I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 212



212 – Face It

The next day, the imperial palace.

Beatria left the bedroom, wrapping her thin coat over her shoulders to protect against the chilly morning air.

There is only one purpose. She was going to meet her husband.

“Mother, where are you going so early in the morning?”

And she was worried about her mother in broad daylight and showed this scene to Robert, who came to her bedroom to say goodbye.

She looked a little embarrassed because she had gone out so early because she wanted to go out without being noticed by anyone if possible.

“Good morning, Robert. “It’s because I wanted to get some fresh air after lying down all day.”

“Then it would be better to take someone with you…” ” ” …”

He thought that her mother had just woken up from illness and spoke with concern.

Because I understood how she felt, I couldn’t just tell her to rest in her room, but I hoped at least one or two people would accompany her in case of an emergency.

“You know better than anyone that a mother doesn’t like having people dragging around her.”

“It’s still cancer… Ha, by the way, I will accompany you, so please allow me that much. Mother.”

“I guess I can’t resist the advice of my worried son. “I won’t do that.”

In any case, the reason she didn’t want to bring her subordinates with her was for another reason, so as long as Robert was trustworthy, she was fine.

It would be easier to be alone, but in this situation, if you try to leave him alone, you will only receive more suspicion.

When the negotiations were over, Robert carefully held his mother’s hand and escorted her into the garden.

The grounds of the imperial palace are so large that there isn’t just one garden, but as her son, he knew where to go when she wanted to get some fresh air.

“So, didn’t you see Chloe in the morning?”

Beatria asked, bending down and gently brushing the dew-covered blades of grass with her fingertips.

“Yes, because he sleeps a lot. “I think it will take two hours before it shows up.”

“Well, even though I was told from a long time ago to be half as much like my brother, I was always the type of kid who showed up slowly.”

“That’s why Chloe cried in front of me when she was little. “Your mother may not know.”

Reminiscing about her past, when Robert showed off her sister’s private parts of her, Beatria walked towards the center of her garden with her characteristic soft smile.

“Robert.”

“Yes, mother.”

Her specialty was to talk without making eye contact when asking potentially awkward questions.

Today, as usual, it came into play, and Robert answered the call with a more determined face than before.

“What did you talk about with your father?”

“… No other words were exchanged. But why are you doing this?”

Robert responded as calmly as usual, but it was clearly visible to Beatria.

Because the time I spent as his mother for nearly 20 years was not in vain.

However, she did not necessarily point out that point, but instead she added her words in a low tone while cradling the petals.

“If your father had come to visit me, you would definitely have said something. “It’s been like that for a long time.”

“That’s because he’s the man who left her mother alone. To be honest, I never really thought of him as my father.”

He is also not a fool, so he knows how important the government work he has to do as emperor and how heavy his position is.

However, the behavior Robert had seen from his father was so disgusting that it was a shame to even call him father.

He is a man who always stays away from his family, faces officials and guests all day long, and is actually neglectful of his family.

In the meantime, he always gave unreasonable advice to Robert, as if he had any greed for his successor.

Due to this hypocritical behavior, Robert lost his desire for the throne at some point.

“Actually, I didn’t tell my mother because I was afraid she would get hurt, but even when my mother collapsed, he barely showed his face and quickly went back to doing government work as an excuse.”

“Hehe, did you do that?”

“It’s not something to laugh about, Mother.”

Robert had the rude thought that she had momentarily lost her mind and was laughing.

In the first place, it didn’t occur to me that there was anything worth laughing about in the story just a moment ago.

Meanwhile, Beatria continued to laugh.

It was closer to a faint smile than a broad smile, but Robert tilted his head as he occasionally grinned.

I was quietly worried about her because I thought that maybe the disease that had treated her so badly was the disease that caused her to die from laughing.

That’s because I’ve rarely seen Beatria smile so sincerely recently.

“This mother thought similarly. There were many times when I wondered if maybe your father didn’t love me and you.”

“I think it’s true.”

Robert answered without a single second of hesitation, but Beatria only shook her head.

That’s because her son was still young and she only wanted to see fragments of her father, whom she did not like.

“… Well, I don’t think so.”

“Mother, these words may be presumptuous, but they are nothing but vain hopes.”

“Trust this mother. When have you ever seen me lie to you?”

When Beatria stood up and stared at him with her steadfast eyes, Robert eventually averted his gaze to her.

It’s not that she doesn’t trust her. Because she had such confidence in her eyes, she felt foolish for doubting it.

“Actually, right before I lost consciousness, I heard your father’s voice. What do you think he said?”

“You’re suddenly raising a problem… “I have no way of knowing.”

“That too. “I made an uncharacteristic mistake.”

She laughed at something that wasn’t particularly funny and raised her index finger straight to reveal her correct answer.

“He asked me to never leave. And then he ran, holding my body in his arms. “I only remember that clearly.”

“… “You mean you wouldn’t say something like that to someone you don’t love.”

“Yes. Besides, you know it in your heart, right?”

Robert, who flinched at his mother’s question her, avoided eye contact, saying he did not know what she was talking about.

She took a step forward, grabbed her son’s hand, lifted it to her chest, and opened her mouth in a tone that seemed to soothe her young child.

“If your father had n’t cared about me and you, he wouldn’t have shown his face like that.”

“…”

Robert chewed his lip, speechless.

It was as he said. It was a question that had been in her heart for a long time.

If she really didn’t care about her family, she had a lot of questions about why he acted like that.

It was like that just yesterday.

If he knew that his father was not looking favorably on him, there would be no reason for him to show up there.

If he didn’t just use political affairs as an excuse like before, he wouldn’t have the opportunity to hear bitter words that he didn’t want to hear.

Still, he showed up. In the room where Beatria was lying.

And even though he said harsh words to his son, he tried to stay as long as possible.

He did not take his eyes off his wife who was lying on the bed until the end, and he only belatedly left the room with the excuse of doing government work.

That’s something a man who ignores her family she would never have done.

“I know him better than anyone else. “If he truly felt that he had left me, he probably wouldn’t have even tried to approach me from this side.”

Robert clenched his fists as he listened silently to Beatria’s next words with his head down.

It’s not that I don’t understand what she said, but it was just a hopeful observation.

Whatever the reason, the man stayed away from her family and drove a nail into the heart of his wife, who had loved him for over a dozen years.

“Of course, I understand your feelings of rejecting your father. But maybe there was some reason there?”

“I understand what her mother is saying. But whatever the reason, it is not a good reason for her to stay away from her family.”

Know. Beatria also fully understood what she said.

But what she meant was that she thought he might have his reasons, so she wasn’t forcing him to approach her.

It was just that she kept her arms crossed and closed the door to her heart, as if she knew everything about that man, and nothing was resolved.

“Yes, I know better than anyone else how much pain you must have suffered. But, Robert, let me promise you this one thing.”

“… “I’m not a child, but I’m past the age where I can hang my finger on her.”

For the first time, he grumbled back at Beatria, who proudly showed off her little finger.

In response, Beatria stroked her son, who was now half a head taller than her, and gazed at him with her maternal gaze at her.

“Wouldn’t it be okay? For her parents, her children, she will always remain children.”

“Please don’t say anything embarrassing. Rather, what is a promise?”

Since he couldn’t sign the contract before hearing the contents, Robert lowered his raised hand and asked.

“If anything, when I find out what’s going on with him and tell you about it, be sure to believe me. “That’s all.”

“If you believe it… Is that enough?”

“Okay. There is no need to forgive him or understand him, so just believe what this mother says.”

“… All right. “If that’s what mom wants.”

Although he felt a bit bitter in his mouth, Robert gave in to his mother’s request.

I don’t know what kind of confidence I have to say something like this, but somehow I felt like I could trust it.

Sabak. Sabak.

At that moment, the sound of someone approaching from behind the two was heard.

Since this place was forbidden to outsiders, the number of people who could come was limited, so when Robert turned around to see someone and made eye contact with the visitor…

“Ah…”

In front of him stood Bartheus, looking at the two people with an awkward attitude.

“… I’m sorry for interrupting the time between mother and son. Would you like to come later?”

“No. “I also happened to have something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Beatria responded in a soft tone to him scratching her cheek and slowly turning her head as she took a step forward.

She then showed her little finger to her son, where she had just walked, and silently followed her husband’s footsteps.

Tuk.

Soon, a light purple petal fluttering in the wind landed gently on his head.

Robert, who recognized that it was Beatria’s favorite flower called delphinium, carefully placed it on his hand and stared at it for a long time.

For some reason, she felt her mother’s hand leaving her when she was young, asking her to wait a moment.

Maybe this petal is still saying that on behalf of me.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me.