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Chapter 54
Wynzard was not a man of empty words. As he said to Erne, the next day, the Douglas estate was turned upside down.
“You cannot treat me like this, Your Grace!” Lady Linnel shouted indignantly. The expression on Wynzard’s face, who gathered the servants together, was cold and stern. As he investigated directly based on what Erne had told him, it was revealed that Lady Linnel had led inappropriate mistreatment toward Shucnen.
“You should be grateful that your life is being spared. Evidence was also found that you created false accounts by tampering with the Douglas family’s finances.”
“Th-That…! You know better than anyone how devoted I have been to the Douglas household!”
“That does not excuse the crime of embezzling money.”
“How can you do this to me! You know how hard I worked to fill the role of the mistress of the house, which was left vacant…”
“So, I’m telling you once more, you should be thankful that I am showing mercy and sparing your life.”
Erne was speechless at Wynzard’s sharp words.
Until now, to her, he had only seemed like a troublesome parent or a little puppy with a tail, but she momentarily forgot that Wynzard was the Duke of Douglas, the second highest noble after the royal family of Nesheld, and furthermore, the very man who would bring ruin to Nesheld.
“This is all because of that damn child. How can someone of such low birth become the next head of the Douglas family? It must never be allowed that someone of humble origin inherits the noble Douglas name!”
Lady Linnel raged loudly.
Her voice was so loud that Erne, who was listening, flinched.
“Do not speak ill of my son. Shucnen is my child, and he bears the Douglas name.”
“When that child first arrived, two of the stable’s prized horses died. And that’s not all. Every day, rat corpses were found in the kitchen, and the pond we cared for dried up overnight, killing all the fish.”
“Linnel Todd!”
“That child is cursed!”
“Get that woman out of here immediately!”
A shameful and unbearable scene unfolded. At Erne’s side on the second floor, watching the situation, Shucnen approached.
“Teacher.”
The child’s expression was ambiguous, on the verge of tears. Erne was startled and tried to block him, thinking he didn’t need to see this, but Shucnen shook his head silently.
“I knew this would happen someday. A long tail gets stepped on.”
Was this really the words of an eight-year-old? Erne gazed at Shucnen, who was like an adult living his second life, and sighed deeply.
“You don’t need to watch this.”
“It’s okay. I deserve to see the fate of those who tormented me.”
Shucnen crouched on the stairs following Erne. Erne smiled awkwardly, pondering the strangely mature words of the child.
The wrinkles caught at Shucnen’s tightly closed lips showed clearly he was still just an eight-year-old boy.
Erne silently took Shucnen’s hand.
“Teacher. Are we going to the royal palace now?”
Shucnen asked, feeling the warm touch of her hand.
“Yes.”
“Then we will be far away?”
“No. If you want, we can see each other anytime.”
Erne was startled by the sad look that seemed to foresee their parting, waving her hand to comfort him, but Shucnen’s eyes were already red.
“Why can’t we live together?”
The innocent child’s question left Erne at a loss for a proper answer.
“I like you, Teacher. I want to live with you always. Can’t we not go?”
At his pitiful words, Erne’s pupils trembled violently. Like a lost wanderer, she had nowhere to look and swallowed her sadness.
He was still a child. He did not know the adults’ complicated circumstances, nor did he need to.
But sometimes, a pure child’s words wet the heart like this.
Erne silently stroked Shucnen’s head.
Shucnen was smart and quick-witted enough to understand the many meanings conveyed in Erne’s gentle touch more than a hundred words.
As expected, Shucnen’s voice quivered as he squeezed Erne’s hand.
“Teacher, I thought you liked Father too.”
“Well…”
Erne never thought her emotions might be revealed to her student, the young Shucnen. Just as she tried to flusteringly make excuses with wide eyes, Shucnen spoke again.
“Please become my mother, Teacher.”
The tears as small as pearls glistened in his eyes, but his voice was firm and clear.
This was the first time she had heard a proposal not to marry but to become a mother.
Erne looked at Shucnen with an awkward expression and swallowed a sigh.
“I wish I had a son like you, who listens well and is so pretty.”
She gave as wise an answer as she could to match the child’s level.
It wasn’t something she could lie to avoid the situation.
Above all, the future is something no one can foresee.
Shucnen’s expression changed peculiarly at her answer.
“…But there’s no child more obedient and pretty than me.”
“Huh?”
His voice was so quiet Erne had to tilt her head to hear it clearly.
“I like my younger sibling too, Teacher.”
Surely, Shucnen resembled Wynzard.
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“I heard the Duke threw out Lady Linnel and all her loyal servants. The estate feels even bigger now.”
The darkening night sky told Shucnen it was time to sleep. Belli entered to look after Shucnen’s bedtime.
“You’re the teacher’s maid, so why do you keep coming to me?”
Shucnen pouted, folding his arms in his pajamas. Until recently, Erne had taken care of his bedtime, but with her busy schedule of etiquette lessons, Belli had taken over.
“Oh, you shouldn’t say that. This is all at the Princess’s request.”
When Belli mentioned Erne, Shucnen suddenly shut his mouth.
“My son is about the same age as the prince. I don’t know how it sounds, but when I see the prince, I think of my son.”
“You have a son?”
Shucnen asked in surprise at Belli’s personal story, and the hand straightening the blanket briefly paused.
“…Yes.”
Though the answer came late, fortunately, Shucnen didn’t notice.
“Hmph. That son is lucky. He has a mother too.”
“Why? The prince has the greatest wealth in the world, a prestigious status, and the Duke of Douglas as his father.”
“But he doesn’t have a mother.”
Belli quietly listened to Shucnen’s mumbling and smiled bitterly. She wondered if her own child would grow up to long for their mother like this.
“That’s why I want Teacher Ellen to be my mother. The useless father still hasn’t managed to court her.”
“The adult world is too complicated for a child to understand.”
“Are you treating me like a kid? I’m the only precious and great heir of the Douglas family…!”
“Yes, yes. The precious and great young lord. Alright? Now, children must sleep. Lie down, young lord.”
After spending time with Shucnen, Belli had learned how to handle him.
Shucnen looked frustrated to have his words taken away, but when Belli spoke again, he clenched his teeth and decided to lie down.
“If you don’t keep your bedtime, the princess will be disappointed.”
“You’re cruel.”
“Then at least say I’m smart.”
Tch. Shucnen pouted. He hated that his weakness was Teacher, and he used her name as a weapon every chance he got.
“Now I’ll cover you with a blanket. You shouldn’t catch a cold.”
Belli smiled as if finding him cute while watching Shucnen lie properly.
At that moment, her gaze fixed on one spot as if unable to move.
“What are you doing? You said you’d cover me.”
“…Young lord.”
Belli, who was lively moments ago, suddenly looked unwell. Shucnen looked up at her and she trembled violently.
“What’s wrong?”
Realizing Belli was not well, Shucnen tried to lift her shoulder but she didn’t move. Her shaking eyes began to show a faint strange glow.
Though aware that a strange gaze followed her, Belli could not hold onto her sanity.
“Belli, are you sick…?”
Ignoring Shucnen’s worry, Belli half-lost her sight and needed to be certain in her thoughts.
“This wound on my foot… Where did it come from? No, this mark — where did it come from?”
“Huh? Oh, this?”
Her mouth went dry. Swallowing hard, she waited for Shucnen to speak.
Belli held onto her disbelief, barely keeping herself conscious.
“I’ve had it since I was born. My nanny said so. Isn’t it strange? It’s a star-shaped mark.”
Ah, as soon as Shucnen finished, Belli suddenly burst into tears.
Although Shucnen was confused by her sudden crying, she couldn’t hold back her tears.
Belli gently touched Shucnen’s small foot. She fiddled with it over and over to check and finally realized the star mark wouldn’t disappear. Her heart broke in agony.
Longing, joy, sadness, a whirlpool of emotions swept through her. Belli sobbed uncontrollably, burying herself in Shucnen’s small shoulder.
The child she had been searching for so desperately—the one she had carried for ten months and gave birth to—was right in front of her.
