I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

A large castle was seen through the window. Growing up, Leona had only seen the castle from a distance because commoners were prohibited from entering the Imperial Palace.

‘It’s the Imperial Palace that I couldn’t even dream of approaching.’

“We have to confirm that this is Duke Petri’s carriage. May I open the door?”

The Duke, who had been watching Rere for a while, slowly rose from his seat.

“Open it.”

As soon as the door opened, the grandiose Imperial Palace was fully revealed.

I had never stepped into the Imperial Palace before, so I felt incredibly nervous as I observed the luxurious building in front of me.

“Big Bunny! My bunny!”

“Uh, yeah? What’s the matter?”

“Why are you trembling so much?”

“I’m not trembling.”

“Stop trembling, it makes me dizzy!”

Her tiny body was also trembling as she said that. The two of us were shaking like frightened rabbits.

“Rere is also trembling.”

“No! I’m not nervous at all! Ah, this is…because…I’m trembling because it’s cold!”

“Mom is also cold!”

At that time, while I was trying to loosen up the tension with a crappy lie, the Duke chimed in.

“…Is there anything to be nervous about?”

Somehow, the way he casually asked was annoying. He might not be nervous because he came here often, but it was the first time for us. I was even apprehensive at the party.

“Just take it easy and enjoy the moment. That way, I’m sure you will be less anxious than now.”

What am I supposed to enjoy? How unlucky!

At least, thanks to his useless encouragement, my tension was relieved!

“Listening to you makes me a little less nervous.”

“I guess you like my voice a lot.”

“You may think as you like.”

It was the first time he ever became a useful human. I thought I should let him say whatever he likes.

Meanwhile, Rere wrinkled her face at the Duke as if she had a similar thought to me.

“Rere will say thank you to Daddy.”

“Huh? What are you thanking me for? Is it because I brought you here?”

“No. Thank you for rambling nonsense to help me relax.”

“R-Rambling nonsense?”

“Just say anything. The more Daddy talks, the less nervous I am!”

Rere smiled so brightly.

“…I’m not just rambling nonsense!”

“Hurry up and do what you just did! I get angry every time Daddy opens his mouth, so I become less nervous.”

Rere poured out her mind without holding back. The Duke seemed a little hurt by her harshness, but he just mumbled quietly and looked at Rere with sad eyes.

“Rere…what did you just say…”

“Now that we have Daddy who can’t stop rambling nonsense, let’s get out now!”

“That’s right. Let’s get going now. We shall meet His Majesty soon.”

Although he was quite shocked by Rere’s words, he obediently exited the carriage first just as Rere urged. Then Rere quickly followed him.

“Hold my hand.”

“No! Mom! Rere will hold Mom’s hand. Here, hold my hand!”

Perhaps she wanted to imitate the Duke, Rere raised both of her arms toward me which made her neck shrink like a turtle.

But my hand couldn’t reach her despite her efforts.

“Rere, let me do it because you’re too short. Back off!”

“No thanks! I can reach it!”

The Duke tried to stop Rere, but the problem lay in his way of speaking. It’d be great if he could say, ‘Daddy will hold you so we can hold hands together’.

Luca would definitely have said that, but the Duke only shook his head as if he didn’t want to lose to his own daughter.

‘At times like this, they’re like uncle and nephew rather than father and daughter!’

Now that uncle and nephew competed for me.

In the meantime, thanks to the two bickering people, my tension was washed away.

I’m here with the Duke and Rere, so what am I so worried about? I didn’t come here to play or to entertain the Emperor.

I’m here to protect my daughter. I wanted to prevent Rere from turning evil in the future.

So my gaze naturally turned to Rere.

So what if Rere’s arms are a little short? It’s fine because my arms are long.

Slowly stepping down from the carriage alone, I leaned over to hold Rere’s hand.

“Thank you, Rere.”

“I knew my mom would choose me!”

Rere smiled brightly and hugged me as if she was really in a good mood.

“…Let’s not do this here! His Majesty will be waiting for us.”

The Duke murmured bitterly as he held out again the hand that I had purposely ignored earlier.

“Let’s go.”

“Rere will hold Mom’s hand and go!”

“Okay!”

I held Rere’s hand tightly before receiving his hand. At the sight of us ready to go, the servant bowed and guided us.

The inside of the Imperial Palace was more majestic than even indicated by its exterior. There were many portraits of great figures on the wall, and the floor was covered with a red carpet.

Rere was busy looking around the surroundings as if she was also charmed by the splendid Imperial Palace.

How long did we walk? It didn’t seem like five minutes had passed, but we already arrived at our destination.

“We’ve arrived. I will announce your arrival to His Majesty the Emperor first.”

“Announce it!”

“Yes.”

The servant, who entered through a side door, slowly opened the main door in front of us.

At last, I met the most powerful man in the book. The Emperor.

“I see His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I see His Majesty the Emperor….”

“I see His Majesty.”

Starting with the Duke, Rere and I uttered our greeting one after another. As if fearing the launch of a surprise attack, the Emperor sat awkwardly in a room with only one table present.

“Oho! Duke! Welcome! Come and sit here!”

At his behest, the Duke did not hesitate to rush us to the table.

Only then could I see the Emperor properly. A man with a dignified aura seemed like he was ten years older than the Duke. His glistening golden hair clearly announced he was of noble birth.

And that very man’s attention turned to me and Rere.

“I always wanted to see you again, so I’m very delighted! It’s been a while since the last time I met Princess Rebecca, but she seems to be growing so well. Moreover, I’m really pleased to see the Duchess as well.”

“I am very pleased to see you, too.”

In my ignorance of court etiquette, there was nothing I could do except bow my head as soon as our eyes met.

“Hoho! No need to be so scared, Duchess. The Duke is more like a close friend of mine, so you may be comfortable with me.”

“But…”

“I’m not a scary person! I hope the Duchess can feel at ease with me.”

“How can I…with Your Majesty….”

“It’s even more uncomfortable if you firmly draw a line like this.”

At his comment, I raised my head immediately.

If you say so, then I’ll take it easy.

“Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty. I’m worried that I might make a mistake because I haven’t fully learned court etiquette yet.”

“It’s okay. I’m not a person who would be so rigid toward my friend’s wife.”

“Thank you.”

At this point, he’ll bear with me no matter what I say.

However, thanks to my determination to avoid the worst scenario, I stretched my shoulders more confidently than ever. More importantly, my previous pressure and tension subsided when I saw the Emperor.

‘Is it because he’s just a character in a book? Or….’

For some unknown reason, I was feeling comfortable and peaceful when I faced the Emperor.

“How has the Princess been? It’s been a while since I saw you last.”

“You’ve seen her when she was younger. So Rere won’t remember, Your Majesty.”

“Is that so? Now that I think about it, she’s gotten bigger.”

“It’s already been three years since Your Majesty saw Rere.”

“I see. But I feel like the Princess is bigger than kids her age.”

“Is that so? She’s still a small child to me.”

The Duke looked at Rere. I thought Rere would be as nervous as I was, but Rere didn’t seem to mind much. The child’s eyes turned to the Emperor.

“Princess. I heard that you had a party recently.”

“Yeah! Oops, I mean, yes! We had a party!”

“Rere, you have to maintain your courtesy.”

“Yes.”

Regardless of the time and place, the Duke stared at Rere as if scolding her.

The child just met someone who was higher in status than herself. A five-year-old kid. That kind of mistake was nothing serious, but the Duke did not take his sharp gaze away from Rere.

“It’s okay, Duke! Children should just grow up like children. You may talk comfortably, Princess.”

“Really?”

“Of course. You can talk comfortably. My son is at the same age as you, so you can be comfortable with me just like your father.”

Rere’s eyes glistened at his words.

“I heard you had a party recently. As I recall the Princess never held a party before because she wasn’t interested. Even if I invited you, you didn’t want to attend.”

“Yeah! That’s right! But now Rere has a mom! That’s why we had a party!”

“Oh, so that’s how it was. Then, If I send an invitation to the Imperial party next time, would you attend then?”

“Yes! Please invite me with my mom!”

The child smiled brightly as she looked up to me.

“The Princess seems to cherish the new Duchess a lot.”

“Yes. My child cherishes her a lot, Your Majesty.” the Duke responded,

“You seem to cherish her as well, Duke.”

“That’s…..”

The Duke hesitated for a while and glanced at me.

“You don’t have to answer all my questions. I didn’t mean to embarrass the Duke. Let’s sit down first. I can’t leave my precious guests standing!”

Somehow, Rere seemed to be having fun when the Emperor’s eyes were on her.

As expected, Rere was such a tough kid.

But that thought did not last long. As soon as we sat down, he quickly took his gaze off Rere when the tea was served. The Emperor was busy talking to the Duke, so we had to sit still and quietly sip the tea.

I felt uncomfortable and bored. It was already tough for me to endure, so it must be worse for Rere.

Just as depicted in the novel, Rere stamped her feet under the table. After about half an hour and the tea had cooled, the Emperor exclaimed as if he had just forgotten something.

“Oh my! The Princess must have been so bored! I still have a lot to discuss with the Duke.”

“Yeah…”

“If it’s alright, would you like to go to the garden and play there? There are a lot of things to see there.”