Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 61

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟏
I blankly muttered.

“Lennie? Did you just say Lennie? Lennie, who was Moghald-nim’s assistant?”

It was a very small voice, but Ren understood.

“Seeing as you’re only just remembering that now, it seems your brain hasn’t grown as much as your height, kid. Are you doing well in your studies?”

Hearing his provocative voice, something welled up in my chest.

“Why didn’t you……! No, why are you Lennie……”

Why didn’t you come find me all this time, why didn’t you tell me you were Lennie sooner.

I wanted to express those resentments, but in truth, he had asked from the very first day.

“Don’t you recognize me?”

Lennie just smiled without saying a word.

“Let’s go.”

As if possessed by his words, I got up and left the classroom.

After that, it seemed like I skipped class for the first time in my life and spent time catching up with Ren.

Louise said she didn’t recognize him at all because Ren’s height and build had grown so much, and his actions had become too rough.

Moreover, she said she hadn’t even considered that he might be old enough to become the Tower Master.

Saying that the time to use nicknames had long passed, Lennie told her to call him Ren.

It was unexpected that even Lennie, no, Ren, wasn’t able to easily contact Moghald-nim……

So, I decided to keep the summoning orb Moghald-nim gave me a secret.

The diary that started with Ren ended with Moghald’s name.

‘Louise had Moghald’s summoning orb, which even Ren didn’t receive?’

That means Moghald cherished Louise as much as Ren.

He was probably worried and felt guilty knowing about Lurik’s magic sword, so he must have paid more attention to her.

‘Is that why he cast a spell on the diary?’

I pondered over it, but in the end, I had to close the diary without any significant findings.

This was because I couldn’t find any specific connection between the magic sword and the diary.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

The next day, Phoebe, while heading out to prepare snacks on the Princess’s errand, encountered Crown Prince Ernst hesitating in the hallway.

“Your Highness, why don’t you go in?”

“Ah, well…… How is Louise? Is the morning sickness better?”

Ernst asked hesitantly, and Phoebe smiled brightly.

“It seems like the morning sickness has really stopped. After all that suffering, it’s amazing how it disappeared overnight! It’s both fascinating and such a relief.”

Only then did Ernst smile faintly and ask again.

“Then can she go out with me tomorrow?”

Phoebe narrowed her eyes slyly.

“Were you that upset that she only went out with His Grace the Grand Duke yesterday? You didn’t even join her for snack time.”

“Rather than upset……”

Ernst, who was about to make an excuse, sighed as if resigned.

“Well, I was upset.”

Phoebe made excuses for her master.

“She enjoyed a lively market tour, picked out lots of fruits, and got some fresh air by the lake, so it must have been great!”

Like the veteran maid she was, Phoebe concealed the fact that her master had spent time alone with the Grand Duke by the lake.

Ernst smiled faintly and asked.

“Was she very tired from walking so much?”

Phoebe thought hard before answering.

“Hmm…… She seemed to be in good spirits, so she didn’t seem too tired. Although His Grace was prepared to call for a carriage at any time.”

“Of course he was.”

Ernst chuckled and added.

“I heard it’s good to see beautiful things during pregnancy. You know I invest in art, right? There’s an auction tomorrow, so I was thinking of taking Lou there.”

An art auction.

Phoebe’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh, is it here in Edessa? Wouldn’t it be too conspicuous if you two went together?”

“It’s being held in Tortona, but it’s not far from here. It’s a private event with only a few nobles invited, so there’s no need to worry about attracting attention.”

Ernst added another question.

“Louise was always interested in it too…… But, I wonder if Lou can ride the magic carriage right now?”

“Wouldn’t it be best to ask her directly?”

Phoebe asked back after much deliberation, and Ernst nodded.

“Yes, good.”

But as he headed towards the Princess’s room, he quickly turned back.

“But Phoebe, about Louise.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I heard from the maids that she’s been making them clean the floor more than twice a day lately. Was she like that in the Imperial Palace too?”

Phoebe burst into laughter.

“It seems strange to you too, Your Highness? Perhaps she’s a little sensitive due to the pregnancy. I don’t know how strictly she’s been differentiating her slippers since some time ago.”

“……Lou used to find slippers bothersome. That’s why when she got shoes made, she’d have cushions put in the soles so she could wear them all day.”

Phoebe smiled softly.

“As expected, you know everything. Anyway, these days, perhaps because of the baby, she’s sensitive to dust, so please make sure you wear your slippers properly, Your Highness. Don’t get scolded for no reason.”

Come to think of it, not long ago, Ren had been scolded by Louise for kissing the back of her hand right after flame traveling.

“Pregnant women are sensitive.”

At that time, I was the one who stepped in to stop Ren from complaining.

Ernst tilted his head.

‘Can pregnancy really change a person this much?’

Louise even greeted her own father as “Your Majesty.”

‘She was like a different person then.’

He fumbled in his pocket, and the fortune slip he had received from Louise the previous day brushed against his fingertips.

“What? I just looked at it for fun, Erni.”

Ernst recalled Louise’s voice that had been echoing in his ears.

‘Could she have really considered the fortune telling as just fun?’

Then why were they here?

“Moghald-nim read the stars. The dream’s prophecy is true. I’m going to die……!”

Hadn’t he been coaxing and comforting Louise, who was crying and wailing like that, for over a year to get to this point?

If she hadn’t believed in the prophecy of death or astrology, there would have been no reason for them to declare a nonsensical truce and draw numerous parallel lines.

‘Crazy, what am I thinking right now?’

Ernst shook his head.

‘What does it matter if Louise has changed?’

It was rather a good thing.

Even if she had changed, it was only that she had become a little more honest and a little more sensitive to physical contact.

‘Or perhaps a little more sensitive to hygiene?’

That was nothing, and if she had stopped believing in trivial fortunes, he should be grateful.

However, the doubts that had once sprouted did not easily subside.

Even more so because all those moments he had shared with Louise were always unforgettable and vivid.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

“Lou, what are you doing?”

It must have been winter, back when they were freshmen at the Academy.

Their schedules were almost identical except for one or two classes, but Louise was acting strange that day.

Even after class ended, she remained sitting blankly in her seat, and the open book showed not a single scribble of notes.

“……Louise?”

Louise only flinched and looked back when Ernst called her name for the second time.

“Oh, Erni……”

Her lovely peach-colored cheeks were unusually pale.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean, what’s wrong? Where’s the next class?”

However, even during the next class and the one after that, Louise’s absent-minded attitude remained unchanged.

Finally, after all the classes were over, Ernst grabbed Louise’s wrist as she tried to flee to the dormitory.

“What is it? Did Princess Chilla bully you again?”

At that, Louise giggled.

“She didn’t bully me? I think maybe……”

Then she added shyly.

“I think Ren said something. Ren said that Princess Jenais is really afraid of magic.”

“……She probably dislikes it.”

Ernst corrected Louise’s words, but she wasn’t interested in that.

Instead, she returned to her previous melancholic expression and said.

“Actually, I had a nightmare……”

Ernst listened attentively to Louise’s words.

“It won’t go away even after time passes, and it’s so vivid. I feel bad all day.”

“What kind of dream was it……”

Ernst comforted her gently and wrapped his arm around Louise’s shoulders.

Louise’s pink eyelashes fluttered down like a bird’s feather and then rose again.

Ernst remembered that sight, that moment, which always seemed miraculously beautiful no matter how many times he saw it, as if it had happened today.

Louise whispered very softly.

“A dream where I die.”

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