#5
Instead of answering, Noah reached out with both hands and gently held the cheeks of the man who was walking while looking ahead. Everyone always smiled at him when he held their cheeks like this. And this man too was smiling gently at him.
“Will you mawwy me?”
“If that’s what the young master wishes.”
Wow, is getting married this easy? Just asking is enough? Is this because of Lucas, the Grand Duke of the North?
“Name…”
Since he said he’d marry me if I asked, tell me your name first.
“Noah!”
Just as Noah was about to seriously exchange names with the man and discuss their bright future together, his small head whipped around at the sudden stern voice calling his name.
The moment he saw Lucas, Noah’s lips jutted forward in a pout.
Father, why are you interrupting right when I’m about to secure the marriage you’ve wanted so badly!
“I pay my respects to one blessed by Arhen.”
The man who had been holding Noah until just now knelt on one knee, bowed his head deeply, and set Noah down, leaving him sitting on the floor looking around curiously.
He was back in the room where he had woken up earlier. The man, who had lowered himself with one knee on the ground as if showing respect, was bowing his head to someone.
Noah noticed Lucas standing like a huge wall and another man sitting alone on a large sofa.
Seeing the younger version of the strict and cold Emperor Alex, Noah placed both hands on the floor and stood up.
“What were you thinking wandering around alone! What if something had happened!”
Lucas, who must have just realized Noah had disappeared, extended his arms toward him with a frightening voice. Noah quickly tried to wobble away from his hands.
Please calm down, I got here safely. I have a lot to do now, and you shouldn’t be interfering. First, I need to settle things with my future husband, and since nothing in life is certain, I also need to build a relationship with the Emperor.
As Lucas’s hands approached faster than Noah could escape, Noah pouted again and smacked Lucas’s hand.
“Gweet… gweeting… I gweet you.”
Let me say hello.
Shouldn’t I create an image of a well-mannered, kind, and gentle child despite my young age? By greeting properly, I can show off how wonderful your child is, so please stay put!
After dodging Lucas’s hands and scurrying around, Noah saw Alex in front of him and quickly stopped. He recalled the posture the man had taken earlier.
“Awhen’s bwessings…”
Arhen’s blessings… Though he already knew the formal greeting for the Emperor, his uncooperative tongue moved on its own. Moreover, the moment he tried to kneel on one knee and bow his head, his small body toppled forward.
“Now I understand why you didn’t want to show him off.”
With a hearty laugh, someone’s hands slipped under his armpits and lifted him up before he could tumble ungracefully to the floor. Noah sighed softly.
Being in a child’s body meant getting used to people randomly putting their hands under his armpits and lifting him up, but he still startled whenever someone suddenly picked him up like this.
“If I had such an adorable Omega son, I’d probably hide him away too and not show him to anyone.”
Placed firmly on the Emperor’s knee, Noah looked at Lucas, who was sitting on the nearby sofa, with an exaggerated sigh.
“That’s why I’m planning to return to Austen.”
“So Noah is three years old this year?”
“Yes!”
Though it was a conversation between Alex and Lucas, when Alex confirmed his age, Noah quickly raised one hand and answered enthusiastically.
“Wow, he’s like a doll.”
As Noah was distracted by Alex and Lucas, another voice caught his attention, and he quickly looked up. The man who had been kneeling in respect earlier was now standing at one side of the room with his head slightly bowed, and something was rushing quickly from the window.
“Can I hold him too?”
If you want to hold me, you should ask me for permission, not Lucas and Alex.
The moment he saw the brown hair and reddish eyes, Noah immediately recognized this child as Matthew. Matthew, who had been quite handsome as an adult, was a truly good-looking child.
If Noah hadn’t met that man earlier, Matthew would have been someone to win over by flaunting his cuteness, but for Noah who had already given his heart to someone else, Matthew was just a mere child.
The Crown Prince was fine, but a magician seemed better. At least he could escape from laundry and showering.
Recalling how he had been cleaned by the man’s touch, Noah quickly shook his head at Matthew who was approaching.
Damn…
Of course a child’s opinion would be ignored.
A seven-year-old boy couldn’t properly hold a baby younger than himself. Awkwardly and roughly held, floating precariously in the air, Noah expressed his discomfort with half-closed eyes.
Though he wanted to make a fuss and demand to be put down, he still had to maintain his dignity in front of the Crown Prince and Emperor.
“Father, is Noah an Omega?”
I’m not a teddy bear. My shoulder blades feel like they’re going to pop out. Could you please put me down?
“That’s right.”
“Then, I’ll make him mine.”
Though Matthew seemed to be trying his best to hold him up, he hadn’t held Noah properly from the start. When Matthew dropped him, Noah quickly sat on the floor and tried to crawl away as fast as possible.
But he couldn’t stop Matthew, who was more nimble than him, from grabbing his face and daring to kiss his cheek without permission.
“Matthew, people are not objects, so you can’t do that. And that’s not something you can decide on your own. Above all, it requires Noah’s consent.”
Having heard the Crown Prince’s unexpected declaration before he could properly confess or confirm anything, Noah looked at the man in urgency. When their eyes met, a wave of sadness welled up. Before he could even confess his feelings, he had been embraced and kissed by another man right in front of him.
“No!”
Having strongly expressed his opinion, as soon as Matthew released him, Noah quickly ran to the man. Then he reached out and firmly grasped his index finger.
“My daddy is Gwand Duke. Big wand. Lots of minewals. So if you mawwy me, I’ll make you happy.”
He wanted to say: My father is the Grand Duke of the North. His territory is vast and rich in minerals, so we’re not financially lacking. If you marry me, I’ll make you happy for life without you having to lift a finger. But in Noah’s muddled state, any random words tumbled out of his mouth.
“Huh? My father is the Emperor. And I’m the First Prince, so I’ll be Emperor. If you marry me, I’ll give you Kairen.”
Firmly holding the man’s index finger as he confessed, Noah looked at Matthew, who was holding his other hand and saying something similar to what he had said. His heart sank with a thud at Matthew’s boastful promise to give him a country, complete with a bright smile.
“If you marry me, you’ll be the Empress.”
“…Matthew, I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“Noah, do you know what marriage means when you say such things?”
As Noah watched Alex trying to dissuade Matthew, he briefly looked at Lucas, who was staring at him with a hardened expression, checking if he understood the definition of marriage.
“But what’s your name?”
Forget everything else. First, tell me your name.
“Raymond, where did you meet this child?”
“I saw him alone in the corridor a short while ago and brought him here.”
With Alex’s question, Raymond, who had been pretending not to exist until now, answered while looking at Noah who was gazing up at him as everyone’s attention turned to him.
“Anyway, thank you for bringing Noah back safely.”
As Lucas expressed his gratitude to Raymond and grabbed Noah’s torso, Noah gripped Raymond’s index finger even tighter.
“It was nothing.”
“Oh, did I mention? Raymond has been confirmed as the next Imperial Tower Master.”
“Tower Master?”
Wow, amazing. Noah wouldn’t take his eyes off Raymond even as he was being lifted by Lucas. Now that I know your name, we’re getting married, right? That’s how it works, right?
Though he couldn’t say it out loud, he put all his strength into his eyes and desperately conveyed his intention, but Raymond only smiled enigmatically.
Lucas stroked Noah’s head as Noah repeatedly tapped Lucas’s hand with his small hand while being held in his arms.
In the carriage on the way to the Imperial Palace, Noah had been chattering excitedly about something, then suddenly collapsed and fell asleep, which had been quite alarming. Lucas hadn’t expected the child who had been laughing brightly just moments before to suddenly fall asleep.
It was only after hearing his even breathing that Lucas realized Noah was asleep, but from the moment they entered the Imperial Palace, countless eyes had been on Noah.
The Recluse.
Lucas knew well that this term referred to him.
He had lived alone because he disliked mingling with people and the complications it brought.
If he hadn’t met Loren, he would have continued that lifestyle, but after meeting her, Lucas’s life had completely changed.
Loren, who had a weak constitution and was sensitive to cold, spent a third of the year in the capital, and naturally, Lucas spent more time in the capital as well.
Since Loren also preferred a quiet life like himself, Noah had never appeared in public until he turned three. Even when rumors spread that the Grand Duke of the North’s only child was an Omega, not an Alpha, causing quite a stir, they all treated it as someone else’s business.
In any case, since he rarely showed himself in public, bringing Noah along today meant that by the time they returned home, rumors about Noah would be spreading wildly throughout the capital.
Unaware of all this, Noah slept soundly, his small hands twitching occasionally and a slight smile gracing his face. Even as they headed to the inner palace where the Emperor was, Lucas’s gaze was fixed not on what was ahead, but on Noah, wondering what sweet dreams could make him smile so beautifully.
And temporarily entrusting the sleeping Noah to the Imperial nanny had been the mistake.
When they returned to the reception room with Alex and Matthew, who wanted to see Noah, they found only the Imperial nanny looking pale with fear.
The nanny had briefly left to prepare snacks for when Noah woke up, and in that short time, Noah had disappeared. Just as Lucas’s heart sank, the door to the reception room opened.
And Noah appeared with the future Imperial Tower Master, which meant this incident wouldn’t spread widely and was being resolved at this level.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
