Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 131

Side story Chapter 1 The pouring rain was loud. Escal, who was sitting with his back against the small bed that was not even knee-high, opened his eyes quietly to the raindrops hitting his face.Drop, drop. Rain was seeping in through the cracks in the roof. He stared at the falling rain indifferently and then got up. The rotten floorboards creaked with every step he took.The cabin that had not been inhabited for a long time seemed like it would collapse even with a normal rain or wind. Escal looked at the door that was shaking loudly and laughed bitterly.Knowing that they would never come back.How foolish of him to run here whenever he had the chance, just in case.“You said we could meet after a hundred nights.”The hundred nights his father promised had long passed, so how many more nights would he have to stay up until he could meet her?Escal wiped his rough face. The fatigue from not sleeping for days and riding a horse hit his whole body.It had happened many times, but this time, I felt especially tired because my expectations, which had been high due to the information from my informant, had been shattered.I didn’t know there were so many pink hairs in the Empire.Pink hair as soft as cotton candy and a scar on her right arm. That was all the clues he could provide.Even then, there was no way to see the scar hidden up the sleeve, and more than once he’d run off in a rush at the first sign of a pink head.Escalium Anthemion, a hero who saved the empire from monsters, was also the reason he volunteered to subdue monsters at the age of sixteen.I wasted six years hoping that I would meet her if I joined the monster battle and traveled around the empire, but all I had left were scars all over my body and the empty honor of being a hero.What good is all that glory without you?Escal, who was looking around the cabin with a longing face, took out a handkerchief from his inner pocket. Then he looked down at the corner of the pink handkerchief.He had been fiddling with it so much that the embroidery it had worked so hard on had come loose, and the last two letters were faint.[My most beloved in the world]…Tia, Tiaris Hezel.Escal kissed the handkerchief while reciting the longing name. ***** “Your Excellency, you must enter the palace before nightfall.”The adjutant waiting outside the cabin urged him anxiously. He seemed to be fidgeting, worried that he might disobey the Emperor’s order to enter the palace by the afternoon, as there was something urgent to discuss.Tsk, Escal clicked his tongue and left the cabin.“Let’s go.”Escal got on his horse and headed straight for the capital. As he passed through the gate and entered the palace, a familiar attendant greeted him warmly.“Welcome, Your Excellency.”“I have come to see Your Majesty.”“I will take you inside.”Escal frowned as he followed the attendant who hurried down the hallway, saying that he was waiting.‘This is not the direction of the audience room.’Just as he was about to ask where he was going, the attendant stopped in front of a magnificent door. It was a reception room located inside the palace.“Please enter the room.”The attendant bowed politely as if there was no need to ask and left. Escal opened the door to the living room with a bad feeling.“Welcome, Escal.”Princess Adela, who was sitting in the living room, smiled brightly and waved. Escal’s expression instantly hardened.“I came because Your Majesty called me.”“I called you, sit down.”Somehow he didn’t want to come.I wasn’t sure whether to be angry at her for summoning me with a shallow lie or at my own stupidity for falling for it, but Adela spoke up again.“What are you doing? I told you to come and sit down.”“…….”Escal suppressed his boiling irritation and reluctantly sat down on the sofa.“What’s going on?”“I called you because I missed you.”“Don’t impersonate Your Majesty.”“You wouldn’t come if I called you.”Adela raised her lips as if she found his reaction funny, which was full of sunlight, and poured tea. Escal, who was annoyed by that sight, roughly pushed the teacup in front of him.“You don’t like lavender? Then should I make you a different tea?”“No.”What a rude man.Princess Adela muttered as if so he could listen and reached out to Escal’s shoulder.“Did you get rained on? It’s wet…”“Don’t touch me.”Escal sharply rejected the princess and patted her shoulder, which she hadn’t even touched, with a displeased expression. The smile disappeared from Adela’s smiling face.“I’m upset if you come out like this.”“I don’t care.”Escal stood up.“If you don’t have any business, I’ll go back.”“Yes, business.”“…….”It must be an excuse to keep me.Thinking it wasn’t worth listening to, he turned around and tried to leave, but Adela gave him an overbearing order.“Sit down.”He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t ignore the princess’s order. Escal sat down on the sofa with a displeased expression.It was rude, but Adela didn’t point it out. That statuesque face was quite a sight to behold.“Marry me.”His eyes, which had been maintaining their composure, shook violently. The harsh words he had heard and learned during the battle rose up in his throat. Escal swallowed dryly, feeling like he might swear.“I refuse.”“Why? You don’t like women who are already married?”Adela asked back, grinning as if she had expected it.After her engagement with Escal fell through due to Lenia’s opposition, Adela held a wedding with a royal family from a neighboring country. However, due to the sudden death of her husband not long ago, she had now returned to the empire.“No. I don’t like the princess.”“Isn’t there a woman you like?”Whether she was referring to someone specific or just a passing remark, Escal, who guessed that she might have done some background research on him, answered stiffly.“No, no one.”“Really? That’s good. Then do it with me.”“I told you I don’t want to.”“Don’t be like that, think about it carefully.”“It’s not worth thinking about.”“Don’t act like an idiot and use me, you idiot.”A coldness settled into her eyes, where the smile had disappeared.“How long are you planning to go out? If you keep doing this, your Dukedom and everything will be taken away by your younger sibling.”“…….”“No matter how well Duchess Anthemion treats you, she’s still your stepmother. And who do you think she’s more attached to, her own child or someone else’s?”“Don’t insult my mother.”“I’m telling you the truth. Isn’t that why you turned down the Marquis Melks inheritance?”Adela raised one corner of her mouth, saying that she already knew everything, so don’t act like a fool.… You refused to inherit because you were afraid that if you inherited the Marquis of Melks, your parents would hand over the Dukedom to your younger sibling without hesitation.Escal burst out laughing at the absurd guess.The only reason I refused to inherit the Marquis of Melks was because I didn’t want to admit that I was of the same blood as them.Without even thinking of protesting, I just smiled bitterly, and Adela curled the ends of her eyebrows.“You’re not satisfied with Fenbury, are you?”“Why, not?”“Are you crazy, Escal?”Adela raised her voice.Fenbury had been granted by the former Emperor as a reward for saving Adela’s life sixteen years earlier. It was smaller than the Duchy of Anthemion in size, but it was quiet, far from the capital, and a good place to clear your head.“Well, yeah. Right now, people’s attention is on you, so it’s not bad to pretend not to be greedy and avoid suspicion. But how long can you do that?”“…….”“Marry me. Then no one will be able to touch you, and the Duchy will naturally fall into your hands.”“I’m not interested.”How long do I have to listen to these ridiculous words?I was so tired physically and mentally that I was getting annoyed at having to listen to such nonsense. I was about to leave, saying that I had nothing more to say.“Then what about the Empire?”Adela grabbed Escal in a calm voice.“Marry me and become the Emperor?”Is this woman finally going crazy?I knew she wasn’t in her right mind since she was little. In broad daylight, in the palace of all places, Escal had no idea how to judge a woman who was talking about the throne.“Are you crazy?”Princess Adela smiled as she sipped her tea.“Brother Frederick is not fit for the throne.”“Did you tell me to come here so I could hear such nonsense?”“I’m serious, Escal.”“I’m serious too-.”His clenched fists trembled. Escal barely suppressed his anger, thinking it was fortunate that he had left his sword with his adjutant.“If you ask me to marry you one more time, I’ll drag the princess to His Majesty and make you tell him exactly what you just said.”“Escal!”“Don’t call me again.”