Chapter 195 – #194 Lies

“Academy life is worth it.”

A woman with pink hair asked as she set down her utensils. At the table, two women who looked exactly alike, but had slightly different eye corners, were sitting and eating.

“Yes.”

“Nothing difficult?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

A moment of silence followed. 3 Empress Victoria tilted her glass to quench her thirst and dabbed her lips with her handkerchief.

Two people related by blood. However, it had been almost half a year since the two of us had a meal together, so Raina felt awkward about this situation.

Victoria put her towel on her table.

“By the way, it’s really unfortunate.”

“What do you mean?”

“Last summer. As soon as you returned from the south, you wanted to talk to me. You said something terrible had happened in Florian.”

Due to the elf’s traitorous actions, Reina and her party were kidnapped deep under the sea.

There, they saw mermaids who were thought to have disappeared a long time ago, and in a life-threatening situation, they were able to safely save their lives with Kale’s help.

After returning to her capital, the first thing Reina wanted to do was tell her mother about her incredible experience there.
This is because, except for Cale, Victoria was the most meaningful person to her.
But Raina couldn’t do that because her priorities were overtaken by her daily meetings with her younger brother.

“If your brother hadn’t been sick back then, I would have heard your story… Then your relationship with the Earl of Cranberry would have been much different than it is now.”

“…”

“Okay. How are you with the Count?”

“It’s just… Just like you know.”

According to what is known to the world now, Princess Hardrence is most likely to be that partner. Recently, Princess Bianca was rapidly rising to become his rival.

Raina, who was once famous as Bella’s rival, was being forgotten by people.

So much so that it won’t even be mentioned within a month.

“You can’t do that. He is a hero. A hero who will shine and save our Kshanberg Empire. And the only person worthy of being by his side is our daughter.”

Victoria’s hand stroked Rayna’s hair. Those eyes looked directly at her Raina.

“Reina.”

“Yes, mother.”

“This mother will actively push the relationship between you and the Count.”

Reina opened her eyes wide.

“Don’t worry about what people around you say, just focus all your attention on the Count. I will also do my best to help you connect with the Count.”

Raina was aware to some extent that Empress Victoria would help her through Cale. But when she actually heard those words in person, Reina couldn’t hide her joy.
Even though she was abandoned when she was young, isn’t she her real mother?
For Raina, who lost her ties and was kicked out of the imperial palace, it was like the warmth of her family.

“I will try my best.”

“Yes, yes. And Princess Hadrens and Princess Bianca, don’t worry. I will do my best to completely get rid of them.”

“… What are you trying to do?”

Although she was weaker than the two powers, Victoria was also a strong woman who survived in the imperial palace as empress and gave birth to two children.

Politically, she had enough talent to pit the 1st prince’s faction and the 2nd prince’s faction against each other and defeat them both at the same time.

“Those two will continue to fight. When women fight fiercely, whether they want it or not, they show things that men don’t like. They come together and eat away at all of their skin. When they waste their energy fighting, you keep quiet. Concentrate on maintaining your dignity next to the Count and winning his heart.”

“I just… Don’t have to mess with those two, Mother.”

Bella flashed through Raina’s mind. At one time, she hated Cale for having a relationship with him, but now he has become like her own younger brother.
Raina didn’t want her Bella to get hurt.
The same goes for Princess Bianca, who we recently started bickering with.

“Reina. If you’re worried about your mother and her little brother, you don’t have to be.”

“I think that’s…”

“Fortunately, the 1st and 2nd Empress do not see us as rivals at all. But the fight is like that. It’s like a muddy battlefield. The moment you let your guard down, you get hit by an arrow, and you get caught up in something small and unexpected.”

“…”

“In the meantime, we will quietly run towards our goal. And in the end, we will trample them all and stand up. As the final victors!”

A deep smile appeared on Victoria’s lips, as if imagining that day. Raina’s eyes sank.

‘… It can’t go on like this.’

It seemed like the stories would run parallel paths.

After swallowing her dry saliva, Reina made up her mind and opened her mouth.

“I’ll just take care of it. Mother, please don’t come forward.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll take care of it, so don’t mess with those two.”

“Reina…”

Victoria crossed her arms and frowned.

“We can’t do that. This is something our lives depend on. We have to do it to live… Yes, it’s the best way to live. If we miss this opportunity, we’re as good as dead.”

“… No.”

Reina shook her head.

“To be exact, it’s not the best move. If Marku gives up his right to succeed to the throne, we can all definitely survive.”

It is a difficult time due to the war.

Human resources were being consumed quickly, and each member of the royal family and nobility was so precious that if they gave up their right to succession, no one would suffer.

It has been like this many times throughout history.

“So don’t mess with those two people. And don’t even try to use the Earl of Cranberry to jump into the race for succession to the throne.”

I didn’t want the two of them getting hurt, but what I hated most was when something went wrong with Cale. It was Raina who hated Cale being used and hurting her more than dying.
Victoria’s eyes became harsh as she saw through Raina’s inner thoughts.

“Reina. I gave birth to you in pain. I gave birth to you in pain, under threat of death, unable to do anything I wanted to do, holding on to my enlarged stomach.”

“… Mother.”

“So, isn’t it time to pay back this mother? Isn’t it time to put away those frustrating feelings of pity and all that love-playing and be of some help, Reina Kshanberg!”

“…”

Raina’s gaze turned downward.

She still hadn’t forgotten. Her mother’s warm smile… On the other hand, at night, the words she cursed as she mourned that he was not her son.

– Why was a girl born… !

– A useless bitch who just cries. When will my son be born?

‘…’

Still, it was good. Because my mother always smiled warmly and kindly.

Even though the night mother swore and cursed, when morning came again, she hugged me, saying she was sorry and that she loved me.

But when her younger brother was born, the daytime mother disappeared. The one who takes care of her… No, the only person who came to see her was her nanny, Mary.
I was lonely.

The imperial palace, which others were envious of, was too big and spacious for Raina, and she felt lonely.

“… I have a question.”

“Phew. Okay. Anything. Ask anything.”

“Does my mother love me?”

For a moment, silence fell between the two people.

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other quietly.

Victoria’s tightly closed mouth opened slightly.

In the meantime, a short sigh escaped her, and her stiff face relaxed, and a calm smile appeared on her lips.

“I’m sorry, Raina. I think this mother spoke too harshly. I love you. If I don’t love my daughter, who in the world will?”

Victoria got up from her seat and hugged Rayna. Her hand stroked Raina’s back.

“I’m sorry for what I just said. I’m sorry for your mom. So please feel better.”

“…”

Raina’s eyes slowly closed.

‘That’s not a smile.’

Her mother’s smile didn’t look like that until she was about ten years old. She was a little more still and quiet… It was warm. Unlike now, it was more truthful.

‘It’s a lie to say you love me…’

Raina, she is not stupid.

He wasn’t slow to notice either. If that were the case, she would not have been able to survive alone in that cold imperial palace.
She just… Until now. She just lived with half of her senses of the world closed.

To survive her grief of being abandoned by her mother, Reina learned to look at her world half-way.

‘That day… Marku wasn’t sick.’

It is also false that she could not meet her younger brother because he was sick.
Reina stood up from her seat.

“I’ll just head back.”

“What? Now, wait a minute. Why don’t you pay more?”

“I’m tired. I’d like to go in and rest.”

“Reina? Reina!”

Reyna shifted on her feet and headed down her stairs. Her footsteps did not stop again and again.

“Goodbye!”

Soon I heard a staff member greeting me. Her maid Miriam, who was waiting with the others downstairs, came up and bowed her head.

“Victoria. Are you not doing well?”

“…”

“I’ll put the carriage on standby.”

Miriam disappeared from the scene again. Soon, the dishes and food on the table fell to the floor and people screamed.

“What the hell! I haven’t had anything useful since I was young! I was wondering if it would be of any help this time…!”

The woman stood up from her seat and continued talking for a while. As if that wasn’t enough to calm her anger, she accidentally broke the dishes on the floor with her feet.
Miriam, who had gone down, came back, and Victoria disappeared downstairs, muttering her curse words.

“… Such a useless bitch. I gave birth to her for no reason.”

Silence fell.

After a while, the pieces of dishes scattered on the floor made a crunching sound and shook slightly.

Several pieces floated in the air, leading to the stairs, and soon the back door of the store opened automatically, even though no one was there.

Then, someone appeared on one side of the alley.

It was Raina.

– If I don’t love my daughter, who else in the world will?

-What the hell! I haven’t had anything useful since I was young! Furthermore, I was wondering if it would help this time… !

– … What a useless bitch. I gave birth for no reason.

“Black…”

The rain poured down heavily.

The streets where darkness fell were soon filled with heavy rain.