Chapter 22
Chapter 22
The Emperor looked back at the Empress with an embarrassed expression. As expected, the Empress’s expression crumpled the moment the name Bride was mentioned.
It was quite common in the Imperial Family, but the Empress was not Killian’s biological mother. Her child was the young princess.
Killian also knew that the future husband of that princess was the Lord of the Bride family.
The Imperial Family’s promise to the Bride family was largely driven by the Empress’s intentions.
She was determined to establish a connection with the Bride family, the second-most powerful force in the Empire. And she seemed to believe her own daughter was a suitable match for that purpose.
However, any connection involving the Crown Prince was a different matter entirely.
As long as a designated successor existed, the princess could not be expected to continue the imperial line.
If passing on the bloodline had been the priority, the Empress likely wouldn’t have considered marrying her daughter into the Bride family. But imagining Killian dying a violent death in his current state of health was simply unthinkable.
The Empress was a greedy person, but at the very least, she understood the importance of preserving the imperial bloodline. She would never have wanted things to unfold this way.
However, because of what happened last night, many of her carefully laid plans had gone awry.
Naturally, her face was twisted with frustration.
The Empress questioned Killian sharply.
“The daughter of the Bride family? Don’t tell me you knew and still did such a thing, Crown Prince?”
Killian stared at her in silence.
Every time he looked at the young and beautiful Empress, he felt as if a shadowy hand was reaching into his heart. The black hand. It was a symbol of Killian’s anxiety, and a harbinger of hatred. He was always trying to control it well.
“Well. I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Isn’t the Empress well aware of what happened last night? The banquet yesterday.”
Killian tapped his eye.
“It was a masquerade show.”
“…….”
The Empress narrowed her eyes. Killian’s answer was unassailable, but her face looked visibly uncomfortable.
He couldn’t have done something like that without thinking.
That thought was clearly written between her furrowed brows.
However, Killian pretended not to notice and changed the subject.
“Anyway, the royal child has been born… Now, who the other person is—does it really matter, Your Majesty?”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“What can I do? I have to marry Lady Bride. Please allow it.”
Killian smiled faintly as he spoke the words that sounded more like a declaration than a request. He knew there was no real way to refuse. The Emperor pressed his temple again, as if he had a headache.
He heard the Emperor’s deep sigh.
There was no definite answer, but Killian knew that silence meant permission.
In any case, if he didn’t marry the Bride’s daughter after impregnating her, that alone would be a major issue. The Duke’s power was, in fact, nearly equal to that of the Imperial Family—one misstep could easily spark a civil war.
And Killian knew all of this—yet he still went through with it.
A quiet smile formed on his lips.
***
I’m leaving for a moment.
We’ll meet soon.
For Idina, who believed in the note and continued to wait in the room, nothing changed for a while. Time passed anxiously, and she began to wonder if she had been tricked. She started thinking about how she might escape the room.
Then, at last, a knock came at the door.
Startled, Idina quickly pulled the blanket around herself more tightly as the door opened.
The person who entered was a woman she had never seen before.
Idina’s eyes widened in surprise, and the woman approached with an awkward, uncertain expression, clearly unsure of what to do.
Then, she asked a question that felt somewhat out of place.
“Excuse me, but may I ask your name?”
It was very strange to ask for someone’s name after they had already come, but Idina understood the special situation. She swallowed dryly and answered slowly.
“Idina, Idina Bride.”
The person who heard the name seemed even more surprised. To assure her, Idina took off the half-mask that had been stuck to her face until then.
Idina Bride’s face was famous. In particular, she had visited the royal family several times with Duke Bride, so anyone from the royal family would know her appearance.
As expected, the other person let out a sigh as if she recognized her.
“Lady… Bride.”
The tone of her voice was as if she was in serious trouble.
However, she seemed to realize her mistake right away, and she straightened up, clasping her hands together in front of her stomach.
Then she slowly opened her mouth and began to speak in a solemn tone.
“Lady Bride, it may be sudden, but there is someone waiting for you. So, please quickly sort out the situation here and… accompany me.”
Idina nodded.
“Someone is calling me?”
“Yes.”
Idina woke up in the morning and held out the token she was holding in her hand.
“Probably the owner of this token.”
If she knows about last night’s masquerade, she probably knows who this token belongs to.
The imperial maid nodded when she saw what Idina held out.
“It’s as you guessed, Young Lady.”
“…….”
Killian Escass.
It was the moment when it was completely confirmed that the problematic alpha who had been with her last night was him.
