There was no need to think any further. Ivan strode forward without hesitation. As soon as they spotted the Emperor, he passed the crowd that split into two and kicked the head of the trash man, who still clutched the small woman's neck.
Aaron's head was kicked, and he fell, but he didn't let go of Amelia's neck. Ivan, without a second thought, snatched the sword from the guard standing nearby and plunged it into Aaron's shoulder.
“...”
But Aaron didn't give up. Instead, he held back a groan of pain and channeled the force into his fingertips. As if he instinctively knew this was the last moment he could influence Amelia's life.
"If you wanted to lose all your limbs instead of just your head, why didn't you say so in advance? If you did, I would have already blown off your limbs."
Ivan, who had said so, twisted the blade he had embedded in Aaron's shoulder. Ivan's expression was impassive, but the force with which he twirled his muscles and flesh was so ferocious that no one could scream.
Red blood dripped down. Amelia's clothes were also stained with the filthy stain.
Ivan applied force to the blade, which had passed halfway through Aaron's shoulder. The blade, pushed back by his powerful force, finally pierced Aaron's shoulder completely, and Aaron couldn't help but let out a small groan.
“Stop holding on and get out of the way.”
Ivan gripped Aaron's shoulder, where he'd wounded him, with all his might. Aaron's grip loosened as he raked his hand through the wound with his knife. Ivan seized the opportunity and successfully kicked Aaron back. The pain, once etched into him, didn't go away easily, and Aaron fell before he could even regain his grip.
“...”
Amelia, who lay beneath him, was already unconscious. Looking at the woman's pale face with her eyes closed, his heart sank. Ivan reached out with his hand, soaked in Aaron's blood, to trace Amelia's neck, where a crimson mark remained.
The sight of her lying there, covered in blood, was horrifying. Ivan lifted Amelia into his arms and began walking, passing the onlookers Rodan had pushed away.
At some point, he thinks he even ran.
The palace doctor confirmed that Amelia was in danger, but her life was not in danger because Ivan had saved her before she could truly be saved. He added that she would regain consciousness within a few hours.
“Your Majesty, the imperial doctor said it would be alright, so why don’t you just leave?”
But Ivan remained by Amelia's side, unmoved. He seemed completely oblivious to the attention of others. Even though it wasn't something Ivan had expected, it was simply an attitude of "whatever."
Ivan couldn't be dragged out by force. Rodan closed the door with a resigned expression and went outside.
However, Amelia, who had been told she would open her eyes in half a day, still hadn't opened them even after half a day. When Ivan summoned the imperial doctor again and ordered him to examine her, he said in a troubled voice that he couldn't figure out the cause.
"Does that make sense? Why don't you know why she can't open her eyes? Didn't you say she's open them in half a day?"
Ivan's voice was laced with sarcasm, as if to say, "How can you call yourself a doctor who examines the royal family?" For someone who had spent nearly his entire life observing the health of the royal family, the accusation was humiliating. However, it was also true that Amelia hadn't woken up as he had said, so the imperial doctor quietly bowed his head.
“Perhaps it was the fatigue of the unfamiliar imprisonment, the strong blow to the head, and the continued stress of being abused.”
And he listed every possible reason he could think of for Amelia's inability to wake up. Ivan couldn't stop tackling the palace doctor after that. The ignorant palace doctor never blamed Ivan for it, but he knew he wasn't free from all the blame.
“...”
All he could do was stare blankly at Amelia's sleeping face. Even though he knew Rodan was repeatedly trying to dissuade him, Ivan couldn't bring himself to say he was leaving.
The blood-stained skin was wiped off, and her dirty clothes were changed, so she looked fine on the outside, but looking at her pale face, her eyes closed, lying like a corpse, made him feel like she would die at any moment. She had done everything she had to do, so he felt like she would just sleep forever without any regrets.
The sun had already set, and the glow of sunset fell upon Amelia's face. Of all the faces Ivan had seen today, it was the most human and warm-looking.
But, apart from that complexion, it seemed like the expression on her face had long since vanished. That is, when Amelia looked at Ivan, the bright smile or sincerity he'd seen when the children at the temple played games of romance.
Since when did it start?
Amidst all the noise, Ivan immersed himself in quiet thought. Alone, he found it difficult to stop delving into his thoughts, even though he knew they were meaningless. It was as if he desperately needed to trace where and when Amelia had changed.
“When work is done, I have to disappear, right?”
“You won’t die.”
When he showed her the mansion he'd bought for Amelia? When he'd shown her kindness, promising she wouldn't be used like the Russells, and then killed?
“You make me miserable.”
“...”
“Sometimes even more than Aaron...”
Or the day she finally accepted the offer to become a government official?
“I will soon officially recognize Ian as Crown Prince when he turns two, and I will submit a marriage proposal to a family friendly to the royal family.”
Or was it the day he brought Jane Clarke to the palace? Or the moment he announced that he would marry Jane Clarke and submit a proposal to the Clarke family?
"Yes, no. Die for your child. If you have such a fervent heart, even that damned god will allow you to die. Or is that so?"
It may have been the day he told her to die for him and her children.
“But now I feel like your child is a threat to me.”
“...”
“Aren’t you curious what that crazy kid can do?”
Or maybe she was offended by the situation where he was willing to harm his own children for their safety.
“Rather, let’s just leave him there to die.”
Or perhaps it was when Amelia discovered that his advances had been deliberate and for ulterior motives.
From the most recent to the most distant past, memories rolled back ceaselessly. Not a single one of them had ever gone unhurt, so it was impossible to attribute it to just one thing. What had killed Amelia's heart was both one thing and, at the same time, everything.
At every moment, the arrogant despair and crumbling heart that had been on Amelia's face as she faced him could now be seen.
“...”
No, it was a lie. Ivan simply turned a blind eye, pretending not to see, but everyone knew. Watching that scene, he felt a strange thrill at the thought of the being who had wielded the imperial throne now being manipulated by him. How could he call it a lie?
He acted like a lowly swindler who harassed others and found satisfaction in it. He used a woman who simply wanted to escape the temple that held her captive and be free, like a chess piece. He shamelessly asked, "Wouldn't this deal be satisfying to you, too?" It was all just to save her child.
“Ivan, I love you from the bottom of my heart, but at the same time, I hate you more than anyone else.”
He remembered the emptiness he felt when Amelia told him she hated him. And the anger and betrayal that followed.
How could she say such a thing to him, when he promised her a government position and even promised her wealth until the day she died, when she deserved to die? He tried to save her, knowing it would tarnish his honor. How could she say such a thing to him?
At the time, he thought it was just anger. Ivan thought it was just the unpleasant feeling of being bitten by a cat or puppy he's been cherishing, like someone keeping her by his side.
But now he knew. It was guilt, the absurdity of having his good intentions rejected. Ivan wasn't used to such feelings, and he was furious at feeling guilty. And he was furious at being rejected.
Amelia Escliffe loves Ian Wade Escliffe.
Because he felt that there was a crack in that family.
He couldn't ignore it any longer. What Ivan felt was a fleeting rage, a distorted sense of betrayal. He'd made Amelia feel that way, and then he'd lashed out at her for daring to abandon him. Like a colossal fool who'd struck first and then claimed he was the only one who got hit.
"Ha..."
Ivan sat on his chair, buried his face in his hands, and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Everything he did and said gave Amelia reason to hate him. Even if he hadn't done anything, Amelia had reason to resent him.
Ian, Amelia's beloved son. A bright baby who makes even the neglected Ivan feel compelled to give him affection.
The space where Amelia had given birth to and raised Ian alone was still vivid in his mind. A squalid place, devoid of anything good or precious. On his first visit, Ivan surveyed the castle in a daze, wondering if Amelia was smiling in forgiveness. He concluded that it was just a matter of personal preference.
“It’s no different from me killing you, so how can you kill your own child?”
He ignored the sorrow and pain of the woman who had to struggle alone to protect her child, neglected by his indifference.
He pretended to hug her, looking elsewhere. When Amelia whispered to him, asking him to understand her feelings, he let it slip away. He whispered false feelings, embracing her body without any emotion. Ivan laughed hollowly. A realization dawned on him.
“If I were you...”
He guessed he couldn't forgive himself.
Aaron's head was kicked, and he fell, but he didn't let go of Amelia's neck. Ivan, without a second thought, snatched the sword from the guard standing nearby and plunged it into Aaron's shoulder.
“...”
But Aaron didn't give up. Instead, he held back a groan of pain and channeled the force into his fingertips. As if he instinctively knew this was the last moment he could influence Amelia's life.
"If you wanted to lose all your limbs instead of just your head, why didn't you say so in advance? If you did, I would have already blown off your limbs."
Ivan, who had said so, twisted the blade he had embedded in Aaron's shoulder. Ivan's expression was impassive, but the force with which he twirled his muscles and flesh was so ferocious that no one could scream.
Red blood dripped down. Amelia's clothes were also stained with the filthy stain.
Ivan applied force to the blade, which had passed halfway through Aaron's shoulder. The blade, pushed back by his powerful force, finally pierced Aaron's shoulder completely, and Aaron couldn't help but let out a small groan.
“Stop holding on and get out of the way.”
Ivan gripped Aaron's shoulder, where he'd wounded him, with all his might. Aaron's grip loosened as he raked his hand through the wound with his knife. Ivan seized the opportunity and successfully kicked Aaron back. The pain, once etched into him, didn't go away easily, and Aaron fell before he could even regain his grip.
“...”
Amelia, who lay beneath him, was already unconscious. Looking at the woman's pale face with her eyes closed, his heart sank. Ivan reached out with his hand, soaked in Aaron's blood, to trace Amelia's neck, where a crimson mark remained.
The sight of her lying there, covered in blood, was horrifying. Ivan lifted Amelia into his arms and began walking, passing the onlookers Rodan had pushed away.
At some point, he thinks he even ran.
***
The palace doctor confirmed that Amelia was in danger, but her life was not in danger because Ivan had saved her before she could truly be saved. He added that she would regain consciousness within a few hours.
“Your Majesty, the imperial doctor said it would be alright, so why don’t you just leave?”
But Ivan remained by Amelia's side, unmoved. He seemed completely oblivious to the attention of others. Even though it wasn't something Ivan had expected, it was simply an attitude of "whatever."
Ivan couldn't be dragged out by force. Rodan closed the door with a resigned expression and went outside.
However, Amelia, who had been told she would open her eyes in half a day, still hadn't opened them even after half a day. When Ivan summoned the imperial doctor again and ordered him to examine her, he said in a troubled voice that he couldn't figure out the cause.
"Does that make sense? Why don't you know why she can't open her eyes? Didn't you say she's open them in half a day?"
Ivan's voice was laced with sarcasm, as if to say, "How can you call yourself a doctor who examines the royal family?" For someone who had spent nearly his entire life observing the health of the royal family, the accusation was humiliating. However, it was also true that Amelia hadn't woken up as he had said, so the imperial doctor quietly bowed his head.
“Perhaps it was the fatigue of the unfamiliar imprisonment, the strong blow to the head, and the continued stress of being abused.”
And he listed every possible reason he could think of for Amelia's inability to wake up. Ivan couldn't stop tackling the palace doctor after that. The ignorant palace doctor never blamed Ivan for it, but he knew he wasn't free from all the blame.
“...”
All he could do was stare blankly at Amelia's sleeping face. Even though he knew Rodan was repeatedly trying to dissuade him, Ivan couldn't bring himself to say he was leaving.
The blood-stained skin was wiped off, and her dirty clothes were changed, so she looked fine on the outside, but looking at her pale face, her eyes closed, lying like a corpse, made him feel like she would die at any moment. She had done everything she had to do, so he felt like she would just sleep forever without any regrets.
The sun had already set, and the glow of sunset fell upon Amelia's face. Of all the faces Ivan had seen today, it was the most human and warm-looking.
But, apart from that complexion, it seemed like the expression on her face had long since vanished. That is, when Amelia looked at Ivan, the bright smile or sincerity he'd seen when the children at the temple played games of romance.
Since when did it start?
Amidst all the noise, Ivan immersed himself in quiet thought. Alone, he found it difficult to stop delving into his thoughts, even though he knew they were meaningless. It was as if he desperately needed to trace where and when Amelia had changed.
“When work is done, I have to disappear, right?”
“You won’t die.”
When he showed her the mansion he'd bought for Amelia? When he'd shown her kindness, promising she wouldn't be used like the Russells, and then killed?
“You make me miserable.”
“...”
“Sometimes even more than Aaron...”
Or the day she finally accepted the offer to become a government official?
“I will soon officially recognize Ian as Crown Prince when he turns two, and I will submit a marriage proposal to a family friendly to the royal family.”
Or was it the day he brought Jane Clarke to the palace? Or the moment he announced that he would marry Jane Clarke and submit a proposal to the Clarke family?
"Yes, no. Die for your child. If you have such a fervent heart, even that damned god will allow you to die. Or is that so?"
It may have been the day he told her to die for him and her children.
“But now I feel like your child is a threat to me.”
“...”
“Aren’t you curious what that crazy kid can do?”
Or maybe she was offended by the situation where he was willing to harm his own children for their safety.
“Rather, let’s just leave him there to die.”
Or perhaps it was when Amelia discovered that his advances had been deliberate and for ulterior motives.
From the most recent to the most distant past, memories rolled back ceaselessly. Not a single one of them had ever gone unhurt, so it was impossible to attribute it to just one thing. What had killed Amelia's heart was both one thing and, at the same time, everything.
At every moment, the arrogant despair and crumbling heart that had been on Amelia's face as she faced him could now be seen.
“...”
No, it was a lie. Ivan simply turned a blind eye, pretending not to see, but everyone knew. Watching that scene, he felt a strange thrill at the thought of the being who had wielded the imperial throne now being manipulated by him. How could he call it a lie?
He acted like a lowly swindler who harassed others and found satisfaction in it. He used a woman who simply wanted to escape the temple that held her captive and be free, like a chess piece. He shamelessly asked, "Wouldn't this deal be satisfying to you, too?" It was all just to save her child.
“Ivan, I love you from the bottom of my heart, but at the same time, I hate you more than anyone else.”
He remembered the emptiness he felt when Amelia told him she hated him. And the anger and betrayal that followed.
How could she say such a thing to him, when he promised her a government position and even promised her wealth until the day she died, when she deserved to die? He tried to save her, knowing it would tarnish his honor. How could she say such a thing to him?
At the time, he thought it was just anger. Ivan thought it was just the unpleasant feeling of being bitten by a cat or puppy he's been cherishing, like someone keeping her by his side.
But now he knew. It was guilt, the absurdity of having his good intentions rejected. Ivan wasn't used to such feelings, and he was furious at feeling guilty. And he was furious at being rejected.
Amelia Escliffe loves Ian Wade Escliffe.
Because he felt that there was a crack in that family.
He couldn't ignore it any longer. What Ivan felt was a fleeting rage, a distorted sense of betrayal. He'd made Amelia feel that way, and then he'd lashed out at her for daring to abandon him. Like a colossal fool who'd struck first and then claimed he was the only one who got hit.
"Ha..."
Ivan sat on his chair, buried his face in his hands, and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Everything he did and said gave Amelia reason to hate him. Even if he hadn't done anything, Amelia had reason to resent him.
Ian, Amelia's beloved son. A bright baby who makes even the neglected Ivan feel compelled to give him affection.
The space where Amelia had given birth to and raised Ian alone was still vivid in his mind. A squalid place, devoid of anything good or precious. On his first visit, Ivan surveyed the castle in a daze, wondering if Amelia was smiling in forgiveness. He concluded that it was just a matter of personal preference.
“It’s no different from me killing you, so how can you kill your own child?”
He ignored the sorrow and pain of the woman who had to struggle alone to protect her child, neglected by his indifference.
He pretended to hug her, looking elsewhere. When Amelia whispered to him, asking him to understand her feelings, he let it slip away. He whispered false feelings, embracing her body without any emotion. Ivan laughed hollowly. A realization dawned on him.
“If I were you...”
He guessed he couldn't forgive himself.
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