The banquet ripened as time passed. Wine barrels endlessly came and went inside Vudeo Hall. As time went by, the vassals of each duke also joined the banquet. Riario and Sisou sat at the table across and sent greetings to Anya, but Anya didn’t even have the capacity to receive them.
‘…Me, pregnant… That’s impossible.’
He didn’t know what state of mind was keeping him here. What he’d just heard was truly shocking, but his attention kept going to the dancers surrounding Evernight. Evernight didn’t give the dancers a single glance, and refused every drink except the first one. He probably only accepted the first drink to avoid a bothersome dispute with Royster.
Even so, witnessing him surrounded by women right before his eyes was a great shock. It felt as if he’d been thrown into a terrible pit of fire, his entire body burning up with every passing second.
“Oh my, look at that Bluoa fellow. He’s bringing shame to the dukes.”
Rohan clicked his tongue. Bluoa was drunk among the dancers, swaying and dancing along with them. When everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the Emperor suddenly spoke.
“There is something I have not informed you lords of. Rather than wasting finances on a stuffy banquet for this birthday celebration, I wish to hold a hunting festival and equestrian tournament.”
I shall personally bestow entertainment and rewards upon my vassals who always work so hard.
Far away, Bluoa, who had been staggering around drunk among the dancers, cupped his hands and whistled. He even clapped frivolously.
“Your Majesty, does that mean we are to participate as well?”
Canon Montrose asked the Emperor without giving a single glance to the noisy dancing. It was a question asked with Hakseos in mind, whose face had turned deathly pale the moment he heard the Emperor’s command. Hakseos’s family had been a civil official household for generations, responsible for the ‘World Library’ located on a solitary island, so they were far removed from such things.
“How could I be so harsh to you lords? Participation is voluntary.”
Only then did Hakseos let out a sigh of relief.
“However, I wish to offer the red earring as the prize for this competition.”
Even many who had shown no interest until now turned to the Emperor in surprise. Sighs like gasps poured out from here and there simultaneously, and several princes even knocked over wine glasses on the table.
“Ah, Your Imperial Highness!”
A dancer attending to Royster let out a small groan. He had set down his glass so roughly that wine spilled everywhere.
The red earring was a meaningful symbol that the Emperor only bestowed upon the next power holder. There were even rumors going around that the red jewel contained hidden power that would surely bring wealth and authority to its owner.
“…Father. Are you saying you’ll give the red earring not only to the princes… but also to the dukes?”
Until now, the Emperor had only bestowed that earring on two princes. Royster and Cloy. Giving the red earring to a prince implied recognition as the heir to the throne, but what could it possibly mean to give the red earring to someone other than a prince?
“Not only the dukes. Whoever wins this hunting festival and equestrian tournament, I will give it to them. Whether they are a knight of the lowest origin.”
The Emperor looked around the audience with a pleasant laugh, as if this was truly amusing. His gaze passed over Evernight and finally rested on Anya.
“Or an outsider who has married out.”
For the first time in a while, vitality appeared on the Emperor’s face, which had always been bored and languid. The Emperor was indeed as capricious as his reputation suggested. Even after making an unprecedented announcement in the Empire’s history, no one could gauge his cryptic intentions.
After that, the banquet dragged on listlessly. Emperor Luksus’s proposal had thrown everyone seated here into hope and despair simultaneously, or into deep confusion and anguish.
“You must all be tired, so let us end the dinner banquet here.”
Only Emperor Luksus seemed lighthearted. As he rose from his seat, the Golden Crows revealed themselves from the darkness. The Emperor soon led the soldiers out of Vudeo Hall along with Empress Violet.
“It’s late at night. It was an honor to meet the Empire’s excellent dukes.”
As soon as the Emperor disappeared, Cloy also quickly finished preparing to leave. He hummed a tune and disappeared, leading his vassals. Then, starting with Cloy, they began leaving their seats one by one, reading the room. Some with hurried steps, some rather leisurely while deep in thought.
“Oh my. His Majesty the Emperor has made quite a mess before leaving.”
Among the dukes, Rohan Ramus was the first to rise from his seat.
“Well then, lords, I shall take my leave first. See you tomorrow.”
He burst into laughter, saying the situation was turning out amusingly, and left leading the people of the Ramus family.
“So will you all be participating?”
Canon looked around at those remaining with his arms crossed.
“I’ll pass. I’m not a prince and I don’t need the red earring…”
“Of course we should participate! We could borrow the Imperial Family’s power using the red earring as bait. Surely there will come a day when having that earring will be helpful.”
Hakseos and Bluoa answered simultaneously.
“Lord Shonda. That’s rude.”
Hakseos irritably pushed away Bluoa, who drunkenly put his arm around his shoulder.
“Well, you might not be interested, but that earring will be good bait when negotiating various things with the Emperor going forward. Isn’t that right, Lord Usolin?”
Usolin had been silently emptying glasses throughout the banquet. His family was very rarely a dwarf clan and the only family recognized by the Emperor. Looking at Usolin, Anya naturally thought of Ban from Tildyen. It was an era when many dwarves lived suffering persecution and prejudice.
“You’re really not going to participate, Lord Usolin?”
Usolin stubbornly kept his mouth shut to the end. Bluoa, not disappointed, kept pestering Canon before changing targets this time and looking at Evernight.
“What about the new duke of the North? This seems like a very good opportunity to make an impression.”
Regardless of Evernight’s achievements, there was still a strong prejudice that the North was undeveloped territory where barbarians lived. Though everyone pretended otherwise, the truth was they were subtly looking down on Tildyen.
“I don’t think we’re close enough to share such things with each other.”
Evernight answered somewhat cynically. His spouse and simultaneously today’s center of controversy, Prince Anya, had a dark expression, seemingly troubled by some serious thoughts for a while now.
“Pardon…?”
Bluoa asked dumbly, alternately looking at the Tildyen couple who somehow felt distant. He was quite drunk and clearly slow to grasp the situation. Hakseos giggled beside him, finding it amusing. Evernight called Anya without even giving them a glance.
“Get up.”
When Anya hesitated, Evernight forcibly pulled him up. Anya looked down at the long fingers gripping his wrist. A sweet scent of powder wafted from him.
‘I… I feel like throwing up.’
He didn’t feel well. Anya was forcibly held at his side.
“As you can see, my spouse seems quite tired, so we’ll be taking our leave now.”
As he said, Anya looked precarious, as if he might go out like a candle before the wind at any moment. Evernight dragged Anya away without even finishing listening to the dukes’ farewells. Two men who appeared to be Tildyen knights quietly followed behind him.
“Quite arrogant.”
It wouldn’t have mattered if it were the other dukes. But Evernight and the other dukes were fundamentally different from birth. For such a person to dare act so arrogantly, Canon let out a laugh as if it were ridiculous.
‘If the red earring falls into that fellow’s hands, it’ll become quite troublesome.’
Canon calculated this inwardly and withdrew his gaze from the back of the young duke who was dragging his spouse like a dog.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
A carriage was immediately prepared when they exited Vudeo Hall. Sisou, who had followed, looked at Anya with concern. Anya became curious whether they had known he had a body that could become pregnant. Then an inexplicable disappointment and sense of betrayal welled up.
‘No. It’s not like I asked… It would be strange to tell me first.’
No matter how much he tried to think positively, an indescribable melancholy washed over him, and Anya clenched both hands tightly.
“I… I’m fine.”
When Anya smiled with all his might, Sisou finally smiled along.
“Commander. I’ll come to escort you tomorrow morning for the meeting.”
Riario and Sisou saw them off in front of Vudeo Hall. They continued to worry about his condition until Anya climbed into the carriage and sat in the chair. Though they’d been prepared, the banquet had been far more grueling than they’d imagined. It was their first time directly facing the Empire’s dukes too. Moreover, the Emperor was still keeping Tildyen in check while pretending not to. To think he would throw out such remarks.
‘After raising him with such difficulty… Tsk.’
Anya straightened his shoulders pretending to be composed and forced a smile, but this rather evoked sympathy from those watching. Riario, seemingly quite shocked, traced Anya’s profile as his eyes flickered and occasionally went blank, and closed the carriage door.
The returning carriage was quiet inside. Evernight and Anya looked out the window in opposite directions without saying anything to each other. His wrist throbbed from how hard Evernight had gripped it. Anya looked at his reddened wrist, then before long called Evernight in a tense voice.
“L-Lord Evernight. I have a question.”
Evernight turned his body to look at Anya. Though the distance between them was only about a step, it felt as if a massive wall blocked them.
Anya bit his lip, then released it repeatedly. Now that he faced him, the words wouldn’t come out. But he wanted to know. In one corner of the boy’s heart, a man who had the name ‘El’ but was never called by anyone had already taken up residence.
“Did… did you know from the beginning that I could get pregnant?”
