Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 195
“Looks like a rabbit.”
“Young Master!”
Martha hurriedly covered Elliott’s mouth, but Claire couldn’t help but chuckle. Honestly, she thought the same way.
Martha pressed down on Elliott’s shoulder as he tried to run forward.
“You need to greet him, young master, greet him.”
Martha whispered. Elliott suddenly shouted, “Ah!” as if he realized something.
He then placed his hand on his belly and greeted, “I, I am Sir Elliott of Klausener.”
Afterward, he looked up at Linus with a proud expression, expecting to be acknowledged as ‘Sir Elliott’ or to be greeted back like a gentleman.
However, Linus couldn’t respond as smoothly as Hermann or Joanna. He had never been this close to a child before…
“……”
Before Linus could mumble any name through his slightly parted lips, Erich cut in with a cold tone.
“Don’t say anything that will upset me, Linus.”
“Ha.”
Linus let out a sound that was a mix of a hollow laugh and a sigh through his frozen lips.
Watching from afar for the past few days was one thing, but seeing the child’s face up close was
a different experience altogether.
He looked more like Erich than he expected, and yet, he also looked less like him.
Linus was certain that Erich had never looked like this at this age.
He recalled a boy whose bright face matched the azure sky, with eyes that seemed to hold the heavens above.
This child resembled that gaze more closely. While the color might be the same, it was different from the deep ocean-like depths of Erich’s eyes.
Or perhaps it was just because he had spent the last five years imagining that very image.
It was natural for a child to be innocent and naive.
“Elliott.”
Erich’s gentle voice broke through his train of thought.
Disappointed, Elliott ran to Claire and leaned against her, whining. Linus felt uncomfortable watching them.
Erich spoke.
“Elliott, from now on, if someone rude doesn’t greet you, you can just ignore them.”
“Okay…”
“And don’t play with anyone who doesn’t greet you.”
Elliott nodded seriously, his expression mirroring Erich’s in a way that left Linus feeling complicated.
Claire shot a glance at Erich.
“Don’t say that out of spite. You’re just jealous.”
“My point stands. A guest who behaves worse than a four-year-old can’t really be called a guest.”
Elliott tilted his head at Erich’s words.
“Not a guest? So it’s really okay not to greet him?”
At that, Linus couldn’t stay quiet any longer.
“It’s Linus.”
His introduction was too brief, lacking the usual pleasantries like ‘nice to meet you,’ which made Elliott tilt his head in confusion.
“Elliott, Linus is your great-uncle.”
“Great-uncle?”
“Pfft.”
For no particular reason, Linus suddenly burst into laughter.
Claire shot him a glare, urging him not to laugh. Erich barely managed to suppress a smile, his lips curling slightly.
Elliott, feeling as if he had been mocked, pouted. Claire gently patted him.
“You can just call him Uncle. Your mom’s cousin is Uncle Charles, and your dad’s cousin is Uncle Linus.”
“Ah!”
Elliott’s face lit up as if he had perfectly understood the distance. But he hesitated again.
“But…”
“Why?”
“Uncle Charles likes me… I don’t make him laugh when I talk.”
Hiding his face shyly behind Claire’s hand, Elliott looked away.
Linus chose not to respond to that comment; he wasn’t in the mood to indulge the child.
He was merely curious.
How had this woman and child transformed Erich Klausener? What was different about him, apart from his nobility?
He never expected to see eyes like Jared’s in this place. If Erich had fallen for it, that struck him as rather silly. Though ‘great-uncle’ did sound amusing.
“From now on, you can get to know each other.”
Claire said that as she gently shook Elliott’s hand. Then she entrusted him back to Martha.
Martha hoisted Elliott up with a grunt.
“It’s time for the young master to take a nap.”
“Okay…”
Elliott looked at Linus with a hint of curiosity but quickly dismissed it.
The living room door clicked shut softly.
Erich finally let out a sigh. Then, in a cold voice, he said,
“Act like an adult, Linus. I could actually kick you out.”
“Are you trying to start a war with Mother?”
“If Her Majesty the Empress is going to go to war over something like this…”
“Erich.”
Claire interjected, sensing that he might say something hurtful to Linus.
Erich glanced down at her. With his expressionless face, it seemed clear he thought he was merely stating facts.
Claire lightly tickled the inside of Erich’s palm as a warning. Then she said,
“You made a good decision. If you’re not leaving right away, it’s becoming awkward for us to hide you.”
“What do you mean it’s becoming awkward to hide me?”
“The news just came in that the lady-in-waiting Augusta took the train from the capital.”
Erich answered in her place.
That news had arrived at Klausener yesterday afternoon, with a courier rushing in to deliver it.
“She’s heading to Duchy Ernst’s estate. It’s probably because of your disappearance.”
“D*mn it.”
“I’m warning you in advance—if you say something like that in front of Elliott, I will really kick you out.”
Linus looked at him in disbelief.
Claire shook her head and shifted the conversation to a more practical matter.
“Ernst and Ludendorff are close by, and Ludendorff is lady-in-waiting Augusta’s family home. Of course, she’ll be stopping here.”
A shadow quickly fell across Linus’s face. He felt as if the Empress’s grip was tightening around him.
Seeing his expression, Claire let out a small sigh.
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