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Chapter 6
This was Calix’s office. In the center of the office, there was a smooth leather sofa that could seat three or four people, placed facing each other.
“…….”
Gulp. I swallowed dryly and looked at the Emperor sitting across from me. He was lounging comfortably, one leg crossed over the other, one arm draped over the sofa. His gaze swept over me like he was inspecting the quality of a product.
I lowered my eyes like a criminal because I was scared of meeting those blood-red eyes. What did Ken say about me for him to look at me like that?
“Eomma!”
At the sudden call, I turned my head.
Rubellin was sitting right next to me, clinging tightly. She swung her small legs above the marble floor and leaned against me, rubbing her flushed face on my shoulder. Her hair became static and floated slightly in all directions.
Without thinking, I combed her hair with my hand.
“Y-Your Highness……”
Then the man standing behind Calix flinched and approached Rubellin. He had green hair that reached his waist, and the monocle he wore made him look intelligent and cold.
The man put on black gloves he took from his pocket. Rubellin looked at him displeased.
“Your Highness, I will fix your hair. And being close to a stranger is dangerous—”
“No!”
Rubellin turned her head away with a pout. The man, rejected in an instant, went pale and froze. He stared at his own hands for a moment, then returned to his place with a gloomy aura.
Calix glanced at him like he was pathetic, then flicked his hand.
“Yukar.”
At that, the man called Yukar immediately straightened up and pulled out documents from his chest. Expressionlessly, he began listing information.
“Lucina Langport. Age 21. Daughter of Viscount Langport. Has debt with a loan company. No physical issues. No criminal record. Special note: sells herbs.”
I blinked in confusion. Isn’t that my personal information?
Calix kept his gaze fixed on me and held out his hand. Yukar quickly handed over the documents as if he had been waiting for it.
Calix finally looked away from me and skimmed through the papers lazily. After a while, he handed them back to Yukar without hesitation.
His emotionless red eyes returned to me.
“Lucina Langport.”
“Yes, yes!”
I snapped back to reality and responded.
“I have a proposal.”
A proposal? I swallowed hard.
“W-What kind of proposal……”
Calix blinked slowly instead of answering. After a moment, as if a heavy stone had been lifted, he finally opened his mouth.
“Do you want to become the mother of the princess?”
My face twisted.
“Excuse me? Mother?”
“…The princess’s mother.”
“Excuse me? Are you insane?!”
When I shouted in shock, Calix frowned slightly. My denial must have sounded like I was playing with words. Yukar also looked at me coldly.
I was completely confused by the situation.
Not only was I misunderstood as a kidnapper, now I was suddenly told to become the princess’s mother? What is going on?
I looked around the office, but Ken—the person who caused this situation—was nowhere to be seen. That guy! What did you even say to the Emperor?
Holding back my rising frustration, I finally spoke.
“Your Majesty, how could someone like me become the princess’s mother……”
“To be exact, it would be a caregiver and ‘educator’ acting as a mother figure.”
“Educator?”
“In the imperial family, a private tutor is called an educator. If you help the princess control her strength until she can fully manage it, we will give you 100 gold per month and a comfortable life.”
One hundred gold? My debt was 80 gold. My heart started racing.
Calm down. I forced myself to stay composed.
“But Your Majesty, an educator… As you know, I am not well educated. I am not qualified to teach the princess.”
“The deputy commander told me the princess seems to have opened her heart only to you.”
Calix tilted his chin.
Following his gaze, I saw a small hand tightly holding mine.
So… Ken really told him that her strength doesn’t affect me? And that I might be the reason she can control it?
I sighed deeply.
100 gold per month and a comfortable life. Good. Too good. But once Rubellin becomes an adult, the world will be destroyed anyway, so there won’t be any comfortable life.
Of course, I wanted to help her, but I couldn’t change the original story, and I wasn’t selfless enough to dedicate my life for others.
Besides, “until she can control her strength” meant no clear end. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life here.
However, when my eyes met Rubellin’s, my resolve wavered instantly.
Rubellin, who had been staring at the cake on the table, smiled brightly when she met my eyes.
“Eomma! I want cake! What about you?”
“…I’m okay. You can eat it.”
“Okay!”
I stroked her head with a heavy heart. If I left, she would definitely be sad…
Then Rubellin reached for the fork on the table. The moment she grabbed it—
Crash!
The fork snapped in two and fell apart. Rubellin looked at it sadly, then reached for the cake with her bare hands.
The moment her small hand touched the plate—
Crack.
The table split in the center and collapsed. The golden table and glass plate broke apart, and the cake was crushed beyond recognition.
“……”
Everyone except Calix stared in shock.
“U….”
Rubellin blinked, then started tearing up. Tears gathered in her eyes.
Yukar rushed over in panic.
“Y-Your Highness, please don’t cry. We will bring a new cake immediately.”
Even so, Rubellin trembled, upset that she couldn’t even eat cake, and then hugged me.
“Eomma!”
My mind went blank. I stayed still as she clung to me, imagining my waist splitting in two like that golden table.
Yeah. Definitely a refusal. Even if Rubellin is pitiful, refusing is the only way to survive.
“Lucina Langport. Your answer?”
A cold voice made my shoulders flinch.
Calix tapped his knee with his finger. The sound felt like a ticking clock forcing an answer.
His expression was arrogant and certain, as if saying, “How could you possibly refuse such a good offer?”
My face turned pale.
“Your Majesty, I am honored by the proposal, but I cannot possibly become the princess’s—”
“For now, how about a temporary position? I’ll give you time to think if you want.”
Calix cut me off as if expecting it. I shook my head firmly.
“No, Your Majesty. I will refuse, so there’s no need to give me time—”
“Shall I detain you on charges of kidnapping royalty?”
“Thank you very much, I will gladly accept.”
…This villain-maker. I gritted my teeth and glared at him quietly.
I take back feeling sorry for his childhood.
Calix raised one eyebrow coldly when our eyes met.
“What is that disrespectful look?”
I immediately lowered my eyes.
“N-No, nothing.”
“Hah.”
I thought I heard a faint laugh, but it must be my imagination.
I sighed and thought hard.
A temporary job? With threats like this, how am I supposed to refuse?
About a minute later—
“So, have you made your decision?”
Excuse me? It’s only been a minute.
I looked at him with wide eyes. Calix casually nodded, as if nothing was wrong.
Then I felt warmth on my thigh.
“Eomma?”
Looking down, Rubellin was holding my hand again. Her eyes were still red from crying.
“Eomma, what’s wrong? Is it because I couldn’t eat cake?”
She frowned worriedly. Even if she didn’t fully understand, she could tell something serious was happening.
In this cold space, holding her warm hand, I shut my eyes tightly.
The Emperor was threatening me in front of me, and a princess was worrying about me beside me. I was just an ordinary citizen who had always lived responsibly—how did I end up like this?
I didn’t even do anything. I just helped her when she collapsed. I never expected that small kindness to return as something this heavy.
The Emperor’s offer was simple: I was the only one who could control Rubellin’s strength. And she had also become attached to me.
Rubellin probably thinks of me as “mom” because I saved her. Like imprinting—like a baby duck following the first creature it sees.
Maybe her control works only because she sees me as her “mother.”
That was the only explanation.
Then there was only one way out of the palace:
Change that “mother” impression and make myself unable to control her power, proving I was unfit as an educator.
If I could do that, I could leave.
And I would still get paid in the meantime, so I could pay off my debt.
I found the best plan and smiled slightly in satisfaction. Then I took a deep breath.
“Have you reached a conclusion?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I placed my hands together and bowed.
“Thank you for the opportunity. I will accept the temporary position as a nanny and educator and do my best.”
When I raised my head, I met cold red eyes that felt like they could swallow my soul.
Calix didn’t look satisfied even though things had gone his way. He just stared at me with a strange expression. Did he see through my plan?
I awkwardly looked away and hugged Rubellin.
“Princess, please take care of me from now on.”
Rubellin rubbed her soft cheek against my chest. She seemed to know something good had happened.
I smiled faintly and tapped her cheek with my finger. Her soft cheeks sank under my touch.
While ignoring the sharp gaze like a spear, I decided to act like it didn’t matter.
