“――The first one I saw was my sister that my father killed.”

“!”

This information couldn’t sink in for a while after Arnold quietly shared it with her.

His Highness’s sister, his father?

She knew exactly what the word meant, but her brain refused to grasp it.

Arnold looked down at Rishe’s inexplicable reaction and continued without blinking an eyelid, “She was a royal baby that one of Father Emperor’s consorts delivered. She was only a few days old when Father Emperor took what the consort was desperately trying to protect and pierced her with his sword.”

“Oh, no…”

That scene almost popped into Rishe’s mind, but she axed it reflexively.

As I recall, His Highness’ father fought wars with countries all over the world and had royal women from various countries offered to him.

Lying on the bed, Rishe asked with a voice almost trembling.

“Why would he do such a thing?”

“The man only allows children, who have markedly inherited his blood in their veins, to exist…He said that killing her in front of his consort was punishment for giving birth to a ‘baby that wasn’t’.”

Just killing a baby was hard to swallow, but the confusion dug deeper and deeper.

How could he determine that in front of a newborn baby?

Arnold seemed to have discerned what was boggling Rishe.

“――Have black hair and blue eyes like Father Emperor.”

Arnold stared at Rishe with twin blue eyes, just as he spoke.

“That is the condition for a royal baby to survive.”

“…!”

Rishe raised an eyebrow at the revelation.

Not only Arnold, but also his half-brother, Theodore, has black hair and blue eyes. The same must be true for his four younger sisters, but it never occurred to her that such a condition had been imposed on them.

Is that why His Highness said that the color of his own eyes was abominable?

It reminded her of a conversation they once had on the balcony of the detached palace.

That was his response when she praised how beautiful his eyes were.

His blue eyes were identical to his father’s, and he hated them so much he wanted to gouge them out. But the cause was more than just dislike for his father.

“Blue eyes are supposedly a trait that is hard to pass on to children.”

If “black hair” was added to that condition, very few cases must have fit the bill.

“You’re right.”

“…So, the babies your father didn’t recognize…?”

“They were all killed in front of the consorts who gave birth to them without exception.”

She was rendered speechless at this admission.

How could he do such a thing?

In her life as an alchemist, she assisted in childbirth several times.

A healthy postpartum period for both mother and child was not something to be taken for granted. These women endure changes for ten months, and risk their lives to give birth to their children with anxiety and pain.

And yet, the man who was supposed to be the father of the child had scrubbed away the life that had been born?

“Was the young Prince Arnold forced to be there?”

“…”

The affirmation in the form of silence made her heart ache even more

“Has anyone paid any attention to Your Highness? The Imperial Concubines surely looked out for you…”

“――They were all vindictive and hateful towards me for surviving.”

The next thing he said was almost like a monologue.

“The one who hated me the most was probably my mother, who gave birth to me.”

“Huh?”

Arnold intertwined his fingers with Rishe’s as she drew in a breath.

His voice turned even calmer, as if he was confirming an obvious fact.

“While he was killing babies, that man was always telling me, ‘Your body has inherited blood that is superior to that of other humans.’”

A beautiful finger slowly traced the ring that Rishe was wearing.

“But that can’t be true. What is the value of a pedigree that is merely inherited from that man?”

“… Your Highness.”

“You should know better. Regardless of who I am, no matter who’s blood I carry, it is not a reason to respect me over others.”

Arnold said with sincerity shimmering in his eyes.

“Never say again that my life should take precedence over yours.”

“…”

She felt a sharp, dull pain in her left chest.

“Um…”

In fact, she wanted to reply, “I can’t do that.”

But, she could barely utter the words.

Looking up at Arnold from her bed and gazing into his eyes, Rishe blinked slowly and cautiously.

But in the next moment.

“―― ……!”

The tears that she had been holding back spilled from both eyes.