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nA small carriage rattled along the forest trail.

nTheor rolled the stiff woolen cloth that covered the windowpane with his little hand.

nThe blue sky and a wide wheat field could be seen through the small gap between the curtains.

nIt has been five days since he left the capital.

nTheor was returning home with his grandfather.

nThe ride home in the small carriage was fun.

nWhen he went to the capital, he slept in a palace-like castle in a large carriage, but this time he slept in small houses as he moved from village to village.

nWhile riding the carriage, he had to get off sometimes and move to another carriage.

nTheor visited the vegetable garden and the stream from time to time.

nTheor looked up at his grandfather as he walked along the path of a stream and asked,

n“Grandpa, when is Mom coming?”

nThe Marquis carrying the luggage replied with a smile to Theor,

n“If we go home first, she will come soon.”

nTheor believed it.

nBefore he left, his mother said the same thing.

nIf he goes home with his grandfather first, she will follow.

nThinking of the capital mansion, Theor turned to his grandfather again.

n“Will Blynn and Hannah come with Mom, too?”

n“Of course.”

nIt would be nice if Blynn and Hannah also came.

nAfter leaving the mansion, whenever Theor had spare time, he missed his big hound.

nHe also missed Hannah, who brought her sweet cookies with a caring smile.

nOf course, the one he missed the most was his mother.

nAfter leaving the mansion, Theor missed his mother every night.

n‘Go home with your grandfather first. Mom will follow soon.’

nIt was the last time he heard his mother’s voice before he left the mansion.

nTheor missed his mother, but he endured it without crying.

nIf he came home, his mother would be back soon.

nHis grandfather was by his side and took good care of him, so he was able to bear it.

nThe two arrived in a small town around sunset.

nThe Marquis entered the building at the entrance of the village.

nIt was a large, two-story building that was well lit.

n“Grandpa, where are we?”

n“It’s an inn. We’re going to sleep here today.”

nTheor knew what inn was.

nLeaving the capital, the two continued to sleep in an inn somewhere.

nAs they went inside, there was a loud noise and the smell of fragrant food.

nThe Marquis took the key from the man at the door, grabbed Theor’s hand, and went up to the room on the second floor.

nThere was a small bed, a wardrobe and a chair in the square room.

nTheor and his grandfather had a simple meal of white bread, boiled vegetables, meat, and soup.

nIt was nothing compared to the meal he ate at the castle or mansion, but Theor ate deliciously.

nAfter dinner, the Marquis bathed Theor and laid him down on the bed.

nAs soon as he lay down on the bed, he was drowsy.

nTheor hugged Levin the teddy bear and fell into a sleep, buried in the soft duvet.

nSuddenly, as if he had just realized it, the Marquis said,

n“I have to give you the medicine.”

n‘It’s time to drip the medicine.’

nUsually, when he was lying down to sleep, his mother would put in the eye drop medicine.

nAs drowsiness hit, Theor closed his eyes without warning.

n“Theor.”

nThe voice of his grandfather woke him.

nHe opened his eyes and before he could come to his senses, his body was lifted up.

nLevin in his arms fell to the floor.

nTheor immediately came to his senses and stretched out a hand to the floor.

n“Levin……”

nThe Marquis picked up the teddy bear and gave it to Theor.

nBut after that, he opened the closet door while hugging Theory.

n“Theor, stay here.”

nThe closet door closed with those words.

nSuddenly, he was in a dark closet.

nTheor was sitting on top of his layered robe.

nThin light permeated through the closet door gap.

n‘What happened?’

nRubbing his sleepy eyes, he peered through the closet door.

nThe candle-lighted room was quiet.

nHis grandfather was nowhere to be seen.

nAs Theor looked through the gap of the closet door with sleepy eyes, the silence in the room quickly broke.

n“Ugh!”

nA scream was heard.

nStarting with the scream, there was a commotion in the room.

nThe sound of knives crashing, the scream of someone in pain, even the eerie sound of cutting something.

nYoung Theor could not comprehend the situation.

nWhat’s going on?

nWhy did other people come into our room?

nWhere is Grandpa?

nHe could see people moving in the dark.

nHe looked through the gap in the closet door but had no idea what was going on.

nHe could only guess that people were fighting.

nAt that moment, something fell right under the closet where Theor was, shaking the closet greatly.

n“Aa- eup!”

nSurprised, Theor almost screamed, but he hastily covered his mouth with his hands.

nThe noise in the room disappeared in an instant.

nIt was when Theor was puzzled by the sudden silence.

ncreak.

nThe closet door opened.

n***

n“Hey, Count.”

nA middle-aged man approached Vellian. He is the minister of the interior.

nThen he put his hands on the desk.

nVellian frowned.

nHe had been sitting in his office all day, pretending to concentrate on his work.

n“Why do you—”

n“What the hell is going on?”

nVellian held back his breath.

nHe repeated over and over again what he had said over a hundred times in the last few days.

n“This is the order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

nAt that, the minister of the interior bit his lip with a dissatisfied look.

n‘That’s understandable.’

nVellian had been suffering for several days.

nHis Majesty the Emperor’s order to make the princess Reston the empress again shocked all the nobles in the capital.

nOf course, Astelle herself was enough to become the empress.

nThe problem is she has a child.

nAlso, an illegitimate child whose father is unknown.

n‘It was so shocking.’

nVellian clicked his tongue as he recalled Astelle’s calm and dignified face.

n‘Who is his father?’

nIn fact, as soon as Vellian learned that Astelle was the child’s biological mother, he wondered if Theor might have been His Majesty’s son.

nBecause of Astelle’s personality, he couldn’t imagine that she would have met another man after she got divorced.

n‘But his eyes……’

nThere is no blue-eyed imperial family in history.

n‘But, his face looks a little alike.’

nWhen I looked carefully, I felt something similar to His Majesty’s face.

nHowever, if he is His Majesty’s son, there is no way to explain why his eyes are blue.

n‘In the end, it’s impossible that he is His Majesty’s son.’

nHe had hoped in vain that he might be the son of His Majesty the Emperor, but it seems he is not.

nAfter all, if he was a prince, there was no reason to hide his identity.

n“How did this happen? What did you do while you were there? You must take good care of His Majesty!”

nThe interior minister had made Vellian suffer for the past few days, as had the other ministers and some nobles.

nTheir complaints are the same.

nThat they could not agree with the emperor’s decision to make a princess who gave birth to an illegitimate child the empress.

nNo matter how high-ranking a princess is, a single mother of an illegitimate child could not become empress.

nIt was impossible.

nMoreover, her father, the Duke of Reston, was a man who lost power while fighting the emperor.

nIn all respects, the princess could not become the empress.

nEven if the princess was once an empress.

nVellian also wanted to stop this marriage if he could.

nBut now, His Majesty the Emperor did not listen to anyone’s advice.

n“How dare I disobey His Majesty’s will.”

nVellian also tried to stop Kaizen, but he failed repeatedly.

n“Anyway, this is an order from His Majesty the Emperor. If you have any complaints, please speak directly to His Majesty.”

n“……”

nThe minister did not say anything.

nHis Majesty the Emperor ended a long civil war and drove out the great nobles.

nThere was no one here who could openly disobey the emperor’s will.

nThey could not dare to object in front of His Majesty the Emperor, so everyone was expressing their anger towards Vellian.

nVellian let out a low sigh and went back to work.

n***

nKaizen went up the stairs with mixed feelings.

nHe was on his way to tell Astelle about the marquis and Theor.

nHis footsteps were heavy as he thought of Astelle, who must have missed her child.

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