Episode 137 – Reality and Fairy Tales
by Afuhfuihgs
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The time spent caught in between one big event and the next often felt like it was passing by quickly.
Mella was waiting for the upcoming banquet day with a very cautious and nervous attitude.
After parting with Ed with a light kiss, the morbid mental state that had been tormenting Mella quickly subsided, but she was also being cautious in trying not to reveal it in order to avoid Robin’s suspicion.
Robin might have found it suspicious if she had suddenly recovered.
Of course, she had told her son Edward and daughter Tess to some extent that her condition had improved, but whenever Robin appeared at the mansion, Mella always locked herself in her newly moved room and avoided facing him as much as possible.
Robin’s annoyance at Mella grew day by day, but perhaps because Baron Salvier had told him to bring his wife no matter what, Robin avoided doing anything that would provoke Mella as much as possible.
Mella didn’t want to see Robin’s face or talk to him ever again, if possible.
To be exact, she didn’t give a damn about Robin anymore.
She planned to leave the house before Robin on the day of the banquet and arrive at Ed’s mansion where the banquet was being held.
Mella lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, then turned over to her side.
She saw the beautiful new dress she had bought with Edward on their recent outing hanging in her line of sight against the wall.
Mella smiled as she looked at the dress.
Imagining herself appearing before Ed dressed as prettily as possible made her feel like a maiden again.
Of course, she no longer had the foolish expectation that Ed would return to her now.
Mella knew and accepted that there wasn’t even a tiny spark left between herself and Ed other than beautiful memories.
That receptive attitude was one of Mella’s biggest changes over the past few days.
She had acknowledged and accepted many things after her kiss with Ed.
She acknowledged that she had been deceived and accepted that she couldn’t go back.
She acknowledged the complete separation from Ed and accepted that she had another one of Robin’s children in her womb.
She acknowledged that her life had been completely ruined thanks to Robin, who had deceived her, and her own stupidly dependent behavior on him, and although she didn’t know what Ed was thinking yet, she accepted the fact that he would bring Robin down and the dark future that would follow.
Even though she had been deceived, if Robin’s misdeeds were revealed after living together as husband and wife for as long as 20 years, it was clear that Mella would not be able to enjoy a peaceful old age in the future.
People would say things like, “There’s no way Mella, his wife, didn’t know,” or “She was also in on it,” and she wouldn’t be able to actively defend against such misunderstandings, even for the sake of Edward and Tess’s future.
She didn’t know how much Ed would reveal, but she might be recorded in history as a foolish woman who was deceived by a man, abandoned her position as a saintess, and even betrayed her lover.
But Mella was prepared for all of that and waited for the coming destruction with a happy heart.
Acknowledging and accepting,
That was the first step to no longer being dependent or running away.
Mella slowly got out of bed and trudged towards the dressing table where a single, faintly flickering candle was placed.
With each step, her unsightly body was gradually reflected in the mirror.
Only when she slumped down on the chair in front of the dressing table did her old and shabby face appear in the mirror attached to the board.
Mella sneered at her pathetic self, reflected in the flickering candlelight, and stared straight at the woman in the mirror.
,You stupid bitch.
Suddenly, Mella couldn’t remember the last time she had looked at her face like this.
Ever since Ed revealed the shocking truth in front of Ed’s grave, she had unconsciously avoided the mirror on purpose because she was so ashamed of her reflection.
But Mella, who had decided to stop running away, slowly scanned herself in the mirror.
Then, when her stomach came into view, she sighed.
,What should I do with you?
Of course, the child to be born is innocent.
Her two children were proof of that.
Edward grew up to be kind and virtuous as his name suggested, and Tess did not succumb to fear or lose herself until the end, even in a situation where she was so weak that she might die at any moment.
Even though she had never taught them, she was so proud and fond of the children who did not repeat Mella’s failures from a young age.
So there was no need to hate this child who had not yet been born in advance.
Just because he’s Robin’s child doesn’t mean he’ll become like Robin.
But perhaps because the day she heard the news of her pregnancy was the day after she found out that Ed had returned, Mella’s heart, apart from what she understood in her head, didn’t feel any affection for the child in her womb.
Even if this child is born in nine months, there will be no one to praise her for her hard work in giving birth at an old age, and no one to celebrate this child who is Robin’s child.
In the first place, she is over 40 years old.
That meant she could die if she tried to have this child.
Mella was prepared to take responsibility for and raise this child, even if she couldn’t love him until the end.
However, she hated dying while giving birth to Robin’s child more than anything.
If the ending of a life that had been deceived and used by Robin all her life was to die giving birth to Robin’s child, there would be no more cruel comedy than that.
It might be the punishment she deserved for foolishly betraying her lover, but she couldn’t help but feel that it was too harsh.
Mella sighed.
After regaining her senses, she had been listening to what Robin had been doing while keeping her senses sharp in various parts of the mansion for several days.
Surprisingly, Robin seemed to be gathering the remnants of the aristocratic faction and instilling in them the vain hope of dreaming of a comeback.
Of course, most of them had already turned Robin away, saying that it was all over.
Some said they would watch the situation with a lukewarm attitude and then give an answer, and surprisingly, some foolish people were chatting enthusiastically with Robin, spouting nonsense that the aristocratic faction should seize power.
Every time Mella heard such rumors, she could realize even more deeply how futile her past 20 years had been.
How could she have believed in such a senseless person who still has vain dreams even in this situation?
Mella self-deprecatingly said that perhaps even she, like many citizens, had simply been blinded by the title of ‘Hero’.
Of course, it was probably because I, who had been weakened by Ed’s death, had given up on overcoming it on my own…
Whatever the reason, it didn’t change the fact that it was a terrible choice she had made.
,A hero,
Mella scoffed and ridiculed the wrinkled middle-aged woman in the mirror.
,Mella, it looks like you’ve woken up from your dream now.
The woman in the mirror also glared at Mella and said.
,Yes, this is not a fairy tale, it’s not a world in a romantic story. This is the real reality.
,In reality, there are no rainbow-colored clouds, no winged horses flying in the sky, and no Ed to be with me.
Mella said that and let out a hollow laugh.
Married the hero and lived happily ever after.
Indeed, her life so far had been nothing more than a nonsensical fairy tale.
It’s already too late, but she still has to return to reality.
,In reality, there is only a gray sky, a dusty carriage, and Robin, who will perish with me.
,So Mella, listen carefully. This is your ending. Go to the banquet and watch Robin’s downfall, and if you’re lucky, you might see Ed kill Robin. And you go home and live in hiding, avoiding the stones thrown by the citizens, and when the time comes, you die giving birth to Robin’s child.
,…
,This time, don’t run away.
Mella chuckled and nodded.
Will Ed try to take his own life out of emptiness after the revenge is over, or will Lara take care of Ed and live with him?
Mella hoped that Ed would live a happy life no matter what happened.
,Ha, you cheeky bitch, you still haven’t come to your senses.
Why do I care about that?
After all, that’s Ed’s life, Ed’s life that will never have anything to do with Mella again.
It does matter.
What does it matter?
If Robin tries to kill Ed.
I have to stop it no matter what.
Who are you? What can you do? You don’t use divine power anymore, what can you do?
,I’ll have to die instead.
That’s a great idea.
The baby in my womb won’t be born either.
Ed told me not to die and to live happily, but it was a life I had already tried to die when Ed died, and it was a life I tried to die again when Ed was resurrected and told me the truth.
So if I lose this life protecting Ed, Mella smiled, thinking that it would be a much more affectionate and better story than dying giving birth to Robin’s child.
Mella nodded, blew out the candle, and slowly got up from her chair.
In the worst case, her life had only a few days left until the banquet began.
Of course, there was very little chance that Robin would run wild at the banquet hall, and she didn’t want him to, but even so, if she could be of help to Ed even once, and if she could die in the process, wouldn’t the ending of her life be wonderful? Mella thought so.
Mella threw open the thick blackout curtains to see the sunlight that she might not have many chances to see in the future.
It was night outside the window.
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