(129) Why do we (1)
The perfume business, invested in on Victoria's word, failed miserably and ruined the Western Lord's reputation. If it had simply failed, the loss of money would have been the end of it, but with so many victims, the issue escalated to the point where even the Emperor needed to intervene.
The Emperor was furious with the Western Lord, and the Third Prince criticized the Western Lord, saying, "I trusted you, but I never expected you to repay that trust in this way."
Since he was out of favor with the Emperor, he could not cut ties with the Third Prince. So, although he was dissatisfied, the Western Lord had no choice but to endure and listen to the Third Prince's criticism.
Even though the Emperor had scolded the Third Prince, he was still the Emperor's favorite son. His mother, Aella, still enjoyed the Emperor's favor.
There was always a chance for the Third Prince to oust the Crown Prince, avoiding this situation. If they had simply supported the Third Prince and made him the Crown Prince, this incident would have been insignificant.
The Western Lord had to somehow maintain her relationship with the Third Prince and resolve this situation.
'If you give them some money, they'll be stupid commoners...'
The money was the problem.
The Western Lord now had no funds left to operate. While there was some money left in the treasury, it was barely enough to survive the year.
Moreover, it was known that the government had invested money into the project and it had failed, so it was obvious that any further intervention would lead to an even bigger problem.
Although he secretly pressured his children to get money, it was not enough to handle the situation.
So, while he was thinking about it, the person that came to mind was Viscount Ingo Alfreich.
Viscount Alfreich is one of the top five arms dealers on the entire continent.
Although the Alfreich family had purchased the title of Viscount with money from their ancestors, they were still not properly treated as nobles. The nobles of the more established families shunned him, calling him a "nouveau riche."
Viscount Alfreich, who had ample money, was now sending subtle signals to the Western Lord that he wanted honor.
In fact, two years ago, the Western Lord had planned to marry Ariana to Viscount Alfreich. However, Ariana ran away, and a custody battle ensued, putting the Viscount Alfreich issue on hold.
Now is the time to put that pattern to use.
'Piena and Royel, your children are all fools.'
The Western Lord had three daughters.
Rachel, Piena, and Royel.
Among them, Rachel had the most outstanding looks, and the children born to her had the most outstanding looks.
'It was especially perfect for Ariana to use.'
Ariana, unloved by anyone, was a useful child. She was prettier than anyone else and had a gentle personality.
Knowing her situation, he was sure she wouldn't have objected even if she were to marry someone much older than her.
'I lost something precious.'
Viscount Alfreich wouldn't be satisfied with just anyone. He'd send her as much of a dowry as the Western Lord desired, at least if she was attractive.
'It's a shame to send Victoria away...'
Despite her blunders in the perfume business, none of his granddaughters was as intelligent or beautiful as Victoria. Later, she was the only granddaughter worthy of a marriage with the Third Prince.
'I guess I'll have to hand Helena over. I feel sorry for Rachel and Jacob, but...
There will be great opposition from both sides.
Even though Rachel was pregnant, she harbored a grudge against the Western Lord for trying to marry her off to the Eastern Lord. Even though she didn't express it, he knew the resentment still lingered.
If, in the meantime, he were to send his most beloved daughter, Helena, to Ingo Alfreich, the reaction would be tremendous.
'But there's nothing I can do.'
The Western Lord made a decision.
Even when she was summoned to the Western Lord, Helena was full of anticipation.
Although the Lord of the West was her maternal grandfather, she was in a difficult position to meet him, and she was upset that he seemed to have only favored Victoria. Furthermore, he sent Victoria to the North to establish a relationship with the Lord of the North.
'If the topic of North comes up again this time, I have to ask him to let me go.'
Helena, who arrived at Rosen Castle, where the Western Lord lived, with a fluttering heart, almost lost her mind when she heard the shocking words.
“Victor Alfreich! What do you mean, Father?”
Rachel shouted on behalf of Helena, who was dumbfounded and unable to accept what she had heard.
"Your Excellency, that won't do. Helena is still young. And you want to marry her off to that old man!"
Even her father, Jacob, who always bowed his head in front of the Western Lord, raised his voice.
But no pity appeared on the face of the Western Lord.
"Old man? He's only 32."
"Just a mere squire. He's just a merchant who hasn't even married yet. You know what kind of family the Alfreich family is, don't you? Many still know the story of how his father bought his title. And to send Helena away... No, Your Excellency. No."
"I've already finished talking with Viscount Alfreich. At the end of this month, we'll have a simple wedding, and Helena will move into Alfreich's mansion."
"Father!"
Rachel screamed.
"Why are you doing this! Wasn't what you did to me enough? Wasn't it enough for me alone? Even my daughter! How could you do this to my daughter? No way. Even if I die here, Father, you can't use Helena as you please!"
The Western Lord narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I didn’t know you, my daughter, would act like this when I was working for the West.”
"This isn't for the West, but for you, father. You invested all your operating funds in a perfume business that failed miserably, and it went bankrupt. You're probably doing this to try to recover from that!"
“Rachel!”
"In the past, I was powerless and had no means of preparation, so I had no choice but to follow Father's wishes. But not with Helena. Father, you cannot touch my daughter! Absolutely not!"
Rachel roughly grabbed Helena's wrist and pulled her towards her.
Helena stumbled out of Rosen Castle, following Rachel. While Jacob sighed and whined, asking what to do, Rachel hugged Helena's shoulder and whispered.
"Don't worry, my baby. I have proof. With that, even my father won't be able to treat you carelessly."
So Helena was relieved.
To Helena, Rachel was that person. A sturdy tree, supporting her no matter what. No matter how much Helena's reputation fell, no matter how much she was criticized, a giant shadow that protected her.
But.
“Where the hell did you go!”
The moment Helena saw Rachel rummaging through the closet, and screaming.
“Where did all those letters go?”
The moment she saw Rachel, clutching her head and screaming.
Helena realized.
That no one can protect her.
Rachel was half-mad, Jacob was drinking and throwing tantrums every day, and Helena was wasting her time in nightmares.
It felt like nothing was her business.
Proposals going back and forth, a set wedding date, a wedding dress, shoes, gloves, and jewelry...
While all of this was being prepared in a flash, Helena wandered around in a daze, in a terrible nightmare.
Rachel held Helena and cried.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm weak. I'm so sorry, Helena."
She didn't want to hear it.
She didn't want to admit that her mother had been such a weak person. She wished she would rise up, rebel against the Western Lord, and run away with her.
But Rachel didn't. And neither did Jacob.
The two men had no intention of letting go of what they held, even if it meant sacrificing their daughter.
Only then did Helena realize her family wasn't so perfect. "My daughter, our daughter," she'd only been sincere when all was well. Now that trouble had arisen, her parents could only offer superficial comfort.
It's something her mother can just let go of and run away from. It's something she can just start from scratch. That's all there is to it.
'The Bronte family and your position as the daughter of the Western Lord were more important to you than me.'
Helena lived a life where she could get whatever she wanted. She lived in a position where no matter what she did, she would be forgiven someday.
But now all that is useless.
Helena, at the age of 20, was forced to marry a 32-year-old man she had never met. For the sake of the West. For the sake of the Western Lord. For the Bronte family.
Not for me, but for them.
Rachel said she had no choice but to abandon Helena and marry the Eastern Lord because of the Western Lord. She said she hated Arianna, the child she had with the Eastern Lord, and couldn't stand it.
Helena believed that.
'Yes, I believed that. Because that's what my mother said. I was too young to doubt it.'
When the marriage with the Eastern Lord was decided, and when she learned she was pregnant, why didn't Rachel and Jacob run away?
Helena now has questions she didn't ask then, and she knows the answers.
'Because you don't want to lose power and wealth.'
Jacob, too, valued what he had more than his daughter, Helena, so he chose to abandon her and go to the East. That was all he felt. Despite being family, despite being his daughter, those were the only feelings he had.
'Did you do this too?'
She couldn't figure out why Ariana came to mind at a moment like this.
"Have you ever felt what I'm feeling right now? This feeling of being abandoned by everyone... like no one is on my side... this terrible, agonizing loneliness."
Helena didn't dislike Ariana from the beginning. In fact, she was glad to have a pretty younger sister.
But her mother hated Ariana and told Helena the secret of her birth, blaming it all on Ariana.
She doesn't think she ever thought it was Ariana's fault. But seeing her mother bullying her made Helena think it was okay for her to do that.
As Ariana grew older, she became more and more beautiful, and Helena developed jealousy. Once formed, these dark feelings never easily faded.
She never thought about it from Ariana's perspective.
What the child would think or feel while living at Bronte Manor was not Helena's concern. Ariana was a child who should never have been born, a child who ruined her mother's life, a child who had taken her mother from Helena when she was young.
So, she was consumed by the emotion of hatred and tormented Ariana terribly.
-“Sister, why do you hate me so much?”
When was the last time Ariana asked that question?
The perfume business, invested in on Victoria's word, failed miserably and ruined the Western Lord's reputation. If it had simply failed, the loss of money would have been the end of it, but with so many victims, the issue escalated to the point where even the Emperor needed to intervene.
The Emperor was furious with the Western Lord, and the Third Prince criticized the Western Lord, saying, "I trusted you, but I never expected you to repay that trust in this way."
Since he was out of favor with the Emperor, he could not cut ties with the Third Prince. So, although he was dissatisfied, the Western Lord had no choice but to endure and listen to the Third Prince's criticism.
Even though the Emperor had scolded the Third Prince, he was still the Emperor's favorite son. His mother, Aella, still enjoyed the Emperor's favor.
There was always a chance for the Third Prince to oust the Crown Prince, avoiding this situation. If they had simply supported the Third Prince and made him the Crown Prince, this incident would have been insignificant.
The Western Lord had to somehow maintain her relationship with the Third Prince and resolve this situation.
'If you give them some money, they'll be stupid commoners...'
The money was the problem.
The Western Lord now had no funds left to operate. While there was some money left in the treasury, it was barely enough to survive the year.
Moreover, it was known that the government had invested money into the project and it had failed, so it was obvious that any further intervention would lead to an even bigger problem.
Although he secretly pressured his children to get money, it was not enough to handle the situation.
So, while he was thinking about it, the person that came to mind was Viscount Ingo Alfreich.
Viscount Alfreich is one of the top five arms dealers on the entire continent.
Although the Alfreich family had purchased the title of Viscount with money from their ancestors, they were still not properly treated as nobles. The nobles of the more established families shunned him, calling him a "nouveau riche."
Viscount Alfreich, who had ample money, was now sending subtle signals to the Western Lord that he wanted honor.
In fact, two years ago, the Western Lord had planned to marry Ariana to Viscount Alfreich. However, Ariana ran away, and a custody battle ensued, putting the Viscount Alfreich issue on hold.
Now is the time to put that pattern to use.
'Piena and Royel, your children are all fools.'
The Western Lord had three daughters.
Rachel, Piena, and Royel.
Among them, Rachel had the most outstanding looks, and the children born to her had the most outstanding looks.
'It was especially perfect for Ariana to use.'
Ariana, unloved by anyone, was a useful child. She was prettier than anyone else and had a gentle personality.
Knowing her situation, he was sure she wouldn't have objected even if she were to marry someone much older than her.
'I lost something precious.'
Viscount Alfreich wouldn't be satisfied with just anyone. He'd send her as much of a dowry as the Western Lord desired, at least if she was attractive.
'It's a shame to send Victoria away...'
Despite her blunders in the perfume business, none of his granddaughters was as intelligent or beautiful as Victoria. Later, she was the only granddaughter worthy of a marriage with the Third Prince.
'I guess I'll have to hand Helena over. I feel sorry for Rachel and Jacob, but...
There will be great opposition from both sides.
Even though Rachel was pregnant, she harbored a grudge against the Western Lord for trying to marry her off to the Eastern Lord. Even though she didn't express it, he knew the resentment still lingered.
If, in the meantime, he were to send his most beloved daughter, Helena, to Ingo Alfreich, the reaction would be tremendous.
'But there's nothing I can do.'
The Western Lord made a decision.
***
Even when she was summoned to the Western Lord, Helena was full of anticipation.
Although the Lord of the West was her maternal grandfather, she was in a difficult position to meet him, and she was upset that he seemed to have only favored Victoria. Furthermore, he sent Victoria to the North to establish a relationship with the Lord of the North.
'If the topic of North comes up again this time, I have to ask him to let me go.'
Helena, who arrived at Rosen Castle, where the Western Lord lived, with a fluttering heart, almost lost her mind when she heard the shocking words.
“Victor Alfreich! What do you mean, Father?”
Rachel shouted on behalf of Helena, who was dumbfounded and unable to accept what she had heard.
"Your Excellency, that won't do. Helena is still young. And you want to marry her off to that old man!"
Even her father, Jacob, who always bowed his head in front of the Western Lord, raised his voice.
But no pity appeared on the face of the Western Lord.
"Old man? He's only 32."
"Just a mere squire. He's just a merchant who hasn't even married yet. You know what kind of family the Alfreich family is, don't you? Many still know the story of how his father bought his title. And to send Helena away... No, Your Excellency. No."
"I've already finished talking with Viscount Alfreich. At the end of this month, we'll have a simple wedding, and Helena will move into Alfreich's mansion."
"Father!"
Rachel screamed.
"Why are you doing this! Wasn't what you did to me enough? Wasn't it enough for me alone? Even my daughter! How could you do this to my daughter? No way. Even if I die here, Father, you can't use Helena as you please!"
The Western Lord narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I didn’t know you, my daughter, would act like this when I was working for the West.”
"This isn't for the West, but for you, father. You invested all your operating funds in a perfume business that failed miserably, and it went bankrupt. You're probably doing this to try to recover from that!"
“Rachel!”
"In the past, I was powerless and had no means of preparation, so I had no choice but to follow Father's wishes. But not with Helena. Father, you cannot touch my daughter! Absolutely not!"
Rachel roughly grabbed Helena's wrist and pulled her towards her.
Helena stumbled out of Rosen Castle, following Rachel. While Jacob sighed and whined, asking what to do, Rachel hugged Helena's shoulder and whispered.
"Don't worry, my baby. I have proof. With that, even my father won't be able to treat you carelessly."
So Helena was relieved.
To Helena, Rachel was that person. A sturdy tree, supporting her no matter what. No matter how much Helena's reputation fell, no matter how much she was criticized, a giant shadow that protected her.
But.
“Where the hell did you go!”
The moment Helena saw Rachel rummaging through the closet, and screaming.
“Where did all those letters go?”
The moment she saw Rachel, clutching her head and screaming.
Helena realized.
That no one can protect her.
***
Rachel was half-mad, Jacob was drinking and throwing tantrums every day, and Helena was wasting her time in nightmares.
It felt like nothing was her business.
Proposals going back and forth, a set wedding date, a wedding dress, shoes, gloves, and jewelry...
While all of this was being prepared in a flash, Helena wandered around in a daze, in a terrible nightmare.
Rachel held Helena and cried.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm weak. I'm so sorry, Helena."
She didn't want to hear it.
She didn't want to admit that her mother had been such a weak person. She wished she would rise up, rebel against the Western Lord, and run away with her.
But Rachel didn't. And neither did Jacob.
The two men had no intention of letting go of what they held, even if it meant sacrificing their daughter.
Only then did Helena realize her family wasn't so perfect. "My daughter, our daughter," she'd only been sincere when all was well. Now that trouble had arisen, her parents could only offer superficial comfort.
It's something her mother can just let go of and run away from. It's something she can just start from scratch. That's all there is to it.
'The Bronte family and your position as the daughter of the Western Lord were more important to you than me.'
Helena lived a life where she could get whatever she wanted. She lived in a position where no matter what she did, she would be forgiven someday.
But now all that is useless.
Helena, at the age of 20, was forced to marry a 32-year-old man she had never met. For the sake of the West. For the sake of the Western Lord. For the Bronte family.
Not for me, but for them.
Rachel said she had no choice but to abandon Helena and marry the Eastern Lord because of the Western Lord. She said she hated Arianna, the child she had with the Eastern Lord, and couldn't stand it.
Helena believed that.
'Yes, I believed that. Because that's what my mother said. I was too young to doubt it.'
When the marriage with the Eastern Lord was decided, and when she learned she was pregnant, why didn't Rachel and Jacob run away?
Helena now has questions she didn't ask then, and she knows the answers.
'Because you don't want to lose power and wealth.'
Jacob, too, valued what he had more than his daughter, Helena, so he chose to abandon her and go to the East. That was all he felt. Despite being family, despite being his daughter, those were the only feelings he had.
'Did you do this too?'
She couldn't figure out why Ariana came to mind at a moment like this.
"Have you ever felt what I'm feeling right now? This feeling of being abandoned by everyone... like no one is on my side... this terrible, agonizing loneliness."
Helena didn't dislike Ariana from the beginning. In fact, she was glad to have a pretty younger sister.
But her mother hated Ariana and told Helena the secret of her birth, blaming it all on Ariana.
She doesn't think she ever thought it was Ariana's fault. But seeing her mother bullying her made Helena think it was okay for her to do that.
As Ariana grew older, she became more and more beautiful, and Helena developed jealousy. Once formed, these dark feelings never easily faded.
She never thought about it from Ariana's perspective.
What the child would think or feel while living at Bronte Manor was not Helena's concern. Ariana was a child who should never have been born, a child who ruined her mother's life, a child who had taken her mother from Helena when she was young.
So, she was consumed by the emotion of hatred and tormented Ariana terribly.
-“Sister, why do you hate me so much?”
When was the last time Ariana asked that question?
I think it was when Ariana was 10 years old.
What did I say then?
-“You were never meant to be born into this world. It would be better for someone like you to disappear from this world!”
The terrifying voice echoed vividly, as if it were coming from right next to her. Helena covered her face with both hands.
You did nothing wrong, so why did I hate you so much? You just...
-“I’m sorry, sister. I just... wanted to be close with you...”
I just wanted to be loved.
I just wanted the affection that a child deserves.
I, why did we put you in such a difficult position?
What did I say then?
-“You were never meant to be born into this world. It would be better for someone like you to disappear from this world!”
The terrifying voice echoed vividly, as if it were coming from right next to her. Helena covered her face with both hands.
You did nothing wrong, so why did I hate you so much? You just...
-“I’m sorry, sister. I just... wanted to be close with you...”
I just wanted to be loved.
I just wanted the affection that a child deserves.
I, why did we put you in such a difficult position?
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