Chapter 108
Translator: Lunarise
Editor: Larkspur
“What is the Empress up to?”
“She continues to manage the Concubines’ Palace. While the palace is being taken care of, the concubines were told to stay in the secondary palace temporarily.”
“You read my mind. You needed to look at the fact that the princesses chose a place that they could not escape from.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“These princesses are no longer of any use to me, but I am anticipating what Viola wants from me.”
Ever since the war, all of the princesses that were chosen from each kingdom to be brought here were new hostages. In fact, the princesses were able to stop playing the role of hostages. However, Lustian remained an idle spectator. Since Viola’s arrival, he was intending to see how she would treat him.
Lustian’s face scrunched up as he looked at the parchment stacked up on his desk. “There is too much work to be done. Even if we have reunited, there wouldn’t be enough time to get a proper look at her face, right? Tsk….”
The grand smile on his face disappeared immediately. Kyle felt proud looking at the emperor’s face like that. It was obvious that he was trying to regain that smile he had lost. The fact that he had a loved one by his side would give him great strength unlike any other. Even if she was God’s Companion, he was not one to ever send her away to God.
For a long time, Kyle was distressed staying by his side as he endured so much pain. Even with the curse that became more apparent with each day, Lustian would never give in.
God was much too merciless towards him. It was much too cruel a fate that he had to give a loved one up for God. However, he was not the kind of person to surrender to fate. It was not just Viola who had changed during those eight years. Lustian grew just as much.
If I were the Grand Master that was never seen throughout history… could I face God?
♛
Coming into the secondary palace after a long time, Viola reminisced about the times she spent with the princesses. After a bath, they got into clean dresses looking like the beautiful princesses they were.
“Even if my body has been worn down, this was an opportunity to come to terms with so much.”
“I concur.”
Each of the princesses nodded.
One of them, blushing, started talking cautiously, “I was so ashamed. It was so embarrassing looking at how we were so accustomed to abandoning everything, including dressing up, eating, and even sleeping, to everyone else. Since we were born a princess, it was only inevitable that we accepted certain things, and we could never understand anything from the perspective of the margins. To be honest, we lived lives devoted to pleasure. As if my body couldn’t live a day with men, I used to think that bodily pleasures were the best comfort.”
“I see.”
“But then, once I experienced hardships, I understood how the lifestyles I indulged in were so trivial.”
They had changed a lot. As the saying went, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’, they had definitely grown.
“I… have come to sympathize with the peasants. Thinking about how the money I have could fill the stomachs of starving children, I realized the true value of money. Personally, if I could ever return to my home country, I’d prioritize trying to understand the peasants.” Another princess added.
“I concur.”
“As do I. Ho, ho, ho. This was worth all of our suffering. As for me, I found that my own handmade bread was delicious.”
“Ho, ho, ho.”
It was a relief that the princesses had an optimistic disposition. Seeing that they took all of their hardships as major life lessons, Viola’s heart felt full.
Just then, Lustian appeared. The princesses stood up, scared out of their wits, and bowed their heads.
“I could hear your laughter all the way to my palace.”
All of them tensed up as they were busy being mindful of the emperor. With heavy footsteps, Viola walked up in front of the girls and gazed at Lustian. Then, she said something that she always wanted to say but couldn’t until now.
“These women are losing their worth as hostages. Please send them back to their home countries at once.”
“Release them?” Lustian smirked.
Viola mustered her courage, “Isn’t it true that they’re not even your concubines anyway?”
They belonged to Ivan. They spent all of their first nights with Ivan, and ever since then, Ivan had more women by his side.
“That is correct, not a single one of these princesses has slept with me.”
As Lustian said that, somebody made a gasping noise. All of a sudden, there were hiccups coming from all around. The shocked princesses covered their mouths and swallowed their breaths to block their hiccups.
Viola gave an even firmer demand. “Even as hostages, they deserve the right to retreat since they are no longer your concubines. I am telling you this as the empress. Please allow them to retreat.”
♛
A few days later, the princesses who came in as candidates for the crown princess caused a fuss in the entire continent ever since word got out about their retreat. At the same time, there were rumors going around about how the emperor was so in love with the empress that he no longer needed the concubines. In addition, there was more word spreading around about how the beast that once led the Blood Army to cut the throats of his enemies without mercy became docile overnight.
The more surprising part was that it wasn’t just the Slovenia Continent. The emperor’s mother’s face also went pale.
“Did the emperor really give out an order of that nature?”
“That is correct. The coach that carried those princesses since the morning has been coming in without rest.”
“Lustian….”
She held her trembling hands together. He may be my own son that I gave birth to, but I cannot comprehend this. Even if the princesses were no longer of any use as hostages, they wouldn’t have lost their inherent worth…
In an unstable society like this, the more hostages you have, the more use they have. He couldn’t have not known that…. It’s pathetic that he would order their departure without a moment of doubt.
“Even the fact that she’s seated on the empress’ throne is an eyesore… I suppose she will continue causing him to have lapses in judgment until the very end.”
“Even so, the imperial palace that used to be full of tensions has finally found peace. Ever since the empress arrived, the emperor’s seizures have noticeably decreased,” the head-maid reported.
Now the former empress eyed intently the head-maid that became Viola’s maid. She hated looking at how supportive she was of Viola, but it was bothersome to deal with that. She did not want to face Lustian who had become such a different person overnight.
“I will watch and see for now. Please leave, as my head aches.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As soon as the head-maid left, Lustian’s mother started moving. In the middle of the temple, there was an altar that extended so high that it looked like it was touching the sky. There, warm sunlight was beating down regardless of the seasonal changes.
After going up the altar step by step, she looked at her husband asleep in the glass coffin. The magic cast upon the glass coffin made it so that the body would not rot. As a result, it looked like he was just asleep. She talked to him as she softly swept her hand across the glass coffin.
“Your Highness, I cannot believe it. He was the son I gave birth to… How could he say that….”
She put her cheek to the glass coffin, gazing at her love that left the world in desperation.