Chapter 66
Somehow, it felt unpleasant. The fact that he was Ian’s biological father didn’t change, but Amelia looked as if she was desperately trying to deny it. That was why Ivan had impulsively told her to hand Ian over.
Amelia, who had half-turned her body, looked up at Ivan with confused eyes.
“Didn’t you just grab him and hold him tight earlier, when there were plenty of eyes watching?”
“That was only… for show, in front of outsiders….”
Amelia trailed off in an excuse. In the meantime, Ivan pulled Ian from her arms as though uprooting a radish. The warmth vanished from her chest in an instant, leaving it empty.
“……”
He wasn’t even going to hold the child gently, and yet he had insisted on taking him away. Amelia let out a sigh as she watched Ivan dangle Ian by his armpits.
“Holding him like that will make him uncomfortable.”
She corrected Ivan’s posture. Ian, looking much more at ease, buried his face against Ivan’s broad shoulder and rubbed against it eagerly. His soft, chubby cheeks squished and flattened.
“It seems Ian likes Your Majesty.”
Amelia murmured as she watched. Whatever her feelings toward Ivan, she couldn’t deny that fact. Whether it was because Ian sensed his life was tied to this man, or because he somehow recognized him as his father, the child kept pressing closer.
Perhaps he already sensed that when he grew older, his mother might not be by his side anymore. The bitter thought was brief. If the boy really believed that, perhaps it was for the better.
“As I said before, the reason I asked you to come was because there are things I wish to ask.”
After quietly observing father and son’s reunion, Amelia reminded him of the purpose of today’s meeting. Ivan’s gaze, which had been fixed on the little one opening and closing his fist in his arms, shifted to Amelia.
“About the great noble houses.”
“……”
“Other than Duke Russell, I don’t know much. I wanted to know if there are others Your Majesty keeps wary of.”
At her question, Ivan nodded. That was assent.
“The Skipper Earldom and the Brown Viscounty are both cadet branches of House Russell. The Skippers were founded by the second son of the first Duke Russell, and the Browns by the duke’s younger brother.”
Ivan’s explanation was detailed, unlike Amelia’s knowledge, which extended only to their faces, names, and ranks. But of course—he saw their faces every day, grinding his teeth at them.
“They’ve been with Escleif since its founding, so naturally they secured positions as great nobles. Sharing the same bloodline, they also have a special bond among themselves.”
They had grown into houses that even dared to scorn the imperial family. For generations they had obstructed imperial rule, relishing every chance to remind the throne of their superiority—as if they truly were gods looking down on the empire.
“And the reason the oracle-maidens and the imperial family are at such odds?”
“Because the very first thing the maiden did when she appeared was overturn an imperial decision.”
Ivan answered indifferently. At that, Ian smacked his shoulder with his soft palm, as though urging him to explain properly.
“The seventh emperor of Escleif tried to reclaim coastal lands from Duke Russell’s territory.”
The Russell domain lay in the far west, close to the neighboring continent. By ship, they could trade, and the duke took outrageous profits from those goods—even from the imperial family. Enraged, the emperor constantly picked fights with the duke, intent on seizing the land. Then drought and plague struck Russell’s domain.
Rumors spread that the emperor’s greed had angered the gods. Reluctantly, the emperor withdrew from Russell’s territory. Perhaps, in truth, he had little desire to take plague-ridden land anyway.
It was then that the maiden appeared—a woman with black hair and black eyes who emerged from the sea. She took ingredients no one thought edible and made them into food for the poor, earning their devotion. She cleansed and quarantined plague victims, halting the spread.
The goddess who had come to save Escleif in its crisis. Whispers of that title spread, but the woman smiled gently and said she was no such thing.
“I am merely a servant of the divine, not a goddess.”
The people denounced Duke Russell, who had failed to stop the plague. But the duke offered no excuses; instead, he knelt before the maiden and kissed her feet.
“I am here only to answer your desperate prayers to save your people.”
The maiden kindly defended him. The duke swore that he and all his descendants would faithfully serve the god, and her, forever. That was why House Russell became her closest ally.
“And the maiden did anything and everything for the Russells.”
“……”
“First, she made the rights of lords inviolable, so that no emperor could ever again seize their lands.”
After that, Duke Russell reduced the taxes paid to the empire. Officially, it was to care for his people during famine, but the rate never returned to normal. Instead, he promised to raise his own soldiers to be available as imperial troops, since the imperial budget was diminished.
And that wasn’t all. With elaborate excuses, they fought to abolish clauses that gave the imperial family exclusive rights to certain enterprises. They chipped away at imperial authority, bit by bit.
“Which meant they inevitably clashed with the throne at every turn.”
Generations of animosity—so of course the relationship could never be good.
“Can a maiden who only ever defends the nobles’ privileges truly be called a servant of the divine?”
True, she sometimes engaged in charity—donating or running orphanages—but those were little more than façades. Everything she did ultimately served the interests of the great houses.
“And yet, after 200 years of this, everyone came to believe it was real. Amazing, isn’t it?”
Ivan sneered, remarking on the power of indoctrination. His expression also showed resentment toward his ancestor who had failed to eliminate her when she was nothing special.
“……”
But Amelia’s face darkened for another reason—resentment of her own. Two hundred years. Her bloodline had been manipulated for so long.
Had the first woman truly had some special gift? Had she knowingly allowed herself to be used? Did she realize her descendants would be bound and controlled forever after?
Surely not. Just as Amelia had made foolish choices again and again, that forebear must also have only realized the truth far too late.
“Are those the only great houses?”
“There are more, but with the temple, those are the most prominent. If they were gone, the rest would be nothing but rabble.”
Among the nobility, only those three houses truly held power and honor. They were indisputably at the top.
“If only they were gone…”
“Things would return to their proper course.”
Ivan answered matter-of-factly, his gaze now fixed on the child suddenly growing drowsy in his arms.
“I understand.”
Amelia reached out her hand, intending to take Ian, who was succumbing to sleep. Ivan passed the boy back to her.
“……”
Their hands touched.
“One day, I’ll make sure you can meet them all.”
It was a body she had once embraced and explored freely. But now the warmth of contact felt unfamiliar. Ivan felt his fingertips tingle, yet Amelia seemed perfectly at ease as she soothed Ian in her arms.
“But even if I do meet them, I don’t know how to leave proof.”
In the safety of his mother’s arms, Ian drifted peacefully into slumber. Ivan quietly watched.
“I’ve never exchanged a single letter with Aaron, either.”
They left no evidence as a rule. That was one reason the maiden’s bloodline was so thoroughly cut off from the past, besides being confined within those walls.
“Jane Clarke will be entering the palace soon. Use that as a pretext to summon them here. I’ll make sure such an opportunity exists.”
“……”
“Even if attendants are dismissed so conversations can’t be overheard, they’ll still remember who came and went.”
Ivan offered a neat solution.
“And write a record every day—who came, what was said, what you must do next.”
The consistent records of the plan’s executor would serve as undeniable evidence.
“That way, I can verify your dealings with them.”
Even written promises weren’t enough for him to trust her. Ivan already carried deep distrust of Amelia.
“There’s no need to emphasize it so often. I’ve staked Ian’s life on this—I won’t lie.”
But to Amelia, Ivan was the untrustworthy one—the man who had approached her with ulterior motives and deceived her feelings.
“At the very least, you can point out when something seems strange.”
Still, she couldn’t blame him entirely. Ridiculous as it was, he was the one she now leaned on most. Surrounded by people she couldn’t trust, he was the only one she could trust, if only slightly. Because between them was her child—and Ivan had said at least he had no desire to kill the boy.
“……”
Their eyes met. Eyes like vegetation consumed by night’s shadow stared into hers. Just like the eyes once revealed beneath his helm.
“I’ll do it. As long as you don’t hate Ian, I’ll do anything.”
That man’s memory surfaced, and resentment welled up. Instinctively her grip tightened. But Amelia consciously loosened her hold. The resentment sank down again. She knew resentment only dragged her deeper into despair without changing anything. And she knew—the man before her was not the one she had once loved.
She didn’t even feel anger toward Ivan anymore. She couldn’t allow herself to.
