Chapter 1477.1

Time that usually dragged on seemed to fly by when things became hectic.

Two weeks had already passed, but there hadn't been any notable progress in the meetings about Illyna. There were no results, either. If anything, the truth had only become even more obscured.

The more Davey tried to examine Illyna, the more her physical form and subconscious enveloped her placenta with dense mana, preventing a precise internal check.

It was a testament to her instinctive maternal love that had manifested to protect the child. It would've been easier if she had a recent checkup, at least. The last appointment had been several weeks prior, making it difficult to confirm whether she was actually pregnant or not.

“Rmph?!” Illyna, who had been eating, covered her mouth with one hand, turned her head, and stood up.

A quiet silence fell.

“I... I'm sorry. I need to step out for a moment...” she said, looking exhausted from what appeared to be severe morning sickness.

Red Ribbon asked with concern, “Daddy, is Mommy sick?”

“No. She’s fine, Red Ribbon. Your little sibling is just being picky about the side dishes inside Mommy’s tummy.”

“Hmm,” Red Ribbon mumbled, hand quizzically resting on her chin. “But I was told you get in trouble if you’re picky about food...”

“That’s right,” Davey confirmed. “You should be scolded if you complain.”

Just then, Blue Ribbon, who had been watching their reactions, quickly raised her hand and announced, “Blue Ribbon finished eating, so Blue Ribbon will go teach them! Blue Ribbon eats vegetables well now!”

She slid off the chair and scurried out. Red Ribbon, realizing she had lost her chance, quickly ran out after her, shouting, “W-wait for me!”

With the two children gone, the dining room fell silent. As they glanced at each other, Davey finally broke the ice by saying, “A lot of time has passed already. We did say we’ll make the impossible possible, but we were all already aware of how tough the plan was to succeed.”

Hoping for a real pregnancy was like relying on a miracle.

“But it’s safe to say all our plans up until now have failed,” Davey lamented. He was so desperate he even thought about plastering his own body in buff magic.

Perserque hesitated, then worked up the courage to say, “Then... before it gets too late, we should tell her the truth.”

“Did you see the mobile in my room?”

In Davey's bedroom sat a box containing a baby mobile Illyna had crafted with all her heart. Her taking time out of her busy day to make it showed just how much she was anticipating the child’s arrival.

Davey admitted, “Honestly, I don’t have the confidence to tell her the truth.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I have to find out more about what she went through back then. Fundamentally, we lack too much information. Reina only knows a part of the memory, but I need to hear exactly what happened back then from the source.”

“From whom? The deceased empress or crown prince of Pallan? Or... the emperor?”

Davey already knew who to ask. There was one person who had quietly looked after Illyna ever since she was a child.

“I’ll be back.” He stood up and immediately crossed through space.

As he departed, he noticed Perserque begin to call him back, only to stop herself.

* * *

Sullivan couldn't bring himself to be angry at the rude guest who had shown up the moment after he called, despite not even sending a formal summons.

“May I ask what the reason for this visit is?”

He was an emperor, and older than Davey. Yet, for some reason, he found it difficult to speak informally to him. On top of that, something about the atmosphere he’d brought felt ominous.

He could tell that Davey wasn't angry, just simply calm. That only made him more afraid of what the lunatic must want from him.

“Your Majesty,” Davey began.

“Speak, Grand Duke.”

“I need to talk with you about Illyna’s physical condition. Or rather, the accident caused by the vampire in the past.”

At those words, Sullivan's eyes widened before he quickly forced his expression back to normal. His chancellor had warned him that disclosing the incident could weaken Illyna's position or cause others to mistreat her, and he had agreed.

‘Did he finally find out?’

He had predicted something like this would happen when his informant told him that Illyna was pregnant. “Hmm.”

“I came to hear about what happened. Please forgive this unofficial visit, I know Pallan is busy.”

Sullivan gestured to the royal attendant. Catching the hint, he led everyone out.

“Hmm.”

“Illyna is currently pregnant.”

Sullivan’s eyes grew wide. Unlike before, he was genuinely unable to hide his surprise, asking with disbelief, “You’re positive she’s with child?”

“I can’t be sure.”

“What does that mean...”

“The symptoms are those of pregnancy, but there’s a high probability it’s not real.”

Only then did Sullivan harden his expression and sit back down. “I was already informed of Illyna’s physical condition due to certain circumstances.”

Davey was stunned, quickly frowning. “Which bastard...?”

“Don’t worry, no one betrayed you. He found out by chance.”

‘I am a famous doctor on the continent, after all.’

Sullivan let out a sigh at his own half-truth. He was dumbfounded that such highly confidential information had been revealed so casually.

“Haah. Well, how is she doing now?”

“She doesn’t know she’s infertile. So, she’s just happy at the thought of being pregnant.”

Sullivan asked, “Why did the Grand Duke come to see His Majesty?”

“Please tell me the full circumstances of that time. Only then can I find a way to turn a false pregnancy into a real one.”

Only then did Sullivan understand why Davey had sought him out. He intended to investigate the fundamental cause of her infertility and then cure it.

“I’m short on time. I need to turn her imagination into reality before she notices something is wrong.”

“Understood. However, even I don't know the exact situation from that time.”

Afterward, Sullivan slowly began to explain her condition.

One day during her childhood, she lost a loved one. Illyna was attacked by a vampire. She was lucky enough to survive, but the vampire's power had seeped into her and ran wild, causing several mutations in her body.

While her organs were intact, all her eggs were presumed dead.

With the technology available at the time, a detailed examination was unable to determine the exact cause. To make matters worse, nothing appeared to be wrong on the surface. However, one of Pallan’s attending physicians at the time found something strange in her body and reported her condition.

They became certain that her organs, which had mutated due to the vampire’s interference, possessed slightly different genetic information than her original organs had.

“This might just be my father’s speculation.”

“Is there more?”

“Illyna, that child, was called a genius even in her youth,” Sullivan began.

Davey didn’t understand why he’d bring that up. “Hmm?”

“However, from what I can tell, her talent only seems to have exploded after that day.”

Only then did Davey fall silent for a moment. He eventually murmured, “I see... It didn’t harm her body, so she didn’t change even after the metamorphosis...”

“Grand Duke, Illyna truly knows nothing. If anyone is at fault, it’s we who hid the truth...”

Davey raised his head and looked him directly in the eye. “Your Majesty.”

Sullivan swallowed hard as he met the deep red eyes that seemed as bottomless as the abyss.

‘How will he react? After finding out she’s incurable, will he treat Illyna differently?’

Worried, he quickly added without waiting for Davey to respond, “If the Grand Duke considers it a fraudulent marriage because of this, I will take her back to Pallan. All the burden will be on this side.”

“Who said she’s going back?”

Surprised, Sullivan gave a blank look. “Pardon?”

“Illyna is my wife, and here you are talking about sending her back to her parents’ house? It sounds like you’re talking about an object.”

“Grand Duke, this is absolutely not a trivial matter—”

“It is trivial,” Davey interrupted. “So trivial it makes me want to die.”

He took out a bottle of wine and two glasses from his Pocket Plane and poured them. He placed them on the long table and lightly tapped it. One of the wine glasses then slid toward Sullivan with apparent intent. 𝐟𝒓ℯⅇ

“Please drink with me, Brother-in-law. It’s Brooks’ 100-year-old vintage.”

Sullivan was still hung up on the conversation. “Do you not care? Among nobles and royalty, being unable to have a child is considered a massive flaw.”

“And that matters how?” Davey shot back.

“Illyna is beautiful. Though her temper is fiery, she is not a bad child. Her talent is also exceptional.”

“And?”

“But she cannot bear a child. Given the current situation, if she finds out it’s a phantom pregnancy, the child could be completely devastated by the shock.”

“What does that matter?”

Sullivan’s voice dropped low. “Despite all this, you still intend to keep her by your side? I am not pleased with the possibility of this incident narrowing her standing or causing her to be mistreated.”

Hearing that, Davey lightly sipped his wine. “And so?”

No response.

“I already told you, Your Majesty. I came here to find out about my wife’s condition.”

Still no answer.

“Infertility? What’s the big deal with that?”

‘This madman...’

His casual dismissal of what noble society considered one of the greatest flaws was so absurd that Sullivan couldn't help but laugh.

He couldn't tell whether it was joy or relief that made him laugh. It felt as though the issue he had been so worried about had quietly resolved itself. He finally spoke up to ask, “Can you promise not to make her cry?”

“You keep getting this wrong.”

Sullivan’s expression hardened, and Davey continued, “Illyna is not infertile.”

“What nonsense are you talking about...”

“She is not infertile. I will make sure of it.”

Only then did Sullivan fully understand what kind of being was standing there. He realized the young madman in front of him intended to make the impossible happen, even if it seemed far-fetched, like a miracle.

Sullivan finally offered, “I will hand over all the confidential information about the situation at the time, as well as the vampire who attacked her.”

Davey quietly nodded.

If simply inducing fertility couldn’t lead to a child, then he would resolve the fundamental problem.

* * *

“It was a typical Count-class vampire with no notable characteristics? This level of power shouldn't be enough to cause that kind of mutation,” Davey muttered to himself.