“Jules von Loper presents Your Majesty the King.”
Jules put down the swaddle she was holding and bowed. The King glanced at Jules and then stared at Else, who was crying. His heart beat rapidly. It was when he bit his lip with a worried expression.
“Countess Loper, please go out.”
The low sound echoed through the bedroom. Jules straightened her bent knees, stood up, and folded her hands neatly. Then she bowed to Else and left the bedroom. Now, only Else and Sybil remained in the bedroom.
“Else.”
Her chin was lifted. Tears flowed ceaselessly from Else's reddened eyes. Sybil's hand wiped Else's cheek. However, the tears that had welled up in a grayish color flowed down her cheek again. Her lips were distorted, and her entire face was wrinkled. Sybil looked down at her with eyes that seemed incomprehensible. Else turned her head away, not wanting to see him.
“I heard you were friends, weren’t you?”
He was talking about Jules. Sybil must have seen Jules often visiting Lugdun, so she must have thought that she and Else were close. Jules is indeed kind to Else. She may think of her as a friend, but she is also a relative. However, Jules had many closer friends than Else.
“Did that woman make you cry?”
"No."
“I tried to take her in as a maid, but it didn’t work out.”
"No!"
Else screamed. Sybil looked down at her blankly. Just as she was about to clench her jaw again, Else roughly slapped his hand away and let out a small sob.
“Then why are you doing this? Why are you sitting like this, ruining my mood after finishing my work?”
He asked her with a cold face. Else trembled at the cold-sounding mumbling. She put down her son, who was spitting out her nipple without any regrets as if he had filled his stomach, and picked up her daughter, who showed no sign of crying for milk.
“Else.”
Did he think about Hermi? How weak Hermi was. How small Hermi was. About the babies... As a father. Yes. As a father. Else looked up at him, holding back a sob. It wasn’t a father’s face.
As if they were someone else's children... He looked down at the children so indifferently. So, Else was the only parent. Else was the only mother to the children.
“Don’t you think about the babies at all?”
“Don’t make me angry, just tell me straight.”
Else shivered. Her face was flushed with anger.
“Those are your children!”
“Who said they weren't my kids?”
“But, but why don’t you care? Why am I the only one who became a mother? You, you are all... Sob, sob... I, you got me pregnant. What, on my own...”
Else hugged her daughter tightly. Sybil hadn't held his children since that day. It had been two weeks. Hermi had a fever every now and then and had difficulty breastfeeding. Whenever Hermi had a fever or had difficulty breastfeeding, Else would stamp her feet. She couldn't swallow food properly and couldn't sleep well.
“I have given the children you have conceived the highest title that can be given to a King’s children.”
It was a dry mumbling. Else rubbed the floor with her gaze in a daze. It was not a word of comfort at all. Even if she had been given the titles of Prince and Princess, her two babies were still being neglected by their father. If it had been Millium, she would have thought it was okay. But Sybil was the father of the twins.
Jules put down the swaddle she was holding and bowed. The King glanced at Jules and then stared at Else, who was crying. His heart beat rapidly. It was when he bit his lip with a worried expression.
“Countess Loper, please go out.”
The low sound echoed through the bedroom. Jules straightened her bent knees, stood up, and folded her hands neatly. Then she bowed to Else and left the bedroom. Now, only Else and Sybil remained in the bedroom.
“Else.”
Her chin was lifted. Tears flowed ceaselessly from Else's reddened eyes. Sybil's hand wiped Else's cheek. However, the tears that had welled up in a grayish color flowed down her cheek again. Her lips were distorted, and her entire face was wrinkled. Sybil looked down at her with eyes that seemed incomprehensible. Else turned her head away, not wanting to see him.
“I heard you were friends, weren’t you?”
He was talking about Jules. Sybil must have seen Jules often visiting Lugdun, so she must have thought that she and Else were close. Jules is indeed kind to Else. She may think of her as a friend, but she is also a relative. However, Jules had many closer friends than Else.
“Did that woman make you cry?”
"No."
“I tried to take her in as a maid, but it didn’t work out.”
"No!"
Else screamed. Sybil looked down at her blankly. Just as she was about to clench her jaw again, Else roughly slapped his hand away and let out a small sob.
“Then why are you doing this? Why are you sitting like this, ruining my mood after finishing my work?”
He asked her with a cold face. Else trembled at the cold-sounding mumbling. She put down her son, who was spitting out her nipple without any regrets as if he had filled his stomach, and picked up her daughter, who showed no sign of crying for milk.
“Else.”
Did he think about Hermi? How weak Hermi was. How small Hermi was. About the babies... As a father. Yes. As a father. Else looked up at him, holding back a sob. It wasn’t a father’s face.
As if they were someone else's children... He looked down at the children so indifferently. So, Else was the only parent. Else was the only mother to the children.
“Don’t you think about the babies at all?”
“Don’t make me angry, just tell me straight.”
Else shivered. Her face was flushed with anger.
“Those are your children!”
“Who said they weren't my kids?”
“But, but why don’t you care? Why am I the only one who became a mother? You, you are all... Sob, sob... I, you got me pregnant. What, on my own...”
Else hugged her daughter tightly. Sybil hadn't held his children since that day. It had been two weeks. Hermi had a fever every now and then and had difficulty breastfeeding. Whenever Hermi had a fever or had difficulty breastfeeding, Else would stamp her feet. She couldn't swallow food properly and couldn't sleep well.
“I have given the children you have conceived the highest title that can be given to a King’s children.”
It was a dry mumbling. Else rubbed the floor with her gaze in a daze. It was not a word of comfort at all. Even if she had been given the titles of Prince and Princess, her two babies were still being neglected by their father. If it had been Millium, she would have thought it was okay. But Sybil was the father of the twins.
“Else.”
Do all fathers in the world not care at all about their children? Do they think that their job is done once they have a baby?
Do all fathers in the world not care at all about their children? Do they think that their job is done once they have a baby?
When Sibyl glances at the babies wrapped in swaddling clothes and whines for milk, and then turns away, Else thinks of her late father. When she was very young. When Else was just born, her father must have looked at her like that. No matter how much Else suffered from a fever and was on the verge of death, his eyes must have been cold and harsh. She felt like the ground beneath her feet was crumbling.
“I want to get out of here. It doesn’t have to be Lugdun. I... ”
She sniffled and licked her lips. She could raise the babies on her own. It was better than being by Sibyl's side and receiving Sibyl's cold treatment and despairing every time.
“The children you give birth to are Prince and Princess.”
"So..."
“The same goes for future children. No King in the world raises his children outside the palace. Let alone the Princes and Princesses who have been given titles as children of the King.”
Else pursed her lips tightly. Her lips trembled. The word 'future' rattled in her head. It was when she was feeling the floor with her pale face. Her chin lifted gently. The tears flowing down her cheeks gathered on her chin.
“So stop nagging me and just do your duty.”
The trial of the Marquis Dolan and the group of traitors who had moved under him was coming to an end. Now, only the final trial, where only a formal sentence was handed down, remained. The trial period was over a month. The Marquis Dolan, who had been the leader, could not avoid being executed by hanging. The same was true for the lower-ranking nobles under his command. Four days until the execution. Else heard from Jules that Millium would eventually be executed.
Else didn't say anything. No matter how much she cried and begged, nothing would change. It wasn't that she felt sorry for Millium. It wasn't that she had any great feelings for Millium and wanted to save him. It was still hard to believe that Millium had plotted a rebellion with the Marquis of Dolan. Else, who had lived with him as his wife for a short time, knew even better that he was not the kind of man to do that.
Even if Sybil were to nullify and annul her marriage, that time was not a time that never existed for Else. Sybil also knows that, and that is why he is even more anxious to erase it. However, time is... not something that can be erased. Perhaps Sybil was trying to erase the time she could not erase by brutally killing Millium.
“Ugh...”
Hermi babbled softly in the cradle. Else held her daughter. Suddenly, the door opened, and a servant came in. He was a young man with straightened blond hair. The servant bowed to her and came in front of her, delivering the King’s order in a solemn voice.
“His Majesty has ordered you to attend the final hearing held today.”
The final hearing. A trial where only the sentence for the brother would be pronounced. Her heart was pounding. It might be the last time she would see Millium. She heard that he was tortured. Else did not know how horrible the torture of traitors was. Else was too young a noblewoman to know such a world.
Even after being dragged into Sibyl's hands like that, Else lived only in Sibyl's bedroom, as if hidden deep in the palace. There was no way to know how Millium had changed. In fact, she didn't want to go. He was a man who would occasionally swear at her and dry her blood.
It was the death of such a man. There was nothing to be sorry about. But strangely, tears came to her eyes. There were many days when she wanted to kill Millium with her own hands... If such a man were to leave this world, she would have to wear flowers in her hair and dance... Her whole body was just trembling.
“Let’s go.”
Else, who had been quietly feeling the floor, moved her lips.
"Please wait for a moment..."
The servant nodded. Else approached the dressing table with a staggering gait. It was the morning after the night she had cried that she had not paid any attention to her newborn children. For some reason, Sybil had brought items that Else could use into the bedroom. An elegant dressing table and chest of drawers in magnolia color, decorated with pure gold and sapphires.
A wooden bathtub adorned with gold and rose vines, an exquisite tea table more beautiful than any noblewoman in Siena could ever obtain, and a piano made by the most famous instrument craftsman in the neighboring kingdom of Primabella. Perhaps because he knew that the piano was the only instrument Else could play, he brought the piano into a sunny spot in the bedroom and gave it to Else as a gift.
But Else never once touched the piano. The flowers he gave her were the same. White dahlias and margarets. Blue delphiniums with a mysterious purple tint and pink ranunculus... He sent flowers every morning.
And Else didn't say a word of thanks. Sibyl didn't ask if she had received the flowers either. He didn't ask how she felt, so she thought that perhaps the maid or the head maid had sent them instead. But this morning, for some reason, the flowers he had sent caught her eye. The maid had placed them on the dressing table so that she could see them clearly. Else stared at the ranunculus with its pink petals open and took a deep breath. It had been a long time since she had dressed up.
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“I want to get out of here. It doesn’t have to be Lugdun. I... ”
She sniffled and licked her lips. She could raise the babies on her own. It was better than being by Sibyl's side and receiving Sibyl's cold treatment and despairing every time.
“The children you give birth to are Prince and Princess.”
"So..."
“The same goes for future children. No King in the world raises his children outside the palace. Let alone the Princes and Princesses who have been given titles as children of the King.”
Else pursed her lips tightly. Her lips trembled. The word 'future' rattled in her head. It was when she was feeling the floor with her pale face. Her chin lifted gently. The tears flowing down her cheeks gathered on her chin.
“So stop nagging me and just do your duty.”
***
The trial of the Marquis Dolan and the group of traitors who had moved under him was coming to an end. Now, only the final trial, where only a formal sentence was handed down, remained. The trial period was over a month. The Marquis Dolan, who had been the leader, could not avoid being executed by hanging. The same was true for the lower-ranking nobles under his command. Four days until the execution. Else heard from Jules that Millium would eventually be executed.
Else didn't say anything. No matter how much she cried and begged, nothing would change. It wasn't that she felt sorry for Millium. It wasn't that she had any great feelings for Millium and wanted to save him. It was still hard to believe that Millium had plotted a rebellion with the Marquis of Dolan. Else, who had lived with him as his wife for a short time, knew even better that he was not the kind of man to do that.
Even if Sybil were to nullify and annul her marriage, that time was not a time that never existed for Else. Sybil also knows that, and that is why he is even more anxious to erase it. However, time is... not something that can be erased. Perhaps Sybil was trying to erase the time she could not erase by brutally killing Millium.
“Ugh...”
Hermi babbled softly in the cradle. Else held her daughter. Suddenly, the door opened, and a servant came in. He was a young man with straightened blond hair. The servant bowed to her and came in front of her, delivering the King’s order in a solemn voice.
“His Majesty has ordered you to attend the final hearing held today.”
The final hearing. A trial where only the sentence for the brother would be pronounced. Her heart was pounding. It might be the last time she would see Millium. She heard that he was tortured. Else did not know how horrible the torture of traitors was. Else was too young a noblewoman to know such a world.
Even after being dragged into Sibyl's hands like that, Else lived only in Sibyl's bedroom, as if hidden deep in the palace. There was no way to know how Millium had changed. In fact, she didn't want to go. He was a man who would occasionally swear at her and dry her blood.
It was the death of such a man. There was nothing to be sorry about. But strangely, tears came to her eyes. There were many days when she wanted to kill Millium with her own hands... If such a man were to leave this world, she would have to wear flowers in her hair and dance... Her whole body was just trembling.
“Let’s go.”
Else, who had been quietly feeling the floor, moved her lips.
"Please wait for a moment..."
The servant nodded. Else approached the dressing table with a staggering gait. It was the morning after the night she had cried that she had not paid any attention to her newborn children. For some reason, Sybil had brought items that Else could use into the bedroom. An elegant dressing table and chest of drawers in magnolia color, decorated with pure gold and sapphires.
A wooden bathtub adorned with gold and rose vines, an exquisite tea table more beautiful than any noblewoman in Siena could ever obtain, and a piano made by the most famous instrument craftsman in the neighboring kingdom of Primabella. Perhaps because he knew that the piano was the only instrument Else could play, he brought the piano into a sunny spot in the bedroom and gave it to Else as a gift.
But Else never once touched the piano. The flowers he gave her were the same. White dahlias and margarets. Blue delphiniums with a mysterious purple tint and pink ranunculus... He sent flowers every morning.
And Else didn't say a word of thanks. Sibyl didn't ask if she had received the flowers either. He didn't ask how she felt, so she thought that perhaps the maid or the head maid had sent them instead. But this morning, for some reason, the flowers he had sent caught her eye. The maid had placed them on the dressing table so that she could see them clearly. Else stared at the ranunculus with its pink petals open and took a deep breath. It had been a long time since she had dressed up.
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