The moment she saw his face, Elishaâs heart plummeted.
âChristian, why is he hereâŚ?â
Elishaâs bewildered eyes went from Christian to Leon, who was sitting in front of him. He was looking down at the child in front of him coldly, wiping off the soil that Leon had left on him after their collision. But luckily, he didnât seem to recognize the child.
âNo, thatâs a relief.â
How dull of a man you must be to not recognize your own son even when he is right in front of you? However, Christian, ââwho didnât know the truth, looked at Elisha and Leon alternately and raised his lips slightly. Then, he contorted his face into a smirk and poured abusive language on Leon.
âHey, kid, if you bumped into someone, you should apologize. Doesnât the temple teach you things like that?â
âI, Iâm sowwyâŚâ
âWhat with the white clothes anyway? Do you know how expensive these clothes are? A garment worth hundreds of times the price of your life.â
Scared by Christianâs fierce momentum, Leon just trembled and couldnât answer anything. Christian, as if annoyed by such a scared appearance, kicked Leonâs small foot. It wasnât a strong blow, but it was enough to frighten the child. Leon trembled and pulled away his feet.
âThis is why things like this shouldnât go around without parents. They donât have home education. Home education.â
ââŚâ
âHow can they make such a donation to raise these stupid things and use them to do any actual workâŚ? tch.â
Christianâs gaze was fixed on Elisha, who was approaching him. Those words were not actually for Leon, but to her, an orphan. Furthermore, it was slander directed at Richard, an illegitimate child. Elisha blocked the distance between Leon and Christian and stood facing him. Looking at him with cold eyes and a smile in her mouth, she said,
âIt is still too much to say to a child, Your Highness.â
At Elisaâs appearance, Christian snorted.
âWell, look who it is? Arenât you the Duchess Rubellin, who has a lot of compassion for these beggars and makes donations?â
At his words, Elisha understood why he was there. When Rubellin publicly started donating to the temple a while ago, the Imperial Family, who paid attention to their outside appearance, decided to donate to celebrate the founding of the Empire. Christian probably went to the temple to promote his external image. Of course, this annoying schedule went against Christianâs will.
He looked down at Elishaâs stomach and groaned as if he suddenly remembered it.
âAh, right. Those kinds of harsh words are bad for pregnancy. I forgot, Iâm sorry, Duchess.â
He didnât look sorry at all.
âThen why donât you move away, Duchess? I must scold this child who dared to dirty the crown princeâs clothes with soil and damaged my image.â
âIâm going to apologize for this.â
Elisha, who was thinking of a way to solve this situation, bowed her head. It wasnât something to bow for, but it was Leonâs fault anyway, and above all, she knew that the more Christian talked, there would be more hurtful words that would be poured out on Leon. It was a solution that she came up with considering the situation. She wanted this conversation to end with Leon not being too hurt as the top priority.
âPlease forgive this child with a generous heart, and leave the childâs discipline to me. I will take responsibility and Your Highnessâ clothes will be compensated for by house Rubellin.â
Even though Christian treats men very harshly, whenever a woman bends over first in apology, he would be surprisingly satisfied with it and tend to back away. He seemed to be immersed in his own delusional image of a âgentlemanâ. As Elisha bowed first, Christianâs momentum eased as she expected. He said with a cough.
âEhem, these lowly things are a problem anyway. Since a foolish father and an idiotic mother met, such lowly-minded children are constantly being born and cluttering up the Empire. Tsk.â
He would have never even dreamed that the âfoolish fatherâ he spoke of was himself. At Christianâs words, Elisha laughed. At that moment, Leon suddenly came to mind.
âBut it must be sad for Leon, who has memories with his mother.â
Elisha looked at the complexion of Leon who was hiding behind her. Contrary to her expectation that he might cry, Leon seemed fine. However, now he was staring at Christian. Both of his eyes gleamed too vividly. At the same time, a spark ignited from the little hand of the child. Elishaâs eyes, looking at the flame, widened out of fear. Even if Christian didnât recognize his son, he would definitely know what the flame meant.
âNo, Leon!â
Elisha hurriedly grabbed Leonâs hand. Even before calculating that she would get hurt by the fire, her body moved instinctively. Without even having any time to check her hand, she looked back at Christian. Fortunately, he was looking at them with dull and bored eyes, as if he had not noticed anything. She felt relieved only after seeing that. At that moment, Leonâs crying voice came out.
âIâm sowwy, Noona⌠because of LeonâŚâ
âNo, itâs okay, it doesnât hurââ
Elisha, who inadvertently said so, felt something strange. She should have felt something since she put her hand on the magical fire, but surprisingly, she didnât feel any pain at all.
âOh?â
There were no traces of burn on her hand contrary to what she had expected. There was just a little bit of water left. Elisha tilted her head.
âWhat is thisâŚ?â
The moment she wondered about it, she heard a familiar voice.
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âYou were here, Your Highness the Crown Prince.â
As she raised her head, she saw Aiden approaching this way. Aiden, who came close, quickly grasped the situation by reading the atmosphere between Elisa, Leon, and Christian. He spoke in a calm voice as always.
âI heard that you were looking for me. Iâm sorry I couldnât meet you earlier. If you had notified me in advance, I would have waited for you.â
âWell, thanks to you, I was able to see what the temple is like. However, the children in the temple must be disciplined more strictly.â
âFirst, letâs head inside.â
Aiden naturally glossed over Christianâs words that were pointing out Leonâs behavior and took him away. Elisha looked at Christianâs figure that was moving away for a while and turned to Leon. Only then did the child burst into tears. Although his first reaction at Christianâs words that were cursing at his mother was anger, it was obvious that he was still hurt. Elisha gently embraced Leon.
âLeon, forget everything that person said earlier. Heâs such an idiot for saying that.â
âUuuhhhâŚâ
âBut still, you canât use fire on other people. Okay?â
âSowwy⌠Leon made a mistakeâŚâ
Leon meekly admitted his mistake. Then he embraced Elisha and she gently stroked his head.
âYeah. You donât have to do that next time.â
Leon nodded quietly while still hugging her. Soon after, pointing with his small fern-like hand behind Elisha he shouted.
âOh, mistoh!â
[tl/n: Leon doesnât pronounce correctly the word âmisterâ since heâs a four-year-old child]
Looking back, she saw a familiar figure approaching. A tall man with an appearance that shone brilliantly under the sunlight. It was Richard. A smile spread across Elishaâs face when she saw him.
âDid the meeting end early today?â
âYeah, now the preparations are almost done.â
Richard looked at Leon, who was looking up at him with pleased eyes and stroked his tiny head.
âWhen I came in, I saw that Christian was here.â
âOh, yeah. We just ran into him. Fortunately, he didnât notice anything.â
âMistoh!â
Leon circled around as if he wanted to cling to Richardâs leg, but he could not readily cling to him. It was because of the mud on his hands.
Noticing that Leon was hesitating because of the memory of dirtying Christianâs clothes a while ago, Elisha took Leon to the well.
âWash your hands, Leon.â
âIâll do it.â
Richard approached and took the bucket from Elisha, who was about to scoop water from the well. Then he scooped water and started washing Leonâs hands.
âWash up thoroughly, kid.â
âNngh! Like this?â
Elisha stared blankly at Richard washing Leonâs hands and face.
âYou look like a dad doing that.â
Although the way he touched the child was clumsy yet cautious, he had his own way of showing his affection. Her heart was pounding at his kindness. At that moment, Richard, who had pulled up more fresh water, approached Elisha and took her hand. She, who had been staring blankly at him while lost in her thoughts, looked back at him, startled by the sudden contact.
âYou have dirt on your hands, too. Iâll wash yours.â
âAh⌠thanks.â
Richard held the bucket with one hand so that Elisha, who was pregnant, did not have to bend over uncomfortably, and he washed Elishaâs hands with the other. The warmth of a large hand stroking hers in the cold water was somewhat embarrassing. With her head slightly bowed, Elisha glanced up at Richard, who was busy washing her hands. At that moment, their eyes met.
âAh.â
Red eyes gleamed brightly in the sunlight. His gaze made her heart pound wildly again.