What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 164

“However, Ysaris, it’s not as if I don’t like Mikael. Isn’t he our son? The very fruit of the bond we share.”

To be honest, it’s true that Kazhan has been using Mikael all along. Even now, he’s still partly exploiting him—and that remains the plain truth.

Interpersonal relationships always come with someone’s effort. Kazhan strove to cement his bond with Mikael in order to win Ysaris’s favor—and to keep her by his side. Whatever his aim, he exerted himself thoroughly and reaped the rewards.

Yet, in the midst of it all, it was never his intention for the child’s pure affection to seep in. After all, how could one not be charmed when Mikael—whose features so strikingly resembled Ysaris and whose impish antics were as bold as they come—beamed at me as he clung on?

“In this world, you are the only one I love. That will never change. But please don’t think that the way I treat Mikael is all a lie. It’s just that… I’ve come to quite like him.”

A funny one. A troublesome one. A cute one.

As trivial assessments accumulated one by one, Mikael found his place in the family portrait Kazhan envisioned for the future. Regardless of the degree of affection, he had come to be recognized as my son, as family.

Enough so that he could directly counter Ysaris’s interrogation.

“…How can I believe your words? If you’re lying to me again. Aren’t you just using Mikael as an excuse to conveniently brush aside your faults and keep things running smoothly?”

Though her questioning was justified, Ysaris couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being obstinate. The deep-seated resentment toward a husband who had deceived her had entrenched itself in her heart, robbing her of any objectivity—a fact she was well aware of.

“What must I do to earn your trust?”

“I don’t know. I want to believe you, but I just can’t. There’s undoubtedly more you’re hiding from me.”

It wasn’t merely about the killing of Bariteon. Had he married me in that condition, countless additional issues would surely have arisen—and his complete silence on those matters only deepened her suspicions.

There was a clash between the desire for Kazhan to lay out all the facts from the start and the determination not to learn any more. If Ysaris truly wished it, she could have interrogated him on every emerging issue right then and there—but she didn’t.

It was the instinctive realization that crossing that line would render everything irretrievable. She feared that the comfortable, peaceful days she enjoyed in Uzephia might shatter completely.

But is a family founded on an untrustworthy man truly worth preserving? Even if her relationship with Kazhan were to crumble, couldn’t she return to Lena’s cottage and live happily with Mikael as before?

Ysaris’s face darkened as she contemplated the worries that had plagued her for the past several days.

Had she been alone, she might have risked everything. After all, whatever future awaited would be the consequence of her own choices, and she could have taken a bold step to uncover the truth.

Yet, as long as Mikael was involved, Ysaris couldn’t act recklessly. The best choice for her son was, of course, to inherit the throne of Uzephia rather than live as a commoner—leaving no room for actions driven solely by personal emotions.

Moreover, the child was getting along well with his father, Kazhan…

It was exactly as Kazhan had said. Even though Ysaris could not accept his deceit, she had no choice but to submit.

‘It was something only I had to bear—pretending not to see, not to hear, and acting as if unaware.’

Even after reaching that conclusion, waves of betrayal and anger toward Kazhan stirred within her. At the same time, the affection and pity she felt for the husband who endlessly showered her with love tangled her thoughts.

Ysaris truly felt lost. Even now, not knowing how to deal with Kazhan, she had merely reacted passively—and perhaps that’s exactly what had brought all this trouble upon her.

Looking down at the floor, her hands trembling uncontrollably as she clenched them into fists, she suddenly noticed the glint of a man’s shoe in her view. Before she knew it, Kazhan had approached right in front of her, bending at the waist to meet her gaze with his blue eyes.

“Ysaris.”