Episode 131. Something that makes you happy just thinking about it
“You look so happy.”
Isabelle muttered quietly and lowly.
She was currently drinking tea while looking out the window of the reception room of the Empress’s Palace. Through the window, where the spring sunlight had poured down, she could see Christine, Adele, and Aaron together.
The two were engaged in a war of nerves, but from a distance, they appeared to be a happy family.
“That’s right. I want to ruin it.”
Isabelle turned her head at the voice from the other side.
A beautiful blonde beauty was sitting in front of her. Isabelle, recalling her old appearance, thought that she was very plain. She wasn’t wearing a silk dress or fancy jewelry.
Isabelle put down her teacup and smiled elegantly.
“Are you testing me, Miss Seira?”
When Stone was discovered to be a member of the wolf clan, the noble council quickly expelled the Oswald family. After that, as the war continued, the Marquis was shunned by the nobles and lost all his property and title.
And there were only rumors about Seira. Some said she became the mistress of a noble family, some said she became a priest, and some said she sold her body in a brothel.
They were all wild rumors, and looking at Seira now, it was clear that she had not lived an easy life.
“I came to see you because I thought you were scared by what happened at the opera house.”
She was referring to the attack on Christine in front of the opera house.
“It was too urgent at the opera house. So reckless...”
“I didn’t know that the Emperor who was said to be on the verge of death for three days was so fine. You can only call him a beast.”
Isabelle snickered.
“The rumor that the Emperor was on the verge of death was just a rumor.”
“Even though I heard it from the knight who guarded the Marvel palace?”
Isabelle hesitated, and Seira clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, how come we’re in the same palace and yet the news is so dark? I heard that antipyretics and painkillers were constantly being delivered to the Emperor’s bedroom for three days.”
“The Emperor has the best magician named Leana by his side, so why?”
“Well, why is that?”
Isabelle was silent for a while, savoring her tea.
‘Is Leana unable to use healing magic, or is she sick and unable to use it?’
If we do it right, we might be able to find the Emperor’s weakness that is stronger than Adele’s... Even now, knights were stationed around Adele, even in places that were not visible, to stand guard. So for the time being, it would be impossible to use her to defeat Christine.
If we could just find a weaker weakness...
“Anyway, the Emperor caught me with my carrier pigeon. It would be best to cut off contact for the time being. And refrain from coming here.”
Seira stared at Isabelle with an arrogant expression.
“I’ll decide whether to contact you or not. All you have to do, Lady Isabelle, is help Priest Maurice.”
In fact, Seira had been staying with Maurice all this time. She had planned to restore the glory of her fallen family with the power of the Vatican.
However, the Vatican was trampled by Christine, and Maurice was branded a rebel priest, leaving her with no place to stand.
Isabelle, who knew this better than anyone else, laughed coldly.
Leana laughed heartily at Adele’s innocent reaction.
“Rumor has it that Adele was pregnant with His Majesty’s heir last night, but I guess not.”
Adele blushed and glared.
“You’ve become a dirty and ill-tempered adult, Leana.”
“It’s really unfortunate. If you had seen His Majesty’s body, you would have known the truth to some extent.”
“Seeing his body? What can you know from that?”
Adele tilted her head at the increasingly incomprehensible words. However, Leana, who had a bad temper, shook her head with a more joyful expression.
“I won’t tell you that because it hurts my stomach.”
“You’ve really become ill-tempered.”
“If you’re curious, take off your clothes.”
“A lady saying such dirty things!”
“And... Decide as quickly as possible. Whether you choose Count Castler or His Majesty. I think that will make everyone less unhappy.”
“Yes, I should.”
Adele looked at Christine and her son, who were slowly riding their horses in the palace garden.
As she looked at him, lovingly holding Aaron and smiling, the term “blood Emperor” seemed meaningless. Just the image of an ordinary father who loved his child.
The picture that Adele had dreamed of for a long time.
Maybe he knew Aaron was his child from the moment he first met him. Even the child, who knew nothing, continued to talk about him.
She felt sorry and regretful for Mark, but in the end, where Aaron should be was by Christine’s side.
“Then I’ll leave now.”
When Leana, who had shaken off her burden, turned around with a relieved expression,
“Hey, Leana!”
Adele hesitated and called her.
“When you come back... let’s have some apple pie together. I’ll bake it and wait for you.”
“Oh! Really?”
Leana’s expression brightened like a child’s. At times like this, it seemed like she was looking at Aaron.
“Yes, and thank you for protecting him all this time.”
It must have been her help that Christine had been safe so far.
“That’s right. That’s something I deserve to be thanked for. It must have been so hard to protect that wild person.”
“Who’s wild?”
Christine, who was riding Aaron, was already approaching the two of them on horseback.
“That’s probably the one who’s being stabbed right now.”
Leana answered cheerfully and pretended to know Aaron.
“You’re Aaron?”
“Yes! I’m Aaron Castler.”
“I’m Leana. The world’s greatest magician.”
“Wow, you’re a real magician? Can you even make fire come out?”
“Then. If I put my mind to it, I can turn this place into a sea of fire. Shall I show you?”
Aaron shook his head as Leana’s eyes gleamed wickedly.
“No. If you play with fire, you’ll pee yourself!”
“What?”
Everyone laughed in absurdity, but Aaron was the only one who stared at Leana with a serious expression.
“But the wizard sister has the same eye color as me.”
“That’s right. I guess blood is thicker than water.”
“What does it mean that blood is thicker than water?”
Leana glanced at Christine and Adele and answered cheerfully.
“It means that it feels good to be the same as a pretty boy like you. See you later, kid.”
Leana stretched out her hand and patted Aaron’s head.
Only then did she realize. How Christine had been looking at her.
And she realized another thing. It was really stupid of her to be afraid that Adele and Aaron would steal Christine away from her.
They could have been a family if they had hung out like this.
“Then I’ll be going, Your Majesty!”
When she gets back, they should all sit down and eat Adele’s pie.
Just like when she was happiest back then.
With her real family.
Just thinking about it made Leana happy.
Aaron must have been tired from wrestling with words all day. He dozed off during dinner and buried his face in the table by the end of the meal. As Adele was coming out into the hallway after putting Aaron to bed, Marilla approached her.
“A letter from the Castlers.”
Adele quickly accepted the letter.
She had written to Tanya this morning after hearing that Mark had been released and had returned home. She had wondered if Mark was okay and how the kids were doing. She hadn’t been able to talk to him properly yesterday. However, she had been wondering since there had been no news since evening.
Adele opened the letter in a hurry, but stopped.
It wasn’t from Tanya, it was from Mia.
“You look so happy.”
Isabelle muttered quietly and lowly.
She was currently drinking tea while looking out the window of the reception room of the Empress’s Palace. Through the window, where the spring sunlight had poured down, she could see Christine, Adele, and Aaron together.
The two were engaged in a war of nerves, but from a distance, they appeared to be a happy family.
“That’s right. I want to ruin it.”
Isabelle turned her head at the voice from the other side.
A beautiful blonde beauty was sitting in front of her. Isabelle, recalling her old appearance, thought that she was very plain. She wasn’t wearing a silk dress or fancy jewelry.
Isabelle put down her teacup and smiled elegantly.
“Are you testing me, Miss Seira?”
When Stone was discovered to be a member of the wolf clan, the noble council quickly expelled the Oswald family. After that, as the war continued, the Marquis was shunned by the nobles and lost all his property and title.
And there were only rumors about Seira. Some said she became the mistress of a noble family, some said she became a priest, and some said she sold her body in a brothel.
They were all wild rumors, and looking at Seira now, it was clear that she had not lived an easy life.
“I came to see you because I thought you were scared by what happened at the opera house.”
She was referring to the attack on Christine in front of the opera house.
“It was too urgent at the opera house. So reckless...”
“I didn’t know that the Emperor who was said to be on the verge of death for three days was so fine. You can only call him a beast.”
Isabelle snickered.
“The rumor that the Emperor was on the verge of death was just a rumor.”
“Even though I heard it from the knight who guarded the Marvel palace?”
Isabelle hesitated, and Seira clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, how come we’re in the same palace and yet the news is so dark? I heard that antipyretics and painkillers were constantly being delivered to the Emperor’s bedroom for three days.”
“The Emperor has the best magician named Leana by his side, so why?”
“Well, why is that?”
Isabelle was silent for a while, savoring her tea.
‘Is Leana unable to use healing magic, or is she sick and unable to use it?’
If we do it right, we might be able to find the Emperor’s weakness that is stronger than Adele’s... Even now, knights were stationed around Adele, even in places that were not visible, to stand guard. So for the time being, it would be impossible to use her to defeat Christine.
If we could just find a weaker weakness...
“Anyway, the Emperor caught me with my carrier pigeon. It would be best to cut off contact for the time being. And refrain from coming here.”
Seira stared at Isabelle with an arrogant expression.
“I’ll decide whether to contact you or not. All you have to do, Lady Isabelle, is help Priest Maurice.”
In fact, Seira had been staying with Maurice all this time. She had planned to restore the glory of her fallen family with the power of the Vatican.
However, the Vatican was trampled by Christine, and Maurice was branded a rebel priest, leaving her with no place to stand.
Isabelle, who knew this better than anyone else, laughed coldly.
“Neither Maurice nor his mistress is in a position to speak up anymore.”
“What?”
“What are you doing? If you’re done with your business, why don’t you leave now?”
Isabelle, who had issued a cold order to shoo away the guests, turned her gaze out the window again.
She saw Christine riding Aaron on a horse. She couldn’t see his expression because he was far away, but he seemed to be smiling brightly, perhaps because of the soft sunlight. Adele was watching him anxiously.
“Anyone can tell that this is father and son.”
Now that she looked at it, didn’t Adele’s child look exactly like Christine’s, except for the hair color?
“Could it be that Adele raised Christine’s child as Castler’s child?”
Did Castler know?
No, even if he had known, what would he think in this situation?
She heard he was arrested on suspicion of rebellion a few days ago.
If his wife and child were taken away and he was falsely accused of being a traitor...
“Could it be that Father Maurice approached Castler on purpose?”
Seira smiled as she opened the door and was about to leave.
“Sometimes, a single drop of poison can be more lethal than an army of millions.”
At that moment, the corners of Isabelle’s mouth went up.
“I like that method.”
“Mother!”
Aaron, who was on the horse with Christine, waved at Adele.
“Aaron, be careful!”
Adele cried out nervously. It seemed as if the child would lose balance on the big horse and fall off.
“It’s okay. He's here.”
But the child smiled at him with eyes filled with absolute trust.
“I’ll move, so hold on tight!”
Christine gently shook the reins and kicked the horse’s side.
“Wow! Run!”
The child’s transparent face, filled with joy under the sunlight, shone brightly. As she watched Christine running with Aaron in front, the two of them looked so good together that Adele’s eyes stung.
How long had she been hoping for this?
A scene where he and his child were so happily together.
“You look so happy.”
When she turned around, Leana was approaching her.
She was wearing tight-fitting leggings and boots instead of a dress. Judging by the jacket and the cape wrapped around her shoulders, she seemed to be going somewhere far away. Her mysterious silver hair was tied high in a single knot, but her face still looked young.
Adele was reminded of Leana when she was a girl. At that time, she was cute, even though she was a bit awkward.
“What?”
“What are you doing? If you’re done with your business, why don’t you leave now?”
Isabelle, who had issued a cold order to shoo away the guests, turned her gaze out the window again.
She saw Christine riding Aaron on a horse. She couldn’t see his expression because he was far away, but he seemed to be smiling brightly, perhaps because of the soft sunlight. Adele was watching him anxiously.
“Anyone can tell that this is father and son.”
Now that she looked at it, didn’t Adele’s child look exactly like Christine’s, except for the hair color?
“Could it be that Adele raised Christine’s child as Castler’s child?”
Did Castler know?
No, even if he had known, what would he think in this situation?
She heard he was arrested on suspicion of rebellion a few days ago.
If his wife and child were taken away and he was falsely accused of being a traitor...
“Could it be that Father Maurice approached Castler on purpose?”
Seira smiled as she opened the door and was about to leave.
“Sometimes, a single drop of poison can be more lethal than an army of millions.”
At that moment, the corners of Isabelle’s mouth went up.
“I like that method.”
***
“Mother!”
Aaron, who was on the horse with Christine, waved at Adele.
“Aaron, be careful!”
Adele cried out nervously. It seemed as if the child would lose balance on the big horse and fall off.
“It’s okay. He's here.”
But the child smiled at him with eyes filled with absolute trust.
“I’ll move, so hold on tight!”
Christine gently shook the reins and kicked the horse’s side.
“Wow! Run!”
The child’s transparent face, filled with joy under the sunlight, shone brightly. As she watched Christine running with Aaron in front, the two of them looked so good together that Adele’s eyes stung.
How long had she been hoping for this?
A scene where he and his child were so happily together.
“You look so happy.”
When she turned around, Leana was approaching her.
She was wearing tight-fitting leggings and boots instead of a dress. Judging by the jacket and the cape wrapped around her shoulders, she seemed to be going somewhere far away. Her mysterious silver hair was tied high in a single knot, but her face still looked young.
Adele was reminded of Leana when she was a girl. At that time, she was cute, even though she was a bit awkward.
“Where are you going?”
Leana answered confidently and arrogantly.
“Let’s go catch the rebel priests. That way, Count Castler can be completely cleared of charges.”
“So it wasn’t His Majesty who framed him?”
“What a disappointment. Even Adele suspected him.”
Of course, the old Christine would never have resorted to such a mean method. But now, she couldn’t be sure what kind of person he was.
“That’s right. I guess too much time has passed.”
“Yes and no.”
“What do you mean?”
“...I’m sorry about the letter. In fact, I wanted to apologize all along.”
“It’s in the past, but thank you for apologizing.”
Leana smiled awkwardly at Adele’s words.
“Yes. Adele was right. I hid the letter under the pretext of helping His Majesty decide, but I actually didn’t want him to be taken away from me. His mind was already full of Adele, and if he found out that you had a child, I would be... nothing. My family was finally mine after my parents passed away, so I felt like I would be abandoned.”
“You make a lot of excuses while apologizing, Leana.”
When Adele teased her slightly, Leana pouted cutely.
“Tch, that means that His Majesty only had Adele. No matter how long the six years were, it was always the same. No matter how much I rolled forward and backward and attacked him, we couldn’t fight.”
“What... does that mean?”
Leana confessed hesitantly.
“I actually tried to kiss His Majesty. But I was teased. Even now, when I think back on that time, I kick the blankets off because I’m so embarrassed.”
Leana answered confidently and arrogantly.
“Let’s go catch the rebel priests. That way, Count Castler can be completely cleared of charges.”
“So it wasn’t His Majesty who framed him?”
“What a disappointment. Even Adele suspected him.”
Of course, the old Christine would never have resorted to such a mean method. But now, she couldn’t be sure what kind of person he was.
“That’s right. I guess too much time has passed.”
“Yes and no.”
“What do you mean?”
“...I’m sorry about the letter. In fact, I wanted to apologize all along.”
“It’s in the past, but thank you for apologizing.”
Leana smiled awkwardly at Adele’s words.
“Yes. Adele was right. I hid the letter under the pretext of helping His Majesty decide, but I actually didn’t want him to be taken away from me. His mind was already full of Adele, and if he found out that you had a child, I would be... nothing. My family was finally mine after my parents passed away, so I felt like I would be abandoned.”
“You make a lot of excuses while apologizing, Leana.”
When Adele teased her slightly, Leana pouted cutely.
“Tch, that means that His Majesty only had Adele. No matter how long the six years were, it was always the same. No matter how much I rolled forward and backward and attacked him, we couldn’t fight.”
“What... does that mean?”
Leana confessed hesitantly.
“I actually tried to kiss His Majesty. But I was teased. Even now, when I think back on that time, I kick the blankets off because I’m so embarrassed.”
“You must have been really embarrassed.”
“Can you not kill me?”
Adele chuckled at the sight of Leana getting angry. Then her expression darkened again.
“But he’s kind to me sometimes, and then he suddenly turns cold.”
Leana mischievously thrust her face at Adele, who had become gloomy.
“Hmm, nothing has happened to you two yet.”
“How could that be...?”
“Can you not kill me?”
Adele chuckled at the sight of Leana getting angry. Then her expression darkened again.
“But he’s kind to me sometimes, and then he suddenly turns cold.”
Leana mischievously thrust her face at Adele, who had become gloomy.
“Hmm, nothing has happened to you two yet.”
“How could that be...?”
Leana laughed heartily at Adele’s innocent reaction.
“Rumor has it that Adele was pregnant with His Majesty’s heir last night, but I guess not.”
Adele blushed and glared.
“You’ve become a dirty and ill-tempered adult, Leana.”
“It’s really unfortunate. If you had seen His Majesty’s body, you would have known the truth to some extent.”
“Seeing his body? What can you know from that?”
Adele tilted her head at the increasingly incomprehensible words. However, Leana, who had a bad temper, shook her head with a more joyful expression.
“I won’t tell you that because it hurts my stomach.”
“You’ve really become ill-tempered.”
“If you’re curious, take off your clothes.”
“A lady saying such dirty things!”
“And... Decide as quickly as possible. Whether you choose Count Castler or His Majesty. I think that will make everyone less unhappy.”
“Yes, I should.”
Adele looked at Christine and her son, who were slowly riding their horses in the palace garden.
As she looked at him, lovingly holding Aaron and smiling, the term “blood Emperor” seemed meaningless. Just the image of an ordinary father who loved his child.
The picture that Adele had dreamed of for a long time.
Maybe he knew Aaron was his child from the moment he first met him. Even the child, who knew nothing, continued to talk about him.
She felt sorry and regretful for Mark, but in the end, where Aaron should be was by Christine’s side.
“Then I’ll leave now.”
When Leana, who had shaken off her burden, turned around with a relieved expression,
“Hey, Leana!”
Adele hesitated and called her.
“When you come back... let’s have some apple pie together. I’ll bake it and wait for you.”
“Oh! Really?”
Leana’s expression brightened like a child’s. At times like this, it seemed like she was looking at Aaron.
“Yes, and thank you for protecting him all this time.”
It must have been her help that Christine had been safe so far.
“That’s right. That’s something I deserve to be thanked for. It must have been so hard to protect that wild person.”
“Who’s wild?”
Christine, who was riding Aaron, was already approaching the two of them on horseback.
“That’s probably the one who’s being stabbed right now.”
Leana answered cheerfully and pretended to know Aaron.
“You’re Aaron?”
“Yes! I’m Aaron Castler.”
“I’m Leana. The world’s greatest magician.”
“Wow, you’re a real magician? Can you even make fire come out?”
“Then. If I put my mind to it, I can turn this place into a sea of fire. Shall I show you?”
Aaron shook his head as Leana’s eyes gleamed wickedly.
“No. If you play with fire, you’ll pee yourself!”
“What?”
Everyone laughed in absurdity, but Aaron was the only one who stared at Leana with a serious expression.
“But the wizard sister has the same eye color as me.”
“That’s right. I guess blood is thicker than water.”
“What does it mean that blood is thicker than water?”
Leana glanced at Christine and Adele and answered cheerfully.
“It means that it feels good to be the same as a pretty boy like you. See you later, kid.”
Leana stretched out her hand and patted Aaron’s head.
Only then did she realize. How Christine had been looking at her.
And she realized another thing. It was really stupid of her to be afraid that Adele and Aaron would steal Christine away from her.
They could have been a family if they had hung out like this.
“Then I’ll be going, Your Majesty!”
When she gets back, they should all sit down and eat Adele’s pie.
Just like when she was happiest back then.
With her real family.
Just thinking about it made Leana happy.
***
Aaron must have been tired from wrestling with words all day. He dozed off during dinner and buried his face in the table by the end of the meal. As Adele was coming out into the hallway after putting Aaron to bed, Marilla approached her.
“A letter from the Castlers.”
Adele quickly accepted the letter.
She had written to Tanya this morning after hearing that Mark had been released and had returned home. She had wondered if Mark was okay and how the kids were doing. She hadn’t been able to talk to him properly yesterday. However, she had been wondering since there had been no news since evening.
Adele opened the letter in a hurry, but stopped.
It wasn’t from Tanya, it was from Mia.
Comments
Post a Comment