15.

Though her eye color and hair were completely different, even from afar she seized Kaian’s gaze unmistakably.

She was Estelle.

Before his mind could reach a conclusion, Kaian instinctively recognized the woman who had driven him to burning heat and freezing cold every night. And he became certain that the woman he had encountered at the masquerade the previous night was her.

‘Why…’

Why had she not returned to the Imperial Palace despite being alive?
Why had she dyed both her hair and eyes black, as if determined to hide?
And why was she holding the hand of a child who looked exactly like her? Who was he?

“Mommy! I’ll go now!”

From the child’s lips came the answer that pierced through them all.

Estelle’s child.
Her son.

It explained why he had seen Estelle in a commoner child at the edge of the continent.

Before he even realized it, Kaian’s steps were heading toward her.

“Huh? Mommy! It’s the pwince who saved Aeir!”

Spotting Kaian, the child shouted excitedly and waved at him.

“Estelle. So it truly was you.”

As he strode up behind her, a familiar scent drifted from the pale nape of her upright, unbending neck—the very fragrance that had once filled his chambers every night he held her in his arms.

Overcome by unbearable memories, Kaian barely restrained the urge to seize her at once.

“I never imagined you would have a son. One I know nothing about.”

Yet Estelle remained silent, testing the limits of his patience.

“My child… is he mine?”

No—he needed it to be so.

Having already decided the answer he wanted, Kaian pressed her with fierce insistence.

Feeling the sharp presence at her back, Estelle instinctively pulled Aeir tightly into her arms.

Even if she could not hide him now, she felt that if she did not do this, he would be taken from her at once.

‘Did he come already certain of my identity… and of Aeir’s existence?’

Aren was originally a small, insignificant town. Normally, the Emperor would only visit such a place during the imperial tour immediately after ascension.

Moreover, as it was just after the Founding Festival, it should have been a busy time filled with state council meetings discussing the coming year.

Meeting the Emperor here in Aren was already the second time, following the masquerade the night before. It was far beyond mere coincidence.

‘And that’s not all. If the one who saved Aeir when he wandered into the forest was Kaian, then he was already in this town back then too.’

No matter how she thought about it, she could not imagine any other reason for the Emperor of the Empire to visit this place repeatedly.

“Estelle.”

Kaian spoke her name once more, his voice pressed down with something close to anger.

“Eshte? Why are you calling my mommy that? My mommy’s name is Libeta, Libeta Marian!”

At that moment, Aeir peeked out from Estelle’s arms and asked. Still too young, the child could not grasp the tense and fragile atmosphere, his bright eyes shining innocently. In a way, that was fortunate.

“Libeta Marian? Is that your new name?”

Soon Kaian’s voice followed, questioning the child’s words.

Though subtle, it carried a strange, unfamiliar emotion unlike the tone he had used to press Estelle moments before.

‘If he had tracked me and Aeir here, there’s no way he wouldn’t have discovered the alias Libeta. And when he met Aeir in the forest before, he would have taken him to the Imperial Palace instead of the kindergarten. The fact that he didn’t means—’

Perhaps he still lacked certainty.

Realizing that, a faint hope began to appear in Estelle’s heart.

‘I must not acknowledge the child carelessly. The Imperial Family currently has no heir—he’ll try to take him no matter what. And when Diana’s son appears, he’ll cast him aside without hesitation. I can’t let Aeir suffer that. Get a grip. I’m the only one who can protect him.’

Estelle took a quiet breath that did not show outwardly. Her tangled thoughts settled, leaving only what she needed to do clearly before her.

She turned to Kaian, her face perfectly masking the turmoil from moments ago.

“It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Libeta Marian.”

Releasing Aeir from her arms, Estelle bent her knees and waist slightly and greeted him calmly—the kind of courtesy one would show a complete stranger.

“Hah?”

A baffled sigh escaped Kaian.

“What exactly are you trying to do with me right now?”

“I heard a great deal from my child. He said he was greatly helped by you in the forest last time. Thank you very much.”

Estelle bowed to Kaian once more, determined to act as though she did not know him at all.

‘Since he’s a sharp-eyed swordmaster, it’ll be hard to make him think I’m merely a look-alike… but I can try to deceive him by pretending I’ve lost my memory.’

It was possible because she had disappeared in Oblia Valley.

Originally, Oblia meant “oblivion” in the ancient tongue.
Since ancient times, it had been a lair of mind-affecting monsters that lured humans, stole their memories, or drove them mad.

‘The number has noticeably decreased due to the Imperial Knights’ regular hunts, but occasionally missing persons are still found harmed after being captured by those that remain.’

If she were to meet Kaian again in the worst situation, what should she do?

It was the most usable plan she had come up with after staying awake all night.

“Aeir, go inside now. You’ll be late.”

“But……”

“I’ll properly thank the person who helped you. Didn’t you say today’s morning snack is strawberries?”

“Oh! Right! Then I’m going, Mommy! Mister pwince, let’s meet again!”

Estelle hurriedly sent Aeir into the kindergarten.

‘I just need to divert his attention from the matter of an heir. Whether I am Estelle Astria or not won’t be that important to him.’

Fortunately, Kaian’s gaze remained on Estelle rather than following Aeir’s retreating figure.

Given his sharp perception, it was unreasonable to hope he would mistake Estelle and Libeta as merely look-alikes. Yet even if he suspected her identity, if she continued to act ignorant, he likely would not bother dragging her back to the Imperial Palace.

“—I will discuss your deposition with the nobles!”
In her previous life, Kaian had wished for her dethronement,

“How dare you set foot in this palace?”
“Just a breath of yours shatters all the peace within me.”

And in this life as well, he had wanted her to disappear.

‘Why didn’t I realize it back then? That it had long been over. That it was a bond that would have ended if only I had let go.’

They had merely brushed past each other in a previous life. She had been destined to be cast aside anyway, so in this life she was simply leaving a little earlier.

‘So don’t hold onto me anymore.’

Because you wanted me gone as quickly as possible.

Let it end here—turn away as if we had never known each other, and place a period on this ill-fated tie.

“Your shameless nature hasn’t changed. What are you plotting now?”

But Kaian did not retreat.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Answer me. I asked if Aeir is my child.”

“That cannot be. Did we not meet for the first time today? Then how could my son possibly be yours?”

At her reply, Kaian’s expression twisted. The anger flickering in his crimson eyes was unmistakable.

“Estelle Astria—.”

“You seem to have mistaken me for someone else. As I said, I am Libeta Marian.”

“What?”

“It happens. I suppose I have rather common features.”

“Changing hair or eye color would be easy enough with mana stones.”

“That may be true for people of high standing, but for a commoner like me, it’s another world entirely.”

Estelle denied every suspicion Kaian voiced, her expression perfectly calm and her voice steady.

Perhaps because of that, even the other guardians who had been watching the two with interest gradually turned their gazes away.

Unlike Estelle, however, Kaian’s face held unusually tangled and confused emotions.

“Thank you for helping my child. Then, I will take my leave.”

Estelle did not miss the opening and turned away. Maintaining her composure, she moved farther from the kindergarten.

One step. Then another.

Even as she went farther and farther, Kaian did not stop her.

The light step she took with relieved ease paradoxically left behind a hollow footprint. Estelle knew the feeling swelling with each step was lingering attachment.

‘Why do I want to run from you, yet also wish you would recognize me… and hold me back? Foolishly.’

She must not waver. No matter how much she loved him, it would only lead to unhappiness.

Estelle steadied her heart again and again.