Epilogue (3)

“Older Sister-nim, I’m… I’m sorry.”

The venom drained from Mirabilis’s face, replaced by a gloomy air.

“It’s my fault for not stopping you. Wait here. I’ll talk to him.”

“Yes.”

Mirabilis drooped her shoulders and returned to stand beside Serina. Padrentia bit her lower lip tightly at the sight.

“Violation of the Prohibition of Magic Laws.”

The two masters and servants opposite Padrentia flinched. Padrentia could now be certain of her suspicions.

“Serina, you’ve been casting some kind of magic on Mirabilis for years. It must have started a little before you became known as Mirabilis’s favorite maid. It’s like a blind cow finding a mouse, but the slander I made was the truth.”

Mirabilis tried to say something from the side, but Serina raised her hand, and she flinched and shut her mouth. Serina nodded as if agreeing with his words.

“Even in this situation, you can guess that far… Honestly, you’re beyond my imagination, Padrentia-nim. If it were me, I would have been confused, not knowing what was going on.”

“Your coming to the Chrysanthemum Palace was also your intention, not hers, right? As long as Mirabilis serves you as her master, she wouldn’t have done it on her own. At the very least, she would have gotten your permission.”

When Serina nodded, Padrentia opened her mouth again. But her tone was a little tense.

“You said you knew I slandered you. Do you resent me for being dragged to Changwei (Information Bureau) and tortured because of me? Is that why you’re trying to get revenge on me?”

Serina shrugged lightly. Padrentia was a little nervous, but Serina’s tone was as carefree as before.

“Honestly, it’s not like I have no ill feelings at all. It was something I really don’t want to experience again. But fortunately, my body is intact, so I can forget it as much as I want, depending on Padrentia-nim’s decision.”

Padrentia crossed her arms and lowered her head for a moment, then unfolded her arms and raised her head to stare at the maid.

“I don’t know what kind of magic you used, but you can’t just cast it on anyone. There’s no magic in this world without any restrictions. If there were, this country would have been ruled long ago. To make someone like Mirabilis, you probably need a lot of time and preparation. Isn’t that right?”

His tone was low but resolute, as if full of conviction. Serina nodded and got up from her seat, approaching Padrentia. She was slightly uneasy about what he was going to do, but because of that, the Princess straightened her back and faced the approaching maid. She didn’t want to expose the uneasy feeling she was feeling now. But Serina was just quietly stroking Padrentia’s face. The Princess wanted to push his hand away, but she forcibly endured it because of the atmosphere.

“Looking at you like this, Padrentia-nim, you’re quite cute.”

“Satisfy yourself with Mirabilis for being cute. I don’t want to be seen as cute by you.”

There had never been such a tense moment in her life. She was disoriented by the attack of an unexpected hidden card. But she was busily racking her brain to find a way to get out of this place without provoking Serina. She had calculated that if she could somehow avoid this situation, she could safely plan for the future. Padrentia met Serina’s eyes. They were eyes she had seen many times and was familiar with, but now they looked like those of a wicked villain.

“Let’s form an alliance.”

“An alliance…?”

Serina tilted her head. Padrentia’s lips felt parched. As the fish seemed to be getting close to the bait, his tone became even more cautious. She had to be even more careful until the decisive moment of grabbing the lowered fishing rod.

“I don’t know what kind of sorcery you used, but you won’t be satisfied with the current level, right? If you form an alliance with me, it can be a stepping stone for your ambition. I don’t know exactly what you want, but I’ll cooperate as much as possible.”

“An alliance…”

Serina fell into thought for a moment. As the three of them fell silent, the chirping of birds faintly echoed in the distance.

“But Padrentia-nim, do we really need to do that?”

“What…”

It was then. Mirabilis spoke from beside Serina.

“Older Sister-nim, let me do it.”

When Serina nodded, Mirabilis looked directly at Padrentia’s face.

“Serina’s younger sister commands you.”

Padrentia’s heart pounded. Mirabilis had said the same words when she had blocked her legs from moving. She didn’t know what it was, but a sinister magic that was clearly not good for her was about to be activated again. Padrentia gritted her teeth and glared at Mirabilis.

“Regina Lecta.”

At that moment, the light disappeared from Padrentia’s eyes, and a vacant light lingered, losing her will. The body, which had been tense, lost its strength and slumped. Mirabilis stroked ‘Former Older Sister’s’ brown hair, caressed her cheeks, and poked her chest with her index finger. But Padrentia turned into a doll and obediently entrusted her body to his hands.

“You used to be so hateful, but now you’re really cute, to the point where I want to torment you. I must have been like this in front of Older Sister-nim when I was under hypnosis.”

“It would have been difficult without Supanita.”

Serina raised Supanita, who had been kneeling, from her seat. Although she didn’t feel any pain because she was unconscious, Supanita staggered as she stood up because her legs hadn’t been properly circulated for a long time from kneeling for so long. Serina quickly supported him and sat him down.

It had been two years since Serina was released from Changwei (Information Bureau), but she couldn’t meet Padrentia, the master of another palace, often. Every time she met Padrentia, she hypnotized her, but at that rate, it seemed like it wouldn’t work even after 10 years, let alone 2 years. So instead, she flirted with Supanita, the maid she met much more often.

Whenever Supanita and Padrentia were alone, the maid would unknowingly mutter the Keyword Serina had told her, putting the Princess into a hypnotic state and then waking her up. Since the suggestion had to be given directly by Serina, she didn’t give Supanita any separate instructions. Her intention was simply to have the Princess steadily experience hypnosis, even for a short time, when only the two of them were in the Chrysanthemum Palace, so that her body would remember it. Even so, it took two years for her to feel that she had sufficiently instilled hypnotic suggestions into Padrentia.

“There’s really… a strange pleasure in hypnosis. Even though Older Sister-nim did it, not me. The warning that a person named Bingalsa gave was rather weak. Although it’s not a panacea, it’s easy to abuse. Even more so because other people don’t even have the concept of hypnosis yet.”

Serina also nodded. Mirabilis put both hands on her chest and took a long, deep breath. She bit her lip for a moment and hesitated, then parted her lips with a firm tone as if she had made up her mind.

“Serina… Let’s bury hypnosis for good, starting today.”

“What?”

Mirabilis sometimes took this ‘friendly’ attitude when she was trying to speak seriously. So Serina wasn’t surprised by the tone. She was just surprised by the content.

“If you take hypnosis for granted, you’ll end up seeing people as just tools. Let’s make Padrentia and Supanita the last ones. It’s like a drug, it’s sweet but you won’t be able to get out of it. There’s too much room for abuse. If you hypnotize one or two people and get a taste for it… you won’t be able to control yourself.”

“But… you don’t know what will happen in the future. Hypnosis can be a strength then. Is it okay to give up?”

Mirabilis smiled brightly and grabbed his right hand with both hands, bringing it to her cheek. The touch of her still glossy white skin was vividly conveyed to his fingertips.

“Even without hypnosis, Royal Mother, Padrentia, and everyone else have found their own way. Although I started late, I don’t think I can’t do that. So Serina, please trust me too.”

Serina paused for a moment. She twitched her hands a few times as if to say something, then drooped her shoulders and let out a long breath.

“…That’s unfair. You know I can’t refuse when you say it like that.”

Mirabilis embraced her Older Sister-nim. With all the strength she could muster. Serina also entrusted her body to the Princess who had become her younger sister. His eyes were still a deep green color, like the lush greenery of midsummer. Mirabilis placed her lips on Serina’s lips.

She didn’t make any vows. She had already made such vows several times. She just wanted to feel Serina’s warmth more as she did so. Serina carefully stroked her head. Mirabilis stayed like that for a while and then stood up.

Serina sat back in her chair, made Padrentia kneel, and spoke to her.

“Padrentia, you’ve hated Mirabilis quite a bit until now, haven’t you?”

He slowly opened his lips with a blank look.

“Yes…”

“Why do you hate her?”

“Well… because she became a Princess late… and took away my connections as she pleased…”

Serina realized once again that she had asked the wrong question. When you’re under hypnosis, your judgment is already clouded, so if you don’t directly ask the core of what you’re curious about, the other person will only answer what you asked.

“No, no, you’ve hated Mirabilis since you were a child, right? From the first time you met her. Tell me the reason honestly.”

“Royal Mother passed away… Royal Father immediately… Empress… Royal Father too… the current Empress too… Mirabilis too… everyone…”

Serina clicked her tongue. It seemed that her hatred was quite deep than she thought. If she hadn’t been steadily flirting with her for the past two years, she wouldn’t have been able to win today. In addition to that, Padrentia slowly expressed emotions that even she hadn’t been aware of.

After listening to the story calmly, Serina thought for a moment and opened her mouth again.

“Until now, you’ve hated the current Empress who came in after the late former Empress passed away, and you’ve also hated Mirabilis, who is her blood relative. And you’ve always tried to increase your power so you wouldn’t lose. Otherwise, you’d be eaten by Mirabilis, and the anxiety that you might be kicked out by the current Empress whipped you… But now you don’t have to do that.”

Serina brought a box and pretended to put something inside.

“Okay, I’ll put your bad memories in here. Then those bad things will disappear from you. Of course, you’ll remember. But you won’t be angry about it anymore, and you’ll be at peace.”

“Ah…”

Padrentia smiled faintly as she looked at the box that Serina was pretending to put in. She felt pleasure from the sensation of her painful memories gradually disappearing.

“And every time a painful memory disappears… a new memory will be created. Before you were born, in the distant world of souls, my soul, Serina’s soul, split and Mirabilis came out, and Mirabilis’s soul split and you came out.

Therefore, I, the source of your soul, am your Older Sister-nim and master… Mirabilis is also your revered Older Sister… The things of the human world are like a play… But you were so absorbed in the play… that you forgot the truth… Although you were born first in the flesh, that’s not actually the case…”

This was also an absurd suggestion, but Padrentia readily accepted it.

“In those days, your name was Paumira, taken from the first syllables of Mirabilis paura, a small Mirabilis, and rearranged… When you’re called by this name, you’ll remember all of this. You revere me, the source of your soul, and you sincerely love Mirabilis, the channel that connects you and me and your immediate Older Sister. Got it?”

Giving the name ‘small Mirabilis’ to the half-sister she had hated since the moment she met Mirabilis, and making her believe that Mirabilis was her ‘Older Sister’, had quite a mocking meaning. But on the other hand, she also had a feeling that she wanted to improve the relationship between these twisted half-sisters.

In the future, Padrentia will be Serina’s cute youngest sister and loyal subordinate.

When Serina snapped her fingers, Padrentia suddenly came to her senses. She had lost her memory the moment Serina said something to her, but when she woke up, she was in this situation. Serina slowly stroked Padrentia’s head.

“What strange thing did you do again, you bitch?”

Padrentia hated this position of kneeling in front of a mere maid, but she couldn’t move her body. It was also humiliating for Serina to stroke Padrentia’s head. But having experienced it herself, she understood, even though she didn’t know what it was, that Mirabilis revered Serina as her master and ‘Older Sister-nim’, which was absurd but also understandable.

It was clear that Serina had rejected the offer to form an alliance, so Padrentia called Serina ‘you bitch’ and opened her mouth, feeling that she would just have to take her chances.

“Even if you’re under a spell, how can a member of the royal family revere her own maid as her master and swear allegiance to her? Do you have no pride? Mirabilis. Is that all your pride is worth? I hated you, but I still acknowledged that you were one of the few direct descendants of the royal family.”

But Mirabilis shrugged her shoulders and said lightly.

“But now my blood is flowing with Older Sister-nim’s blood.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Padrentia glared at Serina, but Serina didn’t think she needed to explain.

“That’s enough, come back, Paumira.”

Pause

The name ‘Paumira’ was unfamiliar but also extremely familiar. The moment that ‘name’ was called, the hatred she had for Serina and Mirabilis suddenly ebbed away like the tide, and suddenly other emotions welled up. Emotions like joy, elation, and regret filled her chest. Her body trembled.

‘My name is… Padrentia? No… no… what was it? Pau… mira, small… Mirabilis.’

Padrentia’s body suddenly became able to move. All her ‘memories’ vividly came to mind. She vividly remembered the memories of the distant old days she had made with the two Older Sisters in front of her. Her memories of living as ‘Padrentia’ were still there. But all the emotions she had for Mirabilis and Serina suddenly faded like a bundle of old books.

Compared to the relationship she had made in the ‘world of souls’, what had happened after she was born as a human was nothing more than a fleeting dream. Entrusting her body to an overwhelming emotion, Padrentia bowed her head to the ground.

“Ah… Serina Older Sister-nim, master.”

“Did you remember?”

Padrentia shed tears.

“I remembered everything about Older Sister-nim and Mirabilis Older Sister. What on earth did I do while I was born as a human…”

While Serina was ‘Older Sister-nim’, Mirabilis was ‘Older Sister’. When Serina stroked Padrentia’s head, she gladly accepted the touch, unlike in the past.

“It’s okay. We’re generous, so we’ve forgotten everything that happened when you didn’t remember. Now, get up and greet Mirabilis again.”

Padrentia got up, turned to Mirabilis, and spoke hesitantly.

“Mirabilis… Older Sister.”

“Welcome back, Paumira.”

Mirabilis smiled warmly, like an Older Sister warmly welcoming a younger sister who had been away for a long time. Seeing that expression, Padrentia, or rather Paumira, finally smiled brightly and approached Mirabilis, hugging her tightly. It was a truly harmonious sisterly figure.

Watching this scene, Serina leisurely thought about what she should do now. There was no need to be too greedy or push herself too hard. She didn’t even want to be a person who received attention. There was no need to risk revealing the true relationship between herself, Mirabilis, and Padrentia.

Serina could never forget Mirabilis’s question, “Can you love me until the end?” In the future, she would continue to maintain her position as ‘Mirabilis’s closest maid’ to the outside world, and she intended to love her until the end, as she had been asked that day.