CFCF 106

Episode 106

I had no idea how to respond, so I fanned my flushed face and avoided his gaze. Callisteon stared intently at my face, then suddenly spoke as if he’d finally decided.

“But the more I look…”
“…Huh?”

I glanced at him, and his confident voice continued.

“Frillis’s nose and lips take after me. Your nose is rounder than Frillis’s, and your lips are fuller.”

It was utterly ridiculous. My sleepiness vanished instantly, and my eyes widened. Callisteon’s blue eyes shone with pride, making it even more absurd.

“That’s nonsense. The tip of Frilly’s nose is round like mine. Her lips are neat like mine for a baby, and even though there’s not much of it, her hair is pink. She looks exactly like me.”

But Callisteon argued as if his desire for a pink-haired daughter who looked like me was some distant past.

“The wet nurse said Frilis’s nose bridge will be the highest among continental newborns. Your nose is lovely, of course. But are you confident it’s that high?”

I was so flabbergasted I retorted.

“The wet nurse is just saying anything because she’s scared of you, Karl! Our baby’s nose isn’t as high as yours. I’m telling you, she just looks like me.”

Finally, he approached me with a smile and pressed the tip of his nose against mine.

“Of course, I’m happy she resembles you too…”

But…?

His affectionate lips met mine in a moist kiss. After a short, teasing kiss, he spoke again.

“…But it’s a bit… disappointing that you deny she looks like me.”
“No, she…”

I tried to insist again that she really did look like me, but he captured my lips again. This time, he lingered long enough to satisfy me before pulling away.

“But since I’ve kissed a tired person to my heart’s content, I’ll concede for today.”
“But…!”

As I tried to protest again, his lips met mine once more as a warning.

“If you keep talking nonsense, I won’t call the wet nurse to bring the baby.”

What a cheap threat, using my own baby against me. But it was true that I wanted to see the baby, so I closed my mouth.

“Seven pounds? Is that all?”

Ernst had remained in the nursery, weighing the baby with the wet nurse. The wet nurse gave a kindly smile.

“Seven pounds is actually a bit larger than average for a newborn. She’s a very healthy baby, indeed.”

Seeing Ernst smile brightly at this, the wet nurse started and averted her gaze. She had to pretend not to know the identity of the man who was so clearly the Crown Prince, while also pretending not to be affected by his stunning beauty—it was a truly mortifying position. Fortunately, Ernst paid no mind to her reaction and stood up energetically.

“I must tell everyone. Our baby weighs seven whole pounds. And she’s a bit bigger than average babies.”

The wet nurse was intensely curious about the true identity of this baby, whom these men of obviously immense status swarmed around, each calling her ‘our’ baby. But she concluded that ignorance was bliss. If she was meant to know the baby’s status, that loyal maid would have told her first. The wet nurse just gave an awkward “Ha-ha” to the Crown Prince’s retreating back and rocked the baby in her arms.

“Little one, it seems the world is not fair at all,” the wet nurse whispered in a tiny voice to the sleeping baby.

She meant that this little one, who was born already holding everyone’s love, also had to be so beautiful. But as she laid the baby down in the crib and softly sang a lullaby, the wet nurse’s face was filled with a happy smile, as if she greatly looked forward to the day the baby would open her eyes and smile at her.

Meanwhile, Ernst, having left the nursery, headed straight for Louise. Louise was still staying in the specially prepared delivery room, not her own room. She planned to rest for a few days before returning to her room, which connected to the nursery. Ernst was about to knock on the delivery room door when he noticed it was slightly ajar and paused. A voice leaked through the crack.

“Frillis’s nose and lips take after me. Your nose is rounder than Frilis’s, and your lips are fuller.”

Ernst couldn’t believe his ears.
‘The Grand Duke?’
That man of few words was spouting such nonsense just because he was alone with Louise? To Ernst, Frilis looked exactly like Louise. Finding it ridiculous, he pushed the door open slightly, and heard Louise’s reply.

“That’s nonsense. The tip of Frilly’s nose is round like mine. Her lips are neat like mine for a baby, and even though there’s not much of it, her hair is pink.”

Through the slightly parted bed curtains, he could see half of the Grand Duke’s back. Ernst recalled the baby’s face he had been gazing at adoringly just moments before.
‘Of course, I agree with Louise… but the atmosphere between them is a bit…’

As he hesitated, one foot through the open door, the back-and-forth between Callisteon and Louise continued. Though it sounded less like an argument and more like a sweet lovers’ quarrel.

“The wet nurse is just saying anything because she’s scared of you, Karl! Our baby’s nose isn’t as high as yours.”

Wasn’t that statement based on the fact that Frilis was Callisteon’s child? He needed to extricate himself from this situation of accidentally eavesdropping, but his body had stiffened and refused to move. The truth was, Ernst had been prepared from the beginning for the possibility that Frilis might not be his child.

“Even if she’s not my child, it doesn’t matter. Regardless, she is my baby.”

He had said that himself. But as it seemed to become an established fact that Frilis was another man’s child, he was plunged into a shock like a physical blow. Of course, this was Ernst’s personal affair, and the two in the bedroom seemed lost in their own world, whispering sweetly to each other.

“Of course, I’m happy she resembles you too…”

He saw the Grand Duke’s back as he leaned over Louise, who was lying in bed.

“…But it’s a bit… disappointing that you deny she looks like me.”

Then the voices stopped. The silence, which must have been blissfully sweet for them, tore Ernst’s heart to shreds. If he made a sound now, the Grand Duke would surely notice, but he couldn’t bear it any longer. Ernst hurriedly fled the room. In his flustered and hurried state, he didn’t even think to close the door he had opened wider.

Callisteon left Louise’s bed to go fetch Frilis. As he approached the door, he saw it was slightly ajar.
‘…So someone was here after all.’
The only ones who could enter and leave this room without making a sound were the Magic Tower Lord and the Crown Prince. There was no way that Tower Lord bastard would have courteously left him alone with Louise, so it must have been Crown Prince Ernst. Of course, Callisteon had nothing to hide. That’s why, even though he’d sensed someone’s presence earlier, he hadn’t called them out. He felt no particular desire to conceal their conversation, nor was there any reason to. He didn’t know what Louise thought, but he felt he had already used a lifetime’s worth of patience just by enduring until now. The only reason he had been able to wait silently was because of one unwavering certainty.

The certainty that Louise’s heart belonged to him.
The certainty that he was the only one who had shared a night with her.
And therefore, the certainty that Frilis was his child.

And the other two could not be certain of any of those things. Whether they knew it or not, they had never even been on the same starting line as him. Callisteon strode down the corridor and spotted Ernst’s back as he stood blankly.
‘The rest is just a matter of time anyway.’

The two had performed the roles Louise desired by her side until now, but once they knew Louise had clearly chosen him, they would naturally step aside. They had to, and it was the more natural course of events. Callisteon felt no particular guilt or apology towards them. He had only ever stated the facts.

Louise’s baby is undoubtedly my baby.

Therefore, the only person Callisteon needed to seek forgiveness from was the newly enthroned Emperor. But as he tried to pass by indifferently, a low voice stopped him.