphasizing the word ‘prince.’
Ered frowned slightly as he looked at me.
“I know I did something wrong, but can you please stop throwing around the word ‘prince’ like that? And don’t say ‘Your Highness’ either. There are a lot of people watching, and it could cause trouble.”
After catching Ered thanks to Sertien, we went to the inn where he was staying.
When I saw the inn Ered was staying in, I had a thought.
‘No wonder the knights couldn’t find him.’
The inn was in one of the worst parts of the city, the kind of place filled with shady people and those who had nowhere else to go because they had no money.
“You’ve been staying here? No wonder my knights couldn’t find you.”
Ered had an amused look on his face.
“Guess no one expected me to stay in a place like this, huh? What, do I look like some delicate flower?”
“I don’t think that, but… it seems the lower-ranked knights thought so.”
“Oh… I guess I do look like a real prince, then. That’s nice to hear.”
I sighed as I looked at Ered, who was speaking sarcastically.
What could he find so funny? Just as I was thinking this, I noticed Ered’s gaze shift to Sertien, who was still clinging to me.
At that moment, I realized I had made a mistake.
Ered, who was quick to catch on, wouldn’t really believe that Sertien was my son, but he would probably tease me about it.
“Wow, when did you have such a cute son? You always acted like you weren’t interested in getting married, but I guess that was all a lie?”
“Don’t tease me. You know I’ve been too busy working to even think about that. I just met him by chance at the palace.”
“Really? But he looks way too much like you for that. Anyone who doesn’t know you would think he’s your real son.”
“…And that’s exactly why it’s been such a headache. He started calling me ‘Mom’ the moment he saw me, so I couldn’t just leave him and had to take him along.”
At that moment, Ered’s expression turned strange.
“He called you ‘Mom’ the moment he saw you, huh? Well, I guess that makes sense. Do you know who this kid’s father is?”
Ered’s cryptic words made my eyes widen.
Does he know who Sertien’s father is?
If so, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble, and I could take Sertien straight to his father.
And now that I had found Ered, things seemed to be falling into place.
But Ered’s previous comment still lingered in my mind.
“What do you mean, ‘that makes sense’?”
Instead of answering, Ered shrugged. At that moment, Sertien, who had been watching Ered closely, stepped forward and asked,
“Mister, do you know me?”
“Of course I do. I saw you when you were just a baby, so I guess you wouldn’t remember.”
Sertien blinked in surprise.
Ered smiled and pointed at himself, adding,
“You could say I’m a really close friend of your dad. You can call me uncle~.”
