The Baby Who Regressed Refuses Childcare - Chapter 224

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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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Karin was staring at one person among the gathered crowd.

The Dowager Empress, who had been her nemesis throughout her time in the palace.

It was Alexandra, who had always been in sharp opposition from a similar position.

“You can tear my limbs apart and hang them on the city walls for all I care! But Adrian, my son….”

Karin thought she would hold her head high with arrogance until the very end.

“Please, just my son….”

She thought Karin would curse those who had brought her to this state with a venomous expression.

“Please spare Adrian’s life, I beg you like this, like this….”

Karin pressed her forehead to the floor.

She was no longer a noble Empress.

“Your Highness. Please eat just a little bit.”

Teacher Ann was coaxing Adrian.

I quietly watched the scene.

“If you don’t like cookies, shall I add a little more honey to your flower tea?”

“That’s right. You need to eat something….”

On the other side, Miel and Soya were also offering Adrian various refreshments.

But the child barely responded.

He just stared down at the floor with a blank expression.

“What should we do…?”

Miel, who couldn’t bear to watch anymore, approached me.

“His complexion is so pale, and he won’t eat anything….”

Shortly after Karin coldly rejected Adrian, Jayden regained consciousness.

Naturally, those who had been trapped in his hallucination were also freed.

‘They were all people who had lost consciousness after seeing the light emanating from the Duke’s castle.’

This included the Dowager Empress’s party and Adrian’s party.

As soon as the Dowager Empress awakened, she immediately entered the Duke’s castle and was having an important conversation with Grandmother.

But Adrian couldn’t easily recover from the shock even after awakening from the hallucination.

“It’s natural that he’s shocked after hearing such words from Empress Karin.”

Miel wiped her eyes.

“That’s right. It was too harsh. I understand what her intention was, but….”

“Don’t you dare call me mother with that filthy, incompetent mouth! I never once thought of you as my son!”

“Every day spent with you was disgusting!”

Karin’s image as she shouted with bloodshot eyes was vivid.

So was Adrian’s expression as he looked at such a Karin with wavering eyes.

“Even though he’s His Highness the Prince, he’s only seven years old….”

“Not anymore.”

At that moment, someone interrupted Miel’s words.

Someone had entered the room without even knocking.

“Everyone leave except Annellia.”

At the Dowager Empress’s stern voice, Teacher Ann hurriedly bowed.

Then she left the room together with Miel and Soya.

As soon as the door closed, the Dowager Empress spoke.

“Adrian. As of today, you have been deposed from your position as Prince.”

Adrian’s pupils gradually grew larger.

The Dowager Empress walked over with large strides and positioned herself across from Adrian.

Then, looking directly into the child’s eyes, she continued speaking.

“As of today, the Empire’s surname is stripped from you. After your parents’ execution is carried out, you will be banished from the Imperial Capital.”

My brow furrowed.

‘It’s fortunate that he won’t be executed along with Karin or Jayden.’

Adrian was still a young child.

I wasn’t confident whether such a child could properly accept the Dowager Empress’s words.

The Dowager Empress quietly looked into Adrian’s eyes and said.

“What I wanted to convey to you ends here.”

“….”

“From now on, I will answer what you ask. If you have any questions, ask me anything.”

Soon Adrian’s lips moved slightly.

“…What crime did Mother commit?”

As if trying hard to hold back tears, teardrops hung precariously at the corners of the child’s eyes.

“Your mother Karin Hunt deceived His Majesty the Emperor and me. Furthermore, the entire Empire.”

“Deceived means… she lied, right?”

“Yes. She had an affair with a man other than His Majesty, gave birth to you, and lied that you were a Prince.”

Adrian’s mouth closed.

I also looked at the Dowager Empress with bewildered eyes.

But the Dowager Empress continued speaking calmly.

“Also, Karin Hunt used dark sorcery to endanger His Majesty the Emperor. Without the help of Princess Annellia over there, he would have lost his life long ago.”

“M-Mother… tried to kill Father?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? His Majesty the Emperor is not your father. You are the son of Jayden Abner, who conspired in treason with Karin.”

Silence fell over the room.

Finally, the tears that had been hanging at the corners of Adrian’s eyes dropped to the floor.

The child remained silent with clenched fists, seemingly trying to understand the Dowager Empress’s words.

Only after a long while did Adrian open his mouth.

“Mother is… then how….”

“Your mother committed the grave crime of treason. Besides that, there are countless other crimes. She will be hanged in front of the Empire’s citizens.”

Adrian’s body trembled slightly.

“To add, this is a very lenient measure. Originally, those who commit treason are supposed to be beheaded. That means putting the criminal on a guillotine and cutting off their head.”

“….”

“However, considering that Karin’s status was once that of an Empress, we decided to compromise with hanging.”

Adrian couldn’t even respond.

He just trembled with a pale face.

“Is there nothing else you’re curious about?”

“That man… what about Yan’s real father?”

However, surprisingly, the moment the Dowager Empress asked again, the child resolutely continued with another question.

“Your father, Jayden Abner, will also be executed.”

“In front of people?”

“That’s unknown. How he’ll be executed hasn’t been decided yet. Jayden Abner’s treatment has just been decided to be left to the discretion of Sharon Abner, the Lord of Abner.”

At those words, my eyes widened.

‘They decided to leave Jayden’s treatment to Grandmother.’

The Dowager Empress spoke as if it were nothing, but I clearly knew.

This decision was an enormous consideration from the Dowager Empress.

‘From the Dowager Empress’s position, she would want to punish Karin and Jayden as cruelly as possible.’

Nevertheless, the reason the Dowager Empress set aside her own emotions and made a lenient decision was obvious.

First, probably for the sake of Grandmother, who had stayed by the Dowager Empress’s side as both a subject and friend.

And second,

“…Then what about me?”

That child who spoke with dignity, his eyes now dry.

“Won’t Adrian be executed?”

It was probably because of Adrian, for whom Empress Karin had begged to be spared, pleading that he was innocent.

The Dowager Empress, who had been silent, opened her mouth.

“You will be deposed from your position as prince. Your treatment in the Imperial Palace ends with that.”

She gazed at Adrian calmly.

“When you leave the Imperial Palace, go to Hunt Territory.”

Adrian’s and my eyes widened simultaneously.

“The Hunt Duchy is vacant. Etian Hunt is dead, and Karin Hunt is scheduled to be executed soon.”

I fidgeted with my nails in confusion.

As Karin said, Adrian was innocent.

He knew nothing and was only in this danger because he had the wrong parents.

But that didn’t make Adrian’s existence insignificant.

Adrian was a child who had lived as a prince for seven years despite not being the Emperor’s son.

And people have an instinctive tendency to protect and maintain what they possess.

‘What if Adrian actually harbors resentment toward the Imperial Court?’

Adrian was young.

He might think that the Imperial Court, the Dowager Empress, and Tian had taken everything away from him.

That fact alone would be a great threat to the Imperial Court, yet they wanted to give such a child a duchy?

What if Adrian harbored resentment in the future and dreamed of rebellion…

That was the moment.

“But Adrian is dangerous…”

As if reading my thoughts, Adrian spoke in a cracked voice.

I looked at Adrian in surprise.

“Mother and Father are traitors. Since Adrian is the son of such parents, I’m dangerous to the Empire.”

The Dowager Empress also silently stared at Adrian.

Adrian continued speaking.

“I learned that such people should be eliminated, Grand… no… *sob*, Your Majesty the Dowager Empress.”

Tears poured down from Adrian’s eyes.

“Please have Adrian hanged together with Mother. Because Adrian will be a threat when big brother, no, His Highness the Crown Prince ascends to the throne in the future…”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

At that moment, the closed door opened once again.

I widened my eyes at the person who suddenly appeared.

“Adrian, you will never be a threat to me, not now, not ever in the future.”

The person striding in and approaching Adrian was none other than Tian.

“I’m not weak enough to be endangered by your threats.”

“B-big brother…”

“And if, in the distant future, you really do such a thing.”

Tian placed his large hand on Adrian’s head as he began to cry loudly.

“Then big brother will stop you. Before it becomes irreversible, with these hands, as many times as it takes.”

Adrian’s crying grew louder.

The child, whose tension had been released, gasped and grabbed Tian’s arm.

“Big brother… *sob*, I’m scared. Mother told Adrian to get lost. I’m scared… I don’t want to die… *wail*!”

Tian gently patted Adrian’s back with his large hand.

Over and over again until the child calmed down.

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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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