Childcare Diaries

Kentrail opened the parlor door and entered. The person who had arrived first looked up at him.

“Long time no see.”

He gazed at the person who greeted him in a tone different from usual.

“Are you going to say a greeting?”

“What are you doing up here, Queen?”

It was the first time that the Queen had visited the mansion since Kentrail became head. It felt out of the ordinary.

“Did I come to a place I couldn’t come?”

She gazed at Kentrail with a smile as if she had forgotten their last meeting, which ended badly. The two of them knew that it was a forced smile.

“I wrote the letter, and the nanny never accepted the invitation.”

Soon, the butler came in and poured tea for her.

“I didn’t let her go.”

“I see…”

The Queen muffled her words bitterly.

“Does His Majesty know that you are here?”

“No, he doesn’t know. He’s the kind of person who doesn’t really care about me.”

Placing down her teacup, she answered as though she had no intention of hiding that the two of them were not in a good relationship now.

“You said that back then, watching me drink tea. Then, I came to my senses a little. Hearing things like that from you who don’t get along well. It’s funny.”

“….”

“So, I meant to thank you by giving you a present.”

“I will decline.”

“You haven’t even heard of what it was? That’s too much.”

The Queen lifted the cup again and took a sip of the tea. Her hand trembled a little, unlike before. He saw, not missing it. In the end, she spilled some tea on her clothes. Kentrail hurriedly held out his handkerchief.

“Thank you… Even though I’ve made up my mind to give you a present, I’m a little nervous.”

Seeing her using the expression that she was nervous about giving the gift made Kentrail more reluctant to accept the gift.

He got up, saying that he was going to go.

“Wait a moment.”

At the same time, the Queen hurriedly stopped him.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have the courage to say it unless it’s now. Please, just a moment.”

At her words, Kentrail slowly turned around.

“Does the gift require courage?”

“That’s right.”

In the end, he had no choice but to sit back on the sofa.

“Where should I begin… Yes…you don’t know… Actually, the false accusations against the Charant family were the crimes of the previous kings.”

Kentrail had already heard it from Brielle’s aunt, but he listened to the end without interrupting.

“And… it was father’s plan. You may already know that… still, I overlooked it, and I coveted the Queen’s position.”

She gibberish continued her story.

“It’s amusing. Not long ago, I wanted the queen’s position…. You don’t understand, but I did. I wanted to be in the most intimate place next to His Majesty.”

She looked at Kentrail with red eyes.

“However, I saw myself exhausted at some point. After hearing what you said back then, I was even more so. I persevered… I thought so. I am my father’s daughter. I have to protect his face.”

After she said so, as if she was thirsty, she put her hand on the teacup again.

“Do you have wine? I’m so nervous right now.”

With Kentrail’s glance, the butler went to pick up the wine.

“And… And I mean—”

After that, silence lingered between the two until the butler brought the wine. After drinking a glass of wine, the Queen eventually continued her words again.

“I knew that father’s greed did not end there. I’ve noticed he’s been threatening His Majesty lately.”

Up to this point, Kentrail knew about it.

“Do you know what that threat is?”

The Queen stared into Kentrail’s eyes and smiled sadly.

“His Majesty knew it, too, who caused the Charant couple to be falsely accused and how they died. He used that as an excuse to threaten the previous King so that he could ascend the throne safely… My father knew that a while ago.”

Kentrail’s eyes reddened.

While he was thinking of invading the royal palace, all the doubts he had once questioned — whether he was doing something wrong or that something else was going on with the King — were dispelled.

“…That’s…your older brother… your older brother, too….”

The Queen began to sob frantically.

“Why are you coming to me and saying this?”

Looking at her, he asked. Kentrail knew how much she loved her father and her husband.

“I recently realized that I had made the wrong choice. His Majesty had a woman he loved other than me that’s why I couldn’t get close to him no matter how much I acted according to his taste… I let father go the wrong way for my love, but now, there’s no reason for that. There father… My father… My father knew as well. I have to tell him that there is another woman. He knew that but only told me to be patient… He asked if the Queen’s seat wasn’t enough. I’m just a political tool.”

Hearing her tears-soaked confession, Kentrail had a foreboding that his plans might be disrupted. If the Queen would go to her own family right away and confessed that she had confessed everything to him, he would have been in trouble.

Even before he could attack, there was a possibility that they would surprise attack or make all-out preparations.

“Are you sorry for our family?”

Kentrail asked the Queen.

“Of course.”

“Then, as soon as you leave this mansion, can you stay somewhere else for a while?”

“What?”

“Other than the Royal Palace or Caverant family.”

The Queen swallowed a gulp, and she looked at her cousin, who had colder eyes than ever.

“You…”

At that moment, she realized what Kentrail meant. There were a lot of conflicts at the moment.

“Yes.”

Eventually, she concluded. Now, she no longer wanted to be a product of the political union of her father and husband.

“Promise me one thing in return.”

“Say it.”

“As long as you achieve everything you want. Forget me. That’s it.”

That meant to wash her clean and let her live in the status she wanted. Kentrail nodded his head.

“Thank you… and father… father…he can’t ask for forgiveness.”

Kentrail closed his eyes and didn’t respond.

“Right, because he had already committed too many sins…”

Tears flowed from both her eyes. He didn’t know if it was the tears because she regretted having confessed everything to Kentrail or if it was her heartfelt condolences to her father.

* * *

The Queen disappeared, but the King did nothing. It was correct to say that he didn’t even care.

Hearing all this from his Biddle, Kentrail nodded his head.

Looking at a development like this, most of what she said was probably true. Hearing the story behind the current King’s ascension to the throne, he was confused for a few days. This was because he sometimes remembered the time when the King had offered the position of chancellor, saying that he had no one to trust.

“Shall we proceed?”

Looking at Kentrail, Taylor asked.

“Yes. It will be implemented during the knight’s coronation ceremony.”

Knight’s coronation. It was an event in which the King himself conferred knighthood. It was the place where they were given the honorable title to enter the Royal Guard. It was an event that knights envied, and knights from all over the country also gathered.

That was when he decided to move his troops.

“Taylor, you guard the mansion.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for me to be with you?”

“I’ve thought about that, too. Still, shouldn’t there be someone who can evacuate Brielle in case things happen?”

“Count…”

Taylor looked heavy, knowing that he meant if they lost the fight.

“First, take him to Jayden’s mansion, Brielle’s friend, and second, take him to Siege’s estate.”

“Understand.”

“You don’t need to make a face like that, this is just in case.”

Even Kentrail’s words showed no sign of dissipating Taylor’s expression.

“Master…”

“Don’t worry. Derek will be here soon.”

“Yes.”

If it was Derek, he would have saved his master even if he had to sacrifice his life. As he thought so, Taylor loosened his hardened face.

“Master.”

Another voice broke through the conversation between the two. It was the knight commander. Kentrail got up and hurriedly opened the door.

“Commander.”

“I’m back.”

The knight commander bowed his head.

“I took him to an unused room in the main building on the first floor. The butler guided him around.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Having said so, he began to move his steps to the first floor in a hurry. When he reached the first floor, he saw a butler guarding the front door as he stepped aside for Kentrail.

A knock echoed.

“Yes.”

A small voice came from inside the room. As Kentrail opened the door and entered, a small boy stood there.

The boy looked up at him.

“Did Uncle finally tell you to kill me?”

Getting asked that, Kentrail looked at the commander who followed. His eyes were filled with the question of whether the boy had been brought without any explanation. Seeing the commander avoiding his gaze, Kentrail suggested that the boy sit down first.

The boy sat down in front of Kentrail. He liked the boy’s eyes that thought Kentrail had come to kill him but he was not afraid.

“I’ve brought you here because there’s something I want to ask you.”

“What is it?”

The boy gazed into Kentrail’s eyes and thought he must have been an upright man.

“Are you willing to accept it if I tell you I’ll give your world back?”

Kentrail drew his sword at the King, but the boy’s will was also important. He planned to find another suitable Royal Family if the boy refused. However, according to his investigation, he wished that this royal family, who was rumored to be of good character even to the knights guarding him, would ascend to the throne.

“…Get my world back?”

“Yes.”

“Will you gain wealth from that?”

“No, I have no interest in that anymore. It’s just to do my father’s will and to overthrow the will of the one who kept the throne with my family’s blood.”

“…I heard it from the nanny who took care of me. The Charant family supported me to the end.”

“This is what my father did.”

“Yes, thank you. If I get my throne back, I will never forget this grace.”

Kentrail smiled. It was a good start with this royal descendant.