Inheritance

"…A hereditary disease?"

At the mention of a hereditary disease, Dalia furrowed her brows.

"Yes. I vaguely heard that hereditary diseases exist in the imperial family. I once read the late emperor's autobiography, and I recall a passing mention that not only the late emperor but also the previous emperor had something like a hereditary disease during their childhood."

"What exactly is the disease? What are the symptoms? Is there anything about how it was treated?"

At Dalia's barrage of questions, Lloyd trailed off as if unsure.

"I don't remember that far…"

"…I see."

Unable to learn the most crucial information, Dalia slumped her shoulders as if drained.

Although she couldn't be certain, judging by Damian's hair and eye color, it was highly likely he was the crown prince's child.

'If Damian has truly inherited the imperial bloodline and contracted a hereditary disease because of it…'

And if the hereditary disease was something ordinary doctors couldn't treat, what should she do then?

She had no idea whom to ask or how. Was she merely letting meaningless time slip away without a clear solution?

As anxiety and impatience gnawed at her, Dalia bit her lip.

Lloyd, who had been silently observing Dalia, spoke up.

"In the Granos Empire delegation visiting Easter this time, there will certainly be someone from the emperor. They wouldn't have sent only the Duke of Seier's people to Easter."

"So, what you're saying is…"

"How about secretly contacting the emperor's people to gather information about the disease or discreetly seeking help from the imperial family?"

In other words, it meant revealing Damian's existence to the imperial family. If she did that, she would be accused of having an affair with the crown prince while betrothed to Duke Seier.

But if it was for Damian's sake, such criticism was nothing to her. What weighed on her mind was just one thing.

Clayton's face flashed through Dalia's mind. Noticing why she was hesitating, Lloyd added more words.

"If, as you said, the Duke of Seier came here to marry the princess, he wouldn't care even if you appeared now with another man's child."

Five years had already passed. Even if Clayton had truly loved Dalia, it was more than enough time for feelings to change.

Look at him now. Hadn't he come all this way to marry another woman?

Dalia's thoughts weren't very different from Lloyd's. After a moment of contemplation, she lifted her head as if she had reached a decision.

What mattered to her now wasn't someone getting hurt or herself being criticized. What mattered most to her was Damian.

'Even if I go to other doctors, nothing will change.'

The doctor who came now was already one of the most renowned in the capital.

With her eyes closed, Dalia stroked Damian's face, which was exhaling shallow breaths. Then she quietly asked, as if making up her mind.

"…Then how do we make contact with the delegation?"

The answer was already determined.

* * *

The glass greenhouse of the Easter royal palace.

During a peaceful moment, no different from usual, Clayton, seated at a table in the center of the greenhouse, tapped his fingers on the desk.

Tap, tap.

The sound of his fingers hitting the desk echoed repeatedly. It was an unconscious habit Clayton had whenever he was deep in thought.

The child he happened to see on the street a few days ago lingered in his mind. A golden hair so unusually bright it couldn't be merely sunlight, and peculiar eyes, kept flashing in his memory.

And the woman who was with that child. He hadn't seen her face, and her hair color was different from Dalia's, whom he had desperately been searching for, but something about it left an unsettling feeling in the corner of his mind.

Since that day, he had developed a habit of checking the faces of women with brown hair whenever he saw them, even though brown was such a common color it was everywhere.

He found it laughable that he was obsessively chasing brown-haired women like a madman, and just as he twisted his lips in self-derision, a soft voice addressed him.

"The tea I served you last time didn't seem to suit your taste. This time, I've prepared a different kind."

It was Princess Gloria. Only then remembering that he was with the princess, he looked at the tea placed before him. Gloria added more words.

"Some people dislike the sweetness of dried fruits mixed with tea leaves. So, this time, I've prepared a tea blended with jasmine. Please give it a try."

As he listened to the princess's words, Clayton tried to recall.

'Did I drink the tea?'

He remembered the discomfort of the unexpected situation, but he couldn't recall if he had drunk the tea or what he had talked about with the princess at the time.

The only thing he remembered was that a maid had spilled tea on him.

Though it had only been a few days, the memory of that day felt as faint as if it had happened years ago. Suddenly, he recalled that the maid who spilled the tea had brown hair.

At this, Clayton shifted his gaze and began scrutinizing the women standing behind the princess.

There was one woman with the same hair color as that maid, but he wasn't sure if it was the same person who had spilled the tea on him.

Out of pure curiosity, he asked the woman.

"Are you the maid who spilled tea on me last time?"

"Pardon…?"

Surprised by the duke's unexpected question, the woman quickly raised her head and glanced at the princess before responding.

"Oh, no. This is my first time meeting you, Duke."

"Is that so."

Losing interest in her response, Clayton turned his gaze away. Then Gloria, who had been watching him intently, spoke.

"It seems the incident with the spilled tea has stayed on your mind. I sincerely apologize for that day. The maid who served you tea had just started working, so she must have been nervous."

"I see."

Clayton, now uninterested in the maid, gave a perfunctory response, but Gloria, not noticing, continued speaking.

"I took her in because I pitied her situation, raising a child on her own. I also found her violet-colored eyes quite appealing."

At the princess's added remark, Clayton fRose.

"…Violet-colored eyes?"

"Yes. In Easter, violet eyes symbolize good fortune. Violet represents our Easter dynasty and is also said to bring luck."

"..."

"And it seems to be true. After all, here I am, sitting face to face with you, Duke, sharing tea."

But the rest of Gloria's words didn't reach Clayton. After hearing that the brown-haired woman's eyes were the same violet hue as Dalia's, his thoughts had drifted away.

'Violet eyes and brown hair. And the woman who was with the child bearing the colors of the imperial family.'

Could this truly be a coincidence?

Violet eyes were as rare as silver hair. He felt as if he had found a thread that could unravel the tangled mess of thoughts in his head.

Just one thread. If he could carefully pick out and pull that thread, it felt like everything tangled could unravel at once…

As he furrowed his brow, deep in thought after thought, a sudden realization struck his mind.

'You can change hair color, but not eye color.'

As that fact came to him, Clayton's heart began to race.

'Could it be?'

If Dalia were alive.

If Dalia were alive, hiding here all this time…

The thought that the Dalia he hadn't been able to find for five years might suddenly be right before his eyes made Clayton clench his fist tightly.

"Duke."

By then, Caddison had entered the greenhouse and approached Clayton, saying he had something urgent to report. With a serious expression, he whispered into Clayton's ear.

"Lloyd Hertz is currently in the Kingdom of Easter."

As Clayton listened to Caddison's words, his expression stiffened instantly.

At last, he had found the thread to unravel the tangled mess.