IFLDMHF | Chapter 137

Episode 137

“Waaaah!”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince! Please look this way!”

From the moment they entered the capital, the streets leading to the Imperial Palace were packed with crowds welcoming the Crown Prince and the Imperial Army.

Kaiden, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, was entirely preoccupied with the thought of finally meeting Evgenia.

But as he saw the cheering crowd on both sides welcoming them with excitement, he twisted his lips coldly.

He had returned victorious countless times before.

Yet he had rarely received such a fervent welcome.

Maybe once or twice at the beginning, but after the Emperor began starting wars at the drop of a hat, the public’s reactions naturally turned cold.

Even this time, they had set off quietly at dawn, and yet now they were being met with cheers. It was almost laughable.

The adjutant riding beside him seemed surprised as well and spoke with a puzzled expression.

“His Majesty seems to have put a lot of thought into the triumphal procession.”

“He probably spent a lot of money.”

At the Crown Prince’s cynical reply, the adjutant let out an awkward laugh.

“Still, the people are chanting Your Highness’s name and welcoming you. Perhaps you could at least wave….”

Ahem. At the sharp glare shot his way, the adjutant cleared his throat and shut his mouth.

It was the day they were finally returning to their homeland after a grueling war, but the Crown Prince showed no sign of joy.

The adjutant, well aware of the reason, looked visibly tense.

He had hoped that Kaiden’s fury would subside even a little on the journey to the capital, but it seemed to have only intensified.

He would soon come face to face with Evgenia, now the Duchess of Rudion, and the thought of what might happen already filled him with dread.

At last, as they reached the entrance of the Imperial Palace—the final stop—the cheering grew even louder than before.

The Emperor and the nobility were all present.

Kaiden, who had worn a consistently bored and annoyed expression, finally showed a flicker of light in his eyes.

His sharp gaze scanned the area, and among the similarly dressed nobles, one person stood out vividly to him.

“Evgenia…”

A sound like a groan unconsciously escaped his lips.

At the same time, a storm of emotions surged within him.

Hate, anger, resentment… most of them negative.

But among them, undeniably, there was a sliver of something else.

Joy.

‘No… maybe longing.’

He had thought of Evgenia every single day, without fail.

He wanted to see for himself.

He had many things he wanted to ask.

And eventually… he knew he would get angry.

But before all of that, just seeing Evgenia’s face brought him inexplicable joy, and it felt almost foolish.

The murderous intent that had once driven him mad vanished like a lie, and his heart began to race.

It was then—

“You’ve returned safely, my son!”

The Emperor, who had never once acted as a loving father, suddenly stepped forward with a booming voice.

It felt like waking from a dream.

Kaiden forced himself to tear his gaze from Evgenia and dismounted.

Then he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

“……”

The Emperor, intending to put on a show of a warm father-son reunion, curled his lips in displeasure as Kaiden showed no such willingness and instead kept his distance.

Of course, the plan had been to put an end to the rumors surrounding the Imperial Family and the North, and to reassert his authority. He had gone to great lengths, even bringing the High Priest for the occasion.

But Kaiden, ruining the mood, was utterly displeasing to him.

Especially since the Emperor had just had an unpleasant conversation with Evgenia, and somehow felt it was Kaiden’s fault as well.

Still, thinking of the enormous sum spent on the celebration and banquet, the Emperor forced a bright smile.

“To see you return safely from the frontlines, I feel so—”

“—Sick to your stomach?”

“—so sick to my stomach!”

Gasps and sharp intakes of breath could be heard all around.

The Emperor realized a beat too late that something had gone terribly wrong.

He had meant to say he was proud…

But what had actually come out of his mouth was completely different.

Flustered, the Emperor instinctively looked around.

It was a moment meant to be a grand imperial address to the war hero Crown Prince.

But Evgenia, seemingly indifferent, was bent over checking on a young boy’s condition.

The little girl next to them whispered softly,

“I think it’s because he had three bowls of ice cream before we came.”

“What? Three bowls?!”

Startled, Evgenia quickly checked on the boy again.

Kaiden, watching her, momentarily doubted his eyes.

The Emperor cleared his throat loudly.

If she had spoken loudly, he could have at least shot her a glare.

He was annoyed by her lack of attention, but even more disconcerted by how his own mouth had involuntarily repeated her words.

More importantly, the boy really did seem unwell, and criticizing her felt petty even to him.

To make things worse, the child belonged to the Duke of Rudion, known for his strained ties with the Imperial Family.

In the end, the Emperor turned his gaze back to Kaiden and, as if nothing had happened, began again.

“Kaiden, you truly went through much. Your victory will forever be recorded in the history of the Elios Empire—”

“As a complete mess.”

“—as a complete mess…”

This time, he realized his mistake mid-sentence and hastily shut his mouth.

But the damage was done.

A brief silence fell before murmurs spread through the crowd like ink in water.

Some people covered their faces to hide their laughter, others stood frozen with their mouths agape.

“Ha…”

Even the Crown Prince let out a disbelieving smile.

The Emperor’s face turned bright red with rage, convinced Kaiden was mocking him.

But contrary to the Emperor’s assumption, Kaiden didn’t care about the verbal blunder at all.

Even though it sounded like a curse condemning his victory to the shameful footnotes of history, he was indifferent.

Kaiden only had eyes for Evgenia.

The way she looked at the child—soft and full of concern—was so shocking it gave him chills.

He had vaguely assumed he would marry Evgenia one day, but never once had he imagined her with a child.

He had seen how coldly she treated the family who loved her and had never expected her to be a good mother.

But now—who was this gentle, attentive woman caring so tenderly for a child?

It was definitely Evgenia, yet she seemed like a completely different person.

And at that very moment, Kaiden suddenly became aware of a piercing gaze, so intense he wondered how he hadn’t noticed it until now.

Standing beside Evgenia was a golden-haired man, shining as if he had gathered the light of the sun itself, staring at Kaiden with a stony expression.

That was when Kaiden realized.

That man was the Duke of Rudion—the one who had taken Evgenia from him.

Even though Kaiden knew Evgenia had wanted and initiated the marriage, it still felt as though she had been stolen from him.

Then he noticed that Evgenia was wearing similar clothes to the Duke and the children standing next to her.

That’s when it hit him—he had been left behind.

A bitter laugh escaped him.

‘Don’t tell me… he had kids?’

Did she choose a man with children just to spite him?

The smile quickly vanished from Kaiden’s face, and his jaw clenched with an audible crack.

Still checking on Dior’s condition, Evgenia finally sensed the tense atmosphere and hesitated as she stood up.

Conscious of the attention now on her, she spoke awkwardly.

“I think he should see a doctor.”

The Duke of Basilion quickly responded.

“I’ll contact the physician at the ducal estate. Go wait in the carriage for now.”

Evgenia understood he meant for her to avoid the current situation and nodded, signaling to Euclid.

She gathered Dior and Marianne and turned away.

It was the right decision.

The Emperor was on the verge of exploding.

He had never experienced such humiliation in his life.

It hadn’t even been Evgenia’s fault—just his own slip of the tongue—but the carefully arranged celebration had gone completely awry, and someone would likely bear the brunt of it.

As everyone watched tensely, reading the mood, one man stepped forward as if to shift the atmosphere.

“Your Majesty, may I now proceed with the blessing?”

It was the High Priest.

Seeing Damien, the Emperor barely managed to suppress his fury and nodded.

“Please do.”

A collective sigh of relief spread among the tense crowd.

None of them could have imagined what was about to unfold.

Meanwhile, Kaiden saw the Duke of Rudion casually following Evgenia with long, confident strides.

It was the final straw.

Just as Kaiden instinctively began to rise—

“Stay where you are.”

Damien had suddenly appeared in front of him and blocked his path firmly.

Staring coldly at Kaiden, Damien began to speak slowly.