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Chapter 39

Inside the quiet carriage.

Ivan was asleep with his head on Emilia's lap.

Huff, puff. The child's deep breathing filled the carriage.

Emilia patted Ivan's back gently.

With all that running around, of course he'd be tired.

He must have been far more active than he was at the residence.

She recalled Ivan playing at the park.

Even though they'd just met, even though their languages weren't fully shared—

Ivan had blended in naturally with the other children.

Watching him, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Does Ivan... absolutely have to go to the Holy Kingdom of Hypria?"

She paused her hand and asked in a barely audible voice.

Feeling the man's gaze turn to her, she added defensively.

"Of course, I know it's presumptuous of me to ask, since I'm only his tutor."

Kayden's brow furrowed.

"It's not presumptuous. You're the child's benefactor, after all. However—"

He tapped his knee with his fingers.

"You probably heard from Herald that Ivan is my collateral relative."

"Yes, I heard."

"That's not wrong, but..."

Kayden paused for a moment, then continued.

"To be precise, it's misleading to simply call him a collateral relative."

He glanced at Ivan, who was sleeping soundly without moving.

"The golden eyes the child possesses are a characteristic of the direct imperial line."

His gaze shifted upward again.

"Ivan is the Emperor's illegitimate child. His mother is from the Holy Kingdom of Hypria."

At Kayden's words, Emilia's eyes widened in an instant.

He studied her expression and asked.

"Are you surprised?"

"Ah... a little."

Emilia rolled her eyes and answered somewhat awkwardly.

Of course, she already knew this from the original story, so his words hadn't surprised her.

Rather, it was unexpected that he would reveal it so openly.

The existence of the Emperor's illegitimate child must be a secret.

But Kayden didn't stop there.

"That's why the Empress is after Ivan. Those men on the train were also the Empress's people."

He seemed intent on laying everything out for her.

"The Empress is a greedy woman..."

Kayden's brow twitched with displeasure at the thought.

"She's even been running state affairs while His Majesty lies ill."

Emilia had also heard that the Emperor's health was failing.

But then, Kayden said something she hadn't expected.

"Quite a few nobles, myself included, suspect that the Empress is the one who made the Emperor that way."

"Pardon?"

Emilia gasped in surprise.

Her strong reaction made Kayden raise an eyebrow.

Understandably—this was the first time he'd spoken such words aloud.

They were clearly an insult to the imperial household.

The Emperor's health had declined after the prince was born.

Could it really be coincidence that the Emperor, who had been fine until the birth of the two princesses, had deteriorated so rapidly?

Kayden recalled the Emperor he had often met as a child—his maternal uncle.

He had been a somewhat unusual man.

Uninterested in and unsuited for the power struggles of the imperial court.

He was a man who needed nothing more than his modest palace and the woman he loved endlessly.

To Kayden, who had grown up with a father who chose a wife for his own ambition and treated her like a doll, and a mother who never so much as looked at her son while waiting for a husband who rarely came home—

His uncle had seemed remarkably fascinating.

Moreover, he often summoned his nephew Kayden to the palace.

And all he ever did was ask ordinary, everyday questions—the kind his own parents never bothered with.

Later, Kayden realized how much comfort those moments had brought him.

Others may have judged his uncle as weak and worthless, but paradoxically, he had been the first adult Kayden ever truly respected.

Then, suddenly, he entered into marriage with the current Empress.

His fiancée vanished overnight, and at the same time, Kayden lost all private contact with his uncle.

His parents had passed away, and he'd been busy inheriting the title.

By the time he had established himself and returned to the capital, much had changed.

His uncle, who had seemed so unfit for the throne, had ascended to it.

And by then, he had already fathered two daughters and a son with the Empress.

When Kayden saw him again in the palace, he had grown frail.

"Your Majesty."

"...Kayden, you've come."

The Emperor had summoned Kayden in secret.

He looked deathly ill, as if he might draw his last breath at any moment.

"What is the Empress doing to you?"

"No, I'm fine."

But he only shook his head.

Instead, he grasped Kayden's hand and pleaded earnestly.

"Kayden. I have no allies in this palace. This may be a heavy burden for you, but... I beg you, find my child and protect him. No—make sure the Empress cannot touch him. Let him live somewhere far away and safe."

"I shall."

Kayden accepted his request without hesitation.

The Emperor looked deeply apologetic as he gave his thanks.

Not long after, the Emperor was completely bedridden.

With no proper information about the child, Kayden carefully watched the movements of the Empress's agents.

Eventually, sensing something amiss, he set out to retrieve the child.

And it was there that he met this woman.

Emilia, who had been silently listening to Kayden's story, murmured with a hint of bitterness.

"Then it's certainly better for Ivan to go to the Holy Kingdom of Hypria than to stay in this Empire."

She looked down at the still-sleeping child and forced a smile.

"I also want Ivan to grow up safely in a secure place."

The atmosphere grew heavy for a moment.

So Emilia deliberately spoke in a prim tone.

"But that aside, what do you mean by telling me all this?"

"All this?"

Kayden raised an eyebrow.

"About His Majesty, and about your plan to send Ivan to the Holy Kingdom of Hypria."

Emilia listed the things he'd shared.

"What if I had approached you with ill intentions?"

At that, Kayden let out a short laugh.

Together with an expression that seemed to say don't be ridiculous.

"Wh-why are you laughing?"

Emilia flinched and asked, a little miffed.

"Because an approach like that wouldn't even come close—"

Still with a smile, he leaned back.

"Try making a proper move on me first, and then talk."

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