Episode 119. Sweet Revenge
“Let’s go together now. My beloved Berche.”
Lawrence walked toward Bercheria, just as she did every day on her visits to the tower. Bercheria meticulously memorized every single movement, every speck of dirt on her face, every expression.
She'd expected Gerard, preparing for war, to threaten Groovy, but what happened after that completely eluded her.
And now.
"No."
Just as Lawrence was about to stab one of her children to death, another stabbed her in the back.
"Ah."
At that moment, Lyone felt a shock that made her blood boil.
"Her Majesty has fallen!"
She heard someone shout and instinctively moved toward the source.
"Why, until the very end?"
Lyone always wondered.
Why on earth did Lawrence take her children away and torment them so?
Some days, she felt no need to obsess over children she hadn't raised, while other days, she felt an unbearable rage.
Both Bercheria and Groovy, if she had raised them, might have lived even more glamorous lives.
The Emperor, obsessed with blonde hair, would have done anything for Bercheria, and Groovy's handsome looks would have made noblewomen give up their livers and gallbladders. Why would she steal those children for so little and lock them away, never to see the light of day? What would she gain from it?
Then, vaguely, Lyone suspected that perhaps Lawrence's purpose was to torment her.
That's why she made Gerard even more captivated by her.
She acted so sweetly that the Emperor didn't even want to look at the Empress.
And she had the man who brought her letters have sex with Lawrence.
If she had revealed the Empress's filth to the world at that crucial moment, it would have been perfect revenge.
No one would have sided with the vulgar Empress who slept with another man, leaving the Emperor behind.
But Lawrence had already toyed with Lyone before she could even seek revenge.
Now, Groovy and Bercheria would be locked in the dungeon, accused of the Empress's murder.
The first time. Just as she had taken Lyone's newborn children.
"No. I can't let it happen to me twice."
Lyone muttered the same words over and over again.
If Lawrence hadn't taken her children, she wouldn't have had to live a life catering to Gerard. She would have lived comfortably, not wasting her life fawning over that unlucky, ill-tempered Gerard.
Sure, she'd have had a hard time raising unwanted children, but after that, she would have lived happily ever after on the money they brought her.
"You ruined everything! You ruined everything!"
Lyone ran to Lawrence, who was lying on the floor, grabbed her by the collar, and shook her.
Lawrence, already on the brink of death, stared at Lyone with narrowed eyes.
"Tell me. Tell me why you're doing this to me!"
Lawrence struggled to speak as Lyone screamed.
"What a vulgar government!"
At Lawrence's smirk, a spark flew from Lyone's eyes.
"How insolent!"
Lyone picked up a rock that had been rolling on the ground and began pounding it at Lawrence.
“Die! Die!”
The Royal Guards, who had rushed to rescue the suddenly collapsed Empress, all froze in place.
No one dared to stop the Emperor’s mistress from beating the Empress.
“Lady Lyone!”
Except for Dylan, who had just regained consciousness.
Dylan stepped forward to replace Gerard, who was standing there in a daze, biting back a curse. He then ran forward and snatched Lyone’s arm, which was holding a stone.
“Aren’t you going to let this go?”
Dylan stared at Lawrence, who had held her breath, her eyes narrowed to threads.
“Haa.”
Having regained consciousness too late, he couldn’t tell what had happened.
One thing was certain: everyone here had witnessed the Emperor’s mistress beating the Empress.
As a member of the Royal Guards, responsible for maintaining order in the imperial court, Dylan had a responsibility to resolve this situation.
The laws of Periat had to be applied equally to everyone, at all times.
Whether it was a noble, an Empress, or even the Emperor's mistress.
But before that, he needed to confirm the facts.
He turned his gaze to Bercheria, who had been watching the entire scene from beginning to end.
"Did the weather goddess see all this?"
Bercheria replied in a calm voice.
"I did."
"Then, could you tell me exactly who killed Her Majesty the Empress?"
Bercheria tore her gaze away from Lyone, who was still fuming, unable to contain her excitement, and looked at Groovy, whose expression was complex.
Their eyes met, and Groovy smiled with a genuine, unpretentious smile.
From the beginning, his life had been one of confinement in the dungeon.
But by chance, he had escaped, and thanks to Bercheria, he had briefly experienced what family was like, what it was like to live in the outside world.
Even the warmth of being protected.
"So, it's okay. Don't worry."
Groovy nodded, as if to encourage her to speak.
Bercheria smiled gently back at him, then hardened her expression as she looked at Dylan.
"The person who murdered Lawrence,"
She said without a hint of hesitation.
"Lyone."
It was finally time to repay a long-standing debt.
"In the name of the goddess Bercheria, I swear that Lyone is the culprit who murdered the Empress..."
Her golden eyes were fixed calmly on Lyone.
"I guarantee it."
“Let’s go together now. My beloved Berche.”
Lawrence walked toward Bercheria, just as she did every day on her visits to the tower. Bercheria meticulously memorized every single movement, every speck of dirt on her face, every expression.
“...”
Looking at her mother, holding dry bread and a whip, Bercheria recalled a time when she was grateful to have a mother. Because she was there, she wasn’t alone in the world. It was a day when she hadn’t realized she had been left alone.
A sharp blade flashed before her eyes. In the arms of the woman she once believed to be her mother, Bercheria quietly closed her eyes. And then she felt her clothes soaked with damp blood.
“...Law, rence.”
There was no pain at all. Because it wasn’t her own blood.
“Ugh.”
Lawrence dropped the knife in her hand and sank to the ground. Bercheria, who had been trying to stop Lawrence, looked at the person who had stabbed her before her with a surprised expression.
“Groovy.”
Groovy was looking at Lawrence, who had collapsed on the ground, knife in hand.
***
“We’re going to invade the north and start a war. How about that? Isn’t that a great idea?”
Lyone was hiding behind the wall, watching Groovy being dragged away by Dylan.
“Can’t you come out soon?”
“Oh, I’m not going! I have no right to do this to you anymore!”
Groovy was struggling to keep from being dragged away by Dylan, who was twice his size.
“Will I die if I go?”
Lyone muttered, chewing her nails anxiously. Any hope that war might not break out was completely dashed when she saw Gerard’s gaze. She had been watching him for so long that she knew what his eyes meant. Gerard was now filled with fierce certainty. He was confident that he could start a war and turn every situation to his advantage.
“Who? Who gave Gerard that confidence?”
Whoever it was seemed to have a perfect grasp of Gerard. Gerard hated thinking, but he was exceedingly greedy. You could tell just by the way he secretly hoarded jewels in the basement.
“Put these down!”
Groovy was eventually carried away by Dylan, dangling like a puppy.
“Ha.”
Lyone pressed her throbbing head.
“What should I do?”
Before Lawrence became empress, Lyone had sold the twins to her, and she had been ill for several days. When she woke up, she would feel the twins still inside her, only to realize she had abandoned them like luggage.
When she was pregnant, those babies had been a curse, but now that she had sold them for a mere penny, she felt a strange, heart-fluttering sensation. It wasn’t until much later that she realized why she had felt that way.
The girl among the twins was the Awakened One of Bercheria. Could there be anything more glorious than being born human and becoming the mother of a god?
Even breathing would surely bring her gold and silver treasures from all over. However, by the time she realized this, Lawrence, who was supposed to return the child, had already become the Empress, so there was no way to return it. Lyone, too, was too young to even approach the Empress. So the Third Prince, the most naive of the three, had scouted out the route in advance, and she leaped onto the carriage.
Beginning a secret relationship with Gerard, Lyone became a powerful figure, able to control the imperial family with just her lips. What was truly fascinating was how the Prince of the empire would act without hesitation at the word of Lyone, a mere commoner. He soon became Emperor, and the empire was in Lyone's hands. Furthermore, the fact that he could cast Lawrence aside like a burden was an undeniable pleasure.
"No matter what..."
Even if she'd forgotten about it, Groovy and Bercheria were her children. She couldn't just stand by and watch them be manipulated by Lawrence like this.
"Lawrence."
Lyone followed Groovy. And when she arrived at Gerard's place, she barely had time to grasp what was happening.
She'd expected Gerard, preparing for war, to threaten Groovy, but what happened after that completely eluded her.
And now.
"No."
Just as Lawrence was about to stab one of her children to death, another stabbed her in the back.
"Ah."
At that moment, Lyone felt a shock that made her blood boil.
"Her Majesty has fallen!"
She heard someone shout and instinctively moved toward the source.
"Why, until the very end?"
Lyone always wondered.
Why on earth did Lawrence take her children away and torment them so?
Some days, she felt no need to obsess over children she hadn't raised, while other days, she felt an unbearable rage.
Both Bercheria and Groovy, if she had raised them, might have lived even more glamorous lives.
The Emperor, obsessed with blonde hair, would have done anything for Bercheria, and Groovy's handsome looks would have made noblewomen give up their livers and gallbladders. Why would she steal those children for so little and lock them away, never to see the light of day? What would she gain from it?
Then, vaguely, Lyone suspected that perhaps Lawrence's purpose was to torment her.
That's why she made Gerard even more captivated by her.
She acted so sweetly that the Emperor didn't even want to look at the Empress.
And she had the man who brought her letters have sex with Lawrence.
If she had revealed the Empress's filth to the world at that crucial moment, it would have been perfect revenge.
No one would have sided with the vulgar Empress who slept with another man, leaving the Emperor behind.
But Lawrence had already toyed with Lyone before she could even seek revenge.
Now, Groovy and Bercheria would be locked in the dungeon, accused of the Empress's murder.
The first time. Just as she had taken Lyone's newborn children.
"No. I can't let it happen to me twice."
Lyone muttered the same words over and over again.
If Lawrence hadn't taken her children, she wouldn't have had to live a life catering to Gerard. She would have lived comfortably, not wasting her life fawning over that unlucky, ill-tempered Gerard.
Sure, she'd have had a hard time raising unwanted children, but after that, she would have lived happily ever after on the money they brought her.
"You ruined everything! You ruined everything!"
Lyone ran to Lawrence, who was lying on the floor, grabbed her by the collar, and shook her.
Lawrence, already on the brink of death, stared at Lyone with narrowed eyes.
"Tell me. Tell me why you're doing this to me!"
Lawrence struggled to speak as Lyone screamed.
"What a vulgar government!"
At Lawrence's smirk, a spark flew from Lyone's eyes.
"How insolent!"
Lyone picked up a rock that had been rolling on the ground and began pounding it at Lawrence.
“Die! Die!”
The Royal Guards, who had rushed to rescue the suddenly collapsed Empress, all froze in place.
No one dared to stop the Emperor’s mistress from beating the Empress.
“Lady Lyone!”
Except for Dylan, who had just regained consciousness.
Dylan stepped forward to replace Gerard, who was standing there in a daze, biting back a curse. He then ran forward and snatched Lyone’s arm, which was holding a stone.
“Aren’t you going to let this go?”
Dylan stared at Lawrence, who had held her breath, her eyes narrowed to threads.
“Haa.”
Having regained consciousness too late, he couldn’t tell what had happened.
One thing was certain: everyone here had witnessed the Emperor’s mistress beating the Empress.
As a member of the Royal Guards, responsible for maintaining order in the imperial court, Dylan had a responsibility to resolve this situation.
The laws of Periat had to be applied equally to everyone, at all times.
Whether it was a noble, an Empress, or even the Emperor's mistress.
But before that, he needed to confirm the facts.
He turned his gaze to Bercheria, who had been watching the entire scene from beginning to end.
"Did the weather goddess see all this?"
Bercheria replied in a calm voice.
"I did."
"Then, could you tell me exactly who killed Her Majesty the Empress?"
Bercheria tore her gaze away from Lyone, who was still fuming, unable to contain her excitement, and looked at Groovy, whose expression was complex.
Their eyes met, and Groovy smiled with a genuine, unpretentious smile.
From the beginning, his life had been one of confinement in the dungeon.
But by chance, he had escaped, and thanks to Bercheria, he had briefly experienced what family was like, what it was like to live in the outside world.
Even the warmth of being protected.
"So, it's okay. Don't worry."
Groovy nodded, as if to encourage her to speak.
Bercheria smiled gently back at him, then hardened her expression as she looked at Dylan.
"The person who murdered Lawrence,"
She said without a hint of hesitation.
"Lyone."
It was finally time to repay a long-standing debt.
"In the name of the goddess Bercheria, I swear that Lyone is the culprit who murdered the Empress..."
Her golden eyes were fixed calmly on Lyone.
"I guarantee it."
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