IYAMD 163

IYAMD 163

From that day, preparations began for the redecoration of the Empress’s Palace. Ashton first recommended a suitable candidate for the head lady-in-waiting position to Jaha.

Jaha, who didn’t know anyone in that circle, readily agreed, as though the recommendation was enough.

When Marsilia asked whether a formal interview should be conducted, Jaha answered that he trusted Ashton’s judgment. Marsilia, looking at his innocent face, was left speechless.

Of course, the woman Ashton recommended wasn’t bad. She was the widow of the former Count Amarante and had been a prominent figure in the social scene when her husband was alive.

Both her late husband and her son, who now inherited the title, had maintained a neutral stance, making her a suitable candidate.

However, after her husband passed away from a long illness two years ago, it was said that she had secluded herself in her estate due to her grief.

Marsilia wondered if such a woman would truly accept the position.

At that moment, Ashton’s eyes met Marsilia’s, and he gave a sly wink.

The old man, like a raccoon, seemed to have judged that if he couldn’t persuade her, it would be difficult to build any real power.

Marsilia considered telling Jaha about this but decided against it. Since he wanted to try, Marsilia thought he’d just watch for now, though he wouldn’t extend his hand first.

Marsilia also agreed with Ashton’s thoughts. Jaha might need to reflect on his own situation at least once.

After exchanging a few words, Jaha suddenly stood up and dusted his hands off.

“Then I’ll go to the Amarante estate.”

“What…?”

Everyone in the room focused their attention on Jaha, but he casually shrugged his shoulders.

“You said I should bring her, right? I’m not confident Read onin writing a letter, so I’ll go and speak to her in person.”

“No, wait, Jaha?”

“I’ll go alone, so just prepare a little. I won’t need much.”

Jaha hurried out of the room to prepare for his departure, but Marsilia rushed to ask behind him.

“What about the babies?”

Ah. Jaha hesitated for a moment, then dashed over to Marsilia and kissed him on the cheek.

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave them to you.”

Marsilia’s expression turned completely blank.

“Then, what about me?”

“Huh?”

“You’re leaving me all alone?”

Jaha rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue softly.

“You’re an adult, so just bear with it for a bit. I need to ask Gerald about the travel route, so I’m busy. I’ll see you later tonight, Mar.”

Without waiting for a response, Jaha left the room, leaving Marsilia to face the uncertain looks of the attendants and Ashton.

“Shall I bring some whiskey, Your Majesty?”

Marsilia gave Ashton a cold glance before shaking his head.

“I’ll go to the main palace.”

“Please don’t be too harsh on Serez.”

Can he really be? Marsilia clenched his fist, determined to torment that bastard until the very end.

That evening, Jaha spent the entire meal soothing the grumpy man who had been frowning.

But wasn’t it true that you should strike while the iron is hot? If he didn’t push forward now, the man would likely let the matter slip away.

Knowing this, Jaha felt even more anxious, and in the end, the reason he was leaving the palace was entirely because of that man.

“If you had trusted me even a little, I would have waited properly.”

“You don’t need to say things you don’t mean.”

After the meal, they checked on the children before returning to the bedroom.

Helios was still emitting a green divine power, but otherwise, there seemed to be no problems.

The baby smiled brightly when held, moving his large round eyes to gaze at Jaha and Marsilia. The child was incredibly healthy—he didn’t need constant attention to be fine.

After checking on the children, Marsilia’s expression grew even more somber as he lay flat on the bed.

Jaha, sitting next to him, tried to speak to the man who had closed his eyes.

“Are you really not going to look at me?”

Marsilia opened his eyes slightly and answered seriously.

“I’m thinking about how I could follow you.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. What about the babies?”

“That’s what I really want to say. What kind of mother leaves her children at a time like this?”

Jaha wanted to scream in frustration.

“Don’t call me a mother. I’m a man!”

“If you carry the child, you’re a mother, aren’t you?”

Jaha didn’t know where to start explaining, so he hesitated for a moment before taking Marsilia’s hand. Writing the character for “mother” from the Eastern Continent on Marsilia’s palm, he tried to suppress the pounding of his heart.

“The word for ‘mother’ in the Eastern Continent has the meaning of ‘woman’ in it.”

Perhaps his complicated feelings showed on his face, as Marsilia, who had been lying on his back staring at the ceiling, turned and rubbed Jaha’s forehead with his thumb.

“That’s a story from the Eastern Continent. Here, the one who gives birth is the mother, stolen contentregardless of gender.”

“Really?”

“Really. Think about why you’re called an empress.”

Jaha scanned the man’s face, still unable to shake the suspicion that he might be deceiving him. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from his face, inspecting it closely.

“You’re lying, right?”

Marsilia rested his chin on his hand and let out a long sigh.

“It’s not a lie, but if you don’t want to believe it, that’s up to you. But if there are two fathers, the children will be confused. And so will we, who are hearing this.”

“Then, I can just teach them to distinguish properly.”

A mischievous smile spread across the man’s face.

“I don’t know how you’ll teach them, but others will teach them to call you ‘mother.’”

“I absolutely hate it.”

He had grown up in the conservative Eastern Continent. Giving birth was inevitable, but he never wanted to be called “mother.”

“If you don’t like it, then there’s nothing I can do.”

His nonchalant attitude seemed like he was falling for his trick. Seeing Jaha’s expression sour, the man finally chuckled softly.

“You really are conservative in this regard.”

“This isn’t a matter of being conservative or not.”

“Is that so? I wouldn’t mind being called ‘mom.’”

Marsilia got up and snapped his fingers as if pleased with the situation.

“Then you can just call me ‘mom.’”

“If you keep saying weird things, I’ll seal your acupoints.’”

“Didn’t you swear that you’d never do that again? Isn’t it said, ‘A man’s word is as precious as gold’?”

Did he the Eastern Continent language for moments like this? Jaha struck his fist firmly against the man’s thigh before speaking decisively.

“Anyway, we both are fathers. If you keep saying strange things, I’ll take the children to the estate until they can speak properly, so figure it out.”

Hmph. The man snorted softly and smiled confidently.

“You wouldn’t leave me alone for that long, would you?”

“…That’s true.”

Marsilia poked Jaha in the side. As he swung his hand to shake him off, he grabbed it.

“Annoying.”

“Mm. I love you too, Jaha.”

Even in their bickering, they both ended up laughing. Before long, they were kissing and rolling around on the bed.

With a wet sound, the man sucked on Jaha’s lips, Jaha looked into his eyes and whispered.

“I’ll definitely come back before the harvest festival.”

“Mm.”

They had also agreed to have the children’s blessing ceremony coincide with the harvest festival, so Jaha had to return no matter what before then.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Aren’t you stopping by the estate?”

The Amarante estate was located a bit further south than Jaha’s estate, so it was possible to stop by on the way there.

“Gerald will go there. I’m planning to go there for a quick visit early next year.”

The academy, which had been full of issues and troubles, was decided to be built on the Dandelion estate. After fighting with the nobility since the beginning of the year, it was finally settled around spring. They decided that saving money on land acquisition and building construction would be better spent investing in other areas.

Since Dandelion Castle was huge and spacious, it seemed more meaningful to put it to use rather than leave it empty.

Though it was an old castle, it was kept clean, so there was no need [visit our site]for repairs. Only the training grounds, classrooms, and dormitories for students were being renovated.

The internal construction, which had been going on for several months, was almost complete, and Jaha hadn’t had the chance to properly see Gerald’s face.

“Serez has been going crazy reviewing the syllabus lately.”

“He said he’d do it himself instead of passing it to the Ministry of Education, so there’s nothing to be done about it.”

Now that he thought about it, Serez did have a tendency to take on tasks himself. Why was he so adamant about reviewing it?

Marsilia chuckled softly and pulled Jaha closer. The way their eyes met was affectionate.

“I’ll contact you often.”

“I’ll contact you first before you do.”

“Don’t do it too often.”

Jaha planned to take a communication stone, so a brief conversation would be possible.

While Marsilia could contact anyone at any time by pressuring the mages, Jaha had to recharge magic to use it, so he couldn’t use it as frequently.

“I know you’re worried about running out of magic, but still, your words sound cold.”

“I’ve heard that too often that now I’m starting to wonder if I really am cold.”

“That’s somewhat fortunate. Then, will you speak kindly to me from now on?”

Marsilia, who had been teasing hil, burst into laughter at his own words. Jaha, as though he were mimicking him, laughed as well, gently caressing his cheek.

“If you wait patiently, I’ll return and treat you kindly.”

“That’s easy. As long as you don’t get caught.”

“Are you going to ask Serez?”

“Serez is my subordinate. Of course, he’ll listen to me.”

Pfft. Jaha doubted that, considering how busy Serez had been running between the main palace and sleeping quarters. Still, he smiled and pretended not to care, finding the confident words cute.