Cheshire knew that the Marquis would come again.
So he said what he had been preparing to do when he met him.
“Father.”
The Marquis was delighted with the affectionate title.
“Do you consider me as your child?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course, you’re my child. My son.”
“Then may I ask you a favor? First and…for the last.”
Cheshire hoped.
He remembered what Lilith said the other day.
“Because she’s my mother. She didn’t raise me, but she’s the one who gave birth to me.”
Yeah.
He’s still his father.
Even if he didn’t raise him, still—.
Could he grant him at least one earnest request?
“I am happy to be here now. When I lived with my mother and stayed at my father’s house… I’ve never thought of being happy….”
“….”
“I want to stay here forever. Can’t I?”
Cheshire added with earnest eyes.
“If you just leave me alone. If you treat me like a child you’ve never had like before.”
“….”
“Until the day I die, I will never forget you. I’ll live with a grateful heart for giving birth to me.”
The Marquis had no answer. He just staring at Cheshire.
After a while, a voice like a frost poured out of the Marquis’s mouth.
“Who gave you birth as a Dos? Who do you think gave you that blood?”
“….”
“It’s not the Duke of Rubinstein who picked you up and put you to play with his daughter, nor is it your lowly incompetent mother.”
“….”
“It’s me. Me.”
The Marquis’ eyes shone with madness.
“Did I ever raise my hand to you? Even so, I didn’t kill you because you were my child and I keep you alive. Didn’t I even feed you and give you a place to sleep?”
“….”
“When you go home, your brother is there, so do you hate that? If you find it uncomfortable to see his face, kick him out immediately. If you want to repay what you’ve been through, you can do as you please.”
Cheshire’s mouth opened slowly.
Stepbrother Jonathan…
To the Marquis, unlike him, a lowly illegitimate child, he thought he was a real son.
The Marquis was saying that he would kick Jonathan out without any hesitation.
“It’s awkward because you don’t have affection for me. But it’s a matter that time will solve. Let’s go somewhere nice and talk and spend time together.”
The Marquis grabbed Cheshire’s arm with a friendly expression.
Tak–!
Cheshire shook off his hand.
“I’m not going.”
The Marquis took something out of his arms as if he had expected such an attitude.
It was paper stamped with the imperial seal.
“It is a certificate of right to see your face once every two days for three hours. The Duke is preventing me from seeing your face, so I had no choice but to request it from the imperial family personally.”
Cheshire’s shoulders drooped weakly.
He had no way to deal with the Marquis, who even brought official documents.
He quietly looked back.
From afar, Lilith was watching him.
“Let’s go. Let’s go to a nice place and have a meal together.”
Cheshire eventually held back his desire to cry and took a steady step.
It was then.
“Where are you going now?”
Axion approached. The Marquis skillfully tried to show the right to reasonable access again.
“Ah, Your Excellency, Duke of Libre. Please excuse me during training—”
“Hmm? Where are you going?”
But as if he wasn’t interested, Axion put his arm around Cheshire’s shoulder and said with a smile.
“Son.”
“….?”
Cheshire doubted his ears.
The Marquis were surprised, too.
“What did you just say?”
“Ah, did the Marquis not know? I guess the rumors are late. I was supposed to make this kid my son.”
“What?”
The Marquis opened his mouth wide.
“No, didn’t you expect that? He’s the biggest celebrity in the system these days. Dos who came out after a long time. He doesn’t even have a name or family.”
“No, what do you mean!”
“How many aristocrats are drooling? Of course, Duke Rubinstein is his guardian, so I couldn’t openly reach out to him, but….”
Axion added with a shudder.
“…we’re close. When I said that I would take him under me, he personally gave me permission.”
“Does that make sense! This child’s father is me!”
“Oh, do you have any proof?”
“Yes, there is! I have just submitted a complaint to the Imperial Personal Affairs Bureau! They are reviewing!”
“I see. When will the results come out?”
“T, that…”
Axion smiled and said.
“But I’m going to submit my registration documents today?”
As long as there is mutual consent, adoption is completed within one day of submitting the forms.
The blood drained from the Marquis’ face.
“T, that w, why do you want—you didn’t even listen to the child’s opinion!”
“Opinion?”
Axion shrugged and looked down at Cheshire.
“Are you going to be my son or not?”
Cheshire was bewildered.
How should he match the rhythm in this sudden situation—.
“Ah.”
He blankly shut his lips, but then he saw Lilith.
As if she had heard all the conversation, she held on to Axion’s trousers with an excited face and poked her face out.
Her teary eyes were shining brightly.
“Yes…”
He was still confused, but he knew one thing for sure.
What kind of answer should he give now.
“That’s right, Father.”
Cheshire nodded.
“W, what? Father?!”
The Marquis shouted.
Seeing the Marquis turn pale like a corpse, Axion laughed.
“T, t, this…!”
The Marquis, who had been flustered for a while, quickly left.
He probably wants to go to the administration office first.
It was like a bird on fire.
“U, Uncle!”
Lilith stamped her feet with excitement.
“What do you mean? Are you just trying to go after the Marquis?”
Axion looked at Lilith, whose eyes were shining brightly, and then back at Cheshire.
“Son, let’s get ready.”
“…Yes?”
“We have to go quickly, too.”
* * *
What on earth is this?
Me, Chesier, Axion, and even my dad.
We’re going to the Imperial Personal Affairs Bureau by carriage.
“What am I really doing…”
Axion is looking blankly out his window like a man whose soul has gone.
“….”
Even Cheshire next to him didn’t seem to understand this bewildered situation.
“Ahahaha! Let’s go quickly, quickly!”
Only my Dad had his mouth ripped to his ears.
It was a situation that needed to be sorted out, but we didn’t have time.
“Run, run!”
As soon as Dad arrived, he quickly picked me up and got out of the carriage.
And we…really run!
The Imperial Ministry of Public Affairs.
“Whoaa! D, Dad! Slowly…!”
“Ahahaha!”
Dad dangling his hand in my armpit from behind and running with a flash in the air.
The Public Affairs staff and visitors all looked at us in surprise.
‘I’m embarrassed! What is this!’
It took only 20 minutes to reach the Personal Affairs Bureau.
Dad sighed, put the brakes on his steps, and approached the counter.
“I have come to apply for registration.”
Dad, who had put me down, showed Cheshire and Axion to the staff and said quickly.
“His name is Cheshire. I am the child’s guardian, and this is the head of the family where the child will be registered.”
Then, coincidentally, I found Marquis Onyx standing at the counter right next to us.
When he saw us, he opened his mouth in surprise and urged the staff.
“Hey! Hurry up!”
“Y, yes…”
The staff, who had dark circles under his eyes and looked tired from doing his job, read a document he was holding slowly.
“You said you would submit additional statements to the paternity right you submitted the other day… Let’s see…. The reason you hid the child… He was an illegitimate child with traces of assault, so it was difficult to show it….”
“No! Why are you reading that out loud?!”
The Marquis shouted with a flushed face.
‘Aha. In the end, you’re telling the truth just to ask for a quick inspection.’
I can understand that choice because the image and everything are on fire.
“Sir Enoch Rubinstein?”
Then.
A female staff at our counter, who tied her hair neatly, smiled kindly and handed out four documents.
“Here is a guardian agreement, a registered child’s personal information, a registered family head’s personal information, and a confirmation of the fact of registration. You can fill out a total of four documents and submit them.”
“If I submit it, will it be approved right away?”
“Yes. As long as the guardian’s identity is verified, the entry in the family registration is approved without any additional procedure after submitting the document.”
“Phew, thank you for your hard work. It’s really nice to get things done quickly.”
Dad picked up a pen on the spot.
The Marquis, who had been watching it blankly, stretched out his hand—.
“Ehey.”
―Dad smiled wickedly and held the papers in the air.
“T, this…”
The Marquis, who was frantic, urged the staff in charge.
“When will that punk’s inspection end!”
“Ah, please wait… You just returned with the documents you added to the inspection department….”
“I’ve been waiting for days now!”
“You’re not going to be inspected quickly just because you’re urging me.”
“Hiiik!”
I eagerly looked alternately between the counter and suppressed a laugh.
We were done with the paperwork in less than 5 minutes.
However.
“Oh my.”
The staff who was checking the documents said with an apologetic smile.
“What should I do, Sir Axion Libre? You have to put your seal here, not your signature.”
Two documents with Axion’s signature were returned.
“Of course, you may not know, but registering is a job without a separate approval process, so we only receive notarized seals on documents for more reliable identification.”
Dad put on a blank expression.
We were leaving directly from my house.
Who will carry the seal?
Axion was wearing only a sweaty black short-sleeved training suit.
“Damn it.”
Unlike Dad, who lost his composure in an instant, the Marquis, who was spying on us from the side, was delighted.
I was a bit nervous too.
‘What if the Marquis’ documents are processed first?’
It was an urgent situation.
Dad, making a quick decision, turned around.
“First, I’ll go to your house and get a seal—”
But Axion stopped Dad from putting his arm across to reach out.
Dad’s face hardened at once.
“You punk, you’re not going to say you’ve changed your mind by coming here, right?”
“….”
I watched the two nervously.
I don’t know, but it seems that there has already been some kind of deal between the two.
‘Uncle seems to hate it, but did my Dad force him to adopt Cheshire?’
Apparently, Axion seemed unwilling.
And Cheshire—.
Cheshire was also nervously watching the two, and when our eyes met, he turned away.
“You don’t have to go home.”
“What?”
Axion let out a sigh and put his fingers into the front pocket of the training suit he was wearing.
What he soon took out was a little gold-colored—.
‘Seal?!’
Dad’s eyes widened when he saw that.
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