Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 207

The Baby Runs the Romance Fantasy with Cash – Episode 207

☆ Chapter 207 ☆

* * *

“Greetings, Your Highness the Empress.”

“Welcome, Lulú. Did you have a good birthday? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it in person.”

The Empress personally rose to greet Ruatisha.

“It’s alright, Your Highness. It’s not easy to leave the palace, especially with the accompanying staff.”

“Still一.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not upset.”

“It’s *I* who’s upset!” The Empress shook her head. “Marquis Tarenka must have deliberately bought that faraway estate to prevent me from attending.”

“Surely not.”

“Surely not? The more I think about it, the more likely it seems. Honestly, even doing this to me… Whoever you marry is going to have a hard time. And their in-laws too.”

The Empress chuckled and took Ruatisha’s hand.

“If I had a son, I would have definitely matched him with you, Lulú.”

Ruatisha smiled, hiding her discomfort. “Well, shouldn’t we hear what your son thinks?”

“If I *did* have a son, he would have fallen for you, of course.”

“And if he didn’t?”

“Then he’d just be blind.” The Empress smiled playfully.

After Esteban was appointed as the Crown Prince, the Empress’s power naturally diminished.

It was common knowledge that nobles who had opposed the Empress were subtly sidelined by the increasingly assertive Empress.

Because the Emperor was still present, they couldn’t be openly disadvantaged, but it was obvious what would happen once Esteban ascended the throne.

The Emperor gave the Empress a few subtle warnings, but that was all.

Her son would be the next Emperor, and there were no other princes or princesses to replace him.

The Empress became increasingly bold, and fewer and fewer nobles frequented her palace.

‘…It was predictable ever since Prince Sidrian went missing,’ the Empress thought, trying to hide her bitter feelings.

What was never there from the beginning is psychologically very different from what was there and then disappeared.

‘But even in that situation…’

Ruatisha had consistently stayed by her side.

Rejecting the numerous offers to be *her* chaperone, Ruatisha took *the Empress’s* hand.

‘I heard that the Empress had called her separately at that time and subtly hinted that she could be her chaperone.’

Considering the Empress’s personality, that was a huge concession to Ruatisha.

Even though she had been thoroughly humiliated by Ruatisha during the Dawn Festival, she was still willing to embrace her.

‘She’s a coveted child, that much is true.’

Not only when deciding on a chaperone six years ago, but even at this moment, there were plenty of people who coveted Ruatisha.

‘I have to say it now.’

The Empress decided to say what she had been wanting to say for so long but couldn’t.

“Lulú, thank you for continuing to visit me.”

“Of course. You are my chaperone, Your Highness. My social mentor and, in a way, my godmother.”

Seeing Ruatisha respond with a light smile, her resolve almost faltered.

Because the time she spent with Ruatisha was so enjoyable.

‘But that’s why I need to let this child go even more.’

She is a child who can fly even higher than now.

“I know you know what I’m trying to say. This is enough. The Empress holds a grudge against me.”

“Your Highness the Empress, you worry too much.”

“Lulú.”

“What can the Empress do to me if she hates me?” Ruatisha tilted her head and crossed her legs.

Her arrogant and confident appearance was exactly like Paeraton.

Normally, the Empress would have smiled and found it cute, but not now.

“…Even if Her Majesty is here now, once Prince Esteban ascends the throne一.”

“When Prince Esteban becomes Emperor?” Ruatisha shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Your Highness, I am Ruatisha Paeraton.”

Her smiling face was a little playful, but also serious at the same time.

It wasn’t just the words of a naive person who doesn’t know how scary a tiger is.

“The Paeraton heiress.”

“……”

“Paeraton is a family that even past emperors couldn’t touch properly. And Esteban will?”

Pfft.

It was a clear sneer.

“Well, I don’t think it’s possible even if Esteban suddenly has a great awakening and becomes a perfect wise ruler.”

“Sometimes, things are possible because of foolishness, because the vessel is small. A madman doesn’t care about anything.”

“Esteban isn’t crazy enough to not care about anything.” Ruatisha shook her head.

Just looking at his participation in state affairs as the Crown Prince shows that. He wasn’t completely incompetent.

Esteban wasn’t born with the ability to become a wise ruler, but he wasn’t fit to be a foolish one either.

“Because he’s mediocre, Esteban can never touch Paeraton.”

The Empress was silent because she had to agree.

“What will they do with the monsters if there’s no Paeraton right away? Esteban has the sense to know that he has to deal with the aftermath, so he can’t touch it. Moreover, it would take a tremendous military force to pressure Paeraton.”

“……”

“If you crash into Paeraton, there will be a gap in the central army. It’s likely to fail, and even if it succeeds, it’s a loss.”

Ruatisha easily concluded and continued, “Esteban isn’t stupid enough to not calculate that. And he’s not crazy enough to ignore that calculation.”

The Empress sipped her tea silently.

What Ruatisha was saying was right.

‘Esteban isn’t that kind of child… but,’ the Empress thought, her gaze turning to Ruatisha. ‘Sometimes, when I look at Lulú一… His eyes were too sinister to say he wasn’t capable of going crazy.’

“Well, the social world will be a little different.” Ruatisha shrugged as if she knew what the Empress was worried about. “So far, Paeraton hasn’t really put much effort into the social world because of its characteristics.”

“Yes, Paeraton doesn’t associate with people or actively participate in political strife.”

To be exact, they didn’t need to because they had great power.

“But if power continues to concentrate in the center, people will covet Paeraton. That would be quite annoying.”

“That’s why I’m here.” Ruatisha confidently puffed out her chest.

That was why she had decided to go to the capital at the age of ten in the first place.

And now, six years later, Ruatisha was the May Queen [a popular and influential figure] of society.

“…Rather, that’s why I’m more worried. Other Paeratons wouldn’t be hurt no matter what they experienced in the social world, but Lulú, you will be.” The Empress’s eyes were filled with worry and concern.

Ruatisha stared into those eyes for a moment before opening her lips. “So, what is it that Your Highness wants to say?”

“…So, stop visiting me now. You’re not married yet, but you don’t really need an adult to play the role of chaperone. If you need one, my health is not good, so someone else一.”

“Your Highness the Empress,” Ruatisha grabbed the Empress’s hand tightly. It pained her to see that she was more worried about Ruatisha being hurt than about her own situation.

“I like Your Highness the Empress.”

“……”

The Empress’s eyes wavered. Soon, a gentle smile spread across her lips.

She was happier with that one word than with any logical argument.

‘I’ve fallen for this child too.’

“And you’re not telling me to give up on you first when you haven’t given up, Your Highness.”

“Huh?”

“The new waterway project that you are pushing forward with the Emperor’s permission… I heard about it.”

“How did you一.”

“The Emperor told me. He naturally thought I would know.”

“……”

“Your Highness, you are deliberately promoting a project related to the people’s livelihood, right? The waterway project is large in scale, and anyone can easily recognize the achievements at a glance.”

The Empress nodded in agreement with silence.

“That’s a good idea. If this project succeeds, the people of the empire will praise Your Highness’s achievements. But what if rumors spread that the Empress is relying on her son and oppressing Your Highness?” Ruatisha chuckled and poked at the éclair [a type of pastry]. The cream oozed out.

“The Emperor must not fear anything. But he must fear the public sentiment.”

“The words of the first Emperor.”

“Crown Prince Esteban’s position will inevitably narrow.” Ruatisha swallowed the éclair and continued.

“You tell me that you seem to have given up on everything and are now retiring to the back room, so leave me一. But in reality, Your Highness has no intention of doing that at all.”

“…My baby died, but it’s clear that the Empress was involved in the baby’s death.” The Empress closed her eyes tightly and then opened them.

“Even if Esteban becomes Emperor, I will throw mud in the Empress’s face. But you don’t have to suffer because of me.”

“I’m not suffering because of Your Highness. It’s the same for me.”

“……”

“I have never given up for a single moment either. That Prince Sidrian, who went missing, is alive. I thought I would definitely bring him back to me.”

The Empress’s expression hardened.

She knew that Prince Sidrian was a special person to Ruatisha.

But not being able to let go of someone who has already left is no different from tormenting oneself.

“Lulú, please let go of that child now. You’re almost seventeen. A dead person一.”

“What if he’s alive?”

“What?”

“And, and if一…” Ruatisha paused for a moment to choose her words. “If Prince Sidrian… is Your Highness’s own child?”

“…What?” The Empress’s hand, which was holding the teacup, trembled slightly.

“Not the late Princess is Your Highness’s own child, but Prince Sidrian一.”

“Ruatisha!” The Empress jumped up and shouted. “Even if I cherish you, you’re going too far! How could you一…”

The Empress’s lips trembled. Her face was filled with deep sorrow, wounds, and regrets rather than anger.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. But what if that’s the truth? What if the child was switched at birth?”

The Empress’s eyes trembled with confusion.

That couldn’t be.

She had fainted and woken up several times that day. It was a difficult labor.

However, the maid who received her daughter was her closest confidante, and all the midwives were sent by her family.

They couldn’t betray her and switch the child.

“The princess was clearly the Emperor’s child. The imperial family’s treasure reacted.”

“What if someone else gave birth to a child deep in the harem around the same time?”

“……!”

“Prince Sidrian and the Princess are the same age. And…” Ruatisha took out the video stone she had prepared from her bosom.

The images of the Empress and Muriel Chavonne flowed from the video stone.

“……!”

The Empress’s eyes widened as if they would tear. She stood blankly, forgetting to even breathe, and stared at the video reflected in the crystal.

Ruatisha ended the video as Lady Aizelle left the secret room with the video stone.

The Empress still didn’t say anything.

“Your Highness the Empress.”

“I, I, I……. That child, is he my baby? My baby… Sidrian, was my baby?” The Empress collapsed as if she had fallen.

“I killed him. Because I, as a mother, couldn’t protect him, I……” Her face, which was always neat, was distorted beyond recognition. Tears flowed incessantly over it.

“I killed him. Because I, as a mother, couldn’t protect him, I……” Her appearance of hitting her chest and wailing was so miserable that it seemed to break the hearts of those who saw it.

Ruatisha sat down next to her and hugged the Empress.

“Your Highness the Empress. Sid is, Prince Sidrian is alive.”

The Empress stopped wailing and looked at Ruatisha. Even in the midst of it, tears wouldn’t stop flowing from her reddened eyes.

“…Yes. He will be alive. So一.”

“He’s already back. I should have said this first. Somehow,” Ruatisha smiled awkwardly.

“Still, Prince Sidrian must be happy to have a mother who misses and loves him so much.”

The Empress stared at Ruatisha with a blank face.

Ruatisha whispered softly in the Empress’s ear. “…The Prince thought that his biological mother had abandoned him in the hands of the Empress. The person the Prince thought was his biological mother was not his real biological mother.”

“……!”

“That fake biological mother begged for her life and handed the Prince over to the Empress. But the Empress killed the fake biological mother in front of the Prince.”

“What, what……”

“It’s a secret that I know. The Prince didn’t tell me.”

Ruatisha had used many abilities to bring Sidrian back.

The ability to see nightmares was one of them.

‘It was an amazing novel where the succubus was the heroine and it was for all ages.’

There were none of the scenes I expected, and it was a healing romance fantasy where the heroine diligently chased away the hero’s nightmares.

Anyway, I thought that since the heroine was a demon, she might be able to open a gate, but the result was a failure.

“Si, Sidrian? Where is that child?”

“I told him to take a walk in the garden for a while. The Empress’s garden is beautiful even in winter.”

The Empress jumped up.

She had been wailing so much that I thought she would collapse, but I wondered where she got such strength, and she ran out as she was.

“Kyaak? Your Highness the Empress?”

“Yo, Your Highness the Empress!” The palace people who had been waiting outside the reception room were surprised and called out to the Empress.

Her Highness the Empress, who was always well-behaved, was running like that.

But the Empress didn’t stop walking.

She was out of breath and her heart was beating as if it would explode, but she couldn’t stop.

Sidrian, my baby, is alive here.

She stopped walking only after she saw the back view standing in the flower bed in the distance.

“Baby!” The Empress shouted without realizing it.

A winter garden full of snowflakes.

Under the pale winter sunlight, Sidrian slowly turned around.

Shiny blonde hair, mysterious eyes mixed with red and blue light.

A tall height, a sharply formed jaw and broad shoulders, and a firm chest.

He was too big to be called a baby.

But he was still a baby to the Empress.

Sidrian, who had come to the Empress, bowed his head slightly.

“Greetings, Your Highness the Empress.”

“Ugh, ugh, heu……” The Empress couldn’t answer and collapsed.

Even while shedding tears, she tried to make a smile.

“Ye, yes. Long time, long time no see.”

“Yes.”

“Mo, mo, can you call me mother? I’m, I’m very lacking as a mother, but, th, still, rather than the Empress一.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Ugh……” Tears poured down from the Empress’s eyes.

Sidrian supported such an Empress.

Ruatisha stood quietly one step behind and watched the reunion between mother and son.

Sidrian’s gaze briefly turned to Ruatisha and then back to the Empress.

“I heard a little sound.”

“Re, really, ly?” The Empress stuttered, perhaps because her throat was choked, but she answered her son’s words without missing a beat.

“If I had a son, I would like to pair him with the Paeraton heiress.”