Chapter : 05
At that moment, Hailey felt Theo squeeze her hand tightly and whisper a small, “Hailey…”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“How old is that child?”
“Why do you ask?”
When Hailey snapped back sharply at Axel, Khalid stepped forward, calling out “My Lady” in warning. Axel raised a hand to restrain Khalid. It wasn’t a gesture of respect toward the lady; it meant her attitude didn’t matter to him in the slightest.
“My Lady. I can stand here all night, and you cannot leave this spot until I tell you to go.”
“Are you threatening me? What does the child have to do with any of this?”
“It matters. Why not just answer? I have a particular talent for drawing a crowd.”
It matters. The kid is the most important part. Axel kept the second half of that thought to himself.
Just as the Prince said, people were beginning to gather. His tone grated on Hailey’s nerves in a peculiar way. Suppressing her rising irritation, she finally answered.
“He is five years old.”
“Is he your son?”
“…”
Theo, seeing the world outside for the first time in his life, had never seen so many people at once. But even as a young child, he could feel it—the way the crowd looked at him and Hailey was the same way the Baroness looked at them.
Theo thought hard. He didn’t know much, but it seemed this “giant villain” was the strongest person here, and Hailey was in trouble because of him. Theo didn’t want her to be in a difficult spot. He wanted to save her. Despite his fear, he gathered his courage to step forward and say, “No, I’m not.”
However, Hailey sensed his movement first. She gripped his hand firmly and pulled him back behind her.
“Yes. That’s right.”
Gasps erupted from the crowd. Startled by her words, Theo looked up at Hailey.
“I am his mother.”
“Excellent.”
“…?”
‘Hook, line, and sinker. No need to look any further. She’s the one.’ Axel marveled at his mother’s foresight.
‘This is insane.’ Khalid, hearing the Prince’s words, felt like slamming his head against a wall if there had been one nearby.
Just as everyone was wondering what on earth the Prince was talking about, Count Roman looked at Axel as if he were a savior.
“Oh, Prince! Thank you so much! To think you would reveal the truth for my sake!”
“I didn’t.”
“Pardon?”
“Count, whether you get swindled or ruin your entire house has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
Wait, Prince, what do you mean by that? Count Roman, still unable to grasp the situation, blinked stupidly up at Axel. Because the Prince was so tall, the Count’s neck began to ache from looking up for so long.
“My Lady, get in the carriage. We need to have a talk.”
“I decline.”
“Failing to register a birth is technically against the law. I could send the Royal Guard to bring you in—would that be more convenient for you?”
Since they had already searched every noble household with young children, it was certain that this mysterious child was unregistered. The Prince pointed toward the massive golden carriage with eyes that said, ‘Why don’t you get in while I’m being nice?’
Count Roman finally snapped out of it and cut in.
“Pr-Prince! I must settle things with this woman! Taking her away like this is—”
“Count. See the palace way over there? That palace is crawling with idle fools who have nothing better to do than listen to your stupid stories. Go shout about it there.”
The Count’s face turned shades of red and purple in an instant, but Axel didn’t care at all. If anything, he found the Count’s stalling annoying. Without even waiting for Hailey’s answer, Axel turned to Khalid and unilaterally announced, “The Lady and the child will be coming with us.”
“I must receive an apology from Count Roman first,” Hailey countered. “He laid hands on my child without permission. If he does not apologize, I will file a formal complaint.”
“What? An apology? Ha! I’m the one who should receive an apology! I’m the one who should be filing a complaint!”
But Hailey had no intention of leaving like this. She wanted an apology for the way Count Roman had roughly grabbed Theo’s hand. She couldn’t let Theo’s first outing end as a negative memory.
Axel watched the woman, noting her firm resolve. There weren’t many noblewomen who could speak that way to a higher-ranking noble in front of a crowd. If Count Roman chose to persist, he could easily lay waste to a minor house like the Langston Barony. She couldn’t be so naive as to not know that.
‘She’s quite a handful—it’s almost a waste that she’s just a Baron’s daughter.’
Then, the cheeky brat who had been staring Axel straight in the eye poked a small arm out from behind the woman and whispered softly.
“…It even bruised.”
It was barely a mumble, but Axel caught it. There was no way a bruise had formed already, though it was a bit red from being gripped so hard. The kid was doubling down on the “bruise” claim.
Heh. Axel let out a small chuckle.
“It doesn’t look like the Count has any intention of apologizing.”
“An apology is absolutely out of the question!”
“Lady Langston, would something else instead of an apology suffice?”
Something else? Before she could ask, Axel suddenly grabbed the Count’s wrist and twisted it.
“AAAAAAGH!”
The Count tumbled to the ground, clutching his wrist. Not only Khalid, but everyone watching was struck with horror. Hailey’s eyes widened at the sheer brutality, while Theo stepped out from behind her, looked down at the mean man rolling on the ground, and whispered:
“Whoa, so cool…”
Khalid desperately wanted to tell the child: ‘No, this is not “cool” behavior.’ The Prince had finally done it.
“Count, if you feel wronged, go complain to the palace. Tell them a mad prince broke your wrist. You can appeal your other grievances while you’re at it.”
Axel let go of the Count’s hand as if tossing away trash and extended a hand to Hailey, pretending to be a gentleman.
“Lady Langston. Shall we board the carriage now?”
“…”
Madman. A new kind of lunatic had appeared, one that left Hailey Langston speechless.
The giants in storybooks were always villains, but today, Theo decided to correct that.
Theo rolled a candy around in his mouth with a blissful expression. The moment it touched his tongue, it was sweet and melted away—it was a hundred times more delicious than the rare apples or peaches he usually got.
In the silent carriage, sitting between three adults, Theo glanced at Hailey and carefully began to unwrap a second candy. Hailey shot him a look. It meant: finish what’s in your mouth first. With a look of regret, Theo re-wrapped it.
Axel, sitting across from them, watched the two and thought back to a few moments ago.
‘Wait a moment.’ ‘Can we go now?’ ‘……I have to buy them.’ ‘What?’ ‘I have to buy the candies!’
Axel had been getting annoyed with Hailey for refusing to get into the carriage, but candies? The tips of Hailey’s ears had been slightly red, likely from embarrassment. They had been standing right in front of a candy shop. Even the cheeky brat was constantly turning his head toward the shop, reluctant to leave.
‘Clear the shop.’ ‘Pardon?’ ‘I said go in there and buy everything they have.’ ‘Not that much……!’
Hailey’s desperate protests were ignored. Following Axel’s orders, Khalid literally cleared out the shop. There was so much candy they had to load it into the carriage’s luggage compartment.
It was the moment Theo’s eyes had sparkled the brightest all day. That giant defeated the bad man AND bought me candy!
‘He wasn’t a villain……!’ Theo wasn’t sure if he was a “good” person yet, but his perception of giants was shattered. Plus, this carriage was incredibly large and plush.
‘Amazing.’ Theo unknowingly kicked his feet in excitement.
Hailey felt incredibly uncomfortable just being in a royal carriage, but seeing Theo’s happy legs, she figured it was worth it.
“My Lady. Your name?”
“……It is Hailey Langston.”
“And the child?”
Why did he keep prying? Hailey found the Prince increasingly strange. She had thought he was just a meddling royal, but that didn’t seem to be it either. It was nonsensical, but she wondered for a second if he was interested in her—yet his face wasn’t that of a man smitten.
‘Then why?’ Why was a Prince so interested in a five-year-old?
“Is that something you need to know?”
“My Lady, your remarks toward the Prince have been excessive for some time now,” Khalid interjected. He felt he had to defend the Prince, even though he agreed with Hailey’s sentiment.
“Is that so? From where I’m sitting, someone who shows this much interest in a five-year-old child is, frankly…”
“…?”
“A bit of a pervert.”
“My Lady! What on earth are you—!”
The statement was so accurately blunt that Khalid’s ears burned on the Prince’s behalf.
End Of Chapter : 05
