"So that’s why physicians keep coming in and out of the castle? To treat that slave?"
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“Then take me there immediately.”
“...”
In the silence that followed, the hand leisurely waving a fan came to a halt.
Veloa, who had been reclining in her seat, sat up and furrowed her delicate brow.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me you still don’t know where that wench is?”
“According to the physician we bribed, he was blindfolded when brought to the castle, so he couldn’t determine the exact location.”
“So you haven’t found her?”
“I apologise.”
The escort, sensing the mood, quickly bowed deeply, but Veloa’s brow remained furrowed.
“Utterly useless, as always.”
Veloa snapped coldly, then brushed back her hair.
“At the very least, you’ve figured out what illness she has, haven’t you? If physicians keep being summoned, it must be something serious.”
“The physician said it was an illness he’d never seen before.”
“An illness he’s never seen?”
“Well...”
The escort’s pupils visibly trembled.
He knew what he was about to say would provoke Veloa’s wrath.
“Speak.”
“If I had to describe it… it’s pregnancy…”
“Pregnancy? That filthy thing is even carrying a child?”
Veloa’s voice suddenly turned sharp.
It looked as though flames might erupt from her fierce eyes.
“No, that’s not it!”
“Then what?”
“She shows symptoms of pregnancy, but the physician says she’s not actually pregnant.”
“Is that even possible?”
Veloa narrowed her eyes slightly.
It was unpleasant to see a vulgar slave selling their body, but it was a common occurrence.
There was no reason to interfere with how someone chose to use their own property.
Of course, that only applied if the property knew its place.
“That’s what the physician said.”
“That physician could’ve misdiagnosed her. Did you ask the others?”
“People here are extremely wary of outsiders, and they place absolute trust in the Grand Duke of Schwarhan. Getting anyone to talk wasn’t easy. It was hard enough getting that one physician to open his mouth.”
“So many excuses from such useless people.”
Veloa threw down her fan irritably.
She could tolerate him sleeping with a slave, but not having a child.
Whether the child bore the shame of illegitimacy or had a slave for a mother, half of that child’s blood came from Cabelenus.
Even if the connection was weak, as long as that bloodline was inherited, the child would become a constant threat.
“As I thought. We need to deal with that slave wench immediately.”
"Primarily, for now..."
"Because it’s now, it has to be dealt with. It would be a problem if that filthy wench actually bore a child. Even the mighty emperor of the empire had a lowly mother, so you can’t just dismiss the possibility of a slave mother’s offspring continuing the lineage."
“Princess, saying such things…”
The escort looked around urgently, but Veloa didn’t care in the slightest.
“What does it matter? It’s not like I’m making it up. Everyone knows the emperor is the son of a dancer from Roaquin.”
“He’s the emperor of the empire. Even if his origins are humble, insulting him is…”
“Doesn’t matter. Once I become empress, I’ll deal with that filthy bloodline first.”
Veloa curled her lips in a smirk.
She maintained courtesy only because he currently sat on the throne.
She didn’t actually like Zerpheus.
The sight of him strutting about like an emperor when he was the son of a dancer offered as tribute was simply pathetic.
No matter what he did, his barbarian blood wouldn’t change.
“Princess…”
“Thanks to the emperor, there’s now a precedent of an emperor having a crude, barbarian mother, so it’s something I don’t really have to concern myself with.”
Illegitimate children were rarely granted succession rights, but precedents always left a door open.
“Don’t look at me like that. Right now, we need his help. Ah — yes. Since it’s come to this, I’ll make use of him.”
"What do you mean?"
“Don’t you think it’ll be interesting to see the emperor, who’s spent his whole life suffering because of his bloodline, react when he hears a child like him might exist?”
Zerpheus busied himself playing the role of the kind older brother, but in the end, the only reason he valued his half-brother was because of Cabelenus’s blood.
It was easy to foresee how he would react upon learning that the bloodline had been defiled.
“But she’s not actually with child.”
“Who cares about that?”
“If the emperor finds out it was a lie…”
“There are plenty of excuses. Weak things die easily, and the physicians aren’t even sure it's a pregnancy. I might have simply been mistaken.”
Of course, if they did discover a real child, all the better.
Veloa flipped her hair back with a newly relaxed expression.
It was annoying, but whether or not there really was a child didn’t matter.
She had no intention of letting a slave’s bloodline be born on this land.
“And even if it turns out to be a lie, so what? The seat beside the Grand Duke is mine. In the end, the emperor won’t be able to touch me.”
Because she was special.
A confident smile spread across Veloa’s lips.
・・・・・
“Your Majesty, there is a message from Princess Veloa.”
“At this hour? That mischievous princess must have an amusing tale, huh?”
The time to begin the harvest was drawing near.
Zerpheus set down the documents he had been reading and leaned back in his chair.
“Shall I connect you immediately?”
“No. Refuse her for now, and contact her again in about an hour.”
“With her temperament, she won’t take that quietly. Will that be all right?”
“That’s exactly why I’m ignoring her. Let her get even more worked up.”
Zerpheus chuckled lazily and gave a slight nod.
He could already picture Veloa fuming after having her call denied.
“The princess is on our side. Is there really any need to provoke her?”
Hans, the attendant, frowned.
“She is — for now.”
“You intend to discard her.”
“I never planned to keep her around. A woman like that doesn’t suit Cabelenus.”
Though Zerpheus smiled, the green eyes glimpsed between his narrowed lids were colder than ice.
“Then why send her in the first place? No matter how I look at it, she’s not someone Your Majesty would favour.”
“Far from favouring her, she’s the type I’d rather avoid. But personally, I really like people like Princess Veloa. She’s easily swayed by emotion, completely transparent, and even greedy, which makes her so easy to manipulate to my liking. Well, considering her qualities alone, it is a bit of a waste to throw her away.”
“Is Princess Veloa really that impressive?”
“King Christie wouldn’t protect her for no reason. Though she doesn’t seem capable of handling that power herself.”
If she were just a little less foolish, she might have been worth reconsidering as Cabelenus’s wife.
No matter how great the power, if she couldn’t wield it properly, it was no different from hanging pearls around a pig’s neck.
A woman like that was no match for Cabelenus.
Zerpheus clicked his tongue, openly expressing his regret.
“May I ask what Your Majesty is thinking?”
“Let’s call it an older brother’s consideration for his beloved younger sibling.”
“Consideration?”
“Yes. Consideration.”
Zerpheus rested his clasped hands on his stomach and took a deep breath.
He knew Cabelenus would resent him for this, but it couldn’t be helped.
Better to be hated than to tie Cabelenus to an unworthy woman.
“I still don’t understand Your Majesty’s intentions.”
“You’ve served me for quite some time, and yet you still haven’t caught on. Still inexperienced, Hans.”
“Your Majesty is someone who deceives even allies. I still haven’t forgotten what you did to me at the Battle of Petan.”
“Yet you continue to serve me nonetheless.”
“Because frankly, if not for me, no attendant could manage someone as sly as Your Majesty.”
Despite Hans’s grumbling, Zerpheus only smiled.
In the end, Hans scowled and cast a sidelong glance at his master.
“That expression doesn’t suit a mere servant. How rude.”
“I know Your Majesty tolerates this level of insolence.”
“In any case, you know your limits.”
“It’s a virtue for those who serve the imperial family.”
Hans replied calmly as he tidied the scattered papers on Zerpheus’s desk.
When Zerpheus changed the subject, it meant he had no intention of sharing his plans.
“Isn’t it funny? Even a lowly servant like you knows where the line is — so why doesn’t my dear younger brother?”
“The Grand Duke would never do such a thing."
Hans shook his head.
The Cabelenus he knew had never once crossed the line.
On the contrary, he had always willingly acted like a loyal hound despite his noble status, and that hadn’t changed.
Zerpheus might be wielding power and playing emperor, but his position was still unstable.
To be blunt, if Cabelenus moved against Zerpheus with the forces loyal to him, the outcome couldn’t be predicted.
“You, of all people, know how humble he is — so why are you doing this?”
"Then what am I supposed to do? Let him marry that woman and give them my blessing as well?"
There was uncharacteristic emotion in Zerpheus’s sarcastic tone.
Hans, usually unfazed, paused. His master always seemed like a different person whenever his half-brother was mentioned.
“It’s probably just a passing fancy. Even without Your Majesty’s involvement, it’ll end soon enough.”
Hans did his best not to provoke Zerpheus’s temper.
He didn’t want the brothers to fall out.
If their relationship soured, Zerpheus would be the one to suffer.
“That’s just what I wish.”
Zerpheus sighed, covering his eyes with one hand.
“What makes you so certain?”
Even if Cabelenus said he would take a slave as his wife, Hans didn’t think much of it.
Though being swept up in a moment of emotion seemed unlike Cabelenus, Hans never believed it would actually lead to marriage.
He figured it was a momentary misstep that Cabelenus would soon retract.
“Because he’s Cabelenus.”
A pair of green eyes gleamed between his fingers.
Zerpheus knew him well — he had watched his younger brother for a long time.
Cabelenus had never once failed to follow through on his word.
And this time would be no different.
“That’s quite a displeased expression.”
“To be honest, we tread carefully so as not to offend His Highness. And if I’m being completely frank, should His Highness marry a slave and thereby lower his own standing, it would be a welcome matter for us.”
Even Hans, a close confidant of the emperor, could not deny Cabelenus’s legitimacy.
Cabelenus’s mother, the late Empress Dowager, had been the only daughter of Duke Melta, head of the nobility, before she was officially recognised as the wife of the late Emperor.
Though the Empress Dowager had passed, the Melta family’s influence remained strong.
If Cabelenus sought the throne, the Duke would gladly stake everything for his one and only grandson.
“I will never tolerate such a thing.”
“Why on earth does Your Majesty care so much about His Highness?”
He knew well that Zerpheus held Cabelenus in a special regard, but honestly, he couldn’t quite understand their relationship.
Given their positions, the widespread rumour that Zerpheus had been keeping Cabelenus in check and had driven him out to Schwarhan seemed to make more sense than how things stood between them now.
“Because he is special.”
"If it's about legitimacy..."
“Legitimacy?”
Zerpheus sneered briefly, his face twisting.
It wasn’t just about legitimacy.
Legitimacy aside, Cabelenus was special.
"As I’ve said time and again, I’m merely holding the seat. The next emperor will be Cabelenus. That’s how it should be — and how it will be."
“But Your Majesty...”
“Cabelenus has no interest in the throne.”
Zerpheus’s eyes darkened noticeably.
The power struggle between the late Emperor and Empress had brought much bloodshed, and the defeated Empress had to endure humiliation.
The same fate fell on Cabelenus, born of the Empress.
As a child, his younger brother had to kneel before their father and beg for his mother’s life.
“Our father ordered Cabelenus to relinquish the crown prince title and roam the battlefields.”
“How long do you think that promise will be kept?”
“There’s no need to even wonder. Cabelenus is still keeping that promise.”
After ascending to the throne, Zerpheus passed the crown prince title to Cabelenus and also issued him an order to return to the capital.
However, instead of returning to the capital after receiving that offer, Cabelenus requested the harsh, frozen land of Schwarhan.
“That’s the kind of child he is. Someone who never takes back a word once spoken.”
He always wore an indifferent expression, but in matters like this, he was stubbornly persistent.
Zerpheus clicked his tongue and touched the tip of his chin with his thumb.
"If Cabelenus were to remain stuck at that insignificant grand duke position, I wouldn’t care if he mingled with slaves."
“...”
"But that child will become the emperor. If that’s the case, shouldn’t he take a woman worthy of his status?"
Zerpheus's eyes curved like a long arc, resembling the shape of a crescent moon.
Once everything was settled, he would find a woman worthy of Cabelenus.
A woman of noble blood and dignity who would suit his younger brother.
⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡ ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆
If you notice any errors or broken links, please let me know and I will get that fixed~ Additionally, if you would like to support me, I have a Ko-fi ~ Thank you! 💖