“But when the child turns two.”
Ivan set a condition. Ian was now a little over five months old. There was about a year and a half left until he was recognized as the Crown Prince. If Amelia did what Ivan asked her to do within that time, he would recognize Ian as the Crown Prince on the spot.
“He is a newborn baby, not even a year old yet. If he were to die early, there would be no point in acknowledging him as the Crown Prince.”
However, for Aaron, who did not know such a thing, it was a satisfactory condition. It meant that Ivan had finally surrendered to the temple and the Duke of Russell's trickery.
“I’m sick of it now.”
Ivan nervously placed the wine glass he was spinning in his hand on the table. The sharp crack between the bangs and the bang pierced the ears of those present. Amelia was genuinely surprised, and her shoulders flinched. Aaron's hand holding the knife also vibrated slightly.
The sound was as if Ivan was at a loss, or at least rationalizing his defeat.
“So, how on earth are you planning on drying up the river this time?”
Amelia was impressed by Ivan's acting skills. She thought she was fooled by his acting because she didn't know anything, but she thought that if he had really put his mind to it and jumped in, anyone would have been fooled.
“Why don’t you just act according to the trust right away? Why are you not doing anything for two weeks this time, making people anxious and crazy?”
Ivan asked with his eyes glaring like a madman. He looked like a drunk. His shirt was pulled tight at the chest with his ragged breathing.
“Damn it! How much public support do you think I’ll lose?”
Ivan shouted in an excited voice. Everyone was startled and glanced at Ivan. Then, perhaps thinking that the situation needed to be calmed down, he sent someone to bring Rodan.
“Your Majesty, please calm down.”
Rodan tried to comfort Ivan while sweating profusely. Then he helped Ivan out, who was too drunk to even walk properly.
“It seems that His Majesty the Emperor has drunk a lot.”
Aaron spoke softly. Amelia did not respond, but turned her gaze to Aaron. He was smiling slightly. There was no way to know what Ivan really meant, but she guessed that he had already achieved what he wanted.
“Shall we also get up now?”
Aaron spoke, wiping his mouth with a cloth.
“It’s been a while since we last met, so I’d like to talk to you for a moment and share stories about the temple.”
“...Do that.”
Amelia got up obediently and walked out of the restaurant first. Aaron followed her.
"Say it."
Amelia and Aaron returned to the West Palace and sat across from each other in the tea room. The servants hurriedly brought out tea for the evening. Amelia opened her mouth as soon as the servants left. It seemed as if she was telling them to hurry up and get out of here.
“Louis told me that something very surprising happened to the Priestess recently.”
Aaron didn't seem offended by the contemptuous remarks he made. As always, Amelia's mistreatment had no effect on him. Rather, he seemed to be enjoying finding his presence in Amelia in that way. What a damned weird person he was.
“That’s right. I was going to call you and ask you anyway.”
Aaron smiled kindly, indicating that it was okay to talk.
“Someone tried to kill Ian. By throwing him in the pond.”
If Ian had sunk to the bottom of the pond and died when no one noticed anything strange, they would not have found him until he was dead and floated to the surface. The intention to kill him was malicious and cruel.
“That happened.”
“Is that you?”
Amelia asked directly. Aaron met Amelia's eyes with a faint smile.
"No."
And then he denied it calmly.
“Have I ever lied about something like this?”
Intimidation and blackmail were Aaron's specialties. He knew it, and Amelia knew it too. So there was no need to hide the fact that he had tried to hurt Ian.
It wasn't hard to guess why Aaron was hiding the truth. The more Amelia believed it and let her guard down, the more dangerous it would be for Ian. He would have to rely on Louis and the spies sent from the temple, not Ivan's new servants.
“You mean the Emperor said so?”
“If the child had died, the problems related to the trust could have been resolved at once.”
When asked if Ivan was the culprit, Aaron did not say yes. However, his ambiguous answer made people realize that she was right.
“But in the end, he didn’t die...”
Aaron tapped the handle of the teacup a few times with his fingertips.
“Since people’s attention could not be completely diverted from the oracle even with martial arts competitions and horse races, they had no choice but to accept the oracle.”
The Emperor's succumbing to a false oracle was unexpected, but it was not a loss for them. Aaron assessed Ivan's decision with a relaxed expression.
“Then does that mean they can try to kill him again at any time?”
Amelia asked sharply. Aaron paused for a moment at the unexpected question.
“You just pretend to accept it in front of others, and he can do it again whenever he gets the chance.”
Amelia's concerns weren't unreasonable. Aaron would have done the same if he were the emperor.
Ivan set a condition. Ian was now a little over five months old. There was about a year and a half left until he was recognized as the Crown Prince. If Amelia did what Ivan asked her to do within that time, he would recognize Ian as the Crown Prince on the spot.
“He is a newborn baby, not even a year old yet. If he were to die early, there would be no point in acknowledging him as the Crown Prince.”
However, for Aaron, who did not know such a thing, it was a satisfactory condition. It meant that Ivan had finally surrendered to the temple and the Duke of Russell's trickery.
“I’m sick of it now.”
Ivan nervously placed the wine glass he was spinning in his hand on the table. The sharp crack between the bangs and the bang pierced the ears of those present. Amelia was genuinely surprised, and her shoulders flinched. Aaron's hand holding the knife also vibrated slightly.
The sound was as if Ivan was at a loss, or at least rationalizing his defeat.
“So, how on earth are you planning on drying up the river this time?”
Amelia was impressed by Ivan's acting skills. She thought she was fooled by his acting because she didn't know anything, but she thought that if he had really put his mind to it and jumped in, anyone would have been fooled.
“Why don’t you just act according to the trust right away? Why are you not doing anything for two weeks this time, making people anxious and crazy?”
Ivan asked with his eyes glaring like a madman. He looked like a drunk. His shirt was pulled tight at the chest with his ragged breathing.
“Damn it! How much public support do you think I’ll lose?”
Ivan shouted in an excited voice. Everyone was startled and glanced at Ivan. Then, perhaps thinking that the situation needed to be calmed down, he sent someone to bring Rodan.
“Your Majesty, please calm down.”
Rodan tried to comfort Ivan while sweating profusely. Then he helped Ivan out, who was too drunk to even walk properly.
“It seems that His Majesty the Emperor has drunk a lot.”
Aaron spoke softly. Amelia did not respond, but turned her gaze to Aaron. He was smiling slightly. There was no way to know what Ivan really meant, but she guessed that he had already achieved what he wanted.
“Shall we also get up now?”
Aaron spoke, wiping his mouth with a cloth.
“It’s been a while since we last met, so I’d like to talk to you for a moment and share stories about the temple.”
“...Do that.”
Amelia got up obediently and walked out of the restaurant first. Aaron followed her.
"Say it."
Amelia and Aaron returned to the West Palace and sat across from each other in the tea room. The servants hurriedly brought out tea for the evening. Amelia opened her mouth as soon as the servants left. It seemed as if she was telling them to hurry up and get out of here.
“Louis told me that something very surprising happened to the Priestess recently.”
Aaron didn't seem offended by the contemptuous remarks he made. As always, Amelia's mistreatment had no effect on him. Rather, he seemed to be enjoying finding his presence in Amelia in that way. What a damned weird person he was.
“That’s right. I was going to call you and ask you anyway.”
Aaron smiled kindly, indicating that it was okay to talk.
“Someone tried to kill Ian. By throwing him in the pond.”
If Ian had sunk to the bottom of the pond and died when no one noticed anything strange, they would not have found him until he was dead and floated to the surface. The intention to kill him was malicious and cruel.
“That happened.”
“Is that you?”
Amelia asked directly. Aaron met Amelia's eyes with a faint smile.
"No."
And then he denied it calmly.
“Have I ever lied about something like this?”
Intimidation and blackmail were Aaron's specialties. He knew it, and Amelia knew it too. So there was no need to hide the fact that he had tried to hurt Ian.
It wasn't hard to guess why Aaron was hiding the truth. The more Amelia believed it and let her guard down, the more dangerous it would be for Ian. He would have to rely on Louis and the spies sent from the temple, not Ivan's new servants.
“You mean the Emperor said so?”
“If the child had died, the problems related to the trust could have been resolved at once.”
When asked if Ivan was the culprit, Aaron did not say yes. However, his ambiguous answer made people realize that she was right.
“But in the end, he didn’t die...”
Aaron tapped the handle of the teacup a few times with his fingertips.
“Since people’s attention could not be completely diverted from the oracle even with martial arts competitions and horse races, they had no choice but to accept the oracle.”
The Emperor's succumbing to a false oracle was unexpected, but it was not a loss for them. Aaron assessed Ivan's decision with a relaxed expression.
“Then does that mean they can try to kill him again at any time?”
Amelia asked sharply. Aaron paused for a moment at the unexpected question.
“You just pretend to accept it in front of others, and he can do it again whenever he gets the chance.”
Amelia's concerns weren't unreasonable. Aaron would have done the same if he were the emperor.
“Can’t you kill him?”
“Watch your mouth.”
“We need a way to stop him.”
Amelia jumped up from her seat and paced around the table, biting her fingernails as if she couldn't stand the anxiety.
It was an act, but her anxiety was real. She was afraid that Aaron might find out what she was thinking. Her ankle, which had been recovering for a long time, started to ache for no reason, and she stopped walking awkwardly a few times.
“...”
Aaron stared at Amelia silently. Amelia unconsciously stuck out her tongue and moistened her lips. She didn't want it to be obvious. She didn't have time to think about that.
“Don’t move around as you please.”
At that moment, Aaron opened his mouth. Amelia's gaze naturally turned to him. Before she knew it, Aaron had a blank expression on his face.
“That means I’ll let you move however I want.”
Amelia's freedom up until now was more than she was entitled to. She had an affair with a man other than her assigned man and had a child with him. When she came to the palace, she made a false oracle to make the Duke of Russell and Aaron follow Amelia.
“Your child’s life will be spared, so just do as I say.”
Since it didn't lead to any bad results and there was no countermeasure, he just left it alone, but he couldn't let it go any further than this. Amelia Escliffe was their means, their puppet. There had to be no arbitrary thoughts.
“Do you understand?”
Aaron asked. Amelia nodded reluctantly, as he had a look on his face that said he absolutely had to hear the answer. It couldn't be helped, as neither the Duke of Russell nor Aaron had any confidence in her.
“I’ll do anything to protect Ian. Even if it means jumping back into the Emperor’s bed, like you said before.”
Aaron laughed briefly at Amelia's words. It was almost a mockery. It seemed funny that she didn't do it when she was told to, but was able to tolerate such methods only after it was too late.
“I know that won’t happen anymore, but I get what you mean.”
Anyway, she thinks he understood that she would do anything for Ian.
“I’ll go now.”
“Can I ask you anything when I need to?”
Just as Aaron was about to stand up, Amelia's desperate voice stopped him in his tracks.
“I’m scared. I can’t leave Ian behind and go back, but I’m afraid I might lose him right before my eyes.”
“...”
“I won’t move on my own. If you ask and then move, then that’s okay.”
The small hand that was holding Aaron's wide sleeve was trembling. Aaron looked down at the desperation in that hand.
“...Please do so.”
And he gave a positive answer. As if he couldn't pretend not to know that feeling.
It's disgusting, even though you don't know you've been fooled.
***
"Your Majesty."
Ivan was lying there in silence, as if he had fainted in the middle of the hallway. Rodan safely guided Ivan to his bedroom, then went to his bed, closing the window and door tightly.
“Are you okay?”
At Rodan's question, a rustling sound was heard on the bed, the blankets crumpling.
"Of course."
Ivan, who had sat up without realizing it, answered indifferently. Even under the soft lamp light, his face showed no sign of intoxication.
“I was wondering if you were really drunk.”
“No way.”
Ivan took off his jacket, threw it on the bed, and got up from the bed. His leisurely gait was the same as usual.
“Why did you suddenly pretend to be drunk?”
“It would be weird if I said Ian would be accepted as Crown Prince while I was in my right mind.”
Indeed, Rodan had never seen Ivan drink so much that he became drunk. Ivan knew his own drinking capacity. There was no way he would have drunk so much without a plan in front of someone who could be considered his enemy.
“I have to pretend to accept it reluctantly, or at least pretend to have some pride when I'm drunk, to fool them a little.”
Ivan calmly explained why he acted. His calm demeanor was clearly that of an actor, but beyond the ambiguous gap was the face of the Emperor.
So Rodan knew. No matter how long it took, this man was going to get what he wanted. Until then, he couldn't even die of resentment.
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