Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 118

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏𝟖

Chilla bit her lip repeatedly before asking,

“You want me to run away? Then I’ll never be forgiven. I’ll be a fugitive for life. Are you serious?”

“While your parents have gone mad and your maternal family is reduced to beggars, losing even their name! Are you content to sit in the monastery and eat cold porridge?”

Gideon finally revealed his true colors, his Damiani golden eyes flashing.

“Unlike Princess Louise, who will become the Grand Duchess and live in luxury, you will grow old and die without ever holding a baby in your arms!”

For her, raised like a flower in a greenhouse, all of this was too much to bear.

She only knew explosive rage and seething jealousy, not how to enact subtle yet legal revenge against those who made her feel such emotions.

Because as soon as she harbored resentment, her brother or mother would banish the target without a trace.

Only Louise had survived so far, relying on the meager sense of responsibility of her sickly father.

As Chilla struggled to breathe, almost fainting from the overwhelming anger, Gideon had to coax her gently so she wouldn’t completely break down.

“Chilla, think about it. Your youth and beauty are too precious to waste like this. You know the Grand Duke’s compassion, don’t you? Moreover, he’s a knight. He can’t mistreat a pitiful woman.”

Chilla bit her lip.

“……What, what do you want me to do?”

Gideon’s eyes flashed fiercely as he spoke.

“Approach your half-sister through the Grand Duke. She’s the Emperor’s most beloved kin, isn’t she?”

If she made someone cry tears of blood, she should pay the price.

Chilla’s filial piety and resentment weren’t quite enough to move her, but jealousy was clearly different.

She finally opened her eyes wide and growled.

“I can sneak into the bedroom like a rat. The Grand Duke is always a polite gentleman in front of women. I know he can’t ignore someone in need, so I’ll use that to my advantage.”

Gideon firmly nodded at his niece who finally showed determination.

“I will help you with all my might.”

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Half a month later, Babenberg.

The Grand Duke’s castle was bustling with preparations for the national wedding.

With the lord of the duchy leading the way with a bright face, eager to fulfill his long-held dream since boyhood, everyone worked joyfully for the wedding ceremony.

The Grand Duchess’s room, which had been empty for a long time after the previous Grand Duchess passed away, was completely refurbished with new wallpaper, furniture, and decorations.

A portrait of the new mistress was already hung in the Babenberg Castle Gallery, the pride of the castle, and all the hallways and stairs were polished to a shine.

In the garden, major renovations were underway, replacing some tree species with flowering trees and even installing a luxurious fountain that could only be used during the summer.

It was a waste that would leave no trace once the flowers withered and the fountain froze in a few months, but no one dared to point it out.

The garden where the wedding ceremony would be held had to be perfect.

No, the castle where the new mistress and the heir of Babenberg would reside had to be perfect, safe, and beautiful.

Everyone followed the Grand Duke’s orders with a fervor that bordered on sacrificing their lives.

Even amidst all this, Callisto didn’t forget to contact Edessa every evening.

It was an extravagance to waste expensive disposable communication orbs just to say goodnight, but even the frugal chief attendant couldn’t reprimand him.

He imagined how the Grand Duke must have felt, leaving his lover who had just given birth to his child and his heir-to-be behind due to the Emperor’s exile order.

The fact that the Grand Duke returned quietly without causing further trouble at that moment meant he had already fulfilled his duty as the head of a nation.

“So, are you returning to the Imperial Palace in 5 days?”

Louise in the video was already changed into her pajamas.

Callisto felt his throat go dry just by looking at her neckline, which was slightly more exposed than usual, but Louise answered nonchalantly.

―Yeah, it’s been a while, but honestly, I’m not looking forward to it at all…… Just the thought of being separated from Prillice makes me so sad.

Callisto looked lovingly at his bride-to-be, who was on the verge of tears.

“It’s alright. We’ll all be together soon. The Second Commander is already smitten with Prillice. Lucky bastard.”

Louise erased her gloomy expression and burst into laughter.

―The Commander is here to work.

“But he gets to see my lovely daughter morning and night, doesn’t he?”

Callisto grumbled playfully and then said,

“Then we’ll be able to see each other in just a week.”

―That feels too long too.

He felt the same way.

But Callisto spoke calmly to soothe Louise.

“I feel the same, but time will pass anyway. More importantly, I hope you like the newly decorated room.”

―I liked the hotel room Cal decorated, so the Babenberg Castle must be even better.

“Your expectations are high, so I’ll have to work harder.”

Callisto smiled, his lips curling upwards as he saw Louise blinking sleepily.

“Sleep well, Lou. I miss you.”

―Me too. Me too, Cal.

After the happiest time of the day came to an end, Callisto got up from his desk.

Around this time, when Louise was falling asleep, he would do his evening training.

But just as he was preparing to head to the training hall, he heard a hurried knock.

―Knock, knock.

For some reason, the voice continued without waiting for his reply.

“I apologize for the late-night disturbance, Your Excellency, but there is an intruder claiming to be your classmate from the academy.”

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

The intruder was a petite woman dressed in shabby maid’s clothing, caught sneaking up the top floor stairs, which were off-limits to servants.

The guards speculated that she was an outsider who couldn’t find the servants’ staircase.

She had tried to lie about her affiliation several times, but when that failed, she started causing a commotion, demanding to see the Grand Duke, claiming to be his academy classmate.

Frosty blue eyes glared at the intruder.

The woman’s red hair was disheveled, likely from struggling.

‘Red hair?’

It was a strangely familiar color, and a rare hair color in Babenberg.

Callisto tilted his head for a moment and said,

“Remove the gag.”

As soon as the guards removed the gag and lifted the intruder’s face, he recognized her.

The Damiani family’s characteristic deep golden eyes gleamed amidst her disheveled appearance.

That didn’t make it any less absurd, though.

“……Second Princess?”

The guards who had apprehended her were stunned.

They knew the Second Princess had already been expelled from the Imperial Palace and confined to a monastery.

So, they didn’t regret not treating her with the respect due to a royal.

However, they were afraid that they might face consequences for not recognizing the exiled princess and daring to make the Grand Duke come to her.

Even the youngest member of the Babenberg Guard knew that the current Emperor had lived under the oppression of the previous Emperor and Empress all his life, and that he had staged a coup, unable to bear their injustice.

If this intruder was the daughter of that Emperor and Empress, this incident could lead to the Grand Duke being misunderstood by the Emperor.

Meanwhile, Chilla was already hurt by the fact that he had simply called her “Second Princess.”

Unaware that Callisto had shown her the utmost respect in a situation where there was no reason to even call her a princess, and completely oblivious to the tragedy that awaited her,

“……Cal.”

Chilla knelt with her wrists tied behind her back.

With her hands bound, she couldn’t even fix her messy hair or grab onto his trousers.

She had thought that if she could just meet Callisto, everything would be alright, but even though he recognized her, he didn’t comfort her but just stood tall like a pillar, looking down at her.

Chilla crawled forward a little and bowed her head at his feet.

It was incredibly humiliating.

She was thankful that she could at least hide her flushed face with her messy hair.

“I really wanted to see you, but there was no way……”

Chilla was so ashamed that she wanted to die, and she resented her uncle who had driven her to this.

Then, in a small voice that only he could hear, she continued to whisper,

“You, you haven’t been sending me any replies……”

Callisto watched her in bewilderment, then lightly touched and removed his hand from his temple.

He was so dumbfounded that he had to carefully choose his words.

“……His Majesty.”

He shook his head for a moment and corrected himself.

“His Majesty, who will soon be my brother-in-law, is he so lenient towards you? An exiled princess wandering around the foreign capital, entering and leaving the royal palace.”

Chilla finally lifted her head, shocked as if she had been hit in the back of the head.

Only then did she recognize Callisto’s cold blue eyes.

He didn’t pity her.

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