Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 198
He couldn’t recall why he had done that. Perhaps he wanted to avoid the stern gaze of his tutor, or maybe it was simply because he had no one to talk to.
By that point, he probably hadn’t even had a conversation with Jared.
Although he had no memories prior to that moment, he distinctly remembered Jared saying something as he parted the bushes Linus was hiding in.
[Hi, Linus. I’m Jared. Your older brother.]
He couldn’t remember what he had replied. At that time, he didn’t know how to talk to others.
He had rarely spoken to strangers, and even less so to other children.
[Have you heard my name before?]
[I have… ‘Older Brother’.]
Since Linus was five years old then, Jared would have been around ten.
He understood the meaning of the word ‘brother’, but he had no idea that such a relationship actually existed.
The fact that he had a ‘brother’ felt more unreal than being the ‘crown prince’.
[Linus, you look just like a rabbit. So cute. Were you playing hide and seek?]
[Hide and seek?]
[Weren’t you hiding? Oh, you’ve never played hide and seek? Really?]
The lively boy exclaimed in surprise and then called out towards the tea table,
[Bettina! Let’s play hide and seek! Erich, come here!]
[You guys can do it on your own.]
Erich, already fourteen, replied with a look of annoyance, but after Jared urged him again, he reluctantly stood up and came over.
[We’ll decide who’s ‘it’ by rock-paper-scissors. Linus, you know how to play rock-paper-scissors, right?]
Linus didn’t remember everything about that day.
He wasn’t even sure if the game had actually taken place.
However, he often recalled that day later on, and on gloomy days, he would reminisce about the feelings from that day, eventually losing track of whether it had happened yesterday or years ago.
Linus knew it didn’t make sense to play with Jared.
At five years old, he was too young to understand the political dynamics at play, but even then, he grasped that he and Jared would never intersect in any meaningful way.
Perhaps the thought that he understood this was a reflection added later.
However, while he might not have known, Jared certainly did. The Empress wouldn’t have just let the ten-year-old Crown Prince be on his own at that time.
He hated Jared.
He hated those who extended a hand to someone they shouldn’t casually like.
He hated the emotions he couldn’t take responsibility for and the careless laughter, and he hated those who had everything he didn’t.
Especially after he learned what his mother had done to him.
‘What a shameless person.’
But whether he liked it or not, and even if the authenticity of his memories was unclear, he could never forget Jared.
It wasn’t just the Emperor who would never forget the dead Crown Prince. Not just Linus himself, but likely everyone who knew him felt the same.
[Linus?]
“Uncle Linus, are you really sleeping?”
In that moment, Linus’s consciousness was abruptly pulled to the surface. He found himself staring directly into Jared’s blue eyes right in front of him.
Startled, Linus pushed the other person away with force. However, it wasn’t Jared who fell back, but rather the young child.
“Uwack!”
Elliott, shoved off the sofa, screamed. Martha, the nanny, and the guards rushed in, shocked.
But even quicker than them, Linus stretched out his arm again, successfully catching the child’s head before it hit the ground.
“Ack!”
Elliott cried out in pain from being yanked. Linus, flustered, supported the child’s head.
“Ha.”
Linus set Elliott down gently and sighed in exasperation.
“What on earth are you doing here?”
“I made a mistake.”
Elliott replied, his voice trembling.
“I thought you were having a bad dream…”
“What?”
“I was trying to wake you.”
“That’s not what I’m asking. Why are you not in your room?”
“But this is the living room!”
Elliott retorted, clearly confused. He had never been told he should only be in his room unless he was sick or there was something particularly important going on.
Linus ran a hand through his hair, letting out an irritated sigh.
Elliott looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
“You hate me, Uncle?”
“What?”
“Last time, you laughed at me, now you’re angry. I just wanted to wake you up, Uncle!”
Elliott was curious about Linus.
He felt hurt when he seemed to laugh at him the first time they met, but Elliott wasn’t the type to sulk for long.
He liked new people and enjoyed being loved. The sparkling silver hair was so beautiful that he wanted to touch it.
If Linus was like Uncle Charles, he believed that once they got to know each other, he would naturally find him adorable.
But it seemed like Linus really hated him. Elliott pouted and lowered his head, gripping Linus’s knee.
Linus opened his mouth. He should say that he could never like him, but the words wouldn’t easily come out.
Interpreting his silence, Elliott lifted his head.
His golden eyelashes were still wet with tears, and while he looked downcast, he didn’t seem like he was about to cry at that moment.
“I’ll give you this.”
Elliott pulled a chocolate from his pocket and placed it in Linus’s hand.
“I saved this for Dad, but you’re sick.”
Elliott said. Linus looked down at the half-melted chocolate inside the wrapper with a strange expression.
Just then, a voice called from the hallway.
“Elliott, where are you?”
“Ah, it’s Mom!”
Elliott quickly jumped up and as soon as the living room door opened, he leaped into Claire’s lap.
“Oof!”
Claire groaned as she bent her knees.
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