Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Translator: Effe
Editor: Yonnee
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At first, James didn’t think they were coming towards him.
After he was surrounded, he raised his cane in panic, but he had no particular intention of attacking them.
“W-What exactly are you doing?!”
The young Charles stepped forward and shouted in a panicked voice. They brought two sturdy servants as porters, but the naive rural youths shrank back, at a loss as to what to do.
The uniformed men deftly separated James and Charles from the servants and surrounded them without ever touching their bodies.
“Sir James Delford?”
“W-What kind of outrageous thing is this!”
Even after shouting like this, no one in this crowded train station stepped forward to interfere.
Rather, those other people maintained their distance and only whispered amongst themselves. James was red-faced, overwhelmed with shame and fear.
“His Grace is waiting. Please come with us.”
“His Grace, who?”
The question remained unanswered. The two were half-pushed into a large black four-wheeled carriage.
James shuddered immensely. The carriage was so spacious and comfortable, and he never had the chance to ride such a vehicle before. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated.
An unfamiliar landscape flashed past the window. James tried to straighten his posture. He wanted to act as proudly and as aristocratically as possible against any unfair treatment.
But his nerves shrank faster than he thought. He felt even more so as the carriage passed through the great gates of the residence.
“Excuse me. Where are we going?”
He asked in a very timid manner. Only then did the uniformed man sitting across him give a short answer.
“This is Duke Klausener’s residence.”
“Hiek!”
James made a terrified noise.
The carriage dropped the two of them in front of the ornate main entrance. Charles looked up at the mansion with a bewildered face.
This was the beautiful building that had once been known as the Ivory Palace.
Sunlight broke through the clear panes of glass of the large windows, shining dazzlingly like a lake on a windless summer day.
No other building symbolizing the Empire, so majestic and luxurious, displayed such modern luxury.
“Sir James Delford?”
As he was standing there, dumbfounded, James was called by someone from inside the house this time. It was a butler wearing an old-fashioned uniform.
“T-That’s right. I am James of House Delford.”
“Please, come this way. Milord is waiting for you.”
The butler politely bowed his head.
What the hell is all this about? James’s pupils quivered, but he followed the butler into the mansion.
The Duke’s office screamed dignity. The elegant furnishings have probably remained unchanged from its days as the Ivory Palace. Only the gas lamp near the desk and the clear glass window panes were new.
Duke Klausener stood in front of the window, looking out. It seemed as if he was lost in thought.
“Milord, I have brought Sir James.”
James tightened his grip on his cane. He didn’t know what was going on here, but he himself was a traditional Arren nobleman. He did nothing wrong, and he had nothing to be ashamed of.
The duke slowly turned around.
“Hoooh!”
James let out a gasp palpable with fright, forgetting his firm resolve. Charles was on the verge of collapsing.
Seeing that reaction, Erich smiled bitterly in his heart. What Claire said was right.
[ Even if Delford and the capital are far away, it’s impossible to feel at ease. It might be easy to keep the lips of the estate’s people zipped, but it’s hard to keep the mouths of relatives clamped shut. ]
[ I didn’t expect that you couldn’t manage your family like this. ]
[ Well sorry, but I couldn’t do anything about that because I wasn’t born as the ‘eldest son’. ]
Erich had no choice l but to agree. Even if the eldest son passed away at an early age and the second or third son inherited the family, there was often a struggle between relatives. And at the end of the day, Claire was a woman.
[ It would be better for me to step out. If you say it’s a matter of Klausener’s lineage, they’ll watch their mouths. ]
That notion was proving to be correct. James was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sir James. It was a sudden invitation, but thank you for your willingness to come and visit.”
“N-Not at all.”
Erich held out a hand to shake James’ hand, and James took it with both hands, bending over his back with a flushed face.
He seemed to have forgotten that the manner in which he had been brought here was almost akin to a kidnapping at that train station.
“It is an honor to be invited by you.”
Erich invited the two to sit down with an elegant attitude. The father and son duo sat on the sofa stiffly.
For James, the past five years of his life flashed like a kaleidoscope. How exactly did he treat Elliot so far?
Erich sat leisurely with his legs crossed, waiting for the thoughts running through James’s head to clear up. He didn’t even bother to look into it.
He didn’t get to the point until James took a deep breath.
“I plan to have the ceremony in two months after the situation cools off.”
“Ceremony… With all due respect, what are you talking about…?”
“The wedding.”
“The wedding?”
James asked with a blank face.
“Yes, the wedding that Claire and I will hold. Haven’t you heard about it yet?”
Erich was annoyed, but answered with sincerity. In any case, these people were about to be his in-laws.
James’s mouth fell open. It was unimaginable.
‘He’s not trying to talk about Elliot?’
When James saw Erich’s face for the first time, the first thing that came to James’s mind was a non-disclosure agreement. But in truth, it was about a wedding?
Erich clasped his hands and placed them on his thighs before saying,
“Then, I will be the first to tell you the news. I have proposed, and Claire has accepted it a few days ago. With this marriage, I will put Elliot on the family tree.”
“A-Are you saying Your Grace is Elliot’s biological father?!”
Charles, who had been silent until then, jumped up and shouted in a high-pitched voice.
Erich raised his eyebrows slightly. James, in awe, took his son by the arm and sat him back down.
“Forgive us.”
James grabbed Charles by the back and pulled him down, ready to smack him in the back. And he stuttered and asked.
“It is quite flustering because it was something I haven’t even thought of. Then, pardon me for asking, but are you truly going to take him in officially?”
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