CH 262

“Are you Miss Elaine Elliot?”

A shadow loomed over Elaine, who was lying in the garden of the Imperial Palace and was enjoying the sunshine like a drowsy cat during spring. Elaine opened her eyes and found a familiar silhouette standing in front of her.

‘Juan?’

She was about to speak Juan’s name, but she realized that the individual in question was blond. It took her a bit longer to realize that the hair color was different due to the lighting, but Elaine soon recalled the identity of the individual looming over her.

She stood up and smiled. “Mr. Gerard.”

Gerard revealed a surprised look, but he soon nodded while blushing.

Elaine knew that Juan was raising an adopted son named Gerard. However, Gerard found it unfamiliar and difficult to meet new people. It wasn’t because he was shy. It was all because everyone simply had no idea how to deal with Gerard, who looked exactly like Juan.

This was Elaine’s first time seeing Gerard.

His Majesty Juan Calberg didn’t have an official wife.

‘Even so, they really look alike.’

Elaine was aware of the news about how the emperor had a hidden child, but Elaine also knew that it was just a rumor. Still, she was surprised to see Gerard’s face. His face was exactly the same as Juan's when Juan was still a child.

However, Elaine didn’t think that Gerard was Juan’s biological child.

To be exact, she didn’t think it was any of her business.

Elaine politely bowed toward Gerard.

“Yes. I am Elaine Elliot. What brings you here?”

“Um, well…”

Gerard hesitated. His eyes stared alternatingly between Elaine and the ground. Elaine thought that Gerard was just acting cute, but she probably thought that way because he looked a lot like Juan.

‘Did he actually name him Gerard Gain? Seriously?’ Elaine recalled telling Juan that she didn’t like that name because it sounded insincere. ‘But he still gave that name to his child. It’s not like his child has any connections to that area.’

Juan’s abysmal naming sense stupefied Elaine.

Gerard finally spoke, “Um, by any chance… is Miss Elaine Elliot… my mother?”

Elaine abruptly froze. She spoke with difficulty, “I’m sorry?”

“E-everyone has been saying that Miss Elaine is His Majesty’s lover. I heard that you two are very old friends, and it has been a long time since you’ve shared your wills. I—well… I heard that you can still have children even if you’re not married, so…”

Gerard lowered his head and blushed.

Gerard was still a young boy, but Elaine nodded. She figured that he was old enough to know about such a topic. However, the depths of Gerard’s concerns could be seen clearly even in his immature question.

‘It must be an important question for him.’

Elaine carefully chose her words before saying, “No, I am not your mother.”

Gerard’s face turned even redder at Elaine’s answer. He bit his lips and tried to say something.

However, Elaine interrupted him by raising her hand and speaking, “It’s correct to call us lovers. I do love His Majesty, and His Majesty has also mentioned that he loves me as well.”

“Then, does that mean…”

“But didn’t His Majesty also tell you that he loves you, Mr. Gerard? Don’t you also love His Majesty, Mr. Gerard?”

“Well, that’s a little different… I mean, His Majesty said that he loves humanity.”

“Fair enough. Well, it is hard to imagine His Majesty loving someone exceptionally more than the others. In that sense, perhaps I’m not his lover. I understand why the public is saying that I am receiving His Majesty’s special treatment. His Majesty doesn’t have that many women by his side, after all.”

“So are you saying that you are not His Majesty’s lover?”

“The definition of lovers means people who love each other. But His Majesty loves humanity, so I guess you can technically say that we are lovers. However, the level of affection may vary depending on the individual in question, like if they’re rebels or not. National policies and statistics cannot measure His Majesty’s love for humanity. The empire will face difficulties if His Majesty ended up being biased toward a particular individual, and that individual can become his weakness as well. Therefore…”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean…” Gerard interrupted.

‘That’s because I don’t want you to understand.’

Elaine smiled and patted Gerard’s head rather than giving him a clear answer.

“I cannot dare to claim that I am His Majesty’s lover. He has to find someone more suitable than me.”

Gerard looked up at Elain with eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

Elaine was familiar with such a gaze because she had grown up in an orphanage, and those eyes resembled Juan in his childhood.

‘He really looks like Juan to say that he is just an adopted child.’

Unlike Juan, Gerard seemed introverted.

However, Elaine could see that Gerard had Juan’s characteristics to some extent.

‘He won’t stay introverted for too long.’

Elaine figured that Gerard simply wasn’t sure of his identity. To be honest, Juan wasn’t the type of person whom one should rely on emotionally. Of course, this didn’t mean that Juan was a bad parent.

Unfortunately, a child was bound to feel insecure if their parent was a mighty figure. They would start doubting if they could even match their parent’s achievements. This was especially true for Gerard, whom everyone misunderstood as Juan’s hidden child.

After all, Juan was mankind’s guardian.

‘I guess it’s not strange that he feels shaken up by everyone’s words.’

Elaine thought that it would have been better if Gerard had a real mother whom he could rely on.

‘But I can’t lie…’

Gerard grabbed Elaine’s hand.

He looked down at the ground with a sullen gaze and mumbled, “I was hoping that Miss Elaine was my mother. His Majesty seemed to really care a lot about Miss Elaine. He also said that you were a respectable person.”

Gerard then carefully raised his head and asked, “Since you love His Majesty, can you be my mother?”

Elaine’s expression turned complicated at Gerard’s words.

***

“I hate to ask you this, but…”

Someone spoke to Elaine, who was dusting off the old books in the Imperial Library.

It was Harmon Helwin, the Grand Duke of the empire.

Elaine visited the Imperial Library because she was curious about a book that was written more than a hundred years ago, but she had no choice but to place the book back on the bookshelf, thanks to Harmon’s sudden visit.

“You don’t have to ask…”

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Elaine wanted Harmon to get straight to the point because she didn’t want to talk to Harmon.

However, Harmon’s words were more surprising than Elaine could have bargained for.

“Is His Majesty sexually functional?”

“...I’m sorry?”

“He doesn’t have erectile dysfunction or anything, does he?”

Elaine glared at Harmon.

The old man with a stern face looked back at Elaine as if he was saying ‘what are you going to do by glaring at me like that?’

Elaine could crush that face if she really wanted to do so, but it didn’t seem like a great idea, so she refrained from doing it.

“That’s a private matter,” Elaine answered in a firm voice.

“His Majesty has no privacy—especially when it comes to the security of the empire.”

“Then, why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“His Majesty trusts me a lot, so how could I ask such a rude question to his face?”

‘It’s not that Juan trusts you. He has already given up on you.’

Harmon was a rude old man with an inflated sense of self, but he was also a genius and a workaholic. The reason Harmon was still alive, despite the crazy things he had done in front of the emperor, was that Juan thought highly of his abilities.

Elaine sighed and said, “At least you know that’s a rude question.”

“I’m asking you because you’re the only one who has ever entered His Majesty’s bed chambers.”

“Right. Are you sure about that?”

“No. I lied because I wanted to protect your self-esteem. I can’t give you the details.”

“All I did in His Majesty’s bed chambers was sleep. We either slept next to each other or talked until dawn. That is what we have always been doing since we were young.”

“You’re lying.”

“Isn’t my lie better than saying that His Majesty has erectile dysfunction?”

Harmon frowned. Elaine was right. The idea that the almighty Sun of the Empire was impotent was something that Harmon didn’t want to admit.

With a determined look, Harmon said, “I will go and ask him myself.”

“...Are you out of your mind?”

“He won’t kill me. This is a problem that men can resolve by consulting each other. I’ll hand him over some effective pills, and then I’ll ask him. I’ve already gotten old enough that it’s impossible for me to get hard, so he should be able to relate to me. Won’t it be great for you if this works out, Miss Elaine?”

Elaine glared at Harmon.

She couldn’t help but think that Harmon was actually serious. Regardless of whether Harmon was serious or not, Elaine still didn’t want to talk about her intimacy with Juan.

Elaine kept her glare at Harmon and said, “You’re lying. You’re not actually going to ask him, are you?”

“I have been serving him some decent pills during dinners. I’ve also sent several beautiful women to his bed chambers before, but he dismissed them all. You’re the only one who came out of his bed chambers in the morning,” Harmon said.

He directed a displeased look at Elaine.

More specifically, he was staring at Elaine’s stomach.

“By any chance… should I be serving you those fertility pills rather than His Majesty?”

‘All right. I’m done.’ Elaine was done being generous. She slammed the book she was holding against Harmon’s head.

Smack!

There was a loud smack, and Harmon’s hat fell to the floor.

“You’re a smart man, right? You should have known better than to insult me. I can put up with you insulting Juan, but you went too far by insulting me.”

Harmon staggered backward, and he only stopped after holding on to the railing. The librarian came running, and he was surprised to see blood running down Harmon’s forehead.

Fortunately, he suffered only a small cut.

“It’s great that the book was thin,” Harmon muttered.

Elaine regretted her actions just now.

The book she was holding was written a hundred years ago.

‘I should have smacked him with an encyclopedia.’

However, the book in Elaine’s hand was made out of leather that was only about a finger thick. She could have still caved in Harmon’s head if she had struck him a bit harder, but she didn’t want to hurt Harmon to that extent.

“I’m telling you this in advance, but this book has many volumes even though it looks thin. You better choose your words wisely.”

Elaine was saying that she wouldn’t harm Harmon any further for the time being, but she would change her mind if Harmon said another rude remark.

It seemed that Harmon now had a bounty on his cheek.

Naturally, the bounty wasn’t true, but it was true that many people wanted to slap Harmon. Unfortunately for Harmon, Elaine was one of the very few people who would remain safe even if she slapped him.

“His Majesty was right; you’re amazing. Winoa Weaver also thinks pretty highly of you. I don’t know how long it has been since someone hit me like this. I mean, I used to be pretty good at fighting, you know.”

“Juan and I have always been good at beating adults up.”

“What cheeky children you both were...”

“Thank you for the compliment, but as far as I know, you were kicked out of the Helwin Family because you were also a cheeky child.”

Harmon and Elaine glared at each other with eyes filled with hatred.

The two hated meeting the same kind of people as them.

The old and beaten Harmon raised his hand first.

“Miss Elaine, you have no idea just how desperate I am. His Majesty is in his prime, and the founding of the empire is still ongoing. We have just taken control of the Capital. The citizens will remain anxious until His Majesty nurtures a successor.”

“But he has Gerard…”

“It doesn’t matter even if Gerard is His Majesty’s hidden biological child; what’s important is that he is officially an adopted child. I’m thinking that His Majesty may have announced Gerard as an adopted child to pave the way for his future biological child.”

“Juan isn’t the type to scheme like that.”

“Please refer to him as His Majesty. Anyway—no matter how good the adopted child is, there is no heir as adequate as the biological child.”

Elaine was about to say something.

However, Harmon reached out and waved his hand at her.

“I don’t think that way, but the public will think that way. Honestly, blood means nothing. I’ve seen many families that got ruined by obsessing over blood relatives. However, the idea that the successor is the emperor's biological child is good promotional material in itself. I’m sure the citizens will love the idea as well..”

Elaine finally understood what Harmon was trying to say.

Elaine stared doubtfully at Harmon before saying, “So you care more about the label. In that case, I’m sure you hate me for monopolizing the emperor’s bed chambers for too long without getting pregnant.”

“Come on. I’m not that petty.”

“But that’s what you’re thinking, right?”

“I won’t say I hate you. I just thought that I should give you a few decent pills. To be honest, I don’t understand why you are so upset. Don’t you love His Majesty? The entire empire will be happy if you carry His Majesty’s baby. It will also stabilize and secure your shaky position at the moment.”

“What do you mean shaky? What even is my position?”

At the question, Harmon stared quizically at Elaine.

“You are the emperor’s lover—the Empress.”

Elaine’s expression turned complicated.