A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 188

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Side Story – Episode 27
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“It seems the Duke is quite fond of the tea. I’ll prepare some extra and leave it as a gift.”
The Empress spoke first with an awkward smile.
“The reason I’ve come to see the Princess is… well, there’s simply something I wanted to tell her.”
“Yes, of course.”
I answered lightly, but couldn’t quite grasp the purpose of this conversation, so I watched her quietly. The Empress took a small sip of tea with trembling hands, then took a deep breath and spoke.
“Please… take good care of our Ed.”
“…I’m sorry?”
“It’s just… I heard you’ve helped our Ed so much all this time. As his mother, I’m grateful.”
The Empress’s words were disjointed and rambling. I gazed at her with complete patience.
“I didn’t know, but Ed apparently liked you very much before, and also…”
Of course, even my complete patience had its limits. I counted silently only up to six—a perfect number—and opened my mouth.
“Your Majesty the Empress, forgive me, but might I ask why you’ve suddenly come to tell me this?”
“Ah…”
The Empress cleared her throat once and spoke with a faint smile.
“The truth is… I’m planning to return to the Kingdom of Sola now.”
Well, that’s rather surprising…
But I hadn’t heard a word of this from Edmund when I saw him last night. It was impossible that he would leave without telling me something so significant, so I was quite shocked.
“It’s just… I’m embarrassed to face Ed, and… I think Ed would be embarrassed to face me as well.”
“The Crown Prince, you mean?”
I furrowed my brow as I questioned her.
From what I knew, Edmund didn’t approach the Empress first, but on the rare occasions they encountered each other, he was always proper. He never disparaged or humiliated her in front of others, nor did he make her uncomfortable with a noticeably cold expression.
“It would be embarrassing… I begged him to spare only Enoch, yet he did what he did… In the end, the Kingdom of Sola will be ruled by a distant cousin on my maternal side. The bloodline of Sola has essentially been severed.”
The Empress continued with difficulty, gripping the hem of her dress.
“In any case, once Ed acted that way, we’ve already crossed a river we cannot return from… and staying here would only make everyone uncomfortable anyway.”
And I was once again exercising my complete patience, counting up to twenty-eight, another perfect number.
“Staying here would only make me a burden to everyone. Officially, I’ll announce that my health isn’t quite well and that I’ll recuperate in my homeland. I spoke to His Majesty this morning, and he consented without objection.”
While I counted silently, the Empress added bitterly, her eyes downcast.
“Still, I am his mother… I simply wanted to tell the Princess to take good care of Ed before I go.”
I finally finished counting to twenty-eight. It seemed there was nothing more of substance to say, so I asked calmly.
“Does the Crown Prince not know of this? I believe he left the Capital this morning for a provincial event.”
“Yes…”
The Empress nodded, turning her teacup.
“Ed doesn’t seem to want to see my face either… so I decided to leave quietly.”
If the other person had truly been strong and remarkable, I wouldn’t have needed to count to twenty-eight. I was inherently weak against weak people, and so I couldn’t be harsh with the trembling Empress.
But being weak didn’t mean I would accept every incorrect word. I looked at the Empress quietly and asked.
“It’s not that Your Majesty the Empress doesn’t wish to see the Crown Prince’s face, is it?”
“…What?”
“There have been so many days until now, yet you chose today specifically, which means you never intended to tell the Crown Prince directly that you were leaving.”
“As I said, Ed and I are in a complicated situation right now…”
“Ah. You mentioned earlier that since Ed attacked King Enoch, we’ve crossed a river we cannot return from?”
I continued speaking without moving, my eyes darkened and still.
“I was there too, so I know—when the Empress begged His Highness, who appeared after five years, to spare Enoch, we had already crossed that irreversible river.”
“Princess, why do you speak so…”
“I know the Empress never took much interest in the Crown Prince.”
“What?”
“Because he’s an excellent son, because he’s a capable Crown Prince, because he excels at everything, because he wasn’t born from the man you love… Well, there are plenty of reasons.”
The Emperor and Seliet had both roughly sensed Edmund’s unrequited love, or so he’d said. Hearing Edmund’s account, it wasn’t just once or twice that he’d pursued me from behind—if one paid attention and observed carefully, there was reason enough to suspect even in brief moments.
Yet the Empress, his mother, had just declared she “didn’t know at all.” That alone revealed how little interest she took in the Crown Prince’s personal affairs.
“Separately, I think going to the Kingdom of Sola is a good choice. You love the Kingdom of Sola so much—you should go there. But isn’t this somewhat cowardly?”
“Cow… ardly?”
“I don’t want to become a parent who hastily flees when their child steps away, simply because they find Ed’s face unpleasant and inconvenient… In the end, is what you’ve decided to do simply to say ‘I entrust Ed to you’ and leave? To rationalize it as ‘at least I did that much’?”
If you had simply left without saying anything, I don’t think I would be this angry. But coming to me, saying “I entrust Ed to you,” and then leaving feels too much like an act of self-comfort, and it’s absurd.
“Princess, you don’t understand.”
The Empress shook her head as if making excuses.
“His family is distinguished, his personal abilities are outstanding, he’s confident in everything, strong… I could never be like that, so from the beginning I couldn’t keep pace with Ed. He was always cold toward Sola, which lacked so much, and I was wounded by that.”
“Until recently, I alone in House Prelai had no summoned beast. Do you think I was someone with confidence?”
I shot the words out quietly, and the Empress’s lips trembled as if her words caught in her throat, and she said nothing for a long time.
“Only strong people can abandon the weak, Your Majesty—that’s not how it works.”
In the end, that was what I wanted to say. The Empress abandoned Ed. She continues to package herself as a weak person, but because Ed wouldn’t follow her words, she abandoned him in her heart long ago.
Well, the Empress going to the Kingdom of Sola was good for everyone. Since the Empress was absent from all official events anyway, it must have been quite embarrassing for Ed and the Emperor externally. Since I had the Second Imperial Consort anyway, adapting to the imperial household wasn’t a major problem.
“… Ed probably won’t react much anyway. He’ll just brush it off as if nothing happened.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
I spoke calmly.
“And until he can brush off his mother’s absence as if nothing happened, how much loneliness must he have endured? There is no child in this world who doesn’t need their mother.”
Eventually, tears began to flow from the Empress’s eyes. As she began to sob, the Imperial Guards quickly brought her handkerchiefs.
“I apologize for the rudeness, but I’ll take my leave first, Your Majesty. Once you’ve composed yourself and depart, my father will see you off.”
I had no intention of comforting her further. I rose slowly and added with proper courtesy.
“Oh, and there’s no need to provide tea. My father is not King Enoch, who took tea leaves for granted and received them.”
The Empress said nothing in response.
I had an intuitive feeling that today would be the last day I saw the Empress. I took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the meeting room.
Piyak, who had been quiet, opened his mouth.
【I hope you pursue the proposal earnestly, Kiana. Ed is so pitiful.】
The Spy Maid also nodded vigorously and added her opinion.
“I’ll help with all my heart, Princess. It seems the Crown Prince really needs you. It’s truly inefficient work, but I’ll do my best to help.”
When I returned to the meeting room, Ranaq, who had been left alone, had to remain bewildered for a while. It was because of Piyak and the Spy Maid, who had suddenly become cooperative about that loud proposal.
【It seems… thanks to the Empress’s visit, we’ve all come to share the same purpose. This kind of unity is truly unique.】
Piyak folded his wings and spoke with determination. Kiana shook her head and replied.
“It’s not particularly unique. It’s just like a condensation nucleus, really.”
And Kiana continued on, muttering about how such condensation nuclei were necessary even when water vapor in the atmosphere gathered to form clouds—the sort of thing no one cared to hear about.
In the end, Piyak could only grumble with a deflated expression.
【…I wish magical engineering would just collapse.】

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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