LDAD 73

Chapter 73

“Do you think I’m easy and silly?”

Amelia asked, her voice trembling.

“Because you were a foolish woman who would spread her legs after a few words? Because, in the end, you couldn’t give up your child and had no choice but to beg and plead?”

Her words broke off in fits, driven by the boiling emotions inside her. She wanted to scratch Ivan’s face, to pour every insult and curse at him.

“Did you sleep with him? Yes, you did. And you could do it over and over again with that bastard in the future.”

“…….”

“You were surprisingly good at it. It’s hard to believe you pretended to be a chaste priest all this time. Satisfied now?”

But rather than being satisfied, Amelia felt that her instincts had guided her to a more efficient method. And her instincts proved right. She saw Ivan’s face grow terrifyingly cold. Sparks flashed in his eyes.

“So now I hate you. You’re disgusting.”

Those who had as much as Ivan usually couldn’t tolerate sharing with others. So, learning that a woman he had slept with and fathered a child with had lain in the same bed with another man filled him with rage.

“Take care of the woman who will be your wife.”

“…….”

“Not me.”

Amelia tugged her clothes back over her shoulders. She tried to steady her ragged breaths. She wanted to remain composed, not to give in to anger or get caught in a struggle with Ivan. Even though the thick silence in the bedroom made her throat tighten, she remained silent.

Eventually, Ivan got out of bed and left Amelia’s room. The door closed with a crisp sound that gave no hint of lingering attachment—only a faint trace of anger remained.

Her vision blurred, but Amelia gritted her teeth and held back tears. “You’re nothing,” she wanted to say, clinging stubbornly to her pride like a helpless fool, unaware that this stubbornness was yet another form of lingering attachment.

“Did you sleep with him? Yes, you did. And you could do it over and over again with that bastard in the future.”

Ivan, walking through the underground passage, stopped abruptly. Amelia’s mocking smile and words were vivid in his mind.

She had slept with Aaron Skipper.

Aaron had seen the same side of her. The soft, fragile flesh that could easily be pressed or bruised, leaving traces behind. Just thinking of it made his jaw tighten. His chest heaved with indescribable feelings.

“If I slept with Aaron, wouldn’t that actually be to Your Majesty’s advantage?”

Amelia’s words were correct. She had merely done her best to fulfill the task he had commanded. Thinking back, it wasn’t such a remarkable act. Ivan himself would have spent the night with Jane Clarke if circumstances required it, as part of his duty, regardless of sexual attraction. Amelia could have approached Aaron with the same mindset.

“…….”

But now, his anger was unbearable. Amelia Eskcliff—this woman…

Ivan shivered, recalling the rage that climbed to his very head. He realized in an instant where this anger came from. He was furious because he felt his possession had been taken.

Though his mind told him Amelia Eskcliff wasn’t worthy of being his mistress, his heart treated her as his. She was a woman he wanted to own, who no one else could possess or embrace.

The realization hit him like wildfire, and the heat in his head vanished instantly. Even the faint intoxication coursing through his veins dissipated.

“Ha….”

A low laugh escaped Ivan. In the empty underground passage, it sounded strangely eerie.

“Yes. That’s it.”

His laughter stopped. With a blank expression, he resumed walking. His face now reflected clear determination—he knew what he wanted and what he must do.

Aaron’s hands drummed irregularly on the table. His face was lost in thought. Since meeting Amelia, he had been deep in contemplation.

Amelia wanted the Emperor dead. And Aaron himself also wanted the Emperor dead. He kept repeating this fact to himself, then suddenly realized something.

Why did Amelia Eskcliff hate the Emperor so intensely?

As his mind cleared and he could see the situation objectively, this was the aspect he couldn’t understand. He had occasionally seen her since she entered the palace, but how much time had they really spent together? How could she have grown to such a degree of hatred?

“…….”

Of course, Amelia hadn’t grown up relying on anyone’s affection. She was the type starved for attention and love. Still, she hadn’t surrendered her soul to someone she barely knew.

Yet he knew that love could suddenly drive a person insane. So he couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility.

Still, a nagging unease lingered. Something felt off, as if he had overlooked a critical detail.

But that could wait. Aaron hadn’t yet discovered the true identity of the person impersonating Ricky. The Duke of Russell said, “What good is it to know the identity of a dead man?” But this uneasy feeling wouldn’t disappear until he was certain the impostor was truly gone.

“I visited the place where the apprentice priest Ricky lived. His mother had already passed away.”

Someone had already been sent to Ricky’s home, but they had found little.

“It seems he visited his home occasionally, but a month before his death, he stopped coming entirely.”

Ricky had stayed away from the house for a long time, and his mother had passed. That made it likely Ricky was also dead. Yet if he had survived and was hiding somewhere, he might know something about the person impersonating him. Aaron needed to track him and gather information.

“Marcus.”

Aaron went to see the old priest, who knew the most about the apprentice priest Ricky.

“What brings Your Grace here?”

The gentle, kind old priest welcomed him warmly.

“I wish to learn more about an apprentice priest named Ricky.”

“That boy continues to cause trouble even after death,” the old priest said, blaming himself. Aaron comforted him, telling him it wasn’t his fault.

“Do you know where he was originally from?”

“I believe he said a place called Lecton. His father couldn’t repay a debt before dying, so he ran away secretly with his mother at dawn,” the old priest explained.

Lecton was a village Aaron had never heard of. It was evidently a remote place from which Ricky had fled.

“I remember seeing the name on a map before, so I’ll keep it in mind,” Aaron said. At least now he had a place to send someone to see if anyone there knew Ricky or if he had returned.

“You’ve shown great concern, yet it pains me that he has gone astray,” the old priest said.

Aaron gave him a final word of comfort, left, and wrote a letter to the Duke of Russell. He requested that someone be sent to Lecton to check if anyone there knew Ricky or if he had returned.

“Come here.”

Aaron opened the window, and a bird flew in. Not a falcon, just a moderately sized bird. In the royal court, they often monitored the Duke and the temple, so this was a simple ruse.

“Take care of this,” he said.

He attached a small letter to the bird’s leg, fed it, and sent it off.

“…….”

Aaron’s thoughts were in turmoil. The fake priest, Ian’s birth, Amelia’s first love, her blond hair and green eyes, her extreme and confusing mix of love and hatred…

Tracing all the threads to a single person made everything start to make sense. The pieces that hadn’t made sense before now fit together naturally.