The Youngest Member Filming a Parenting Show is Adorable - Chapter 203

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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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Part 2, Chapter 10 (203)
I pretended not to notice the Emotion Spirit King spiraling into chaos and turned my attention to Maximilian.
His eyes narrowed into a graceful arc before his thin lips parted.
What emerged was a smooth, honeyed remark.
“If you keep staring at me like that, I might get the wrong idea.”
“What kind of wrong idea?”
“Oh, this and that.”
“Wow, you’re quite the smooth talker.”
“You still say exactly what you’re thinking. I’m glad nothing’s changed about that.”
Maximilian chuckled softly and offered me his arm as an escort.
I placed my hand lightly on his arm and we resumed our walk through the Garden.
“They say the Rose Garden is the most beautiful place, but there’s somewhere I think you’d enjoy even more. An artificial pond.”
“That exists?”
“Yes. I had it made with you in mind.”
“…?”
Me? Why would he go to such trouble?
As I stared at him, full of bewilderment, Maximilian let out a soft laugh.
“Ah, what am I to do? Every time I see you, I can’t help but smile.”
“Well, smiling is good, at least.”
“Yes, it’s better than crying.”
The way he responds to every word I say is decidedly different from before.
The Maximilian of old was always bristling with irritation… but now he’s remarkably composed.
The ease with which he carries himself, as if standing above everyone else, reminds me so much of Rasifer.
“You really do seem like a Crown Prince.”
“Oh, I appreciate that compliment. I am the Crown Prince, but no one seems to acknowledge it anymore.”
“I heard you’ve become a troublemaker.”
“That’s thanks to you.”
He winked conspiratorially and pushed through the thicket.
I wondered why there would be such a long stretch of bushes in the Imperial Palace Garden, but remarkably, a hidden path lay concealed within.
“I didn’t want just anyone wandering through, so I hid it. But putting up a fence seemed too much.”
“I see.”
“Here we are.”
Wow.
My eyes widened at the breathtaking vista that unfolded before me.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected much since he called it a pond, but it’s nearly the size of a lake!
“It’s beautiful…!”
In the serene atmosphere, several weeping willows draped their long branches downward. Beneath them, clusters of small white flowers bloomed in profusion, and benches were positioned for rest and contemplation.
An artificial pond means digging into the earth and channeling water to fill it.
In other words, by my standards, it’s a space devoid of life force.
‘Yet… the Water Spirits are playing about in it.’
The Water Spirit doesn’t dwell in stagnant water.
My question was answered quickly enough.
“I had drainage channels installed underground. So the water could circulate. And I released quite a few carp too. Even caught some frogs and placed them nearby.”
“You made it look real?”
“Yeah. I figured you’d like something like that. This space is my repayment to you. For the advice you gave me long ago. You can come here and rest whenever you want.”
So that’s how he became a playboy—by taking that advice to heart back then.
I crouched down at the water’s edge and dipped my hand in.
The carp, thinking I’d come to feed them, soon grew disappointed and swam away again when I offered nothing.
‘The water is clear. This space itself must be Maximilian’s true nature.’
My reflection rippled across the water’s surface.
Behind me, Maximilian approached and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I was so eager to show you this place that I ended up talking only about myself. How have you been? I’ve been hearing about all your achievements.”
In other words, he’d been freed from the Empress’s information control.
Reading between the lines, I gazed at the vast pond and murmured.
“That’s fortunate. You’ve become much freer?”
“Thanks to you. Once my image was damaged enough that I couldn’t inherit the throne, they gradually loosened their grip.”
“I’m glad it helped.”
I wasn’t foolish enough not to grasp how things had unfolded.
“The women Maxxi’s been seeing must have told you various things?”
At my murmur, Maximilian shrugged.
“There are birds that need someone to listen to their whispers.”
It meant Maximilian and his informants existed in a symbiotic relationship.
If that were the case… those informants.
Maximilian’s lovers were likely people who either wanted revenge against the First Prince or the Empress, or harbored deep resentment.
“You haven’t given up.”
“Of course not. It was always meant to be mine from birth.”
Our conversation lacked subjects and objects. Yet we both understood perfectly.
Because we remembered that day’s advice.
‘Maximilian intends to become Emperor.’
Meeting face to face like this, speaking directly, I could see it clearly.
I rose to my feet and gazed into Maximilian’s crimson eyes.
The rumors said he drank himself senseless, smoked constantly, and frequented gambling dens—
‘But those aren’t the eyes of someone like that at all. They shine with such power.’
Moreover, spirits had been circling around Maximilian since earlier.
That was more certain proof than any words could be.
Spirits wouldn’t come near anyone living a filthy, sordid life.
“But there is a problem. Ah, is this just me talking about myself again? I feel awkward starting with counseling the moment we meet.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re friends. Friends help each other without expecting anything in return.”
If I could call him Maxxi instead of Crown Prince, then that’s what friendship was.
Yet Maximilian seemed quietly moved by my words.
“Thank you for saying that to me. I’ve wondered how you’d grow up, what kind of person you’d become… Honestly, I was worried.”
“I understand.”
“Then I’ll speak freely. I’m trying to climb from the bottom to the top. The bottom is secure enough… but the top is the problem.”
Gaining favor among commoners posed no difficulty, but earning the recognition of the nobility—that was where the real challenge lay.
“My bloodline is certain, but the First Prince and the Empress command such vast influence that more and more nobles keep gravitating toward them. I suppose I should be grateful for that. At least I won’t waste time wondering who’s truly on my side. Because right now, no one is.”
“Hmm, but are you really sure there’s absolutely no one?”
“In my current position?”
Then I’d need something capable of turning the tables entirely.
‘There are loyal subjects, but I need that one decisive move to win their support.’
After a moment’s hesitation, Maximilian spoke, his expression a turbulent mixture of confidence, worry, fear, and hope.
“I haven’t earned the recognition of the Flame Divine Beast. Not yet.”
“Ah.”
[The Flame Spirit King, Flammeus, yawns and interjects.]
[Well, awakening the Flame Divine Beast won’t be easy. That creature holds quite the grudge against the Baratheum family.]
Wait—you know each other?!
[The Flame Spirit King, Flammeus, scratches his head.]
[The phoenix that guards the Baratheum Imperial Family. That beast has a terribly petty nature. It’s been disappointed in the Baratheum bloodline for ages. It won’t show even a whisker for anything less than extraordinary.]
Oh no.
If Flammeus speaks of it that way, it truly must be difficult.
“I still remember every word you said at that ball. Not a single syllable forgotten. Not one particle out of place.”
“What did I… say?”
Something stirs in the depths of old memory.
“Cedric told me that the Imperial Family’s Divine Beast, the phoenix, opens its eyes when someone harbors a great purpose to protect another—when they possess the resolve to burn themselves away in sacrifice.”
“So? I know that too.”
“Just… if you’re going to be so petty about it, the Divine Beast will never awaken.”
Right, that’s what I said.
But if the phoenix is that petty… shouldn’t I understand why the Baratheum bloodline is equally narrow-minded?
They must have been influenced by it.
While entertaining such thoughts in silence, Maximilian continued.
“I’m prepared to burn myself away in sacrifice. If it’s for this nation. Or rather, if it’s for the people.”
“…!”
“But honestly… nothing like that is happening right now, and I don’t even know what to do. If I could gain the phoenix, then the First Prince, the Empress—everyone would recognize me.”
“That’s true.”
Father and Grandfather should know too. That Maximilian is actually such a good person.
‘No. If they knew, they might try to marry me off to him.’
Maybe it’s better not to say anything…?
My head feels unnecessarily complicated.
Of all times, I had to hear talk of marrying Maximilian right before coming here!
“Ah, that was quite a heavy topic. Right?”
“Yeah. There’s no immediate solution.”
“There’s no helping it. So, how about we clear our heads a bit… and go have some fun?”
Maximilian, who had been playfully blowing at his tousled bangs, extended his hand toward me.

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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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