“Who is it?”

Margaret’s throat gulped. She tried not to show it, but her voice trembled.

In her mind, unpleasant events were already replaying repeatedly.

“Madam!”

“Ah.”

The moment she heard the familiar voice, the tension in her body eased.

Margaret, without concealing her irritation, forcefully opened the door.

“What’s going on?”

The unexpected visitor turned out to be none other than the nanny of the child.

Margaret scowled, scanning the nanny from head to toe. It was inappropriate attire for wandering around a noble mansion. It seemed she needed to say something.

“Master Jonathan is running a fever. It seems we should call a doctor.”

Before Margaret could nag, the nanny fumbled to speak.

“Bring an outsider in at this hour?”

“Yes? But [dash].”

“How did you even see the child?”

“Well, it’s just that children easily get feverish [dash].”

“Enough with the excuses. I don’t want to hear it.”

Margaret, not bothering to conceal her annoyance, glanced down at the child the nanny was holding. Already burdened with complicated thoughts, dealing with a crying child felt like a headache.

‘Anyway, I don’t have affection for this one.’

If she took her daughter’s place, she should contribute to the expenses accordingly. If it were her child, she would never have behaved like this.

Margaret, with a sarcastic expression, spoke again. Even if it wasn’t to her liking, she couldn’t just leave it alone.

If the child was recognized as the heir of Crayton, Margaret could survive as well.

“I’ll call for a doctor, so you can leave now.”

“…….”

“I said I would call a doctor. That’s settled. What more do you want?”

“Well, even if the doctor sees [dash].”

“Even if the doctor sees? What’s next? I’m not in a good mood right now, so talk quickly and leave.”

“Maybe Mother could take a look when the child is unwell.”

“What?”

Just hearing it was irritating.

Margaret burst into a fake laughter, furrowing her eyebrows.

Birth can’t be hidden, showing signs of not learning to eat properly. What she invested in was a nanny, not an educator. The nanny’s job was to breastfeed the child and change diapers, not discipline the mistress.

Maybe it was crawling towards her after hearing about her birth.

Margaret’s eyes momentarily turned fierce.

Thinking about it, she had been caring for the child without any problems, so why make such unnecessary comments today? Did she mistakenly believe that she could raise her voice now that she heard about the trial?

“Do you think you’re raising your own child just because you’re taking care of someone else’s?”

“Yes, yes?”

“I understand what you’re thinking, but don’t make irrelevant remarks.”

The nanny’s shoulders, grabbed abruptly, looked distressed.

Margaret, seeing the frightened expression of the nanny, smirked with a proud smile.
Regardless of how her reputation had spread, Margaret wasn’t someone to be ignored even by commoners.

No matter what the rumors said, noble blood flowed in her veins. She was different from those born elsewhere.

Margaret rudely pushed the nanny aside and grabbed the doorknob.

“Apologies for being intrusive. But it seems the child misses you a lot.”

“What can an ignorant child know? They won’t even remember when they grow up.”

“Even if they don’t remember [dash].”

“How to raise my child is my decision.”

Honestly, it’s not even my real child. With such thoughts in her mind, Margaret clenched her fist with irritation. She didn’t have the luxury of considering an unknown child’s identity when her own position was uncertain.

What she needed wasn’t an ordinary child but the successor to Crayton.

“If you blabber about irrelevant things once more, I’ll throw you out immediately.”

“……. ”

“No response?”

“Yes.”

She should consider changing the nanny when she had the time. Margaret looked at the nanny with a disinterested expression and slammed the door shut.

There was no time to worry about such matters. Now was the time to think about surviving.

‘Should I contact His Majesty for now?’

No matter how much she thought, no clever solution came to mind, so she needed the help of someone else.

Someone very trustworthy.

Margaret bit her nails once again.

The first person who came to mind was the Emperor, but trusting him unconditionally was hindered by the attitude he showed during the trial.

‘Well, then, Bake?’

She had spent a long time with Bake. Knowing many things about each other, they were familiar and would be the most reliable ally in such times.

But being by Bake’s side wouldn’t help her get what she wanted.

Even if she did her best for Bake, he took her best for granted. She couldn’t be sure if she would receive proper compensation for standing by his side.

On the contrary, there was a higher chance of living by accommodating his whims, as it had been. She didn’t like that.

Whether she knew it or not, she had already figured it out.