16.

She thought about what lay ahead.

‘After running into Kaian in front of the kindergarten, leaving Aeir there makes me uneasy… but taking back a child I already sent in would look even more suspicious.’

A hasty show of vigilance would only clumsily provoke that beast-like temperament.

‘Even if he suspects Aeir’s birth, the chances he’ll take him immediately are slim. He… hates Astria.’

Making a child of that bloodline his heir would be a last resort.

‘Christine is still young. He wouldn’t rashly take a child who would strengthen Astria.’

There was no guarantee he would lose interest and leave right away, so for now she had to act as usual while secretly searching for a way out of Aren.

Moreover, if Soradan—whom Zephion had brought—really was the inventor of the Black Sea Plague cure described in the novel, she would also need to find a way to take him along.

Perhaps because she was desperately holding down her turbulent heart while focusing on her future plans, Estelle failed to notice the shadow following behind her.

***

Kaian could not understand Estelle at all.

She was undoubtedly Estelle. Though her hair and eye color had changed, she was not a woman he could possibly mistaken.

Then why was she acting as if she were meeting him for the first time? He could not fathom her intentions.

With his mind still tangled, Kaian did not pursue the departing Estelle.

In any case, Aren was filled with Imperial Knights who had come down in disguise to investigate the cabin. There was no need to seize her now—she was already in the palm of his hand.

‘Besides, the child is here as well, so I can’t act rashly right now. She seemed deeply attached to him.’

The boy himself raised countless questions.

‘He looks about three or four years old.’

Judging from the time of their last night together, the age roughly matched. Moreover, the child’s brilliant blond hair was the same as Kaian’s.

Yet at the same time, it made no sense.

It was customary that any woman who spent the night with the Emperor—whether Empress or Imperial Consort—was constantly monitored in case she conceived imperial blood.

As part of that, close maids checked the Empress’s or Consort’s monthly cycle every month, and if there was even the slightest sign, the imperial physician would be summoned.

But from the day Estelle last spent the night with Kaian until the day she disappeared in the carriage accident, more than a month passed without her maids taking any special action. That meant she had never missed her cycle.

‘Then does that mean he’s another man’s child?’

Conflicting emotions surged through him. Even imagining it made his throat feel raw, as if a sharpened blade were tearing through it.

‘No, that can’t be.’

Kaian did not trust Estelle. Yet he knew how strong her pride and sense of duty had been as an Imperial Consort.

Moreover, she had been a cold woman who seemed to know nothing of genuine emotion. She was not the sort who would disgrace her proud family merely for a trivial affair of love.

‘But if he is my child, why is she raising him here instead of the Imperial Palace? With Astria’s cunning thirst for power, she would have been desperate to place her own blood in the line of succession.’

Every month, Estelle had demanded to share his bed without missing the fertile period to conceive a child.

What Estelle wanted was not Kaian, but solely an heir. Even knowing that, he had always been unable to restrain his desire, pouring his entire heart into her—and he loathed himself for it. Though Estelle had likely cared nothing for that either.

Yet the heir she had been so desperate to bear was hidden in a small village at the edge of the continent.

She not only denied the child but also behaved as though the great name and status of the House of Astria were not hers. That expression felt unfamiliar.

‘Why? There’s no reason for that.’

Then a possibility crossed his mind.

‘Unless she truly lost her memory to a monster in Oblia Valley.’

“…Impossible.”

The more he considered it, the more convincing the hypothesis became.

‘Was she really attacked by a monster?’

But that alone did not explain everything. He had never heard of mind-affecting monsters altering a person’s appearance as well. It required investigation.

“My lord, here you are. The state council meeting will begin shortly.”

Cedric, who had come to announce the next engagement, quietly approached upon spotting Kaian.

“Cedric. Remain here and discreetly investigate the woman called Libeta Marian and the child named Aeir whom I met before. If there is even the slightest sign of escape, confine them.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And send swift men to find a priest experienced in dealing with mind-affecting monsters. Naturally, have them conceal their identities.”

“Yes, understood.”

After withdrawing his gaze from the direction Estelle had gone, Kaian briefly looked toward Aeir’s kindergarten before turning toward the portal.

***

“Thank you for coming such a long way.”

Early afternoon, the reception room of the Erme Trading Company.
Wearing her usual mask, Estelle welcomed Soradan and Zephion.

Her mind was still unsettled after encountering Kaian that morning, but she could not postpone this matter if she wished to protect Aeir.

“I’m Soradan. I heard the great guild leader was looking for me.”

The man, his face dotted with small scars, dipped his head with a rough air.

He felt somewhat different from the calm physician she had imagined, yet his brown hair, dark amber eyes, and thin build matched the description from the novel.

“Please, have a seat first.”

Even as Soradan dropped onto the couch with a thud, his gaze remained sharp and defiant, but Estelle paid it no mind.

“Hey.”

Zephion sounded a warning, displeased with Soradan’s insolent attitude, but Estelle quietly shook her head to stop him.

In the end, she would be the one exchanging information about the illness, so she intended to deal with him directly without help.

Still, Zephion looked uneasy for some reason.

“I heard you are knowledgeable in medicine and pharmacology.”

“Hah. Didn’t have money to buy medicine, didn’t want to die like a dog—so chewing tree bark counts as pharmacology and medicine, does it?”

Soradan’s attitude was far more uncooperative than expected.

“Looks like you’ve got money to spare. If you’re curious about how to make some grand medicine that’ll empty noble pockets, go ask a proper academy medical professor. Don’t waste my time. Now, I’ve got somewhere to be—”

“To take care of your grandmother, perhaps?”

“…What?”

With a single sentence, Estelle stopped Soradan as he was about to stand and leave.

“You haven’t even managed to obtain Bernian root—nor anything similar. Are you planning to bring her more thin herb porridge again this time?”

“What are you? How much do you know!”

“After losing his parents at a young age and being raised by his grandmother, Soradan began handling herbs to cure her weak lungs. However, Bernian root, the effective remedy, was an expensive medicinal ingredient accessible only to high nobles, so until he received support from the Rodalan Guild, he could hardly ever see it.”

It was one of the few passages in the novel that mentioned Soradan.

Unaware that Estelle had read such details in a previous life, Soradan was startled as if his thoughts had been read.

“That’s not what’s important right now.”

As she spoke, Estelle placed a small vial containing Bernian root on the table.

“If you provide the information I want and participate faithfully in developing the cure, I’ll supply you with this amount every week. Of course, research funding and wages will be provided separately.”

Recognizing at a glance the ingredient he had searched for so desperately, Soradan sat back down. This time, unlike before, he listened with proper, upright courtesy.

“And if you succeed in developing the cure within half a year, I’ll hand you an entire herb shop. Stocked full of rare medicinal ingredients—enough to last you a lifetime and more.”

“What cure do you need! Just tell me! I’ll make it somehow!”

Soradan looked ready to obey even if Estelle ordered him to hang a bell around a dragon’s neck.

“First, before that, I need to confirm you’re truly the person I’m looking for. Through a few questions.”

“Yes!”

Estelle asked questions that would distinguish whether he was truly the Soradan described in the novel, along with his knowledge of several herbs mentioned in relation to the Black Sea Plague cure. Soradan answered every question flawlessly.

Only after the careful verification—stretching over quite some time—did Estelle finally become certain that the man before her was the one she had been seeking.

Now, all that remained was to accelerate the timeline for developing the cure.