Episode 61. Did you sleep next to me last night?
“Are you okay? If my identity is known, the truth about the death of the former Emperor will also be known.”
Not to mention the death of the former Emperor.
That was an unspoken rule between Christine and Jan.
“Everyone knows that he died in a wolf attack. But I wonder how they will react if it is revealed that it was a scheme by his younger brother, who was after the throne. Especially Lady Isabella and the Duke of Rodwell...”
Lady Isabella was the wife of the former Emperor, and the Duke of Rodwell was her father.
If the former Emperor were alive, they would have enjoyed the highest power.
Jan was nervous about Christine’s threat, but he did not reveal his true feelings. He was not a person who would be easily swayed.
“You were the one who harmed my brother, not me. Besides, if it is revealed that you are from the wolf clan, who would believe you?”
“And the Vatican will take action.”
When the Vatican was mentioned, Jan’s face distorted greatly.
If the Vatican found out about the existence of the Wolf Clan, they would not stay still. If that happened, they would hold Jan accountable for hiding his existence.
The nobles would attack him if he missed this opportunity.
In the worst-case scenario, he might even be dethroned.
“Yes, so let’s continue to do well in the future. We’re in the same boat.”
Jan smiled gently again and offered to shake his hand.
You raccoon!
Christine cursed inwardly.
Jan wanted to hold both Christine and Stone’s hands for the time being. If the two bad guys kept each other in check and fought, he would be safe in the meantime.
However, he had no idea how dangerous he was holding onto.
“Stone Oswald killed the guard.”
Christine said, staring at the hand that Jan offered to shake.
“No, that was clearly the work of a beast...”
“Your Majesty, find the answer. Then.”
In the end, he stepped back without holding Jan’s hand.
It was late afternoon when Christine, who had finished her busy work in a hurry, returned to the Marvel Palace.
He had been worried about Adele’s condition all day, and he could not relax for a moment. However, the moment he entered the palace, the delicious smell of baking bread tickled his nose.
When he entered the kitchen, Adele, wearing an apron, was absent-mindedly in front of the oven. Her chubby cheeks were red from moving around busily in front of the hot fire.
He leaned against the kitchen door and stared blankly at her.
Adele was busy with sweat dripping down her forehead, but she could not have looked so peaceful to him. The smell of rich butter and sweet honey seemed to make even her soul happy.
“Chris!”
Adele, who was moving an open pan full of cookies, found him and smiled brightly.
She looked exactly the same as usual. He felt relieved, but also anxious.
She seemed not to have yet escaped that day ten years ago, as she cried and called for her mother. The terrible fear and anger of that day had been completely transmitted to him.
That’s why her smiling face now seemed fake.
Even this happy scene seemed staged.
'In fact, you must be in shambles by now, right?'
But he simply could not find the courage to look into her pain.
He cowardly wished that she would forget about the silver wolf and let it be buried forever.
"Are you feeling okay?"
Adele cutely wrinkled her nose.
"Ah, I was so excited earlier that I ended up making a fuss. As an apology, I'm baking apple pies and apple cookies."
Jan smiled gently again and offered to shake his hand.
You raccoon!
Christine cursed inwardly.
Jan wanted to hold both Christine and Stone’s hands for the time being. If the two bad guys kept each other in check and fought, he would be safe in the meantime.
However, he had no idea how dangerous he was holding onto.
“Stone Oswald killed the guard.”
Christine said, staring at the hand that Jan offered to shake.
“No, that was clearly the work of a beast...”
“Your Majesty, find the answer. Then.”
In the end, he stepped back without holding Jan’s hand.
***
It was late afternoon when Christine, who had finished her busy work in a hurry, returned to the Marvel Palace.
He had been worried about Adele’s condition all day, and he could not relax for a moment. However, the moment he entered the palace, the delicious smell of baking bread tickled his nose.
When he entered the kitchen, Adele, wearing an apron, was absent-mindedly in front of the oven. Her chubby cheeks were red from moving around busily in front of the hot fire.
He leaned against the kitchen door and stared blankly at her.
Adele was busy with sweat dripping down her forehead, but she could not have looked so peaceful to him. The smell of rich butter and sweet honey seemed to make even her soul happy.
“Chris!”
Adele, who was moving an open pan full of cookies, found him and smiled brightly.
She looked exactly the same as usual. He felt relieved, but also anxious.
She seemed not to have yet escaped that day ten years ago, as she cried and called for her mother. The terrible fear and anger of that day had been completely transmitted to him.
That’s why her smiling face now seemed fake.
Even this happy scene seemed staged.
'In fact, you must be in shambles by now, right?'
But he simply could not find the courage to look into her pain.
He cowardly wished that she would forget about the silver wolf and let it be buried forever.
"Are you feeling okay?"
Adele cutely wrinkled her nose.
"Ah, I was so excited earlier that I ended up making a fuss. As an apology, I'm baking apple pies and apple cookies."
"They look delicious."
"Thank goodness!"
Adele, who had been excessively happy, stopped.
"But surely your injured shoulder from blocking me earlier didn't get any worse?"
"Why not? The palace doctor said not to use your left shoulder for a few days."
"Is it really that bad?"
Adele looked at him and became sullen.
"It really is that bad. So, ahhh..."
He sat down on the counter and opened his mouth.
"Huh?"
“Eat that cookie. Ahhh...”
“Excuse me, your injured shoulder is on the left. Your right arm seems fine?”
“I used my right arm more than my left, so it hurts there too.”
“Wow, that’s ridiculous. It’s a scam.”
“What are you doing? Hurry up. Ahhh...”
"Thank goodness!"
Adele, who had been excessively happy, stopped.
"But surely your injured shoulder from blocking me earlier didn't get any worse?"
"Why not? The palace doctor said not to use your left shoulder for a few days."
"Is it really that bad?"
Adele looked at him and became sullen.
"It really is that bad. So, ahhh..."
He sat down on the counter and opened his mouth.
"Huh?"
“Eat that cookie. Ahhh...”
“Excuse me, your injured shoulder is on the left. Your right arm seems fine?”
“I used my right arm more than my left, so it hurts there too.”
“Wow, that’s ridiculous. It’s a scam.”
“What are you doing? Hurry up. Ahhh...”
He opened his mouth wide again as if urging her.
Adele looked dumbfounded, but she put the cookie in her mouth.
“If you’re going to do it, you should drink it.”
“Then milk would be good. But what if I don’t have a bottle?”
When he raised his eyebrows as if to ask what she was talking about, Adele stuck her tongue out.
“Since you want to feed me, I think you’ll need a bottle.”
“Huh! Who do you think I am to make fun of?”
“Well, a big kid who wants to eat cookies?”
“Adele!”
Christine made an exaggerated face and reached out to grab Adele. She screamed and quickly ran across the counter.
“You said you hurt your shoulder, but it’s fine.”
“I'm holding it in. I'm very patient.”
He jumped over the counter again and chased Adele. Adele also slid under the counter.
“Oh, but why are you so impatient in the bedroom?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’d be impatient in the kitchen either.”
“Ouch!”
Adele and Christine playfully chased each other around the kitchen.
The apples in the basket rolled down, and the nuts and flour in the sack spilled out. The bottle of honey also spilled over, soaking the floor. The more the kitchen became a mess, the louder the laughter of the two people grew.
“Ouch...!”
Then, Adele’s feet slipped as she ran away. The moment she rolled on the floor, Adele instinctively shut her eyes tightly and shrank.
Crunch!
When she opened her eyes, she was in Christine’s firm embrace. He was lying on the floor instead, holding Adele’s head tightly.
Adele lifted her head slightly from his embrace and exclaimed.
“Wow, really fast. You said your shoulder hurts too...”
The distance between them had clearly been quite a bit earlier. She didn’t know how he could have held her as she fell in that short time.
“Sometimes, you can show superhuman abilities in times of crisis.”
Adele snickered as she looked at Christine, who was being smug.
“It wasn’t that dire of a situation, Count.”
“If you get hurt even a little, that’s an emergency.”
Adele looked down at Christine’s handsome face.
“I really don’t have to worry if you’re by my side.”
“Do you understand now?”
Someone who would hurt her pain more than she would.
She, who was nothing, seemed to become an incredibly important and precious person if she was by his side.
“But Chris. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Huh?”
The moment she met Adele’s deep, dark eyes, a premonition made Christine’s heart shiver.
“You slept next to me the whole time last night?”
“Why?”
“I woke up, and it seemed like you weren’t there. But I’m not sure if it was a dream.”
Christine slowly sat up and brushed his disheveled hair back.
“I had something urgent to take care of, so I went to the office for a moment. I guess that’s when it happened.”
“I see.”
Was that not a dream after all?
Then what about the silver wolf?
After the guards became like that today, she thought that what she saw last night might have been real. But it was ridiculous.
'How could a silver wolf come into the bedroom?'
Adele erased thoughts about the silver wolf from her mind.
"I'm sorry. I won't leave the bedroom without saying anything from now on."
"No, but what about the guard who died earlier..."
He answered, cutting Adele off.
"Don't worry too much about that. We've strengthened the palace security, so there won't be another terrible incident. But if you still worry, should I call Madame Bonita?"
"Mia?"
"Yeah. I think it'll be nice to have a good time and change your mood."
"That's good. Mia wanted to visit the Marvel Palace anyway."
"I'll have a carriage come and get her soon."
"Thank you, Chris."
"No way. Then I'll wash up and change clothes."
He rolled around on the floor in Adele's place, covered in honey and flour.
Adele laughed teasingly as she brushed his clothes and hair.
"That's right. There's no such thing as a human pie. I have to clean up the kitchen."
Boom!
But when Christine left and the kitchen door closed, the smile disappeared from Adele's face.
He seemed to dislike the Silver Wolf. He quickly changed the subject to Mia, fearing that it would come up again. It had been strangely so since the beginning. She had decided that today's incident was not the Silver Wolf's doing either.
Even though her hunch was certain that it was.
'Am I being unnecessarily sensitive? Or is there a good reason for it?'
If so, then it must be for her own good.
Should I trust you?
***
A few days later.
"Wow, Adele!"
As soon as she entered the Marvel Palace, Mia ran towards her, screaming like a dolphin.
"Welcome, Mia."
"Thanks to you, I'm truly enjoying a luxury I'll never be able to enjoy in my life. An invitation to tea time at the palace."
Mia was wearing more makeup than usual, perhaps because she was really looking forward to today. And not only was she wearing a bunch of jewelry, she was also wearing a hat with fancy feathers.
"What about tea time at the palace? I just invited you to have tea with me."
"Adele, do you know that when you say that, you look really cool? You act like this isn't a big deal, like you've lived in the palace your whole life."
"Me?"
"Yeah, I'm relieved that you seem to be adjusting well. I was worried that you'd have a hard time among those arrogant people."
Adele hugged Mia tightly, grateful that she was worried about her.
"But I had more fun when I was with you."
“More than when you were with the Count?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Mia stuck out her lips.
“Tch, isn’t that answering too quickly? It’s disappointing.”
Adele led the way to the living room while listening to Mia’s cheerful chatter. Today, Tanya decided to join them for tea. Just like when the three of them chatted together before.
Mia let out a dolphin scream once again when she saw the gorgeously arranged tea table.
The marble palace was beautiful even regularly, but today, she put a lot more effort into the decoration and plating of the living room. The desserts on the tea table were also made by Adele herself since early in the morning.
However, Mia said she would drink fresh fruit juice instead of her usual favorite black tea. Then she shyly confessed,
“Actually, I’m pregnant.”
“Wow, Mia! Congratulations!”
“Wow! Congratulations!”
This time, Adele and Tanya let out a dolphin scream.
The two of them were really happy as if it were their own business. They knew how much Mia had wanted to have a child.
“I found out a while ago. In fact, I was itching to tell you both.”
“Wait, then what should I do? Tell me what you want, Mia. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“No more. Be our child’s godmother.”
“Godmother, me...?”
“Yeah, I want our child to grow up strong and sturdy like you.”
“Mia... I don’t think so. I’ll find someone much better.”
“No, you do it. My husband approves.”
“Have you forgotten? I was the villainess of Kalame.”
“Actually, I like that. Even though you were called a villainess, you were always confident and brave.”
Tanya chimed in from the side.
“I also got goosebumps when you confidently showed your back at the stadium! Stone’s bug-eating expression!”
Adele couldn’t continue to refuse the two of them’s continued compliments.
“I don’t know if I’m qualified to be a godmother, but your child will be the most precious person to me. I promise.”
Then Mia patted her belly that hadn’t even come out yet and said,
“Did you hear that? Honey, if you’re a girl, be born pretty like your godmother, and if you’re a boy, be born a wonderful man like your godmother’s fiancé.”
Adele whispered into her belly,
“No. Be born a better and more wonderful person. Let’s meet again, healthy.”
Mia smiled brightly, as if she liked Adele’s blessing. Then she blessed her, too.
“Adele, you too will soon have a beautiful baby who resembles the two of you. It would be really nice if you could bring your children and meet them later.”
“Of course.”
Adele felt happy just thinking about it.
A child that resembled Christine and herself...
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