*Edited

“The carriage has arrived. The carriage will shake a lot as it runs fast. I’ll carry you until you arrive at the Ducal House, so please lean on me comfortably.”

He easily fixed and hugged Sarah so that she could be more comfortable in his arms.

“Heaven……”

Sarah, who leaned her face against Ethan’s firm chest, was perplexed. Seeing Sarah like that, Claude smiled with a feverish face. It felt good to be held by his father with his nanny. Seeing Claude smiling with her tear-soaked eyes, Sarah eventually burst into laughter together.

“Do you know where your hair grows when you laugh while crying?”

Sarah said, poking Claude’s smiling face with her finger. Her voice seemed more peaceful than ever. As Ethan looked at Claude, who seemed to have attached quickly to her, he wondered if the child felt instinctive about how devoted Sarah was to the father and son.

‘This is not good.’

Ethan narrowed his forehead, thinking about the not-too-distant future. Maybe as time went by just like this, Sarah Millen would be able to capture everything in Ambrosia. Claude, and the servants, including the butlers and maids, and maybe……Ethan Ambrosia.

Including himself.

* * *

Sarah and Claude, who returned to Ducal House, lay side by side in bed and suffered from illness. Sarah tried to receive treatment in the room provided to her separately, but Claude, who had a fever, didn’t let her go, so she ended up lying down together. Ethan called in a doctor and watched Sarah and Claude get treatment and take medicine, not missing a single thing. At that moment, Jade quickly approached and whispered into Ethan’s ear.

“His Majesty collapsed.”

“It’s a plunder. Is he trying to protest with his health to protect the First Prince?”

“I think he’s trying to buy time. Marquis Bollun has already arrived.”

“He can’t let go of the First Prince until the end.”

Ethan’s face was distorted. He clicked his tongue and even showed a slight irritation. Marquis Bollun was the father of the deceased Empress, a lonely and strong supporter of the First Prince. The fact was that the First Prince threatened a powerless lady and a child with a sword, and even inflicted fatal wounds when his madness was at its peak. And it was a very important event that the child was Ambrosia’s successor and that the woman was Countess Sarah Millen. The Emperor, who predicted that Ethan Ambrosia would not stay still, was clearly determined to bury the incident with Marquis Bollun somehow. Sarah, who noticed the situation, smiled and said.

“You can go now. I’ll be watching over Young Master Claude.”

“But who’s going to stay by Countess Millen’s side?” 

“It’s okay because I think I’ll get better soon if I just lie down looking at Young Master Claude’s face like this.”

Ethan couldn’t hide his complicated face as he saw Sarah’s mana, which was still spinning around in her fingers, gradually opened up. Although her devotion was completely directed toward Ambrosia, he was not pleased. He had yet to find out why she was helping Ambrosia so much. Smiling at Ethan, who had a complex face, Sarah stroked Claude’s head, who was clutching the hem of her robe.

“……”

The child stared intently at his father, who had to return to the Imperial Palace soon. His other hand, which was not clutching Sarah’s hem, trembly reached out in the air before returning.

“……”

He wanted to tell his father not to go by clenching the hem of his father’s robe, but he couldn’t, so Claude struggled to grip the blanket tightly and bit his lip. It was natural to become more childish if he was sick, but seeing the child who held it in made Sarah’s heart ache. And it seemed it wasn’t just Sarah. 

“I’ll stay by your side.”

Ethan sighed deeply and pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down, which made Claude’s face glow. Sarah, who confirmed the delighted child’s face, smiled brightly and stabbed Claude in the cheek with her finger.

“Our dear Young Master Claude is still a kid. Do you like it?”

“I’m not a kid!”

“Oh my, so our Young Master Claude is all grown up?”

“Yes!”

Claude nodded his head with a stern look on his face.

“Look at this, I have a fever, my head hurts, my chest hurts, but I’m not crying and I’m holding up well.”

At that moment, Sarah’s and Ethan’s eyes met.  It was obvious that Sarah was thinking the same thing as Ethan at this moment.

‘This is crazy, so cute.’

Claude’s cheeks flushed with fever, declaring that he was not a kid in a triumphant, confident voice. A child who proudly claims to be an adult on such a subject was so cute.

“Oh my God, our Young Master Claude has a headache and a heartache, but he didn’t cry? Aigoo, our Young Master Claude is an adult! I didn’t know that!”

Sarah held her breath for a moment as her laughter seemed to burst out of her mouth.  Ethan also pretended to cough, covering his mouth with his hand and turning his head away. But Claude, who soon realized he had been teased, pouted his mouth.

“I hate Nanny.”

“Oh my? Only me? His Grace also laughed with me, so why do you hate only me?”

Sarah was very upset and dragged Ethan, who was staying still. Then the child’s eyes rolled over to Ethan, who was holding back his laughter. For a moment, Ethan’s body stiffened with tension.

“……I hate Father too.”

“……!”

Claude sneaked out a word blaming his father and pulled the blanket over him. When Sarah saw Ethan’s face hardened in shock, she eventually smiled and hugged Claude over the blanket.

“Oh dear, are you mad, Young Master Claude?”

Saying so, Sarah winked at Ethan. However, Ethan, who heard that the child hated him directly from his mouth, had been stiffened in shock since earlier.

“Your Grace, please comfort Young Master Claude quickly. He’s upset.”

Ethan, who came to his senses at Sarah’s urging, looked at the bulging blanket with an embarrassing gaze. Ethan’s face darkened because he had never soothed a sulky child before. After contemplating for a while, he beckoned Jade, who was happily watching everything from behind.

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Buy a diamond mine from the Muston Territory right away.”

“No, My Lord, if it’s the diamond mine of Muston Territory, then it’s the 3rd largest mine in the Empire……”

“I’ll give it to Claude as a present.”

“……”

Jade looked at Sarah with a look of asking for help. Only Sarah, who was looking at Ethan with absurd eyes, seemed to be able to stop His Lord.

“Your Grace? Can I talk to you for a second?”

Ethan, who was seriously thinking of buying a diamond mine in the Muston Territory, looked at her with a face that he didn’t know what was wrong. Sarah cautiously got up and leaned her torso towards the Duke. Ethan brought his head closer to her with a serious face.

“What would Young Master Claude do with a diamond mine?”

As Sarah whispered to him in a quivering voice, Ethan looked puzzled and replied.

“I’m thinking of giving him the ownership and letting him play with the market price……”

“Your Grace?”

She couldn’t help but smack her forehead with her hand because of Ethan Ambrosia, who offered to put the diamond price of the Empire into the hands of a child with a face that he didn’t really know anything about. Apparently, that man was not good at appeasing a child. 

“That is not it?”

“Then is that right?”

When she quietly rebuked, the Duke bit Jade back with a sullen face. Sarah seriously patted Claude under the blanket, feeling the need for parental counseling.

“Since our Young Master Claude is all grown up, you don’t need this Nanny, right?”

Sarah said that and pretended to get up. Claude rolled up the blanket and grabbed Sarah’s clothes in a hurry.

“N, no!”

“Hmm?”

“I’m taking care of Nanny now, so you can’t go!”

Sarah stopped laughing while looking at the eyes of the embarrassed child. While lying on the bed, Sarah complained a little to Claude.

“I get better quickly when someone hugs me. So please hug me.”

Sarah said so and opened her arms toward Claude. Claude rolled his eyes and jumped into Sarah’s arms. Then Sarah hugged Claude tightly with a bright smile. Claude closed his eyes listening to Sarah’s heart beating with a pleasant beat.

‘It’s warm.’

Claude wondered if he had ever been hugged like this by someone, and squeezed the hem of Sarah’s robe as if he didn’t want to get out of her arms. He was thinking that because he was sick, this would be the only time he was acting cute to the nanny.