Chapter 42
It hadn’t been long since Ivan returned to his office with a military book after stopping by the library when Rodan came to see him. Ivan greeted him with a warm cup of tea. Of course, the single cup placed on the table wasn’t prepared for Rodan.
“You’re here?”
“Yes.”
Ivan’s disinterested attitude, only briefly glancing at him as he sat at the table, said it all.
“What is it?”
Ivan’s question was short and to the point. It seemed even his own secretary wasn’t welcome at this moment. Well, he had barely touched his lunch, so something must be troubling him. As befitting his noble and arrogant soul, Ivan avoided meals whenever he was in a foul mood.
“I came to report something.”
And whenever Ivan was like that, Rodan would bend over backwards to please him. As long as Ivan was his master, no matter how humiliating or dirty the task, he had no choice.
“If you’re not in the mood to hear it now, I’ll come back later.”
“No, speak.”
Rodan could only hope that what he had brought up wouldn’t worsen Ivan’s mood.
“I compiled a list of noble young ladies of marriageable age.”
Ivan, who had seemed lost in thought until Rodan began to speak, fixed his gaze sharply on him the moment he opened his mouth.
“As you instructed the other day…”
Was this the wrong time? Did he misread the room? Should he apologize and leave? Rodan masked his anxiety with a calm expression and emphasized that it was an assignment given to him by Ivan.
“Good.”
But Ivan’s response was more agreeable than expected. When Rodan saw Ivan stretch his hand into the air as if asking for the list, he quickly placed the document into his hand.
“How many?”
“Thirty in total.”
At twenty-two, Ivan was at the age when most in Escliff were either engaged or already married. The same went for women. So even after scraping together candidates from lesser families, the list was shorter than expected.
“Should I include those who are not yet of age?”
Rodan still remembered the look of scorn in Ivan’s eyes when he’d asked that question. He had asked, thinking there wouldn’t be many candidates. He also made sure to exclude any women who had been widowed or broken off an engagement.
“Thirty.”
Thankfully, it seemed to meet Ivan’s standards. Since he wasn’t angry or looking at him with contempt, Rodan was confident. Ivan began reviewing the list of noble ladies and, without hesitation, started crossing off names with his pen.
“……”
At this rate, would there be anyone left?
The black lines slashing through names were cold, just like Ivan’s personality. Rodan’s eyes trembled slightly. When Ivan crossed off over twenty names, only three remained.
“…What about Louie Skipper?”
Suddenly, Ivan asked.
“You mean Lady Louie Skipper of the Skipper County?”
Rodan blinked in disbelief. Louie Skipper did, technically, meet the original conditions. She was about Ivan’s age, had no history of marriage or engagement, and lived quietly while serving the temple.
However, the Skipper family was a vassal of the Duke Russell household—virtually under their command. It was not a name Ivan favored.
“Yes.”
So Rodan had excluded her. He feared he might be stabbed if he’d dared include her in the list.
But now, why was Ivan bringing up her name? Rodan quietly worked his mind to guess the reason. Meanwhile, Ivan continued reviewing the list, and in the end, he left just four names.
“These four, and add Louie Skipper. Gather detailed information on all five.”
Rodan received the list again. But this time, he didn’t immediately agree.
“Why?”
Ivan noticed Rodan’s hesitation and asked.
“Why do you want information on Lady Louie Skipper?”
Rodan tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. He seemed curious enough to risk asking, even though he knew Ivan wasn’t in a good mood.
“Did you perhaps meet her and find her to your liking?”
“Once the Duke Russell and Skipper County fall, that woman will hold no power in the empire. That’s exactly the kind of condition I’m looking for.”
Ivan dismissed the notion with a reason. But it wasn’t enough. Noticing Rodan’s lingering gaze, Ivan set down his pen and leaned back deeply in his chair.
“Besides, Louie Skipper knows all the temple’s secrets.”
Rodan’s face twitched, clearly itching to ask what that had to do with anything. Ivan looked at his secretary, who still didn’t understand, with a hint of pity.
“She already knows about Amelia Escliff and the child. She won’t cause trouble. If she wants to survive after everything is over, she’ll keep her mouth shut.”
“The priestess is bound to…”
Rodan cut himself off. Ivan’s tone seemed slightly different from before.
“Do you plan to let her live?”
Ivan didn’t respond but crossed his arms and fell into a deep silence. His slow-blinking eyes showed signs of internal conflict.
“……”
It seemed… he pitied her. That’s what Rodan thought Ivan wanted to say. Rodan felt somewhat uneasy. The previous, colder Ivan had been easier to deal with.
“You haven’t even married yet. You’re not thinking of recognizing the child, are you?”
It was true that Amelia Escliff’s life had been pitiful. According to Ivan, she had been oppressed by the temple since birth. Her entire life had been sacrificed. And now, she was being toyed with by Ivan’s deception.
“I don’t intend to make her my consort. And of course, I have no plans to publicly acknowledge the child as mine. I know exactly how the temple will react to that.”
“Then that’s fine. Whether or not she becomes empress, the question of whether to keep her as a mistress is not something to be considered now.”
Regardless of pity, her life could be of no help to Ivan. The temple had deceived the imperial family for generations, manipulating the nation. Amelia wasn’t fit to be empress, nor was she a desirable mistress. Even keeping her alive would be a bothersome task requiring extra attention.
“What made you change your mind?”
Rodan asked. Ivan uncrossed his arms, ran a hand through his hair, and thought back to the previous night.
Amelia’s sorrowful face as she spoke of his childhood. The unknown fate of Ian if he turned away. Her desperate plea to recognize Ian as his son. Her face at the library, filled with clear affection. Things like that.
“In the end, she’s fated to die anyway.”
None of those moments had moved Ivan’s heart. He hadn’t been overwhelmed with guilt—after all, he had orchestrated the entire situation himself.
But still…
“I realized something.”
He spoke quietly.
“If helping me means dying sooner, she might not want to help at all.”
And then he added, almost to himself:
“When I think of that child as the last trace you left behind in this world, I just can’t go through with it.”
“How could I…”
“How could I kill your child, when I was the one who killed you?”
The realization that Amelia had truly given birth to his child, and was doing everything she could to protect that child, brought a strange feeling when faced with them in person.
“In that case, keep everything that happens from now on a secret from the priestess. And can you pass on the crown to a child born from Louie Skipper?”
Rodan spoke coldly. It might have sounded cruel, but he wasn’t wrong.
“I will investigate the four remaining noblewomen in detail, excluding Louie Skipper, and prepare to send marriage proposals.”
“Do so.”
Ivan replied. Rodan bowed and exited the office.
“……”
Ivan quietly looked down at his palm—the same hand that had felt Ian’s heartbeat pounding the night before.
“Whether or not she becomes empress, the question of whether to keep her as a mistress is not something to be considered now.”
My living child. And the woman who gave birth to him. Yet they could never be a true family.
It was only natural that Amelia couldn’t become his consort. Even keeping her as a mistress was nearly impossible. Rodan had been right.
And Ivan knew it… all too well.
