Chapter 4
“I can’t believe he’s using the divine oath for something like this! How dare he treat me like a babysitter without knowing that it’s by my virtue that his kingdom is protected from the barbarians! These damn emperors! Every single one of them is just like the last, it’s as though they’re afraid someone might think they’re not from the imperial bloodline! Even the way they selfishly use me remains the same throughout the generations!”
People’s evaluation of Clette also changed from time to time. They feared her, yet stood in awe of her. At the same time, they held her in contempt.
“Just who comes up with these conscienceless thoughts.”
It might’ve been a shameless decision but it was by no means unreasonable for the emperor to appoint Clette as the prince’s guardian. The royal family has been stuck between a rock and a hard place for generations, to the point where even an illegitimate child was now treasured dearly. The guardian of the prince couldn’t be just any noble, but one with regard and undeniable nobility; at the same time, they could not have ulterior motives. That made Clette the perfect pick because she, despite holding the title of grand duchess, had no interest in politics whatsoever.
The emperor, mindful of her impending refusal, sent the child first and meticulously shut off any loopholes his plan could have had. Clette looked at the child who was ducking his head like a wrongdoer. There was, in fact, another reason the emperor sent this little boy to her. He was hoping Arpen would meet his end at Velos.
As suggested by the indifferent tone of his letter, the emperor was not expecting Clette to take proper care of the young prince at all. In the novel, it had been a miracle for such a young child to have survived to adulthood at Velos without proper care. The male lead’s growth into a depraved and unfilial adult might’ve been an act of revenge against his father who had abandoned him. Clette couldn’t have cared less about the death of the emperor in the plot, but the fact that she was swept into this mess and died herself was a serious cause for concern.
Alas.
She couldn’t disobey the direct command of the emperor, but still, she was hesitant to accept the child.
“Ha.”
“I’m sorry……..”
The voice of the child had been so faint that she wouldn’t have caught his words if she hadn’t been looking at his lips as he spoke. Clette stupidly stared at the apologetic child.
‘Why is he apologizing?’
An awkward silence hung around them for a while. Eventually, the little boy parted his lips and spoke once again.
“It must be very inconvenient for you to have me suddenly show up on your doorstep, I’m sorry. You can tell me to go away, I’ll be fine.”
Only
“Huh?”
The child’s words were naturally not incorrect, however Clette was caught off guard by them.
‘Are these words ones that should be uttered by a child?’
During her long 200 years in this world, she had not seen small ‘things’ often at all. Not many living things flourished in Velos other than demonic monsters, and even the demonic monsters had a hard time preserving their species. In her territory, where coming across larvae was considered a rare thing, human children were like a myth.
Clette thought she met quite a few children in her previous life but she couldn’t recall it clearly. It caused her some sorrow. All that was left of those memories was a small, lovely, and pleasant abstract feeling. The child facing her was quite unlike that vague feeling she still faintly remembered, and instead looked tired and sad, like an old man. The frightened little boy neither resembled the tyrant nor the unfilial son he would grow to become. There was, however, one truth that stayed consistent in both the present and the heralded future.
It is that this child won’t be able to live here properly without her aid, neither in body nor soul. Clette’s logical side told her not to worry over this matter and just kill the child.
She could tell the emperor, who was hoping for this outcome, that the child couldn’t win against the elements and left this world. In spite of having spent 200 years in this world as the Witch of Velos, she couldn’t bring herself to do this. She might have lived as a witch for 200 years but her humanity was still intact.
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