My Child's Father is The Emperor - Chapter 13.1
“Why don’t Mom and Dad sleep together at night?”
Leo asked, glancing around.
Clang.
The spoon in Adele’s hand and the fork Van was holding dropped almost simultaneously.
“Hans said his mom and dad sleep in the same room every night.”
Leo looked downcast.
“He told me, ‘You wouldn’t know because you don’t have a dad.'”
“Who’s Hans?”
Van’s eyes flashed.
“Hans is a friend from daycare.”
Van looked ready to storm Hans’s house right then.
Seeing the intense blue aura forming around the knife Van had grasped again, Adele was alarmed.
“I’ll go right now…”
“Your Majesty! It’s children’s business.”
Children will be children.
They say the strangest things among themselves.
Adele knew that Hans’s parents, despite sharing a room, often had marital disputes.
Children in daycare share all kinds of stories.
‘Should I say that Hans’s house is small and the palace is big, so we have many rooms and sleep separately? Or that Leo’s dad is the Emperor, so it’s just how things are?’
While Adele pondered what to say,
“Is Dad not my real dad?”
“No.”
“No, Leo.”
Adele and Van sternly corrected him at the same time.
“Is it because he’s not my real dad that he sleeps separately from Mom?”
Why is he saying this? Adele was taken aback.
“Starting tonight, we’ll sleep together.”
“What?”
Van put down his utensils and stood up abruptly.
“I’ll need to prepare.”
Prepare? What for?
Van lifted Leo from the chair, cradled him, and kissed his tender cheek.
“Leopold. I’ll see you at bedtime, then.”
Before Adele could say anything, he had left the dining room.
Adele pulled a chair closer to sit near Leo.
“Leo. Why are you suddenly saying this?”
Leo pursed his lips tightly.
“Mommy. You’re not going anywhere, right?”
Tears welled up in Leo’s eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday, that noona said… Whaa.”
Leo couldn’t finish his sentence and burst into tears.
Adele felt a thousand furies ignite within her.
‘It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand her words.’
Leo was quick-witted for his age.
He was fast to speak, and he often understood everything adults said.
“I will be your mother, Prince Leopold.”
Leo must have tried to make sense of those words on his own.
In his eyes, Adele and Van must not have appeared like the parents of his friends.
“Leo. Don’t cry.”
Adele was a mother.
She couldn’t forgive the woman who had brought tears to her precious child’s eyes.
* * *
Van brushed his lips, which kept curving upwards.
“A daycare friend, you say? Sending him to daycare seems worthwhile.”
Where did he learn such talk?
‘From tonight, I won’t have to climb through windows anymore.’
All for the emotional well-being of his child.
Van had rightfully earned his place beside Adele.
Upon returning to his office, Van immediately summoned the chief steward.
“Prepare the royal villa.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just the essentials for furniture and utensils. Prepare for Adele and Leopold to stay in the royal villa starting today.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Dawson bowed and was about to leave.
“Wait.”
Van stopped Dawson.
“Has anything happened to the prince or Adele?”
Dawson swallowed hard.
He had clearly seen how his predecessor was dismissed from this position. Dawson had prepared thoroughly to avoid a similar fate.
He pulled a small notebook from his uniform pocket.
“In the past three days, Madam Adele had two meals a day. The reason for the two meals is…”
Dawson cautiously glanced at the Emperor.
“She has insomnia. She has been unable to sleep well at night, resulting in her sleeping from morning until afternoon on some days.”
Dawson was worried that mentioning Adele’s insomnia might provoke the Emperor’s anger, but the Emperor remained silent.
Relieved, Dawson continued with the prepared report.
“Besides that, she has been reading, drinking tea, and spending time walking and playing with His Highness the Prince.”
“And the Prince?”
“His Highness the Prince is very popular among the maids. Despite being raised by Adele, who comes from a common background, he is regarded as polite and intelligent.”
Dawson glanced at the Emperor again. Coming from a nominal baron family himself, Dawson was cautious about mentioning Adele’s commoner status, but the Emperor seemed unconcerned.
“He has been eating three meals a day, enjoying playing ball or running in the garden, and Madam Adele reads to him before he goes to sleep at night.”
Dawson flipped through the notebook.
“The book His Highness enjoys lately is ‘Legends of the Continent.'”
Having witnessed the grim end of his predecessor, Dawson had prepared thoroughly.
Opportunity belongs to those who are prepared.
“Good. Anything else?”
“Yesterday afternoon, while playing ball in the Emperor’s garden, they encountered Lady Velota.”
“And?”
Dawson tensed.
“That is… Lady Velota told the Prince.”
He had to confess, even though it wasn’t his fault.
“”I will be your mother, Prince Leopold.” and because of that, the Prince hardly ate half of his dinner last night.”
“Lady Velota said that?”
Contempt crossed Van’s face.
“So that was it.”
There’s always a reason behind a child’s behavior.
Just as Van’s own prickly personality stemmed from his upbringing.
“Great. You may leave now.”
Hearing the word “great” from Van, Dawson felt he might survive.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, and I’ll increase your salary. Keep up the good work.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Dawson felt this job might be quite manageable.
He felt as if he had discovered another talent within himself.
