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Erzen’s clothes on his body have become incomparably more luxurious than they were a few months ago. With a shirt embroidered with silver thread, a wide folded velvet coat, and a pair of soft leather shoes. Erzen today had the appearance of a complete aristocratic child.
However, the child’s eyes were red and swollen again today. Miguel, sitting right next to him, looked into Erzen’s eyes and took out a neatly folded paper bag from his pocket.
“Don’t cry and try this. I secretly brought it for you, Erzen.”
Cookies with red berries came out with a rustling sound. Erzen rubbed his stinging eyes with the back of his hand and took the cookies Miguel brought to his mouth. Perhaps because the skillful chef put a lot of good ingredients, the sweet thing made him feel a little better.
“Is it good?”
Erzen nodded to the soft questioning voice. In this place filled with scary adults, children of the same age were one of the things that made him relaxed.
“That’s a relief. I’ll bring it to you next time.”
Miguel’s well-groomed face gave Erzen a sense of security. Erzen pondered for a moment and called Miguel.
“……Brother.”
Miguel’s face was filled with a deeper smile at the short name. Miguel stroked Erzen’s head as if praising a good child.
“Now you call me that.”
“Uhhhh…”
He’s so kind because he’s his brother. Marcel said that too. Erzen nodded in memory of his neighboring brothers who had lived in a mountain village a few times and put the remaining cookies in his mouth. The sweeter taste than before made him smile.
“You have to eat it clean.”
Miguel wiped the cookie crumbs from Erzen’s mouth with a handkerchief. The last doubt in his eyes disappeared with his brother’s kind movements. The child began to whine to the person he thought was harmless to him.
“Brother Miguel, can’t you stay with me forever? I like Brother Miguel.”
The night he didn’t see his mother could no longer be counted with his ten fingers. The child, tired of loneliness and fear, was afraid of all the adults surrounding him. They woke Erzen up with a stiff face every time, forced him to sit at the table in the name of courtesy, and taught him something forcefully. Those who were labeled nannies were kind, but for Erzen, who remembers his mother’s warm arms, the contrived arms of strange women could not be a safe heaven.
“Sorry, Erzen. That sounds tough. My Father wouldn’t allow me to meet you. It’s actually a secret…… I came here secretly, too.”
Miguel looked embarrassed at Erzen’s question, but it was nothing more than a superficial expression. Miguel smiled inwardly as he remembered being kicked out by Ezekiel while coming to see Erzen the other day. He doesn’t even think of Erzen as his child, but he is trying to protect him. It was funny.
‘No mother, no Anna, no Brother is with me. There’s no one next to Erzen.….’
At Miguel’s answer, tears formed again in Erzen’s blue eyes. Miguel stroked Erzen’s head in tears and gently pulled out the child’s sadness.
“Does Erzen miss his Mom?”
“Yes, I miss Mom.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s my Mom. I like my Mom the most. She’s nice, pretty, and…….”
The child, who was still lacking in words, could not fully express his feelings or mind. Frustrated, Erzen used his arms to make a big circle and said to Miguel again.
“Anyway, I love my Mom this much! No, much more than this! What about you? Do you like your Mom?”
At Erzen’s question, the amber eyes were bent thin. What should I answer? By mom, Erzen must be referring to Charlotte, but Miguel wanted to answer about Erzen’s mother, Herace.
“I……”
“Miguel! Miguel! Where are you! Miguel!”
When Miguel was pondering the answer, a sharp woman’s voice rang outside. Miguel, who understood that the high scream belonged to Charlotte, sighed and got out of bed.
“Oh, Erzen, I’ve gotta go. My mother must be looking for me.”
“Huh? Brother, don’t go…….”
“I’ll be back next time, Erzen.”
The window next to the bed opened with a rattling sound, and Miguel jumped out of the window frame with a sharp gesture, unlike a child. It happened without Erzen having time to say more.
“I, too, want to see my mother…….”
Erzen whined to climb up the window frame like Miguel. However, Erzen could not climb on the window frame that was taller than him and above his head. So, the child burst into tears.
“Mom.”
“Oh, my. When did I fall asleep? It’s strange.”
The nanny, who fell asleep sitting on a couch in the room, suddenly woke up to the child’s crying and hugged Erzen. In the arms of a generous woman, Ergen looked out the window and continued to call Herace.
“Mom……sniff.”
***
Charlotte walked around the room chewing her nails. The situation has been very unsettling recently. She’s come back, and her child…….
“That can’t be true. Miguel doesn’t even have one. But why did he suddenly recruit a teacher for the kid like that? It’s Miguel who should have the best teachers.”
“…….”
“It’s okay. It’s just a teacher. It’s very normal. That’s right! He doesn’t even want to see his face properly. He is not interested in the child. That child is just recognised as the child of Serpence.….”
Miguel didn’t hide his boredom when he saw his mother pacing around the room, muttering who knows what. How can she always react like that? The child replied sourly to his mother’s self-talk with a bored expression.
“I don’t know. Isn’t that natural?”
Charlotte ran in front of her son. She grabbed the small child and shook Miguel’s shoulders with bloodshot eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“Mother, have you seen my little brother’s face? He looks just like the Duchess. The eyes, the hair color, and even the face.”
Miguel stood well balanced despite his mother’s harsh behavior. Rather, it was Charlotte who stumbled with excitement.
“What Duchess! She’s just a mistress! That’s what Ezekiel said!”
Duchess. When he referred to her like that, a fire rose inside Charlotte. The anger boiled and blood all over her body soared to the top of her head.
Charlotte’s face turned into a terrible evil spirit. Miguel, who saw his mother’s face, spoke more slowly rather than scared.
“Are you pretending not to know when you know it? Even if you get so angry, you can’t be the Duchess. Father said it clearly. The Duchess is still the Duchess.”
“Argh! No! No! I’m the only woman for Ezekiel and the one who will succeed Serpence is you. So the Duchess is me. It’s me!”
“To my Father, the Duchess is the only woman for him. My mother… yes. He just brought you because he thought it was the right thing to do. He brought you here at the promise of gold. So just accept what he gives you and get rid of your greed. The Duchess is still the only one in my Father’s heart, so how can he not give his son some luxury? No matter how much I look like my Father, he will eventually turn to my brother. Because he looks like the woman he loves.”
“No! It’s just for a moment. That feeling won’t last long. Because your face is completely like him. So, if she’s gone….!”
“You could be Duchess?”
Miguel looked straight at Charlotte and laughed. Then, Charlotte’s mind depicted what happened at that time. Miguel squinted his eyes as if he had guessed what was going on in his mother’s head.
“Mother, has there been any change in your position during the Duchess’ absence? Have you ever gotten any attention? For a long, long time, he didn’t give you the authority of Duchess, or even a small right.”
The job of being dragged out by lowly servants while trying to occupy the Duchess’ room. Charlotte clearly remembered the disgrace. No, that’s not the only thing that she remembered.
For Charlotte, every moment at Serpence Castle was a disgrace. The real Duchess is her, but no one has honored her as a Duchess. She’s always been a mistress that’s been pointed at. The laughter and murmur of the maids buzzed Charlotte’s ears.
“My mother wants me to be Father’s successor more than anyone else. What’s the reason? Because you care about me? No. It’s because you don’t have the confidence to be Duchess through Father, am I not right?”
The voice was soothingly calm, but the content was not. Every word Miguel uttered scratched Charlotte’s bottom. Nevertheless, Charlotte lost her reason and waved her hand to the child when the inferiority and anxiety that had been pressing down were stimulated.
“You!”
However, Miguel shook off his mother’s clutches and avoided her hand at once. Loosing her balance, Charlotte fell to the floor.
“Argh!”
“Mother, you have…….”
“Ugh……”
Miguel squatted in front of Charlotte, who was groaning on the floor. The child recited in a young voice.
“……You’ve already lost. No, you’ve been fighting a fight you can’t win in the first place. Stop it.”
“You…… I told you I could be Duchess. If you become the successor…….”
“I said ‘yes’ only when I became the successor. But I’m not interested in the successor position. Besides, I’m sure…….”
I told you what will happen to you if you’re alive until then.
Miguel reached out and put his hand on Charlotte’s forehead, who had fallen. Charlotte flinched and hardened her body when the cool fingers touched her forehead.
“Hey, you monster!”
The moment she completely forgot became clear. The fact that they didn’t even sleep together, but her stomach swelled at once, gave birth much later than an ordinary woman, and the child said ‘thank you’ to her as soon as he was born.
The child in front of her was not a person. Just a monster in a human mask.
“Oh, no! I don’t remember! Miguel, you’re the child I gave birth to from my stomach. Give me the Duchess’ seat…… My child who will give me everything! Yes, if you succeed, I’ll…….”
However, despite facing the truth, Charlotte shook her head and denied it. If Miguel isn’t her child, he can’t even give her the Duchess’ seat. Miguel was definitely her child. Serpence’s seed and a child born with her flesh and blood.
“As expected, you never disappoint me. It’s boring to see my mother like this, but on the other hand, you have been my meal for a long time. So are most humans. Even if I’m tired of it, I always have to eat something similar in my daily life.”
Miguel burst into laughter at his mother’s reaction. The child helped her get up, holding her mother’s hand tightly with his small hand.
“Let go of me!”
Charlotte ran to a fancy dressing table decorated with gold as she stood there with Miguel’s help. With trembling hands, she searched the dresser drawer and jewelry box. Jewellery of gold and all kinds popped out and rolled on the floor. One of them was the necklace that Herace gave Miguel as a gift for his 100th day.
Miguel picked up the necklace that fell at his feet, stuffed it into his pocket, and said to Charlotte.
“But I’ll give you a piece of advice because you’ve raised me so far. I hope you listen to it. It’s your last chance.”
“Where did it go? I put it…… I put it here…… Where is it!”
Charlotte was still overturning the dressing table as if she hadn’t heard Miguel.
After a long time she found a small wooden box deep in the bottom drawer of the dressing table. The box opened as if she was going to break it. A purple liquid inside a small bottle in Charlotte’s hand sparkled and revealed its existence. Miguel sighed over the liquid in the bottle and continued.
“Put it down and leave with the gold as the promise of that day. That’s the only way for Mother to be happy. I assure you.”