Episode 128. The Time My Child Grew Like a Tree
“Whose head should I cut off first, Adele?”
“Just let him go.”
Adele was more worried about Aaron than scolding them. She saw someone being stabbed right in front of her.
She quickly hugged the child who was being held by Christine.
“Are you okay, Aaron?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
The child raised his head as if he were suffocating and asked.
At that moment, Adele came with a tea set and cookies.
“Aaron, can you step aside for a moment?”
“I want to stay longer.”
The child made an earnest expression. Adele was always weak at that cute puppy-like expression. But today, she was firm.
“No. Go out with Tanya.”
Tanya grabbed Aaron’s hand, but the boy quickly escaped and clung to Christine.
“Please save my father!”
“Aaron!”
Finally, Adele hugged Aaron. But the boy stubbornly struggled and screamed.
“Did you really take my father away? We were supposed to go fishing with Aaron today... You’re a high-ranking person, so you can save my father, right? Right?”
Christine felt complicated as he saw the boy begging and crying.
His woman and his child.
He wanted to grant any request they made.
But he didn’t want to let Mark go. He didn’t want to lose them. The more he did, the more his ill feelings grew.
Tanya barely managed to get Aaron out.
“I guess Castler was a good father.”
Instead of answering, Adele poured tea into a cup and asked,
“Why are you here, Your Majesty?”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. You didn’t even make a marriage vow with Castler? To wait for me.”
Adele felt a little regretful. The words she had kept inside spilled out because she was so emotional yesterday.
“Forget what you said yesterday.”
“But Castler said something similar. He called me an idiot who dared not trust you.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“Is Aaron my child?”
A question suddenly came to her.
Adele had already prepared herself to reveal it, but the answer did not come easily.
“...”
“Think carefully and answer. Castler’s life is at stake.”
“Are you really going to promise to save Mark?”
Damn it, Mark again!
“I’ll ask again. Is Aaron my child?”
Adele slowly closed her eyes and opened them. Her deep green eyes were calmer and more serene than ever.
“Then will you believe me?”
“I believe you.”
After revealing everything, Adele felt relieved and anxious. She was anxious about how he would react now.
Then, when Christine stood up, she looked up in surprise.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to take him because he’s my child.”
Adele came to her senses. She was ready to pay any price to save Mark. But she wasn’t ready to let Aaron go yet.
“No! I can’t break up with Aaron!”
When Adele ran over and clung to him, Christine was dumbfounded.
‘Does this woman really think I’ll only take her son?’
‘What on earth does she think of me?’
‘Or does she mean she can never break up with Castler?’
Didn’t she say yesterday that Mark’s traitor status was also a hidden trap?
To her, he must now be nothing more than a bloodthirsty tyrant Emperor.
Trapped Mark and executed him, and took her son away...
He really wanted to go along with Adele’s wishes and become a tyrant.
“What should I do, Adele? I need a successor, and you can’t break up with Aaron. Then it’s not like there’s no way out.”
“What?”
He smiled, gently wrapping Adele’s cheeks with both hands. But that smile was as cold as ice. Like a predator giving a small favor to its cornered prey.
“You have no choice but to give birth to another successor.”
“...!”
Seeing Adele flinching in surprise, he became increasingly angry.
They once said that they were on the brink of death...
That’s why he blurted out even sweeter and meaner words.
“Then I’ll let you and Aaron live with Castler. You know, Adele. No one else can give birth to my child. I desperately need a successor to the Bahamart Empire.”
“You mean...?”
“Of course, the choice is yours.”
He whispered, slowly tucking Adele’s hair behind her ear.
“I’ll send a carriage in the evening. It’s up to you whether Castler can safely greet tomorrow morning.”
He turned around, leaving Adele frozen in place.
When Christine left the store, Zimmer, who had been waiting outside, came running out of curiosity.
“Did you two have a good conversation? What did you say about Aaron?”
In fact, there was no need to ask him or hear his answer.
“My mother says that when she looks into my eyes, she thinks of someone and becomes happy.”
The moment he heard those words, all his suspicions were confirmed. No, he may have known from the beginning. The moment he saw the child, he felt so sorry for him and couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Was this what blood attraction was like?
However, Christine’s answer came out bitterly.
“It’s my child. But what wouldn’t she say to save Castler?”
Zimmer clicked his tongue.
“No, you really doubt that? What kind of mother in the world lies about her child?”
Christine stared at Zimmer fiercely.
“Are you secretly meeting Adele? How do you know so much?”
Zimmer realized that he had offended him.
“No. Then what are you going to do?”
Christine answered casually.
“She’ll come to my bedroom tonight. I told her to give birth to a new successor if she wants to save Castler.”
Zimmer finally cried out in horror.
“No, really, did you say such shameless, tyrannical words? What would Miss Adele think of Your Majesty?”
“She would think of me as a shameless tyrant.”
Zimmer beat his chest in frustration.
“Why on earth did you do that? The truth is, you came because you were worried that Madame Isabelle would harm her. I don’t know if saying so will work out or not...”
“If it works out?”
“Yes?”
“Anyway, in the world, I'm nothing more than a tyrant who stole another man’s wife?”
“But they were a fake couple who didn’t even make a marriage vow. And Your Majesty still wants Miss Adele. You almost died, but you didn’t let it erase her memories. Now, she’s finally okay...”
“What does that matter? They’ve been together for six years. She’s willing to do anything to save Castler. They’re not that simple.”
Christine jumped onto the horse.
“Don’t follow anyone.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Ha!”
Shaking the reins vigorously, Christine started to run wildly.
That’s right. Six years was too long. It was the time it took for him to cross countless death lines, make countless Kings and nobles kneel, and become Emperor. It was the time it took to overthrow the Vatican, which had been strong for over a hundred years, and establish the Wolf Clan in the world.
Above all, it was the time it took for a child he didn’t even know about to be born into the world and grow up so lovingly.
During that long time, Adele had built a happy family with Castler. The reason she came to him tonight was to save her husband and the father of her children.
Thinking about their happy and harmonious family, Christine felt his heart twist. It was something he could not have. Maybe that was why he wanted to trample on it so miserably. Every night, he hoped that Adele would hate him and think only of him.
He wanted to erase Castler and become everything to her.
As the day grew dark, the palace carriage arrived in front of the mansion.
Adele, who had put Aaron to bed early, put on her outerwear and came out.
“Madam...”
She smiled calmly at Tanya, who followed her worriedly.
“Don’t worry. If I tell him clearly that Mark is not guilty, His Majesty will understand. You know? His Majesty has been weak to me for a long ago.”
“I know.”
But it was a problem because he was no longer the Christine he used to be. He abandoned his pregnant lover and ascended to the throne. And now, there was no warmth in his eyes as he looked at his former lover.
Adele had come to see him last night and begged him, but it had been fruitless. So why did he suddenly send a carriage from the palace?
And why at this hour of the night...?
Tanya tried to shake off her unpleasant thoughts.
“I won’t sleep until you come back.”
“The story might be long. So you should just go to sleep.”
“Are you really just talking?”
Adele didn’t hear her and got into the carriage. Or maybe she pretended not to hear her.
Soon, the carriage door closed, and the carriage began to move.
Tanya watched her anxiously until she was out of sight.
“Whose head should I cut off first, Adele?”
“Just let him go.”
Adele was more worried about Aaron than scolding them. She saw someone being stabbed right in front of her.
She quickly hugged the child who was being held by Christine.
“Are you okay, Aaron?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
The child raised his head as if he were suffocating and asked.
“Mom, it’s okay. Aaron protected you.”
“Hey, thank goodness.”
Christine, who had been staring at the two, put the bloody sword back in.
He wanted to cut off their heads one by one, but he realized that it wouldn’t work here.
“Hey, that woman is a traitor’s wife. If you help her out with a pointless attack, the Emperor could end up killing her.”
Then the men gave him advice. They didn’t even know the face of the Emperor, who was notorious throughout the continent. Even so, they were scared by the murderous intent of the beautiful man in front of them.
“So you’re harassing them without any worries? Because you think the Emperor will pretend not to notice?”
They waved their hands at Christine’s question.
“Who would harass them? Since there were no customers, I was going to buy them...”
“Hey, thank goodness.”
Christine, who had been staring at the two, put the bloody sword back in.
He wanted to cut off their heads one by one, but he realized that it wouldn’t work here.
“Hey, that woman is a traitor’s wife. If you help her out with a pointless attack, the Emperor could end up killing her.”
Then the men gave him advice. They didn’t even know the face of the Emperor, who was notorious throughout the continent. Even so, they were scared by the murderous intent of the beautiful man in front of them.
“So you’re harassing them without any worries? Because you think the Emperor will pretend not to notice?”
They waved their hands at Christine’s question.
“Who would harass them? Since there were no customers, I was going to buy them...”
They slowly backed away and looked for a way to escape.
“What? You’re leaving already without buying anything?”
Christine came closer to them.
“Come to think of it, I-I didn’t bring money...”
“I’ll lend you some.”
Clink!
Christine threw platinum coins in front of them.
“With this money, buy all the bread here. But you can’t leave until you’ve eaten it all.”
The bread on the floor was mixed with broken glass.
“No, you’re joking?”
“No. If you leave any, you’ll incur the Emperor’s wrath. I’m that Emperor.”
Behind Christine’s cold expression, the WG knights had already surrounded the shop.
Then he turned to Adele and said,
“If you’d like, I’ll give you time to buy you a cup of tea.”
Adele brought Christine to the mansion’s reception room. Even though it was his first time here, he felt like he had come to a familiar place. He seemed to have seen it a few times in his vague memories, with a warm and cozy feeling.
While she was preparing tea, Aaron sat across the table. His eyes sparkled, and his lips were tightly shut, his mouth full of things to say.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Is Your Majesty a good person or a bad person?”
The sudden question caught him off guard.
“What do you think?”
Aaron stared at him with his transparent blue-gray eyes.
“Hmm... I think you're a good person.”
“Why?”
“My mother says that when she looks into my eyes, she thinks of someone and becomes happy. They’re the eyes of a warm and good person.”
“...!”
“Your Majesty has the same eyes as me...”
“What? You’re leaving already without buying anything?”
Christine came closer to them.
“Come to think of it, I-I didn’t bring money...”
“I’ll lend you some.”
Clink!
Christine threw platinum coins in front of them.
“With this money, buy all the bread here. But you can’t leave until you’ve eaten it all.”
The bread on the floor was mixed with broken glass.
“No, you’re joking?”
“No. If you leave any, you’ll incur the Emperor’s wrath. I’m that Emperor.”
Behind Christine’s cold expression, the WG knights had already surrounded the shop.
Then he turned to Adele and said,
“If you’d like, I’ll give you time to buy you a cup of tea.”
***
Adele brought Christine to the mansion’s reception room. Even though it was his first time here, he felt like he had come to a familiar place. He seemed to have seen it a few times in his vague memories, with a warm and cozy feeling.
While she was preparing tea, Aaron sat across the table. His eyes sparkled, and his lips were tightly shut, his mouth full of things to say.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Is Your Majesty a good person or a bad person?”
The sudden question caught him off guard.
“What do you think?”
Aaron stared at him with his transparent blue-gray eyes.
“Hmm... I think you're a good person.”
“Why?”
“My mother says that when she looks into my eyes, she thinks of someone and becomes happy. They’re the eyes of a warm and good person.”
“...!”
“Your Majesty has the same eyes as me...”
At that moment, Adele came with a tea set and cookies.
“Aaron, can you step aside for a moment?”
“I want to stay longer.”
The child made an earnest expression. Adele was always weak at that cute puppy-like expression. But today, she was firm.
“No. Go out with Tanya.”
Tanya grabbed Aaron’s hand, but the boy quickly escaped and clung to Christine.
“Please save my father!”
“Aaron!”
Finally, Adele hugged Aaron. But the boy stubbornly struggled and screamed.
“Did you really take my father away? We were supposed to go fishing with Aaron today... You’re a high-ranking person, so you can save my father, right? Right?”
Christine felt complicated as he saw the boy begging and crying.
His woman and his child.
He wanted to grant any request they made.
But he didn’t want to let Mark go. He didn’t want to lose them. The more he did, the more his ill feelings grew.
Tanya barely managed to get Aaron out.
“I guess Castler was a good father.”
Instead of answering, Adele poured tea into a cup and asked,
“Why are you here, Your Majesty?”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. You didn’t even make a marriage vow with Castler? To wait for me.”
Adele felt a little regretful. The words she had kept inside spilled out because she was so emotional yesterday.
“Forget what you said yesterday.”
“But Castler said something similar. He called me an idiot who dared not trust you.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“Is Aaron my child?”
A question suddenly came to her.
Adele had already prepared herself to reveal it, but the answer did not come easily.
“...”
“Think carefully and answer. Castler’s life is at stake.”
“Are you really going to promise to save Mark?”
Damn it, Mark again!
“I’ll ask again. Is Aaron my child?”
Adele slowly closed her eyes and opened them. Her deep green eyes were calmer and more serene than ever.
“Then will you believe me?”
“I believe you.”
After revealing everything, Adele felt relieved and anxious. She was anxious about how he would react now.
Then, when Christine stood up, she looked up in surprise.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to take him because he’s my child.”
Adele came to her senses. She was ready to pay any price to save Mark. But she wasn’t ready to let Aaron go yet.
“No! I can’t break up with Aaron!”
When Adele ran over and clung to him, Christine was dumbfounded.
‘Does this woman really think I’ll only take her son?’
‘What on earth does she think of me?’
‘Or does she mean she can never break up with Castler?’
Didn’t she say yesterday that Mark’s traitor status was also a hidden trap?
To her, he must now be nothing more than a bloodthirsty tyrant Emperor.
Trapped Mark and executed him, and took her son away...
He really wanted to go along with Adele’s wishes and become a tyrant.
“What should I do, Adele? I need a successor, and you can’t break up with Aaron. Then it’s not like there’s no way out.”
“What?”
He smiled, gently wrapping Adele’s cheeks with both hands. But that smile was as cold as ice. Like a predator giving a small favor to its cornered prey.
“You have no choice but to give birth to another successor.”
“...!”
Seeing Adele flinching in surprise, he became increasingly angry.
They once said that they were on the brink of death...
That’s why he blurted out even sweeter and meaner words.
“Then I’ll let you and Aaron live with Castler. You know, Adele. No one else can give birth to my child. I desperately need a successor to the Bahamart Empire.”
“You mean...?”
“Of course, the choice is yours.”
He whispered, slowly tucking Adele’s hair behind her ear.
“I’ll send a carriage in the evening. It’s up to you whether Castler can safely greet tomorrow morning.”
He turned around, leaving Adele frozen in place.
***
When Christine left the store, Zimmer, who had been waiting outside, came running out of curiosity.
“Did you two have a good conversation? What did you say about Aaron?”
In fact, there was no need to ask him or hear his answer.
“My mother says that when she looks into my eyes, she thinks of someone and becomes happy.”
The moment he heard those words, all his suspicions were confirmed. No, he may have known from the beginning. The moment he saw the child, he felt so sorry for him and couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Was this what blood attraction was like?
However, Christine’s answer came out bitterly.
“It’s my child. But what wouldn’t she say to save Castler?”
Zimmer clicked his tongue.
“No, you really doubt that? What kind of mother in the world lies about her child?”
Christine stared at Zimmer fiercely.
“Are you secretly meeting Adele? How do you know so much?”
Zimmer realized that he had offended him.
“No. Then what are you going to do?”
Christine answered casually.
“She’ll come to my bedroom tonight. I told her to give birth to a new successor if she wants to save Castler.”
Zimmer finally cried out in horror.
“No, really, did you say such shameless, tyrannical words? What would Miss Adele think of Your Majesty?”
“She would think of me as a shameless tyrant.”
Zimmer beat his chest in frustration.
“Why on earth did you do that? The truth is, you came because you were worried that Madame Isabelle would harm her. I don’t know if saying so will work out or not...”
“If it works out?”
“Yes?”
“Anyway, in the world, I'm nothing more than a tyrant who stole another man’s wife?”
“But they were a fake couple who didn’t even make a marriage vow. And Your Majesty still wants Miss Adele. You almost died, but you didn’t let it erase her memories. Now, she’s finally okay...”
“What does that matter? They’ve been together for six years. She’s willing to do anything to save Castler. They’re not that simple.”
Christine jumped onto the horse.
“Don’t follow anyone.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Ha!”
Shaking the reins vigorously, Christine started to run wildly.
That’s right. Six years was too long. It was the time it took for him to cross countless death lines, make countless Kings and nobles kneel, and become Emperor. It was the time it took to overthrow the Vatican, which had been strong for over a hundred years, and establish the Wolf Clan in the world.
Above all, it was the time it took for a child he didn’t even know about to be born into the world and grow up so lovingly.
During that long time, Adele had built a happy family with Castler. The reason she came to him tonight was to save her husband and the father of her children.
Thinking about their happy and harmonious family, Christine felt his heart twist. It was something he could not have. Maybe that was why he wanted to trample on it so miserably. Every night, he hoped that Adele would hate him and think only of him.
He wanted to erase Castler and become everything to her.
***
As the day grew dark, the palace carriage arrived in front of the mansion.
Adele, who had put Aaron to bed early, put on her outerwear and came out.
“Madam...”
She smiled calmly at Tanya, who followed her worriedly.
“Don’t worry. If I tell him clearly that Mark is not guilty, His Majesty will understand. You know? His Majesty has been weak to me for a long ago.”
“I know.”
But it was a problem because he was no longer the Christine he used to be. He abandoned his pregnant lover and ascended to the throne. And now, there was no warmth in his eyes as he looked at his former lover.
Adele had come to see him last night and begged him, but it had been fruitless. So why did he suddenly send a carriage from the palace?
And why at this hour of the night...?
Tanya tried to shake off her unpleasant thoughts.
“I won’t sleep until you come back.”
“The story might be long. So you should just go to sleep.”
“Are you really just talking?”
Adele didn’t hear her and got into the carriage. Or maybe she pretended not to hear her.
Soon, the carriage door closed, and the carriage began to move.
Tanya watched her anxiously until she was out of sight.
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