“That’s why doctors keep coming in and out of the castle? To cure that slave?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then guide me there at once.”
“…….”
In the silence that followed, the hand leisurely waving the fan stopped moving.
Veloa straightened her body from her seated position and crumpled her brow.
“Why can’t you say anything? Don’t tell me you still don’t know where that b*tch is?”
“The doctor said that he was blindfolded before he could enter the castle, so it would be difficult to locate the exact location.”
“So you didn’t find it?”
“I’m sorry.”
The escort quickly bent and grovelled, but Veloa’s forehead did not relax.
“In any case, you’re incompetent,” Veloa retorted as she swept her hair up.
“Then did you find out what kind of illness she has? It must be quite severe considering that she keeps looking for a doctor.”
“The doctor said it’s his first time seeing such an illness.”
“The first time he’s seen it?”
“It’s…….”
The escort’s pupils visibly shook.
He knew that what he would say next would incur Veloa’s wrath.
“Tell me.”
“To put it bluntly, pregnancy…….”
“Pregnancy? That filthy thing even carries a child?”
In an instant, Veloa’s voice sharpened.
Flames seemed to flare up from the fierce eyes.
“N-no!”
“Then?”
“She has symptoms of pregnancy, but the doctor says she’s not pregnant.”
“Is that possible?”
Veloa frowned slightly.
It was unpleasant but common to roll around with a vulgar slave.
[T/N: To “roll around (in the hay)” is an informal and old-fashioned term that refers to the act/instance of having intercourse.]
And there was no reason to interfere with how other people used their things.
Of course, that was only valid on the premise that the existence of the thing was unknown.
“That’s what the doctor said.”
“The doctor may have misdiagnosed. Did you ask the other doctors?”
“The people here are very wary of outsiders and have absolute trust in the Grand Duke of Schwarhan. It wasn’t easy to find someone willing to talk. I barely got the doctor to open his mouth.”
“You have too many useless excuses.”
Veloa irritably threw down her fan.
She could tolerate him having a slave but not a child.
Whether it was the stigma of an illegitimate child, or a slave as a mother, in the end, half of the child would still inherit Cabellenus’s blood.
Even if it were impure, as long as the child inherited his blood, they would become a hindrance.
“As expected, I’ll have to deal with that slave b*tch as soon as possible.”
“Firstly, for now…….”
“We have to get rid of it now. It’ll become difficult if that filthy b*tch really has a baby. Even the emperor of the great empire had a lowly mother. We can’t say that the child of a slave will have no chances of succession.”
“Princess, to say such a thing…….”
The escort looked around hastily, but Veloa didn’t care at all.
“So what? It’s not like I made up those words. Everyone knows that the Emperor is nothing but the descendant of a Roaquin’s dancer.”
“He’s the Emperor of the Empire. Even if he doesn’t have a strong background, to insult him…….”
“I don’t care. When I become the empress, I’ll take care of that dirty bloodline first.”
Veloa pursed his lips.
She didn’t Gerpenus very much. She was just being polite since he was currently sitting on the throne.
He may be elated now that he was emperor, but his mother was just a dancer who was offered as a tribute.
No matter what he did, the birth of a barbarian would never change.
“Princess…….”
“Thanks to the Emperor, the precedent of an emperor with a vulgar mother has risen, so I don’t have to worry about that.”
Although the succession of illegitimate children wasn’t recognized except in unique cases, there was always room for precedents.
“Don’t look at me like that. Anyway, for now, I need his help. Oh, that’s right. Since the situation is like this, I’m going to ask for his help.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you think it’ll be quite interesting to see how the Emperor, who has been suffering all his life due to his lineage, would react if he heard that there would be a child similar to himself?”
Gerpenus was busy pretending to be a good brother, but in the end, it was Cabellenus’s lineage that made his half-brother special.
It was clear how he would react once he heard that Cabellenus’s lineage was tainted.
“But she doesn’t actually have a child.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“If the Emperor discovers that you lied to him…….”
“There are many excuses. Weak things die quickly, and above all, it’s a pregnancy that the doctors aren’t even sure about. I may have been mistaken.”
Of course, it would be better if they found out she had a real child.
Veloa gently combed her hair with a more relaxed expression.
It was irritating, but it didn’t matter whether she had a child or not.
She had no intention of letting the blood of a slave be born on this land.
“And, what if he discovers it was a lie? The seat next to the Grand Duke is mine, so in the end, wouldn’t the Emperor be unable to do anything to me?”
Because she was special.
A confident smile spread across Veloa’s lips.
* * *
“Your Majesty. You have a call came from Princess Veloa.”
“To call me at this hour. Did that cunning princess bring me an interesting story?”
It was nearly time to prepare for the harvest.
Gerpenus laid down the documents he was looking at and leaned against the back of his chair.
“Shall I connect you with her right away?”
“No. Refuse it now, and tell her to contact me again an hour later.”
“With that character of hers, I’m sure she won’t sit still. Will you be fine with that?”
“That’s why I’m ignoring her. To fire her up,” Gerpenus laughed leisurely and nodded.
He could already imagine Veloa bursting into anger at him denying her call.
“The princess is on our side. Do you really need to provoke her?”
Hans, the attendant, frowned.
“She is now.”
“You’re thinking of throwing her away.”
“I didn’t mean to keep her from the start. Such a woman doesn’t suit Cabellenus.”
Gerpenus was smiling, but his curved, green eyes were colder than the ice.
“Then, why did you send her? No matter how much I think about it, King Christie isn’t the type of person Your Majesty prefers.”
“Let alone preference, he’s a repulsive person. However, I really like people like Princess Veloa. It’s good that she’s swayed by emotions, easy to read, and has a lot of greed. Well, when I consider her conditions, it’s a bit of a pity to throw her away.”
“You make the princess sound so great.”
“King Christie isn’t cheap either. But I don’t think the princess is capable of withstanding his power.”
If she were a little less stupid, he would have reconsidered letting her become Cabellenus’s wife.
No matter how great the power was, it was no different from hanging pearls around a pig’s neck if it wasn’t used properly.
Such a woman was no match for Cabellenus.
Gerpenus clicked his tongue, revealing his regret without concealing it.
“May I ask what Your Majesty is thinking about?”
“It’s about my brotherly consideration for my beloved brother.”
“Consideration?”
“Yes. Consideration.”
Gerpenus put his clasped hands on his stomach and took a deep breath.
He knew that Cabellenus would hate him for this, but he couldn’t help it.
It was better to be hated than to have Cabellenus affixed to a substandard woman.
“I still don’t understand Your Majesty’s intention.”
“You’ve been assisting me for quite some time, and yet you still haven’t caught on, Hans.”
“Your Majesty is a man who deceives allies. I still can’t forget what happened during the Battle of Petan.”
“And yet you still continue to assist me.”
“Well, if it wasn’t for me, no servant would be able to handle Your Majesty, whose like a poisonous snake.”
Despite Hans’s complaint, Gerpenus only smiled. Eventually, Hans frowned and glanced at his superior.
“It’s rude for my attendant to have such an expression all the time.”
“You already know that I’m such a rude person.”
“In any case, you know when to draw the line.”
[T/N: To “draw the line” means to put a limit on what you will do or allow to happen especially because it feels wrong.]
“It’s a virtue of those serving the imperial family.”
Hans answered calmly and arranged the dishevelled papers on Gerpenus’s desk.
Gerpenus’s act of diverging from the topic meant that he had no intention of sharing his plans.
“It’s funny. A mere attendant like you knows the line, but my dear brother doesn’t.”
“The Duke isn’t like that.” Hans shook his head.
The Cabellenus he knew would never cross the line.
Instead, he claimed the role of a faithful dog despite his noble status, and it was no different now.
However, even though Gerpenus was currently in power as emperor, his position was still unstable.
To put it bluntly, if Cabellenus were to strike Gerpenus with the forces behind him, there would be no guarantee whether it would end in a victory or defeat.
“You know best that he is a person who is lowering himself more than anyone else.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? Should I grant him permission to marry her and give them my blessings?”
In the sarcastic remark, there was an unmistakable sense of emotion that was unlike Gerpenus.
Hans paused for a moment. His superior was calm about other things, but he would always act like a different person whenever the topic of his half-brother came up.
“It must be a moment’s interest. Even if Your Majesty doesn’t intervene, it will be over soon.”
Hans tried his best not to upset Gerpenus as much as possible.
He didn’t want the relationship between the two brothers to fall apart.
If their relationship deteriorated, Gerpenus would be the one who would eventually suffer.
“That’s just a wish,” Gerpenus let out a sigh, covering his eyes with his hands.
“How are you so sure?”
Even if Cabellenus wanted to marry the slave, Hans didn’t think much of it.
He believed that it was unlike Cabellenus to be swept away by a moment of emotion, and he didn’t think it would actually turn into a marriage.
Hans believed that Cabellenus made a temporary wrong choice and would withdraw his marriage declaration soon.
“Because my opponent is Cabellenus.”
The green eyes glistened through his fingers.
He knew him well since he had watched his younger brother for a long time.
Cabellenus had never failed to keep his words.
And, this time, it would be the same.
“You have a sullen expression.”
“To be honest with you, we should be very cautious about offending the Grand Duke. And, more frankly, it would be nice if His Grace married a slave to lower his worth.”
Even Hans, a close confidant of the emperor, could not deny the legitimacy of Cabellenus.
Before she officially became the Emperor’s wife, his mother, Empress Seon, was the only daughter of Duke Melta. And Duke Melta was the head of nobility.
Even if the Empress had already passed away, the prestige of Duke Melta remained.
If Cabellenus sought the throne, Duke Melta would be willing to bet everything for his one and only grandson.
“I’ll never let that happen.”
“Why on earth does Your Majesty care about His Grace so much?”
Hans knew well that Gerpenus held particular regard for Cabellenus, but he honestly couldn’t understand it.
If he considered the positions of the two men, the public rumour that Gerpenus kept Cabellenus in check and expelled him to Schwarhan were better suited than the current relationship.
“Because that child is special.”
“If it’s legitimacy…….”
“Legitimacy?” Gerpenus briefly scoffed, his face contorting.
It wasn’t just that.
Apart from legitimacy, Cabellenus was special.
“As I repeatedly said, I’m just guarding the seat. The next emperor is going to be Cabellenus. Of course, it should be, and it will be.”
“But Your Majesty…….”
“I know Cabellenus has no interest in the throne.”
Gerpenus’s eyes darkened.
The power struggle between the Emperor and his wife was filled with bloodshed, and the defeated empress had to live in disgrace.
And, it was the same with Cabellenus, the Empress’s descendant.
In order to save his mother, his younger brother had to kneel before his father and beg for his life.
“My father ordered Cabellenus to renounce his succession to the throne and wander the battlefields.”
“How long do you think that promise will last?”
“There’s no need to think about it. Cabellenus will still keep that promise.”
After ascending the throne, Gerpenus offered Cabellenus the position of emperor and ordered him to return to the capital.
However, instead of accepting the offer and returning to the capital, he asked for the cold, barren land, Schwarhan.
“That’s the kind of child he is. A child who would never let go of what he once promised.”
Gerpenus couldn’t understand why he was so persistent, yet indifferent, in that regard.
Gerpenus clicked his tongue and touched the tip of his chin with his thumb.
“If Cabellenus were going to stay in the position as Grand Duke, it wouldn’t matter if he hung out with the slave.”
“…….”
“However, that child will become the emperor. Since that’s the case, isn’t it only right for him to have a woman that suits him?”
Gerpenus’s eyes curved like a long arc, resembling the shape of a crescent moon.
Once everything was in order, he would select a woman worthy of Cabellenus.
A woman of noble blood and dignity who would suit his younger brother.