Amelia’s wish had worked perfectly.
“Hwaaang, Mommmmm! Don’t be hurt! Wake uuuuup!”
“A-Aer, calm down. If Mom sleeps well, she’ll wake up quickly. Don’t cry, please.”
The first thing they had to do after arriving home was calming Aer, who was crying bitterly over his sick mother.
“Hwaaang! What if Mom never wakes uuuuup!”
“No, she’ll be fine. So let’s go outside first. If you stay here, you might catch a cold too.”
“Nooo! Aer will take care of Mom!”
Who on earth did this child take after? He was far more stubborn than expected, and his voice was unbelievably loud for such a small body.
Kaiyan worried that his crying might disturb Estelle, who was sleeping deeply.
He needed to stop the crying somehow, but he had never taken care of a child before. He had no idea what to do first.
What did Mother do back then?
Even when he tried to recall his own childhood, he couldn’t remember what he liked at that age.
“W-Would you like a song? Be good, Aer?”
The only thing he remembered was that he had liked his mother’s lyre music and singing.
But—
“Waaahhh!”
It wasn’t enough to calm the child.
Come to think of it, it was a strange idea anyway.
“Then how about this? It’s a jewel. Pretty, right?”
“I don’t neeeeed it!”
“What about dolls? Here’s a dragon!”
“I don’t like it either!”
“Shall I read you a book?”
“Waaahh! I don’t want it!”
Even jewels that could buy several houses, dolls brought quickly from downstairs by Cedric, and storybooks were all useless.
Kaiyan grew more flustered as Aer’s crying intensified, and he awkwardly lifted the child.
He knew everything he was doing was clumsy and awkward, but he had to try something.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Aer, what do you want? Tell me. What do you want?”
This feeling of helplessness was unfamiliar after so long. In the end, Kaiyan gave up and asked directly.
Of course, he didn’t expect proper communication, but it was a desperate attempt.
“…Mom…”
“Mom?”
“I… will… protect… Mom. Aer… hic… will protect Mom…”
Though still choking on tears, the child’s intention was clear.
And Kaiyan understood that feeling better than anyone. He too had once secretly trained in swordsmanship because he wanted to protect his mother.
To him, family had been only two people from the start. Of course the mother was everything to the child. Seeing her collapse like this, fear was inevitable.
Kaiyan looked at Aer calmly.
“Aer, you’re still too young. You don’t need to try so hard to protect your mom. Your job right now is just to grow up well.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry. I will protect her until Est… Libeta wakes up.”
“Really?”
“I promise.”
The child’s eyes were still wet with tears, but he smiled brighter than ever.
That smile made something ache in Kaiyan’s chest—an emotion he couldn’t explain.
If Kaiyan had not taken him, this child would have grown up more precious than anyone in the imperial palace. Even without guilt, the child was innocent. The resentment belonged only to Kaiyan and Estelle.
At the very least, Aer should not become a victim of this fate.
So this promise to protect Estelle was only to stabilize the child who would become the heir.
As the Emperor of the Empire, it was merely protecting the heir’s mother. Nothing more. Nothing personal. Certainly not.
“Aer made a promise!”
And so, he finally succeeded in calming the child.
But that was only the beginning of childcare.
“Samtyoon, I’m hungryyyy…”
After crying for a long time, the child complained of hunger.
Cedric was sent to buy food, but—
“Not that… I want the mushroom pancakes Mom used to make… sniff… Mom…”
It wasn’t that easy.
Once again reminded of his mother’s absence, the child started crying again.
“Wait, wait. Mushroom pancakes? You want that?”
“Yes…”
“Cedric, you heard him? Mushroom pancakes. Go find them.”
“…Forgive me, my lord. I have never heard of such a dish in my life. Please punish this incompetent servant!”
Kaiyan couldn’t even blame Cedric. He was the same.
Mushroom pancakes? What even was that?
He had seen all kinds of delicacies in the palace. He had even survived eating anything during his exile on Pecator Island. But he had never heard of mushroom pancakes.
“Aer, can you explain how it’s made?”
“Um… you put mikaru and mush-rooms and eggs together and cook it…”
There was no way a three-year-old could properly explain a recipe.
“My lord, maybe it’s bread with mushrooms inside?”
“That must be it! Find the nearest bakery and make it!”
But—
“Waaah, this isn’t it!”
That cursed mushroom pancake.
When he returned to the palace, he would call the head chef immediately and have him make it.
“Sorry, Aer. Can you eat something else today? I’ll bring you lots next time.”
In the end, after pleading, they barely managed to feed him mushroom soup instead.
If that had been the end of the day, it would have been nice. But of course, it wasn’t.
“Wah! My eyes! Soap got in my eyes! It hurts!”
“Sorry! I’m sorry, Aer! I’ll wash you right now!”
Bathing was another ordeal.
Controlling water temperature and making sure soap didn’t get into his eyes or nose required extreme precision.
Balancing all of that felt harder than negotiating diplomatic treaties with foreign nations.
By the time everything was done and the child was finally in bed, it was well past midnight.
“Ian Samtyoon… tomorrow Mom will wake up, right… right? You won’t leave Aer alone and go somewhere, right?”
Even as his eyes drooped from exhaustion, the child worried about his mother until the very end.
“Yes, of course. Now go to sleep.”
Used to sleeping with his mother, the child struggled for a while before finally falling asleep in a different room.
Kaiyan used even stealth techniques of a swordmaster to quietly leave the room without waking him, closing the door silently.
Finally…
It had been a grueling ordeal. It felt like he had gone through a full war.
“Lo… my lord, are you alright?”
Cedric, equally exhausted, asked in a small voice.
“Shall I call a nanny maid?”
“I want to, but with such sudden changes, both the child and the Empress would become even more wary. For now, I’ll do it myself.”
So there was no choice. He would have to get used to it.
“You may withdraw for today.”
“I will stand by the door. Call me if needed.”
Kaiyan dragged his exhausted body into Estelle’s room.
As if unaware of the chaos outside, Estelle still slept peacefully.
So she has been doing this alone all this time? Even I, a swordmaster, can barely handle it… how could she, in a woman’s body…
It was truly a mystery.
After checking on her once, he collapsed into the chair beside the bed. His body felt heavy. His eyelids grew heavier.
Eventually, Kaiyan drifted into sleep.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Kaiyan woke to the irregular sound of water droplets.
The surroundings were dark, his vision blurry, his senses dull—as if a thin veil covered his entire body.
Where am I?
Cold stone walls. Damp floor. Heavy, humid air.
It was an unpleasant place.
A faint light leaked from a small gap in the distance. Kaiyan dragged his heavy body toward it.
As he got closer, he heard a woman’s voice, faint and crying.
[…please…]
[…please, I beg you…]
At last, he reached the light. It came from a slightly open door.
Through the crack, he saw inside.
Astraea Duke stood there, his face twisted with rage.
At his feet, a woman covered in blood lay flat on the ground, trembling violently.
Chains bound her ankles. Deep wounds suggested repeated escape attempts.
What is this?
For some reason he couldn’t explain, Kaiyan felt like he wanted to help her stand.
Just as he was about to step inside—
“Please! I beg you, Your Grace! Please save Princess Serena! I will do anything you ask… please!”
The woman’s desperate voice echoed again.