Obviously, It’s My Child - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Translator: Effe

Editor: Yonnee

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If it were Claire, she would be able to do her job twenty times better than the average person.

Erich still couldn’t understand what she was angry about. Of course, things were out of order. No sane man would ever kiss an unmarried lady until he had proposed to her.

But didn’t Claire like it as well? Or did she just lose her mind last night because she was drunk?

Honestly, he already knew that Claire originally hated him. A large part of Erich didn’t understand what made her angry at him, as if a switch had gotten flipped.

She would get angry at the slightest provocation, and it was Claire’s bad habit to call him ‘Duke’ whenever she got angry. Along with those blazing eyes.

Whenever that happened, Erich couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He put down the newspaper and covered his eyes with his hand.

At that moment. He felt the door open.

“Pavel, do you have news for me?”

“What news are you waiting for, Erich?”

“…Mother.”

Louisa, the Elder Madam of the Klausener Duchy, entered instead.

Although she was his stepmother, Erich neither liked nor disliked her. He was seven years old when his father remarried. But Erich already had a good understanding of his lineage, rights and duties.

That’s why he didn’t bother to seek a maternal affection from Louisa, and he didn’t even reject her. Because he knew that someone had to fill the position of the Duchess.

Louisa was kind to him. Erich treated her with respect. As much as he has received, he intended to give back.

But now, it felt cumbersome to meet her. Even so, he could not scold the attendant and ask why he had brought his mother in.

Erich let out a small sigh, barely audible to himself, and stood up.

“What can I do for you?”

“What do you mean? I’m curious because you were at home but didn’t come out to the dining room. Of course I thought you went out early in the morning.”

A searching gaze scanned Erich’s face. Erich calmly looked at those eyes.

“I had some business.”

“Not in the study… but in the bedroom?”

“It is a private matter, Mother.”

“No, this mother of yours understands. You’re a grown man, too, so there must be some personal things you can’t tell Mother about… I heard that Pavel bought a dress on display at Edelweiss. Did you order it?”

“Didn’t I tell you it was a private matter?”

Louisa flinched. However, it was too important to her to just move on.

“Then, is it just a lover? Are you thinking of getting married?”

Tak.

Erich put the teacup down on the table. That’s all he did, but Louisa was taken aback and unknowingly hunched and lowered her head.

“It is private. I’ll let you know when something is decided.”

Marriage was a union between families, and it was the parents’ job to decide the partner. However, Erich said that calmly and stood up from his seat.

As he already said, he felt he had to settle down together with Claire. Now that it’s been close to half a day, she must have cooled her head too.

Then she would understand how natural it would be to proceed with his proposal. She had a striking personality and she was a smart woman.

Then.

“Your Grace!”

The secretary shouted, opening the door without permission.

“What is it?”

Erich glared at the secretary with pale eyes and asked. The secretary took a deep breath and spoke again.

“The Crown Prince has passed away.”

“What?”

“A little while ago, his body was found in Modral Forest. It seems to have been an assassination. Two attendants were found dead together, and His Highness’s escort knight is missing, but he’s being searched for.”

Erich took a deep breath.

“I will go to the palace.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The secretary ran out to get ready. Louisa grabbed Erich’s arm.

“W-Will it be okay?”

“Let’s talk later.”

Erich put her hand away, sweeping it off and hurriedly headed outside.

.

.

.

The carriage crossed the gates of the capital.

That alone made Claire feel tired and closed her eyes. If she could, she would not have returned to the capital.

No matter how complicated the work at the guild, which was on the rise, she would have preferred if even the agent came in her stead to make important decisions. That was, if she had been just a single woman without a family, she would rather take some losses and would not have come all the way here.

But as she was caring for a child, things were different.

“Auntie! Auntie!”

Elliot, four years and three months old, called out to Claire, who was lost in thought.

Claire opened her eyes. Elliot’s chubby cheeks flushed with excitement and he climbed onto Claire’s lap.

“I can’t see the sky! The buildings are so tall!”

“Really?”

Claire answered calmly. There were only eight or nine-story buildings at best, so how was it that it’s impossible to see the sky? She had once lived in an apartment building on the 48th floor before.

But that was in her previous life. It would be a shocking sight for a kid who’s lived in a rural area like Delford.

For over a hundred years, the tallest building in the Delford estate was the three-story lordship’s manor. The church’s spire was also lower than that.

Although the new guild building was going to be four stories high, they had only just started adding the third story.

Martha took Elliot’s hand.

“The Baron is tired, Young Master. Why don’t you show me instead.”

“That cloud oooover there is hidden by the roof of that building!”

Elliot said excitedly, as if it was the most amazing thing in the world.

Claire smiled.

Five years ago, they ran away from the capital, and nine months later Elisa gave birth to a baby.

When she found out Elisa was pregnant, she was stunned. Claire scolded Elisa for not taking care of herself, but Elisa was very happy with a bright smile.

She couldn’t stop Elisa from giving birth. Contraception was difficult to practice here, but it wasn’t easy to get an abortion safely either.

Thinking that Elisa had been assaulted, the employees were worried and feared that she would break. The relatives said that it was a waste as she would not be able to be available to wed, for having gone through such a thing and had defiled her body.

However, Elisa was not shaken by words and rumors.

[ It is the child of the person I love. It is a very, very precious child. ]

[ You should also think about your own life. ]

[ My life has already ended with him. It doesn’t mean that it’s over, it means that I’m satisfied. ]

And she smiled brightly at Claire.

[ Sister, you will help this child a lot, right? He’s your one and only nephew, so you should love him a lot, right? ]

How could Claire not love the baby?