LDAD 71

Chapter 71

“Madam Howard, His Majesty the Emperor will enter.”

It was just when Madam Howard, noticing Amelia’s subdued mood, was at a loss for what to do. Along with a knock, word was delivered that Ivan had come to see Ian.

“Your Majesty. What brings you here so suddenly…?”

“I wanted to stop by and see how the child was doing.”

Rising from her seat, Madam Howard quickly opened the door to greet him. Ivan, who had come to keep his promise of spending time with Ian every day, clearly hadn’t expected Amelia to be there. He tilted one eyebrow and looked down at her.

“Please forgive me for greeting Your Majesty without rising.”

Amelia spoke as she glanced at Ian in her arms. Ivan, as though it mattered little to him, did not reproach Amelia for failing to show proper courtesy before the emperor.

“I’ll wait in the adjoining room for a while.”

With tact, Madam Howard moved to the small chamber connected to Ian’s bedchamber. Now, only Ivan and Amelia remained inside.

“I heard Aaron Skipper paid a visit.”

“Yes. I summoned him under the pretext that Ian was unwell.”

Amelia replied readily.

“I didn’t believe that Your Majesty would ever try to kill Ian. He immediately realized it was my scheme.”

“……”

“So I pretended to be a madwoman. I told him that I wanted you so desperately, but since I could not have you, I might as well have gone insane.”

“And he believed you, hearing that from a face like that?”

Because of her overly calm expression, Ivan truly questioned whether Aaron could have been taken in by such poor acting.

“When I said that my feelings were so genuine that I could even sleep with a man I despised, he believed me.”

So she had to explain in detail. After all, she had promised Ivan she would share everything with him.

“He’s well aware of his place—liking me but never daring to show it, knowing full well how much I loathe him.”

Silence fell across the room. Perhaps Ivan, hearing such useless information about Aaron Skipper’s feelings, was simply displeased.

“I told him I would try persuading the duke. He’ll soon bring news concerning Duke Russell.”

That was all she had gained. Amelia reported her meager results, then turned her eyes toward Ian. Silence lingered in the chamber. Yet Ivan still did not leave Ian’s room.

“…It seems Lady Clarke is fond of the child.”

At last, unable to bear the uncomfortable quiet, Amelia spoke again. Ivan frowned slightly at the sudden mention of a name. Perhaps it was because Amelia had casually referred to the woman who would soon become his empress.

“Madam Howard said she sent Ian a gift, and he enjoys playing with it.”

Amelia lifted the toy in her hand lightly as she spoke. Ivan regarded the saliva-soaked, grubby toy with a look of distaste.

“I hear she likes children and animals.”

Amelia nodded at his words.

“That’s fortunate.”

She answered that it was a relief Jane Clarke did not resent Ian’s existence. After all, Jane would one day become Ian’s mother.

“……”

Despite Madam Howard vacating the room to let them talk comfortably, the conversation soon died away. Amelia did not speak again, and neither did Ivan.

“Is that all?”

Only after some time did Ivan ask.

“What do you mean…?”

It was a question difficult to interpret. If he meant Lady Clarke, Amelia had no desire to answer. She had no curiosity about Jane Clarke, nor did she wish to harbor any. She would have preferred to never see her face, to end things as strangers.

“You must have had your reasons for choosing her.”

Would Ivan ever take back his decision just because it wasn’t reasonable? He had chosen because he believed it was right. Why ask such a thing?

“I imagine it’s more comfortable for Your Majesty if I refrain from curiosity.”

Besides, if she—of all people—were to question his choice, Ivan would only dislike it more. He would surely think she was scheming again to remain by his side.

Unless his intent was to dig at her heart, it was a bizarre question. And if it was to dig at her heart, then it was malicious. With that thought, Amelia pressed her lips shut. She had nothing more to say to him. Seeing that, Ivan, who had been staring at her as if expecting more, finally turned his back.

“Ma! Mua!”

Ian let out a bright roar like a little beast. With a creaking smile, Amelia kissed his forehead.

Though the uneasy silence was gone, the feeling of being choked in her chest did not disappear.

Ivan was in a foul mood. Rodan noticed it at once. But since the only place he had visited before his mood soured was the West Palace, where Ian stayed, the reason remained unclear. Surely a crawling infant could not have upset him.

“Did Lady Clarke send a gift to Ian?”

It was while Rodan was mulling over the cause that Ivan suddenly asked. Startled, Rodan flinched but tried to hide it.

“Yes. A few toys.”

“……”

“They weren’t food, and they posed no danger. I had already checked them thoroughly before delivering them.”

Was that the problem? But he had inspected them multiple times himself, and they seemed harmless.

“Since she’ll soon be empress, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to let her grow attached. Was there some issue…?”

Then Rodan wondered—could Ian be ill again? If so, Ivan’s bad mood made more sense. For all his coldness, he had vowed to spare the child’s life. Rodan had burned their contract, but he still remembered its contents.

“As long as Amelia Escleef remains in the palace, do not deliver Lady Clarke’s gifts to Ian.”

Rodan nodded at once. Withholding gifts was hardly a great burden. In fact, inspecting them was the more troublesome task.

Still, Rodan was puzzled. Was Ivan’s decision rooted in concern that Amelia’s feelings might be hurt?

“Leave me.”

But before he could ask, Ivan ordered him out. Considering Ivan’s mood, Rodan quietly withdrew.

“……”

Ivan didn’t even notice Rodan leave. His mind was too busy replaying his conversation with Amelia.

‘He believed me when I said my feelings were so genuine that I could even sleep with a man I despised.’

He couldn’t shake the thought that Amelia might have said she would even sleep with Aaron Skipper.

‘He’s well aware of his place—liking me but never daring to show it, knowing full well how much I loathe him.’

So Aaron Skipper, sitting in the high seat of High Priest, had been harboring a sordid affection for Amelia. If what he had heard was true—if Aaron truly liked her—then he surely wouldn’t have let the chance slip by.

“Is that all?”

If Aaron trusted her words and left, did that mean she had lain with him?

Even when Ivan pressed her, Amelia had said nothing more. She had merely diverted the conversation to Jane Clarke and, with a pained expression, sealed his lips.

“……”

So, did you sleep with him?

The question lodged in his throat. Whether she had or hadn’t—what did it matter to him? He told himself it had nothing to do with him. Yet he could not stop thinking about it.

Because he still remembered vividly how she looked in bed.

Her black hair scattered like a sheet across the pillow, her pitch-dark eyes glistening with tears, her lips parted and reddened, her soft body yielding beneath his chest, the smooth warmth of her skin as she clutched his shoulders.

Though more than a year had passed, the image of Amelia in his memory had not blurred in the least. The memory of rejecting her recent advances felt almost unbelievable.

“Stop it, Ivan Wade Escleef.”

Ivan loosened his suffocating tie and exhaled a long sigh. Then he lashed himself with a harsh rebuke for failing to master his restless thoughts. Slowly, his mind grew calmer.

So what if a woman he once shared a bed with now rolled around with another man? It was not so remarkable. That he might feel sour knowing something he once possessed was now shared with another—that was only natural. But it ought to end there.

Amelia could never be his woman.