Chapter 77

“I hear that your life could be at stake. But I know you can’t use your ability to that extent. You will lose consciousness before then.”

“Yes, it’s not wrong. His Majesty and I also believed that, so we paid Duke Rudbihi the price of saving my child.”

But she says it wasn’t that all. My mother’s anger began to rise beyond the limits, and the empress thought it was understandable. Still, on the other hand, she didn’t understand.

The empress had no doubt that my mother had reached out to her. So, the empress said, even after having that relationship with my mother, she began to dig into the reason. Then the empress pointed to her forehead, saying she learned that Duke Rudbihi had done the same thing decades ago.

“It is said that His Majesty also received help from Duke Rudbihi…”

To be precise, the former emperor was helped by Duke Rudbihi. It was said that Duke Rudbihi saved him from almost losing his life in an accident on horseback.

Even after hearing that, I couldn’t help but wonder. I wondered what was wrong with sharing their vitality to the extent that each of them was against the other to the extent of aiming for their lives. It was until this extent of the thing I knew.

I tried not to say anything, but I had no choice but to recall my mother’s passing words one day. She obviously said I would do the same. Several members of the emperor’s and empress’s aides have already suffered harm or lost their lives. What more do you need? However, what the empress said afterward was shocking.

“They said it was Luce’s mother who saved His Majesty.”

“…My mother’s mother…?”

I was well aware that my mother’s mother, Madam Camilla, was the concubine of Duke Rudbihi. Therefore, my mother had difficulty with Duke Rudbihi when she was young, and she had no choice but to follow the orders of Duke Rudbihi.

“I found out too late… that Luce’s mother lost her life because of that incident.”

“…”

Madam Camilla was sacrificed to save the Emperor? I thought Madam Camilla died of an illness, although my mother never talked about it. But I couldn’t believe it wasn’t like that.

“Why didn’t I think it was weird? It was foolish of me to think they only shared their special ability. But I had nothing to say when I realized it was too late, even if it sounded like an excuse. It wouldn’t have been like this if I hadn’t asked to save us. If only Luce had said a word to me.”

So my mother…

The empress began to suffer more as she spoke. She said my mother lost Rohana’s ability when she used the ability when Valery was born. The empress was convinced of something I didn’t even know. If there was someone’s sacrifice, if it was the death of Madam Camilla, who would have been my mother’s only resting place, then everything about what my mother was doing now was understandable.

“Lady Carbella.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I met Lady Carbella when you were very young. Although Lady was too young to remember.”

I’ve never heard of it before.

“Your Majesty.”

“You can say it. Tell me anything.”

“I was brought by my mother from an orphanage when I was young. Maybe you didn’t see me… but someone else.”

As I spoke, I trembled without realizing it. It was because I thought the empress’s words could be more accurate than my memory. I’ve been messing with my mother’s hair because of that suspicion. After all, I still can’t check it out, but why do I feel like I don’t even need to open it?

“…You had silver hair back then. It was clearly Lady Carbella. I didn’t know if there’s anything more misunderstanding, but Lady Carbella…”

The empress seemed to see my expression, so she blurted out the end of her sentence. Then I turned my head for a while and took a breath. She paused for a while and continued to talk about Duke Rudbihi.

When saving the emperor, Duke Rudbihi took advantage of Madam Camilla, holding my mother as her weakness. That’s why Madam Camilla had no choice but to sacrifice herself to save my mother. The empress had yet to find evidence, but she guessed that Duke Rudbihi’s threat was to use Rohana’s power to the extent that my mother lost her ability when saving the empress and Valery.

The empress said that she saw me when I was a baby and then when I was a little older. I had no memory, but the empress was again convinced that it was me.

“At that time… It was none other than Lady Carbella who saved Valery.”

“W…What? I beg your pardon?” I asked in an absent-minded voice.

The empress’s face grew even more miserable, but I had already found no reason to be careful and ask that.

“Until then, I didn’t know how Duke Rudbihi saved our lives. I just looked for Duke Rudbihi with the feeling of grasping the straw. If Lady Carbella feels something is wrong, then I…”

The circuit in my head was strangely twisted. As I thought about it one by one, my mind came back little by little. If Valery was about seven, I was five years old then.

So… around that time, my mother tried to abandon me again. It was when I lost my memory in some kind of accident before that. I didn’t doubt it because my mother had said that an accident had happened shortly after I was brought up from the orphanage.

Anyway, my childhood memories were fuzzy, and I still didn’t remember anything about the accident. Strangely enough, I felt my blood was cooling down. And my mind was strangely becoming clear. It wasn’t surprising, and my hands weren’t shaking. Is it really what I thought?

Well, after that, my mother is trying to get revenge… No.  I remembered something I had forgotten. The empress said my mother had no choice but to comply because of Duke Rudbihi, who took me as her weakness, but it wasn’t like that.

My mother gave birth to me to use my power? She didn’t lie when she said she brought me from the orphanage to use my power for revenge. The fact that I was born rather than brought from an orphanage was different. She deliberately used my power for revenge. Mother must have been preparing to avenge Madam Camilla since she was sacrificed. The mother I knew was like that.

Even after she gave birth, I was still a child, so I might be weak enough to save Valery. Even if that fact exists, the fact that I exist for my mother’s revenge remains unchanged.

But another question arose. It was said that when two special blood were mixed, their child would only be born with one of the abilities. I shouldn’t have been born with the power of Rohana since I was born with the power of imprinting, regardless of who my biological father was.

Why did I use that power? I focused again on the Empress’s words because I thought I would look for more later.

Anyway, the empress said she understood her mother’s behavior after learning all the facts. It was a little strange to say that she understood the person who tried to bring down and kill her and the emperor, but after I learned all the facts, I was able to agree with that to some extent.

“I didn’t want Luce to commit any greater sins. I thought it was my job to stop her rather than punish her. I blamed myself because all the past sacrifices were caused by my ignorance.”

I thought I could understand a little why the emperor and empress seemed to stay still even though that happened. Were you at least doing atonement for yourself? It wasn’t like the dead would come back. Is that really the right thing to do?

“Lady Carbella.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

The empress knew what to say. ‘I’d rather you get away from my son!’ Wouldn’t it be better for her to say the same cliche? I smiled bitterly.

“I have no intention of stopping them. I didn’t mean to do that in the first place.”

The unexpected words forced me to open my eyes wide. The empress and my mother were now out of control, so why were we talking like this?

“…”

“Please stop Lady Carbella’s mother.”

I didn’t understand such an empress.

“…Please stop Luce.”

It was like telling me to stop my mother from falling.

* * *

On my way home, my head hurt like it would break. What happened and what was said at the mansion of Chartero seemed like all of them were lies.

“…It’s something that can’t be undone.”