I’ll Wrench the Neck of Sweet Son of a B*tch - Chapter 45

Episode 45: Unfortunately The Child Likes Me More

It was not long after that, Chloe Garnet was told that she was pregnant with his child.

As soon as Raymond heard the news, he visited the Grand Duke Ludwig himself and brought Chloe to the Imperial Palace.

“Daria, I’m going to divorce you.”

She, who was carrying his child, could not be left in the Imperial Palace without a name. He first visited Empress Daria and declared it.

“Is it because of the pretty girl, Chloe Garnet?”

asked Daria, with a dejected smile, as if she had guessed Raymond’s reaction.

“She was so beautiful that even I, a woman, fell in love with her. I almost told her to abandon Raymond and become my mistress.”

“Have you seen Chloe?”

Raymond’s eyebrows rose sharply.

“What did you say to her? You didn’t threaten her, did you?…!”

“Am I crazy, Ray? Do you think I will even start a political battle with your woman over you?”

Daria looked at him with a disgusted look on her face. Raymond was relieved at the expression of genuine horror.

I had a terrible thought for a moment. I was afraid that she might have suffered because of me.

“I asked for her child. I told her I won’t take the child away, I’ll just take care of it for a while. The child will also grow up knowing her mother.”

Perhaps it was the most realistic solution.

Even if Raymond pushes ahead with his divorce from Daria, it will be a very difficult process before Chloe Garnet can ascend to the throne.

And she will be the one who will be hurt in the process.

“I promised to give her the best wealth I could, under the name of Empress of Asta. But she refused.”

“…did Chloe say no?”

“I thought it wasn’t a bad suggestion. It’s only known to the public that she’s my child, and it would have been the best proposal for her and her child.”

“…….”

Raymond’s heart trembled strangely.

Although she has not fully opened her heart to me, does she value my child as much as I do? Perhaps it is not long before she opens her heart to me.

“Oh, Ray, What’s that look on your face? I don’t feel good!”

Daria frowned at Raymond’s slightly flushed face.

“Ahem, ahem, I’m going to go ahead with the divorce anyway. You’ll have to know in advance.

“I don’t think the Duke of Caroline will stand still.”

“I will still push forward, I don’t want to leave Chloe as an unnamed woman in the Imperial Palace.”

“I used to wonder what Raymond would look like when he fell in love, but I finally saw it.”

Daria sighed and shook her fan.

“Little Raymond grew up to take care of his woman. I’m so proud of you.”

“Who said I was small?”

Raymond frowned and looked serious. Daria, who remembers his childhood, grinned and folded her shaking fan.

“Ray, I understand that if you ask for a divorce, I’m in a position where I have to accept it without complaining. No matter how much the nobles object, I will no longer be the empress of this country from the moment I sign the divorce papers. But since I am a shameless woman who took advantage of your responsibility, I would like to ask you a little more shamelessly.”

“As long as it doesn’t harm Chloe, anything.”

Daria had to burst into silent laughter once more at his relentless reply.

“You’ll have to think it over, Raymond, divorce with me doesn’t mean you’re going to marry that girl.”

“I know,”

Raymond knew, too. There will be a very difficult and tedious road before she is recognized as his wife.

“When she falls in love with me, I don’t want to bring her the sorrow of having another woman next to me.”

Daria’s eyes widened in surprise at the remark.

“What do you mean, Ray? You mean the girl doesn’t love you?”

“…….”

“Is it a crush? The Emperor of the Empire, Raymond Del Astaroth, fell in love first?”

“Shut up, Daria,”

Eventually, only after the harsh words came out of Raymond’s mouth, Daria stopped interrogating him, but her eyes were still full of interest and curiosity.

“I want you to organize what you want in exchange for a divorce and send it to me in a document.”

Raymond turned away from Daria’s curiosity.

I think she’s a really annoying woman until the very end.

* * *

Raymond finally pushed ahead with his divorce from Daria.

In return, he gave up a considerable amount of land in the name of alimony, so if she manages it well and succeeds in raising her family, she will be freed from the restraints of her uncle.

‘No, if it’s that woman, she may not stop there and eventually eat up her uncle.’

Daria said she would return the land she had received from him on the day she achieved her purpose, but Raymond did not care.

He didn’t know what the purpose was, but she would do better with that land than most other people. The problem was the backlash of the church and the nobility council.

‘Perhaps Duke Caroline’s purpose was not to establish a relationship with the Imperial Family, but to lock her up in the Imperial Palace.’

Raymond remembered the Duke of Caroline, who had been talking enthusiastically in the front row of the nobles.

There must be other reasons that I am unaware of for why the Duke is so adamant against the divorce.  I gave, as alimony, a piece of land that was much larger than that of the Duchy of Caroline, but the Duke was still resolutely against my divorce.

“Are you worried, Your Majesty?” Chloe, who was lying on his arm, asked cautiously.

Later Raymond realized that he had been frowning, and he looked at her hastily.

He knew that his face was very ugly compared to a normal man, so he tried to look as gentle as possible in front of her.

If my child in her womb was born with a face as ugly as mine, wouldn’t it be a problem?

“Of course there are a lot of them.”

Raymond smiled and stroked her swollen belly.

“I was seriously wondering if my child would look like me.”

I could see the corners of her eye twitching languidly.

Recently, she often stared blankly at him with a drowsy look on her face. She didn’t know how exciting it was for Raymond.

“That’s a strange thing to say. This is Your Majesty’s child, and the child will of course resemble you.”

“I wish only the color of the child’s eyes were like me, and the rest is like you.”

Perhaps that was funny, Chloe burst into laughter.

“There is no way that the child between Your Majesty and me will have a different eye color.”

The red eyes of the two people curved, had each other. Raymond gently smiled, bringing his ears to her lower abdomen. He was just happy.

Even if a strong storm rages outside here, tears of happiness were unfolding in this small space with her.

* * *

Their child was born. The red, wrinkled child resembles her. She was a small, fragile, lovely child like her.

“…….”

“…….”

Raymond Del Astaroth and Chloe Garnet stared at the newborn baby for a long time.

Neither in the Imperial Palace nor in the Duchy, the crying of the child had not been heard for a very long time, so the two of them found it very awkward to have a small child wrapped in swaddling clothes.

“Your Majesty, Chloe, instead of just looking, say hello to the baby. You’re the only ones staring at her like this.”

“Uh…”

“Ahem……”

Unfortunately, the child didn’t have a nanny. This is because the women of the prestigious aristocracy were reluctant to take care of Chloe’s child, and the child couldn’t be left to anyone given that she had the blood of the emperor.

As a result, in a very unusual way, Raymond and Chloe’s child was brought up by her birth mother. The problem was that the mother was awkward with the child.

“…it’s too small.”

Raymond murmured softly to the child in the maid’s arms. The child was small. It was too small.

So I was worried. What if my hand touches the wrong place and something goes wrong?

“…….”

Her red eyes seemed to stare directly at Raymond. Raymond claimed that her eyes resembled Chloe’s, who has red eyes which are lovely like jewels but she claimed that the child’s eyes looked like Raymond’s

At that moment, Raymond reached for the child’s plump cheeks as if he were possessed. However, as soon as the child’s soft skin and his finger touched, his body stiffened.

“……!”

The maids couldn’t help laughing, but had to cover their faces which were twitching. The opponent is His Majesty, who is rumored to be merciless. They didn’t dare to laugh.

But, without even having time to care about such maids, Raymond just did not know what to do with the infant’s skin, which was too fragile for him.  After hesitating for a moment, he moved his stiff fingertips and carefully swept the child’s face.

At that moment, a small smile bloomed around the child’s lips.

“Did you see that!?”

Raymond looked around in bewilderment.

“I guess the baby recognizes His Majesty, too.”

A warm, emotional feeling poured over his heart. The little warmth that touched his fingertips aroused an unknown sensation. The sight of the child playing with him gave him a strange shudder.

All the maids had their heads down, and Chloe alone blinked and watched them closely.

“Your Majesty,”

Chloe glanced back at him as he looked at her.

“May I give it a try?”

“What do you mean, try?”

“That… hand….”

Her eyes were fixed on his hand, awkwardly touching the child’s cheek. Her fingertips were trembling very thinly.

Raymond, somehow ashamed, pretended not to be ashamed, and answered with an expression of the emperor’s dignity.

“I would like to grant your request, but the child likes me so much…”

But as he continued to speak, Chloe’s face grew more and more depressed, he could not finish his speech and had to blur the end of his words.