“Seems I’m just a backup.”
Wilhelmina anxiously put on her socks. Hans knelt down and helped her with the snow-white cotton socks.
“Before this balance is broken, you are safe.”
“How long do you think that will be?” she asked.
“One year, two years.”
“That’s not enough, Owen. In two years, I’ll only be fourteen. I need to be sixteen to sit in on the Senate.”
“Time will come,” the secretary assured her. “I believe that if Annabel wants to kick the Liberals out in the future, Queen Barbara will persuade her.”
“Or she suddenly becomes a democrat?” Wilhelmina mocked.
Hans laughed, his gaze gentle. “First, be a sad child who has lost her grandfather, Your Highness.”
Wilhelmina was silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. “Owen, Grandpa was my last protector. First Mom, then Dad, now Grandpa. Why do they all have to leave me?”
Hans Borg looked back and saw the girl’s lost and helpless eyes, and his hard heart softened. No matter how precocious and intelligent she was, she was still a twelve-year-old child with no one to rely on except him.
“I’ll be okay, won’t I?” Wilhelmina looked up at him, her azure eyes reflecting the warm light, revealing her emerging strength.
Hans Borg felt a dull pain in his chest and couldn’t help but hold the child in his arms. This feeling of heartache was unique to Wilhelmina.
“Annabel may monitor you, restrict your freedom, and isolate you from your friends, but this won’t last long. Once she gets married and has an heir, you will no longer be a threat. I think she will marry early.”
Wilhelmina nestled in his arms, listening intently. “After giving birth to an heir, I will no longer be a threat to her, right?” she said, taking a deep breath. “I will wait.”
The man’s strong arms created a safe haven for her. Wilhelmina buried her face in his warm chest, gaining strength to face the storm in this brief moment of calm. Hans Borg felt her slight trembling in his embrace.
He couldn’t help but hold her tighter.
“Still too young,” he thought. If the emperor could live three more years, they would not have to worry so much. The political struggles of the Osenberg family have never been bloody, but they remained significant.
