Fortunately, Joseph seemed to understand that level of persuasion. The steak on Ivan's plate was cooked just right.
“I'll take it.”
“I'll take it.”
Ivan took the silverware first, then offered food to Amelia and Louis. He cut a piece of meat, stabbed it with his fork, and only after confirming the silverware hadn't changed color did he put a piece in his mouth. He tasted the water and wine the knight had before taking a sip of water.
“You must have been here a few times.”
Ivan said leisurely.
“Yes.”
Amelia answered meekly.
“I wonder why you continue to abandon this land like this, even though you have God behind you.”
“It took time.”
However, just because the attitude was gentle, it did not mean that the content of the answer was also gentle.
“What time?”
"Even now, it feels like a land steeped in fraud. I'm not sure if we can purify this land now, so it was even more difficult in the past."
At Amelia's answer, Ivan's lips quirked a corner. His face was clearly a mocking sneer. Knowing the truth about Amelia, it was only natural. Louis felt tense, wondering if Ivan had brought Amelia here to reveal that she lacked divine powers.
“You can’t say for sure whether it can be purified?”
"Yes."
Ivan chuckled at Amelia's answer.
“Shouldn’t you at least try and talk about it?”
“Then let’s try it tomorrow.”
Amelia smiled back. Louis was a little surprised, as she was used to Amelia's furry, cat-like behavior. Neither the Duke of Russell nor Aaron had taught her anything.
“I really wonder what God’s will is.”
“What do you mean?”
"You say He loves those in low places. Why does He curse their homes and ignore them without even trying to restore them?"
Ivan's doubts were valid. The will of the false gods always contained contradictions. They were the most good, yet the most evil. They were the most vulnerable, yet the most violent.
"Sometimes, there are those who defy God's will, who are unafraid, who seek to oppose Him. Perhaps it is to demonstrate His power to them."
Amelia answered sarcastically.
“It is said that the most precious person requires the same amount of authority.”
It was as if she were saying, "Do you think God doesn't have that much authority?" It was natural for her to subtly brand Ivan an unbeliever.
“I see. That’s quite a lot...”
Ivan quickly backed down. He didn't forget to use sarcasm, but he was generally quite docile. Their relationship seemed to be at its worst, to the point where even Louis and Joseph felt relieved.
***
Of course, Amelia and Ivan's relationship wasn't as bad as they'd imagined. Of course, it was once like that. It just wasn't anymore.
“You must have been here a few times.”
“Yes.”
Ivan read Amelia's answer with a grain of salt. It wasn't that several generations of Amelias had passed through here, but that she had stopped by to give birth to Ian. Since they couldn't be together like in the palace, that was the most Amelia could say.
“...”
Ivan quietly scanned the interior of the dilapidated bedroom. Though the room offered to him was supposed to be the finest, the building itself was dilapidated and shabby, lacking proper maintenance. The building itself lacked sunlight, and the bedding, as if it hadn't dried properly, gave off a musty smell. Some might consider even this a luxury, but to a man accustomed to the best in the empire, everything looked like squalor.
“This might be where you grew up and gave birth to Ian.”
But Amelia gave birth in this very place. And she struggled to protect Ian, whom she believed to be a trace of Ivan. At a time when Ivan himself hadn't even thought of Amelia, hadn't even wondered if the child was conceived.
“In a place like this.”
In this place where all conditions were at their worst, at a time when she could barely move her body, she held her child in her arms, trembling with anxiety.
Even Ivan, however shameless, was in a situation that would have made him feel guilty. After all, she was the woman who bore his child, and he felt bad for leaving her to fend for herself in such a chaotic environment. Even if she were a woman he'd simply use and discard, he would have felt the same way, but wasn't Amelia truly his woman now?
"Your Majesty."
A slightly disturbed look flashed across Ivan's eyes. Rodan cautiously called out to him.
“Are you sure you want to go to Reckton tomorrow?”
"That's right. That way, they'll think I'm using this castle as an excuse to come looking for Ricky."
Ivan, awakened from his momentary reverie, answered immediately. The Duke of Russell would be watching Ivan closely, and he wouldn't allow Ivan to get too close to the secret.
“I’m not the one who’s going to find everything anyway.”
So, it wasn't Ivan's job to find evidence and leave it behind.
"I'll just gloss over the castle and search the village and forest, pretending not to believe Ricky's death. Then you can search the castle."
Ivan left the task to Amelia. With Ivan distracting their guard and surveillance, Amelia would have access to every corner of the castle. Knowing that Ivan and Amelia weren't on good terms, they wouldn't expect Amelia to discover anything and let it slip to Ivan.
“Is it possible?”
Rodan asked cautiously. He knew by now that Amelia wasn't very strong.
“She’ll make it possible. She's a smart woman.”
Ivan, who had said so, waved his hand absentmindedly, as if to tell him to step aside. Rodan didn't say anything further and quietly retreated. He then repeatedly urged the knights guarding Ivan's bedroom door to provide cover before heading to his own bedroom.
“...”
Beyond the door, the room was quiet, save for the clanking of armor. Only then, free from external stimuli, did Ivan, still sitting in his chair, recall the face of the woman who had resented him. Now, a face that smiled at him with such innocence. Everything Ivan had done to Amelia had been for his own good, not hers.
So he suddenly thought.
Will you forgive me and smile?
"...maybe."
Ivan muttered, rolling words that felt somehow awkward in his mouth. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to smile like that. He wouldn't be able to hug her so easily. He hadn't realized that his muttering was more like persuading himself.
***
“The Emperor has left for the cursed forest.”
“Then the village and the forest were his goals from the beginning.”
Louis nodded at Amelia's words. Ivan, upon arriving at the castle, remained minimally vigilant and observant, showing no significant reaction. Instead, as soon as daylight broke, he dragged the knights out, expressing curiosity about the forest and the nearby village. It was a move that could easily be dismissed as a mere pretext for the cursed lands.
“Wouldn’t it be better not to send someone to follow the Emperor into that forest?”
“I heard that the forest was just used to divide the castle and the village.”
Louis hesitated for a moment before answering. She seemed to have decided that since it wasn't a place with any particular secrets, the forest would be fine.
"I'm feeling relaxed, so I want to rest a bit. I think Louis feels the same way. Go ahead and rest."
“That would be good.”
The proposal received a positive response. She seemed exhausted from having to keep tabs on Ivan and even Joseph. When Amelia once again urged her to leave, Louis left her bedroom without objection.
“...”
Left alone, Amelia looked around the castle, now plunged into silence, and then her bedroom. Ivan had given her a mission, but she felt lost, unsure how to carry it out. Suddenly, she caught sight of Joseph, dragging his feet as he walked past the window.
All she could do now was follow him and observe what he was doing in the castle. Other than that, she couldn't think of any way to find out anything.
"Ah!"
Amelia, thinking that, abruptly stood up from her seat. The table near the window, unable to withstand the sudden movement, creaked and was pushed back.
Amelia ignored him and walked toward the door. But before she could get far, she tripped over a table leg and fell. The impact was so loud it made a loud crash, sending a jolt of pain through her knees and palms. The layers of skirt she was wrapped in were useless.
“What the... all of a sudden...”
The carpet, which had been sitting quietly in its place, wasn't at fault, but the resentment naturally turned towards it. Of course, it was a pointless emotional outburst. Amelia staggered to her feet and roughly pushed the creased and wrinkled carpet away with her foot.
Her shoes rattled somewhere on the floor. It was then that she noticed something odd about the floor, which had been covered by carpet.
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