How to Avoid Becoming a Vicious Stepmother - Chapter 49

The Fifth Plan: To Protect the Child (6)

“Oh, Carl!”

Carl crept into my skirt as if he was trying to hide with it. However, it had just been a simple and thin dress, so Carl’s butt was exposed completely. I straight away clasped my hands tightly at that cute sight. I was curious about what Margaret was actually going to say, but Carl—this cute guy— had taken all of my attention. The tagger eventually found Carl without any difficulty and even dared to give a little slap to his cute butt.

“Carl is the tagger now!”

“Wow~”

Unlike the child who ran away quickly right after a new tagger was chosen, Carl peeked his face from the hem of my skirt and looked absolutely puzzled. Oh, my God—did you think he wouldn’t be able to see it because you had covered your face earlier?

“Carl is now the tagger. You should hurry up and catch him then.”

I wanted to cup over Carl’s bewildered cheeks, but my stomach was already so swollen that it became rather hard.

“Go ahead, Young Master Carl.”

On my behalf, Margaret gently patted Carl on the back and nudged him slightly as if encouraging him to run out once again.

“Carl, there you are!”

“Over here!”

The children screamed out as if to let him catched them, but when Carl ran up to them, they simply laughed and darted away.

“If he had ever truly raised a child, he would know how much they needed to be loved for them to simply smile like that.”

My surprised eyes instantly turned to Margaret, but she noticed that her child was now running towards her and instantly spread her arms. Margaret’s child came sprinting before jumping right into her arms. Margaret kissed her child on the cheek and the red-cheeked baby laughed and hugged her mother tightly around the neck. Her child’s expression was so bright that anyone could already tell how clear and happy she looked like just from her wide smile.

“Your cheeks are all hot. I think the kids should get some rest for now.”

“Oh, Carl! Come on!”

Carl, who had switched from being a tagger and ran away, turned his head at my voice and looked at me before he immediately jumped towards me. Certainly, Carl’s cheeks were also red and beads of sweat appeared to trickle down his forehead. The puppy came running after Carl and Margaret called out to all her children. Carl then climbed onto my chair and plopped down while I brushed across Carl’s cheek. It had certainly been hot and lush while his forehead and the nape of his neck were all damp with sweat.

“Oh, wow—it’s very hot.”

“It’s hot—”

I hurriedly reached out and grabbed a drink from my armrest. The surface of the glass had already been wet and slippery, but it was still very cold. I should let Carl drink some of it and cool down his reddened cheeks with its cold surface. It was just then—

“My Lady!”

Startled by her loud voice, all of us; myself, Carl and even Margareta, who was calling out to her children under the shade, turned our heads to the source of the sound with surprised faces. There was a maid standing by with an urgent expression. Her hurried gesture seemed to be reaching out to my hand as if she was trying to bump the glass from my arm.

“Sera! I apologize for the rudeness, My Lady.”

Just in time, Mrs. May, who was bringing out some drinks for the children, lowered her body in astonishment just as if she was all out of breath. The maid, who had raised her voice earlier, also shuddered before falling down to her knees. I thought that she would apologize right away, but Sera had responded with something that seemed just like an excuse instead.

“That, that drink—it contains things that are good for pregnant women—”

“And so?”

“M-Madam must consume…”

The escort knight, who had been silently watching over Carl, soon approached closer. The maid’s words were extremely questionable and even the children had kept their mouths shut at the sudden unusual atmosphere. Carl was hugging my arm tightly while both the escort knight and Mrs. May awaited my decision over this suspicious maid.

“Take her away and let her drink this. We will see what happens after that and then only decide only on the punishment.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Mrs. May politely took the drink from me with her hands and the knight simply lifted the kneeling maid by the arm. The maid followed after him with an unexpected sense of calmness. The sight convinced me that the drink was not poisoned at all.

But perhaps there was something else that had not been good for pregnant women or maybe something that was not really good for children like Carl. And judging from the fact that Carl was the one who had not been allowed to drink, there was a high possibility that Count Petrika could be behind it. If it wasn’t Count Petrika, someone from the forces which supported Carl would probably agree with him instead. I immediately had goosebumps all over my back.

“Mandy—”

Carl clung to me and whined since he had probably been scared. Carl’s presence lifted me from all the fear. I suddenly came to my senses and changed my voice in order to soothe the child.

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