TSODTAM | Ch 12 – Novexa Novels

Episode 12. Time to Decide

“Mama.”

The head maid came in with the nanny, who was holding baby Jave.

He showed his tiny teeth as he smiled and stretched out his chubby arms toward me.

“Jave!”

The heavy atmosphere instantly melted away.

I hugged him tight, warm and soft in my arms, and the sweet smell of milk from his skin tickled my heart.

“Is this the child you mentioned before?” Hilbardo asked carefully.

“Yes. My son, the one I talked about at the banquet.”

Jave wriggled, wanting to get down.

I quickly straightened my clothes, which had gotten a little messy on the way here, and set him on the ground.

He tottered forward, step by step, toward Hilbardo.

Hilbardo’s eyes wavered in panic.

After three steps, Jave’s little legs gave out, and he started to tumble.

Both the nanny and I reached out, but Hilbardo was faster—he stood up and caught Jave, lifting him into the air.

Jave laughed out loud, happy to be suddenly flying.

Hilbardo froze, holding the baby stiffly—too flustered to hug him properly or put him down.

The sight made me burst out laughing.

Seeing me laugh, Hilbardo stammered awkwardly:

“Could… someone please take the baby from me?”

That evening, we had a dinner planned with the senior knights visiting the mansion.

Since the order would soon leave for the border, we were going to have more of these meals while they were still here.

Before sunset, I brought Jave back to his room and returned to the office.

The head maid opened the door.

Inside, the knight commander and a maid were waiting for me.

“We’ve prepared the report you requested.”

The knight commander went first, explaining all the secret investigations they’d done about Morant’s home and family.

He also mentioned the poor district doctor who had come to the mansion the day of the banquet.

Everything lined up with my suspicions.

The maid’s report was similar—things like how Morant always insisted on washing alone after sweating in training, or how his voice sounded different from the other servants.

“If Morant really deceived us and is a woman… I’ll be furious,” the maid said sharply.

And I agreed with her.

Work in the mansion was clearly divided.

Maids handled cleaning, laundry, and delicate tasks.
Male servants carried heavy loads, climbed rooftops, hauled hay for horses—jobs that required strength and sometimes risked their lives.

Because of that danger, servants were even paid more than maids.

If Morant lied about his gender to gain those advantages, it was a serious problem.

The sprout has to be cut before it grows.

I dismissed the commander and the maid with strict orders not to let any word of this leak.

I also warned the knights outside and even the head maid to keep their mouths shut.

Meanwhile, Ryan didn’t care that I was dining with the knights.

If it wasn’t with his brother, he didn’t see the point in wasting time on a table full of nobles.

He ate alone in his room.

That’s when his young page nervously came in.

“My lord, I… I’m sorry!”

The same boy who had stormed off crying earlier now bent deeply at the waist.

Ryan was curious about what he’d say.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I said you didn’t need me. That was wrong! Please accept this gift. You saved me and gave me work, and I shouldn’t have been ungrateful.”

Still bent over, the boy held out a small envelope.

Ryan found himself smirking.

He’d wasted a whole day thinking about this silly boy’s outburst.

And yet here he was, awkwardly apologizing.

Compared to Violetta’s stiff, emotionless way of speaking, this page was completely different—raw, foolish, but honest.

Inside the envelope was a little packet of cookies made with dried berries.

“You really bought something as plain as yourself.”

Instead of being offended, Sola brightened when Ryan accepted the gift without scolding him.

Proudly, he shared what he’d been rehearsing:

“My lord, about my power to see the future—I figured out what triggers it.”

“I’ve been waiting to hear this.”

Ryan turned to him, showing he was listening.

“It happens when I feel that someone loves me.”

Ryan frowned at such a ridiculous condition. But Sola rushed to explain.

“I met my sister today, and afterward, I saw the future again.”

Ryan’s suspicion weakened a little. He knew Morant had a sick sister, after all.

“What did you see?” he asked, half-doubtful, half-curious.

Sola pressed a hand to his chest.

“My lady—the duchess—she discovers my power.”

While Sola spun lies for Ryan, Hilbardo sat alone on a balcony with a drink.

On his way here, he had heard whispers about Violetta.

He’d seen the way the townsfolk treated her, the way she forced smiles while saying she was “happy.”

Each of her lies tore a piece from his heart.

The untouched gifts he’d prepared for her felt heavier than stone.

So he had told her earlier: If you want, I can take you back to Pardia.

I’ll put you back where you truly belong.

But then he saw it—her real happiness.

The baby.

The child who looked just like her had turned her coldness into sunshine.

She smiled with genuine warmth when holding him.

“Your Highness, Jave is my everything.”

That was the only truth.

She loved her son, and because of that, she really could call herself happy.

Hilbardo swallowed his resolve.

One drink buried the house he had prepared for her.

Another drowned the gifts she’d never see.

But what he couldn’t drown was his heart.

Just as she lived only for Jave, he lived only for her.

That feeling refused to burn away.

Soon, rumors spread through the mansion.

Morant had returned to being Ryan’s personal page.

Closer than ever, together almost constantly—except when sleeping apart.

The head maid worried aloud that gossip would start up again.

It’s time to decide.

I had planned to wait until the royal guests left, so I wouldn’t cause a scene in front of them.

But I couldn’t wait anymore.

I asked the head maid if she could bring Morant to me in secret.

She promised to try.

Not long after, she entered my study with Morant.

He looked thrilled, almost giddy, to be back at Ryan’s side—an expression that made me uncomfortable.

I ordered the knights to guard the doors and let no one in.

Then, with the head maid and a few maids standing by, I faced him.

“Morant, I have something to ask you.”

“Yes, my lady. Please ask.”

His hands, folded neatly in front of him, looked pale and delicate.

Ever since that day in the garden, when I saw him with Ryan, I’d started to notice things: his voice sounded more like a woman’s, his smooth neck showed no trace of stubble.

“You know, there are still rumors about you and the Duke?”

“Yes.”

His answer was short.

“Then let’s be clear. For the honor of House Stroud, I want you to leave this mansion voluntarily.”

“The Duke will never allow that, my lady. You know it too, don’t you?”

He said it with a little smile, but his tone carried a strange hostility.

So bold. So arrogant.

A lowly page, daring to speak to me like that, the Duchess.

Was it because Ryan favored him so much?

That smile he gave me—smug, confident—made my skin crawl.

The head maid clenched her fists beside me, sharing my anger.

“Fine. Since you know that much, then I need to confirm something.”