Chapter 97
I quietly looked at him.
The Grand Duke, whose mind was not entirely sound. The very culprit who had failed to properly educate the young twins, who had been unable to give them his heart, causing them to grow up twisted.
I disliked him.
I still dislike him.
‘Is this how you move someone… really… when you’re someone who never understood a person’s heart at all.’
You were someone who didn’t understand the twins’ hearts in the slightest—so why are you moving mine like this… really… truly…
I forced myself to hold back the tears that threatened to fall and only nodded.
“I don’t remember the last time I worried about someone this much. I’m concerned that perhaps you’re refusing not because you want to, but for some other reason. But you don’t seem to wish to speak about it, so I won’t ask. Instead, Aisha.”
“…Yes.”
“If there ever comes a time when you want help, tell me. Because I want to receive your help as well. From now on, whatever you choose to do, I won’t stop you.”
As if he had clearly sensed my discomfort, he did not ask anything further.
“If you wish to go to the High Priestess, I’ll have a carriage prepared.”
“Yes! I’ll go and come back.”
His touch was so gentle. If I had had a father, would it have been like this? If I too had had an ordinary family, would I have been able to receive such gentle affection? If that had been the case, would I—would I have lived a slightly different life?
“Come back safely.”
‘No. This isn’t mine.’
Even his kindness was only something I received because of the twins. The world had always been something I faced alone. And I hadn’t hated being alone. I had always lived that way.
I tried hard to conceal the ticklish emotion that kept swelling up inside me.
“Aisha.”
“Yes.”
“I will help you with your revenge whenever you wish. So speak of it anytime.”
“Why… are you treating me so well?”
“You showed me something precious. Something that cannot be bought with money, nor obtained with power. So you may fully accept my help.”
I liked that honesty.
Rather, the Grand Duke’s words only strengthened my heart further. I exist here because of the twins. I realized it once again. And when I feel that I am of enough help to the twins, then I will ask him for help myself. I will ask him to help me achieve my revenge.
“Yes!”
In the meantime, the Grand Duke rang a bell and summoned someone from outside. He ordered them to prepare a carriage.
I rode in the carriage he had prepared and headed to the temple.
Since Liren, a former priestess sent by the High Priestess, was with us, everything proceeded smoothly once we arrived at the temple.
No one stopped us. They said it was very difficult to meet the High Priestess, yet it wasn’t difficult at all.
“Aisha.”
As always, she wore a benevolent expression. The High Priestess, who was in the garden again today, looked to be in an even better mood than before. Even standing still, she seemed to shine brilliantly.
“High Priestess.”
Yet even at the sound of her voice calling me, I could not approach her easily.
“I thought Aisha would come soon. Have you been well? Judging by your expression, it seems you haven’t?”
Though she still could not see, she grasped my condition at once, as if seeing straight through me. Until coming here, I had felt happy. I had learned that I was not an abandoned child, but rather a protected one.
I had also been happy when the Grand Duke asked me to remain in the ducal house—not as an adopted daughter, but as a daughter-in-law.
Even knowing that I could not accept any of it, I had been happy just to hear those words. But upon arriving at the temple, reality struck me. What situation I am in, what I must do—I felt it clearly in this moment.
In the meantime, the High Priestess raised her hand and dismissed those around us. As before, it became a space with only the two of us. She tilted her head while looking at me.
“Aisha?”
“No. It’s just… I’ve been thinking a lot.”
“Are you preparing to come to the temple?”
At her blunt question, I gave an awkward smile.
“…Yes.”
“Now that things have been resolved, you want to see a little more of the world, don’t you, Aisha?”
The High Priestess beckoned me closer. Like a bird seeking its mother’s embrace, I knelt before her and pressed my face to her hand.
“I…”
“Human greed is always without end.”
“I’m sorry.”
As if she immediately understood what I was worrying about and thinking, her voice was both gentle and firm.
“But God does not understand such greed in humans.”
So it won’t be allowed after all. Perhaps I had briefly immersed myself in happiness. In the dream that the Grand Duke would stand behind me, that I could remain by the children’s side. Perhaps I had allowed myself to dream of living like an ordinary person, if only for a while.
“Yes… I won’t be greedy.”
Feeling as though my childish inner thoughts had been exposed, I became embarrassed. After acting as if I could do everything if only given a little support, now turning my words around was rather laughable. So I hurriedly lowered my head.
At that moment, the High Priestess gently stroked my hair.
“But sometimes, I think this.”
“What do you mean?”
“That perhaps God has opened a path for us. That perhaps our defiance is tolerated to some extent.”
“…What?”
“I was given eternal life, and you were told to become the High Priestess. But we were never told when.”
I slowly opened my eyes and looked at her.
“That means…”
“It means it would be alright if Aisha sees more of the world first. There is no vacancy in the position of High Priestess, nor has a divine oracle descended.”
“But if that happens… then you, High Priestess…”
She had already lived far too long. And she wished to end that life. Yet what she was saying now completely overturned those words.
Words that were far too favorable to me.
“Wouldn’t it be fine for a little while? The life that was given to me—what difference does a few more years, a few more decades make?”
“Ah…”
“To be honest, all this time I lived trapped within the temple, unable to do anything. I thought that was right. And because I was the High Priestess, everyone confined me for safety. But I no longer intend to live that way. I think I’ll try seeing a bit of the world myself. So, Aisha. Please go and see more of the world I could not experience. Once you become the High Priestess, you won’t be able to see much of the world for a while.”
What should I say? What words could I possibly say? I only opened and closed my mouth.
“Is it really alright…?”
“It won’t be complete freedom. You must continue coming to the temple to study as a priestess.”
“Can I really… live? Is it really… truly alright?”
“Of course. Do not carry regrets like mine, Aisha.”
The High Priestess embraced me tightly as I straightened from my kneeling position. The High Priestess, who had always spoken to me formally, spoke comfortably for the first time.
“Ah…”
“I do not regret my choice. But I do have lingering feelings for what I could not save. So do not make the same mistake I did. You must continue studying as a priestess. If you say it is difficult and try to run away, then I will simply seat you here. Understood?”
“Yes. Yes. I will.”
“How lovely. You resemble your mother very much.”
Startled, I looked at her.
“Ah… my mother…”
“Wasn’t that something you were curious about as well?”
“Yes… But did you already know? Did the Grand Duke come and ask you?”
“No. He asked nothing. But the temple has many eyes and ears for me. They merely conveyed the story. And I am worried about you, Aisha.”
At her words that I could live as myself, I barely held back my tears. My voice trembled unintentionally.
“Then…”
“There is no need to worry. Though she has no memory of you yet, she is living very well by my side.”
“High Priestess.”
“Yes?”
My lips trembled carefully. The question I had held ever since hearing that the High Priestess was protecting my mother.
“Did you take me in knowing everything? Knowing everything about my mother?”
“No. You are simply you. I kept you by my side because you were chosen by God, and then I merely felt it. That you were that child.”
“Ah…”
“There is a saying. That there are beings you can recognize just by seeing them. I saw her once when she was very young, but at that time I could not have recognized her from that alone. But… I simply felt it. That you were the child I once sent away.”
I see. So that was it.
I quietly nodded and smiled.
“Yes. Thank you. For protecting my mother…”
“No. Now, you should return. Your precious friends must be waiting for you.”
“Yes!”
I nodded and stood from my seat. The High Priestess rang the bell that rested on her knee. Then someone different from before approached her side.
A woman—no, a priestess—came to stand beside the High Priestess. She was a different priestess from last time. And the moment I saw her, I felt it. No, I knew it just by looking at her. Just as the High Priestess had said—there are beings you can recognize merely by seeing them.
That person… was my mother. I simply felt it.
‘Mother.’
I didn’t think we resembled each other much. We both had black hair, but that was a rather common color. Even so, the moment I saw her, I knew with certainty.
That person is my mother.
“This is Aisha, Leiana. She will be studying to become a priestess. She will come to see me often, so take note of her.”
“Yes, Priestess. Lady Aisha. My name is Leiana.”
I felt like I might burst into tears. Seeing her bow her head toward me, her face pale but healthy—my mother’s appearance made tears well up inside me.
A being I had never thought would exist, never thought would love me, had appeared, and my emotions had grown unusually sensitive.
“I… am Aisha.”
Mother. It’s me. I am your daughter. The child buried in your memories… is me.
