Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 123 “He’s still alive?”After hearing the news of Helios from the secretary who had been to the western border, the Marquis of Melks struck the desk.“He’s betrayed us.”I asked the Knights Commander to take a chance and kill Helios, but being still in good shape means that he has no intention of obeying the order.Oddly enough, the Marquis Melks who heard it asked again.“Did he have anything else to say?”“He asked for help, saying there was a shortage of food and basic medicine.”“Hah.”Marquis Melks laughed in disbelief.If they had even requested support, he could no longer expect the Imperial Knights to move.‘I thought I could handle it easily, but I can’t.’It is too early to be disappointed as he has prepared a plan for when he fails anyway.Marquis let out a short sigh and spoke.“What happened to that thing I asked you to do?”“Ah, here it is.”The secretary held out a pouch embroidered with a black panther. It was the pouch that Helios had lost, which Lenia had made.“Are you sure it’s his stuff?”“Yes. They said it was.”“Okay, you can go.”The Marquis, who had dismissed him with a crisp check, stared down at the pouch.He almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the pouch, which looked too crude to belong to the Duke of Anthemion.For a girl to give him such a shabby gift, my daughter—’The clenched fist trembled. His nails dug into his palms, dripping blood.‘I will never let you live.’Marquis Melks clutched the pockets with bloody hands. The black leopard engraved on the pocket was brutally crumpled in his hand.  ***** “Your Majesty.”“Welcome, Marquis.”The Emperor, who was sitting in the office and chatting with Prince Frederick, welcomed the Marquis.“The Crown Prince was also there.”“Yes. Sit down, Marquis.”Frederick got up and gave up his seat. The Marquis Melks took a seat on the sofa where the Crown Prince had been sitting without a word.“Did you two look at the documents together?”“Yeah. Fred has to get used to government affairs too.”The Emperor looked at Prince Frederick with warm eyes and said:“The Crown Prince is so smart, you will get used to it quickly if you understand the tricks.”“Nevertheless, you need experience to make important decisions, so I will discuss all decisions with Fred from now on.”“The Crown Prince’s responsibility must be heavy.”Prince Frederick’s shoulders soared high.Everyone in the Imperial Palace knew that Prince Frederick’s attitude had changed after the announcement of the ceremony.“But what’s the purpose of you coming here, Marquis?”“Ah, a message came from the western border a while ago.”“If it’s the western border, you’re talking about Duke Anthemion.”Prince Frederick intervened secretly.“That’s right. Duke Anthemion has dealt with almost all of the monsters.”“The Duke is very talented.”The Emperor revealed his uneasy feelings.“Hw seem to be adjusting the timing of his withdrawal soon.”“Cough.”The Marquis cleared his throat, and the Emperor’s thoughts drifted away.“Are you thinking of bringing the duke back?”“What does the knight commander do?”“I heard that he’s passionate about hunting monsters with the Anthemion Duke.”“Tsk.”The Emperor frowned at the change of heart of his closest person. Marquis Melks did not miss the opportunity and urged the Emperor.“According to the person who has been to the western border, the Duke of Anthemion seems to resent His Majesty.”“He resent me?”“He seems to think Your Majesty sent him out as a trick.”The Emperor frowned.There was a reason he’d sent Helios to the western border in the first place, so it wasn’t wrong.“Then what should we do? If the Duke is withdrawn like this…”Even the Emperor knew that it was difficult to withstand the aftermath.He’d been so openly opposed to Helios, and in his absence, he’d turned many nobles against him, including the Grand Duchess of Crawford, and it would be bad enough if they rallied around him.As if reading that thought, Marquis Melks smiled leisurely.“I think it would be a good idea to give orders to the Duke of Anthemion to stabilize the western border, so that he may be restrained for the time being.”“Are you saying that the Duke should be ordered back?”“He’ll be back soon, so what do you regret?”“…….”The Emperor, who had struggled to fiddle with his beard, suddenly asked Frederick.“Fred, what do you think?”“Uh, I….”Frederick, who made eye contact with the Marquis of Melks, mumbled what he was about to say.“I don’t know.”“It is a difficult matter for the Crown Prince to judge. Don’t worry, I’ll be there myself.”“You, yourself?”“It seems unlikely that the Duke will listen to me if I have to send a messenger, so I think it would be better for me to go and convey Your Majesty’s will.”“Isn’t that a hassle?”“How can there be any hassle in carrying out an imperial command?”The Marquis Melks bowed his head politely.“And on the way back, I’m going to meet my daughter, so please forgive me if the schedule is delayed.”“Daughter? Your daughter is already…”Oh, The Emperor, who spoke carelessly, shut his mouth.When the Emperor fidgeted, embarrassed that he had almost mentioned the death of his child in front of the parents who had lost their child, the Marquis continued as if nothing had happened.“It is my daughter’s birthday soon, so I would like to greet her as a father.”“Right. Be careful.”“Yes. I will return after removing His Majesty’s worries, so please do not worry.”   ***** “Madam, look at this flower. Pretty, right?”“Yes.”I replied dryly, looking at the flower that Mary had plucked.It was the second season after Helios left the Duke’s Castle.With the end of the bitterly cold winter, the morning sickness that plagued me terribly disappeared and a period of stability came.But my moods were still jagged. One minute I’d be happy, the next I’d turn around and suddenly feel depressed.“Am I bipolar?”“It’s like that when you have a baby.”Mrs. Rotney said not to worry, and offered a nicely sliced apple.“Eat a lot of delicious food and see a lot of pretty things, and you will feel better.”I patted my stomach, which protruded in a way that only a keen eye could recognize.I could feel the faintest hint of a baby bump, reminding me that I was carrying a child inside me.“Mom.”“Yes? Why?”Escal, who was eating an apple next to me, crouched and opened his mouth.“Can I touch it?”“Sure.”In response to my willing permission, Escal carefully placed his hand on my stomach. At that moment, the child in the belly kicked vigorously.“Ah.”After a short moan, Escal let go of his hand and said.“Something just moved.”“I think the baby is stretching.”“The baby is stretching in your belly?”“Yes. They can yawn, hiccup, and kick.”“Wow…”Escal exclaimed and fiddled with my stomach again.As I stroked Escal’s head with a happy heart, the servant jumped past the door and ran in.“Ma-madam! Madam!”Mrs. Rotney asked, furrowing her eyebrows.“What kind of fuss are you doing in front of Madame?”“I’m sorry, Mrs. Rotney, you should come out and see!”The servant urged me over and over again. It looked so urgent that there was no need to ask what was going on.As I hurried down to the first floor at the servant’s urging, a poor knight knelt in front of me.“I see the Duchess of Anthemion.”“Who are you? What’s going on here?”“I, I am the knight who accompanied the Duke to the western border on her monster’s slaying expedition. Seconds ago, we got into an argument, and so…”My heart sank.“What do you mean, a quarrel? Did something happen to Helios?”Please no.I clasped my hands and waited for an answer. The knight lowered his head and said with a bitter expression.“Your Excellency, he was attacked by a demon and is very ill…”“Madam!”Mary supported me as I stumbled as my legs loosened. Unbelievable news, I pulled the knight’s collar and asked again.“Tell me again, Helios, what happened?”“Even though he’s unconscious, he’s only looking for his wife, so I have come to pick you up.”The man said, and held out a familiar pouch. The pouch I had handmade for him was red and wet.“No, Helios…”I ignored the tears that started pouring out at will and ran straight out of the castle. A knight drove a carriage.“I will take you.”He put me in the carriage, sat on the carriage, and grabbed the reins. Mary, who had run after me, shouted at the carriage.“Madam, where are you going with that body?”“Mary, please take care of Escal.”“No. Then if something big happens…!”“We will leave.”The knight interrupted Mary and swung his whip. The carriage is just starting to move.“I will go too.”Escal grabbed the carriage handle and insisted.“Escal, it’s dangerous, so you should stay…”No, no. If something really bad happened to Helios, Escal also has the right to meet Helios.“Yes, Escal. Let’s go with Mom.”I put Escal in the carriage.The carriage hurried out of the castle.