The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Side Story 1

Three months had passed since Rowell was imprisoned. During that ti, Ardion and I had been incredibly busy.

Ardion was formally crowned emperor, and I attended the coronation ceremony alongside him. It was a tedious affair, but having Derol there made it bearable.

Occasionally, rumors trickled in from the prison. Word was that Rowell couldn't sleep due to the pain and looked like a shadow of his forr self. Apparently, the forced labor had taken a toll on his body as well.

Considering the sins he had committed over the years, it felt only fitting. Perhaps dying swiftly would’ve been less cruel. The suffering he now endured seed far worse.

Thankfully, Ardion had managed to persuade the Council of Nobles and was granted the authority to deliver the final verdict in Rowell's last trial. Had that not happened, we might still be living under Rowell’s shadow. Speaking of which, I just rembered sothing.

[“Everyone says I’ve been blessed with mana. Shouldn’t they finally put it to good use?”]

It wasn’t hard to imagine how Ardion had convinced the council. What mattered more was that no one opposed his ascension to emperor, not even the commoners.

After all, Ardion was blessed with mana and had proven himself on the front lines. There was nothing left to argue.

Duchess Heverun also played a big role in bolstering our reputation. Thanks to her, even as a forr commoner, my position as empress wasn’t t with much resistance.

On top of that, news had spread that I had escaped from prison alongside those wrongfully imprisoned. That alone boosted my public image considerably.

The innocent were returned to their rightful places, and the guilty were punished. Those were satisfying days.

The only downside? We were too busy. Cleaning up the chaos Rowell had left behind gave neither Ardion nor a mont to rest.

Typically, even the emperor and empress had official vacation days, designated tis to unwind, but we couldn’t afford even that. The workload was overwhelming. Ardion felt terribly guilty about it.

“Laila, I’m sorry. If I don’t get this done now, it’ll just get worse. If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve taken care of these things back when Rowell was still around.”

I understood. It was always better to put out fires before taking a trip. Still, what tugged at wasn’t the work but Ardion’s attitude.

He was the one staying up all night dealing with the ss, yet he kept apologizing to . He was the one working the hardest.

“It’s okay. I can wait as long as you need. And if there’s anything I can do, just let know.”

At that, Ardion replied calmly, “In two months, we should be free. Let’s go sowhere proper then.”

And so, three months passed as we tackled one issue after another together.

And today, it finally arrived—the day we had planned for our long-awaited vacation. We had wrapped most of our major responsibilities, and the timing was perfect.

Even the weather seed to celebrate with us. The sky was clear, without a single cloud in sight, and the wind was still. It was perfect for travel.

“Master, I don’t think I’ve ever seen weather like this before.” Derol stood beside , gazing up at the sky.

I nodded in agreent. “It really is the perfect day for a trip. But are you sure you don’t want to co with us, Derol?”

“Yes, Master. You’ve already done so much for despite your busy schedule. Please take this ti to truly rest.”

“No, Derol. Taking care of you was never a burden. In fact, you made happy.”

Derol nestled into my hand.

I gently stroked his head. “Don’t worry about . If you change your mind, just say the word. You can always co with us.”

“No, thank you. I actually have sothing to do here.”

“What is it?”

“I heard there’s a rat infestation in the palace. I thought this would be a good ti to et with them and get the palace cleaned up.”

The palace had always had a rat problem. So of the more skittish servants were desperate to catch them, which never sat right with , perhaps because I’d once received help from the rats.

I gave Derol a soft pat. His words gave so comfort.

“I’ll tell the servants not to harm the rats.”

Derol’s eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Master. You really are the best.”

He rubbed his head against my hand, then his body followed. I couldn’t help but smile and gave him more gentle strokes.

While I was chatting idly with Derol, a knock ca at the door. I glanced at the clock. It was ti to leave.

I slipped Derol into my pocket, turned around, walked to the door, and opened it.

Ardion was standing there. As soon as our eyes t, he said, “Laila, it’s ti to go.”

A servant stood nearby, ready to care for Derol.

I handed Derol over gently. “Please take good care of him.”

“You have nothing to worry about.” The servant bowed and stepped away.

I waved to Derol, then looked at Ardion. “Can you make sure no one tries to catch the rats in the palace?”

“No rat-catching?”

“Yeah. Derol wants to convince them to help clean the palace.”

Ardion thought for a mont, then turned to his attendant and gave an instruction. The attendant nodded and left the room.

Now, it was just Ardion and . I glanced at the empty space where Derol usually was and said softly, “Do you think they’ll take good care of Derol?”

“Don’t worry. The person we hired knows a lot about rats. And thanks to you, there are more people training them now.”

“Really?”

“There’s even a departnt dedicated to studying rats at the academy.”

That was news to . To think that people who once only saw rats as pests were now changing their minds. It was surprising and surreal. As we chatted about all sorts of things, we left the palace.

Waiting outside was Ardion’s black carriage, the one he usually traveled in.

“So… where are we going?”

He pulled closer and answered, “It’s a retreat traditionally used by emperors and empresses. It’s by the sea. There’s a lake nearby and plenty of places to relax and enjoy.”

The thought alone lifted my spirits. After being cooped up in the palace, a change of scenery was more than welco.

Ardion opened the door for with a smile. I returned the smile and climbed in. Once he joined , the carriage began to move.

The scenery shifted quickly. We passed the tall buildings of the capital and entered wide open plains. Despite the chilly weather, lilacs blood in shades of violet and white as far as the eye could see.

“Ardion, is this… a lilac field? They just keep going.” I turned to him.

He only nodded, not looking surprised at all, as if this was completely expected. Sothing about his calmness made suspicious.

“Ardion… don’t tell …”

“They’re your favorite flower. I thought it’d be nice if you could see sothing you love on the way.”

“You had all these lilacs planted… just for ?”

He nodded again.

I stared at him, montarily speechless, then frowned. “That’s too much. You spent money just for my enjoynt, and it’s taxpayer money, isn’t it?”

Since we’d worked together on the imperial budget, I’d grown pretty sensitive about money.

Ardion simply shook his head. “I used my own inheritance for this.”

“Still, it’s a bit…”

Sitting beside , he gently took my hand in his. “Laila, the people needed work. Planting these lilacs brought in money for the villagers nearby and for the nursery workers.”

His words caught off guard.

“There weren’t many big projects recently. People were struggling. This gave them a chance to earn money.”

I had nothing to say to that. Maybe I had been been thinking too narrowly.

Ardion looked at , his voice soft but firm. “And Laila… you deserve to be treated this way. I don’t want you to think anything I do for you is a waste.”

His tender tone made it hard to respond. It struck the difference between how Ardion and I thought. Maybe it was inevitable. I’d lived as a commoner; he’d been born into royalty. Of course we saw the world differently. Realizing that made feel small. Once again, Ardion was showing a world bigger than I’d imagined.

At that mont, I felt a gentle squeeze on my hand. When I looked up, he was gazing straight at . His eyes had darkened, serious now, as if he had sothing important to say. Or maybe I had missed sothing.

“What is it?” I asked cautiously,

He said without looking away, “Laila… why didn’t you tell ?”

“Tell you what?”

“That you were pregnant.”

His voice was quiet, but his gaze was sharp. My mind went blank.

T/N: Finally we can talk about it, been waiting for ages…