The one who thought of checking the other pocket was Baker. There was no mercy for traitors.

Especially a man who, despite being believed by everyone to become the emperor, became a fugitive without anyone noticing. Felte von Beiden, by sworn oath, was not a man who would tolerate betrayal.

He had a track record of personally banning someone for betraying him, even his own kin.

“He said there’s a child, right?”

“Yes. Originally, there was one, but suddenly, another unexpected child came along.”

“Was it really unexpected?”

“What?”

“An unexpectedly conceived child is quite an attractive condition.”

Felte lifted the glasses slightly with the tip of his index finger.
“Even if it’s born, you’ll know, but for now, the bloodline alone is overwhelmingly dominant.”

A bastard might be talented, but he knew better than anyone that there were limits. Just his stepbrother, only for the reason of being an imperial bastard, became an influential candidate for the emperor without doing anything.

“Even if you can’t use Crayton, you might be able to use Pieren. It could be a useful piece in many ways.”

“That could be true.”

“However, there’s no way that child doesn’t know what I’m thinking.”

As the age difference increased, the stepbrother still looked like blood, like a lump. Even so, there was no thought of unreasonably looking down on him.

Perhaps because of growing up watching, the stepbrother was different from a young age. His actions were just like my mother. Mischievous and cunning.

Around adolescence, I couldn’t help but click my tongue watching him learn how to charm people with a smile. After that, recalling what Ruzen did to catch him made it even more impressive.

Felte closed his eyes, thinking of the last time he saw Ruzen.

The not yet grown baby had an ambiguous gender, making it even more reminiscent of my mother. It wasn’t to my liking. It felt like broadcasting that woman’s bloodline to the world.

It wasn’t even a bloodline to be proudly shown to the world in the first place.

“We should be more careful. The child won’t know what I’m thinking until it’s born.”

“I’ll pay more attention.”

“And we need to make other preparations.”

“Other preparations?”

“The plan was too long.”

Felte pondered with his eyes slightly closed. It was an obvious trap, but what was caught was too big to ignore.

The fact that they could withstand countless troops until now was largely due to Crayton’s significant contribution. There were many precious parts to just recklessly dispose of the body.

“It wouldn’t be bad to start moving slowly. If we’ve waited this long, it’s about time.”

“It could be risky to move at this time.”

“Nevertheless, if there’s something to gain, we should move.”

Felte picked up the report as if it were nothing.

Although time has passed and everyone says his power has diminished, it’s just the wind that looks down on his existence. He still had eyes and ears throughout the empire, and many were ready to move for him.

The corner of the report that Felte held touched the candle. The paper quickly turned black and caught fire.

Felte von Beiden, since the day he abandoned the name, had never run away once. He just waited for the right time.

The time when he could achieve a perfect victory.

“He said he’s with the child, right? Crayton’s wife.”

“Yes, she’s currently staying in the imperial star palace disguised as a guest from another country.”

“It’s certain that she has Crayton’s child?”

“Yes?”

“A father can deceive as much as necessary. Like my brother does.”
Felte’s forehead slightly narrowed. However, it was so subtle that no one noticed.

As if no one could perceive that he was thinking of the red-haired woman right now.

His pale and long index finger slowly skimmed over the frame of the glasses.

Even though quite some time had passed, a few memories were stuck like fragments and just wouldn’t be erased.

Whether it was his father telling him to bring a girl of his age and call her mother from today, or his mother, who lived cursing and being jealous of the women around his father throughout her life, or…

Felte’s forehead wrinkles, which had been finely held, relaxed.

It wasn’t that he wanted to recall memories that were unforgettable. Rather, he wanted to forget.

Of course, if he could forget by wanting to forget, he would have done so long ago.

Felte took his hand off the glasses. As if waiting, the glasses slid down smoothly. Despite having repaired it several times, it was useless.

The old glasses showed signs of being fixed. It quickly returned to its former state, and now it had reached the point where it was time to give up on repairs. As if giving up trying to forget memories.

Felte slightly lifted his head. As the glasses came down, his vision, already half-blurred, made even the splendid chandelier look hazy.

Felte looked at that sight for a moment and then turned his head back to its original position.

“In the end, it’s better to have both.”

“Both? Are you talking about two?”

“One is Pieren. The other one is Crayton.”

“Ah…”

Awe filled the subordinates’ eyes. It was an easy task for a family led by a powerless successor. Unless abandoning a certain mother, a child who lost their father had difficulty raising their voice as a successor.

But Felte’s words didn’t stop there. His witty lips, after a slight pause, moved slowly.

“This is probably the limit my brother can think of, so let’s use that.”

“…”

“It won’t be difficult. That child still doesn’t know. What she’s doing, I mean.”

Along the straight bridge of the nose, the glasses slightly slid down. Nevertheless, Felte just pushed up the glasses without caring.