Chapter 62
“Excuse me—where is the waiting area for the children?”
After leaving the main banquet hall and stepping into the corridor, I stopped a servant who was walking briskly and asked.
“You mean the waiting area for the young ladies and young lords? It’s in the room at the very end of the corridor.”
The servant bowed politely and pointed toward the far end.
The corridor was fairly long.
‘Is that why everyone entered the main banquet hall together first?’
Dazar had entered with Vanilla, and several other nobles had brought children with them as well.
I’d assumed they had to enter separately from the start—but with this distance, it would’ve been awkward to separate them right away.
‘Besides, everyone seemed to be introducing their children to one another.’
Looking at the Hall of Rest schedule Cedric had given me, there was still some time before Emperor Scarlet’s entrance.
A small note mentioned that the children were to be escorted out of the banquet hall at that point, which suggested that before then, children were brought in to greet others alongside their parents.
“…This feels unpleasant.”
Since I was hiding the fact that Axion was my child, I couldn’t enter with him.
With a slight frown, I continued down the corridor.
That was when—
“Did you see the kid who was alone in the nursery?”
I heard two servants approaching from the opposite direction whispering to each other.
“Hey. Shh. All the kids in the nursery are nobles.”
“Ah, so what? If their parents didn’t bring them into the banquet hall, doesn’t that mean they’re looked down on?”
Judging by their uniforms—identical to the servant I’d spoken to earlier—they were likely assigned to the banquet hall.
“Well… I guess that’s true?”
“What if one of the maids here is his mother? And that old guy who was with him earlier is his father?”
“So he snuck in just to see his mom? That’s kind of pitiful.”
The two servants snickered.
“Ugh, because of that kid, I couldn’t even rest there. If he wasn’t going to be taken care of anyway, he shouldn’t have come.”
“If his mom’s a maid, isn’t he basically in the same position as us? Should we just go report it?”
“Should we?”
Heehee.
By the time they passed by me, I had already stopped walking.
“Ah, I don’t want to work. I just want to go back to the dorms.”
“Same! That kid ruined our break.”
“Still, wasn’t he kind of good-looking? Blond hair, too. If they’re going to hide him like that, they should’ve just handed him over to us. We could’ve passed him to someone you know and made some money.”
I stood there blankly as they walked away, wondering what I’d just heard.
That baby they were talking about—surely it couldn’t be Axion. Haha. No way.
…Or so I tried to think.
But no matter how I looked at it, it had to be Axion.
Left alone in the nursery. Blond hair.
“…Ha.”
It felt as though flames were racing from my toes to the top of my head.
My fists clenched tightly, teeth grinding.
If I let them go like this, I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully tonight.
Just before they reentered the banquet hall, I turned sharply and called out to them.
“…Hey.”
At my stiff tone, both servants froze and turned around, startled.
Seeing their faces directly cooled my head instead.
I couldn’t just beat them up here.
I tugged the corners of my lips upward slightly.
“There’s something I wanted to ask.”
They were tense at first, but when I smiled, they relaxed and bowed deeply.
“Yes. Please ask anything.”
“Is there something you need?”
When I smiled again, they cautiously mirrored it.
They seemed completely at ease now.
“I was talking earlier with Countess Mia, and the topic of insulting a noble came up. I suddenly couldn’t remember the details.”
“…I-insulting a noble, you say?”
“Right. What kind of punishment does one receive for that again?”
The two blinked at me, flustered.
This world was firmly rooted in a strict class system.
If mere commoners insulted a noble…
“T-the offended noble may demand punishment. I believe they can propose anything up to execution.”
That matched my memory.
“Mm. Right, that’s it. But what happens if the noble doesn’t demand a specific punishment?”
The other servant chimed in.
“If the insulted noble doesn’t specify punishment, then the lord of the territory to which the offenders belong issues the penalty instead.”
“Right, right. That’s how it was. Ah, I couldn’t remember earlier, so Lady Mia and I were both stamping our feet over it.”
Stamping our feet, indeed.
Lady Mia’s delicate arm had collided with my iron-like arm.
“You’re both quite smart. Thanks for explaining.”
The two servants nodded awkwardly.
“It’s nothing. If you need anything else, please feel free to call us.”
“Oh—since you’ve been so helpful, what are your names?”
They glanced at each other, then grinned.
“I’m Bishin, and this is Michi.”
They looked incredibly obedient—nothing like the men who had been mocking Axion just moments ago.
“I see. I’ll remember that. You may go.”
“Yes!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
When I waved my hand as if I was done, they beamed and bowed deeply, unable to hide their delight.
Looking at the schedule Cedric had given me earlier, I remembered it mentioned an opportunity to recommend capable servants.
Those who made the list would be promoted, if I recalled correctly.
‘They probably think that’s why I asked their names.’
I watched them walk toward the banquet hall, faces glowing with excitement.
Then I turned around.
The smile I’d carefully drawn vanished in an instant as I strode toward where Axion was.
I’d deal with them later—but my heart still felt deeply unsettled.
My footsteps echoed loudly as I reached the nursery.
“Lady Silia?”
The nursery was larger than I’d expected.
Inside that spacious room, there were only two people: Kal and Axion.
Kal was pacing while holding Axion, who was fiddling with his fingers.
He looked surprised when he saw me.
“Why are you here already? I thought you’d come after the banquet ended.”
“How could I possibly wait, when Axion keeps crossing my mind?”
Axion noticed me and happily stretched out his arms.
Kal, no longer able to hold the wriggling child, set him down.
Axion toddled over and buried his face into the hem of my dress.
“Ua!”
Axion beamed up at me with a bright smile.
Seeing that smile—
My heart sank.
Because I’d left him alone here.
Because I was hiding the fact that I’d adopted him.
That’s why he’d been subjected to such cruel words.
“…Grandpa.”
“Y-yes? Lady Silia—did something happen? You don’t look well.”
Kal asked with concern.
Hearing his warm voice made my chest churn.
I barely managed to suppress it and shook my head.
“No. It’s nothing. Axion—did you come out to greet Mommy?”
“Uunng!”
As if he understood, Axion nodded vigorously—so hard he nearly tipped over.
I caught him and crouched down to meet his eyes.
“Uunng?”
He reached up and poked my face with his small hands.
Clumsily brushing my eyes and cheeks, Axion looked unbearably cute.
Hehe.
When I laughed without realizing it, Axion squealed and laughed along.
To think this precious child had been spoken of that way—
Anger flared, then guilt followed, then pity.
It was overwhelming.
My eyes felt hot—not tears, just emotions surging all at once.
What am I doing?
I’d sworn I wouldn’t let Axion live an unhappy life.
That thought hardened my resolve.
“Maa!”
“Lady Silia…? Are you sure nothing happened? You don’t seem fine.”
Kal asked carefully, his eyes trembling with worry.
I shook my head.
“No, really. It’s nothing. I just missed Axion.”
“But—”
I wiped my face with both hands and lightly patted my cheeks.
I couldn’t afford to look weak—I was responsible for both of them.
I held out my hand to Axion.
“Alright. Shall we go now, Axion?”
“Huh? Where are we going?”
Kal looked flustered.
I scooped Axion up and stood with a small grunt.
“Where else? We’re going to the banquet hall.”
“W-what?! But that place—”
“There’s a reason there are no kids here. I didn’t know before. You did, though, didn’t you, Kal?”
“….”
Kal nodded quietly.
“I tried to stop you from coming, but it seemed like you wanted to be with Lord Axion…”
Kal had known this would happen and had tried to prevent it.
But I’d insisted on bringing Axion anyway.
And the way he’d been treated—it was all my fault.
“I’m the head of House Evanroir right now. Since Sylvestain isn’t here. Right?”
“Y-yes. That’s correct.”
Kal followed behind me, his face anxious.
His lips moved constantly, as if he were about to voice his worries.
Probably about Axion getting hurt by others’ stares.
“There’s no need to worry about what others think, Kal.”
“……”
“My life belongs to me—not them. If I’d lived worrying about others, I wouldn’t be this happy.”
Looking through this body’s memories, one feeling always stood out.
The happiness and fulfillment that only comes from devoting yourself to what you love.
“Well? Why shouldn’t I be able to do the same?”
I would change Axion’s future and let him live happier than anyone else.
Together with him.
Holding Axion tightly, I headed for the banquet hall with firm steps.
