Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 82

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖𝟐

I couldn’t hide the sigh that escaped my lips.

“My brother is……”

“His Highness the Prince is.”

Callisto hesitated a bit this time, but eventually opened his mouth.

“To be honest, he hasn’t been sharing much information. Only essential information, such as news about the Damiani family, comes through Ren.”

“So you’re saying you don’t know anything about my brother?”

He laughed, a sound like a sigh.

“That’s not possible. However, seeing as His Highness hasn’t contacted you directly…… it seems he doesn’t want you to know yet.”

He meant, did I still want to know?

In other words, he was implying that while Lurik hadn’t told me, he had figured out the situation through his own channels.

‘Then, as I expected, he’s following the original flow of the novel.’

Lurik was going to raise an army to overthrow the Emperor, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

If he failed, they could all be charged with treason.

‘Of course, excluding the variable that is Ren, there’s no way Lurik would fail.’

So, I decided to respect my brother’s intentions for now.

“Alright. Then I’ll wait until my brother tells me about the situation at the Imperial Palace.”

Warm fingertips tapped my cheek.

“Good girl.”

Callisto asked,

“Can you sleep peacefully now?”

I nodded slightly, and he leaned towards me.

The shadows obscured my vision.

The next moment, I felt the touch of soft lips on my forehead.

“Good night. See you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Cal.”

He straightened up and lifted the glass shade of the nearby oil lamp, blowing it out.

A more complete darkness descended.

After Callisto left my room, I closed my eyes peacefully.

Even though it was my first time in this castle, I felt incredibly safe.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

At the same time, in the Imperial Palace.

Empress Dorothea was furious.

“What do you mean they haven’t returned, not just one or two, but all of them?!”

“I apologize, Your Majesty…… It seems the Flavi Royal Family has put a lot of effort into their defenses……”

“How dare you mention the Flavi Royal Family in front of me as if they’re invincible!”

The person the Empress was berating was the head of the Damiani family and her younger brother, Duke Gideon.

The Duke lowered his voice and tried to soothe his sister.

“Your Majesty, this endeavor was reckless from the start. Moreover, the youngest Princess is recuperating. If something goes wrong……”

“When they dared to depose my son who is alive and well right before my eyes!”

The Empress shouted, not caring who heard her.

“Surely His Majesty was prepared to sacrifice one of his children! Am I wrong?!”

Only after shouting at the top of her lungs did the Empress seem to calm down a bit and regain her composure.

Then, she spoke in a low, menacing tone.

“When His Majesty sent the youngest away for recuperation, the Crown Prince of Flavi promised to ensure her safety. I was there myself!”

She meant that they could blame the Flavi Royal Family for the incident.

However, the Duke still looked troubled.

“But, what if the Flavi Royal Family finds evidence that our family was involved……”

“What’s the problem if everyone involved made a magical oath?!”

The Empress shouted again as the Duke finally closed his mouth.

“That Lurik! If he hadn’t anticipated this and smuggled his sister away beforehand! How could he fail to bring a mere girl before me!”

The Empress continued to fume.

“If the position of Crown Prince passes to him, it’s all over. All the efforts of the Damiani family over the past decades will fall into the hands of that undeserving fool!”

In the end, the conclusion was the same.

“We need that girl. We need to hold her hostage to negotiate with that Lurik and delay the appointment of the Crown Prince.”

The Duke cautiously opened his mouth again.

“Your Majesty, if Prince Hart ultimately doesn’t wake up…… What are your plans……”

He braced himself for the inevitable outburst, closing his eyes tightly, but the Empress’s response was unexpectedly calm.

“Is Hart my only child?”

The Duke sighed inwardly.

If his sister was planning to appeal to the Emperor’s conscience or paternal love to grant the Second Princess the title of Crown Princess, this was doomed from the start.

‘How can she not know that the Emperor is not that kind of man, and that Chilla is not fit to be a ruler?’

Ignoring the Duke’s silence, the Empress finally gave her order.

“If thirty men aren’t enough, send fifty. I’m not asking you to harm the girl, just bring her back. I won’t tolerate any more excuses.”

The Duke had no choice but to answer in a low voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He had to succeed this time, if only to avoid losing any more of his precious soldiers.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

I woke up early in the morning.

It seemed I couldn’t sleep as deeply as usual, even in the impregnable fortress of Babenberg.

‘Of course not.’

There had been two intruders at the Edessa Hotel in the past week, and I had left my best friend there.

‘And he’s not a combat type.’

I didn’t mean to belittle him, but Ernst was undeniably the beauty of the group.

Moreover, my brother in the Imperial Palace was preparing a rebellion.

‘Even though he’s the overpowered male lead, he’s still my brother.’

So, it was natural to be worried.

“Sigh.”

I sighed and got up, taking the diary out of the chest containing my belongings.

This time, I had brought several notebooks mixed with the diary without Phoebe knowing, of course because I was desperate to know how things would unfold with Callisto.

‘Oh.’

Finally, some satisfying developments unfolded in the diary I hadn’t been able to check for two days.

Louise had finally sent a letter to Babenberg, and Callisto had replied in just one day.

I should have contacted him sooner.

I received a reply from Senior Callisto after only one day.

He said that the Grand Duke of Babenberg was in a very critical condition and apologized for leaving without saying goodbye.

He said he didn’t expect me to worry and asked if I could wait for him, even if it took time…… He even asked if I could wait for him.

I burst out laughing after reading that far.

‘Kyaa, finally!’

Of course, I would…… wait for him.

His seat was so conspicuous that no student would dare to covet it while he was away.

Of course, Ren might, but…… fortunately or unfortunately, he rarely came to the library.

I chuckled at the mention of Ren’s name and tried to estimate when Callisto would return to the academy.

‘I’ve read several times in his letters that he took a year off after finishing his second year.’

But the fact that he specifically asked me to wait was a clear green light, wasn’t it?

‘Isn’t he like the baby’s father?’

I tilted my head and pressed my finger on the symbol on the next page, but the diary didn’t reveal any more.

Flipping through the diary, I saw that there were still countless blank pages left.

My speculation lost its strength and faded.

‘No……, three years is enough time for a boyfriend to change ten times.’

Of course, I had lived and died as a single person in my past life, but this body was beautiful and a princess, wasn’t it?

‘That’s why there are three candidates for the baby’s father.’

I yawned as I thought that far.

‘I woke up too early……’

I closed the diary and crawled back into bed.

The soft morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, but I pretended not to notice.

My eyelids closed heavily.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Babenberg Castle was vast.

The main castle alone was comparable in size to the Imperial Palace, so I could spend the entire day just exploring it.

Callisto sent food I would enjoy to my room about seven times a day, and the twin maids, Chacha and Collie, followed me around, attending to my every need.

However, even after a whole day passed, there was no news.

“Shall we go to the Maze Garden tomorrow?”

Callisto asked cautiously in the evening.

“The Maze Garden?”

He pointed to somewhere outside the window where the sunset was painting the sky.

“See that square area over there? It’s mostly blocked by trees, so it won’t be as cold.”

I chuckled and looked up at him.

“If you’re so worried about the cold, how are you going to attend the Ice Festival?”

Callisto finally smiled sheepishly.

“You’re right.”

The diary I had read at dawn was still lingering in my mind.

So, I cautiously gauged his reaction and brought up the past.

“Cal, remember when…… you returned to Babenberg and received successor training for a year?”

His blue eyes met mine with tenderness.

“Yes.”

“How was it back then? We couldn’t exchange letters often then…… I suddenly became curious after coming here.”

The letters I exchanged with Callisto had increased significantly after he became the Grand Duke, but during his leave of absence, they were few and far between.

Of course, those letters might not have been everything, but a little adventure wouldn’t hurt.

“Back then……”

Callisto looked out the window as he answered.

“I studied hard and fulfilled my duties…… I tried my best to return to the academy. I had already attended for two years, so it felt like a waste to just quit……”

He turned to look at me again.

“Because you said you would…… wait for me.”

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