My Child's Father is The Emperor - Chapter 4.2
Van called the name of his young son.
“Leo.”
The vast imperial palace grounds were a perfect fit for the lively child.
Calling his name, Van’s son ran towards him.
Van picked up the child and lifted him high into the sky.
“My son.”
With his silky hair and fair skin, and colorless gray eyes, the child resembled him closely.
The excitement in the matching gray eyes, like his own, filled Can with emotion.
“Dad.”
The words “Dad” came so naturally from Leo’s small and adorable lips.
Ban was moved.
“Yes, I am your Dad.”
He gently lowered the child he had been carrying all this time and scooped him up into his arms.
The fine hair against his chest smelled like a child.
He smiled, pleased and unable to hide his delight.
The servants exchanged glances.
‘Look at the Emperor.’
‘Exactly. I thought he was cruel, but it seems to be at this level.’
‘Really too much. How can he be like that?’
The child’s mother screamed and was forcibly dragged away.
The young Emperor rejoiced, having forcibly taken the child from the mother.
The gentleness accumulated over time shone brightly on a day like today.
Unaware of what the servants were thinking, Van was pleased.
He handed Leo over to the servants to enjoy water play in the grand bathhouse, and Van headed to his office.
“What about Adele?”
“Yes. She’s securely locked up and under surveillance.”
Settling into his seat, the Emperor gave a short sigh.
“I was going to kill them all.
He still remembered the anger he’d felt when he’d seen the empty rooms at Dreyfus Castle.
Van urged his horse to a gallop. After riding north for an hour or so, he spotted a wagon rattling along with a load of empty crates.
“Your Majesty, I have found them,” he said, “and they were traveling from Dreyfus Castle.”
It was a common wagon.
“Please spare us, Your Majesty.”
A food merchant fell to the ground, trembling.
Van passed by him and climbed onto the wagon.
A large wooden box sat in the innermost compartment.
Half cautiously lifted the lid.
Inside was Adele, sleeping with Leo in her arms.
“You haven’t changed.”
I made her into a woman.
Even after giving birth to a child, her delicate skin and lips seemed unchanged from four years ago or now.
Seeing her sleeping so soundly, unperturbed by all the commotion, made my anger melt away.
Van closed the lid of the box and stepped down from the wagon.
“Change the horses.”
“We’re heading straight to the palace.”
The shabby wagon transformed its horses into well-bred ones.
The redirected wagon swiftly moved among the warhorses.
The carriage prepared for Ban’s stay at Dreyfus Castle became useless after spending a day there.
Van looked out the window and summoned a servant.
“This evening, we will dine in Adele’s room. It would be nice to bring Leo along.”
“Yes?”
“Since they probably haven’t had a proper meal all day, prepare a generous dinner.”
However, the servant hesitated instead of withdrawing.
“Is there a problem?”
“Uh, well, that…”
The servant seemed flustered, rolling his eyes as if searching for the right words.
“Your command, um, was it to prepare a dinner in the prison?”
“What? Prison?”
Ban’s gaze turned sharp.
***
Was it like falling into an icy hell in the middle of summer?
Adele felt cold.
“Ugh.”
She opened her eyes to the uneven stone floor.
She didn’t know how long she’d been lying on the cold ground, and she ached everywhere.
“Where is this?”
Having lived as a law-abiding citizen who never committed a crime, Adele never thought she would end up in a place like this – a prison.
The black iron bars were embedded at regular intervals in the uneven stone floor.
Adele stood up, shook the bars, but they wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she tried.
“Haaaah.”
Adel walked on the uneven floor.
“Ouch.”
Her feet hurt. Her shoes had been taken off when she was dragged away, and she was barefoot.
Bruises and cuts covered her once fair skin, and blood trickled down.
Looking at the injuries, Adel’s spirits sank.
“Is it today? Or maybe tomorrow?”
Given the harsh treatment, it seemed like they had exhausted her worth.
Discouraged, no more tears came to her eyes.
She slumped down.
The cold emanating from the stone floor was unbearably chilly.
“He definitely doesn’t plan to keep me alive for long.”
