The Encounter

Meanwhile, Lloyd, unaware that his presence had already been discovered by Clayton, was moving busily.

He waited for the man who was leaving after dining with the nobles of the Kingdom of Easter and stepped forward as if the time had come.

"Are you Count Frayton?"

Surprised by the imperial accent heard in a foreign place, the count flinched and turned around. He then saw a figure with a deeply pulled hood.

"Who are you?"

The count's eyes, looking at Lloyd, were filled with caution toward the stranger. Lloyd, who had already anticipated the count's wariness, removed the hood covering his face and greeted him respectfully.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Lloyd Hertz."

"…Lloyd Hertz?"

The count's eyebrows twitched at the mention of the name Hertz. After mulling over the name Lloyd for a while, he recalled the fact that the eldest son of the Hertz family, who once studied at the academy, had gone missing long ago.

In a hesitant voice, the count murmured.

"Are you perhaps from the Hertz Count family…?"

"Yes, that's correct."

With Lloyd's quick confirmation, Count Frayton looked at his hair. The fiery red color was the symbol of the Hertz family. The count, still cautious, continued speaking.

"Why are you here? I heard you went missing—no, more importantly, why are you looking for me?"

The count's heir, who was said to be missing, had no acquaintance with him, let alone any relationship.

Thus, there must have been a reason for suddenly revealing his identity and approaching him. The count narrowed his eyes, as if trying to gauge Lloyd's intentions.

Then, as if to address his curiosity, Lloyd got straight to the point.

"I've come to seek your help, Count."

"Help from me?"

"Yes."

At those words, the count hesitated for a moment. While he was curious about what Lloyd would say next, he felt uneasy because he couldn't read his true intentions.

Sensing the count's unease, Lloyd continued speaking.

"There is a child who bears the blood of the imperial family."

"…What?"

"A child born with the well-known symbols of the imperial family."

The count understood what Lloyd meant by the symbols of the imperial family. It likely referred to the hair and eye colors that appeared in imperial children during their youth.

The count unconsciously swallowed dryly. If what he said was true, his position would become even more secure.

As the thought struck him, the count urgently asked again.

"Are you planning to inform His Majesty of the child's existence? Where is the child now? Who is the mother?!"

Unlike the count, who was pressing him for answers, Lloyd's voice was calm.

"Before answering those questions, there's something I need to confirm first. Are you aware of the imperial family's hereditary disease?"

"The imperial family's hereditary disease…"

At the question, the count racked his memory. Then, as if something came to mind, he quickly lifted his head.

"Come to think of it, the current Crown Prince was seriously ill when he was young."

Not only that, but the Emperor himself had also been gravely ill during his childhood, just like Alexion.

"But it's hard to call that a hereditary disease. Both of them just suffered from severe fevers during their childhood."

"Then, was that fever an ordinary fever?"

"An ordinary fever…"

If asked that way, he couldn't exactly say yes.

Oddly enough, after suffering from the severe fever during their childhood, the symbols of the imperial family disappeared.

Children of the imperial family possess unique colors, said to reflect the love of the gods, only during their youth—jewel-like, mysterious eyes and golden hair.

However, strangely, after the fever, their hair would lose its luster, and their eye color would change. Some saw this as yet another divine mystery and revered the imperial family even more.

As the count reflected deeply on past events, he added, just in case.

"Is it possible that the reason you're asking about this is…"

"Yes. The child is currently suffering from that fever. Do you happen to know the treatment?"

At Lloyd's answer, the count let out a brief sigh and then shook his head.

Unfortunately, it wasn't something he knew. It had been the imperial court physician who treated that fever, not him.

However.

"I don't know, but there is a way to find out. For that, the child's existence must be reported to the imperial family. Is that acceptable to you?"

Although he didn't know the details, the child was likely being hidden here to avoid being raised as part of the imperial family. With a concerned tone, he asked again, and Lloyd nodded.

"Yes. I'm prepared for that."

As if he had anticipated it, Lloyd answered without hesitation, and the count ended their meeting by promising to contact him soon.

Left alone, the count hurried to contact the imperial palace. And as he lit a candle in the dark room—

"You are…"

The count's eyes widened as he saw someone waiting for him in the room.

* * *

Damian's condition was worsening by the day.

Dahlia looked at the child lying on the bed, struggling to breathe.

Knowing that all she could do for her sick child was place a cold towel on his forehead and change his wet clothes, she felt her helplessness deeply.

"Damian…"

Dahlia gently brushed Damian's hair and quietly murmured his name.

It had been four days since Lloyd had met with the imperial envoy.

With no news at all, Dahlia was pacing nervously.

For the first time, she regretted fleeing to this place.

When she learned that Damian was a child of the imperial family, should she have gone straight to the palace? As bitter regret surged within her—

Lloyd, who had been outside, burst through the door.

"The count has sent word!"

"What?"

At those words, Dahlia's face lit up, and she stood up. She urged Lloyd to speak quickly, as if demanding an answer.

"What did the count say? Did he find a treatment?"

"Yes. He said he'll let us know tonight. But before revealing the treatment, he needs to confirm that the child truly belongs to the imperial family."

"Confirmation process…?"

"Yes. It's nothing major—just the count checking for the symbols of the imperial family."

For a moment, she worried that the confirmation process might take a long time. But hearing that it was merely the count examining the child put her at ease.

"However…"

But Dahlia held her breath again at what followed.

"The meeting place he proposed is the village where we used to live…"

"What?"

It was a small village at the edge of the province. And it was the same village where they had lived before moving to the capital. Why would it have to be that place?

As an inexplicable sense of unease grew, Dahlia bit her lip.

"Mom…"

Hearing the cracked voice of her child calling her, Dahlia snapped out of her thoughts and approached the bed.

"Are you awake, Damian?"

"I'll… take my medicine."

"What?"

"I… don't want to be sick anymore."

"Damian…"

For a child who had so strongly resisted taking medicine to ask for it himself—she couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he was enduring.

"Alright, Damian. Mom will get your medicine soon."

"…Okay."

Looking at the child who weakly smiled back at her, Dahlia set aside the concerns she had been grappling with moments earlier.

'It must just be a coincidence.'

The count must have simply chosen a suitable location in a remote area to avoid drawing attention.

With that thought, Dahlia composed herself and began preparing to leave. She didn't have the luxury to worry about such details now.

* * *

That night.

The place Dahlia arrived at, with Damian in her arms, was a familiar one. It was a small barn near the house they had used as a hideout.

Although she had seen it several times in passing, she had never entered it. Suppressing her nervousness, Dahlia adjusted her hold on the child and stepped forward.

The creaking, eerie sound of the door echoed through the darkness. Suddenly, she noticed a man standing behind the faintly flickering candlelight.

"Are you Count Frayton?"

Certain that the man was the count, Dahlia stepped closer. Overwhelmed with urgency, she began speaking without much coherence.

"I heard you know the treatment. If it's confirmed that the child carries the blood of the imperial family, you'll share the treatment, right?"

But despite her question, the shadowy figure stood still, unmoving. There was no response.

Feeling uneasy, Dahlia called out the count's name again.

The sound of steady footsteps accompanied a familiar voice, resonating quietly in the room.

"Dahlia."