Chapter 102 – Viola’s Secret (2)
Translator: Lunarise
Editor: Larkspur
Not long after she left him, she found out she was pregnant. Although she took birth control without skipping a day, she was still impregnated. She was unfathomably taken aback. She was scared to think of how she would conceal this fact.
No one from a foreign kingdom can bear a child that rightfully belongs to the Arpen Empire’s imperial family.
At the time, Viola was an imperial concubine. The fact that she was pregnant with the Crown Prince’s child meant a closely approaching death. It was not just she who was in danger, but also the baby in her womb. She had pondered for days at length.
Should I tell Lustian the truth, or should I quietly take this secret to the grave…
‘Absolutely not, Princess! You must never! You cannot send the young lady to the imperial palace of Arpen. I do not want that. This baby is yours. Since half of her bloodline is of Royal Koronis descent, she must stay true to her identity as the princess. If the princess is placed on the throne, she would be a treasured baby, destined to be heir.’
‘Nanny…. Shouldn’t I still tell this to the baby’s father?’
‘That will be grave. You will both be unsafe. You didn’t even officially go through the process of retreat, so you’ll only endanger the princess’s life. More importantly, they may even take the baby away.’
The nanny’s protests hit home. Viola decided at last that she had no choice but to hide the fact that she was pregnant. In addition, the day she gave birth, the King of Koronis came into contact upon news of her labor. Much like the time he ordered her to travel to the Arpen Empire, he quietly came to her without anyone knowing. Then, he clicked his tongue as he looked at the princess and her baby.
‘Was this the reason why you wouldn’t stand at the frontlines?’
‘——’
‘Slovenia has already been wrapped up entirely in the ravages of war. They say he has become Emperor. The Blood Army has been gathering to fight them off themselves, but it won’t be easy considering they’ve been gathering up the strength of all the allied states.’
‘I shall depart.’
Viola already made up her mind to leave. But the king would not allow it.
‘Although you’ve been stripped of your identity, I shall ordain that your baby become a part of royalty.’
‘Father… That is….’
The King of Koronis wished that she would leave on her own.
‘Leave on your own if you desire the safety of your baby and the kingdom. He won’t attack the kingdom if he hears that you’re no longer present here. Wait until your next chance.’
Not even a month since giving birth, Viola left with her baby. At the time, the best decision was to fake the baby’s identity as she departed. As the King of Koronis had said, Lustian no longer attacked their kingdom when she left. He merely battled with the allied forces.
Viola sullenly looked at Wendy.
Would our fates have changed if maybe… I had revealed the truth about my child at the time?
♛
The face of the King of Koronis was ravaged. The eight knights stood inside in the hall, completely armed, each holding a halberd, wearing mails.
“We cannot give up. If we hold on for a little longer, we can fight against the Blood Army.”
“The war is already over. Did 80% of the allied forces not surrender?”
“If it ends… like this, how are we to face the souls of the knights who shed blood so unfairly?”
They tried to resist until the end, but they ended up unable to step foot on the land blessed by God. On the contrary, the seeds of war were set afire and wreaked havoc on the big and small kingdoms. Over those eight years, so many people had died that they could never keep track of the number. Even if you compared it to the conquest war of the Arpen Empire over 200 years ago, the lost lives from this war wouldn’t fall short.
“The Kingdom of Farus received the brunt of it all. At this moment, I don’t know if my older brother and sister are alive or dead but… sigh..”
On account of the surrender, the King of Farus handed over the position as Crown Prince. After leading the allied forces and standing at the frontlines, the Kingdom of Farus lost one-tenth of its territories. Even if they invested a large sum of their finances, it wouldn’t be enough to reconstruct the castle that was swept away by the war.
Though it was the King of Koronis who actually insisted that they form alliances during the war, it was the Kingdom of Farus that ended up flipped completely on its head. The reason for that was the King of Koronis held the key secrets. Deep down, the King of Koronis sighed out of relief deep. Had something gone wrong, his kingdom could’ve ended up like the Kingdom of Farus.
“They can say they won the war, but they’re also just as anxious. After all, they could not find God’s Companion.”
Guinev was not God’s Companion. Lustian’s curse would not end since she didn’t pass through the final gateway.
Thankfully, Viola left the kingdom at the right time.
“The seeds of the imperial family are running dry… We should have made more of an effort to hide them….”
The king’s face scrunched up as he clicked his tongue. At this rate, Viola would become God’s Companion.
Viola ran away just in case, but still ended up getting caught by Lustian anyway. She thought he would never find her, but his intuition is uncanny. Lustian is a king. Even just the thought of his terrifying face staring at me as he sits on his golden throne… If he weren’t Viola’s father, the terror he felt would be so immense enough to blow his head off.