Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 114

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏𝟒

At my question, Phoebe, unlike the person who was begging for forgiveness just a moment ago, spoke excitedly.

“Well, Prillice-nim smiled in front of His Majesty!”

“What?”

“She definitely smiled. How is she already so clever?”

I recalled the knowledge from the modern world.

It was said that a newborn baby smiling at their caregiver is not a real smile but a neonatal smile.

It’s just a reflex smile due to immature development.

‘Even if that wasn’t the case, I doubt a newborn would recognize the Emperor and smile.’

But since Prillice had never smiled before, it was quite a coincidence.

“Oh my, I want to see that too. And then?”

“And then……”

Phoebe fidgeted and imitated Lurik.

“His Majesty carefully held the baby like this, like this, with his big hands, and then brought his finger like this……”

Phoebe exaggeratedly widened her eyes.

“And at that moment, our baby-nim grabbed His Majesty’s finger! His Majesty looked at the baby-nim with touched eyes and stroked her hair……”

I chuckled, watching Phoebe boast about my child as if it were her own.

“So, do you think he’ll forgive me? Can I be forgiven?”

“Of course!”

Phoebe answered confidently.

“So, Your Highness, please stop being angry now and go to His Majesty and appease him. His Majesty is someone who is easily swayed by you, so honestly, how much he must hate Grand Duke-nim right now……”

Phoebe is right.

Although I’m upset that he didn’t listen to a single word I said and immediately banished Callisto, I know he had reason to be angry.

So I decided to look for an opportunity to persuade Lurik, and that opportunity came sooner than expected.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Three days later, I finally returned to my room connected to the nursery.

While I was in the birthing room, my belongings had subtly increased, and I was busy moving things around, but it seemed like there was more to the commotion in the hotel.

Sure enough, there was a knock soon after.

—Knock, knock.

Then, Lurik’s voice followed.

“Lou, can we talk for a moment?”

I thought he had already returned after practically monopolizing Prillice for two days a few days ago, but it seemed he couldn’t wait and came back again.

‘Has he decided not to care about the Emperor’s position anymore?’

Now, to get to the nursery, he had to go through my room, so Lurik couldn’t even avoid me anymore.

Phoebe, who was with me, quickly got up and urged me to greet my brother, shaking my shoulders.

Eventually, I opened the door and greeted my brother.

“……You come often, brother.”

Phoebe gestured as if to plead with me to do well, putting her hands together and bowing slightly before leaving.

Lurik awkwardly entered the room.

Since he didn’t even greet me, I had to ask first.

“Did you come to see Prillice again?”

“……Partly.”

Seeing him face-to-face made me feel awkward and embarrassed.

I hesitated, not knowing what else to say, when Lurik asked.

“You named the child after me?”

“……Yes, brother.”

When I answered truthfully, Lurik let out a small sigh and asked again.

“Did you do that to seek my forgiveness someday?”

I didn’t want to spout disgusting lies about doing it out of love for my brother to his tired face.

So I just nodded.

“Yes, brother.”

Lurik smiled like a sigh.

“I actually thought you named her after Mother.”

Mother’s name……

Lurik’s mother, the deceased former Second Imperial Consort.

‘Did I name her after her?’

As soon as I thought that, the Second Consort’s name came to mind from the depths of my memory.

‘Freesia Brensia Vessa.’

It wasn’t intentional, but it was understandable why Lurik would think so.

“Well…… since my name was taken from Mother’s name, it’s the same thing in the end.”

I took a deep breath at that point.

Now it was my turn to ask for forgiveness.

Although Lurik was excessively angry, it was my fault for deceiving him for a year.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you, brother. I know you didn’t want to send me far away to Babenberg to get married.”

He was probably doing it on purpose, but Lurik didn’t look at me.

His back, turned towards me, looked as stubborn as ever, but his reply was softer than expected.

“I didn’t know you had feelings for the Grand Duke. If I had known, I wouldn’t have opposed it so much in the first place. Who wouldn’t know that he’s the best suitor on the continent?”

Lurik continued.

“I’m upset with him now, but this wasn’t his intention either. Just like everyone says.”

“Please forgive me, brother. He’s a good person. He’s really, really, really good to me. That night, he was drunk…… We both made a mistake. We didn’t do it on purpose…… Anyway, we were wrong.”

Unlike Callisto, who didn’t make a single excuse, I pulled out every excuse I could to beg for forgiveness.

If I couldn’t return to him within the one-month deadline I promised Callisto, something worse might happen.

Lurik let out a deep sigh.

“I can’t let Prillice grow up without a father. But I’m worried about the rumors in the Imperial Palace. People will talk about how he tarnished the honor of the Imperial family.”

Actually, it wasn’t just Callisto’s problem.

Lurik is the Emperor born from a commoner Empress, so he’s easily caught up in legitimacy controversies.

Therefore, my actions would also become his flaw.

So I swallowed hard and said,

“I’ll tell him to send a proposal letter right away. I can go to Babenberg and get married. Then the nobles in the Imperial Palace won’t know when I gave birth.”

Lurik pondered for a moment and finally nodded.

“I haven’t completely forgiven him. I just don’t want to be a cruel uncle who takes away a father from his niece.”

“Thank you, brother.”

I approached Lurik and gently hugged his waist.

“Thank you so much……”

A resigned hand stroked my hair.

“There was a time when I left for the battlefield, leaving you behind even though you were crying and clinging to me. Please consider this as repayment for the debt I owe you from that time.”

I teared up slightly in my brother’s warm embrace.

“No, brother. You don’t owe me anything. I’ll repay the love you’ve given me throughout my life. I’ll definitely show you how happy I am.”

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

The next day, Babenberg.

Callisto was staring intently at the calendar, repeatedly counting the days of the month that Louise had mentioned.

There were still fifteen days left.

The thought of not being able to see her again made him feel suffocated and his vision darkened.

He felt like he had already raised an army a hundred times, but if he did something like that, he wouldn’t be able to ask for Louise’s forgiveness this time.

The feeling of helplessness was a new kind of agony every day.

He wondered if he had ever been this sensitive.

—Buzz……, Buzz……

Just then, the communication orb rang.

“Lou?”

As he activated it, the room brightened and Louise’s image appeared.

Dressed in a light pink dress, she held a baby wrapped in an amber swaddle, smiling like an angel.

Her longed-for cheeks were flushed.

The pale look from her labor pains had already disappeared, and Louise had a more vibrant complexion than before.

The longing that filled his heart resembled thirst.

Seeing her face like this after being apart was sometimes even more agonizing.

The fact that he couldn’t touch her or hold her was deeply painful.

Then, Louise turned the baby around to show him her face.

—It’s Daddy, Daddy. Smile, Prillice.

Was she using magic now?

Surprisingly, the baby smiled.

The little angel with red eyes, just like Louise, was even more beautiful than before.

She looked like a living doll even when she was just quietly opening her eyes, and now she was even smiling.

Callisto unconsciously relaxed and smiled at the baby.

He finally parted his lips and spoke.

“Seeing you like this makes me feel alive. Did His Majesty finally leave?”

Louise sighed deeply.

—He’s been here and back four times. I guess he can’t come anymore, at least for the sake of appearances with the neighboring countries.

Her face looked bright, which gave him a glimmer of hope, but Callisto couldn’t bring himself to ask first.

Regardless of what Louise might have said to intervene, he believed that the first mistake in this matter lay with him.

That night, she was drunk, so he should have been the one to exercise restraint.

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