My Child's Father is The Emperor - Chapter 12.1
“I will be your mother, Prince Leopold.”
Adele felt as if she had been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.
“What?”
A brightly smiling Velota reflected in young Leo’s innocent eyes.
“You will understand soon.”
Leo’s wide eyes turned upwards towards Adele.
Following his gaze, Velota’s eyes shifted to Adele.
“Who might this be? You don’t seem to be a nanny. The Prince’s tutor, perhaps?”
At Velota’s inquiry, Yuria responded.
“She is Prince Leopold’s birth mother, Miss Ernst.”
A flicker of interest passed through Velota’s eyes.
“Ah, the commoner?”
Adele’s lips felt glued together, unable to part.
With trembling hands clutching her skirt, she barely managed a bow.
“Hello. I’m Adelaide Ernst.”
“I see, you’ve had your share of troubles.”
As if concluding her business, Velota looked over her shoulder.
“We are here for tea, so could you please give us some space?”
Adele took Leo’s hand and stepped away from the lakeshore.
Walking a bit into the garden, Adele glanced back.
Against the backdrop of Lake Vigneron’s silver waves, Velota’s brilliant smile seemed like a scene from a painting.
She appeared as if she was born to sit there.
“Miss Ernst?”
Yuria looked at Adele with concern.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. I’m just tired. I need to rest.”
Adele took Leo back and returned to her room.
Weakly, she sat down in front of the mirror.
The entire event from moments ago was shocking from start to finish.
“I will be your mother, Prince Leopold.”
The mother of the prince?
Did that mean that woman was going to be the Empress?
“She is Prince Leopold’s birth mother, Miss Ernst.”
It was a question from a noblewoman, so Yuria had to answer.
But a birth mother? To be called Prince Leopold’s birth mother?
Being referred to in such a way left Adele feeling absurdly reduced to just ‘the birth mother.’
‘I am Leo’s mother.’
She had never even considered that another woman would take her place as a mother, even if she couldn’t prevent her child from being registered under the Emperor’s family records.
“Oh, the commoner?”
Adele felt humiliated.
Velota’s tone was filled with an endless sense of authority, implying that everything could be arranged as she pleased.
Even the Duke of Dreyfus, a Lord, had never spoken like that.
‘Who does she think she is?’
How could she speak in such a self-centered manner?
“We need to have our tea, so could you please step aside?”
Adele learned for the first time that a command to move could be phrased as a polite request.
‘Is the Emperor planning to marry her?’
Then, how should she interpret his almost nightly visits?
Adele was almost certain that Van who visited her in dreams was the Emperor.
That’s why she put the watch in his pocket.
She wanted to confirm that the man in her dreams was indeed the Emperor.
But seeing Velota had shocked her to the point of confusion.
Adele was so angry she didn’t know what to do.
‘If she had simply been introduced as the future Empress, I wouldn’t have been this angry.’
Suddenly, that thought struck her.
Would she have been this upset if Velota had mentioned she was to marry the Emperor?
Then, she might have felt incredulous and resentful towards the Emperor, but not as upset as she felt now.
‘How dare she… In front of me, the mother, claim she will be mother to my own son.’
Adele found it impossible to forgive Velota.
She deplored not being able to slap that angelic face with her own hand.
Because she was a commoner. Had she slapped Velota right there, she could have been executed by Velota’s guard without any chance to argue her case.
It would be nothing but a dog’s death.
Yet, the fact that she hadn’t slapped her was so infuriating, she felt wronged.
Adele looked at herself in the mirror.
She gathered her hair into one and untied the neat ribbon at the back of her neck.
Her brown hair fell messily around her face, which was marred by anger.
“How ugly.”
Adele had her pride.
She had no desire to simply accept whatever the Emperor gave her as if it were her due for bearing a child.
Giving birth to Leo was her decision.
If she enjoyed any benefits for having borne a son, what would differentiate her from selling herself?
Adele valued her life and was proud of herself for raising Leo alone.
She had survived on her own, without anyone’s help.
She lived a life with no shame under the heavens.
“Who might this be? You don’t seem to be a nanny. The Prince’s tutor, perhaps?”
Those words pierced her heart.
Adele loved not the Emperor but the wandering knight, Van. She wondered if she needed to present herself in a manner befitting the Emperor.
Being dragged here, she didn’t want to lose herself as well.
Only then could she hope to return to the happy times she had with Leo.
But now, she regrets it.
This wasn’t the Dreyfus estate. Not a single person recognized Adele and Leo here. And yet, she was being referred to as a nanny or tutor beside Leo.
It implied that she didn’t appear to be the Emperor’s woman, nor the mother of the Prince.
‘What is he thinking?’
She couldn’t understand at all.
He hadn’t explained anything properly.
Adele felt resentful towards the Emperor.
A woman wearing a monochrome dress buttoned up to her neck let her hair down and clenched her fist in front of the mirror.
