Fabian, who remained silent, was counting all the cases. But all the thoughts that came and went in his head were useless. His mind was set at the moment he found a slight possibility.

There was nothing that Fabian couldn’t do if the dream that he wished and longed for but couldn’t be achieved, now had come true.

“Your Majesty, don’t ruin your health.”

Serus, who was usually quiet, said such a truth. Since knowing that possibility, Fabian was lost in thought, and his health had deteriorated a little. Fabian’s health, the current Emperor, was more important than the possibility of a successor.

“What’s about the midwife?”

“She’s still raving, I’ve asked the chancellor to take care of her.”

“.....Okay.”

The most irritating thing was that the midwife, an important witness, was insane because of her old age. It was hard to get her answer because she was out of her mind even though he asked persistently.

“But Logan said he heard it clearly that Evelyn gave birth to a Prince.”

“Yes, he’s not a man who tells a lie,” Serus said.

“I know.”

In fact, he didn’t mind the midwife hiding the truth. But Fabian couldn’t understand Evelyn’s innermost thoughts. After all, she had hidden the descendants of the Imperial family, and it couldn’t be justified. And, her actions alone were already treason against the Imperial family.

“The little prince .... how is he look like?” Fabian opened his heavy mouth.

Serus didn’t know the meaning of his question and looked at Fabian. His black eyes were shining with a light that he had never been seen before.

“Is he resemble me?”

It was a blunt voice, but interestingly enough, Fabian’s cheeks turned red. Still, his gaze was pointing to a distant place, feeling nervous and anxious.

“The Prince had black hair and black eyes like Your Majesty.”

Serus only told the truth. Although he didn’t take Fabian’s surname

“You were the one who said black hair and black eyes are possible outside the Empire.”

Fabian wasn’t stupid. Of course, when he saw Adrian, he had a feeling that Adrian was his child.

In the Empire, black hair and a black eye were regarded as the exclusive signature of the Imperial family. But in the southern continent, as Serus said, black hair and black eyes were a common thing.

“Because I never saw the Prince in detail...” Serus avoided the difficult answer. He needed a high concentration just to escort Fabian, how could he possibly pay attention to a child?

“I have.... I’ve even hugged him.....”

“Oh, then. Didn’t that child dare to punch your Majesty?” asked Serus as he remembered Fabian’s embarrassing talk.

It was the first time, for Fabian, that someone hit him with a fist. He recalled that Serus, who had heard the story, was surprised because it was something impossible.

“Now that I’m thinking about it .... it was my mistake.” Fabian said with a careless face, “That kid reached out to me.”historical

No. Obviously, Serus heard that it was the little Prince who punched him. But now it didn’t seem to be a matter for Fabian.

“Hug me...”

Not even that. Fabian, who had a stunned look on his face, said the little Prince dared to order him ‘Hug!’. But Serus wasn’t in the mood to argue that.

“Ha! ······Oh my God.” Fabian hit his knee.

“Why, why?”

“The prince is a young man who will be two years old soon.”

“Yes.”

That was a normal thing, though.

“Isn’t he too smart? He came to me and asked me to hug him. How could a child have such enthusiasm and intelligence?”

Serus just blinked his eyes, because he didn’t know how to react. But Fabian already seemed to have fallen into his own world.

“Like....Yes, he’s like me when I was a child.” Fabian nodded with a rugged look that would never happen again.

“Right?”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t that right?” There was intimidation in his dark eyes when he asked Serus.

“······Ye-Yes, I think so.” Serus was forced to answer. Then a happy smile bloomed on Fabian’s face, which he had never seen before.

Even though Serus was an insensitive person, he was well aware that this situation was very serious.

“I’ve already decided.” Fabian rose from his seat.

“That child is definitely my son. Me and Evelyn’s son.”

There was a typhoon raging in his eyes.

“But, Your Majesty. There’s still no physical evidence ...Besides, he’s already a Prince of the Felice Kingdom.”

Listening to Serus’s realistic advice, Fabian didn’t raise a single eyebrow.

“So?”

The only thing that mattered to him was whether the child Evelyn had given birth to was his or not. To be precise, whether that possibility existed. Fabian was enough, even if it was just a possibility.

“He’s still my son.”

Fabian said so, but the real problem was very complicated.

A former Empress who divorced and returned to her homeland secretly gave birth to the Emperor’s son and became a prince in another country. Nothing like this had ever happened in the Empire’s history.

“Your Majesty, will you be able to take him out from the Felice royal family without a hitch?”

Seeing Evelyn’s cold attitude, Serus was worried about Fabian’s immense enthusiasm.

If she wasn’t cold-hearted from the beginning, she wouldn’t have given birth and raised a child secretly. But Fabian seemed to have forgotten about that fact for a moment.

“Serus.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Get the midwife’s confession.”

“She’s out of her mind right now....”

Fabian frowned at Serus.

“......Then, I’ll get it.” When Cerus, who was late in understanding what to do, replied, Fabian nodded his head.

This meant, whoever wrote the confession, the midwife would sign it, and Fabian would use it as a proof.

“Tomorrow, we will depart for the Felice Kingdom.”

“The Congress..”

Once again, Fabian squinted his eyes,

“I’ll postpone it. I will announce that His Majesty will suspend his official duties due to illness. “

It meant that there was no need to announce Fabian’s outing.

“Put the Duke of Perth in my place.”

“I will tell him that.”

In private, he was Serus’ older brother, but he didn’t feel that way at all.

“If the Duke is in charge of this capital city, it’s better to have two.”

It was a remark that Fabian had realized that Duke Metis had already lived in the capital. Sagan would use the opportunity of the Emperor’s absence to take advantage.

Sagan was a bossy person, and Duke Perth was a proper opponent, as he was a knight-man. So, If there was a Duke Perth, both of them would waste their time, battling with each other.

“Dukes are useless except when they fight each other.” Fabian murmured irritably.

“Then, there’s one more.”

“Yes?”

“The useless Duke.”

That phrase was addressed to Liam Akshire.

Liam didn’t protest openly, but he didn’t really obey the Emperor. And from the first time they met, Fabian felt rejected by that little Duke.

Maybe it was a man’s instinct.

---

As Fabian had expected, Liam got in his way.

What Fabian thought, Liam could also think. And of course, he had no choice but to prepare for the worse.

“He’s moving” Liam spoke to himself with a stiff face after receiving the report from his spy.

He might not have a force as strong as the Black Hawk Knights, but the intelligence network of the Duke of Akshire, which had a long history, could not be overlooked.

“Will, your Majesty, going to move alone?” asked Jason, Liam’s aide and Akshire’s vassal, carefully.

“Look.”

Liam spread out the report he received on his desk. Jason picked it up, read it, and nodded.

“If he put Duke Perth at the palace....”

“Yes. There is no reason to look for such a lowly human ..... except for one thing. It’s to hold back another force while His Majesty is absent.”

Since he was Rebecca’s ex-husband, he wasn’t prejudiced, but Liam still kept an eye on the Duke of Perth.

Liam had seen him several times. And he was an arrogant man who didn’t want to look at others for more than 3 seconds.

“Surely, when will he move?”

“Your Majesty is moving in with the Black Hawk Knights. We have to stop them. But nobody wants to be in the same room as the Duke of Perth, so it makes sense to think that they will move immediately.”

“That’s ...... I agree with you.” Jason nodded.

“Why does the Emperor keep coming to the southern continent?”

Liam knew the reason, but it was a secret he couldn’t tell even to Jason, his close aide.

“Whatever the reason is, we must deal with it.”

“You’re right.”

Fortunately, Liam was the Duke of Akshire who had the right to assert his power. So, it was natural for Liam to pay attention to the Emperor and his subordinate’s move.

“As the Duke of Akshire, I’ll request a formal visit to the Felice Kingdom.”

For Felice’s royal family, Liam was always a welcome guest. But went to the kingdom formally as a Duke was different.

“I’ll tell him.” Jason left the room after gave an example.

Liam sighed as he had nowhere else to go. From the beginning, he had known Evelyn’s secret. To him, who didn’t know how to accept this sensitive secret, Rebecca told him to nail his ears.

‘True friendship is to believe without asking. And supports the choice. Only then you can be called as a friend who will hold hands face this harsh world.’

Indeed, Rebecca’s sphere of friendship was very wide. Liam was a simple man with an honest heart. He was very dizzy thinking about Evelyn’s secret, but he readily agreed with his sister’s words of wisdom.

“One thing that I have to do.”

Liam, who had never been shaken in his childhood or adolescence, cried all night after hearing the news that Evelyn had become an Empress.

Even when he saw Evelyn return from the divorce, he never thought about how he would feel himself. So he was willing to cover up Evelyn’s secret.

“It’s just to keep the Princess’s smile.”

When Evelyn came back, Liam had made up his mind.

Liam didn’t want to be sorry anymore, and he would try with all his heart to make sure that no regrets were left.

Only

Although he couldn’t show his feelings for Evelyn because he was born shy and had no courage. This time, he felt he had a role.

“Even he’s an Emperor, he doesn’t deserve to make the Princess more unhappy.”

Liam’s green eyes were full of determination.

Facing the Emperor, either directly or indirectly, was dangerous, but Akshire wasn’t Imperial territory.

And where to place Akshire’s honour, only Liam, the current Duke, could decide.

“My honour is in protecting what is precious.”

Liam’s voice rang heavily. It was a decision that would not change.