Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 104 “It must be because of that child.”The Empress, who had been pacing the room frantically, stopped in her tracks and said.The Emperor, sitting on the couch, stroking his chin, looked up.“That child?”“Baron Hazel’s granddaughter.”“Ah.”As if he remembered, the Emperor remained silent.“You mean that four-year-old girl? Why is that child?”“I heard that Escal gave the doll that Adela gave him to her.”“I suppose he gave it to her because she was fascinated by it.”“That’s not what I meant.”The Empress tapped her chest and continued.“Don’t take that child for granted. Didn’t you hear that the child was with Escal when he disappeared?”“Well. As the Duchess of Anthemion said, he doesn’t know what marriage is yet, but I think it’s too much of a concern.”“Now, even if you say he doesn’t know because he is still young, what if the children are bigger? At Adela’s age, she’ll know everything, but what will happen when they grow up together?”At the words of the Empress, the Emperor smiled.“Does the Empress think the Duke refused to marry Adela because he had the child in mind?”“It’s not all because of that child, but I can’t ignore the reason either.”“Can the heir of the Duke of Anthemion refuse the Princess just because of the Baron’s granddaughter?”“That’s something you don’t know.”The Empress said firmly.“Duchess Anthemion is also from a lower noble. In fact, she might even like her more because she looks like her.”The Emperor, who had been listening to the Empress’s story, thought deeply.A normal noble would say it’s nonsense, but it’s possible for Lenia, who even infiltrated the Dillua Academy for the common people.Moreover, Baron Hazel and his granddaughter saved the lives of Helios and Escal, so it seemed unlikely that their status would be an obstacle.However, there were still doubts about accepting the Empress’s words as they were.“Baron Hazel is not a greedy man.”“Since his child has died and only the granddaughter is left, he must be clinging to the Duke because he is worried about the future.”“Hmm….”“Think about it. Otherwise, why would he stay in the Duke’s house?”“I heard that if he finds a place to live, he will be out soon.”“Isn’t it strange that he hasn’t been able to find a place to live for over three months?”“……”The Emperor shut his mouth at the Empress’s interrogation.He knew the Empress was overreaching, but he didn’t want to stop her.Duke of Anthemion, the one she chose over her brother, the Duke of Eton, and it’s no wonder she’s frustrated when things don’t go her way.And it was the same with the Emperor.‘I’m sorry, Your Majesty, there must be better marriage candidates than my child.’No matter how many times I thought about it, I couldn’t help but feel surprised. I knew she had been secretly reluctant to marry before, but I thought she was being modest, not sincere.‘How dare you refuse the marriage talk with the Imperial family?’Isn’t it common sense that it doesn’t make sense? Everyone is so desperate to marry into the imperial family that they’d rather hang out here.‘After all I’ve given you.’If the Royal Order of Hastings has given him a castle, he shouldn’t be able to resist even if he doesn’t want to.I was annoyed by his disrespectful demeanor, as if he were my equal.‘I must have been too soft.’The Emperor clenched his fist.If he allowed this to continue, the imperial family would be made a laughing stock, so he had to show some dignity.“What are you going to do? Your Majesty.”“Wait. I’ll talk to Baron Hazel.” ***** The Emperor’s call was made suddenly and secretly.As soon as he left the mansion, Baron Hazel, surrounded by the Emperor’s soldiers, was taken to the Imperial Palace as if being kidnapped.The Baron, who was guided to the separate palace, faced the Emperor who was waiting for him in a dark room.“Welcome, Baron Hazel.”“… I see Your Majesty.”Baron Hazel bowed with a stiff face. The Emperor sat down and offered a seat.“Long time no see. How are you today?”“Thanks to Your Majesty, I am doing well.”“I heard that you are still living in the Anthemion residence.”“I have no connection in the capital, so I stay at Duke of Anthemion for a while until I find a place.”In response to Baron Hazel’s reply, the Emperor looked at him with a complicated gaze.The Emperor, who had been staring at the Baron for a long time, wiped his face as if exhausted.“You have a bad complexion, Your Majesty.”“It’s all right, it’s just that this reminds me of old times.”The Emperor continued with a small smile.“The Baron saved me 25 years ago.”“It must have been about that time.”“At that time, I didn’t have any power, so I couldn’t pay the Baron properly.”“I just did what I was supposed to do as Your Majesty’s knight.”Baron Hazel waved his hand. There was no such thing as self-interest on the recognizable old face as it was back then.The Emperor spoke again, his mouth bitter.“As I suggested last time, will you not become an advisor to the Imperial Knights?”“As I said back then, I am an old man past retirement age. I am not qualified to serve His Majesty.”“I’m not asking you to serve me. I’m just saying that the young knights of the Imperial Knights are inexperienced, so I would like to have an experienced Baron to give them some advice.”“Since the commander of the knights is very talented, other people’s advice will only get in the way.”Baron Hazel politely declined the Emperor’s offer. The Emperor opened his mouth again in response to the expected answer.“If so, how about defending the western border?”“… Yes?”“I heard it, it seems that you haven’t found a suitable place to live yet, but since I’m going to give you the frontier, won’t you go to the western border?”Baron Hazel swallowed dry saliva at the unexpected words.The western border was a habitual haunting area of monsters. The reason why the martyr’s seat was vacant was because no one wanted to fill it after the last martyr lost his life in the attack of a monster.He might have thought about it if he had been single, but he had a young granddaughter to protect.“I’m sorry, but my granddaughter is still four years old, so she need someone to take care of her. When I goes to the western border, I can’t take care of the child…”“I will find her a good adoptive home.”A shock spread across Baron Hazel’s face.“Wh-what you mean…”“If the child is still 4 years old, she will need someone to take care of her for at least 15 years, but since the Baron is not young anymore, you don’t know how long you will be able to live with your granddaughter, right?”“…….”“Besides, living a wandering life without a proper place to live is not good for a child. In that case, I think it would be better to leave it to good adoptive parents, but what does the Baron think?”The emperor said uneasily. The baron clasped his trembling hands“The child… my own flesh and blood, the only one I have.”“Then do you intend to continue to sit on the Duchy of Anthemion for the sake of your granddaughter?”“…….”Baron Hazel finally realized the Emperor’s true intentions.It was a warning to stay away from Helios, or more precisely, Escal.‘If I were alone, I would do anything….’It would be Tiaris who would get hurt if he ignored the Emperor’s warning.“I will make sure that Your Majesty does not have anything to worry about.”“I believe in you.”Baron Hazel lowered his head impatiently.  ***** Ever since Escal’s birthday banquet, Tiaris was depressed.The puppy doll kicked by Princess Adela was broken and could no longer move, and Escal did not play with Tiaris because she was playing with her birthday present.‘Brother.’Did you read the letter I gave you?It was unbearably boring, but I didn’t want to go to Escal.I pounded the bed in frustration.“Tia.”“Grandpa!”Baron Hazel, who had left the house early in the morning, has returned from an outing. Tiaris jumped up and fell into her grandfather’s arms.Baron Hazel hugged his granddaughter affectionately and soothed her.“Where have you been, grandpa?”“A very high person has called and came to meet me.”“Huh?”Sensing a different feeling than usual, Tiaris lifted her face buried in her grandfather’s chest.Baron Hazel looked around the room, stroking Tiaris’s head with a large hand.Aside from a few more of Tiaris’s clothes that Lenia had bought her, he hadn’t packed much, as he had when he came here.‘Wecan leave in a day.’He looked down at Tiaris with a complicated gaze.‘Then do you intend to continue to sit on the Duchy of Anthemion for the sake of your granddaughter?’The Emperor was right. It was not good for Tiaris to continue to stay in the Duke’s family like this.‘The caterpillar must eat pine needles.’The Baron, who had made up his mind, said to Tiaris with a soft smile.“Tia, it is time for us to leave.”