Goddess Kingmaker Chapter 9

‘There must be something going on.’

 

The expressions of the Emperor and Count Montes were distorted at the same time.

 

Feeling that this could not go on, Parma reached out with both hands to at least pretend to hug and comfort her.

 

“Oh my, baby. You liked me so much before, so why suddenly?”

 

“Uuuh… Huuuuh…”

 

Before she could do anything else, the small body in Parma’s hands went limp.

 

Terrified, she quickly removed the baby from her arms, and Count Montes stood up and took the child in his arms.

 

“Oh no, this seems to be a seizure!”

 

“Why would the baby have a seizure? The baby was fine just moments ago!”

 

The emperor’s composure broke.

 

Just a little while ago, the baby had smiled at him, even though he hadn’t been particularly affectionate. Yet now, in an instant, the child had collapsed as if suffering a convulsion.

 

“What are you all doing?! Call the palace doctor immediately!”

 

“Please wait a moment, Your Majesty.”

 

“Count. This is not the time. We must take the child of Targa immediately.…What are you doing now?

 

The Emperor, who had been furious, raised his eyebrows at Count Montes, who suddenly put the baby back in the cradle.

 

He tried to push the count aside and lift the baby himself, but ironically, the emperor had never held his grandchildren before.

 

“Ugh…”

 

Unsure of what to do, the emperor let out a low groan. But he held back, knowing that the count, who had experience raising children, wouldn’t act without reason.

 

All they could do was watch.

 

“Count, why all of a sudden—”

 

“Please wait a moment, Your Majesty. It seems there is something inside the baby’s clothes.…”

 

With heavy yet careful hands, the count laid the baby in the cradle and lifted the baby’s clothes.

 

The moment he received the baby from the maid, he had felt something underneath the fabric—a distinct sensation.

 

Something long and sharp.

 

“Wh-why is this here?!”

 

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

 

The count took out a piece of wood from the baby’s back.

 

It was neither a toy nor an ornament for children. It was a jagged, broken piece, as if torn from somewhere, making the count frown.

 

“Why is there something like this inside the baby’s clothes?”

 

“C-Count!”

 

Parma, who had been staring blankly with her mouth open, turned pale.

 

She had no idea what had happened or how it got there, shaking her head in confusion.

 

But even the count’s sharp questioning couldn’t compare to the chilling tone of the emperor.

 

“Speak.”

 

“Your Majesty!”

 

“Didn’t you take care of this baby? How could you let a weapon be hidden in baby clothes?”

 

The Emperor snatched the piece of wood from the Count’s hand and held it tightly as if he was going to break it.

 

Though it might be an exaggeration to call it a weapon, it was certainly not something that should be found in a baby’s clothes.

 

Parma, squinting as she examined the long, round shape, let out a breath she had been holding.

 

“That, that’s the cradle railing, Your Majesty.”

 

“The cradle railing? What kind of nonsense are you talking about when the cradle is in perfect condition like this!”

 

“No. It was definitely torn from the old cradle we used before. The baby was there until morning.”

 

“What! So you’re saying you changed the cradle right before I came?”

 

The emperor let out a short, bitter laugh, his aura growing even more ominous.

 

Despite his current position, he had once been a warrior on the battlefield, and his overwhelming presence was enough to make an ordinary person tremble.

 

“Your Majesty!”

 

Parma fell to her knees, her hands trembling.

 

“I only wanted to present the baby to Your Majesty in the best possible way….”

 

“How dare you deceive me.”

 

“……”

 

“And on top of that, you let the baby suffer because of your reckless actions!”

 

In the emperor’s grip, the long wooden fragment shattered into pieces. It was frustrating how fragile it was, crumbling as easily as sand.

 

His steely gray eyes glared at Parma as if he was ready to strike her down.

 

“Did you think so little of this child?”

 

“N-No, Your Majesty!”

 

“You know the punishment for harming a member of the imperial family, don’t you?”

 

“Y-Your Majesty!”

 

Parma’s empty eyes shook, not knowing that things would turn out that way.

 

The punishment for attempting to harm a royal was the extermination of one’s entire family.

 

Her lips, filled with a vain smile, trembled as if she could not even imagine the punishment that was too terrifying to even speak of.

 

“B-but the baby isn’t officially part of the royal family yet—”

 

“That is for me alone to decide! How dare you—Hah.”

 

Glancing at the baby, who was still sniffling, the emperor clenched his jaw.

 

He didn’t even want to imagine how much pain the baby must have been in.

 

‘It looks like the baby doesn’t have the strength to cry anymore.’

 

It was hard to believe that the red eyes with large teardrops had been smiling brightly just a moment ago.

 

Still, the way the baby looked at him with those pleading eyes and slightly parted lips tugged at his heart.

 

The baby felt the same way.

 

‘Why are you like that?…. What happens next?’

 

‘Come on, finish the sentence!’

 

Arrest the woman

 

‘Why was it so hard to say those words?’

 

I pounded my tiny chest in frustration, but I had to be careful not to look too strong.

 

After all, I was just a baby on the verge of exhaustion.

 

“Ugh. Baby. Why on earth are you doing this? There’s no way I would do something that would harm you!”

 

“Ah, aaaah!”

 

But at moments like this, I have to scream at the top of my lungs.

 

As Parma, looking distraught, reached out toward me, I gathered every ounce of strength I had left.

 

With all my might, I screamed as pitifully as I could!

 

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

 

“Get away from the child. You must have tormented the child so much that the child was having seizures just from seeing your face!”

 

“N-no, Your Majesty! This is a misunderstanding!”

 

Parma had completely lost her composure. Well, given her personality, it was no surprise that she would react this way.

 

But in the end, she brought this upon herself.

 

‘That’s why you should behave better in the first place.’

 

If she had simply neglected me indifferently, this wouldn’t have happened.

 

She dumped the responsibility of looking after me onto Roen, yet she couldn’t stand seeing Roen by my side.

 

Calling Roen out at dawn to make her do all sorts of labor, nitpicking at everything Roen did, mocking Roen in front of others, and punishing Roen at every opportunity—it was a constant cycle.

 

With all that resentment, I have now entered the final stage of crying, a state of sobbing without any thoughts or feelings.

 

“Huuu….uung…”

 

“Baby, please don’t do that.”

 

“Get away from her!”

 

The Count of Montes pushed Parma aside and stomped his foot in frustration.

 

Sometimes, a faint, fragile sob—like a candle on the verge of going out—has more impact than an ear-piercing cry.

 

The count, who had become anxious, raised his voice toward the maids who were trembling against the wall.

 

“You there! Any of you, try to comfort the baby!”

 

Of course, I wasn’t about to back down—I raised my voice even louder.

 

Loud enough that my real guardian wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

 

“Huuu…ungg.”

 

Where are you, guardian? I’m crying here!

 

“Wahhhh!”

 

“Baby!”

 

Finally, Roen—who had been completely out of it, much like Parma but for a different reason—rushed over and hugged me tightly.

 

Forgetting that the Emperor was right there, she frantically checked on me.

 

“My baby. Ugh. Are you okay?”

 

“Aaang…”

 

Why did you take so long? You should’ve come sooner!

 

When I rubbed my cheek against the familiar Roen’s arms, I strangely felt truly sad.

 

Even if I was a goddess in my previous life, I was still a baby, so it seemed inevitable that I would be controlled by the emotions and thoughts of a baby.

 

“Wahhh.”

 

I sniffled, my nose turning red, and clung tightly to Roen’s collar

 

No matter how much I felt like crying, I had to stop here.

 

Stop. Completely. Without leaving a trace.

 

“So you’re the one who’s been taking care of the child all this time…”

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

That way, the bond between me and Roen can stand out.

 

“I am sorry. I have dared to commit a sin worthy of death in front of Your Majesty.”

 

“No. You are not the one who committed a sin.”

 

The Emperor, who had been watching me calm down in Roen’s arms with a strange expression, turned his sharp gaze back to Parma.

 

“This is outrageous. Lying so shamelessly about caring for the child all this time.”

 

“I was wrong, Your Majesty. I was wrong. Hikss.”

 

Now, Parma truly had no way out. She banged her head against the floor, desperate to survive.

 

Her sheer will to live was, in a way, impressive.

 

But the Emperor, who had seen far too many lies and schemes, was utterly unmoved.

 

“Count. Drag that woman out immediately, uncover the mastermind behind this, and execute her—”

 

“Wahhh!”

 

“……”

 

The emperor, who was trying to finish his work indifferently according to procedure, looked at me.

 

When I met his arrogant, gray eyes, I hesitated involuntarily, but then I pursed my lips and started to cry.

 

“…Now why are you crying again?”

 

The Emperor was clearly flustered, frowning as if he found this all very unreasonable. He turned to Roen.

 

“You. Explain. Why is the child crying again?”

 

“That, that… I think the baby is scared, Your Majesty.”

 

“Scared? Of me?”

 

“……”

 

He asked me that again with a face that said he couldn’t believe it.

 

It was funny how the emperor was so bewildered by something that could have been solved by just looking in the mirror.

 

‘Well, it’s understandable to be mistaken.’

 

It would be confusing to think that I, who always smiled when I should have cried, would now be afraid of him.

 

But even amidst that contradiction, I had to keep my teary eyes blinking up at him.

 

‘We can’t build a grudge from the beginning.’

 

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