Records of the Weakest Emperor

Chapter 127: 1 + 1 = 3

Charlotte was so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to hide into.

Calvin stared at Cecilia with a deadpan look on his face, his lips repeatedly twitching. Charlotte momentarily glanced at Calvin for a moment and her embarrassment became even deeper. She said desperately to Cecilia, "Umm... Cecilia, we'll talk about getting you a brother in the future..."

Her patience was thick and her attitude was firm, "You have to listen, all right? Tonight, your daddy is tired. We'll go ahead and let him rest for now, okay?"

"No!" Cecilia pouted and doubled on her tantrum, "I want to sleep with both mommy and daddy! I want you both to sleep with me! I want daddy to hug me and fall asleep beside mommy! That's how all the kids in the neighborhood sleep with their parents!

Charlotte didn't know what to say, she felt as if she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Just what kind of topics were the kids discussing these days? Of course, she knew that the kids in the rougher neighborhood of the Northern Borough were often precocious, but she didn't expect that her daughter would be influenced by them!

A frown appeared on Charlotte's face and she hardened her expression. Evoking her authority as a mother, she scolded in a firm tone of voice, "Don't push your luck, Cecilia. If you keep being stubborn, then I won't let you eat any ice cream again in the future!"

Cecilia's courage immediately deflated as she hung her head low in dejection.

Her puffed cheeks and pout evidently made the scene incredibly heartbreaking. Charlotte was already familiar with this trick that her daughter has up her sleeves, but Calvin was a mere stranger who had been with them for less than two weeks.

He couldn't bear to see Cecilia cry so he said, "All right, Cecilia. Don't you cry now, okay? Daddy will sleep with you together with mommy just like how the parents of the other kids in the neighborhood sleep with their parents like a family, okay?"

He scooped Cecilia into his embrace and immediately consoled her with a few head pats and head ruffles. Charlotte turned to look at him in shock, but before she could even say anything. He shot her a look that said Let's pretend to agree for now, shall we?

Cecilia turned to look at her daddy with tears in her eyes, "Wuwuwu... But the ice cream..."

"I'll buy you as much ice cream as you want, don't listen to mommy. She's a bad person."

"Yay! Daddy's the best! I love you!" Cecilia instantly shot up from her feet and leaped into Calvin's embrace. She dotted his cheeks with kisses and even threw a smug look at Charlotte as they went to bed as if she was gloating at her mother.

Charlotte felt so insulted as she watched both Cecilia and Calvin leave in such a good mood, "Who's the biological parent here? Why do I feel like I'm an evil stepmother in those stories instead?"

The Malasakit Inn had an expensive daily rate, so its amenities must justify the money required for its rental. The bed was huge enough that it could fit three adults.

Most patrons of the inn were scholars, bards, or even students that came from neighboring rural provinces and cities for the opportunities in existence here at Ashmelion.

These scholars, students, and bards often didn't have a lot of money with them since they came from the province.

As a result, most of them got together in groups of three, or maybe even more just to rent a space in an inn. No matter how expensive the daily rate of the inn was by pooling all of their money towards the rental of the room.

They did not have to worry about anything.

Calvin laid on Cecilia's right, while Charlotte laid on her left side. She became the third wheel in the middle of the two just like she wanted.

She was clearly excited for even though she told both Charlotte and Calvin that she was tired, she still kept on speaking and chattering, sometimes even turning things awkward and ambiguous for both Calvin and Charlotte.

Fortunately, children had limited energy, and Cecilia soon crashed and burned.

She fell asleep in between the two, yet her hand never let go of Calvin's arm.

It was as if she was afraid that once she let go of Calvin, he would disappear...

Calvin let out a sigh.

He turned to look at Charlotte and said, "Don't worry, I'll just let her sleep for now. I'll go to the living room once she's asleep. You don't have to think about anything. Rest assured, I won't let you take advantage of me." A smile crept up in his lips as he let out a chuckle.

"Oh... Okay..." Charlotte instinctively nodded her head towards his words. But when her brain registered what he had said, she directly sent a death glare on his way, "What do you mean me taking advantage of you? Is there even something on you that I can take advantage of?"

Calvin merely shook his head and laughed.

He didn't say anything as he continued to coax the young lass into sleeping.

He only said those words to lighten the atmosphere and judging from the look on Charlotte's face, it seemed to have been incredibly effective. Charlotte rolled her eyes at him and the air around the two wasn't as tense as before at this moment.

However, her heart was still beating wildly...

When was the last time when she got so close to a member of the opposite sex like this?

To be honest, since the death of her husband she had already started to despite men due to the fact that whenever they approached them, all of them only wanted one thing and it disgusted her immensely.

But Calvin was different.

His eyes radiated not a trace of malice.

But this made Charlotte felt conflicted.

Does this mean that he's not looking at me as if I am a member of the opposite sex?

A wry smile appeared on her face.

Sure, all of these were just an act to coax Cecilia into sleeping, but she was still a woman with needs.

How could she not think of that thing when she's on the bed with a member of the opposite sex?

Charlotte tossed and turned as she closed her eyes and prayed to Goddess Grace for Cecilia to fall asleep and for Calvin to leave the room so she could finally rest assured and calm her wildly beating heart down.

But to her astonishment, as time passed by, why was she starting to hear the sound of unfamiliar snoring?

Wait...

Calvin...

He's asleep!

Here of all places?!

An unmarried man and a woman on the same bed? That was inappropriate! It was lewd! Charlotte shot upright and turned to look at Calvin. She was about to shove him awake, but she paused when she saw the sight of Calvin holding Cecilia in his embrace.

His sleeping face looked so handsome as he held onto Cecilia. If not for the eyepatch that was covering his right eye, it would've been perfect. What's more, she could also see the sweet smile on Cecilia's face as she burrowed herself into Calvin's arms.

She didn't know what to say.

"Calvin is trying to change our lives for the better."

"He doesn't have any lascivious thoughts against me, only concern..."

"Yes, that's right!"

"He's a philanthropist, the embodiment of altruism. Yet, why am I being so heartless as to actually think of pushing him off the bed just because I am having indecent thoughts?" Charlotte bit her lips.

She noticed that Cecilia was indeed too deep into Calvin's arms and if she woke Calvin up, then she would also awaken the young lass. When that happened, she would surely throw another tantrum.

Charlotte took a deep breath and laid back onto the bed.

She faced the other direction with her cheeks puffed, similar to how Cecilia puffs her cheeks whenever she was frustrated. Fine, I'll just endure all of these for the sake of my daughter... I'll just pretend that there's another pillow on the bed. A pillow that won't dare to do anything to me.

Charlotte convinced herself.

Just as Charlotte was in the middle of worrying about such matters.

Calvin who was fast asleep suddenly reached out his perverted hand and laid it right on Charlotte's soft and slender waist with a gentle tap. The hand was in a precarious position. Charlotte's stomach was just above it, while beneath it was her backside.

Charlotte's expression instantly burned, the heat on her cheeks paled in comparison with the frustration and anger that she had at Calvin at this moment.

He was still in deep sleep at this moment and there was no trace of emotion on his face.

Charlotte's sharp eyes instantly saw that he was indeed sleeping, but she was still aggrieved.

She wanted to raise Calvin's arm and place it back where it came from, but she was afraid of waking up her daughter who was a light sleeper.

"Fine..." Charlotte sucked in a mouthful of air and coldly spat, "I'll endure this too for my daughter..."

Her cheeks were still burning red and flushed as she kept on turning around in bed, unable to sleep due to her wildly beating heart.

Of course, Charlotte was a woman that had astonishing adaptability skills.

It may have taken her a while, but she still managed to fall asleep.

Early in the morning, Calvin woke up and he could see a small figure bouncing up and down on the bed amidst his groggy eyes.

The small figure seemed to be rummaging the blankets, obviously looking for something beneath the sheets. But even as she tried her best to search, she still looked profoundly confused.

Charlotte soon woke up, she may have not gotten a lot of sleep last night, but taking an all-nighter was all too normal for her.

In fact, she could even survive with three hours of sleep.

Back then, there was an entire week where she only took naps for she was afraid that her daughter might be taken by those child kidnapping burglars.

An all-nighter wasn't a problem for Charlotte. She only slept for four hours tonight, but the tiredness that she felt yesterday was now gone. Instead, it was replaced by confusion as she stared at Cecilia and asked, "What are you looking for so early in the morning? Did you sleep well?"

"I slept well, mommy... Ah! Daddy! You're awake!" Cecilia didn't even turn her head to reply to Charlotte's inquiry, but as soon as she saw Calvin staring at her direction. She instantly leaped into his embrace, which made Charlotte roll her eyes at Cecilia out of frustration.

Why do I feel like I am an outsider in this family?

She thought.

But then, Cecilia suddenly dropped a bombshell that erased all of her frustrations.

"Daddy! Where's my baby brother?"

"Mommy... Daddy... Both of you slept together so why don't I have a baby brother, yet? Lea told me that his daddy and mommy always slept together, then one day. She suddenly got a baby brother!"

Charlotte furiously blushed, while Calvin boisterously laughed.

He then stared right at Cecilia and said, "Cecilia, your younger brother is still in your mother's belly. Only when you're being obedient and don't make her angry would your baby brother be safe. That is why I need you to obey your mommy's words, okay?"

"Okay..." Cecilia absentmindedly nodded. It was a mystery if she even understood Calvin's words. Then, all of a sudden, she turned to look at Charlotte and said, "Mommy, you take care of the baby, ah? Watch the baby's health."

Charlotte nodded her head before she snickered in amusement. However, she was still quite embarrassed hearing such ambiguous and suggestive words from the mouth of her very own daughter in front of a man whom she considered as their benefactor and nothing else.

She glared at Cecilia and said, "Go wash up and clean your teeth! Wait... We've run out of chew sticks, so you go and buy them outside... The money is in the pouch above the countertop in the kitchen. Come back fast, since we're going to get some groceries afterwards... Hmmph!"

"Oh..." Cecilia became obedient.

After hearing her daddy's words, she chose to believe in him and she was now being cautious as to not anger her mother and unintentionally harm her baby brother in her mother's belly.

However, there was still this crestfallen look on her face when she realized that today was another day of grueling studying without play...

Ah... I want to go back to the Northern Borough...

Cecilia lamented.

Calvin gave Cecilia a sympathetic glance but he didn't say anything towards her plight.

She soon walked of the room and exited the inn so she could buy the items that her mother wanted her to buy. Only two people remained in the room at this moment. Calvin noticed that Charlotte's face looked tired and she had dark circles underneath her eyes.

"Charlotte, you did not sleep well, last night?" A smile appeared on Calvin's lips.

Charlotte almost keeled over into the ground hearing Calvin's words.

"Do you know why I haven't gotten much sleep last night?" She asked.

"I don't know..." Calvin shook his head, "The last scene that I remember last night is coaxing Cecilia into sleeping, and when I came to it. It was already morning."

"What's wrong?"

"You really don't have to worry about anything, I won't possibly take advantage of you. I have always been a gentleman, you see?"

Charlotte humorlessly smiled and suddenly said, "Is my waist soft to the touch?"

"Yes, very soft."

The question was so sudden that Calvin subconsciously replied with a sincere comment.

But at the very next moment, he trembled for there was already a pillow coming his way.

The buckwheat pillow crashed against his face, sending him staggering backward as he rushed out of the door and didn't even dare to turn back.

When he stopped running, he realized that he was already in front of the Captivating Fragrance Coffee Shop. He huffed and puffed, and when he entered the coffee shop. Ron Samuel greeted him with a smile, "How come you're here so early? I'm still cleaning the filters and the machine."

Calvin bitterly smiled.

"Well, I suddenly fell in love with the library behind the kitchen..."

Calvin awkwardly scratched his cheeks and headed for the kitchen. But before he could even enter the door, Ron Samuel stopped him and said, "If you are going to the Library, I advise you to look for the Bestiary and read it..."

"The Wise One finally unearthed some clues, it seems like the base of that bastard who possessed you is in Ashmelion."

"What? They are in the city? How come?"

"Yeah, unbelievable, right? The forces of the Church of the Three Orthodox Gods are scattered throughout Ashmelion, yet they are still so bold as to set up a base here..."

"It seems like they are underestimating us. They aren't taking us, the Cavaliers, seriously at all..."

Ron Samuel shook his head.

"Captain... Can I participate in the search?"

"I feel like I may be able to remember my lost memories if I do..."

Ron Samuel turned to look at him and sighed, "No... You may have experienced the supernatural, but you are still nothing but a human. After you have undergone the trial and officially became one of us, I will consider it. But for now, I want you to remain obedient as our young scholar..."

"Today, I want you to read the Bestiary and remember as many beasts depicted in the Bestiary as you can. By the end of the day, I want you to recognize the difference between a ghoul and a thrall..." Ron Samuel's eyes narrowed into slits.

Calvin felt a shiver on his spine and he directly agreed.

Heading into the library beyond the walls of the kitchen.

He soon found the Bestiary that Ron Samuel was talking about.

And it was an incredibly thick book...