‘Pointless.’

Yet the cruel and abhorrent thought vanished almost as soon as it had appeared.

Even though the child was growing inside the woman he despised, the child was still his own flesh and blood. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t bring himself to reject the idea outright.

The longer he thought about it, the worse his mood became.

‘I’ll leave her be for now. She’s powerless anyway. Carrying a child won’t suddenly make her strong, and without my protection, she wouldn’t survive. The Empress won’t stand by and do nothing while there’s another potential heir.’

It wasn’t only the Emperor for whom an heir mattered. For the heir himself, having or not having a successor made an immense difference. Once succession continued into a third generation, political stability, authority, and legitimacy grew exponentially stronger.

This is why, when the Fion family first ascended to Laxion’s throne, they abolished the concubine system to secure an heir as swiftly as possible.

Taking all this into account, Cedric decided that the child’s existence wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

By then, his mind was made up. He would put off making any decisions about his wife’s fate until the child was born. For now, she would remain under his strict supervision and protection.

For the sake of the life growing inside her, he would ensure that the woman carrying it remained calm and completely under his control.

‘….If luck is on my side, I might be able to save Hardyde’s young twins.’

The moment Cedric learned of Anita’s pregnancy, he ordered his men to seize and protect the Callithean prince and princess, Anita’s niece and nephew immediately. The children were probably already beyond his reach, teetering on the brink of death, but that was no reason to give up.

‘A living child will be to my advantage as well.’

Why had he spent hours agonizing over something so straightforward? Was that why he’d allowed his father to take the woman, only to have to retrieve her later? The thought soured his expression.

‘Even after pruning them out, there are still those little rats who run to Father with every whisper.’

He turned his gaze towards the corner and began planning a thorough clean of the Crown Prince’s quarters. Feeling lighter, he resolved to fetch the woman who carried his child.

He would bring her back, question her about what she had told her father, and ensure that she could not leave the palace without his permission. He would, of course, cloak this in concern for her safety, enough to frighten her into compliance.

As he selected a guard to keep her company and stepped towards the bell rope to summon a servant, a faint sound caught his attention. Then, suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Cedric frowned and called out.

“Enter!”

A breathless voice pushed in behind the door.

“Your Highness! You must leave immediately!”

The door flew open and a wide-eyed servant gasped for breath. If someone so well-trained couldn’t keep their composure, then it must be a serious matter indeed.

“Your Majesty! His Majesty has collapsed and lost consciousness!”

As expected, it was urgent. As soon as the servant had finished speaking, Cedric set off for the Central Palace.

··· ✦ ···

When the Emperor’s servant left the room, he sighed with relief upon seeing his master’s face. Having conversed with the Crown Princess, the Emperor had seemed so comfortable that his illness appeared to have disappeared.

However, before reaching his quarters, the Emperor clutched his chest, collapsed and groaned in a terrifying manner. Fortunately, a nearby court physician managed to stabilize his condition, but the Emperor was now lying in bed, muttering incoherently.

Cedric, who was the first to hear the news from his informants, knew instinctively that his father’s condition was worse than ever. Before reaching the Central Palace, he secretly ordered his subordinates.

The Central Palace was immediately sealed off under the command of the Crown Prince, who now required permission to see the Emperor. Of course, the Empress would soon become enraged and try desperately to see the Emperor.

However, those who had received Cedric’s orders would absolutely not let her enter the palace.

Cedric remained at his father’s side, ostensibly to safeguard the Emperor’s health and stability and prevent interference.

It was convenient that Anita was also staying in the Central Palace, so Cedric stationed most of his men there.

“All of you, leave. Call the Empress. The Empress…”

Hours later, the Emperor stirred. His clouded, slow eyes fluttered open. In a faint voice, he murmured:

“…She’s not here. The Empress passed long ago. Have you forgotten?”

Cedric, still at his father’s side, gestured for the palace physician to examine him and replied. His voice was flat, without inflection.

The Emperor turned his gaze slowly toward Cedric, then shook his head.

“Cedric.”

“…”

“Do you think… I’ve lost my mind to that extent?”

“…”

“Call the Empress. Now. At once!”

“…”

“I… I have something to say. One last thing. I wronged her terribly. I must… I must tell her…”

Only then did Cedric realize that his father had been calling for the current Empress, not his birth mother.

This unexpected truth made him freeze.

A surge of un nameable, seething emotion welled up inside him.

However, Cedric quickly forced himself to calm down.

After all, considering his father’s past…

His father had taken the Empress as his mistress even before Cedric’s mother died.

He had a child with her who was not his legitimate heir.

And before the coffin had even been sealed, he’d elevated that mistress to the throne.

What’s more, he falsified the child’s birth records to grant him the status of a legitimate prince.

He did all this knowing how dangerous it would be for a boy who had just lost his mother.

And yet, he did it all for them.

He always said it was for Cedric’s sake.

“A terrible wrong… Is this your apology for never naming Gérard as crown prince?”

Cedric first turned away from his father when he found out, shortly after his mother’s death, that he had had a mistress. And a child. But after everything that followed, he turned away again.  And again.

“Even after naming me Crown Prince, you hesitated. You always wondered if Gérard might have been better for unity. Didn’t you make a pact with the Empress? That if I ever chose conflict, you would replace me?”

No — he hadn’t turned away. He kept looking. They were the only family he had left.

However, after experiencing so many disappointments and betrayals, and upon discovering the secret pact between his father and the Empress, he lost all hope.

From then on, he set his sights on the throne.

Not as a son, but as a survivor.

“Now that I think about it, I owe it all to you. It was because of you, Father, that I was always able to maintain my resolve.”

After examining the Emperor, the imperial physician gave Cedric a subtle nod, his way of saying that the Emperor could last a little while longer. Taking the hint, Cedric rose from his seat without hesitation. If this wasn’t truly his father’s deathbed, he had no desire to linger by his side.

“…Ce, Cedric.”

As his son turned to leave, the Emperor reached out a trembling hand. The medicine that the physician was preparing surely contained a heavy dose of sleep weed, intended to keep his frail body tethered to the earth for a little while longer.

Perhaps it was the sight of that bony, quivering hand that stopped Cedric in his tracks. Still facing the other way, he stopped as the Emperor brought his thin hand to rest on his son’s.

“Do not forget what I told you…”

Realizing that his son would never grant him the meeting he wanted with the Empress and Gerard, the Emperor changed the subject. At his father’s words, Cedric’s brow tightened and a blue vein stood out across his temple.

“Now you say that?”

Courtiers and citizens alike praised Emperor Charles as the most conciliatory ruler in generations, one who valued harmony and listened to diverse counsel. Many credited him with preventing Laxion from descending into chaos as Callithea had done.

“Give me an answer. Your… answer…”

But Cedric knew better than anyone that, at heart, his father was the most self-righteous man alive — someone who could see only the path he himself had chosen.

This was why he refused to take revenge even after losing his wife, and why he forced through his decisions without hesitation, even when estranged from his own son.

“I married her as you wished, Your Majesty. She carries my child.”

“Hrrh…”

“How could I cast her aside now?”

Cedric had no desire to give his father the answer he wanted. Yet he had already made his choice, and the words came unbidden, exactly what his father wanted to hear. At those words, the tension in Charles’s body eased slightly. He still clung weakly to his son’s hand, murmuring.

“Someday… later…”

“……”

“If you cannot treat her well, then let her go. Set her free. That is the right thing to do.”

Cedric resisted the urge to pull his hand away.

“Do not abandon her.”

His father had once pleaded. Yet now, he was telling him to let her go. He had long been accustomed to this contradiction, yet it never ceased to unsettle him. If one sat upon the throne, one should bear its weight and know what had to be cast aside.

But his father could never separate state from sentiment; he was forever bound by guilt and personal attachment.

And so he suffered, again and again, trapped in his own remorse. As a mere lord of a small domain, such compassion might have been admired. But as an emperor, it bred disorder and for that, Cedric could only despise him.

“She is my wife. I will handle it.”

Let her go.

Why did those words feel so repugnant?

Unable to endure it any longer, Cedric slowly but firmly removed his father’s hand.

“My presence only seems to trouble you. I’ll take my leave.”

He turned and began to walk away.

The Emperor, drained of strength, no longer tried to stop him.

“Mercy!”

This happened just as Cedric reached the door.

The Emperor, who had been helped into a sitting position by the court physician, froze. He then turned his head sharply and cried out.

Startled, everyone in the room looked at him.

Cedric turned back.

“Mercy! Mercy, please… Cedric! I beg you! He shares your blood. That child is—”

Ah!

Cedric realized who his father meant.

So he hadn’t given up after all when he mentioned the Empress earlier.

The fate of a prince who failed to become crown prince especially one who stood against the heir was all but sealed.

But hadn’t Emperor Charles himself risen to the throne after experiencing something similar? And now he was invoking brotherhood?

“You ask too much. I give you the answer you want, and yet you still demand more.”

This time, Cedric did not give his father the answer he was looking for.

Instead, he left only those words behind and stepped through the door that the attendant was holding open.

“Cedric…! —Kuhak!”

A wet, choking groan followed the desperate cry.

The sound of people rushing to the Emperor’s side filled the room.

But Cedric never turned back.

He simply gave the order.s

“Close the door.”