Episode 139. Father and Dad
Isabelle winked at the maids behind her. They quickly took out vials from their large pockets and laid them out on the table.
“What are all these?”
“These are the medicines that have recently been brought into the Emperor’s chambers. Do you know what they are?”
“I heard that a lot of medicines are being brought into the Marvel Palace, where the Emperor resides these days. Judging from the fact that he only wants medicine without any special request, it seems that he has some kind of illness that would be embarrassing if the people were to know about it.”
It was just as Seira had said.
Was the Emperor really sick?
Come to think of it, he had looked very sick when he had met him at the opera house the other day. Not only that, but sometimes his complexion felt bad.
However, Mark tilted his head as he roughly scanned the names written on the vials. There was no cure for these medicines.
If he really was sick, it also meant that it was an incurable illness.
What kind of illness could he have, even with the great wizard in his command...
“Most of them have pain-relieving and sedative effects. They are also used when you have a cold.”
However, Mark said it lightly. Of course, he couldn’t imagine Christine catching a cold.
Isabelle seemed to think the same.
“The Emperor, a member of the Wolf Clan, has a cold... That’s interesting.”
“It’s not something to take seriously.”
Isabelle put down her teacup and made all the maids leave. Then she secretly lowered her voice.
“They say that on the day that medicine was brought into the Marvel Palace, the Emperor’s bedroom was filled with wolves howling all night.”
“It’s only natural for a member of the Wolf Clan to hear wolf sounds.”
“Are you good at hiding your true feelings? Or are you lacking?”
“Speak clearly.”
“I’m asking if you’re pretending to be on the Emperor’s side, or if you’re truly on the Emperor’s side. If it’s the latter, then it’s definitely lacking.”
“If it’s the former?”
“That might make our conversation a little easier.”
Mark became serious.
“I won’t go along with anything that would harm someone.”
Then Isabelle whispered softly and secretly,
“Then remember this one thing. Even if the Emperor returns to his own country, you and your children will continue to live here.”
“Is that a threat?”
“I mean, be more practical.”
When Mark’s face hardened, Isabelle laughed playfully.
“Relax. If someone heard me, they’d think I was telling you to poison the Emperor. Since the infirmary has no patients since you were falsely accused of being a traitor, I’m making this offer out of goodwill. All decisions are up to the Count.”
After stepping away from Isabelle, Mark walked around the palace with a blank expression for a while.
Was she really planning to kill the Emperor? He didn’t want to kill the Emperor with his own hands. However, his true feelings were that he didn’t particularly want to stop her.
If the Emperor disappeared, Adele and Aaron would return, and they would be happy again like before...
‘Damn it! What are you thinking!’
That was when.
“Dad! Dad!”
He turned his head and saw Aaron running through the low hedge.
“Aaron!”
He ran to the child and hugged him. But the child started to cry sadly in Mark’s arms.
“What’s wrong, Aaron? Did something happen?”
“Ugh! Is it true? That you’re not my father?”
“...!”
“His Majesty is Aaron’s real father. Ugh! Then Dad is fake? No! Aaron will live with his mom, dad, and brothers!”
Aaron seemed to know what he had heard. It seemed like the Emperor would soon take Adele and Aaron away. That was why he had clearly told the child the truth.
“Aaron, stop crying first. All your snot will go into your mouth.”
“Ugh! My snot is so salty!”
In that moment, snot bubbles swelled up in Aaron’s nose. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mark burst into laughter.
“Ugh!”
Needless to say, Aaron’s crying grew louder.
“Ugh! I hate you, Dad! I hate you! Ugh!”
“I’m sorry, Aaron. Stop now.”
He was holding the child in his arms and trying to comfort him when he realized that a large shadow had been cast on the floor.
Christine was standing behind Aaron, holding a handkerchief. His expression as he looked at the child was incongruous and pitiful.
Mark, who received the handkerchief from him, wiped Aaron’s face, which was covered in tears and snot.
“But the handkerchief smells like His Majesty.”
Aaron, who was crying, said naturally.
“His Majesty’s smell?”
“It’s a smell that makes your heart race. It’s a smell that makes you want to ride a horse and fight with swords.”
“Does Aaron like that smell?”
The boy thought for a moment.
“I don’t know. Um... It’s a little scary... Um... I just want to keep smelling it.”
Then he added in a mosquito-like voice.
“It also feels a little... good.”
Perhaps he saw Mark’s expression.
So Mark smiled nonchalantly.
“But why don’t you like the fact that His Majesty is Aaron’s father?”
“Then I can’t live with my Dad, Mom, and brothers. Aaron wants to go home quickly.”
As the boy began to cry again,
“You can do that if you want, Aaron.”
Aaron turned his head sharply at Christine’s voice.
When he saw the boy’s face, whose nose and eyes were red, Christine felt both pity and laughter at the same time.
“I’m sorry. I was too greedy. I made the decision without asking your opinion. If you want, you can go home with your father. And you can call me whatever you want. Your Majesty is fine, or Your Majesty’s uncle is fine.”
“Really?”
Christine nodded and asked Mark politely.
“I haven’t done anything for you as a father, but I want to do this for you. I think I’ll have to depend on you again for a while. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
He patted Mark on the shoulder and turned around. His back looked lonely, like a defeated soldier.
Was it because he was drunk on the joy of a small victory?
“Lady Isabelle offered me the position of the Imperial doctor.”
Christine’s steps stopped at Mark’s words.
“Why are you telling me that?”
“I think she wanted to find out the name of Your Majesty’s illness. If it really is a chronic illness, be careful.”
“I’m all better now.”
After lunch, Aaron prepared to leave Marvel Palace.
“Have you packed all your bags?”
Christine asked as he watched the luggage being loaded into the carriage.
“Yes, I packed everything!”
Aaron answered cheerfully.
The child was wearing a blue tuxedo that looked as if it had been worn out since he first came here. But his expression was incredibly bright.
And the luggage had increased incomparably since they had come, so there was another wagon behind the one Aaron was riding in. It was the things Christine had instructed him to buy for Adele and the child, and gifts from Jade and Pauline.
“I guess you feel good about going home.”
“Yes, it’s good! There are many gifts.”
The child quickly answered, then stared at Christine’s expression and added,
“Except I can’t play with Your Majesty.”
“But you can play with my brothers.”
“But there were times when playing with Your Majesty was a little more fun.”
“I don’t need that kind of comfort.”
He smiled faintly and ruffled the child’s soft hair.
“It’s true. And this...”
Aaron held out a handkerchief. It was Christine’s handkerchief that Mark had used to wipe his runny nose that morning.
“Dad said it was a handkerchief.”
“Do you still smell me there? It’s a smell that makes you want to ride a horse and fight with a sword.”
Aaron quickly put his nose to it and sniffed.
“I think I smell a little bit.”
“Then take it.”
The child tilted his head, but didn’t ask why, as if he understood his feelings.
He carefully put the handkerchief in his pants pocket, and then,
“Oh, right!”
He started searching his pocket as if he had remembered something.
“Give me your hand.”
When Christine held out his hand, he put something on it. It was a colorful candy wrapped in parchment paper.
“A present.”
Then he glanced at Adele behind him and gestured for her to come closer. When Christine bent down, the child bowed and whispered,
“It’s sold at the market, but Mom wouldn’t let me eat it, so I hid it away for her. It’s really delicious!”
“Better than what Mom made?”
“Um... a little more. The yellow lemon flavor is the best. I’ll come back to play after you finish that. Can you wait until then?”
“If I eat all of them today?”
“Your teeth will rot! No more than three a day.”
“Yes, no more than three.”
Aaron grinned as if he had shared some kind of secret, and jumped onto the carriage with his short legs.
“Your Majesty...”
Adele, who had been watching the two part ways from behind, approached.
“What a bad guy. How can you smile so beautifully when you leave someone behind?”
Christine looked bitter, as if he had truly been abandoned. Adele hugged his waist tightly and whispered,
“Thank you for making such a difficult decision. I’ll bring him often.”
“Hmm. Now it’s my turn to wait.”
“It won’t take long. Yes.”
Adele got into the carriage lightly, and the door closed.
The carriage carrying the two soon moved away with the monotonous sound of horse hooves.
The WG Knights followed behind them as if escorting them.
“Aaron will soon accept this situation.”
Zimmer came over and comforted him.
“It can’t be helped, even if it takes time. This is the price you have to pay.”
As he watched the carriage carrying the two move away, he opened the bag of candy and put a yellow candy in his mouth. He could smell the sweet and sour fruity scent along with the sweet and fragrant scent of a child.
It was a scent that he already missed.
And it was time to turn around.
“Your Majesty!”
Paulo of the wolf clan ran toward him, his fur covering his large body fluttering.
“What’s going on?”
“There was a big accident downtown. The wolf clan attacked people.”
“What...?”
“I’ll clean up after myself, so everyone, go home.”
In the afternoon, Mark decided to send his staff home early.
He had received word that Aaron would be home in the afternoon.
And there were no patients.
When rumors spread that he was in league with the rebel priests, many of his patients stopped coming.
Now that the suspicion of rebellion had been cleared up, the patients still hadn’t come back. Half of the staff had also quit, so the clinic was empty. It was because of the rumor that Adele had become the Emperor’s woman. That would mean she would become the Emperor’s lover. Not many people were brave enough to be close to the Emperor’s lover.
“I guess I really should accept the position of a royal doctor if I don’t want to starve.”
Isabelle winked at the maids behind her. They quickly took out vials from their large pockets and laid them out on the table.
“What are all these?”
“These are the medicines that have recently been brought into the Emperor’s chambers. Do you know what they are?”
“I heard that a lot of medicines are being brought into the Marvel Palace, where the Emperor resides these days. Judging from the fact that he only wants medicine without any special request, it seems that he has some kind of illness that would be embarrassing if the people were to know about it.”
It was just as Seira had said.
Was the Emperor really sick?
Come to think of it, he had looked very sick when he had met him at the opera house the other day. Not only that, but sometimes his complexion felt bad.
However, Mark tilted his head as he roughly scanned the names written on the vials. There was no cure for these medicines.
If he really was sick, it also meant that it was an incurable illness.
What kind of illness could he have, even with the great wizard in his command...
“Most of them have pain-relieving and sedative effects. They are also used when you have a cold.”
However, Mark said it lightly. Of course, he couldn’t imagine Christine catching a cold.
Isabelle seemed to think the same.
“The Emperor, a member of the Wolf Clan, has a cold... That’s interesting.”
“It’s not something to take seriously.”
Isabelle put down her teacup and made all the maids leave. Then she secretly lowered her voice.
“They say that on the day that medicine was brought into the Marvel Palace, the Emperor’s bedroom was filled with wolves howling all night.”
“It’s only natural for a member of the Wolf Clan to hear wolf sounds.”
“Are you good at hiding your true feelings? Or are you lacking?”
“Speak clearly.”
“I’m asking if you’re pretending to be on the Emperor’s side, or if you’re truly on the Emperor’s side. If it’s the latter, then it’s definitely lacking.”
“If it’s the former?”
“That might make our conversation a little easier.”
Mark became serious.
“I won’t go along with anything that would harm someone.”
Then Isabelle whispered softly and secretly,
“Then remember this one thing. Even if the Emperor returns to his own country, you and your children will continue to live here.”
“Is that a threat?”
“I mean, be more practical.”
When Mark’s face hardened, Isabelle laughed playfully.
“Relax. If someone heard me, they’d think I was telling you to poison the Emperor. Since the infirmary has no patients since you were falsely accused of being a traitor, I’m making this offer out of goodwill. All decisions are up to the Count.”
***
After stepping away from Isabelle, Mark walked around the palace with a blank expression for a while.
Was she really planning to kill the Emperor? He didn’t want to kill the Emperor with his own hands. However, his true feelings were that he didn’t particularly want to stop her.
If the Emperor disappeared, Adele and Aaron would return, and they would be happy again like before...
‘Damn it! What are you thinking!’
That was when.
“Dad! Dad!”
He turned his head and saw Aaron running through the low hedge.
“Aaron!”
He ran to the child and hugged him. But the child started to cry sadly in Mark’s arms.
“What’s wrong, Aaron? Did something happen?”
“Ugh! Is it true? That you’re not my father?”
“...!”
“His Majesty is Aaron’s real father. Ugh! Then Dad is fake? No! Aaron will live with his mom, dad, and brothers!”
Aaron seemed to know what he had heard. It seemed like the Emperor would soon take Adele and Aaron away. That was why he had clearly told the child the truth.
“Aaron, stop crying first. All your snot will go into your mouth.”
“Ugh! My snot is so salty!”
In that moment, snot bubbles swelled up in Aaron’s nose. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mark burst into laughter.
“Ugh!”
Needless to say, Aaron’s crying grew louder.
“Ugh! I hate you, Dad! I hate you! Ugh!”
“I’m sorry, Aaron. Stop now.”
He was holding the child in his arms and trying to comfort him when he realized that a large shadow had been cast on the floor.
Christine was standing behind Aaron, holding a handkerchief. His expression as he looked at the child was incongruous and pitiful.
Mark, who received the handkerchief from him, wiped Aaron’s face, which was covered in tears and snot.
“But the handkerchief smells like His Majesty.”
Aaron, who was crying, said naturally.
“His Majesty’s smell?”
“It’s a smell that makes your heart race. It’s a smell that makes you want to ride a horse and fight with swords.”
“Does Aaron like that smell?”
The boy thought for a moment.
“I don’t know. Um... It’s a little scary... Um... I just want to keep smelling it.”
Then he added in a mosquito-like voice.
“It also feels a little... good.”
Perhaps he saw Mark’s expression.
So Mark smiled nonchalantly.
“But why don’t you like the fact that His Majesty is Aaron’s father?”
“Then I can’t live with my Dad, Mom, and brothers. Aaron wants to go home quickly.”
As the boy began to cry again,
“You can do that if you want, Aaron.”
Aaron turned his head sharply at Christine’s voice.
When he saw the boy’s face, whose nose and eyes were red, Christine felt both pity and laughter at the same time.
“I’m sorry. I was too greedy. I made the decision without asking your opinion. If you want, you can go home with your father. And you can call me whatever you want. Your Majesty is fine, or Your Majesty’s uncle is fine.”
“Really?”
Christine nodded and asked Mark politely.
“I haven’t done anything for you as a father, but I want to do this for you. I think I’ll have to depend on you again for a while. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
He patted Mark on the shoulder and turned around. His back looked lonely, like a defeated soldier.
Was it because he was drunk on the joy of a small victory?
“Lady Isabelle offered me the position of the Imperial doctor.”
Christine’s steps stopped at Mark’s words.
“Why are you telling me that?”
“I think she wanted to find out the name of Your Majesty’s illness. If it really is a chronic illness, be careful.”
“I’m all better now.”
***
After lunch, Aaron prepared to leave Marvel Palace.
“Have you packed all your bags?”
Christine asked as he watched the luggage being loaded into the carriage.
“Yes, I packed everything!”
Aaron answered cheerfully.
The child was wearing a blue tuxedo that looked as if it had been worn out since he first came here. But his expression was incredibly bright.
And the luggage had increased incomparably since they had come, so there was another wagon behind the one Aaron was riding in. It was the things Christine had instructed him to buy for Adele and the child, and gifts from Jade and Pauline.
“I guess you feel good about going home.”
“Yes, it’s good! There are many gifts.”
The child quickly answered, then stared at Christine’s expression and added,
“Except I can’t play with Your Majesty.”
“But you can play with my brothers.”
“But there were times when playing with Your Majesty was a little more fun.”
“I don’t need that kind of comfort.”
He smiled faintly and ruffled the child’s soft hair.
“It’s true. And this...”
Aaron held out a handkerchief. It was Christine’s handkerchief that Mark had used to wipe his runny nose that morning.
“Dad said it was a handkerchief.”
“Do you still smell me there? It’s a smell that makes you want to ride a horse and fight with a sword.”
Aaron quickly put his nose to it and sniffed.
“I think I smell a little bit.”
“Then take it.”
The child tilted his head, but didn’t ask why, as if he understood his feelings.
He carefully put the handkerchief in his pants pocket, and then,
“Oh, right!”
He started searching his pocket as if he had remembered something.
“Give me your hand.”
When Christine held out his hand, he put something on it. It was a colorful candy wrapped in parchment paper.
“A present.”
Then he glanced at Adele behind him and gestured for her to come closer. When Christine bent down, the child bowed and whispered,
“It’s sold at the market, but Mom wouldn’t let me eat it, so I hid it away for her. It’s really delicious!”
“Better than what Mom made?”
“Um... a little more. The yellow lemon flavor is the best. I’ll come back to play after you finish that. Can you wait until then?”
“If I eat all of them today?”
“Your teeth will rot! No more than three a day.”
“Yes, no more than three.”
Aaron grinned as if he had shared some kind of secret, and jumped onto the carriage with his short legs.
“Your Majesty...”
Adele, who had been watching the two part ways from behind, approached.
“What a bad guy. How can you smile so beautifully when you leave someone behind?”
Christine looked bitter, as if he had truly been abandoned. Adele hugged his waist tightly and whispered,
“Thank you for making such a difficult decision. I’ll bring him often.”
“Hmm. Now it’s my turn to wait.”
“It won’t take long. Yes.”
Adele got into the carriage lightly, and the door closed.
The carriage carrying the two soon moved away with the monotonous sound of horse hooves.
The WG Knights followed behind them as if escorting them.
“Aaron will soon accept this situation.”
Zimmer came over and comforted him.
“It can’t be helped, even if it takes time. This is the price you have to pay.”
As he watched the carriage carrying the two move away, he opened the bag of candy and put a yellow candy in his mouth. He could smell the sweet and sour fruity scent along with the sweet and fragrant scent of a child.
It was a scent that he already missed.
And it was time to turn around.
“Your Majesty!”
Paulo of the wolf clan ran toward him, his fur covering his large body fluttering.
“What’s going on?”
“There was a big accident downtown. The wolf clan attacked people.”
“What...?”
***
“I’ll clean up after myself, so everyone, go home.”
In the afternoon, Mark decided to send his staff home early.
He had received word that Aaron would be home in the afternoon.
And there were no patients.
When rumors spread that he was in league with the rebel priests, many of his patients stopped coming.
Now that the suspicion of rebellion had been cleared up, the patients still hadn’t come back. Half of the staff had also quit, so the clinic was empty. It was because of the rumor that Adele had become the Emperor’s woman. That would mean she would become the Emperor’s lover. Not many people were brave enough to be close to the Emperor’s lover.
“I guess I really should accept the position of a royal doctor if I don’t want to starve.”
He muttered as he looked around the empty clinic building.
“Doctor... Doctor! Please save me!”
When he turned around at the urgent voice, a man without one arm was staggering into the clinic lobby. Blood flowed and made a path wherever the man moved.
“What’s going on? How did this happen...!”
Mark, startled, quickly ran over,
“Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Doctor, please look after our child! They’re all dying!”
Another woman ran in holding a bloody child.
After that, injured people surged in like waves in an instant.
Mark looked around in disbelief.
“What the hell is going on?”
“It’s the wolf clan’s doing!”
“Doctor... Doctor! Please save me!”
When he turned around at the urgent voice, a man without one arm was staggering into the clinic lobby. Blood flowed and made a path wherever the man moved.
“What’s going on? How did this happen...!”
Mark, startled, quickly ran over,
“Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Doctor, please look after our child! They’re all dying!”
Another woman ran in holding a bloody child.
After that, injured people surged in like waves in an instant.
Mark looked around in disbelief.
“What the hell is going on?”
“It’s the wolf clan’s doing!”
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