“...How could that be?”
In the silence, Aaron barely opened his mouth. And he spoke as if he were hammering home that it was all Ivan's fault.
“Recently, the Priestess picked it up from the street.”
Ivan approached the child, whose eyes were wide open and wet with tears. He touched the child’s soft nose with the tip of his finger. The child, who had been crying as if to acknowledge his presence, did not cry at Ivan’s touch.
“Then, should I consider it as adoption by heart?”
Instead, Ian bit the tip of Ivan's index finger, which went down his nose and up to his lips, and licked it. Ivan stopped at the soft, wet feeling.
“Is that so, High Priest?”
In the silence, Aaron barely opened his mouth. And he spoke as if he were hammering home that it was all Ivan's fault.
“Recently, the Priestess picked it up from the street.”
Ivan approached the child, whose eyes were wide open and wet with tears. He touched the child’s soft nose with the tip of his finger. The child, who had been crying as if to acknowledge his presence, did not cry at Ivan’s touch.
“Then, should I consider it as adoption by heart?”
Instead, Ian bit the tip of Ivan's index finger, which went down his nose and up to his lips, and licked it. Ivan stopped at the soft, wet feeling.
“Is that so, High Priest?”
Ivan lightly withdrew his hand. Then he turned halfway and looked at Amelia and Aaron, who had not yet crossed the threshold of the bedroom.
“I guess I guess so.”
Aaron answered. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable with having to give Ivan the answer he wanted. Of course, it was a subtle difference that Amelia could sense every time she observed Aaron.
At that moment, a certain realization struck Amelia's head. Even Aaron, who rarely had to endure discomfort, was in a position where he had to bow his stiff neck before the Emperor as an Escliffeite.
Then...
“Take that child.”
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save Ian's life. Her mind was spinning incredibly fast. Amelia took a step forward and made a suggestion.
“My Lady, what are you saying all of a sudden...!”
“I wish to speak to His Majesty the Emperor without interruption, Aaron.”
Since they were in front of outsiders, Aaron knew that he couldn't force Amelia as easily as he did when they were alone.
“Is there any reason why I should do that?”
Ivan looked at Amelia with one eyebrow tilted up in surprise. It was natural, since Amelia had been sitting there with her mouth shut like a doll the entire time Aaron and Ivan were talking.
“Your Majesty said that you wanted to prove that there were no problems between the royal family and the temple.”
Amelia met Ivan's eyes with a sharp gaze, just as she had on that day when she had begged him to save her.
“It might be difficult for me to visit the palace every month.”
In the first place, Aaron couldn't sneak Amelia over this wall.
Even while Amelia was staying at the villa they had prepared in advance for her delivery, Aaron did not let his guard down. Even then, the guards strictly controlled Amelia's entry and exit to prevent her from meeting anyone or going outside.
“If I use that child, who is like my own child, as evidence of the alliance between the temple and the imperial family, that in itself will be proof of the strong relationship.”
Amelia made her excuses calmly. Naturally, so as not to make it seem like an excuse. So as not to make herself look overly desperate.
“...”
Ivan didn't answer easily. He just stared at Amelia, as if he was pondering something, or as if he wanted to know something.
Amelia couldn't understand the Emperor's intentions, so she couldn't help but choke. Amelia curled her lips inward in impatience, then pushed them away consciously. She simply held her hands under the sleeves of her dress to hide her trembling.
“Your presence and that child’s presence have different meanings. That child does not have the power to represent the temple, and is only a danger to the royal family.”
“Dangerous?”
Amelia asked back, not understanding what Ivan meant. Ivan didn't seem particularly angry or frustrated.
“I don’t know how much you love that child. Maybe you just pass the child on to someone because it’s annoying. If you do that, won’t you blame me if something happens to the child?”
Rather, he explained it calmly and sharply, which only made Amelia more anxious.
“Your Ladyship, since His Majesty says so, then stop...”
“That will never happen. I swear.”
“...”
“I bet my God, I bet my God!”
When he didn't say anything despite the mention of an oath, Amelia insisted on putting on a shoe. In fact, putting on a shoe to a god she didn't even believe in would be more meaningless than just making an oath, but she thought that putting on a shoe would be more trustworthy.
“Even if the child gets hurt, I won’t hold the royal family responsible for that. It’s a better life than dying on the street.”
She forgot to hide her desperation. She was afraid that the Emperor might turn away from Ian and leave.
“Yes. Instead, write a pledge.”
Finally, Ivan gave Amelia the answer she wanted. A color came over Amelia's face.
“High Priest, would you please prepare a pen and paper?”
“Your Majesty, you don’t have to take the child if you don’t want to. It’s not that hard to collect another poor child from the temple.”
Aaron tried to stop Amelia until the very end. It seemed as if he could not tolerate either Amelia or the child escaping from his grasp.
“Didn’t they say that the will of the Priestess is the will of the god? In the current situation, it seems that the High Priest is going against the will of the god.”
The Emperor seemed to feel a strange sense of discomfort as he tilted his head and stared at Aaron. Aaron realized that he had gone too far and took a step back.
“I’ll tell you to bring me a pen and paper.”
After a while, a servant came with paper and a pen.
“Everyone get out.”
Ivan calmly ordered after receiving the item handed to him by the servant. He had an air of confidence as if Amelia's bedroom were his own.
“Your Majesty. This is the Priestess’s bedroom. The two of you cannot stay there alone.”
“Yes. Then let’s move to the reception room. Is that okay?”
Aaron reluctantly nodded to Ivan's question. This time, he openly expressed his reluctance, but Ivan coolly ignored Aaron's true intentions and walked into the reception room.
"Get out."
Ivan stared at Aaron and spoke coldly. It seemed to imply that he had done everything he wanted, so he should step aside.
“You too.”
Louis, who had volunteered to be Amelia's servant and refused to step down, was also kicked out.
“Sit down.”
Ivan spoke to Amelia, who was standing there in the distance. His gaze was directed to the spot where Amelia had been sitting.
There was no reason not to listen to the words of the Emperor, who was like a savior in her life. Amelia immediately walked over and sat down opposite Ivan.
“I am very suspicious and do not trust verbal oaths.”
Ivan absentmindedly pushed the teacup to the side of the table. Even in that insignificant action, there was a subtle elegance. It was a strange thing.
“Write your oath on the oath book, and I will take the child back in your stead. I will take care of the child so that he grows up safely, and I will also keep my promise to support the temple, so don’t worry.”
Support was fine, but if it meant saving Ian, she wanted to grant him whatever he wanted. Amelia quickly picked up her quill and wrote down exactly what the Emperor had promised and what she had sworn to him.
“If you don’t keep your oath at the temple, can you write that you will vomit out all the money you received as donations?”
Amelia asked. Ivan laughed briefly, as if the question was unexpected.
For a moment, Amelia felt something strange. Seeing the Emperor's smiling face, it seemed as if Ivan from her memories had come back to life.
“Money doesn’t really matter.”
"Then..."
“Give yourself to me.”
Amelia paused at the unexpected words.
“What does that mean?”
Ivan smiled at Amelia's question, as if it were nothing.
“You have to walk as much as you can, so you won’t be able to do anything foolish even in the temple.”
He said that he was just betting because he didn't trust the temple and Amelia.
“What good will it do, Your Majesty, to have me?”
Amelia asked directly.
“Wouldn’t that help either way?”
Ivan answered, leaning back in his chair leisurely. His gaze scanning Amelia was fraught with mixed meanings.
“Politically and socially.”
But that wasn't all. Amelia had a feeling. His gaze, flowing down from her head to her chest, wasn't simply judging her by those values.
“Whatever you wish.”
But Amelia was calm. She was sick of being manipulated and used here and there. It was much better to be able to protect her own child than to be manipulated without any gain. Besides, if she were to stake her position as a Priestess, as the Emperor said, Aaron would not dare to harm Ian.
“You really act like a mother who has given birth to her child.”
It was when Amelia wrote on paper that she would even sacrifice herself. Ivan said in admiration.
“This is my child.”
It was clearly the truth, but it was an ambiguous answer that did not sound like the truth. Ivan smiled knowingly and not knowingly at Amelia's answer.
“Yes. That is great affection.”
It was a smile that seemed both relieved and satisfied. No matter which way his smile was closer to, it was the kind that Amelia couldn't figure out what it meant.
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