What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 149

Kazhan’s complexion grew brighter day by day. Ever since he started sleeping with Ysaris, his physical condition had been at its peak, and his work efficiency had improved remarkably.

After handling the aftermath of the Meuron barony incident and clearing the backlog of tasks, he found himself with plenty of free time. Naturally, Kazhan invested all of it in Ysaris, which also allowed him to grow quite close to Mikael, who was always by her side.

“Daddy, zoom! Do zoom!”

“Aren’t you tired of this?”

“Zoooom!”

Kazhan glanced at Ysaris as Mikael urged him with outstretched arms. Seeing her shake her head helplessly, he sighed and scooped the child up with one arm.

“Your mom’s worried, so I won’t take you too high.”

“Zoom?”

“I’ll do the zoom, but we’ll stay low, okay?”

“Zoooom!”

“……”

‘This kid… is he only hearing what he wants to hear?’

Kazhan pushed aside his reasonable suspicion and held Mikael firmly. The little one clutched his clothes tightly and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. Kazhan crouched slightly, adjusting his stance.

“Climbing trees is easy. I’ll teach you when you’re older. Though I’ll need your mom’s permission first.”

Since it was a matter for the distant future, Kazhan didn’t wait for a response and pushed off the ground. He stepped firmly on the rough bark, climbing swiftly and grabbing a thick branch before spinning around.

“Whee!”

“Cain, can’t you climb more safely? Maybe you should wrap Mikael in a sling?”

From below, Ysaris called out, clearly worried as she watched their energetic son squirm. No matter how skilled a knight Kazhan was, everyone made mistakes sometimes.

Unlike the anxious Ysaris, Kazhan sat comfortably on the branch and looked down at her. She had come right up to the base of the tree, pacing nervously, and he found her utterly endearing.

“It’s safer than it looks, so don’t worry. It’s a shame you won’t come up with us, though.”

“Mommy zoom too?”

“Ysaris won’t come up. She’s scared of this sort of thing.”

“……It’s not that I’m scared, it’s about maintaining dignity, okay?”

“Are you saying I’m being undignified with Mikael?”

“Well… that’s not…”

As Ysaris stumbled over her words, Kazhan chuckled.

“I’m joking. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

“Cain…”

Ysaris let out a sigh of relief and frustration. Just as she was about to feel grateful that Kazhan had let her slip-up slide, he continued in a relaxed tone.

“But even if you think this behavior is unbecoming of an emperor, I hope you’ll understand. Right now, I’m not an emperor or a knight—I’m just your husband and Mikael’s father, existing here with you.”

“……”

Kazhan and Ysaris’s eyes met quietly. For a moment, the background seemed to fade, leaving only each other in their vision.

Whoosh. The chilly wind blew fiercely, causing Ysaris’s hair to flutter wildly. The rustling leaves and Mikael’s babbling broke the silent exchange of gazes between the two.

“Daddy, more! Zoom! Whee!”

“Alright, let’s do it. Zoom.”

Despite his half-hearted reply, Kazhan played with his son wholeheartedly. Using his superior physical abilities, he performed daring acrobatics on the tree, eliciting excited screams from Mikael and startled cries from Ysaris, filling the garden with noise.

At one point, Kazhan pretended to lose his balance, swaying dramatically, which earned him a scolding from a panicked Ysaris. Eventually, he was banned from “zooming” for a while and had to come down, spending the rest of the time soothing a tearful Mikael.

* * *

“So, when should we have the second one?”

“Cough!”

Ysaris hastily set down her teacup and covered her mouth with a napkin. She wanted to speak, but the tea had gone down the wrong way, causing her to cough repeatedly.

“What are you—cough—suddenly talking about…! Cough, cough.”

“Be careful.”

Ysaris found Kazhan, who was calmly patting her back from the seat beside her, utterly infuriating. Who did he think was responsible for this?

After a few more coughs, she finally calmed down and took a deep breath. Though she no longer needed the patting, his hand continued to circle her back, so she shot him a sidelong glare.

“Why a second one?”

“I thought it would be good for Mikael to have a sibling. He’s such an active child—it’d be nice for him to have someone to play with regularly.”