The Abandoned Princess, Yet She Is Loved - Chapter 121

When Emily suddenly burst into tears, the smile on Frederick’s face turned to panic. His expression now urgent, he turned to Anthony.

“Anthony. Anthony.”

“Yes, Your Grace?”

“Why is Emily crying now…?”

Frederick always felt like he was facing an immense trial whenever his daughter cried. The bewilderment he’d felt yesterday when he held Emily in front of Grace for the first time was washing over him again.

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a moment, Anthony spoke.

“It’s very likely that she’s crying because she’s hungry.”

“She’s hungry?”

Frederick turned his head toward the wall. The clock was pointing to 1 PM. Considering that Emily hadn’t had anything to eat since Grace had nursed her in the morning and left, it was certainly time for her to be hungry.

“Then she should eat.”

Frederick responded instinctively. If one is hungry, one should eat.

“But what exactly is she supposed to eat?”

For a moment, his mind went completely blank. He couldn’t just feed a baby regular food…

“Didn’t Madam leave any instructions? It’s a bit difficult for me to advise on this without knowing…”

Unlike before, Anthony hesitated to offer advice. Feeding methods for babies varied from parent to parent.

At this age, breastfeeding was typical, but when nursing directly wasn’t possible, some would prepare thin grain porridge or sterilized goat’s milk.

“I… I think she mentioned something.”

As Frederick quickly searched his memory, Grace’s words flashed through his mind.

“She’s still too young, so she needs breast milk. I’ll fill several bottles and leave them in the cabinet. Feed her one bottle per meal.”

“Ah, bottles… She said she left the bottles in this room.”

Frederick hurried to the cabinet in the corner of Emily’s room and opened the door. A cool breeze flowed out from inside.

“Here it is.”

Inside a basket full of ice were several bottles filled halfway with a pale ivory liquid—Grace had pumped and stored her breast milk in advance.

Grace had said that keeping the bottles among ice would preserve the milk for a few days. Frederick pulled one out.

“I know the bottles will be cold from storage, but don’t ever give it to the baby as-is. She’ll get diarrhea.”

She had emphasized to Frederick that feeding was the most important thing of all.

“You must warm the bottle to body temperature before giving it to her.”

The bottle, having been nestled in ice, was extremely cold. Frederick spread both palms wide and wrapped them around the bottle, beginning to warm it with his body heat.

“Waaaaah!”

Meanwhile, Emily flailed her tiny arms and legs and cried out, expressing her hunger.

With a pained look, Frederick continued to warm the bottle as he gazed at her.

“Just a little more… Hang in there, Emily…”

“Waaaah!”

Unaware of his efforts, Emily ignored him and kept wailing. Anthony tried putting a toy in her hand again, but it didn’t work. Even while clutching the toy tightly, she cried pitifully.

“All right, let’s eat now.”

Once he felt the bottle was warm enough, Frederick approached Emily and gently placed the nipple in her mouth. Emily eagerly grasped the bottle and began to drink with gulps. Frederick let out a sigh of relief.

“She really was hungry…”

Watching her feed so desperately tugged at Frederick’s heart. Anthony gave a gentle smile from beside him.

“She truly is a precious little Lady.”

The way she drank so hard her cheeks hollowed was undeniably adorable—heart-meltingly so. Anthony thought it was no wonder Frederick was acting like a fool.

She was objectively beautiful and lovely. From a father’s perspective, how dear must she seem? It reminded him of when he was raising his own daughter for the first time. He too had once carefully watched every little move she made.

“…Did you eat well?”

When Emily finished, she let go of the bottle’s nipple. As Frederick took the bottle away, he tapped her nose. At that moment, Emily reached out a tiny hand and waved it in front of his nose.

“Hm? What is it?”

Frederick asked the baby, puzzled. Seeing that he didn’t quite get it, Anthony spoke on her behalf.

“She seems to want to touch Your Grace’s face.”

“Me?”

Frederick asked in disbelief. Just a few days ago, she had cried every time he got close.

“Ahh…”

The daughter who had once rejected him was now showing interest in him. His heart swelled as he leaned closer.

Tiny, chubby fingers wriggled and then stretched out, eventually reaching his cheek.

“……”

The baby quietly rested her hand on her father’s face. Her clear eyes, so much like Grace’s light brown ones, stared at him intently.

“…Emily…”

The soft, tiny touch nearly made Frederick’s heart burst. How, how could such a sweet, lovely little being even exist in this world?

My daughter, born of Grace. This little girl is like a piece of her.

Frederick pressed a kiss to her delicate cheek. A soft smooch echoed faintly. The scent of milk and baby powder filled his nose.

“This must be why…”

This must be why Grace endured the pain and insisted on nursing and caring for the baby herself.

“So beautiful…”

Frederick looked at her for a long while, his heart fluttering.

Later That Night

The sun had set.

Frederick still hadn’t returned to his own bedroom. Taking care of Emily continued even at night.

“Newborns wake every few hours to cry. Each time, you have to hold and soothe them.”

Anthony had offered him advice before leaving. Frederick fought the strong temptation to summon any palace maid to take the night shift. He had declared he’d take care of the baby himself—he had to follow through.

“……”

Frederick stared blankly at the wall clock, listening to Emily’s breathing. Tense, he sat upright, waiting.

“Waaaah!”

As soon as midnight struck, it was as if she’d been waiting for the moment—Emily’s loud cries rang out. Frederick jumped up and rushed to the crib.

“Emily, my daughter.”

“Waaaah!”

He held and comforted her as Grace had taught him, then carefully laid her back down once she calmed.

That process repeated throughout the night. There was a small bed next to Emily’s crib for Frederick, but it was practically useless. Every time he dozed off, Emily would cry again like clockwork.

In the end, Frederick gave up on sleep and stayed by her side all night.

By the next day, dark circles shadowed his eyes. Seeing his own gaunt face in the mirror, he was startled.

“My face… No, this isn’t the time to worry about that.”

Frederick realized he couldn’t afford to let his mind wander, not even briefly, if he wanted to care for Emily properly. Especially since Anthony was no longer around to help.

He went to the cabinet and took out a bottle of milk in advance for Emily’s breakfast—ready to serve it warm the moment she got hungry.

From then on, it was nonstop caregiving. He fed her, played with toys with her, and soothed her every time she stirred.

In between her naps, Frederick managed to sneak in bits of sleep himself. He learned how to hold her just right to stop her crying. What temperature the milk should be. One by one, he accumulated knowledge about babies—and his stamina drained just as quickly.

Three days had passed since Frederick took on full responsibility for Emily.

After feeding her breakfast, he waited anxiously for Grace, who said she’d be back in the afternoon. Days of nonstop childcare made him feel like he was on the verge of collapse.

Grace went through all this…?

If it was this exhausting for a healthy grown man, how had Grace, with her delicate body, endured it all? He felt nothing but admiration.

“Emily… can’t you grow up just a little faster?”

“…Beh.”

Frederick muttered a tired complaint while looking at her, and suddenly, Emily gave a bright smile

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