Obviously, It’s My Child - Chapter 134

“You’re the one responsible, aren’t you? You made me kill my father, and then my Mom had to take the blame for it, so…”

“You killed him and now you’re trying to pin the blame on me?”

“You had a motive for giving me that address, didn’t you…?”

Stefan didn’t deny it but simply smiled.

“Well, yes. What could the motive be, I wonder? Maybe I’m stepping back quietly because I’ve achieved the outcome I wanted?”

“Because of Lina…?”

Iris looked at him blankly. Stefan smiled lightly.

Then, he stepped out of the carriage and closed the door.

* * *

The train rattled. Elliot, who was nearly hanging out of the window, nearly fell backward.

“Ah!”

“Be careful.”

Before he could fall, Erich’s hand supported the back of Elliot’s round head. Elliot giggled.

“Thank you.”

“Keep your feet on the ground.”

“But then I can only see the top!”

Elliot protested loudly and waved his arms. Claire looked in the direction Elliot was pointing.

Not long ago, the mountains were visible in the distance, but now they were suddenly right in front of them.

Sharp peaks, as if clay mountains were sliced with a knife, soared up to pierce the sky, and the train wound its way through, seemingly slipping between them.

For Elliot, who grew up watching the southern horizon, this was both fascinating and intriguing. In fact, Claire felt somewhat the same.

It felt more like a proper journey than expected.

“The route is better developed than I thought. Wasn’t Klausener considered quite remote in the past?”

“That’s a hundred years ago. After acquiring territories near Rothenburg, that area naturally became the center.”

“Klausener’s iron ore has been famous from ancient times, but with the mountains like this, transporting it must have been a huge task.”

“Things changed once we were able to tunnel through.”

“Uncle, uncle, iron ore means this, right? Bang bang! Whoosh!”

Elliot mimicked the sound of hammering and quenching. Claire laughed. Elliot had seen a traditional forge.

“Right.”

“But what about the promise, Elliot?”

Erich called Elliot with a solemn voice. Knowing what warning was about to come, Elliot covered his cheeks with his palms, turning red and squirming.

But Erich didn’t soften his expression and waited until Elliot spoke. Elliot looked to Claire for help, but she just smiled amusingly and watched.

He couldn’t help it. Erich was a man of his word. So he had to keep his promise too.

“Da, Dad!”

Having called out, Elliot ran off on the spot.

Elliot tried to run out of the dining car without looking, but someone was standing in front of the VIP suite.

“Ack!”

“Ah.”

Elliot bounced back and fell.

“Waaaah!”

Elliot wailed after landing on his bottom. The person hurriedly bent down to help Elliot up.

But before that could happen, a familiar hand reached out from behind and scooped Elliot up with ease.

“Uuhh, uwaahh.”

“Let’s see, you’re not hurt anywhere.”

Erich soothed Elliot’s back as he cried. Claire scolded him.

“You can’t run without looking where you’re going, Elliot.”

“It was my fault for standing in the way.”

Johann Krozik, who had been standing in front of the door, apologized with his head bowed.

Erich looked down at him with annoyance.

Why did this sort of nuisance have to accompany them on their honeymoon?

Of course, this entire train wasn’t exclusively for the Klausener family’s use, even though he owned it.

Erich wasn’t the type to monopolize space wherever he went. Especially something like a train, which is a valuable public resource. He wasn’t inclined to haul around lots of luggage and people, so using just one space of the car for himself was sufficient.

But had he known this unnecessary individual would be on board, he would have emptied out the entire train car.

“Do you have some business?”

Claire asked. Johann glanced at Erich before speaking.

“There was a message waiting for you at the last station.”

“Ah, thanks. That was quick.”

“There’s a carrier pigeon office at the station.”

Erich commented. Then he addressed Johann.

“I understand you happened to be on your way home on the same train as us.”

“Ah, yes, that’s correct.”

“If we were to greet one person, we’d have to greet all the other passengers as well. You may leave.”

“Don’t be too harsh. He came here because of my business.”

Claire skimmed through the note and explained to him, but Johann wasn’t the type to be so oblivious.

He excused himself with an ‘I apologize for the intrusion’ and left. After all, what else could have been the reason for not being able to open the door to the suite and just standing there in front of it?

It was because Erich’s mark was clearly left on him. In a bad way.

‘When I was with Louisa, it wasn’t clear if he knew me or not.’

Johann sighed. He hadn’t directly faced any opposition, but somehow his freedom of movement felt restricted.

It shouldn’t be him that needed to be watched. There were plenty of others. He wasn’t an ex-fiance or an aspiring suitor.

Claire had praised his looks, but she assessed his worth not in charm but in monetary terms.

In that sense, she was similar to the Empress. She didn’t think of him as anything more than a tool to be used.

Unlike the Empress, she didn’t actually try to use him, though. That should have been something to be thankful for, but somehow, it left him feeling disappointed, which was odd.

After Johann left, Claire neatly folded the note and placed it inside a book. She planned to throw it into the fireplace once they arrived at their accommodation.

“What’s the rush about the news?”

“It’s not particularly urgent. It seems the Countess Schneider has died.”

“…I see.”

“We’ll need to get a proper message to know the details, but it’s likely the Empress…”

Claire started to say something but stopped herself, remembering Elliott was here.

Want to read more? Up to [24] advanced chapters are available on Patreon: