Chapter 179
Would they officially reveal that Arelin was Shione’s daughter—or bury the truth forever?
For Emperor Edward, this was a matter of great importance.
As the emperor, it was best to expose the truth.
But as a husband who loved his wife Shione too deeply, it was better to bury it.
“Valer, depending on your answer, the Imperial Family’s stance will change. You do understand that, right?”
Strictly speaking, it was the emperor’s stance that would change, but since the emperor’s will was the same as the will of the Imperial Family, Valer wisely didn’t bother to correct him.
Because of the chaos stirred up by both the Regent Duke and Valer, it was impossible to neatly erase everything as if nothing had happened.
The fact that Halbern was suddenly embroiled in an international lawsuit was already a huge issue—especially because the case wasn’t about custody, but parental rights.
High society was already buzzing—quietly but insistently—with rumors:
“Isn’t Valer actually raising the Regent Duke and Shione’s child?”
If there was ever a time to tell the truth, it was now.
However—
Valer smiled faintly.
“Arelin is my daughter.”
“……”
“She was in the past, she is now, and she always will be.”
His dry voice, reciting the words like an unchanging truth, and his steady gaze made Emperor Edward narrow his eyes.
The emperor’s stare clung to him, as if trying to find a crack in that conviction—but Valer’s expression didn’t waver.
Even the suspicious look that seemed to ask, “You’re not going to betray me again, are you?” was met with nothing but a calm smile.
“I see. Is that so,” Edward sighed.
“Ha… If that was the case, you should’ve just married some proper woman when you put her on the family register. Then no one could’ve speculated. No rumors about her being illegitimate or her mother being of low birth. None of this would’ve happened.”
“Marry? Me?”
“For your daughter’s sake, at least—”
“Ed.”
The chill in Valer’s tone stopped the emperor mid-sentence.
“When the Empress Azeni dies, are you going to marry another woman? For your children’s sake?”
“That’s different—”
“It’s the same.”
“……”
Not only was Valer’s voice cold and sharp, but there was also a dangerous glint in his eyes. Edward raised both hands in surrender.
“Fine, fine. I misspoke. I went too far.”
Edward didn’t know this, but in one of Valer’s dreams, he had married someone—for Arelin’s sake.
But those dreams always ended in tragedy. The women, driven mad by their desperate need for Valer’s love, always failed to give Arelin her medicine in time.
No matter their status or birth, it was always the same.
Valer would look down at Arelin’s cold, lifeless body, and the women would weep, saying they hadn’t meant for it to happen.
And every time, as if it were predetermined, Valer would lose his mind.
It was always a nightmare with no happy ending.
And now, he was starting to realize that perhaps—this wasn’t a dream anymore.
But it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that his daughter was still by his side, breathing and alive.
“I don’t care what anyone says,” he murmured.
Such things were trivial.
“I’ll give our daughter only the best.”
“…You’ve really become a fool for your child.”
“In that sense, Your Majesty,” Valer said smoothly, “I’d like to finally claim the reward I’ve been putting off. Please open the Imperial treasury for me.”
Edward scowled.
“You said you didn’t need anything and weren’t interested. Why the sudden change?”
“I suddenly have a feeling something useful might be there.”
Halbern’s vault was full of rare artifacts, but most were related to supernatural beings or powers—not things suitable for Arelin.
The Imperial treasury, on the other hand, overflowed with precious relics and elixirs collected from across the continent and beyond.
He had already cleaned out Sperom’s treasury once under the pretense of the automobile industry. Since he was already at the palace, he figured he might as well do this too.
“Considering the achievements I’ve built, I think I deserve to take about ten items, don’t you think, Your Majesty?”
Edward glared at Valer’s infuriatingly handsome face, clearly full of determination to take whatever he wanted, and finally threw up his hands.
“Fine! Take it all! Take everything!”
* * *
Valer returned to the Halbern mansion, carrying elixirs and artifacts from the Imperial treasury that were said to strengthen the body—perfect gifts for Arelin.
By the time he arrived, twilight had already fallen. The mansion was wrapped in a warm, tranquil quiet.
So different from the cold, tense house of his childhood, where constant suspicion and hostility had filled the air.
Was it really okay for the same place to feel so different?
Sometimes, Valer wondered if he was still dreaming—if this was all an illusion, and the real him was wandering lost in the dark.
“Have you returned?”
The voice that pulled him back to reality was Mehen’s.
Surprisingly, instead of holding documents as usual, Mehen was carrying a small children’s storybook.
It was a strange sight—one that didn’t seem to fit—and Valer couldn’t help but feel a little odd.
The genius of Halbern, carrying a fairy tale instead of papers…
“Did you go to the Magic Tower?”
“Ah.”
Valer remembered where he’d gone.
“No, I went to the Imperial Palace.”
“You were taken there?”
“……”
Mehen clicked his tongue. His look said, ‘I knew this would happen.’
“I told you before—you should’ve gone to report on time when you were summoned.”
“That bastard?”
Ignoring the scolding, Valer changed the subject. Mehen sighed.
“The Regent Duke read the Magic Tower report you gave him and said he had something to do, so he went out.”
“Good. I hope he disappears forever and never shows up in front of me again.”
“You two seemed to get along fine before. Why the sudden change?”
Valer only shrugged. Then, noticing the fountain pen in Mehen’s hand, he asked,
“What’s that? I haven’t seen it before.”
“A gift from Arelin.”
Mehen smiled softly—a rare, gentle expression that made Valer say without thinking,
“You look happy.”
“So do you, my lord.”
“No gift for me?”
Mehen gave him a look that clearly said, ‘What exactly are you expecting?’
“Hmph.”
When Valer pouted, Mehen chuckled and handed him a neatly wrapped case.
Valer’s eyes lit up. He turned it over in his hands, examined it briefly, then handed it back.
“I’ll take it directly from my daughter.”
“Fine.”
Mehen accepted it without comment.
“So,” Valer asked, “how’s my daughter?”
He followed Mehen to Arelin’s room.
She was asleep in her bed.
“So cu—”
“Shh.”
Mehen gestured for silence, whispering, “She played well, ate well, and slept well today too.”
Valer leaned over the bed, watching her breathe softly in her sleep.
Just hearing that small rhythm of breath eased the anxiety that had been gnawing at his chest.
The fear that she might be sick—or dead.
It all came from the dreams.
Come to think of it…
The ghostly image of his sister, who had tormented him for so long, hadn’t appeared recently.
Since when had that stopped?
He thought for a while—and realized.
It was probably from the moment he first thought he was happy.
Was it guilt? Because I couldn’t be happy, even though she wanted me to be?
He laughed quietly.
He brushed Arelin’s hair aside and lightly touched her soft, round cheek. Warm, alive, full of vitality.
“I used to wonder,” he murmured, “why my sister was so kind to me even though she wasn’t my mother. What made me worth it?”
He now understood what he hadn’t when all he did was receive.
“So this is how it feels.”
What should he do? Everything felt precious.
Nothing felt like too much to give.
This little girl—she was so precious.
He could die for her.
It was a feeling similar to, yet different from, what he’d felt for his sister.
He’d always thought he could die for Arelin if it meant protecting her.
He still could. But now—
“What’s changed, huh?” he whispered.
“What changed me?”
“Why are you smiling like that?” Mehen asked quietly.
“Because I’m happy.”
This feeling—
He hadn’t known he could feel it again.
Holding onto the warmth in his hands, Valer couldn’t take his eyes off Arelin.
For a very, very long time.
