The Place Where I Was Sold as a Slave Was the Imperial Palace

(61)

＜ A child who lives in his father’s heart ＞

* * *

Several months have passed since the successor to the Duke of Watoring was discovered. It is the season when the cold wind blows. I heard that it has already snowed in cold regions.

As the days get colder, the duke’s heir doesn’t seem to be in very good shape.

However, I have not yet heard that the medicine given by the medical office is effective or that it has deteriorated significantly.

The emperor’s father visited the child every few days. There were many people who saw him with a child with a warm smile.

Crown Prince Roberto took a deep breath.

I have to go see my father, but I don’t have the courage.

‘But it can’t be like this. We need to speak up for ourselves as soon as possible, before things get out of hand.’

When he is forced to withdraw from being pushed by others, he is killed by his father, who is concerned about future repercussions. My father was not one to leave a spark behind.

If the father does not directly touch him, the chamberlain or another follower of the father will surely kill him.

There are many people who act like tongues in their mouths even without giving orders to their father.

Even if their father doesn’t say anything about it, or even if they don’t intend to kill them, they don’t hesitate to give up their lives if they think they’ll harm the emperor’s future.

Such a person, he had only one dead slave.

Roberto suddenly looked at the attendant standing quietly next to him.

He is the one who has taken care of him since childhood.

He believed that this man was on his side, if not as much as the slave killed by his father. At least he’s not the one who’s going to hurt himself.

However, it was this attendant who gave Roberto the medicinal medicine every time.

Whenever he said he had a headache, he comforted him in a soft voice and handed him medicine.

‘I knew that I couldn’t trust anyone in the imperial palace…’

The attendant seemed to have realized that the prince had realized everything, but was calm. Not a single expression changes.

If he were to cut him with a knife right here and now, he would not budge.

What was so great about putting medicine into the body of the prince for the sake of the emperor? It was obvious that he was thinking that way.

Roberto turned his head away from the attendant.

The first time I felt a sense of incongruity was when the Crown Princess suddenly spoke up one day.

Why is there no news about the baby?

I remember that even Roberto thought it was a little strange at the words of the Crown Princess, who sadly lowered her eyelids.

But even then, there was no sense of danger.

Roberto has no official concubines yet.

This is because the Crown Princess could not give birth to a son.

Having given birth to four children, only two daughters survived. She gave birth to a boy only once, but died and was born.

The emperor is still alive and his heir, Roberto, is an adult.

I already knew that Roberto had reproductive abilities, so there was no need to hurry.

It had been talked about for many years that they would wait until they turned 30, and if the crown princess still couldn’t give birth to a royal descendant, then hire several concubines.

It is a bit rare for a crown prince in his thirties not to have a concubine, but if he takes a concubine before an heir is born, there is a risk of trouble in the future. It wasn’t anything very strange.

I thought so until now.

However, strange rumors began to circulate in the spring when the successor to the Duke of Watoring was discovered.

It is said that the crown prince became unable to have children.

Around the same time, the headache stopped. It was around that time that I realized that the medicines sent by the medical office had subtly changed.

It was a very small difference.

A subtle scent that lingers lightly when you put it in your mouth.

The color, weight, and shape are the same, but the smell is slightly different.

The first medicine I took had a slightly sour smell.

The medicine I had taken since the ripening of spring until now was similar, but a little less sour.

It was only then that he realized that the headaches started after the death of his slave.

father’s will

It was definitely the father’s decision, since he wouldn’t carelessly give the prince medicine that would cause abnormalities in his body.

A crown prince who cannot bear a son is a defect. It’s useless. If it is revealed that the seed has disappeared through the use of several concubines, he will be kicked out of the position of crown prince.

And if there is a possibility that infertility can be cured later, they die.

Her mother, the empress, would think that the position of crown prince would go to another son, but that couldn’t be the case.

I don’t know who the child the father likes is.

Will it be the heir to the Duke of Watoring, or a golden child?

Perhaps the father had known the whereabouts of the children for a long time.

At least, Roberto must have known about it from the time he took the medicine.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, we have arrived.”

The servant’s voice was heard.

It seems that he almost passed by the emperor’s office while walking absentmindedly.

Cold air leaked from the walls, and occasionally white breath spread in the air.

Roberto took a deep breath and nodded.

The door opened quietly.

As Roberto went inside, the door was closed again.

My father was sitting at his desk in the office, looking at papers. He didn’t look up, as if he didn’t know he was coming.

It was a few days ago that I requested a visit from my father. Perhaps because of that, there are no officials who were always filling the office. It seems that everyone has fled.

I hesitated whether I should speak to him, but my father said without raising his head.

“Wait a minute. It’s an urgent matter. It will be over soon.”

“Yes, Father.”

Roberto stood blankly in an empty space and looked at his father.

It’s been a long time since we’ve been together like this.

I would have been very nervous at other times, but today I was a little calm because my father was doing other things. It didn’t make me feel comfortable though.

After moving the pen for a while, the father raised his head.

The back stretched out on its own. The body is tense. As I was swallowing my saliva, my father woke up.

“Sit over there.”

“…”

As my father recommended, I headed to the table on one side.

Father sat down first and looked up at him.

Above his shaggy beard, his father’s eyes stare at him.

My hands were slightly sweaty.

“You have something to say?”

“Yes, Father.”

Roberto sat across from me and gently put strength on his hand. I couldn’t bear to see my father’s face, so I lowered my head slightly.

Roberto forced his parched throat to speak.

“… I… I think the crown prince’s heavy duty is too heavy for me…”

“…”

I don’t know what face my father is making. My heart tightened with fear.

“…Father, I want you to abolish me. Please, allow me to step down from the imperial family.”

“Are you thinking of stepping down from the imperial family and becoming a servant?”

“…if you forgive me, I’d like to do that.”

“…”

He didn’t just want to step down from being the crown prince and become an ordinary prince. That way, there was a possibility of controversy again when someone else stood as crown prince.

If that’s the case, then you’d be no longer a member of the royal family.

It is okay to inherit a discontinued family, whether it is a duke or a count, or it is possible to enter another family in the form of adoption. If that wasn’t the case, it didn’t matter if he became a commoner.

Roberto simply wanted to completely distance himself from the throne. I know the end, but I don’t want to wait to die quietly.

My father must have known his heart through these few words of conversation.

A heavy silence fell in the office.

“…”

I was afraid of my father who didn’t say anything.

Wasn’t this what you wanted Is the father’s wish for his complete death? Was living itself a hindrance? Perhaps, by saying such a thing, he had touched his father’s wrath.

Thought after thought leads to biting the tail.

It was only when I despaired that I should have stayed still that my father opened his mouth.

“Mother, does the empress know what you are thinking?”

“···no. Mother is still there.”

“Yes, don’t say anything to the empress.”

“yes.”

“…”

From nob le mt l dot com

Did his father fully accept his words? Can I live the rest of my life in peace now?

I don’t even know if I should wait like this or if I should get up and leave now.

While I was at a loss, my father suddenly spoke up.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this story.”

“···yes?”

He raised his head involuntarily.

“Roberto, you seem to be hearing rumors, but it’s still too early to conclude. A child is born out of nowhere even after not coming for a few years.”

“…”

I stared blankly at my father, and he leaned back in his chair, looking a little tired.

“I fully understand what you mean. Don’t be in a hurry, let’s wait and see.”

“…”

“It’s not something you decide on your own. There would be the will of the empress, and there would also be the situation of the crown princess. There are many things you have to follow by moving your body, so don’t be impatient.”

“···All right.”

It seems possessed by a ghost. I thought it would be abolished right away, or at least I thought that there would be a mention of the aborted prince by telling my father these words…

My father gave permission to leave after saying a few words that the area around Kania has been noisy lately, that it was not serious, so I had to keep an eye on it.

He got up quietly and took a few steps when his father called him.

Turning around, his father looked at him quietly and said,

“Roberto, don’t change your mind.”

“…”

Oh, I see.

Roberto realized with that one word.

What he thought was not wrong. The father intends to someday set up another child as his successor.

But now is just not the time.

Roberto lowered his head slightly.

“I know, father.”

My throat is a bit clogged. I was about to turn my head because I was about to burst into tears, but my father spoke again.

“You may not think so, Roberto, but I love you as a son. You are my first born child. It’s something very special. I still remember the day you were born.”

He is a father when he is affectionate.

Roberto lowered his head and spoke softly.

“···thank you.”

I turned around and walked, but I couldn’t see my feet because of the tears.

The door opened and the attendant saw him.

Roberto turned his head away and walked down the hallway.

An attendant quietly follows.

‘father.’

He said such sweet words, and if he got in the way, his father would slit his throat without hesitation.

My father was such a person.

‘I will never be like my father.’

It’s not just a matter of possessing magic power.

The successor your father wants is probably someone who looks exactly like you.

Roberto himself is a figure he will never have.

A child who will one day succeed his father…

Suddenly, he remembered the face of the golden child who was attacking his slave without hesitation.

* * *

After the prince had left, Chief Chamberlain Reynolds opened the door attached to the back of the office and went inside.

The space behind the door attached to the office is the resting room for the emperor. There was a bed, a comfortable sofa, and a small bathroom, so I used it when I was tired from work.

The emperor was already back at his desk in the office.

“The Crown Prince has thought well.”

The Emperor’s face slightly frowned at Reynold’s words.

“I wasn’t such a foolish kid from the start. But your temper is too weak.”

“…”

“It would have been nice if the personality was a bit stronger.”

“That would have made things a little more difficult.”

“well.”

“Are you heartbroken?”

Reynolds asked, and the emperor put down his pen and crossed his arms over his thick stomach.

“I don’t know.”

“…”

“It hurts my heart a little to think that I will step down from the position of crown prince and end up in a lonely situation. But on the other hand, if you think about it, that child can live like that. Nothing could be better than not having to kill it with my own hands.”

Reynolds knows it could end up as a mere emperor’s wish.

The prince had a weak personality, so he couldn’t show his strength to his father or the empress. Depending on the empress’ actions, she could be dragged along even if she hadn’t intended it.

And the emperor knows that fact better than anyone.

That’s why I think it would be nice if my personality was a bit stronger.

Who would like to throw away their children?

Sometimes Reynolds felt so sorry for this fat power man. A person in power who cannot hide even a single piece of personal affection with his own hands, can that really be called power?

The emperor shook his head lightly to drive out any thoughts and raised his head.

＜ The child who lives in his father’s heart ＞ End