Chapter 100. That should have been my daughter
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There were reports that Hashad was hiding in the southern province of Edenta.
Kayan didn't have high hopes this time, as his spies had given him plenty of false information. Still, with all the routes out of the country blocked, Hashad was like a rat in a poisoned bottle.
It was only a matter of time before the rat was caught.
Everything about Hashad went according to Kayan's will, but there was one thing that didn't add up.
Why would Rakil want to bring his son down?
There were many theories floating around in the rumor mill, but none of them seemed credible.
Rakil's only son, Hashad, had a fatal flaw, and that was why he had chosen another man as his successor. Only that was true.
Not even in the memorandum announcing Elgon's succession was the reason written down.
Perhaps it was a final gesture by the father to cover up his precious son's shame.
It didn't really matter now, but something about it still bothered Kayan.
Putting aside his thoughts of the still mysterious father-son relationship, he made his way to the cellar.
It had been some time since Kayan had toured the palace's storage rooms.
He'd waited until now to dismantle the magical barriers that had been installed to seal it off.
It had taken a lot of time to summon the magic tool experts in Chardi.
The storage room had been enlarged from its original basement location, making it as large as a ballroom.
It was as vast as Hashad's greed.
As expected, it was filled with treasures that Hashad had raided like a madman.
Most of it was priceless, whether it was costly jewelry, unusual minerals, world-renowned swords, or hard-to-find ancient scriptures.
Opposite the entrance was a secret room that Hashad had set aside.
Magic relics for all manner of dirty work would surely be in there.
He remembered the damned memory of the time Hashad had sent Hulkan to kill him with an arrow laced with black magic.
Kayan furrowed his brow and rubbed the back of his neck, the scar still tingling.
It had made for some special times in the cave with Ihedia, but he couldn't help but feel a surge of lust.
Kayan grabbed the doorknob of the chamber and turned it.
With a chilling click, the dimly lit interior came into view.
At the same time, an unpleasant odor hit him.
Even a cursory glance revealed a sinister aura.
Just stepping inside was enough to send chills down his spine.
There were a few ordinary magical tools, but most of them were impure, dark implements.
They were disgusting to even look at.
It was best not to go into a place like this, a special place where black magic was stirring.
It wasn't life-threatening, but it wasn't good for the mind or body.
It was no wonder that Hashad had become a madman, capable of bizarre acts, if he had been in and out of places like this day in and day out.
Kayan started to walk away, but something snapped under his foot.
A wooden, whitewashed birdcage lay on the floor.
A bird?
Inside was a dead bird.
Hashad had kept it as a pet.
It was only natural that a pet bird that had been locked up in this cage and not fed for months would die.
The foul odor from the dead bird mixed with the foul air in the cage and assaulted his sense of smell.
‘I don't think this is an ordinary bird, judging by what it's been kept in here.’
Upon closer inspection, he realized that it had a golden tinge to its tail.
Then Kayan's eyes narrowed as he realized something.
"Lady Ihedia seemed to have known the Emperor before. I even saw her in the middle of the night with a golden-tailed bird. I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I think about it, I wonder if it was sent by the Emperor's palace, since golden-tailed birds aren't that common."
Sawana told him that one day.
So, this bird was the messenger bird used by Harshad and Ihedia to exchange secret messages.
At that time, while Ihedia was living with Kayan as a married couple in the villa, she was secretly acting as a spy for Hashad.
His breath caught in his throat.
Kayan couldn't help but feel unpleasant and left the room.
He never looked back at the other relics in the room.
***
Kayan emerged from the cellar and made his way to the imperial palace.
The unpleasant sight he had seen earlier had drawn him into an area he would not normally pass through.
He realized it when he heard a woman humming a tune.
A few steps away, he saw a middle-aged woman carrying a baby.
The sun was shining brightly today, and the nanny was strolling slowly with the child down the large windowed hallway of the palace.
Ihedia's daughter was the only child in the palace.
As if that weren't bad enough, his mood sank even lower.
Before Kayan could turn, the nanny hurried up to him and bowed her head.
"Oh, Your Majesty."
"Skip the greeting."
The words were spoken as if it would be too much trouble to bow while carrying a child.
She had been trembling from the moment she saw him, for she knew that Adeline was the bane of his existence.
She hugged the child tightly and covered her face so as not to offend him.
As Kayan nonchalantly walked away, he caught a glimpse of the golden hair blowing in the wind.
He unconsciously took a step toward the child.
The nanny's face flushed with horror and her body shook even more violently.
"I'm not trying to harm the child, so don't tremble."
Nevertheless, the nanny's anxious eyes continued to dilate.
Was it the bright blonde hair that looked so much like Ihedia's?
It pained him to even think about it, but he wondered about the child's face.
Keeping his eyes on the child, Kayan spoke to the nanny.
"I'd like to see her face."
Even then, Kayan didn't know why he was saying this.
Why would he want to see Hashad's child?
But strangely, Kayan couldn't take his eyes off the child.
‘I wonder if she has the uncanny ability to keep wolves in line like her mother.’
Garel bit the inside of her lip as Kayan stared down at the child.
As much as she cared for Adeline, she didn't dare defy the emperor’s orders.
Still, at least Adeline looked like her mother.
At least the emperor wouldn't have to look at this child's face and be reminded of that hideous traitor.
She slowly turned the child to face Kayan.
"....."
Kayan stared at Adeline, unblinking and as still as a statue.
Ihedia must have looked like that when she was a baby.
Kayan's heart pounded as if he had seen the angel of Lanke forest again.
There was no sign of her father in the tiny, pure white baby.
The green eyes were eerily familiar, triggering a protective instinct just looking at them.
Damn it.
Am I losing my mind...................
Suddenly, the child looked at Kayan and smiled.
Heswallowed dryly.
The child’s smile was the same as Ihedia's.
How could something so angelic come out of a vicious bastard like Hashad?
Even if he had children of his own, they would not be this beautiful.
A deep sense of defeat washed over him.
She should have been his daughter.
She really should have been.
For a fleeting moment, Kayan imagined this child growing up and running to him, calling him father.
She would be as adorable as the Elmir pearl he'd stumbled upon in the past.
Strangely, in that moment, Adeline stretched out her arms as if she wanted to be held by Kayan.
Kayan could only stare blankly, like someone who had been hit by something again.
Garel, now an onlooker, found the situation quite alarming.
Adeline was rather sensitive.
The child who was used to choking and crying at the sight of a stranger was unperturbed by the sight of this terrifying man.
It took her a while to adjust to Doa's face.
Kayan absentmindedly reached out to pick her up, but quickly pulled his hands back.
He was worried that the turbid aura from the cellar earlier would rub off on the child.
It would take him half a day of frenzied purification and three days of bathing to hold this tiny creature.
Coming to his senses, Kayan whirled around quickly.
He hurried away from the child.
If he kept looking at her, he thought he might grow attached to the bastard's blood.
But long afterward, the image of Adeline lingered in his mind.
The child, who seemed to be Ihedia's twin, haunted Kayan's thoughts all day long.
How could he feel anything resembling paternal love for the offspring of a bastard who dared to touch his woman?
Kayan felt an overwhelming sense of self-loathing.
***
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