454 The Illegitimate Child
Selma Payne’s POV:
Master Kevin looked at his lover’s relic with a look of nostalgia, but he knew little about it. “I found this among Layla’s relics. She was rule-abiding and never told others about her work, even me.
“But there is one thing I can be sure of; the Evaria Family is involved in Layla’s death.” Master Kevin’s eyes were full of pain and hatred when he talked about the death of his lover.
“As she refused to accept the Evaria Family’s recruitment and was unwilling to be their spy in the palace, she became a thorn in their side. The Evalia Family has been trying to elect one of their lackeys as the head of the palace guards, so they’ve been making things difficult for Layla. They’ve even pushed all the blame onto her, forcing her to commit suicide to apologize…”
After the agitation, Master Kevin suddenly calmed down.
“I know what the Evaria Family wants to do now. Like more than twenty years ago, they still treat you as a baby in swaddling clothes and try to step on you to ascend to the upremse throne.”
Master Kevin’s behavior made me realize that he wasn’t the pure scientific researcher he appeared to be. His silence and inflexibility were his best protective mask, so much so that he knew many secrets that had not been made public.
Perhaps because his lover’s death was something he couldn’t get over, he had watched the murderer’s every move for decades. He knew he couldn’t fight against this behemoth with a deep foundation, so he could only bear with it and remain silent about everything he knew. He was secretly planning who could become his ally and pull the murderer down from the pedestal.
This notebook proved that he chose me.
“You know a lot of things,” I said. “And most of them should be confidential.”
Master Kevin did not hide anything. He said calmly, “Secrets are only for those who don’t care. If you know what I’ve been through for the past twenty years, you’d know that I’d been paying more attention to the Evaria Family than the Intelligence Department. Maybe scientific researchers are a group of bookworms in the eyes of the outside world, but the connections of people with wooden brains like us are unimaginable. Scientific research is a complicated network of relationships. As long as you want to find it, you can always find the relationship that meets your requirements.
“Do you know why the Evaria family has been investing in test tube babies for decades? This was because a certain family branch suddenly became infertile starting from a certain generation. In fact, the loss of fertility is very common among the nobles. Their ancestors married among themselves for the so-called noble bloodline, and it was time for their offspring to suffer the consequences of their actions.
“But it’s not right for the Evaria Family to be so stubborn to continue this branch of the bloodline. This is not the main branch nor a branch of high power. The nobles would not care much about such an insignificant branch. So, I found some information about a research workshop that serves the Evaria Family.
“The ancestor of this infertile Evarian bloodline was the illegitimate child of a certain generation’s female patriarch, and you can guess what the most interesting thing is? Please forgive my rudeness, but… The leader of the werewolves at that time was your great-grandfather, and his Queen came from the Evaria Family and was the sister of the head of the family from the same mother.
“Looking at your expression, you might have just realized something, right? That’s right. For such an immoral and appalling scandal, the parties involved would certainly not leave any evidence. However, there was no such thing as an impenetrable wall in the world. For a long time, the scandal of the King and the Queen’s sister having an affair had been secretly circulating among the servants. So, I’m sure the ‘secret affair’ in Layla’s diary refers to the scandal between your great-grandfather and his wife and sister.”
There was no need for Master Kevin to say anything. I already understood what he was implying. “So, the reason why the Evaria Family is so eager to continue the bloodline of an illegitimate child is that this descendant has the royal bloodline, which is a very close bloodline. Based on the current situation of the royal family’s lack of heirs, if the matter of that illegitimate child is made public, other than me… That descendant is the highest-ranked successor.”
Master Kevin nodded. “So, I think you should understand by now. The reason the Evaria Family is so arrogant is not because of the royal Princess from hundreds of years ago. It’s because of your great-grandfather’s… gift. I know that it’s far too serious for that illegitimate child’s offspring to be infertile. Thus, if they miss the opportunity to usurp the throne in your generation, this advantage will be lost entirely in a dozen years.”
“That’s why they’re so anxious now. Or rather, they’ve been anxious since twenty years ago.” I tiredly rubbed my brows. I suddenly felt that the comfort from the pleasant conversation in the morning had disappeared entirely.