The son of his older brother? If he’s the son of his older brother, does that mean Patrick’s father is not the current Emperor but the deceased crown prince? I couldn’t understand how the son of the crown prince could become the child of the current Emperor.

“Surely… they said the Crown Prince was dead.”

I was curious about how the son of the Crown Prince turned into the son of the Emperor.

“The Crown Prince died, but not the child of the Crown Prince.”

“That’s…”

“The Crown Prince had a fiancée.”

Amelia’s body froze at that.

“There was a lot of talk when the current Emperor ascended to the throne. He was a king of unprecedented low birth in the history of the imperial family.”

“…”

“Besides, normally, the throne is given to the First Prince, the Crown Prince.”

It felt like if I heard more, there was no turning back. There’s always a price to secrets.

“If there’s ever a legitimate heir, they could be dethroned. Even if it was just a newborn baby.”

I realized why the Master said the Emperor was more cruel than I thought. I hadn’t heard everything yet, but my hands were trembling with fear.

“That’s when it was discovered. The fiancée of the Crown Prince, now the Empress, was pregnant.”

“Then…”

“It would have caused an uproar if that became known. What do you think the Emperor did?”

I was startled by the Master’s appearance right in front of me, shaking. This man always approached silently.

“He would have tried to… kill them.”

“He would have done so, but the Emperor didn’t.”

Amelia blinked several times, not understanding what the Master said.

“Knowing that the Crown Prince has a child of the would cause an uproar, so the Emperor decided to keep him close and watch.”

“If he kept him close to watch…”

“He had to check if the unborn child was a son or a daughter.”

At that moment, hearing the Master’s words sent chills down my spine. The Emperor was much more terrifying than I had anticipated.

“The Second Prince is…”

“The legitimate son of the Emperor. He acts as if he doesn’t discriminate against anyone on the surface.”

Everyone believed without a doubt that both the First and Second Princes were sons of the Emperor. They even demanded that both, being of imperial birth from the Empress, should be made Crown Princes.

“Aaron is… not.”

“Maybe because he’s like his past self, he can’t fully like him.”

As per the Master, Aaron resembled the past Emperor more than anyone. A youngest prince of humble origins without power.

“But why is the First Prince still alive?”

If they knew he was his brother’s son, wouldn’t it make sense to deal with him sooner? The existence of the First Prince would surely be a threat to the Emperor.

“Well, unlike his father, the former emperor, he seems to have some brotherly affection for the crown prince. The emperor disguised his first prince as his own son.”

Brotherly love? If there was brotherly love, he wouldn’t have killed his brother to ascend to the throne. Of course, there’s no evidence yet that the Emperor did…

“Brotherly love…”

“Shall I then tell you why those of imperial blood are born with silver hair and purple eyes?”

Ultimately, Patrick having silver hair and purple eyes because he was the son of the deceased Crown Prince only further confirmed that one couldn’t have silver hair and purple eyes unless they were of imperial blood.

“What, what is it?”

As she held her breath and swallowed dryly, something about the lips and jawline visible from within his black robe strangely felt off. Could the person under hood really be the Master?

“They are races blessed by God.”

As his red lips parted, he whispered ominously.

***

I wanted to ask what ‘races blessed by God’ meant, but with those words as his last, the Master disappeared. Though I tried to catch him, it was impossible. He literally evaporated right before my eyes.

“Ah…”

The Master disappeared in an instant, leaving her alone in the room. On one hand, it was fortunate not to arouse anyone else’s suspicion.

Races. Why did he refer the imperial family as a race? I knew they were human too. It sounded as if he didn’t consider those of imperial blood as human.

“Could that be possible?”

No matter how much I think about it, the Emperor can’t possibly be anything but human. He was too ordinary to be of another race. Perhaps Raphael, but… At that moment, Amelia was startled by the sound of music coming through the crack in the door. She realized she had been away from her seat for too long.

She hurried out of the room, but she had to stop after just a few steps.

“It seems your specialty is running away.”

“… First Prince.”

It was Patrick, the First Prince. Amelia had to clench her fists to not show her surprise at his sudden appearance from the darkness of the corridor corner.

“Or… could it be a secret meeting?”

The word ‘secret meeting’ made her body flinch, but she quickly lifted her head pretending as if nothing was wrong. There was no evidence. It would have been a problem if the Master had remained in the room, but he had disappeared like smoke right before her eyes.

“I shall take my leave now.”

“Who is it?”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Could he have seen her entering the room with the Master? The fact that the person who saw that brief moment was the First Prince did not bode well.

“It seems you’re not on good terms with the Grand Duke.”

Amelia chose to ignore him, feeling no need to respond unless he approached further.

“You can be honest with me.”

“…I said no.”

Unlike before, when he openly showed hostility towards her, he now seemed to be trying a different tactic by being friendly all of a sudden. Amelia frowned at the First Prince’s sudden change in attitude.

“Are you pretending not to know even when it’s all out in the open?”

His chilling laugh made it impossible for her to keep a straight face. She realized that even someone with the same hair and eyes as hers could make such a face.

“I don’t understand what the First Prince is talking about.”

“A man. Didn’t you enter the room holding hands with a man earlier?”

He had seen everything after all. She should have been more cautious…

“Could you have seen it wrong? I did nothing of the sort.”

Pretending as if nothing happened was the best course of action at this time.

“I didn’t know Your Highness was so proactive.”

“…You are being rude, First Prince. This kind of suspicion is unpleasant.”

Patrick’s eyebrows furrowed at her response.

“If you’re so suspicious, why don’t we check the room?”

“…”

“I just went in to rest for a while because I was nervous.”

Amelia herself opened the door to let him check. The more they checked, the more distorted Patrick’s face became.

“Have you confirmed now that there’s no one else?”

“…I’m sorry. It seems I was mistaken.”

So, the imperial family remains imperial family after all. If Patrick continued to insist, it would only be disadvantageous for him. He quickly bowed and apologized.

“How could Your Highness possibly know everything?”

Amelia couldn’t hide her smirk and without looking back, she headed towards the ballroom. It was probably a scratch on the great imperial family’s pride. She guessed he wouldn’t approach her for a while.

“Ah…!”

As soon as she entered the ballroom, she stumbled after feeling a hand grabbing her waist. The touch of a strong forearm over her dress made it clear who it was. Indeed, it could only be one person.

“…Raphael.”

“Late.”

Just from his suppressed voice and the strength in his forearm, she could tell he was holding back a lot of anger.

“What took you so long?”

She wondered how he would react if she told him she was late because she was with another man. She was curious if he would genuinely get angry, but she wasn’t foolish enough to gamble everything on a moment of curiosity.

“I was nervous… my stomach wasn’t feeling well.”

“…”

Actually, her face when she left the ballroom did look as pale as someone who was sick.

“Did you wait long?”

“To call that waiting…”

Was it because his wife disappeared at an official event? It wouldn’t look good in the eyes of others.

“Shall we dance then, the both of us.”

Normally, it would be better to dance with Raphael to quell any rumors. He knew that too, hence why he hugged her as soon as she appeared.

“Who were you with.”

“What?”

“…You didn’t come straight here.”

If she had returned to the ballroom immediately after parting with the Master, it might not have been so noticeable. The problem was that she met the First Prince on her way.

“No one…”

“Your Highness.”

She was about to say she hadn’t met anyone when she heard someone calling her from behind. At the same time, Raphael’s arms tightened around her.

“Would Your Highness honor me with a dance?”