I Picked Up The Evil Duke’s Child - Chapter 1

“Lord Alfrez, the prince will return in a short while.”

I was processing some papers in my office when I heard that.

I lifted my head at the sound of someone calling me.

In front of me, my subordinate ‘Shun’, who had just come into the room, was looking down at me sitting with a slightly troubled face.

I answered with a sigh,

“I’m glad to hear that. Please catch him and bring him back before he goes down another path.”

Although he was my subordinate, I used respectful words to Shun to keep my image as ‘a well-educated Knight Commander who treats his subordinates with respect.’

“All right.”

Shun greeted me lightly and left.

Ered, the prince of this country, was an asshole. Who, from time to time, disappears just to go out and play around.

And I, who was just on my way back from negotiating with foreign countries, am just doing my job.

But I have to bring him back before he runs off again.

It was cumbersome to catch him, but it couldn’t be helped.

I am known as ‘Lithia Alfrez’, the Commander of the knights directly under the Imperial Family.

As a person responsible for the safety of the Imperial Family, it was only natural that I take care of that wretched rascal, Ered.

Quite a while has passed since I possessed this novel.

My name used to be ‘Seo Yena’. I was just an ordinary college student in Korea until I lost my life in an accident.

And I possessed a romance-fantasy novel I had been reading not too long ago.

It was a novel that I enjoyed reading, but the person I possessed was one of the extras that were not even mentioned properly in the novel.

But that doesn’t mean I was unhappy with my current situation.

It was a life I had lost once in the first place, and the character I possessed, even if it was an extra, was the youngest daughter of the duke and had a tremendous position and honor as the Commander of the Imperial Knights directly under the command of the Emperor.

She was not mentioned properly in the novel, but she was a great character.

Besides, I was able to possess excellent looks while possessing this body.

Lithia had a beautiful appearance that earned her fame in the Empire.

With all this appearance, status, honor, wealth… everything, why would I hate it?

Rather, I was living day by day thankful for possessing this extra.

I had a lot of work to do as the Knights’ Commander, but that’s about it.

After Shun had left the room, I turned my eyes to the desk to concentrate on my work again.

However, Shun, who had left the room with a calm expression until just a moment ago, returned to the room again with an urgent face.

“What’s wrong?”

“It was clear that we were doing well until just a moment ago…!”

“Calm down and say it properly.”

“He’s gone! His Highness, the Prince..!”

I’m working hard as usual.

I rested my head on one hand in pain.

For some reason, I thought Ered would come back calmly.

Will you get sick if you don’t go playing around for even a day?

I put on the coat hanging from the chair, intending to look for Ered immediately.

Shun asked me in confusion.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll go after him. If I ask the knights to come with me again, they’ll be late like last time, they’ve been searching for His Highness all week. We can’t waste manpower on this. I’ll find His Highness as soon as I can, so please keep the account.”

“Understood, Commander.”

I walked out of the office at a quick pace, checking Shun, who bowed his head at me, meaning he only knew about the report.

According to what was reported, the place where Ered disappeared was in Reed, the largest port city.

It seems that he disappeared while entering the Empire by boat.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t take long to reach Reed.”

I told the knight below me to prepare the carriage ahead of time, I was planning to leave the Imperial Palace using the carriage.

“Lord Alfrez? Where are you going in such a hurry?”

As I was running quickly, I stopped at the familiar voice and turned to the side where the voice was heard.

“Your Majesty…”

It was the emperor of this country, Friedrich Ritzelan. He was also the male lead of the novel.

Friedrich’s face, which was looking at me with worried eyes as I showed respect, was truly ‘ecstatic’ itself.

Friedrich, who has a very beautiful appearance to match the title of the novel’s ‘Male Lead’, was a handsome man with platinum blonde hair and deep gold eyes.

Friedrich, who can be said to be the epitome of a handsome man, smiled at me and said.

“It seems that something urgent has happened again. It’s good to work hard, but let’s not forget to give ourselves rest.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty… but I couldn’t help it because His Highness, the Prince has disappeared again.”

I responded with an awkward smile.

The male lead, Friedrich, cared for me dearly.

He would tell me not to work too hard whenever he had a chance, but… it wasn’t possible

At my words, Friedrich sighed deeply and replied with almost the same expression as I had just been told by Shun.

“Again…? My older brother keeps causing trouble for people. I don’t care if he disappears alone, but I can’t believe he’s making you suffer like this. Also, don’t you have a lot of work to do? Once you return to the Imperial Palace, I will tell you firmly.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head and hurried again to head to the carriage, but I stopped and asked.

“By the way, what’s going on today?”

It was because I wondered why Friedrich’s clothes were unusual as it’s only worn at events.

“Oh, come to think of it, didn’t I tell you? The Grand Duke of Priscilla, who was in the northern provinces, is returning today… “

Priscilla… I stopped at the familiar name.

“If it’s the Grand Duke… you mean the one who said he had to leave the Imperial Palace because he had something to do with his family?” 

“Yeah, come to think of it, I don’t think you’ve ever met the Grand Duke. It’s only been a year since you officially became a Knight Commander. The Grand Duke is also someone I cherish, so I hope you get along well. I’ll introduce you properly when you get back from work.”

“Alright, thank you”

Without saying anything else, I had no choice but to leave the place.

It was because I knew very well what the Grand Duke of Priscilla was like and what he was going to do in the future.

Knowing what was going to happen in the future, I felt compelled for no reason.

“I decided not to get involved in the development of the novel…”

As I was walking with that thought in mind, I suddenly felt something light hit my leg.

“Oogh.”

“What…?”

It felt like someone was hitting my leg, to be exact.

At the same time, I heard a child’s voice, my eyes widened, and looked down.

A small child, who looked like a doll, was rubbing his forehead with his hand, grimacing as to whether the place he bumped into was painful.

It was a child with straight, black hair.

‘What a pretty child…’

I looked at him, my smile filled with admiration for his outstanding appearance, though he was still young.

“He… hello?”

But why is there such a child in the Imperial Palace?

The child who rubbed his forehead a few times with his small hand opened his eyes.

There was no reason for such a child to roam in the palace because none in the Imperial Family was this young.

I was looking into the round blue eyes of the child who looked pretty and somehow familiar. I was in awe, thinking about the situation right now.

There was silence between me and the child for a while.

It was the child who broke the silence first.

“Mom!”

I blinked my bright eyes and looked back at the child who shouted with great excitement.

Is your mother here?

However, when I looked behind me, there was no one.

“Mom! Why are you pretending not to know me!”

Did you just say that to me?

I frowned in embarrassment and pursed my lips.

Meanwhile, the child suddenly jumped into me with a hug.

“Mom! I missed you! Why did you only come here now?”

I’m sorry but I’m not your mother…?

I couldn’t beat the child, so I just accepted it as it was, but I felt strange gazes around me.

[Beat, as in, she couldn’t beat the child because he won?? OR SMTH LIKE THAT I HOPE U GUYS GET ME.. it’s not beat, as in, beat you up!!!]

The Commander of the Imperial Knights, Lithia Alfrez, has a hidden child, it was obvious that they were having strange thoughts.

“I… I… Wait a minute! Sh-shall we go somewhere else?”

I didn’t want the child to stick to me and fall off, and I couldn’t just leave the child here, so I headed to a less-frequented place with the child in my arms.

Arriving in a corner of the corner where there was no one around, I put the child down and asked.

“Uhm… who are you? What about your mom and dad?”

“You’re my mom!”

I asked if someone who works here might have brought this child, but it was useless.

The clothes he wore were expensive too… I thought he might be the child of a high-ranking official, so I was trying to remember a face that resembled the child somehow, but suddenly the child started crying.

“Mom… do you not like Dad and Seri anymore? Is that why you’re pretending not to know us?”

“Huh…? It’s not that… I’ll go find your mom…”

“You’re my mom!”

Eventually, the child burst into tears.

What should I do at times like these?

Embarrassed, I lifted the child and started patting him on the back.

“You’re a good boy, aren’t you…? Please stop crying!”

Fortunately, the child stopped crying.

oh my god i’m sorry abt the the spaces,, i’ll fix this once ik how everything works ueueue