Chapter 22
It’s really not easy, is it?
A face, so pale that it sharply contrasted with the pitch-black hair that was carelessly draped over one shoulder. A neck so thin it seemed fragile, delicate shoulders. Even though the clothes were loose, it was obvious that the slender arms had no muscles. The king was an overall delicate-looking, sickly young man.
He looked about the same age as the master, but due to his clearly visible frailty, he appeared older, lacking vitality. Adelen was inwardly disappointed. She had thought that, as a king, he would be someone extraordinary, like the master.
The master’s appearance could be described as a living military commander. His sharp nose and jawline, emotionless eyes, towering height far above average, broad back and shoulders. Even seen upside down, the master was a general.
She had expected the king to be someone similarly special. However, he was just a bit more delicately handsome than ordinary people, and that was all. He was unremarkable.
“Did you call for me, Your Majesty?”
Adelen quickly lowered her head, hiding her disappointment in her gaze, following Rakalt. No matter how much she was a servant, she couldn’t skip the proper etiquette for the king.
“Is that it?”
The king immediately got to the point.
She hadn’t expected to show the baby right away. Adelen was taken aback by the sudden attack. Then, she was surprised by the king’s gaze as well.
The king’s eyes, which she had thought to be ordinary, were unexpectedly sharp and intense. Even though she wasn’t the one being directly stared at, Adelen felt as though she had been pierced through, and her heart grew cold. She would have hidden the baby if she could.
But she was a servant holding the baby now. She had to remain quiet and faithful to her role, hiding her expression and emotions.
“Ugh!”
The baby, who had been stared at directly, was still too distracted by the splendid decorations inside the room to notice anything. Even when they were attacked, the baby hadn’t cried or screamed, surprisingly calm. It was definitely a brave baby.
Adelen admired and respected the baby, who was more composed than herself.
“You’ve had a hard time. I was so surprised when I heard you brought that.”
The king continued, still focused on the baby.
“It was thanks to the unfortunate fate of the King and Queen of Morn.”
“Yeah, it was really bad luck. The king died of tetanus, and the queen died from a fall.”
Ah. The King and Queen of Morn are both dead.
That’s why General Kias, the uncle, had been searching for the baby.
‘You were an orphan, just like me.’
Suddenly, the baby seemed even more pitiable and dear to Adelen.
She tightened her arm around the baby, hugging it tighter, though no one could see it.
The baby could feel it.
“Adieu? Hmm! Adieu!”
The baby smiled and hugged Adelen.
The king watched the scene quietly, then suddenly turned his gaze to Adelen.
“Is that the nanny you brought along?”
At that moment, the king’s gaze shifted to Adelen.
The servant, suddenly receiving attention, froze.
“No, she is a maid from our family.”
“Oh, really? She looks young. How did you decide to use her as a nanny?”
“Well…”
Rakalt recounted the whole situation.
True to his nature, he only mentioned the facts briefly, but the gist was the same as Adelen’s thoughts.
The baby. It was a pain.
The attack. It was a nuisance.
The conclusion: It was overwhelming.
“Hahaha, you’ve had a tough time.”
After hearing the story, the king laughed.
…He laughed?
Adelen felt a surge of frustration. She had almost died from overwork and nearly been assassinated. What exactly was so funny about this, Your Majesty?
Of course, her true feelings didn’t spill out on the surface.
“You must have had a hard time, too. It’s not everyday that a mere maid faces an assassination threat.”
“Y-Yes, your majesty.”
Out of nowhere, the king spoke directly to her.
Thanks to the king’s kind attention, even to the servant, Adelen was flustered and muttered half a sigh, half a response, creating a very fine example of rambling.
“How’s the situation with the attacks lately?”
Thankfully, the king didn’t seem to be particularly interested in her rambling.
The topic quickly shifted.
“It seems like the Morn side has either given up on rescuing the Crown Prince or they’re planning a different strategy. There have been no recent attacks, and no related movements either.”
“Hm, I see.”
The king smiled, touching his mouth with a finger.
“Actually, I’ve heard some interesting news.”
“What… kind of news?”
The king had an intelligence network of his own, sometimes obtaining very hard-to-get information that hadn’t reached Rakalt’s hands. It seemed that such information had come in this time.
Rakalt’s gaze sharpened as he listened closely to the king’s words.
“It seems that chaos is starting to spread within Morn.”
“Chaos?”
“You know that the family most actively searching for the Crown Prince is the Lugantu family, which is the Queen’s family, right?”
“Of course.”
Kias, Morn’s greatest general, was also a member of the Lugantu family.
Kias, from the Lugantu family, was the person Rakalt was most cautious about. Known for producing outstanding warriors for generations, Kias was incredibly skilled, and every time they faced each other on the battlefield, the fights were particularly tough. He was also deeply attached to his family.
Apart from his position as a servant of the royal family, Kias had another important connection—he was the Crown Prince’s uncle. The only nephew of his late younger brother. It was a relationship strong enough to drive him to madness in search of the Crown Prince.
“But don’t you think that an external family can only hold power if the royal family exists? The Queen is dead, and the Crown Prince has disappeared. The royal family itself has essentially vanished.”
“Yes.”
“Seems like there are some whispers on one side. Is the Crown Prince really alive? Isn’t the Lugantu family trying to seize power?”
“Ha…”
Rakalt sneered at the obvious scheming.
No matter how much the country was in crisis, it seemed that people would always prioritize finding a way to survive, as is human nature.
“Well, even if they find the Crown Prince and place him on the throne, it’s obvious that the Lugantu family would become regents, so their caution isn’t unwarranted.”
“That’s true.”
“If the royal family no longer exists, and the Lugantu family is the one holding power, they might think they deserve to take it for themselves… which means it’s problematic for us.”
If the Crown Prince were considered dead and a new dynasty arose, Morn would quickly recover. They couldn’t allow that to happen.
The war was tough for Teplan as well.
The king wanted to prolong this grace period as much as possible.
“So there’s something I need to confirm first. You.”
“Yes, yes?”
The king’s gaze turned back to Adelen.
Every time she met his gaze, Adelen would jump up like a bird startled by fire.
“Do I look like someone who will eat you?”
The king chuckled at her exaggerated reaction.
“Sorry, sorry!”
But that statement was more frightening. She thought she had gotten a bit braver after overcoming the fear of the master, but it turned out she was just getting used to it. Her courage was still as small as a bean.
Adelen squeezed out a small tear and kept bowing deeply.
“Adieu? Boom boom?”
Even in the middle of all this, the baby, thinking it was playtime, giggled happily.
“Seeing how well the baby follows you, you must have some extraordinary talent.”
“Th-thank you!”
“Isn’t it a little early for him to be speaking? Did you teach him that?”
“I… I don’t know. It… just happened…”
“Hm. It just happened without any effort? That’s talent right there.”
She couldn’t repeat “thank you” anymore. Adelen just lowered her head deeply.
Why did the king keep talking to her? The master was right beside her.
“You’ve managed to get a capable and pretty maid, Rakalt.”
“The butler made a good choice.”
“Keep her well. She’ll be useful going forward.”
Going forward…?
At the king’s casual words, both Adelen and Rakalt looked up at the same time.
They exchanged a glance full of foreboding.
“Going forward… how much do you expect?”
Rakalt asked, and the king smiled slyly.
“In my view, using the baby to catch General Kias is already a lost cause.”
“…Yes.”
“But it’d be a shame to just kill him, wouldn’t it? So, I’m thinking of debuting the Crown Prince in society. A grand debut, so that the whole world will know ‘The Crown Prince is here!’ Then no one will be able to claim the Crown Prince is dead and create a new dynasty.”
“…Hmm. Yes.”
The king’s strategy was quite good.
Rakalt nodded.
But Adelen felt a growing sense of foreboding and froze with a pale expression.
Society debut? Debut? Could it be?
That ominous feeling turned toward Adelen as the king smiled slyly.
