I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 140

CHAPTER 140

“Is something wrong with Leonard?” 

The Empress Consort’s voice turned sharp.

“Explain in detail.”

“Um, yes. Well, it’s…”

The maid trailed off and glanced in my direction. 

Understanding the meaning in her eyes, the Empress Consort spoke up.

“Princess Lottie is someone who will assist me. And above all…”

The Empress Consort turned her head slightly and looked at me, who stood two steps behind.

“I don’t think she’s likely to do anything harsh to the children.”

Exactly.

When I shrugged subtly to indicate my agreement, a smile appeared at the corner of the Empress Consort’s mouth.

“Then?”

The maid cleared her throat to avoid stumbling over her words.

“Malicious rumors are circulating about Prince Leonard, Your Majesty.”

“So, what rumors?”

“…There are rumors that Prince Leonard is not the Emperor’s child but rather the child of Lord Clian.”

Clian? When I glanced at the Empress Consort at the mention of the unfamiliar name, her face darkened.

There was no narrowing of the forehead or furrowing of the brows.

No expressions of anger like that.

But she was frighteningly angry.

“…Such rumors again are baseless.”

Her grip tightened on the beautiful dress she held. 

Her hand trembled slightly.

The Empress Consort turned her head for a moment, lips pursed.

“Princess.”

“You can go ahead first, Your Majesty. It seems urgent.”

As I nodded, the Empress Consort gestured apologetically with her eyes.

Well, she doesn’t have to apologize.

‘The end of the conversation seems near, so it’s alright for her to leave first.’

She follows etiquette to the end.

“Understood.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Empress Consort and the maid left the path first, and I was left alone.

‘Hmm.’

As I organized my thoughts, I walked slowly in the direction the Empress Consort had gone.

‘Did Leonard have some kind of problem too?’

Just as I was engulfed in suspicions about not being the Emperor’s child, did Leonard have similar issues?

‘Perhaps Clian is the deceased lover of the Empress Consort.’

Arkin and I inherited the blue hair, the color of the Emperor’s hair, while Stella inherited the golden hair, the color of the Empress Consort’s hair.

But Leonard was the only one with purple.

A color unseen in the royal family.

‘Well, it’s just hair color or eye color. Honestly, it’s a color that could come out if there was even one person in the upper ranks of the Floyd family.’

A child’s appearance doesn’t always resemble their parents.

They could resemble grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other relatives.

So, if there was even one person with purple hair in the royal family or the upper ranks of the Floyd family, there wouldn’t be a problem.

“….”

It feels uneasy, though.

‘Judging by the Empress Consort’s reaction, this seems to be an old story that was once talked about and ended.’

Didn’t she say ‘again’ earlier?

If so, someone must have forcibly brought up something that had already ended.

‘That person can only be one.’

Marquis Floyd.

I frowned. The old days were still vivid.

The time when I was falsely accused as the assassin of the former empress.

“So, I believe someone must try the tea.” 

The person who tried to feed me the potentially lethal tea.

And the most likely person to have put me in that situation.

“….”

I’ve been too lenient.

I should have cut it off right away, but I’ve been too lenient.

‘Let’s uproot it this time.’

Yes, let’s uproot it.

And after completely uprooting it, I should clean up thoroughly.

‘Bothersome.’

I quickened my pace. 

I planned to return to the palace and start designing a plan to completely bring down the Marquis.

“Hmm.”

However, my steps paused at the sound of crying from somewhere.

‘What’s that?’

I blinked.

This rose garden path was chosen by the empress consort as a place for discreet conversations.

So, the empress consort’s maids and servants would have already confirmed that no one was around.

But suddenly, crying? 

And a woman’s crying at that??

“Ah!”

As if to indicate that I didn’t mishear, an even louder cry followed.

It was a cry that unleashed the sorrow deeply buried, assuming no one would hear.

It seemed someone thought there was no one here and came this way.

“….”

I hesitated for a moment. Should I go help or just pass by?

‘Just pass by.’

Is it because I’m getting old? 

Whenever a child cries, I keep wanting to help, but I should mind my own business.

“Um.”

Let’s help!

After briefly pondering, I turned my feet toward the direction of the crying. 

What can I do? A child is crying.

“I don’t want to, I really don’t want to….”

As I followed the sobbing, it was audible not far away.

More precisely, it was under the bushes where one wouldn’t be seen even if they crouched down.

“I don’t want to go, I don’t want to.”

The closer I got to the bushes, the more an uneasy feeling crept over me.

Hmm, at first, I doubted if it was crying, but this seems like someone I know…

“….!”

“….!!”

Our eyes met. 

Why is there such an unmistakable unease?

As expected, it was someone I knew. 

And not in a good way.

“Lady M-Milia Floyd?”

As I called out her name, Milia’s face flushed instantly.

“….!!”

As if she thought she needed to cover her now messed-up face, she tore at her hair and used it to hide her face.

“Wh-What are you doing here? This place doesn’t have many people.”

The skin visible between the hair strands was all flushed red.

“That’s…”

“Just go! It seems like you were out for a walk. Isn’t it better to just leave?”

Before I could even finish my sentence, Milia sharply retorted.

For a moment, I thought of just leaving, but I sighed deeply and shook my head.

There weren’t many people who knew about her situation, and among them, there was no one else who could calm Lady Floyd down.

“….?”

As I sat down beside Milia, her eyes widened.

“Why are you sitting here?”

“I don’t have the hobby of leaving crying people alone.”

I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket and offered it. 

Milia’s eyes shot up at the gesture.

“I have my handkerchief as well. A lady of elegance and refinement should always carry a handkerchief…”

“Is it the thoroughly wet handkerchief?”

At the end of my gaze, there was already a handkerchief soaked with tears.

“….!!”

Milia swiftly hid the handkerchief as if she were throwing it away, but it was already too late.

“Use it. You don’t want to wander around the palace with a face soaked in tears, do you?”

At my words, Milia hesitated for a moment before accepting the handkerchief. 

But feeling unjust that she had willingly accepted my help, her voice rose slightly.

“I’m going to blow my nose with this. Will it be okay? Hmp! I’m going to blow it.”

“Go ahead.”

Blow it as much as you need to.

Seeing my lukewarm response, Milia pouted and began dabbing her tears away. 

Yet, the sound of sobbing continued faintly beside me.

“Thank you for your help.”

After some time had passed, and she had calmed down a bit, Milia spoke with a much softer voice.

“If I may make one request, please don’t tell anyone about my crying here.”

Milia continued, clutching the handkerchief tightly.

“As you know, even a grown lady crying in a place like this can lead to strange rumors. Don’t you think? So, I hope Her Highness will be wise…”

“Is it about the marriage?”

I looked at Milia.

“Is Marquis Floyd forcing an unwanted marriage?”

“…How did you…?”

I didn’t answer. I just shrugged.

But Milia’s face didn’t seem to care much about how I found out. 

It was a face that simply accepted and moved on as if understanding that it wasn’t very important.

Normally, she would have relentlessly pursued the cause to the end.

“It must be a relief.”

Tears welled up in Milia’s eyes again.

“It’s refreshing for me to leave and get away from constantly being criticized and blamed, isn’t it?”

Her voice sounded as if she wanted me to confirm it.

“But I’ll be back soon, you know? Father said so! He said if I listen well, he’ll make sure I can come back to the empire! So…”

“It’s distressing.”

I wiped away the tears trickling down Milia’s cheek.

“You don’t want to leave the familiar places.”

“….”

“I understand that feeling, Milia.”

Why were my words so touching to her? 

Milia’s lips trembled.

“Hmp.”

She burst into tears again, this time louder than before.

Shu appeared, spreading a thin curtain of water to muffle her cries so no one else could hear.

“I don’t want to go!”

Her voice filled with tears poured endlessly out of her mouth.

“I, I like it here. I don’t want to leave… I’m scared. Other places are scary. I don’t want to leave my father and friends.”

Her voice was repeatedly buried under sobs, then resurfaced. 

I simply continued to gently stroke Milia’s thin back without saying a word. 

The sound of sniffles kept flowing.

“Mother.”

After a while, a single word struggled to escape Milia’s lips.

“I, I miss Mother…”