Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 62

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟐
Crown Prince Ernst of Flavi, despite his gentle appearance, was calculating and adept at social maneuvering to the core.

It was a natural consequence of his involvement in diplomacy from a young age, being from the Empire’s first vassal kingdom.

The fate of the small kingdom of Flavi depended on the direction he moved, and the more he struggled, the better life became for his people.

Therefore, he should have smiled to reassure and comfort the anxious Imperial Princess, but Ernst couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“……Tell me in detail.”

She was the only one he couldn’t dare give up, even compared to Flavi.

Louise seemed to find the courage to speak only when he listened intently.

As if speaking loudly would make it true, her following voice was very small.

“It’s just…… I saw myself dead. I was lying down with my eyes closed, and my face was pale. You might think I was asleep, but I was definitely dead. I can’t forget that image.”

Ernst comforted Louise by gently stroking her arm, which he had embraced.

“It’s just a dream. You can’t forget it because you’re scared and thinking about it all day. Don’t go straight back to the dormitory today. Let’s go downtown together.”

“But I have to do my assignments……”

Ernst sighed.

“You barely took any notes today. How are you going to do your assignments?”

And to persuade the troubled Louise, he added,

“If we go downtown and buy a delicious slice of pie together, I’ll show you my notes.”

“What’s that? Then it won’t help you at all……”

Ernst pretended not to hear Louise’s clueless remarks, as he was used to it.

“It helps. I’ve been wanting to eat DuFayel Pastry Shop pie all day.”

“That’s just an excuse……”

Louise, however, walked in the direction Ernst was leading.

He cheered her up by feeding her sweets, helped her with her overdue notes and assignments, and thus the day passed safely.

No, he thought it had passed.

A while later, Prince Lurik left for the battlefield, so he assumed that her occasional daze or melancholy was due to her worry for her older brother.

It was only after the seasons had changed several times that Louise revealed the truth.

“Erni, I’m actually still having that dream.”

Louise’s face was as pale as she had described in her dream.

As he coaxed and soothed her, who was crying like a child, Ernst’s worry began in earnest.

‘What if this gets out and the princesses use it against her?’

At first, he was only worried about Louise’s situation, but as the dream repeated and developed, his thoughts changed.

‘Maybe Louise is having a nervous breakdown.’

Later, Louise described the dream in such detail that he even became infected with her worry.

‘What if that dream is real?’

By that time, he had no choice but to ask Ren for help, so their unintended cooperation began in that way.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

“I’m going too.”

Despite having so cruelly pushed Ernst away the day before, Callisto shamelessly intervened.

“……Do you know anything about art?”

Ernst glanced at him with a look of disgust, but Callisto didn’t flinch.

“What if I don’t? I’ll buy everything if necessary, so you can buy it back from me.”

He had seen the art auction mentioned several times in his correspondence with Ernst.

I quickly intervened and mediated between the two.

“Cal, it’s not okay to interfere with someone else’s hobby.”

“Interfere?”

Callisto replied nonchalantly.

“If I accompany Louise, I won’t attract anyone’s attention. I don’t usually go to places like art auctions.”

“They say you’ll die if you do something you don’t normally do.”

Ernst spoke sarcastically, but Callisto was undeterred.

“If I visit after spreading a rumor that I’m attending, wouldn’t it be easier for you, Erni? The attention will be on me.”

Ernst then pretended to think about it and asked,

“You want to go that badly?”

Callisto replied in a gruff voice.

“Unlike you guys, I’m not in a position to freely enter and exit the Imperial Palace, am I? We’ve finally been able to be together, and I have no intention of being separated from Lou.”

Ernst, instead of acting gentle as usual, set a condition.

“Lou will be accompanying me. Your Excellency, the Grand Duke, can watch from the opposite box or not. If you accept this condition, I’ll get you an invitation.”

Phoebe burst out laughing beside me.

“While others are looking at the auction items through telescopes, Your Excellency will be looking at our Princess.”

“……Can I use a telescope?”

I ended up laughing along with Phoebe as I heard Callisto ask seriously.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Same day, Imperial Palace.

“Blood, groans, and sacrifice……”

Ren performed a series of useless healing magic, restoration magic, and recovery magic in order, next to the Crown Prince who was rambling deliriously.

Except for the two days he went to Edessa to take Louise, it was something he had been repeating every day for the past ten days.

“Victory to the sword……”

The difference was that the Empress’s attitude, who had been anxiously watching over the Crown Prince, had changed subtly.

The Empress stopped crying all day and urging him to come to his senses, and instead, she personally fed and cared for him, who had become like a child.

“……I’m sorry it’s not working. But since His Highness the Crown Prince doesn’t recognize His Majesty, even if the servants take care of him……”

When Ren tried to intervene, the Empress glared at him fiercely.

“I will not entrust the Crown Prince to anyone. Also, since everyone in the Imperial Palace fears the Tower Master, it is only natural that I personally guard this room.”

It was as if she was saying that she was watching him because she didn’t trust him.

Ren tried to make an excuse but gave up, exhausted.

When the Crown Prince finished his meal, the Empress brought in the court physician and made him take all kinds of medicine, and then had the maids bring water for washing.

Then, she personally made a wet towel and wiped the Crown Prince’s face clean.

‘The color of his eyes won’t return.’

Ren succeeded in getting his teacher to carry his Communication Orb by using this incident as an excuse.

Compared to the time when he had lost contact for seven years and was chasing after his traces, it was a relief, but it seemed that even his teacher could not do anything about the Crown Prince’s condition.

‘Since I told him, he must have visited.’

If there had been a way, his teacher would have healed the Crown Prince regardless of the shameless things the Emperor and Empress had done.

He might have thought about it for a while, but his teacher was not such a person.

“Then, I’ll visit again tomorrow.”

Ren decided to contact his teacher again when he had time and said goodbye to the Empress.

As soon as he left the Crown Prince’s Palace, he met the Second Prince’s adjutant.

“His Highness Prince Lurik has ordered you to come to the detached palace.”

He was still called His Highness the Prince, but considering the Crown Prince’s condition, it wouldn’t be long before the owner of that position changed.

‘He must be curious about Louise.’

Knowing that the Second Prince’s affection for Louise was genuine, he felt sorry for him lately.

However, simply telling him that she was doing well would only give the Second Prince an excuse to order Louise to return to the Imperial Palace.

‘He might even say he’s going to visit her.’

So, the things he could say were already decided.

His steps towards the detached palace were heavy.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

―Ding.

When Ernst rang the bell, the auctioneer said,

“720 crowns. 720 crowns have been bid.”

He hadn’t fully grasped the prices in this world yet, but 720 crowns was an enormous amount of money.

‘I’m not sure, but it’s probably about the annual income of a lower-ranking noble.’

Perhaps because of that, the bell didn’t ring anymore, and only the auctioneer’s explanation continued.

“The Duchess’s bed, who requested not to reveal her family name, as you can see, has four gilded pillars with grapevines embossed on them, and the canopy is made of the finest satin.”

I was just blinking my eyes in the auction house, which I was seeing for the first time in my life.

Callisto was sitting with Phoebe in the diagonal box seat as promised, and surprisingly, he seemed to have taken Ernst’s warning not to interfere well, as he was being quiet.

In the silence of everyone, the auctioneer said,

“720 crowns. Going once, going twice, sold for 720 crowns.”

Then Ernst rang the bell once more.

―Ding, ding.

At the auctioneer’s direction, one of the employees knocked on the door of the box seat where we were sitting.

―Knock, knock.

Ernst made an offer.

“I’ll buy all the furniture from the Duchess’s room for 1000 crowns. The bed, table, chairs, sofa, and even the two wooden chests.”

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