The Maid With a Child - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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22. It’s easy, isn’t it?
Her jet-black hair was swept to one side, cascading past her shoulder, and against this darkness her face shone pale as bone. Her neck looked fragile enough to snap, her shoulders delicate and narrow. Even draped in loose clothing, her arms were so thin you could see at a glance there wasn’t a scrap of muscle on them.
The king was, overall, a slender youth—sickly in appearance.
He seemed close in age to her master, but the obvious frailty made him look considerably older.
Adlen felt disappointment bloom in her chest.
She’d thought a king would be someone remarkable, like her master.
Her master’s appearance was the very image of a living god of war.
Chiseled nose and jawline, eyes without a shred of warmth, a towering frame that far exceeded average height, broad back and shoulders that spoke of unshakeable power.
Even upside down, her master would still be a general.
She’d expected the king to possess that same sort of exceptional presence.
But while he was somewhat more refined in appearance than ordinary people, that was all. He was unremarkable.
“You called for me, Your Majesty.”
Adlen hid the disappointment in her eyes and quickly bowed her head, following Lacalte’s lead.
No matter how much of a servant she was, she couldn’t neglect courtesy toward the king.
“Yes, is that him?”
The king got straight to business.
She hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to be brought out so soon.
Caught off guard by the sudden shift in the conversation, Adlen felt her stomach clench with surprise.
And she was startled too by the look in the king’s eyes.
The eyes she’d thought ordinary were piercing—sharp enough to cut.
Adlen hadn’t even been the direct focus of that gaze, yet she felt it like an ice-cold lance through her chest. If she could, she would have hidden the Crown Prince away.
But she was a servant holding that child right now. She had to hide her expression, her feelings, everything—and simply fulfill her role in silence.
“Coo!”
The Crown Prince himself, for his part, remained oblivious to the king’s direct scrutiny, too distracted by the room’s ornate decorations.
Even when they’d come under attack, he hadn’t cried out in shock or burst into tears—he was clearly a remarkably calm child.
Adlen felt admiration and respect for a baby who showed more composure than she did.
“You must have had a time of it. When I heard you were bringing that one back, I was quite shocked.”
The king kept speaking, his gaze fixed on the child.
“The misfortune of the royal couple of Moren made it possible, Your Majesty.”
“Ah yes, they were certainly cursed. The king died of tetanus, and the queen died in a riding accident.”
Ah. So the royal couple of Moren were both dead.
That’s why his uncle, General Kias, had set out to search for the Crown Prince.
‘He’s just like me. An orphan.’
Suddenly the Crown Prince seemed far more pitiful, far more precious to her.
Without anyone noticing, Adlen tightened her grip on her arms around him.
Though invisible to others, the child could feel it.
“Adlen? Yay! Adlen!”
The Crown Prince giggled and wrapped his small arms around her in return.
The king watched the scene for a moment in silence, then suddenly turned his gaze toward Adlen.
“Is that one a nurse you brought along?”
The king’s attention shifted to Adlen.
The servant found herself suddenly in the spotlight and froze.
“No, Your Majesty. She’s a servant of our household.”
“I see? She looks quite young. Why did you decide to use her as a nurse?”
“Well, that is…”
Lacalte recounted the entire affair.
True to form, he laid out only the facts in brief fashion, but the thrust was the same as what Adlen felt in her heart.
Crown Prince. Crazy.
Attack. Terrifying.
Conclusion. Can’t handle it.
“Ha ha, you’ve been through quite an ordeal.”
Once he’d heard the full account, the king laughed.
…He was laughing?
Adlen felt her throat tighten. I nearly died from overwork, and then an assassination attempt on top of that. And Your Majesty finds this amusing?
Of course, such thoughts remained buried inside where no one could hear.
“You’ve had a difficult time of it. For an ordinary servant girl to face assassination threats—that’s no small matter.”
“Yes, ah, well, yes, Your Majesty.”
Suddenly the king had addressed her directly.
Thanks to the king’s kindness in speaking to even a servant, Adlen spiraled into a breathless confusion, managing something halfway between a groan and a reply—absolutely incoherent nonsense.
“How are the attacks lately?”
Fortunately, the King paid little attention to the furniture merchant’s rambling.
The conversation shifted quickly.
“Whether Moren has abandoned the search for the Crown Prince or is plotting some other strategy, the attacks have stopped completely of late. There’s been no related activity either.”
“Hmm, so it seems.”
The King touched his lips with a finger and let out a soft laugh.
“Actually, I’ve heard something rather interesting.”
“What is it……?”
The King’s private intelligence network, one that didn’t funnel through Lacalte’s hands, occasionally received information that was genuinely difficult to obtain.
It appeared such information had arrived this time.
Lacalte’s eyes sharpened as he listened intently to the King’s words.
“It seems chaos is beginning to stir within Moren.”
“Chaos?”
“You know that the Luganthu Family—the Queen’s own clan—is most actively searching for the Crown Prince?”
“Of course.”
Kias, Moren’s foremost general, is also a member of the Luganthu Family.
Kias, who came from the Luganthu Family renowned for producing warriors across generations, was precisely the man Lacalte watched most carefully. Each time they met on the battlefield, the fights grew exceptionally fierce—his abilities were that formidable—and his attachment to his family was equally strong.
Setting aside his position as protector of the Crown, the Crown Prince was his nephew. The only nephew, born of his youngest brother who had long since passed. A relationship worth turning heaven and earth to find.
“But a collateral family can only wield power when the royal house stands, can’t they? The Queen is dead, the Crown Prince has vanished. The very royal house itself has effectively disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“So some have begun whispering among themselves, it seems. Is the Crown Prince truly alive? Isn’t the Luganthu Family merely maneuvering to seize power?”
“Ha…….”
Lacalte scoffed at the transparent scheme.
Even in the nation’s darkest hour, it seemed people couldn’t help but prioritize their own survival—such was human nature.
“In any case, even if the Crown Prince were found and placed on the throne, the Luganthu Family would naturally assume the regency, so their suspicions aren’t entirely groundless.”
“That would be so.”
“It appears they’ve thought: if it’s power the Luganthu Family will hold—not the royal house itself—then why shouldn’t they claim it for themselves? But that creates a problem for us.”
If the Crown Prince were declared dead and a new dynasty arose, Moren would recover at a frightening pace. He could not sit idly by and watch that unfold.
The war was proving grueling for Teplan as well.
The King wished to extend this grace period as long as possible.
“So there’s something I need to confirm first. You.”
“Yes, Your Majesty?!”
The King’s gaze turned toward Adlen.
Each time his eyes fell upon her, Adlen jumped like a sparrow struck by sparks.
“Am I going to eat you?”
Her reaction was so pronounced that even the King couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle.
“I-I’m terribly sorry!”
Yet those apologies only made it worse. She’d thought perhaps her fear of her master had faded and her nerve had grown a little—but she had merely grown accustomed to it. Her courage remained the size of a bean.
Adlen squeezed out tiny tears and bowed repeatedly.
“Adu-e? Boom-boom?”
Even now, the little one laughed brightly, thinking she was playing with him.
“For someone without children of your own, it’s quite remarkable how well the Crown Prince takes to you. You must have some special talent.”
“Th-thank you!”
“Isn’t he still a bit young to be speaking? Did you teach him well?”
“I-I don’t know. I just…….”
“So you simply did it and it worked? That itself is a talent.”
She couldn’t repeat her thanks any further. Adlen simply bowed her head low.
Why did His Majesty keep addressing her when her master was standing right there?
“You’ve managed to find quite a capable and lovely maidservant, Lacalte.”
“The chamberlain chose well.”
“Keep her close. She seems likely to be useful in the future.”
In the future……?
At the King’s casually dropped words, both Adlen and Lacalte raised their eyes at once.
An ominous shadow fell across their exchanged glances.
“If you mean the future…… how far ahead are you planning, Your Majesty?”
At Lacalte’s question, the King smiled knowingly.
“In my judgment, using the boy to capture General Kias is already a lost cause.”
“……Yes.”
“But it would be such a waste to simply kill him, wouldn’t it? So I’m thinking of making the Crown Prince’s social debut instead. Grandly, so the whole world cannot help but know: ‘The Crown Prince is here!’ That way, they won’t be able to ‘pretend’ the Crown Prince is dead and establish a new dynasty.”
“……I see. Yes.”
The King’s strategy was quite sound.
Lacalte nodded in agreement.
Yet Adlen grew pale as an ever-deepening sense of dread settled over her.
Society debut? Surely not?
That ill foreboding turned its head toward Adlen and smiled wickedly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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