The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 257
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 257
Hong Hae, who said that, exclaimed “Come on, let’s go!” and dragged me into the laboratory.
Juliet, who was outside, shouted irritably.
“Just break things again, Hong Hae!”
Hong Hae moved her hands humming cheerfully, pretending not to hear.
‘Huh?’
I looked at Hong Hae with surprised eyes. As a princess of a nation who probably never got a drop of water on her hands, her fingertips were unexpectedly skillful.
Dusting, wiping the desk and experimental tools, sweeping the floor. Though not as good as professional employees, this was excellent for a precious princess.
When I blinked, Hong Hae asked “Why?” with a bright smile.
“You’re good at cleaning.”
“I’ve done it often since I was young.”
“But you’re a Princess?”
“I had to do something to survive.”
When I made a puzzled expression, she lightly grabbed and shook my cheek.
“Little one, you’re from the Empire that dominates the continent, so you wouldn’t know, right? In some countries, the king can be weak.”
“The king?”
“Yes. In the land of those black-haired people far away, sometimes something called a coup occurs. Ministers, or the people, or even the Queen Dowager can change the king.”
“….”
“My father was dragged to the Royal Palace to become king as soon as he came of age. The Queen Dowager wanted an obedient, foolish king. The Queen Dowager slaughtered all the relatives with succession rights in front of Imperial Father and said: ‘Become a necessary person, Your Majesty.'”
Hong Hae’s eyes were unusually cold and sunken as she said this.
“So Father, terrified, left behind his promised lover and became king. According to the Queen Dowager’s will, he took dozens of wives and concubines, and became a parrot who pretended to know nothing and only repeated ‘Her Majesty’s will is right.'”
“….”
“After the Queen Dowager passed away, he became a parrot to the Prime Minister, who was her nephew.”
“….”
“Repeated fear seems to make people foolish. Anyway, that’s why Imperial Father always tells his children: you must become a necessary person.”
“Did you also clean to become a necessary person, Hong Hae?”
“Whenever something happens in the country, I go out and do manual labor. Pretending to love the people when I don’t, pretending their pain is my pain. Distributing relief rice and helping with cleaning like a lady-in-waiting.”
“The other princesses and princes too?”
“My noble half-sisters and brothers are in a different situation from me. I’m a child from Father’s fisherman days, before he became king.”
‘The person who was his lover during his fisherman days must be Hong Hae’s birth mother.’
The rag was mercilessly crumpled in Hong Hae’s hand. She bit her lips tightly, then turned to look at me and smiled “hehe” as usual.
“Come on, let’s finish quickly. So make sure to tell your father and uncle to cast opposing votes, okay?”
“…Yes.”
I nodded and began moving my hands busily.
* * *
After the cleaning was finished, I returned to Henri’s lodging. When I told my three older brothers about the conversation I had with Sandra and Hong Hae today, Isaac nodded his head.
“Hong Hae’s family situation is quite complicated too. There are even rumors that the King of Gahong crawled between the Prime Minister’s legs to bring Hong Hae and her mother to the palace.”
“Eh? Really?”
When I was startled, Henri said while ending the communication stone.
“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it probably means the royal authority is that weak. Why should we care about other people’s family affairs? Leblaine, I looked into Sandra.”
As expected of Dubbled’s dark bird. He has knowledge of all the major noble houses across the continent.
“About Sandra’s younger sister. She’s been suffering from lung disease since birth, and it seems quite serious now. She’s almost unconscious. Even that seems to be sustained only by the priest’s healing.”
“Then she really can’t refuse the shrine’s request…”
“Right, he’s quite famous. Justin, the sleeping prince of the count’s house—”
“What?!”
“Hm?”
I bolted upright and grabbed Henri.
“What did you just say?”
“The sleeping prince of the count’s house…”
“J-J-Justin?”
“Yes.”
Oh my goodness. That Justin was Sandra’s younger brother?
I covered my mouth with both hands like maple leaves and let out a silent scream.
“Leblaine?”
Henri called me with a puzzled expression, and I thought with an ecstatic look.
‘Cheolsu, this is that thing, right?’
Remembering what Cheolsu had taught me once, I raised both arms and shouted.
“Sim batta! (Found the ginseng!)”
Having become a ginseng hunter at heart, I shouted passionately and trembled.
Ah, I’m so glad I came to Odis.
This place was truly a field of golden connections. Isaac looked back and forth between Henri and Johan with a bewildered expression and said.
“What’s this? Why is the little one making the same expression Second Brother makes when he’s plotting something?”
Well, because I’m thinking of a scheme right now!
I immediately summoned Emeline. Having heard my nagging in the dark evening and secretly arrived at Henri’s lodging, she looked at me and her mouth fell open.
“I heard you got smaller, but you really… you’re the size of a mouse dropping.”
“Geez… Anyway Emeline, let’s meet Sandra.”
“…What am I supposed to do after meeting her?”
“Just do as I tell you.”
I handed her the communication stone that Henri had made himself (completely ignoring school rules) and smiled sinisterly.
* * *
Emeline, with the communication stone in her ear, headed toward the bench with a reluctant expression. There, Sandra, who had received advance notice from Henri’s person, was waiting.
Sandra’s expression hardened when she saw Emeline under the lamplight.
“This letter, was it you who sent it, Emeline?”
‘A letter?’
[I sent it. Just say you sent it.]
Emeline swallowed a sigh and answered.
“Yes. It was me.”
“What do you mean you know my secret?”
‘What?’
When Emeline hesitated in confusion, once again a clumsy voice came from the communication stone.
[I wrote it. Just say you wrote it.]
‘This is really…!’
As Emeline bit her lips tightly, Sandra urged her.
“Isn’t this a letter you wrote?”
“Ah, I wrote it. Yes, I wrote it.”
‘Just wait and see, Leblaine.’
Sandra gripped the edge of her jacket with an anxious expression.
“I don’t know what kind of intimidation you’re trying to pull, but this won’t work on me. I don’t have any secrets.”
[Now follow what I say.]
Emeline repeated the words flowing from the communication stone.
“Do you really have no secrets? Not even about your younger brother who has lung disease and needs healing from a priest?”
“What are you talking about. I don’t have any secrets—”
“Actually, that child is Sandra’s son— What?!”
As Emeline screamed in shock, grumbling could be heard from the communication stone.
[Why are you breaking the flow!]
‘What, what is this supposed to mean.’
Sandra’s younger brother was her son? Really? She did dote on him unusually, but that couldn’t be…
Emeline, who had been organizing her thoughts with her head down, suddenly looked up at Sandra.
Sandra’s face had turned pale.
‘…Oh my god.’
“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you called me here to play word games, I’ll be going now.”
[No, no! Hold onto her. And relay my words again!]
Emeline hurriedly grabbed her wrist and shouted.
“Wait. I have more to say. I understand Sandra’s heart. I know you had no choice.”
“…”
“Since you gave birth to a priest’s child… a priest’s child…”
Emeline’s expression hardened. She too was a priest’s hidden child. Sandra shook off Emeline’s hand and stepped back a few paces, muttering.
“Enough with the petty lies. What you’re saying isn’t true, and even if it were, you could never understand my heart.”
“…Even if I can’t understand Sandra, I could understand your son’s heart.”
“What did you say?”
This wasn’t Leblaine’s words. Emeline, who had gritted her teeth, soon sighed and asked in a cold voice.
“What about his father? Does the father know that you gave birth to a child?”
“That child is not my son.”
“What did that bastard say to coax you? Soon you’ll be reunited with your son, some nonsense like that? So you should obey him? Didn’t he tell you to carry out the shrine’s work properly?”
“What do you know…!”
“I know! I’m also a priest’s child.”
“…What?”
“If you can’t abandon that bastard because of your child, don’t be mistaken. That’s absolutely not for your child’s sake.”
“…What?”
“You can live well without a father. That child has a good mother, so they don’t need a father who lacks responsibility and shifts all danger onto his lover.”
“…”
“If I could regress, I’d want to tell my mother. Please don’t give up happiness because of me. The unhappiness in my life was having an unhappy mother. That’s why I was obsessed with my father.”
Emeline sighed and took out the communication stone from her ear.
“Since we’re in the same situation, let me tell you one thing – take Leblaine’s hand.”
“…”
“That girl never shirks responsibility.”
Having said that, Emeline turned her back. Then she muttered into the communication stone.
“Sorry. My bad temper ruined things.”
[No, you did very well.]
“What?”
That’s when it happened.
“What should I do? How should I do it?”
Sandra’s desperate voice could be heard.
* * *
After ending the communication, I grinned. Isaac, who had been resting his chin on his hand, asked.
“What exactly does this Justin guy do that you’re so desperate to catch him?”
“Youngest magic tower master candidate. His specialty is item duplication.”
He’s good at duplicating sacred relics too, but gets caught for it, though his abilities are so excellent that he ends up entering the magic tower – a genius.
“Mina’s Etoile. What would happen if we duplicated it?”
“If we have the amethyst, there’s no need to duplicate it, right? The passage was just the one we received from the priest before.”
“The amethyst is with Sandra.”
…The culprit is someone else.
‘Well then, shall I go get revenge on the culprit who stole my amethyst?’
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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