Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 88 “Your Majesty, are you suspicious of young master Escal’s relationship with Lady Tiaris?”“Suspicious is a funny word, but yes.”“Hah…”I sighed in relief at the unwelcome news.After what the Emperor had said to Helios, and what I’d heard from Grand Duchess Crawford, it wasn’t hard to imagine the Empress coming out like that.It’s only natural to ask for the reputation of the people around you when it comes to engagement.The problem is that the target is Escal.He felt his head throb and pressed his temples firmly.“Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry for letting you get involved in this.”“No. What do you plan to do with that?”“I do not know.”Avoiding an immediate answer, she stammered vaguely.For Escal’s sake, I was going to do my best to avoid it, but you never know, so it was wise to keep my mouth shut.“To be honest, it’s a bit disconcerting, Viscount, as you know, he’s only six years old.”“That’s a sign of how anxious you are, Your Majesty.”Viscount Espenser spoke lightly.“In hindsight, it might be a good choice for Your Majesty to hold his hand when he’s impatient.”It was advised that if Escal was going to have a relationship with the Princess, there was no need to delay the answer and make the Emperor feel uncomfortable.After nodding his head without saying a word, the Viscount asked again.“You don’t want young master Escalium to become your son-in-law, Your Majesty?”“I want young master Escal to find happiness on his own.”“I thought you would say that.”Viscount Espenser looked away.In the middle of the garden, a short distance from the terrace, he saw Escal, sword in hand, sweating profusely.The child’s face lit up as he wielded the sword at Baron Hazel’s command.“As long as Prince Frederick’s ceremonies are passed safely, Your Majesty will not urge him any further.”“It would be. At that point, the search for the Crown Princess will be more urgent.”“Yes. So, until then, keep them unnoticed.”She softly advised.“Both of them.”Viscount Espenser seeing the image of Tiaris in his eyes, he slowly opened his mouth.“I’ll keep that in mind.” ***** ‘I don’t know if I’m the only one who’s going to keep this in mind.’On the way back from seeing Viscount Espenser off. I stopped at a distance and watched Escal practicing swordsmanship.“Ha!”With a roaring spirit, the sword cut the wind coolly.His sword-wielding posture, speed, and even his eyes were noticeably different from before he received Baron Hazel’s guidance.‘It seems like yesterday that you were begging me to read [Introduction to Swordsmanship].’I couldn’t tell up close, but from this way, he’d grown so much taller and stronger, the sword he held every day seemed smaller.“That’s not it. again!”Escal fixed the sword at the shout. Like a wild beast that preys on its prey, Escal was motionless with the sword pointed at the tree.‘What are you doing?’After observing for a long time, I found an object the size of a fingernail waving in the air.What appeared to be a stone was tied to a branch and swayed at a speed that was difficult to track with the eye.Just wondering what kind of training he’s doing.“Ha!”Escal shouted and thrust his sword forward.In an instant, the trajectory of the hanging object changed and the child’s face filled with joy.“Wow! Grandpa! brother, did it!”Tiaris, who held her breath and watched, hurriedly jumped and jumped as if it were her job.As if he had passed the difficult test, Escal smiled broadly with a sweat-drenched face.Baron Hazel, who had been yelling in a harsh voice the whole time, finally relaxed his expression and stroked Escal’s head.“Good job. That’s it.”“Yes!”A courageous reply echoed through the garden. At the same time, a smile spread across the happy heart, and sadness came over me.No matter how good-looking, smart, and talented our Escal may be, I don’t want him to be the one they choose as candidate.Moreover, since the other person was Princess Adela and not anyone else, I did not want to agree even more.If it’s Princess Viola, I’ll think about it five times before rejecting it, but if it’s Princess Adela, there’s no need to think twice.To have an affair with a child who kept her mouth shut while watching Escal being kidnapped by the bad guy and suffering for over a month, I refuse unconditionally, even if it means taking a slight disadvantage…“What are you doing here?”“Helios?”Ah, that surprised me.Startled by the voice behind her, she turned her head and Helios was standing there.“When did you come?”“Just now. I was standing behind you all the time, and you didn’t notice. What are you thinking so intently?”“I was looking at Escal.”“Escal?”At my words, Helios’ gaze turned to Escal. Escal was swinging his sword again, as if trying to carve the sense of success a while ago.“He’s pretty good.”“In your eyes too?”“Well, he has grown a lot. Is it because of Baron Hazel?”I shrugged my shoulders at Helios’ praise, who was stingy with compliments.It was also a good thing I asked the Baron to become a swordsmanship teacher.Helios watched Escal for a while before opening his mouth.“With that skill, he can hunt rabbits.”“Hunt?”I asked, wondering what he was talking about, and then Helios added.“Your Majesty asked me to go hunting together the next day or so.”“What’s hunting all of a sudden?”“It’s probably because of the report. Your Majesty won’t be able to check the contents until the nobility’s review is over.”“Ah.”It appears that Count Turner has submitted Prince Frederick’s report.And it was obvious that he had called Helios on the pretext of hunting to hear in advance whether there were any disadvantages in the report and to seek help.“What’s the point of trying to dictate what’s going to be passed anyway…”“He wants you and Escal to go, too”“Me too?”“Well. I heard that the Empress and the Princesses are also coming.”“……”I can see where they’re coming from.They don’t like the way Helios and I are reacting, so they’re trying to keep meeting with us to apply subtle pressure.In addition, if you see that Princess Adela even apologized to Escal, it must be a calculation that will make things happen by making the children even more friendly.Then there was only one way to ruin the Emperor’s plan.‘Until the Crown Prince’s ceremonial ceremony, the Emperor’s eyes are invisible.’“… Helios, when are we going to our estate?”“Our estate?”“We were supposed to go back when the Duke of Eaton’s work was done.”When I spoke to Helios in a grim voice, he gently wrapped his arms around my shoulder.“Let’s go back after the Crown Prince’s ceremony is over.”“We’re all going together?”“Together?”Helios, unable to understand what I meant for a moment, turned and looked at Baron Hazel and said:“If the Baron wants it, that’s not bad either.”He probably won’t.When Baron Hazel finds out that the Empress has started watching Tiaris, he will immediately leave the place.And Escal will either marry the princess or wander around the Empire in search of Tiaris’ whereabouts.‘It cannot happen.’This time, the situation was even more bleak because we couldn’t even get help from Grand Duchess Crawford.It was so difficult for me and Escal to be happy together without suffering like in the original.As I sighed in frustration, Helios soothed me.“Don’t worry. I will solve it.”“How?”“We’ll find a way.”Helios looked down at me and replied nonchalantly. It was an uneasy confidence.  ***** Two days later, we got into the carriage and headed to the hunting grounds.The destination was not the royal hunting ground where Escal disappeared last time, but a small hunting ground outside the city. The procession, accompanied by all the knights of the Duke, was very noisy.When we arrived at the hunting grounds after running for over two hours, the Emperor who had arrived first welcomed us.“Welcome, Duke.”“Sorry for being late, Your Majesty.”“No. I came early.”The Emperor, dressed in hunting clothes, smiled and waved his hand. It is said that the Emperor was a hunting maniac, and he seemed more happy than usual.The Empress and the two Princesses stood next to the Emperor.“I see Your Majesty the Empress.”“Welcome, Duchess. Was it hard to come?”The Empress, who gave her greeting, smiled at Escal.“We met again, Escal. How have you been?”“I’m fine. Hello Your Majesty.”Escal nodded and straightened his waist. The Empress gently pushed Adela’s back, where she stood still.“Adela, you should say hi too.”“Hello, Escal.”“… Ah, hello.”Escal reluctantly raised his hand and lowered it. Princess Viola intervened in the awkward atmosphere.“It’s good to see you again. I told you I’d see you often, didn’t I?”“Y-yes.”Escal’s head shook up and down at the friendly greeting.It didn’t look very welcoming, but she looked better than Princess Adela.“Then, let’s go.”As soon as they greeted each other, the Emperor got on his horse. Following him, Helios also put his feet on the stirrup.“Don’t overdo it and be careful.”“I will be back.”Helios with a friendly smile went into the hunting ground with the Emperor. The knights who were ready to hunt also followed them to the hunting grounds.I stared at Helios’ back for a long time as he moved away, and only after the entrance to the hunting ground was completely silent, I looked away.For some reason, I couldn’t shake the ominous feeling.