The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family
Chapter 26
“Empwess Dowagew……”
“Not Empwess Dowagew, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
Khalid, who had appeared beside her at some point, spoke as he wiped Clover’s dirt-caked hands himself.
Aren’t they the same thing? Clover was puzzled, but nodded vaguely anyway.
Behind them, Belze held a clean handkerchief, nervously watching Khalid’s every move.
“Um, Lord Khalid. I could do that……”
“It is fine. I am doing this because I want to.”
Dirt smeared heavily across the clean white handkerchief. As the grimy little hands were scrubbed briskly, they gradually grew pale and clean again.
‘Bwt what is an Empwess Dowagew?’
Clover divided people into exactly two categories:
Good people and bad people.
Which kind was she?
“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is His Majesty the Emperor’s imperial mother…… no, she is his mama.”
“Oh! The Emperor, the super-duper strong person.”
“Yes. You could say she is the big boss of the big boss.”
Having explained it at a child’s level, Khalid wiped thoroughly between her fingers one last time. Done.
“Bwt why does she want to meet me?”
She had never even seen the Empress Dowager before. And the Empress Dowager was an acquaintance of her mama, not Clover.
Having heard from Khalid that ‘the Empress Dowager wishes to meet Clover,’ Clover tilted her head quizzically.
“I believe she wants to see you because you are cute.”
“Cute?”
“Yes. She cannot resist cute things.”
It was a good thing we dressed her in shorts. Otherwise, her dress would have been covered in dirt again. Khalid spoke as he looked at Clover’s grimy clothes.
“However, if you do not want to meet her, you do not have to.”
“Is Her Majesty coming here to meet Clover?”
“No, you must go. To where she lives.”
“Hmph, I see.”
“And it is quite far.”
“Ohh……”
“So, if you do not wish to go, you do not have to.”
Speaking in such a manner, Khalid almost seemed to secretly hope that Clover would throw a tantrum and say, ‘I don’t want to go.’
However.
“It’s okay! I wanna go!”
Clover lifted her head brightly.
“Someone who wants to meet Clover.”
And she beamed.
“Clover.”
Just as Khalid parted his lips to speak, Clover clenched her tiny fists tightly once more and said:
“……A good person! I wanna meet her.”
Nothing she had done through Khalid so far had ever brought her harm.
Only good things. So, if Papa was talking about it, it would be another good thing. Inside Clover’s heart, such a small seed of trust had taken root.
“Papa, if she’s Mama’s fwiend, is she Clover’s fwiend too?”
“Yes, she is Clover’s friend.”
“Then does Her Majesty the Empwess Dowagew like me?”
“She will like you. Without a doubt.”
“Then I like her too……”
Still in her unwashed, dirt-stained clothes, the grimy little Clover leaped straight into Khalid’s arms.
And hugging Khalid’s thick arm tightly, she giggled.
“I love people who like me so much.”
“…….”
“I wanna meet lots and lots of them.”
Heheh. As Clover wriggled deeper into his embrace and giggled, Khalid, who had been standing still, nodded and wrapped his arms around her small body.
“All right. Then let us go meet her.”
If any danger arose along the way, he would simply protect her so she would not be hurt.
“Mm.”
When she loved it this much, what did the complicated circumstances of adults matter? Khalid murmured in a low voice.
“It seems I will see her pleased for the first time in a long while.”
Because the dirt-covered Clover had snuggled into his arms, the front of Khalid’s coat was dirtied with soil and sand, but Khalid paid it no mind.
It was a picture-perfect sight of a father and daughter.
Yet Belze, who had been watching the entire scene from behind, covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief as a single tear trickled down her cheek.
‘My lady…….’
And she resolved:
‘Next time, I will swiftly change your clothes first…….’
Next time, before Clover could jump into his arms covered in dirt, she would nimbly get her changed into fresh clothes first…….
***
“You are going to the Imperial Palace?”
Demian asked after hearing the whole story.
“Yes.”
Khalid stroked the head of Clover, who was nestled in his arms. In his embrace, Clover was completely absorbed in fishing out and eating the warm marshmallows from her hot chocolate.
“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager wishes to see Clover.”
“No, but the baby barely arrived recently. How on earth did she find out?”
“I have no idea. She is someone from whom nothing is hidden to begin with.”
“Even so…….”
Demian gazed intently at Clover. Clover was small and frail. There was no telling what might happen if she were exposed to the Authority of a powerful wielder.
Of course, there was no Authority as powerful and aggressive as Claudian’s, but the imperial family’s Authority was also formidable; if she were exposed to it up close, she would get hurt.
“Will the Protection of the Storm shield her from other Authorities as well?”
Demian asked, looking at Clover with worried eyes.
“It should be possible to some extent. The protection is, quite literally, a power that shields the fragile. And besides.”
Snap.
When Khalid snapped his fingers, the Lion of the North Wind smoothly materialized. As if it had discarded its once-majestic lion form entirely, it appeared right from the start as a small, cute cat.
“This will accompany her.”
“Certainly, having Father’s summon accompany her gives peace of mind.”
“Indeed.”
Khalid replied, wiping the chocolate from Clover’s mouth.
“Nothing dangerous will happen. However, I would prefer she avoid running into His Majesty the Emperor if possible…….”
Khalid looked down at Clover. Just then, Clover raised her head and looked back up at Khalid.
Round and black as large seeds, two dark eyes gazed at Khalid.
“You hope we don’t?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“I would prefer Clover never runs into bad people.”
Khalid’s fingers lightly brushed Clover’s cheek.
They had not yet uncovered in what manner Count Sidu had harmed Clover back then. The explanation that ‘malice’ had caused harm was far too vague.
Under such circumstances, he did not want to take her anywhere near someone who might harbor even the slightest ill intentions toward Clover.
“Hmph, I don’t like bad people.”
“Yes. If a bad person tries to pick on you, you must run straight to Papa no matter what.”
“Mm, I’m really good at that.”
Clover nodded eagerly.
“Bwt when are we going to Mama?”
“Not yet. We must be prepared. There are many dangerous things around her.”
“I see. I will wait nicely.”
Clover nodded vigorously again. She was undeniably number one when it came to responding.
Arwin, who had been watching the scene warmly, turned to Khalid.
“By the way, you’ll also need to purchase a gift for Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, right?”
“I must. Conveniently, among the items that arrived recently, there is something quite decent, so I plan to give her that.”
Clover, who had been listening to Arwin and Khalid’s conversation, looked at them and asked:
“A pwesent?”
“Yes. It’s proper etiquette to bring a gift whenever you go to meet an esteemed person.”
Arwin answered her. Clover blinked her eyes, still holding her cup of chocolate.
“Oppa, Clover is going there too, right?”
“That’s right.”
“…….”
“Clover?”
“……!!”
Do I have to find a present? I don’t have a present!
When Clover said nothing, Arwin and Khalid resumed their conversation about the ‘gift.’
Meanwhile, Clover watched the two of them with an anxious face. Her large eyes darted back and forth between them.
Arwin and Khalid exchanged a few more words after that and even spoke to Clover, but their words did not register in her ears at all.
‘Mm, pwesent…… I have no pwesent.’
She had no present.
Thump. Clover’s little heart began to beat with apprehension.
‘If I don’t bwing a pwesent, am I a wude child?’
A rude child.
Rude children are disliked.
‘I don’t want that.’
Then she had to bring one.
She didn’t want to be a rude child to someone she was meeting for the first time. Clover leaned gloomily against the sofa.
[Clover, you don’t need to worry about it.]
“…….”
[Baby, really, I mean it.]
“……Mm.”
Sullen and drooping, Clover responded in a gloomy, sorrowful voice. But Lucky’s words barely reached her ears either.
“Hm?”
Noticing Clover’s sudden change in mood, Demian gently scooped the child up.
“She doesn’t seem to be feeling well. She looks sleepy…… I should lay her down.”
That wasn’t quite it, but it was true that she wanted to be alone. Clover didn’t deny it and simply wrapped her arms around Demian’s neck.
Dangling in his embrace, she closed her eyes tightly, then slyly opened one eye to look back at Khalid and Arwin.
Completely oblivious to what was on Clover’s mind, Khalid and Arwin were still talking about the ‘gift.’
Her little heart weighed down by this sudden talk of presents, Clover let out a deep, tiny sigh.
‘Haaah…….’
