Meanwhile, after the Patriarch had left the emperor earlier, the emperor made his way back to the concubine's courtyard which was located at the eastern part of the palace.
"I can't believe he has reappeared again. Who knows what he is planning to do now that he is back," the emperor said, his brows knitted together in worry as he paced around the room.
Artherine, who was carrying her baby in her arms, looked at him with an unreadable expression and then sighed. "You are the one who is in power now, Dimitri. You shouldn't be feeling this way whenever he is around."
She wanted to roll her eyes at him so badly, but she knew that would infuriate him more. She had just given birth to the crown prince, and all he could think of was his father coming back home.
"Are you trying to say that I am overreacting?" he snapped back at her.
Artherine's gaze softened. "No, I didn't mean that. It's just that it hurts me whenever you are feeling this way. You should try to relax… all you have to remember is that you are the one in control now."
Hearing her words, Dimitri sighed before becoming restless again. "Can you believe he went to visit Agnes and her child even when your child is the eldest?"
"Our child," Artherine corrected, her brows creasing into a frown.
"I'm sorry, I meant our child."
"I thought you said you had taken care of her. How was she able to give birth?" Her gaze turned into a glare.
"I did, Artherine, but somehow she managed to survive the poison," he said, his shoulders slumping before he went to sit next to her.
"What do you expect? She isn't the last high mage of the Eastern Sanctum for nothing. I told you we should end her once and for all."
"And you think if she dies suddenly no one will suspect her cause of death?"
"Aren't you going to see your child?" she changed the subject, flashing him a fake smile, her voice laced with jealousy.
The emperor swallowed nervously. "What name do you want us to give to him?" he diverted her question.
Artherine's intense gaze bore into him. "You should name him, and don't try to avoid my question again," she said, with irritation flickering through her eyes.
Suddenly, a whirring sound echoed from nowhere, and before the blink of an eye, the space tore open as a bright blue portal appeared. The Patriarch, and the Agnes who was sitting on her bed, and Plum and the baby appeared in the room.
Agnes' pale face stared at the Emperor and Artherine, who were sitting together with a baby in Artherine's arms. They looked like the best couple in the universe. She weakly lay on her bed, adjusting her pillow.
Meanwhile, the villain felt his little head spinning from the whirling of the portal. He felt like he was about to throw up. Then he noticed they were in another room which was beautifully decorated and well-polished. There were a lot of golden antiques, goblets, and many boxes. He wondered who had this much stuff and why his mother's room was pale in comparison to this.
"What are you all doing here?" the emperor's voice thundered, his voice laced with anger and irritation.
"Your main wife just gave birth, son. Why have you not gone to meet her yet? Have you seen your child? Where were you when she was busy fighting for her life?" the Patriarch asked angrily, invisible smoke coming out of his nose.
"Father, that is between me and Agnes, and I never said I was not going to pay them a visit. And besides, why did you go to Agnes first when you knew that Artherine was the one who gave birth to the heir to the throne, the crown prince?"
At his words, the Patriarch chuckled. "The crown prince, says who?" he asked, tilting his head.
"That is the rule, father."
"Is that why you had poisoned Agnes so she would lose her child, or worse, die?" the Patriarch's throat tightened, his fingers trembling with anger.
"What?… What do you mean by I poisoned her? Why would I ever poison my own wife?" he asked, feigning ignorance.
'So that bastard is the father of the baby, hmm,' the villain's gaze fixated on the emperor, who had long black hair braided to the centre of his head, while the lower part was left to cascade down his shoulder. He was tall, around 6 ft 2. He also had blue eyes like the Patriarch.
'So I was really born into my enemy's family. Perfect… I won't waste time looking for them. I will kill them and take my revenge, and I will make sure I destroy everything they love and hold dear. This is a promise and oath. I will watch how you all fight and claw at each other, and then I will take my artifact back, after I leave this family in nothing but shambles,' the villain swore.
"So you are going to deny it?"
"Why should I agree to something I never did?" His father's face turned red from anger.
But the Patriarch's nose flared. Since he was not going to accept the truth, he knew what to do.
The emperor walked closer to Plum, who was holding the baby. "Let me hold him," he demanded.
Plum cast a helpless look at Agnes, but only when Agnes gave her a nod, did Plum give the emperor the baby.
The emperor swallowed. He stared down at the baby with mixed feelings. He was taken aback when he saw how the baby was glaring at him. But before he could say anything, the baby let out a loud, piercing wail.
His mouth opened wide, his eyes squeezing closed. The sound of his cry was like a war horn—it was sharp, angry, and at the same time, heart-wrenching.
The emperor's brows furrowed in confusion, anxiety creeping down his spine.
"What—why is he crying all of a sudden?" he asked, awkwardly trying to hush the child.
But the baby kept crying, louder this time, as if his tiny lungs were burning with rage.
Plum rushed forward. "He wasn't crying before. He was perfectly calm with the Patriarch."
The emperor's hands stiffened. "Take him."
The moment Plum took the baby back into her arms, the cries stopped… instantly.
Everyone froze.
Plum and Agnes exchanged looks.
The Patriarch narrowed his eyes. "It seems he knows who he likes… and who he doesn't."
'He thinks he can carry me whenever he likes? I can't believe that I have been tainted by their dirty bloodline… why did the universe think it was a good idea for me to be born in their filthy family?'
"Why does the child look weird, Agnes? Why is his eye colour…?" The emperor shot Agnes a disappointed look.
It has been a dominant trait in their family to pass blue eyes from generation to generation.