Chapter 95
He let out a small chuckle and patted my head.
“I don’t want to receive that kind of praise… The Grand Duke’s compliments always come with something else attached.”
I glanced briefly at the documents in front of me.
“Doesn’t that just mean you’re capable?”
“…At first, you didn’t trust me at all… Are you really okay with entrusting all these things to me like this?”
“There’s no one who cares for my children as much as you do. So from now on, work hard and become the future of my children.”
In short, he was telling me to live for the twins in every possible situation. I understood that perfectly.
“I will become the children’s future.”
So that nothing sad happens like in a novel. Honestly, I hope the heroine doesn’t meet the twins either. Twisted hearts start from that.
I dislike the heroine.
She knew what the twins thought of her… she knew that, because of the abuse they suffered as children, they were different from ordinary kids… and even knowing that, the heroine—despite having invested so much strength in that narrative—did not come when the Crown Prince killed the twins.
No, she didn’t stop it.
For the twins, whose every step forward was like walking through hell, she was the first flower blooming on an entirely thorny path. She knew what the twins desired and hoped for, and still…
She was kidnapped not out of some other intention, but by children who only knew obsession as a way to love, and yet she abandoned the twins.
That’s why I decided to become the future of those children.
If a thorny path spreads before them, I will carefully clear it, remove all the thorns, and fertilize the ground. I will make flowers bloom on every path they walk, so they only walk on flower paths. I will do that for them. For my children.
“Yes. The children’s future, good.”
“But I have no intention of becoming the Grand Duke’s future.”
“Hm?”
“I’m not planning to take the place of the Grand Duke. I will be the children’s future as myself.”
The Grand Duke, not as foolish as the Grand Duchess, seemed to understand my words immediately. In fact, he even looked a little proud.
“Right. You and I are different.”
“And the things we must do are different too. That’s why I have something to tell you.”
This never happened before. There was never a crisis that could have expelled the Grand Duchess; in the past, as the truth gradually came out, she would have ended up trapped in her palace.
Because the future changed, the present must change too. This time, the Grand Duchess foolishly caused trouble and it turned out well, but there’s no guarantee that everything will always go smoothly like this. As the Mistress said, you never know what will happen or when.
“What do you mean?”
“I want to leave.”
“Are you formally declaring running away? Or…”
“Rather than running away… I want to stay somewhere else.”
For a moment, his eyes flickered.
“Did I make things uncomfortable? Did I give you too much work? Was it exhausting? Well, I suppose it would be. I did give you heavy work. Maybe I was greedy because you’re so smart and not childish at all. Alright, I’ll reduce your workload. Not immediately, but… hmm.”
The Grand Duke, who had been patting me up to the chin, nodded as if he had made a big decision.
“For now, maintain this work for a while, and gradually I’ll reduce what you have to do. How about that? Is this still too hard?”
Even as he spoke, he watched me quietly, seemingly uneasy.
“It’s just… I think it’s time for me to leave now.”
“Why? Why is that? Have you been exhausted all this time? I understand. I understand everything. But…”
“I want to go to the temple.”
“The temple? All of a sudden? Do you want to become a priestess?”
Where should I even begin? Should I tell the truth?
“Yes.”
“Why all of a sudden? Being a priestess would cut you off from the secular world and it would be boring. You’d have to be careful about everything you do. It would be a constant chain of dull, meaningless tasks. Stay at the Grand Duke’s house instead. If you want, I’ll even adopt you.”
“You mean… you’ll adopt me?”
It was a bold proposal. But he immediately changed his mind.
“No, adoption isn’t really appropriate.”
True. Even I thought it would be strange for him to adopt an orphan like me, someone with no known parents. I hadn’t expected it anyway, so I nodded in agreement. Only then did he frown, seemingly deep in thought.
“Aisha. Do you know about your parents?”
“I’m not sure.”
I had an exceptional memory since I was little. So I vaguely remembered the moment I was abandoned. There were no tears, no regret, no sadness. No explanations of unavoidable circumstances or promises that they would come back later.
I was simply abandoned.
That was all.
“Don’t you want to see your mother?”
“…I don’t want to see someone who doesn’t want to see me.”
“Why do you think she doesn’t want to see you?”
“She never came to find me, not even once. I don’t resent her; she must have had her own reasons. But even considering that, she never came or contacted me for eight years… that means she didn’t want to see me.”
I felt no sadness about it. Giving birth doesn’t suddenly create a mother’s love; I simply acknowledged that there must have been circumstances.
“I don’t need someone who doesn’t want me to seek me out and remind them of my existence. So, Grand Duke, don’t go looking for her either.”
“Hm?”
“I mean there’s no need to forcibly remind her of me. You don’t need to trouble yourself.”
I said it just in case, and the Grand Duke didn’t look happy. He blinked nervously, as if caught off guard—maybe he had been searching for her.
Or perhaps he had already found her. He asked if I wanted to see my mother, instead of mentioning parents in general. He probably already found her.
“Even if you found her, you don’t have to tell me.”
“Alright…”
“I don’t care about my birth. I am who I am. And I care for the twins more than anyone.”
“Yes. That’s true. No one cares for the twins as much as you do. But… I’ll tell you one thing… I hope you don’t go to the temple.”
“Why? Is my mother there?”
I asked just in case, because we went from talking about my mother to suddenly the temple.
“You really are perceptive.”
“You gave away too much in your actions. So, is my mother really there?”
“Maybe.”
“Please tell me for sure.”
“If I tell you, will you not go?”
“No, I have to pretend I don’t know. I have to avoid it. At least, I don’t want to meet her that way. Later, someone might say it’s destiny that we met… I’d be scared of hearing that.”
My calm words made him laugh in disbelief.
“Really… you’re not childish at all. Then I have a favor to ask.”
“Not going to the temple or something like that?”
“Of course not. I’ll tell you the full story. About your mother.”
As I thought, he already knew. My chest felt a little tight. I wasn’t completely unaware of my mother; sometimes, my body instinctively missed her. There are people who keep appearing in life. Even if I remember, nothing changes, and even if I went to see her, her reaction would be predictable. So I simply nodded.
If I must go to the temple, I should at least know about my mother.
“Your mother is a priestess.”
“I see.”
“You don’t seem moved.”
“No.”
“In the temple, priestesses are forbidden from marrying. Priests can date and marry freely, but it’s unfair to priestesses. Anyway, your mother fell in love with a priest. That’s how you were born.”
“How boring and uninteresting.”
An impossible love story, perhaps.
“Your father promised to take responsibility for you but abandoned your mother and you for his own future. Then he married another woman. Your mother’s belly grew, and in a desperate situation, she tried to escape. But having no family, she couldn’t do anything. Eventually, the Mistress noticed it.”
“The Mistress?”
“You seem more surprised by the Mistress than by your mother’s story.”
“Well… whatever… what did the Mistress do?”
“She provided a safe place for your mother to give birth, secretly. And she intended to raise you in the temple, but your father’s mother—your grandmother—found out. She tried to kill you, fearing problems would arise.”
I had assumed there was no such clichéd past. In my memory, my mother’s last image was leaving me without hesitation. But that wasn’t true. My mother didn’t abandon me.
“During that, your mother had an accident and lost her memory. Boringly enough. In the end, the Mistress sent you to an orphanage and kept everything secret.”
“…Then my mother…”
“You don’t have to hate her so much. She didn’t dislike you. She wanted to protect you more than anyone else. You were protected. So cherish yourself. You don’t need to become a priestess or anything for others.”
My heart pounded.
And with that pounding, my eyes grew warm.
