I Don’t Need the Grand Duke’s Regret - Chapter 147

“Sophie, eat too! Luce too!”

“Yes!”

“Yes, Prince.”

Sophie and Luce took cookies at Charles’s urging. As Sophie enjoyed the sweet chocolate chip cookie, her gaze suddenly shifted to Mirabel. She leaned in closer and quietly asked,

“How is His Grace doing today?”

“Pretty much the same. He still hasn’t woken up.”

Mirabel spoke softly while feeding Charles some white milk. Although her tone was calm, there was an underlying anxiety.

Mirabel wanted to stay by Ricardo’s side, but Ugo had advised against it.

He explained that without being able to provide medical treatment, there was no point in staying right next to the bed.

Ugo asked Mirabel to trust him and wait for the Grand Duke to wake up.

So Mirabel had come to find Charles in an attempt to calm her own heart. As she saw the dark look in Mirabel’s eyes, Sophie took her hand.

“Don’t worry too much. He’ll wake up soon.”

“…Yes.”

Mirabel forced a smile at Sophie’s comfort. Although it was a forced grin, it still brightened her face a little.

“Mommy, Charles bored.”

“Really? Then what should we play? Is there something Charles wants to do?”

As Mirabel spoke with Sophie, she noticed Charles’s fussiness after finishing his cookie. He was nestled in her arms, shaking her arms from side to side.

“Play with Ezio! Play hide and seek with Ezio.”

“Ezio is busy, so he can’t play with you for a while. But how about playing hide and seek with Mommy, Sophie, and Luce instead?”

“Here?”

“Hmm…”

When Charles pouted and asked, Mirabel made a troubled expression.

“Do you want to go outside?”

“Yeah!”

As the child nodded vigorously and raised his voice, Mirabel replied with a resigned tone.

“Alright. But you can’t go outside the mansion. You can only be where the Uncle Knights can see you, okay?”

“Then Uncle Knight tell Charles?”

“I’ll just tell them not to.”

Mirabel chuckled lightly and gently pinched Charles’s nose. The child scrunched his face and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

“Then Charles seeker first!”

With Charles’s energetic declaration, the game of hide and seek began. Mirabel exchanged glances with Sophie and Luce before stepping out of the room.

* * *

The game of hide and seek continued for quite some time.

Charles found Mirabel first, who was hiding behind the door of the adjacent room. Next, he discovered Luce behind the curtains, and finally, he found Sophie hiding behind a pillar in the side corridor.

After playing several rounds, it was now Mirabel’s turn to be the seeker as she counted to ten.

“I’ll count to ten. One, two, three…”

“Kyahaha!”

The sound of the child’s laughter added warmth to the previously chilly hallway. Perhaps because it had been a while since he had come out of the room, Charles was particularly excited.

The knights stationed in the corridor watched Charles joyfully scampering about with fond expressions. When Charles noticed their gazes, he suddenly turned around to look up at them.

“No tell Charles here! Shh!!”

“Yes, Prince.”

Charles firmly placed his finger to his lips, getting a promise as he headed down the quiet corridor.

The knights watching the child exchanged puzzled glances.

The direction Charles was heading in was a place where the seeker would struggle to find him. It was a location everyone in the mansion tended to avoid.

“Prince, that way is—!”

“Shh!”

As the knights tried to stop Charles, the child jumped and made a gesture, asking them to keep the secret. The knights felt helpless, unable to forcibly detain him.

“Prince!”

“…Nine, ten!”

Meanwhile, Mirabel, with her eyes closed, finished counting and began looking at her surroundings. Her gaze collided with the anxious eyes of two knights at the end of the corridor. Confused, she approached them.

“What’s wrong?”

“Princess, the Prince has gone to ‘that place.’”

“That place?”

“It’s not dangerous, but it is a bit ominous.”

“Ominous? What do you mean?”

“That…”

As the knights fumbled for an explanation, Mirabel noticed their hesitant glances. Her pupils widened as she looked in the direction Charles had gone.

‘No way.’

Her fingertips went cold as she recognized the familiar corridor. She struggled to take her eyes away from the empty hallway filled with a chilling air and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Did Charles go to the Red Room?”

“What? How does the Princess know about the ‘Red Room’…?”

“Charles!”

Mirabel dashed past the questioning knight. She ran swiftly, calling out the child’s name repeatedly.

* * *

Charles, searching for a place to hide, widened his eyes after seeing a room with familiar décor.

“Wow!”

Before him stood a room completely decorated in red, leaving a deep impression in his mind.

“Red?”

Standing at the entrance, Charles looked around the room in wonder. While an adult might feel uneasy in such an eerie atmosphere, it only appeared fascinating to him.

Red bed, red curtains, red wallpaper.

It was a mysterious space that seemed as if someone had accidentally spilled red paint everywhere.

Perhaps the apple princess from the fairy tale lived in a room like this.

With an excited heart, Charles clasped his hands together.

“Hello! I’m Charles. Can I come in?”

Charles raised his voice at the entrance, thinking it courteous to ask in case someone resided in the room.

However, despite his greeting, there was no response. The only sound was the wind outside rustling the windows. Judging by the broken furniture, it seemed the apple princess had moved out.

“Charles come in!”

Charles shouted once more before stepping into the room.

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