Chapter After Story 8

Proofreader: somnium

The guards first lined up on the wall of the mansion and controlled the road. About half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the mansion.

Marcus was still wandering around in the garden, looking at the carriage and smiling softly.

As soon as the servant opened the door, Cedric snatched Leticia, who was about to jump off. Leticia wiggled her feet as she floated in the air.

“How can you go down from this height alone?”

“I will get off!”

Leticia struggled with her limbs. Cedric lifted Leticia and got off the carriage.

As soon as she put her feet on the floor, Leticia jumped out like a ball. Behind him, Artizea took Cedric’s hand who lowered her.

“She runs all day. Lord Cedric did that when you were young too, didn’t you?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Ansgar said you have the same taste.”

“I don’t look for fruit like Leticia.”

Cedric answered and added,

“Maybe.”

Although there were occasional memories when he was four or five years old, he couldn’t recall them in detail.

“I would have been more gentle than Ticia.”

“That’s also ‘maybe’, right?”

Cedric laughed.

Artizea wasn’t serious about it either. At that age, Cedric would not have run as wild as Leticia.

Because young children know their situation better than adults think.

So did Leticia. She recognized who loved her very well.

“Marc!”

Leticia spread her arms as she ran. Marcus held the child up and cried ‘Oh gosh’.

“Our baby.”

“Marcus, don’t overdo it.”

“She still deserves a hug.”

Marcus replied with a smile. And he bowed his head to Cedric a beat late.

“Welcome, Your Majesty. We have prepared a light snack for you before dinner.”

“Thank you.”

Cedric answered, and joined his arms with Artizea and followed Marcus into the Rosan mansion.

It was shortly after the Coronation that Marcus returned to the Rosan mansion.

After Artizea heard the story of when the Crown Prince’s Palace was attacked, she summoned Marcus. Leticia was guarded by the Empress Dowager, and Marcus was keeping a low profile.

The atmosphere was not very good. But it was safe, so it could be said that it was a relief. However, there was no change in the fact that Marcus was suspicious of Evron.

Except for Artizea’s ladies-in-waiting, most of the nanny maids around Leticia were from Evron. Even though he said it was a relief, the gritty air flowed helplessly.

[“I know you really did it for Leticia. As her mother and as Marquis Rosan, I am truly grateful for your loyalty.”]

Artizea said in a calm voice.

[“But in the end, the fact remains that you disobeyed His Majesty’s orders and deliberately ruined a pre-planned operation.”]

[“Yes…… . I know that what I did was no different than breaking the friendship between Evron and Rosan.”]

Artizea thought it was just lucky.

If there were any more troops that stormed the Imperial Palace, if Natalia didn’t help, if Leticia continued to cry, if Mielle collapsed, or any one of those things, Leticia would have been taken away.

Then, they could have gotten into a worse situation. Per the original plan, she would be left in the hands of the knights.

Cedric said it was all right because nothing happened. In a way, even luck could qualify a monarch.

However, from Artizea’s point of view, she could not move on without taking any action.

She couldn’t hold Mielle and Natalia accountable, so only Marcus was left.

Marcus said with tears in his eyes.

[“Since the baby is safe, that is enough. Please punish me.”]

[“I have no intention of doing that. Disobeying His Majesty’s orders is as good as being pardoned by His Majesty’s refusal to punish you. If I punish you here again, you will end up being wary of Evron.”]

Leticia also had a different position from Cedric. She was neither Evron’s daughter nor Rosan’s daughter, but a princess of the Krates Empire.

The loyalty of Grand Duchy Evron was not unknown. It will be an important political asset for Leticia in the future.

But it was difficult for Grand Duchy Evron to come to regard Leticia as theirs. In that case, the master and servant will be reversed.

Artizea decided to get out of politics, but it was also about raising a baby. It was impossible to separate Cedric from Evron, so she had to do it herself.

[“I won’t punish you, but you should step down from your position as a nanny. In the future, if you continue to be in charge of parenting, Evron will criticize Leticia for being overly inclined to Rosan.”]

[“Yes…… .”]

At this point, Artizea was somewhat narrowing the new nanny’s selection.

Now, it was not to risk being a daughter of Evron’s nanny, but to be the princess’s nanny. So she would be able to pick a more neutral one.

Marcus had a sad face, but he accepted it. That was a punishment for him.

Artizea said without moving an expression on her face.

[“That doesn’t mean you should take your hand off completely.”]

[“Yes?”]

[“Leticia has too few relatives. There are many vassals in Evron, and the estate itself remains……, because there is nothing in the maternal house.”]

There was no story to tell about her roots, let alone a loving relative. It was something that had to be prevented from entering the ears of the child.

[“When little Leticia becomes an adult, Marquis Rosan will be the first title she will have. Until then, I hope you will be Leticia’s guardian, managing all of Marquisate Rosan.”

[“To be the Miss’ guardian, what do you mean? The Master is here, how can I…….”]

[“Go back to Rosan mansion. It’s good for Leticia for you to be at her maternal house.”]

Artizea said so.

He had few good memories of the Rosan mansion. So she hoped that Marcus would spend the rest of his life there, redecorate the mansion as he remembered it, and tell the baby the old tales beautifully.

So Marcus returned to the Rosan mansion. Marcus was probably the only one who could say ‘return’ there.

And he betrayed Artizea’s expectations in a good way. He remembered the appearance of the old Rosan mansion, but he was not obsessed with it.

The splendor of Rosan mansion was not only because Miraila reigned as the queen in this house. The original Marquis Rosan were also wealthy, and loved luxury.

Marcus was accustomed to revealing wealth, but not showing off to the vulgarity of it.

However, instead of returning the mansion to its former glory, he decorated it all for the children.

All corners of the furniture were grinded into round ones, and expensive furniture that should never be damaged were brought into the warehouse.

A separate handrail is installed on the stairway that is low enough for a child to hold on to. A new soft carpet was laid on the floor so that everyone would not be injured if they fell.

All sharp decorations were removed, and the vases were replaced with carved wood. Crystal balls were attached to the windows so that the light scattered throughout the house like a rainbow.

In the banquet hall, they could ride a wheeled horse or play with a toy sword. He also made a small and pretty house like a fairy house.

To please the children.

Marcus thought that if Leticia grew up a bit and made her friends, she would come to the mansion to hang out with them. He wished the house was worth it.

The dignity of a mansion of a great noble was lost. But it was better than a house that was glamorous and noble, but without a master.

And since Leticia liked it, Artizea naturally came to visit it often. The atmosphere in the mansion has changed, and he no longer has to think about it.

Marcus was satisfied. In fact, given that he was at the normal age to retire, he was rewarded rather than punished.

“Marc, doggy. Doggy!”

“I thought you would want to see it, so I kept it in the main building.”

Marcus said kindly. And holding Leticia in his arms, he headed towards the hall.

Cedric and Artizea followed.

A soft fence on the side of the sunny terrace was laid. There were puppies, one month old, lying around.

The gardener sitting in front of the fence jumped up and groveled.

“Greetings the sun of the Empire, the, then….”

“At ease.”

Cedric waved his hand.

Leticia struggled with her body. Marcus said,

“You must not touch it. They are still babies, so they might get sick.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t even bother the mother. You must not grab her by the tail or pluck her fur.”

“Yes!”

Marcus put Leticia down only after receiving her promise. Leticia often ran up to the fence in sprints.

Leticia jumped over the fence to the familiar mother. It licked Leticia’s cheek.

The gardener said, as if foreseeing Cedric’s concern,

“Leah is a very gentle one. She will never hurt the princess.”

“Then, it’s fine. Rather, I am concerned that Ticia will bully the puppies.”

“Dad Dad. Look at it. Red.”

Leticia grabbed Cedric’s hand and pulled him with her two small hands.

“The one with the red ribbon?”

“Yes, red. Red is pretty. Pretty.”

They all looked alike because they were born in the same litter, but to Leticia, this was not the case.

Cedric nodded his head.

“Yes, red is pretty.”

“Red is pretty. Prettiest.”

“The last time I came, she said that the puppy was pretty. I told her not to take it.”

“Mooomm.”

“It’s still a baby? You mustn’t take it away from its mother.”

Leticia’s mouth protruded out five feet. Cedric saw it and laughed.

“Did you ask Leah?”

“To Leah?”

“Leah is Red’s mother. You should ask Leah as well.”

Leticia’s expression has become the most serious face in the world. Then, she grabbed Leah that was sniffling on Cedric’s leg.

“Leah, can we live with Red?”

Leah licked Leticia’s face from the front and pushed her away. Instead, Marcus answered with a smile.

“It will take three more months for it to get away from its mother and go to another house.”

“Three months?”

“It means you have to sleep ninety more nights.”

Leticia started to cry as she counted the numbers with her fingers. It was an incredible time for Leticia, who she still can’t count to ten.

“Huuuwaannngg, no, I want Red to grow up! Uwaanng!”

Leticia began to weep. Artizea was embarrassed, she didn’t mean for her to cry.