~Chapter 32~
The one who stopped the emperor back then was the head of the Grand Duke’s household.
To be specific, the man who became Latryne’s adoptive father.
The former Grand Duke was a kind and considerate man in many ways.
He told the emperor, who tried to kill Latryne without hesitation,
“How can you kill your own child, no matter the situation?”
But the emperor replied that he didn’t want his future to be hindered by that child, and he had no intention of changing his decision.
In the end, the Grand Duke, who was infertile at the time, secretly took Latryne and raised him.
He completely erased the fact that Latryne was a prince and raised him as his own son.
Meanwhile, the emperor’s second wife saw an opportunity in this situation.
With Latryne, the strongest heir candidate, gone, the palace began to worry about succession.
There was no way the second wife would let this chance slip by.
She put her own son forward and eventually took the position of official empress.
And that son was none other than Phaedris.
Phaedris grew up to safely become the crown prince after this incident.
Meanwhile, even though Latryne had escaped from the royal family’s grasp,
he still carried the burdens of being royal.
The problem was a certain “power” that was passed down through the royal bloodline.
The royals had a duty to inherit and pass on this power.
But because it was so powerful, it couldn’t be allowed to fall into the hands of anyone outside the royal bloodline.
To protect this power, the Council of Elders created a system where only children of women who had undergone the Empress’s Ritual could pass the power down to their own children.
Also, to prevent misuse, even the Emperor and princes had their power sealed.
Latryne inherited this power very strongly, and since his mother had undergone the empress’s ritual, he could pass the power to his children.
However, only one person could undergo the empress’s ritual in each generation. If someone else completed the ritual, Latryne would no longer be able to pass on the power, becoming a regular prince.
Because of this, even the elders who knew Latryne’s true identity stayed quiet.
The problem was Phaedris’s mother, the current empress.
For some reason, she refused to undergo the empress’s ritual.
She kept delaying it, saying there was plenty of time and that she would do it once Phaedris grew older, blaming her poor health as an excuse.
In truth, the ritual placed a huge burden on the body, so it was typically done when the empress was in good health.
At first, the elders assumed she was simply unwell.
But as time dragged on, and she still refused even after the former emperor’s death, they decided to force her to undergo the ritual.
And then, a shocking truth was revealed.
Back when Latryne was nearly executed, Phaedris’s mother had never actually given birth to a child from the emperor.
In other words, Phaedris was not the emperor’s biological son.
His real father was a knight who served as her bodyguard.
She had faked Phaedris’s identity, claiming he was the emperor’s child, to become empress.
She thought she could have a real child with the emperor afterward, but he no longer wished to have any more children.
When this came to light, the Council of Elders was outraged.
Since Phaedris wasn’t truly the emperor’s descendant, even if the empress completed the ritual, her child couldn’t inherit the royal power.
There was another royal, Ered, but his mother had passed away long ago, so she couldn’t perform the ritual either.
In the end, the only one who could pass on the royal power was Latryne, whose mother had completed the ritual when she was alive.
Phaedris’s mother told the Council she would handle the situation herself and went to visit the Grand Duke’s household.
“Brother, I’m here.”
The former Grand Duke was surprised that his younger sister had come so suddenly.
She had almost completely cut ties with him after becoming empress.
“Why are you here?”
“I figured you already know. The Council found out Phaedris isn’t actually the emperor’s son.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
The Grand Duke, guessing what she was about to ask, quickly darkened his expression.
“Latryne has to have a child. When he does, that child will become Phaedris’s. And the woman who becomes Latryne’s wife must undergo the empress’s ritual.’
“…Latryne is a royal who’s never been treated as one, always hiding. And now you want him to make that kind of sacrifice for your son?”
“That’s his fate. It’s his fault he was born in the palace in the first place. It’s his fault his mother tried to kill the emperor. Either way, the royal bloodline must continue. What other choice do you have, brother?”
“No. I won’t let you do that to Latryne.”
The Grand Duke was a good man.
He cherished Latryne like his own son.
Thanks to him, Latryne had many good memories growing up, despite being born into such a painful situation.
Just as the Grand Duke was saying he wouldn’t let Latryne suffer like that even if it cost him his life, his mother—Cater—appeared.
“So noisy.”
“Mother.”
“Do as your sister says.”
The Grand Duke looked unconvinced by Cater’s words, and Phaedris’s mother wore a calm face, as if she had expected this.
“Why…?”
“He’s not even your real child to begin with. And the royal bloodline must continue, even if it means the end of our Grand Duke family.”
And so, Latryne ended up living as someone whose purpose was to continue the royal bloodline.
Sadly, the Grand Duke and his wife, who had protected Latryne, fell ill and died not long after.
The only ones who knew this truth were the Council of Elders, Ered, and Latryne.
And also Litya, who roughly knew the plot of the novel.
Phaedris, due to the Council’s strict silence, was unaware of this secret.
Though now, as an adult, he seemed to find it a little suspicious.
“…”
Latryne sat on a chair with a blank expression.
“I’m tired of this. Listening to the Council of Elders’ constant demands.”
The reason the Elder was so obsessed with Latryne’s marriage was because of the issue of royal succession.
“You… are you really going to stay like this?”
“What do you mean, ‘stay like this’?”
“You already know. If you have a legitimate royal heir, they might kill you to stop you from having more.”
“That’s not necessarily true. Even if there’s an heir, the child might die, so they’ll probably keep me alive as insurance.”
“Still, once the child grows up, they’ll marry them off quickly, make more heirs, and then they’ll come after you. You know how those people are. And Sertien is…”
“Thank you for always worrying about me, brother.”
“…Don’t do this. Run away.”
“…”
“Run away with Sertien, anywhere… Even if not for him, you… Latryne, be honest. You’re not planning something… are you?”
“…”
“Why won’t you say anything? It’s frustrating.”
“If I could run, I would have done it already. But no matter where I go, my grandmother and the Council of Elders will find me. Aren’t we getting off topic? So who attacked Sertien?”
Ered sighed.
“You might’ve already figured it out. Who else could it be? The Council of Elders.”
“Why…? Does the Council have a reason to want Sertien dead?”
Since Erias had never received the Empress’s Ritual, Sertien couldn’t inherit the royal power.
Also, when Sertien was summoned to the palace to check if he had inherited royal power, Latryne had placed a special seal on him.
Sertien had indeed inherited the royal power, but thanks to the seal, he was confirmed to be without it.
If it had been revealed that he had inherited it, he might have been killed once a proper successor was born—but since no one knew, there was no reason to kill him.
Ered spoke again.
“I’m not exactly sure if they meant to kill him. From the Council’s point of view, Sertien is too valuable to lose. They’d rather handle things without killing him.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Have you ever thought about it? What if Sertien’s mother… is still alive…?”
Latryne’s eyes widened.
He felt a chill down his spine.
Latryne muttered blankly.
“How… How would they know that?”
Ered raised an eyebrow at Latryne’s words.
“Judging by how you’re talking, you already knew?”
“I wouldn’t say I knew. I was just guessing. But it’s more surprising that you know. So you’re involved in this, aren’t you? The way you’re talking sounds like it.”
“I can’t tell you that. You know what happens if I talk. I’m as good as dead.”
“So it’s true… Litya…”
“Yes. Litya is Erias.”
Latryne held his aching head.
There was no problem if only he knew, but why did the Council know?
Now it made sense why the Council insisted on Litya as his marriage partner.
“Then… the attack on Sertien this time too…”
“Now that they can’t push your marriage with Litya anymore, Sertien lost his value and became a threat instead.”
“If I had married Litya, they probably would have had her undergo the Empress’s Ritual.”
“Exactly. They sent people to kill Sertien, but… I’m not so sure they really intended to kill him.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You know Rithia is the child of Alpress, right?
Maybe…”
