Chapter 61

The news that Theodore had recently snatched the Royal Palace of Caligor was even reported here in Arbela.

Fortunately, Arbella is a rural area far from the capital, so the aftermath of the war did not come to this point.

Albrecht’s Imperial forces fought a war against the western continent, but their horses only stepped on the fortress where the royals stayed.

Even during the long war, there was no burning of private houses or looting.

Unlike ordinary wars, it did not damage the lives of commoners, so no one criticized him except some royalty and aristocrats.

Just talk about being crazy.

Anyway, I thought I wouldn’t be involved with him hiding in this rural estate, so I was relieved.

‘I left the place with a certain mind.’

I didn’t want to get involved with Theodore any more in any way.

From the moment I left the Albrecht Imperial Palace, he was a stranger to me.

However, even though I thought I had forgotten everything, there were times when my heart throbbed and he came to mind.

It’s not because I miss him.

The wound he gave me was so terrible to miss him.

Because he’s Er and Lia’s dad. That’s why I have no choice but to think of him without realizing it.

Odilia said that not long ago.

Mom, that Mr. Azo said she is Lia’s dad. But he doesn’t know Jelriko.

When I heard that, I thought maybe Lia was imagining it because she missed her father’s vacancy.

Er and Lia had never asked me about their father, and I was proud to have raised my children well without him.

Strangely, however, it stung as if Odilia’s words had a thorn in them that day.

Fortunately, Odilia hasn’t talked about ‘Mr. Azo’ since.

I wondered what the ‘Mr. Azo’ would look like in Lia’s imagination.

‘Their dads are handsome.’

I remembered Theodore’s face for a moment and erased it the next.

“Please, witch. Just once, just once.”

I still couldn’t go, but I was amazed at the persistent efforts of the man who knocked on the door.

“How can I beat that crazy Emperor? Didn’t you hear the Emperor is a madman?”

When I replied bluntly, the man outside the door began to sob.

“That, Emperor Theodore is trying to take our Prince to the empire. As you just said, don’t you know how crazy the Emperor is?”

“So what?”

“Our Prince may die under all kinds of strange experiments by the mad Emperor.”

“What a pity.”

I feel like I’m a broken person like Theodore, but…….

‘There’s nothing I can do.’

The peace with Er and Lia is more precious to me than the Prince’s life.

‘If I do something wrong, what about my kids?’

My babies are only three years old.

They are small babies who want to be squirrels and dragons with sloppy pronunciation, and they still need protection.

I’m the only guardian of Er and Lia. So I should cherish my body as much as my babies are precious.

Even if someone pointed a finger at me for being cold, there was nothing I could do about it.

As I remained so still, the man shouted in a solemn voice.

“He, he is having a baby!”

“What?”

When I narrowed my eyes and looked at the man through the narrow gap of the closed door, the man jumped with his hands waving.

“Oh, no. Not him, but the Prince’s unofficial lover, Miss Louisele, is pregnant.….”

“It’s something to celebrate.”

“So, please show your kindness and think again. Don’t you feel sorry for the baby who will be born without a father?”

Pitiful.

I felt sick at his reasoning and snapped out in a cooler voice.

“Not everyone is pitiful because they don’t have a father.”

Poor thing, my ass.

Such sympathy is an insult to all babies born without a father.

I was born unaware of the existence of my biological father, and later abandoned by my biological mother, but I never felt sorry for myself.

‘Since they were better off without it from the beginning.’

That’s why I was able to make a stronger resolution to leave Theodore.

Such a father is more than nothing to my precious babies.

‘But…’

If Theodore hadn’t lost his memory.

If only he were a good, right, and kind-hearted man I knew.

Er and Lia would had a father.

‘If he did that, I might have been a little happier.’

A scene flashed before my eyes.

Theo!

Oh no, you have to be careful, my fiancee. What if the baby in your stomach gets surprised?

But my baby is complaining that he can’t wait to see his dad.

I remembered Theodore’s voice and his friendly smile as he gently greeted the baby in Katarina’s stomach, saying, “Hi, baby.”

I clenched my fists.

‘That doesn’t mean our babies are unhappy right now.’

I didn’t regret my choice.

I stared at the door with my lips tightly closed.

When I did not respond to the appeal of tears and recognition, the man eventually offered new terms of negotiation.

“Three, three billion gold!”

“……?”

“This money is the equivalent of a decent estate!”

“You’re going to give me 3 billion gold?”

“Yes, so…….”

This kind of reward was never been heard.

Three billion gold.

It was an astronomical amount.

With that money…

I can live as a nobleman in a big kingdom like Kerbel.

The next day after returning to the mansion, I was able to see that Erwin has talent in swordsmanship.

Since then, I’ve had more thoughts.

First of all, while teaching Erwin swordsmanship, I have to hide his power as much as possible.

However, at the same time, I was worried about whether Erwin could hide it until he became an adult.

It was too much power for a three-year-old commoner boy to have.

It was unclear whether I could completely beat those who approached him with a bad intention by myself.

‘But with the money, I can buy a new identity and slowly build up my strength. That alone will prevent the black-hearted people from approaching with a bad heart.’

Of course it won’t be an easy road either.

I wasn’t as confident of building a fence as hard as Chernisia.

But the three billion gold that the man said would serve as the foundation for building a moderately large and moderately hard fence for children.

Squeak-

When I opened the door, the man smiled brightly and rejoiced.

“Are you finally thinking of accepting the offer?”

“By the way, can you really give me three billion golds?”

Caligor is a very small kingdom, isn’t it?

I asked, looking at the man with suspicious eyes.

“When the king abandoned the castle and fled, he packed the treasure.”

“…….”

I looked at the man who spoke proudly with his chest puffed up and as if he were a peacock.

“Don’t think too much. The only thing the Emperor is after the royals, so our Highness must survive…….”

I was lost in thought, listening to what the man said.

‘Can I beat Theodore?’

I didn’t know because I’ve never competed with him.

‘It’s better not to bump into each other for now.’

I waited for a dark night before moving along with the man.