Baby Prisoner of the Winter Castle

The King of Saphers, who was about to leave for his home country, declared a one-day moratorium.

He said he would give Princess Clarisse time to prepare, but in reality, his intentions were different. 

There was no doubt that Maximilian, the Duke of Sheridan, who had promised to protect her, would change his mind and give her time to get ready to cut the neck of the young princess.

Isn’t that so? 

He said he would raise the child he took until she was 18 and then kill her.

Maximilian’s aide, Quentin Sinclair, stopped him straight away.

“Duke, are you really taking the princess?”

“Yes. But why do you look like you’re crying?”

“That’s because the Duke always does things you don’t know! Above all, it is not easy to increase the number of people in the mansion.”

“Is that so?”

“The Duke might have thought it would simply add one more tableware to the table!”

Maximilian has finally come up with a realistic problem after hearing what he said. 

He slowly nodded and replied after thinking about something for a while.

“Okay, tell them to buy another tableware for the child.” 

He quickly picked up his pen and wrote ‘prepare tableware’ on a blank paper.

“Oh my! Didn’t you even think of that?” 

Quentin covered his head with his hands.

“The Duke must have made the decision based on momentary sympathy, but it is the servants of the castle who are actually suffering!” 

He took a step closer to Maximilian’s desk. 

To be more precise, it was used by the Prince of the ruined country who died yesterday.

“Looking at it, it seems that the Princess is only seven years old.”

“No, she is nine years old.” 

Maximilian corrected the error, recalling the personal details of the King Grezekaia family he had seen in the documents.

But it didn’t seem to be a very important part.

Quentin was still sobbing.

“Even if she is seven or nine years old, isn’t it still cute!” 

He screamed and cried loudly.

“Think about it. A nine-year-old child travels through Sheridan in the north, where it is cold. Surely, the Duke will put fluffy clothes on the Princess!”

“All right, I’ll get it ready.” 

Under the paper that was written as tableware, Maximilian wrote “furry clothes.”

Now that he thinks about it, she probably needs this too. 

He heard that Grezekaia’s winter was no different from Sheridan’s fall.

“Argh, if you do that, you’ll surely end up give her affection!”

Affection? Maximilian tilted his head while quietly repeating the word that made him feel unfamiliar.

He had heard such a word in literary works or somewhere else, so he understood what it was like.

A terrible feeling that encourages unreasonable choices.

It was one of the things Maximilian hated the most.

Every aristocrat has a duty to make the right choice.

Not killing the princess was just an extension of that idea.

He didn’t think the child was cute or pitiful at all.

Since the child was born into a royal family, she would have already enjoyed many things.

On the other hand, the children of the Kingdom of Grezekai that he had seen while marching was hungry and skinny.

Even the soldiers of the Kingdom were hungry and had no motivation, so by the time the Saphers Kingdom army arrived, most of them had run away.

There wasn’t much bloodshed in an easy war that lasted less than a month. 

Perhaps the army of the kingdom came and helped save more people. 

Because the people of this land praised the Saphers Kingdom army for sharing food. 

But to sympathize with the Princess of that rotten kingdom?

It was impossible.

Even if the opponent is a child who doesn’t know the circumstances of the kingdom.

Maximilian simply hoped that Lysander, his half-brother, and King of Sapphire, wouldn’t break a precious law. 

Because it’s important to follow the established laws when dealing with problems that involve other countries. 

Without knowing his thoughts, Quentin’s sobbing continued.

“The people of Sheriden Castle have no immunity to cute children. The terrible princess will surely melt the cold northern castles, get everyone to give up and eventually conquer them!”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“Does the Duke not even read a book? Many popular books these days have such content. Do you know why such stories are so popular?”

“It seems to put off the interest.”

“No! Because anyone is weak by the cuteness of children! Children are cute and precious! They want to protect them!”

“Great.”

Maximilian nodded.

“Even if it’s not like that, I was going to choose a primary guardian, but now you can do that.”

“…Yes? Me, me?”

Quentin, who had been screaming the whole time, stiffened with his mouth wide open, then shook his head.

“Ugh… I, I can’t.”

“Didn’t you say you read a lot of parenting books?”

“It’s not a real parenting book, it’s a romantic parenting book. It’s very different from the real thing.”

“I think you said you wanted to protect her.”

“That’s what will happen in the future! Every kid is cute!”

“That’s why, take care of her.”

“I don’t want to!”

He took several steps back in fear.

“Are you saying that when she turns 18, I have to cut off the head of a child I’ve raised and take it to His Majesty? Ugh, I can’t do that.”

“It’s not a child you raised enough.”

Maximilian slammed him in a solemn voice.

“A prisoner of war, that is, a criminal.”

“But she’s still a child!”

“It’s the seed of the king. Her existence alone can claim the legitimacy of rebuilding the kingdom.”

“Then Duke.”

Quentin asked, fixing his silver glasses.

“Do you mean you can raise that child yourself and kill it when she’s eighteen?”

It was a terrible story, but Maximilian answered without hesitation.

“Yeah.”

He’s going to take her for that right from the beginning.

To punish according to the established laws.

“…Oh my, it’s better to just kill the princess now.”

He can’t do that.

Maximilian, who was about to answer, was interrupted by a dull sound coming from the half-open door.

The knights had brought Clarisse.

The dull sound from a while ago seemed to have come from dropping the old pocket that the child was holding.

“A, ah.”

Clarisse hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly picked up the dropped bag and held it together.

Are there jewels or coins in it?

She might have thought she needed something like that to go to unknown lands.

The child shuddered and looked around, and when she met Maximilian’s gaze, she was startled and begged.

“P, please spare me.” 

Did she hear their conversation at the door? The soft voice was trembling.

“I will live quietly as if I were dead.”

It wasn’t a sound that would come out of the mouth of a nine-year-old child.

“I don’t know. Do as you please, Duke. I gave you a clear warning. I can’t do this.” 

He let out a deep sigh and left the room with the knights, leaving only the Duke and Clarisse.

“….” 

The Duke stared down at the child and recalled the simple details he had seen in the paperwork.

Clarisse Lennon Grezekaia.

The only princess of Grezekaia.

She is said to be the daughter of the king’s mistress… when he searched last night, there was no record of who the woman was. Perhaps she was of low status. 

The queen, a powerful person, would have killed her birth mother, while the king would have stood by and watched.

And she must have tamed the child with the word ‘illegitimate child’ all the time so that she wouldn’t know her subject and fight.

“I…” 

After thinking, the Duke quietly opened his mouth. 

He didn’t mean to give vague hope just because his opponent was young.

It was better not to have hope like a mirage in the first place.

It would make the rest of the child’s life easier if she were soaked in despair rather than going through the moment of falling into an abyss in an instant after living a happy life.  

“I will kill you, Clarisse Lennon Grezekaia.”

“….!” 

The child’s face soon became blue with fear. 

It is probably because of the dark life. 

The child, who had been fiddling with the rattling bag, opened his trembling lips.

Perhaps she will beg for her life again, saying, ‘I want to live.’

“W, when…is it?” 

However, what the child said was different from what he thought. He answered coldly.

“The day you celebrate your 18th birthday.”

She will be in despair at this story.

…That’s what he thought, but to his surprise, Clarisse’s face began to show deep relief.

The girl took a step closer to him and asked.

As if she can’t believe it. 

“C, can I really live…until I was eighteen?” 

He’s glad she didn’t cry loudly or insist on living—-.

But he never thought she would have a face full of hope like this. 

“…Yeah.” 

The Duke’s answer was a little slow because he was filled with wonder.

Clarice swept down near her chest with one hand as if she was really relieved now.

“I thought the Duke’s mind would change because of the man who said scary things a while ago. I was really scared….” 

“I don’t break the law.”

As he declared solemnly, the child smiled, hugging her worn-out pocket tightly.

That reaction forced Maximilian, who was not interested in others, to have doubts.

She should be glad that she won’t die right away, but where did she find such infinite joy and hope in saying that she would die at eighteen?

Perhaps recognizing his thoughts, the child spoke carefully.

“Because my Older Brother said that when he ascended the throne, he would be the first to get rid of me.”

The Duke knew that King Grezekaia was preparing to abdicate for health reasons. 

However, he didn’t know that the young prince was threatening his younger sister like that.

Considering the Prince’s words and actions yesterday, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“My older brother told me every day that he would kill me before I turned 12. But… 18 years old.” 

The child must have felt a little strange, so she pressed her dirty pockets hard with her cheeks blushing. 

There was a constant rattling sound coming from within.

“…I can’t believe it. I am so happy.”

It was on Maximilian’s side that he couldn’t believe it.

“The Duke is a good person.”

He didn’t expect to hear such a great compliment when she heard that he was going to kill her at 18, according to the law.

The child was still smiling at him brightly, without the slightest suspicion or hatred.