After Aaron returned to the temple, Amelia immediately brought Ian to her bedroom. Mrs. Howard, who had at first asked several times how she was going to care for Ian without a wet nurse, now readily gave Ian to Amelia without asking any questions.
“I will tell you to prepare the ingredients and bowls for making the porridge in advance.”
It was only natural that she would notice, since she had begged and pleaded so desperately to protect Ian. That was something that only a mother could do.
However, Mrs. Howard kept her mouth shut even though she knew that Amelia was Ian's biological mother and Ivan was Ian's biological father. She didn't bring up the subject, even accidentally. It was hard to tell whether it was to protect Ivan's honor or to avoid touching a time bomb, but in the end, it was fortunate. She didn't think of a way to explain it.
No. There is no way to explain it in the first place. Other than Mrs. Howard is just accepting it.
“...”
At that moment, a clicking sound was heard. Amelia opened the door to the side room as if it were her own bedroom and stared blankly at the man barging into her bedroom. It seemed like a long time since she had seen Ivan appear there. It couldn't have been more than a few months.
“Aaron doesn’t trust me.”
The muffled footsteps approached and then stopped.
“I said that Ian might be killed and that we needed to come up with a plan, but he told me to do whatever he said.”
Ivan stopped in the middle of the room and stared at Amelia, who was sitting on the bed. As if to confirm that the vague figure of the woman beyond the thin white canopy was really Amelia.
“I was worried that maybe he noticed that I was acting, but that didn’t seem to be the case.”
For Ivan, such a process of verification was natural, since he had no weapon to kill the intruder who suddenly rushed at him.
“...”
But it must have been because Amelia, who didn't even lower her voice, was unfamiliar. When they first met, Amelia, who had no doubt that Ivan was a trainee priest, spoke to Ivan easily. The same was true of calling him 'you'. It was the same even after she found out that Ivan was the Emperor.
Even when she was clinging to him, she was acting arrogantly. Ivan, as if he couldn't stand it, ordered Amelia to do it properly. However, Ivan didn't even guess that Amelia would keep her position as he had instructed her.
“If this continues, you’ll just be a doll forever doing whatever you’re told to do. You’ll never be able to do what you want.”
“...”
“We need a case that will give them at least a little bit of trust.”
But Ivan Wade Escliffe was the highest-ranking man in the empire. This level of distance, this level of courtesy, was natural to him. Ivan naturally suppressed his surprise.
“I never told you to bring their balls right away tomorrow.”
As Ivan spoke, he began to walk again. Amelia watched silently as the large man moved through the canopy.
“I never expected that to be possible.”
Ivan also thought that everything needed time. Of course, he, of all people, could not have been unaware of this fact. It was a force that even he and his predecessors could not overthrow in one go. If it had been that easy, it would have been unpleasant to have suffered so far.
“Act as usual.”
“...”
“It’s okay to pretend to want expensive things.”
Ivan's gaze scanned the room where Amelia was staying. Amelia's eyes also scanned the bedroom absentmindedly. There was nothing in the palace that had not been touched by a craftsman. It was so much so that even someone without eyes could not help but be amazed.
“I will soon make a formal declaration that I will recognize Ian as the Crown Prince when he turns two, and I will submit a proposal to a family that is friendly to the royal family.”
Proposal.
The moment she heard those words, Amelia's eyes stopped at the ceiling. Before she could even think about what to do, her heart just stopped. Was she still unable to let go of her foolish and vain expectations? Or was there still a part of her heart that she couldn't let go of?
Forget it. He can do anything.
Amelia lowered her head with a bitter smile and turned her gaze toward the table where Ivan was leaning. Although it was dim, she could clearly feel Ivan looking at her. It was as if he had been waiting for her to look at him.
Amelia and Ivan were staring at each other in a hazy manner without saying a word. Ian squirmed with a small whimper. Amelia immediately turned her gaze to Ian and caressed his plump belly.
“What does that mean?”
Ian quickly became calm, as if he had been in a state of slumber for a moment. Nevertheless, Amelia lowered her voice and asked questions cautiously.
Ivan was also tracing the child's form with his eyes. Amelia vaguely felt the gazes avoiding her. In fact, Ivan still did not feel the same affectionate feelings as Amelia. However, after he properly recognized the child, Ivan also seemed to have begun to feel interested in the existence of his own child.
“It’s enough to make them feel like I’m plotting against them to make Ian the Crown Prince. They’ll think I’m lying to them to get out of the way for a moment.”
Amelia's hand, which had been patting Ian's stomach, stopped. Ivan was kindly explaining, as she had asked him to do, exactly what he was going to do.
“But since I have officially declared that Ian will be recognized as the Crown Prince, they cannot commit treason without a reason. It would be a waste of time to wait for the day when Ian is not recognized as the Crown Prince and then take revenge.”
Ivan was making up excuses for the Duke of Russell and Aaron to kill him. It was obvious enough to Amelia.
“Then they tell you they want to kill me.”
Quiet, yet clear words lingered in Amelia's bedroom.
“They tried to kill Ian last time, too. Far from acknowledging him as the Crown Prince, you incited me by going wild and saying I was going to kill him before he even became the Crown Prince.”
So let's kill the current Emperor and make Ian the Emperor.
“And when everything is over, you will hand over the throne to the Duke of Russell, so just let Ian and you escape safely. Then he will probably use you to kill me, intending to use you and then discard you.”
“...”
“After he becomes the emperor, I won’t need a Priestess who can threaten me.”
Ivan's face was calm on the topic of such terrible words. He seemed to remember that Aaron had once offered to reward Amelia with freedom if she accepted their offer, and she quickly used it.
“...”
Amelia was speechless for a moment.
“If something goes wrong, wouldn’t Your Majesty really be in danger?”
That was all she could ask after a moment of silence. Of course, she shouldn’t be afraid of what he was going to do, and she also had faith that he wouldn’t let that happen. But she wondered how he could so easily tell his enemies to kill him.
“That could be the case.”
Ivan admitted lightly. What he was about to do was clearly dangerous. Even if Rodan had known, he would have jumped at the thought.
“But I shouldn’t be treated like that.”
“...”
“If that happens, I won’t be able to protect my child.”
Ivan answered calmly. His attitude was so ambiguous that it felt like he was really saying, “My child.” It couldn’t be. Ivan was a man who knew that Ian was his child, but he wouldn’t even acknowledge him as his son.
Amelia quietly walked over the split canopy with her hands. She could tell what was on Ivan’s mind by looking at his face. Then, Ivan’s face became clear.
“And if you want to take someone else’s heart, you have to give up your own. I just chose a high risk to match the great achievement.”
When their eyes met, Ivan smiled as he spoke. As charmingly as the impure man who had once tried to seduce Amelia with intent.
Yes, his true feelings were this way. His words about her child were nothing more than a mockery directed at Amelia. Amelia even plucked the flower of anticipation that had bloomed clumsily.
“Then can I pretend to like Your Majesty in front of them?”
Then, it wasn't that hard to make eye contact with Ivan. The same thing happened when she asked if she could pretend to love him. Ivan tilted one eyebrow as if he had heard something unexpected.
“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to be anything to you.”
“...”
“I just felt like I had to do that to pretend to be a crazy woman.”
The Duke of Russell did not know the real Amelia very well. He had only heard about her through Aaron. And Aaron knew that Amelia was impulsive, timid, and prone to violent emotions. She rarely interacted with others except with a limited number of people.
“It’s a common story about falling in love at first sight with the Emperor who saved Ian.”
And Aaron clearly remembered Amelia's mother, who had gone mad with love and sorrow for her child. And he was looking for a shadow of that in Amelia now.
“A foolish woman who resented the man who did not accept her heart, and eventually went crazy when he told her that he had proposed to another woman.”
The madness that has been passed down through generations was love. Sometimes reality is more brutal than unreality, and one such mad feeling is a more convincing reason than any clear reason.
It's like she came this far, deceived by a single shallow emotion.
“I will tell you to prepare the ingredients and bowls for making the porridge in advance.”
It was only natural that she would notice, since she had begged and pleaded so desperately to protect Ian. That was something that only a mother could do.
However, Mrs. Howard kept her mouth shut even though she knew that Amelia was Ian's biological mother and Ivan was Ian's biological father. She didn't bring up the subject, even accidentally. It was hard to tell whether it was to protect Ivan's honor or to avoid touching a time bomb, but in the end, it was fortunate. She didn't think of a way to explain it.
No. There is no way to explain it in the first place. Other than Mrs. Howard is just accepting it.
“...”
At that moment, a clicking sound was heard. Amelia opened the door to the side room as if it were her own bedroom and stared blankly at the man barging into her bedroom. It seemed like a long time since she had seen Ivan appear there. It couldn't have been more than a few months.
“Aaron doesn’t trust me.”
The muffled footsteps approached and then stopped.
“I said that Ian might be killed and that we needed to come up with a plan, but he told me to do whatever he said.”
Ivan stopped in the middle of the room and stared at Amelia, who was sitting on the bed. As if to confirm that the vague figure of the woman beyond the thin white canopy was really Amelia.
“I was worried that maybe he noticed that I was acting, but that didn’t seem to be the case.”
For Ivan, such a process of verification was natural, since he had no weapon to kill the intruder who suddenly rushed at him.
“...”
But it must have been because Amelia, who didn't even lower her voice, was unfamiliar. When they first met, Amelia, who had no doubt that Ivan was a trainee priest, spoke to Ivan easily. The same was true of calling him 'you'. It was the same even after she found out that Ivan was the Emperor.
Even when she was clinging to him, she was acting arrogantly. Ivan, as if he couldn't stand it, ordered Amelia to do it properly. However, Ivan didn't even guess that Amelia would keep her position as he had instructed her.
“If this continues, you’ll just be a doll forever doing whatever you’re told to do. You’ll never be able to do what you want.”
“...”
“We need a case that will give them at least a little bit of trust.”
But Ivan Wade Escliffe was the highest-ranking man in the empire. This level of distance, this level of courtesy, was natural to him. Ivan naturally suppressed his surprise.
“I never told you to bring their balls right away tomorrow.”
As Ivan spoke, he began to walk again. Amelia watched silently as the large man moved through the canopy.
“I never expected that to be possible.”
Ivan also thought that everything needed time. Of course, he, of all people, could not have been unaware of this fact. It was a force that even he and his predecessors could not overthrow in one go. If it had been that easy, it would have been unpleasant to have suffered so far.
“Act as usual.”
“...”
“It’s okay to pretend to want expensive things.”
Ivan's gaze scanned the room where Amelia was staying. Amelia's eyes also scanned the bedroom absentmindedly. There was nothing in the palace that had not been touched by a craftsman. It was so much so that even someone without eyes could not help but be amazed.
“I will soon make a formal declaration that I will recognize Ian as the Crown Prince when he turns two, and I will submit a proposal to a family that is friendly to the royal family.”
Proposal.
The moment she heard those words, Amelia's eyes stopped at the ceiling. Before she could even think about what to do, her heart just stopped. Was she still unable to let go of her foolish and vain expectations? Or was there still a part of her heart that she couldn't let go of?
Forget it. He can do anything.
Amelia lowered her head with a bitter smile and turned her gaze toward the table where Ivan was leaning. Although it was dim, she could clearly feel Ivan looking at her. It was as if he had been waiting for her to look at him.
Amelia and Ivan were staring at each other in a hazy manner without saying a word. Ian squirmed with a small whimper. Amelia immediately turned her gaze to Ian and caressed his plump belly.
“What does that mean?”
Ian quickly became calm, as if he had been in a state of slumber for a moment. Nevertheless, Amelia lowered her voice and asked questions cautiously.
Ivan was also tracing the child's form with his eyes. Amelia vaguely felt the gazes avoiding her. In fact, Ivan still did not feel the same affectionate feelings as Amelia. However, after he properly recognized the child, Ivan also seemed to have begun to feel interested in the existence of his own child.
“It’s enough to make them feel like I’m plotting against them to make Ian the Crown Prince. They’ll think I’m lying to them to get out of the way for a moment.”
Amelia's hand, which had been patting Ian's stomach, stopped. Ivan was kindly explaining, as she had asked him to do, exactly what he was going to do.
“But since I have officially declared that Ian will be recognized as the Crown Prince, they cannot commit treason without a reason. It would be a waste of time to wait for the day when Ian is not recognized as the Crown Prince and then take revenge.”
Ivan was making up excuses for the Duke of Russell and Aaron to kill him. It was obvious enough to Amelia.
“Then they tell you they want to kill me.”
Quiet, yet clear words lingered in Amelia's bedroom.
“They tried to kill Ian last time, too. Far from acknowledging him as the Crown Prince, you incited me by going wild and saying I was going to kill him before he even became the Crown Prince.”
So let's kill the current Emperor and make Ian the Emperor.
“And when everything is over, you will hand over the throne to the Duke of Russell, so just let Ian and you escape safely. Then he will probably use you to kill me, intending to use you and then discard you.”
“...”
“After he becomes the emperor, I won’t need a Priestess who can threaten me.”
Ivan's face was calm on the topic of such terrible words. He seemed to remember that Aaron had once offered to reward Amelia with freedom if she accepted their offer, and she quickly used it.
“...”
Amelia was speechless for a moment.
“If something goes wrong, wouldn’t Your Majesty really be in danger?”
That was all she could ask after a moment of silence. Of course, she shouldn’t be afraid of what he was going to do, and she also had faith that he wouldn’t let that happen. But she wondered how he could so easily tell his enemies to kill him.
“That could be the case.”
Ivan admitted lightly. What he was about to do was clearly dangerous. Even if Rodan had known, he would have jumped at the thought.
“But I shouldn’t be treated like that.”
“...”
“If that happens, I won’t be able to protect my child.”
Ivan answered calmly. His attitude was so ambiguous that it felt like he was really saying, “My child.” It couldn’t be. Ivan was a man who knew that Ian was his child, but he wouldn’t even acknowledge him as his son.
Amelia quietly walked over the split canopy with her hands. She could tell what was on Ivan’s mind by looking at his face. Then, Ivan’s face became clear.
“And if you want to take someone else’s heart, you have to give up your own. I just chose a high risk to match the great achievement.”
When their eyes met, Ivan smiled as he spoke. As charmingly as the impure man who had once tried to seduce Amelia with intent.
Yes, his true feelings were this way. His words about her child were nothing more than a mockery directed at Amelia. Amelia even plucked the flower of anticipation that had bloomed clumsily.
“Then can I pretend to like Your Majesty in front of them?”
Then, it wasn't that hard to make eye contact with Ivan. The same thing happened when she asked if she could pretend to love him. Ivan tilted one eyebrow as if he had heard something unexpected.
“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to be anything to you.”
“...”
“I just felt like I had to do that to pretend to be a crazy woman.”
The Duke of Russell did not know the real Amelia very well. He had only heard about her through Aaron. And Aaron knew that Amelia was impulsive, timid, and prone to violent emotions. She rarely interacted with others except with a limited number of people.
“It’s a common story about falling in love at first sight with the Emperor who saved Ian.”
And Aaron clearly remembered Amelia's mother, who had gone mad with love and sorrow for her child. And he was looking for a shadow of that in Amelia now.
“A foolish woman who resented the man who did not accept her heart, and eventually went crazy when he told her that he had proposed to another woman.”
The madness that has been passed down through generations was love. Sometimes reality is more brutal than unreality, and one such mad feeling is a more convincing reason than any clear reason.
It's like she came this far, deceived by a single shallow emotion.
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