Chapter 54
Maia lifted her head in a daze. When her eyes met the child’s, the Emperor’s gaze softened into a smile.
It was the kind of look one gives when beholding something so lovable it’s almost unbearable.
“Your mother is the aide I trust and cherish the most. As her daughter, I have long wanted to see your face at least once.”
His voice carried an emotion she had never once received before.
“You resemble your mother so much. One would think she had you entirely on her own. Don’t you agree, Lavina?”
His crimson eyes curved as he shifted his gaze from Maia to Lavina.
“…My daughter does resemble me quite a bit,” Lavina replied calmly, her eyes lowered.
Her gaze was not on the Emperor.
“Yes. I was so surprised the first time I saw you. You must be tired from such a long journey, aren’t you?”
The Emperor spoke warmly, waving his hand a few times.
“I will show you to your quarters,” the chief chamberlain said, stepping toward Lavina and Maia.
Maia thought blankly to herself.
They had a house in the capital. She could have stayed there… so why…?
“Your Majesty—”
“It is my gift, Lavina.”
Lavina called out to him, her tone unchanged, but the Emperor cut her off with a lazy smile.
“Surely you and I are not the kind to fuss over such trivial matters, are we? Don’t refuse—accept it.”
“…I am deeply grateful.”
Lavina answered, eyes still lowered to the floor.
Hearing their exchange, Maia’s mind was a whirlpool of confusion.
You and I, not the kind to fuss over trivial matters…
‘They say Her Majesty is the Emperor’s mistress…’
‘If that’s true, then her daughter… could it be…’
‘So that’s why my father abandoned me and ran away…’
“Hah! …Hhh—”
In the middle of the night, Maia bolted upright in bed. She was drenched in sweat.
The vast bedroom was silent, empty except for her. The loneliness was almost frightening.
“Mother…”
She called out weakly, knowing there would be no reply.
“Hhhk…”
Ever since meeting Lihi, she had somehow avoided remembering certain things—but now those memories seeped back in.
She pulled herself out from under the stifling covers and lay down on the cool outer surface of the blanket.
It was cool, soft.
The unpleasant heat and the painful memories gradually gave way to a calmer state of mind.
And then she remembered something.
That afternoon, meeting the Emperor—beautiful and strange.
Even to her young mind, the Emperor had shown her an inexplicable kindness at their first meeting.
To him, Lavina was surely nothing more than a valued aide.
It is my gift, Lavina. Surely you and I are not the kind to fuss over such trivial matters. Don’t refuse—accept it.
But that line… no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.
What exactly was her mother’s relationship with the Emperor?
Maia let out a helpless sigh, sinking deeper into thought.
She knew well how illegitimate children were viewed—how they had been oppressed and excluded throughout the Empire’s history.
Giovan’s father, the history teacher who’d since been expelled, had recited even the ugliest details she hadn’t wanted to hear.
If… just if… the rumors were true—
That her father had left because he was sickened by her mother’s affair with the Emperor…
And that she wasn’t her father’s child at all… but the Emperor’s…
“No.”
She didn’t want that.
She hated it.
Mistress. Adultery. Illegitimate child.
For her revered mother and herself to be the kind of people everyone insulted, pointed at, and called filthy… she hated it.
Maia forced her mind elsewhere. Crawling out of bed, she opened her travel bag in the corner of the room and searched through it.
The full light of the harvest moon poured into the room, making it easy to find.
A branch of hawthorn.
I put a special magic on it to make all your fears disappear. It will definitely help you.
That’s what Lihi had said with a playful smile.
When Maia had expressed her doubt, Lihi’s eyes and voice had been full of certainty and confidence.
Has my magic ever failed?
No—it hadn’t.
“Don’t tremble like a rabbit…”
Clutching the branch tightly, Maia whispered.
In her mind, Lihi’s voice overlapped with her own, as though they were speaking in unison.
“Be proud, like a young lion.”
Repeating that line in small whispers, she hugged the branch to her chest and climbed back into bed.
It wasn’t long before the quiet sound of her breathing filled the room.
She had fallen asleep, clinging with all her might to the only thing she could depend on.
After the audience with the Emperor, Maia had expected they would leave immediately for their capital residence, stay there for a few days, and then return home.
But unexpectedly, the Emperor had given her a place to stay within the palace.
She couldn’t begin to guess his intentions, but she gradually realized—amid the cold stares of the palace maids—that it was far too generous a treatment for the daughter of a mere merchant, not even a lower noble.
“It seems His Majesty intends for you to stay in the palace for a while.”
“What about you, Mother?”
Maia’s voice trembled.
“If I stayed too, it would seem strange. You stay here for just a little while. You’ll be able to come back before long.”
Lavina’s hand gently stroked Maia’s hair, her expression unusually soft.
Maia looked up at her mother, feeling an odd unfamiliarity.
“Master Hansberg.”
“What is it?”
At that moment, the Emperor’s chamberlain appeared with a polite cough.
He glanced once at Lavina, then at the small child who so closely resembled her, before stating his business.
“His Majesty wishes to see your daughter.”
“…Understood. Let’s go, Maia.”
Lavina took Maia’s hand to lead her away.
“Without you accompanying her, madam.”
The chamberlain, watching them, added that remark.
Maia gasped and gripped her mother’s hand tightly.
“…May I ask, what was His Majesty’s expression when he gave that order?”
Lavina showed no sign of agitation—unless the brief pause before she looked at the chamberlain could be counted as such.
“…I would not presume to read His Majesty’s mind, but he appeared calm.”
“I see. You heard that, Maia?”
Maia lifted her pale face to look desperately at her mother.
“Go on.”
Lavina gazed down at her daughter for a moment. Her voice was composed when she finally spoke.
No more time was given for Maia to hesitate.
Her steps trembled as she followed the chamberlain.
The chamberlain—likely a count or higher—walked ahead, occasionally glancing back at her, but offered no words of kindness.
Walking behind him, Maia felt the oppressive weight of stares heavier than any she had ever endured.
“That girl…”
“What is His Majesty thinking? How can he let some illegitimate brat walk around the palace so openly…?”
And at last, the word came.
Illegitimate.
Without a shred of doubt, they spoke as though it were a fact that Maia was the Emperor’s bastard child.
…
Lihi said to walk proudly, like a young lion.
But… Maia clutched the fluttering hem of her dress tightly.
Before such voices and eyes, she simply couldn’t.
She felt tears threatening to spill at any moment.
“Shouldn’t we inform Her Majesty the Empress? This is the perfect chance to put that merchant woman in her place.”
The malice in the senior maid’s voice was sharp and undisguised.
Maia’s shoulders trembled.
“Do you think Her Majesty doesn’t already know? She surely does. The fact that she hasn’t reacted means she considers them too lowly to bother with.”
It was meant to be consoling, but it still reduced Maia and her mother to something base and contemptible.
Her rosebud-like lips trembled and twisted.
“And even if that girl were His Majesty’s illegitimate child, what favor could she possibly receive when there’s already a Princess? His Majesty cherishes the Princess so dearly.”
“Exactly. In bloodline, in character, in talent—what young lady could ever rival the Princess? …Least of all some mere illegitimate child.”
And so they tore her down, ending with cruel ridicule.
