Choosing the Baby’s Father From the Following – Chapter 85

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖𝟓

Tower Master Ren, recognizing the mage, scoffed.

“I was wondering who would help with such a pathetic scheme.”

The old mage hurriedly lowered his head.

To be humiliated like this in front of that arrogant bastard, he felt like he had lived too long.

As the Emperor watched silently, the Tower Master approached the soldier carrying the sack.

The soldier, unable to kneel due to the sack on his back, stood frozen like a stone.

With a flick of his wrist, Ren snatched the sack from the soldier and held it in his arms.

Then, he quietly opened the sack and revealed the face of the person inside to everyone.

“……Louise.”

The Emperor called out as if in a groan, but his youngest daughter simply slumped in the Tower Master’s arms, her face paler than linen.

Ren’s violet eyes flashed with madness for a moment.

“What is the meaning of this to His Majesty, who is unwell!”

At that moment, Prince Lurik intervened, his face pale.

“I request Your Majesty’s permission to take my ailing younger sister back so she can receive treatment and continue her recuperation.”

The Emperor, as if gauging his second son’s mood, hurriedly replied.

“Of course, Lurik.”

As soon as the command was given, black flames erupted on the sandy ground, and the Tower Master disappeared with the Princess.

The temporary gate had already closed, but there was no way to restrain the Tower Master with something like a gate anyway.

“I, I acted on my own. Her, Her Majesty the Empress knows nothing about this.”

The Duke pleaded his case, but the Emperor was dumbfounded.

“If the Empress abandons even her family here, what would she have left?”

Gideon knelt on the sand.

“It’s true. Her Majesty the Empress knows nothing. I, too, only…… intended to bring the youngest Princess back and ask the Second Prince to be persuaded, I had no ill intentions whatsoever……”

The Emperor sighed.

“You deserve to be punished immediately for daring to deceive me and harming the Princess behind my back, but considering your past contributions, I will bring you to a noble trial.”

It was truly fortunate for the Emperor that Duke Damiani was willing to take the blame for this and accept punishment.

It was a better look than the Empress, jealous of the Second Prince, kidnapping his powerless younger sister.

The Emperor’s command continued.

“However, the Duke’s title is revoked immediately.”

Tears of despair streamed down Gideon’s eyes.

“Yo, Your Majesty…… I am grateful.”

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Meanwhile, the Empress remained alone in the Imperial Palace, spending anxious hours.

‘Why did His Majesty go to Damiani……?’

She was startled by her husband’s sudden announcement of a city inspection and sent an urgent message to Damiani, but the soldiers had already departed for Edessa.

After hearing that the Emperor, who went out for inspection, had stopped by the Damiani mansion, she was anxious beyond words.

‘Surely he didn’t find out anything. Even the Crown Prince of Flavi seemed nervous and stayed put in Edessa.’

Spying on the Emperor’s office revealed that not a single letter had arrived from Flavi.

The Empress waited for news from her family, feeling as if her heart would melt away.

“Your Majesty!”

Finally, a messenger arrived from Damiani.

“What happened?”

At her urgent question, the messenger knelt with a pale face.

“His Majesty the Emperor was at the training ground, and our soldiers brought back the sleeping youngest Princess……”

It was devastating news.

The Empress’s legs gave way, and she had to grab the table for support.

‘To succeed today, of all days, after failing twice before!’

Until the very last moment, the Empress had hoped that if they failed again today, it would all pass as if nothing had happened.

“So?”

At her sharp question, the messenger continued, tears welling up in his eyes.

“The Duke claimed responsibility, saying he acted on his own. His Majesty revoked his title on the spot, but decided to hold a trial to determine the remaining punishment.”

“……His Majesty revoked Gideon’s title?”

Her heart pounded relentlessly.

‘Is His Majesty abandoning our family? So easily?’

The Empress hurriedly shook her head.

‘No. The Second Prince, the Tower Master, and even the Imperial Guard accompanied him.’

Perhaps, as Emperor, there was no way he could immediately rescue the Duke.

The Empress calmed her rising anxiety and collected herself.

‘The trial…… He will help us make the trial as favorable as possible.’

As long as she remained in the Imperial Palace as Empress, she could slowly plan for the future.

There was a chance to recover.

The Empress felt a pang of guilt as she remembered that her brother, Duke Damiani, had not welcomed this plan.

However, there was something else that was more important right now.

‘In the end, we couldn’t bring that girl back, and the Second Prince must be upset, so there’s no way to persuade him.’

Since she would surely be in the Emperor’s bad graces because of this, it would also become difficult to bestow the Crown Princess title upon Chilla.

‘Then what I need is a miracle.’

The miracle of Hart rising from his sickbed and reclaiming the title of Crown Prince.

“I understand.”

The Empress replied gloomily.

As she was about to head towards the Crown Prince’s Palace, the kneeling messenger dared to block her path.

“Yo, Your Majesty. Our master…… will he be alright? Will Your Majesty the Empress save him?”

The Empress was taken aback by the audacity of a mere messenger questioning her and scoffed, turning away.

Then the messenger sobbed.

The Empress clicked her tongue and turned back.

“Do you think I would abandon my own family? Go back and tell the Duke to await my contact.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you!”

Shaking her head, she left the room.

As soon as she stepped into the hallway, the Empress’s stooped shoulders straightened.

‘I am the Empress of this Empire, Dorothea Damiani Brentania.’

Even after becoming Empress, she had cherished her middle name, Damiani, more than anything else.

The Damiani family, the largest noble family in the Empire, had given her, who was neither beautiful nor younger than the Emperor, an unshakeable position in the Imperial Palace.

‘Gideon handled it cleverly.’

Therefore, the Empress decided to use all her strength to protect this opportunity, which might be her last.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

“Gasp, gasp……”

Hart on his sickbed gasped for breath as if being chased by something.

He slept all day without waking, but often groaned and moaned in pain.

The Empress’s heart ached as if it were melting every time she saw her son’s suffering.

“Hart……, my poor son.”

The Crown Princess was nowhere to be seen again.

‘She used to pray and stay by his side before she was deposed.’

It seemed she had abandoned all hope.

‘How foolish. At times like this, she should be thinking about how to secure her children’s place in the Imperial Palace by acting properly!’

The Empress lamented inwardly and quietly knelt at the foot of her son’s bed.

The old woman’s joints creaked, but she did not hesitate to kneel on the floor.

After praying to God for a long time, the door opened without a knock from behind.

Even though things had come to this, the Empress maintained a dignified expression as she looked at her husband.

“……You have arrived.”

Since Gideon had decided to take the blame, she had to act convincingly enough to fool everyone.

“Empress.”

Her husband’s voice sounded dry.

She had entered into a political marriage with him at a young age.

‘In my younger days, every time he glanced at other women, it hurt my pride and made me furious.’

However, all those trivial matters ended up being just fleeting amusements.

After the Second Consort passed away early, the Empress had never felt threatened by anyone in the Imperial Palace.

‘Perhaps that was my arrogance.’

The Emperor scanned Hart with cold eyes.

Soon, words like a bolt from the blue came from his lips.

“When the Tower Master returns, I will lift the protective magic on Hart.”

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• Eren Yeager vs. Gundam: Who Would Win in a Titan-Sized Showdown?
• Acel World: I Was That Fat Kid
• Novel Review: Emperor’s Domination
• My Inner Samurai vs. My Real-Life Chicken Heart: Why My Brain Thinks I’m Bruce Lee, But My Body Screams “Run!”
• Kakashi Hatake: The Ultimate Husbando? A Deep Dive into the Sharingan of Our Desires