Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 56

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟔
Callisto looked at me with regretful eyes, then turned around with a sigh.

“This way.”

I followed Callisto to the highest floor with Ren and Phoebe.

“Here it is.”

When Callisto finally opened the door, I couldn’t help but gasp.

“……Cal.”

“How is it? Similar, right? I prepared it thinking it would be better than an unfamiliar environment.”

The room he had prepared was surprisingly similar to my room in the Imperial Palace annex.

The position of the bed, the direction of the windows, even the height of the slightly low-hanging chandelier and the carpet pattern were similar.

I was truly touched and said,

“You must have put a lot of effort into preparing this. Thank you……”

Ren didn’t pay attention to our conversation and was busy sweeping the entire room with a thin net of light.

However, my emotions were too deep to be interrupted by that.

Callisto opened the window, pulling back the half-drawn curtains.

“Wow……”

Living up to its reputation as a lakeside city, Lake Edessa sparkled under the afternoon sun.

“Watch the sunset later. It’s quite beautiful.”

Callisto said with a slightly proud voice, then pointed to a small door.

“Do you want to see inside this as well?”

I followed him in without thinking, but I realized it right away.

‘……It’s a baby’s room.’

Unlike my room, which was decorated in pink, the small room had two walls painted black and the other two white.

And in the middle of the room was a small, round bed with curved lines.

Choked with emotion, I couldn’t say anything, so Callisto explained.

“I heard babies can’t distinguish colors when they’re first born. They say black is easier for them to see, so I prepared it with black walls.”

Isn’t this completely modern common sense?

“……How did you know that?”

I asked curiously, and Callisto answered calmly.

“I studied. I tend to learn quickly if necessary.”

Maybe this man isn’t the baby’s father after all.

‘I have two other excellent candidates for the baby’s father, and this man is just the richest of them, so he’s just splurging.’

If Ren couldn’t do it, I wanted to downplay this touching gesture, but it was impossible.

“……Cal.”

The moment I finally called his name and lightly held his fingertip, I heard the sound of reckless footsteps.

“What is this? Did Erni agree to you decorating the baby’s room as you please?”

Callisto gently put down my hand and asked Ren in return.

“Why would I need the Crown Prince’s consent to decorate ‘our’ baby’s room as I please?”

At that moment, Ernst appeared.

“Stop it, Ren.”

It seemed he arrived late because he was busy deploying the Imperial Guards I brought with me throughout the hotel.

“I ordered and brought the bed. Your blind eyes might see that bed as if it was made overnight, but in reality, I ordered it four months ago.”

I stepped forward before Ren could explode.

“Thank you all for cooperating in decorating ‘my’ baby’s room. What will you do, Ren?”

“……Huh?”

The genius Tower Master seemed to have slowed down his brain rotation due to being too angry.

So I made the suggestion first.

“Hang star and moon-shaped lamps. The kind that emit a soft light so they can be left on at night.”

The room was empty except for the bed.

He could have filled it up if he wanted to, but leaving it empty like this was probably Callisto’s consideration.

“Won’t you do it, Ren?”

Ren sighed and said,

“I’ll do it. Just in case, I’ll add a concealment feature to the bedding and bed curtains. And maybe a self-playing organ or something.”

Ernst smiled at me as if to say I did well.

I looked at the three of them in turn and smiled, pretending to be very satisfied.

“‘My’ baby will be the least bored baby in the empire as soon as it’s born.”

Everyone had a look on their face that they wanted to insist that it was ‘our’ baby, but they just shut their mouths, watching my eyes.

‘It’s true that I like all three candidates for the baby’s father.’

But I’ll have to find a way to avoid dealing with all three of them at once in the future.

I made up my mind, feeling completely drained.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

“Tsk tsk……”

That same night, former Tower Master Moghald secretly snuck into the Imperial Palace with Helena.

It had been seven years since he had vowed never to set foot in the Imperial Palace after stepping down as Tower Master.

“Oh my, it seems we’re too late.”

Helena was dizzy and felt like she was about to collapse, having teleported using magic stone powder for the first time in her life.

She forced her eyes open and looked around, finding herself in a dazzling room she had never seen before.

“Where is this……?”

Moghald chuckled.

“It’s the youngest Princess’s room. Don’t be alarmed, we didn’t intrude without Her Highness’s knowledge.”

However, Helena couldn’t stop the hiccups that erupted from her.

She never dreamed she would come to the Imperial Palace, let alone teleport into the empty room of the Princess.

“Umm……”

The mage remained calm, even seeing Helena on the verge of fainting from shock.

“It seems my apprentice omitted some very important information.”

In fact, after receiving Princess Louise’s letter the day before, a communication orb emitting a brilliant light had rung in Moghald’s possession.

From the orb, a fierce voice, not unfamiliar to Helena, flowed out and said,

“Old man, can you come into the Imperial Palace just once in a few days? You can use the fireplace in Louise’s room, right? Moreover, with the ongoing construction these days, it’s bustling, so we can loosen the security.”

Moghald casually replied that he understood and turned off the communication orb.

“Your apprentice…… you mean, perhaps……”

“That rascal, the Tower Master.”

The rogue mage who dared to bargain with information about the Imperial Family was the teacher of the fearsome Tower Master.

Helena was now on the verge of passing out, but Moghald made a very difficult request of her.

“I’ll be back after a quick look around, so could you wait here for a bit?”

“H-here? But Her Highness isn’t here?”

The Tower Master grinned.

“It’s more comfortable because she’s not here. If anyone comes and asks, show them the letter and say you’re a guest of Her Highness. Oh, and if you find yourself in trouble and want to use a mage’s name, use Ren’s instead of this old man’s. His name is more effective than mine now.”

Moghald winked and disappeared.

So Helena had to wait alone in the Princess’s dazzling room, stamping her feet anxiously.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

To make matters worse, Moghald didn’t return even after a long time.

Fearing someone might come, Helena huddled against the wall near the bed.

The bed, with its fluttering red silk, was as beautiful as something she might see in a dream, but she didn’t have the leisure to admire it.

‘Where did Her Highness go? Is that why I can’t see her?’

She took out the letter she had hidden in her bosom and looked at it again.

‘You said you had something important to tell me……’

Indeed, if she had left the letter at the monastery, it would have been two months ago.

‘I guess I came too late……’

No, in fact, she had arrived early thanks to Moghald’s help.

It would have taken her more than a month to reach the Imperial Palace on foot.

“Sigh……”

All she could do was sit still and wait for the former Tower Master.

Fearful of being questioned by the guards about how she got in, she couldn’t even open the door.

But the very thing she feared most came to pass.

―Creak.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, casting a human shadow.

Helena held her breath, hoping it was Moghald returning, but just by looking at the silhouette, she knew it was definitely not the old mage.

He was too tall, his shoulders too broad……

“……Who is it?”

He was also alert to any presence.

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• The Great Balls-Scratching Debate: A Smell-tastic Journey
• My Classmate’s Waifu Obsession: Is it Cringe or Just…Weird?
• My Therapist Told Me to Stop Saying “Back In My Day” – Unrelatable TikTok Kids got me STRESSED
• Sword Art Online: A Grown-Up’s Journey Through A Virtual World
• Kakashi Hatake: The Ultimate Husbando? A Deep Dive into the Sharingan of Our Desires