episode_0111

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I walked through the garden at sunset.

The dahlias were in full bloom.

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The end of spring before the hot summer arrives.

The flowers in full bloom brought out the beauty of the land to its peak.

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The magnificent scenery of the empire was great, but the pastoral feeling of my… no, Dahlia’s estate was special.

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The first scene from the novel I encountered after being immersed in it.

So this image of a fantasy world remains in my head as a first impression.

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That’s the Dahlia Estate.

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A whoosh-ish sound of wind blowing can be heard.

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I walked in the soft breeze.

The wind blowing hair and dress make me realize again that I am alive.

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I approached a corner of the garden, a place where it would be difficult for anyone to find me.

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There is a small, very small tomb there.

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A tomb made by carefully piling up dirt.

It is a small grave, the height of the piled up dirt barely reaching my knees.

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The last time I saw it, the grass covering the soil wasn’t very lush, but now it has grown so lush that it’s almost green.

It reminds me that several months have passed since I left for the Empire.

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The grass grew lushly, but there were no weeds.

That means someone is caring for this grave with care, perhaps every day.

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dump-

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I knelt down in front of the grave, not caring if my dress was dirty.

In fact, it would be more accurate to say that he sat down as if his legs had given out and he had collapsed.

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He caresses a grave without even a tombstone, making it impossible to identify the owner.

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“Theo……”

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The gravestone could not be erected.

Because the people buried in this graveyard should not have existed.

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“Oh my… Oh my… I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…”

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All I can do is apologize.

I grabbed the grass that had sprouted up on top of the dirt and cried.

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This child is Theodore Green. The last prince of the empire. My brother.

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Officially, he is said to have disappeared and died along with his sister, Tricky Green, during the Silent Revolution.

Due to the religious order’s control of information, not many people even know our real names…

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Everyone just knows that ‘there were children of the emperor, but they disappeared one day. They must have died, right?’

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But we fled abroad under the protection of the Guardians.

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Creating a new identity is not an easy task, so I started by creating my own identity as a sister.

And so I, Beatrice de Dahlia, appeared in the world.

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Since Beatrice is known to the public as the only successor to the Dahlia family, no one knows that this child ever existed.

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It took more time to create Theo’s identity.

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Normally, when he was old enough to enter Theodosius Academy, he would have been given the status of another successor to Dahlia, but the Heresy Investigation Bureau came looking for him before that.

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So my poor brother is dead and cannot be named as either a prince or as Dahlia’s successor.

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Theo’s grave without a tombstone reminds me of the self-loathing I had ignored.

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You promised!

You promised!

I will definitely make him a lottery winner, and I will definitely bury him in the palace…!

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I think I can hear Theo’s voice.

It seemed as if the child was scolding me in a cold voice I had never seen before in my life.

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So I apologize and apologize again, waving my hands in the air like a crazy woman.

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I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

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I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I was wrong. I’m sorry.

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But… but…!

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Wet the grave with tears that flow endlessly.

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“Ugh… I, I… It’s too hard… I can’t do it… Theo, I’m sorry…….”

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I don’t want to be hated anymore.

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Now, I’m more afraid of the image of Theo screaming in my dreams, and the pain of not being able to sleep at night, than the image of Carl who said no to me with a disgusted expression.

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The look in Carl’s eyes as he glared at the unknown who was hiding his face with a mask was thrilling.

But when my bare face was captured in those eyes distorted with anger, I felt like I was going crazy.

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It was so painful to say ‘no’ when you knew exactly who I was.

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That’s why it’s hard.

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Have I become a bitch who is crazy about men?

So are you becoming a piece of trash that has abandoned humanity?

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Now even I don’t know.

However, there is only one firm wish that comes to mind…

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I want to escape from this terrible loneliness and solitude.

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I want to be loved.

I wish someone who loves me would embrace and wipe away all my pain.

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I wish that these black lumps that weigh down my chest and suffocate me, these dark threads that make me feel suffocated, would be removed one by one.

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But I myself don’t have the courage to do that for someone else…

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There is a lot to wish for, but little to give.

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Once again, I realize that this is a petty and selfish wish, and I feel anger rising towards myself.

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*

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While the princess was sobbing alone, tension filled the mansion.

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In the small banquet hall of the Dahlia mansion, the count and his wife and Julia were having a serious conversation.

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“Julia, what happened?”

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The count asked.

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“What are you talking about…”

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Julia took off her mask.

The Earl and Blair were astonished

It was because it was absurd that Yulia answered like an innocent maid, completely different from the extraordinary aura that had been transmitted through the communication magic just yesterday.

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“Do you know why Her Highness the Princess is suddenly acting like that?”

“……”

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Blair put aside his doubts about the ominous atmosphere and tried to get to the urgent matter first.

The blonde mature woman looked anxious and eager for Julia’s answer.

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But the silver-haired maid remained silent.

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“Julia, from the moment you first came here, you introduced yourself as a faithful servant to serve Her Highness the Princess, right?”

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The count, tired of waiting for Julia’s answer, asked.

He thought back to the turning point in his life. The moment when Julia came to him, and the princess holding her hand tightly, and the prince in her arms.

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Julia, dressed in a maid outfit, nodded.

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“We too. Blair and I value Her Highness’s safety more than our lives. So let us know.”

“Yes, Julia. I will do whatever is necessary for Beatrice!”

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Julia raised an eyebrow at Blair’s words.

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“…Beatrice?”

“Yes, Beatrice! Or Her Highness Tricky, Her Highness the Princess, the Great Green. Anything is fine. She is our only master.”

“Miss said she wanted to give up revenge.”

“!?”

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The Earl and Blair opened their eyes wide at the shocking words.

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“Ah, no, what’s that all of a sudden…!”

“What happened at the Academy? Tell me, Julia.”

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“I don’t know the exact reason either.”

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Julia’s voice was firm.

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“Then what happens to us now? If we don’t get the royal family back, if we don’t enter the empire, what’s the purpose of our lives……”

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The count said, holding his head with one hand. He looked dejected.

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“You are the royal family, right? You have a choice to make. Whether you can serve Beatrice de Dahlia instead of Tricky Green. And thus be the parent she wants you to be.”

“But—”

“You’ve been doing well since we came here, right? Or, do you feel different now that the princess has awakened and you’ve regained the true power of your family?”

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Julia laughed. The polite maid was no longer there.

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“So, are you going to make the same choice as the traitors who, intoxicated by the sweet power of royalty, only desire the power He bestows, not His very existence?”

“Julia, how could you say such harsh things?!”

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Blair protested.

At least for the past years, she has thought of the prince as her own child, even if she doesn’t know the princess. The prince, who was a newborn, was literally raised by Blair.

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“I hope you make the right choice. We are just beings who follow His decisions.”

“……”

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Julia turned and tried to leave the banquet hall.

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“Maid, wait a minute.”

“?”

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The count called her over.

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“As you said, we are the royal family. We exist thanks to the royal family’s grace. So it is natural and instinctive to follow the royal family’s ‘words’.”

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The count approached Julia step by step.

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“Our souls whisper that living for the royal family and being their tools is the only joy and happiness. Always think of the royal family first, and we are content with this life. If we were not a family, we would not have our power, our status, and our honor.”

“……”

“But now, the spirit whispers again, something is wrong.”

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There was an echo in the count’s voice.

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“So I ask you, maid, is this really the right path for Her Highness the Princess!?”

“You are disrespectful.”

“If Your Majesty wishes, if the life she truly desires is a life of living under a false identity, I will follow. I will gladly become her father and support her as Dahlia’s successor. But!”

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Finally, the count stood before Julia.

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“But all of this is something Her Highness the Princess must carefully consider and choose. It may be a temporary wandering. I cannot just believe your words and blindly give up everything I have prepared.”

“…I see.”

“So suddenly I feel strange. As if my soul is whispering, Blair must be thinking the same thing. But maid, how can you be so calm? How can you accept the current situation without hesitation?”

“The decisions of the royal family are supreme.”

“No! We are the subjects and the gods. The souls that are inherited say that they need to advise the royal family when necessary. I will obey when Her Highness the Princess makes the final decision, but not yet, right?”

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Julia’s purple eyes sparkled. The sunset reflected in her eyes.

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“So I want to hear Her Highness the Princess’s words directly.”

“He’s having a hard time right now. Are you saying you’re going to push him away?”

“If necessary!”

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The Count’s shout brought back to Julia the sound of Beatrice’s sobs she had seen in the carriage.

Julia could not tolerate the subject of her subjects rekindling Beatrice’s pain.

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“That won’t do.”

“!?”

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Julia’s voice quieted.

Soon, the eerie aura I had felt beyond the communication magic rose up.

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“No one should hurt her.”

“….What is your identity?”

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The count recalled the day he took charge of the princess and prince again.

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The Count’s master who escaped to the Kingdom of Primira and arrived at the Dahlia estate.

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A mysterious maid appears, holding the princess’s hand tightly.

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“Now that I think about it, you looked exactly the same back then as you do now.”

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The princess who was holding her younger brother in her arms was much younger than she is now, so she was small in stature.

The princess, who seemed to be struggling to protect herself, held her younger brother tightly in her small arms as if he was more precious to her than herself.

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And the princess’s other hand.

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The other hand that wasn’t holding her younger sister was holding the hand of the guardian who had brought her safely to Dahlia Estate. That guardian was a full-grown adult with beautiful silver hair.

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The count still remembers the silver-haired beauty’s smile as she looked down at the princess.

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“We just thought we were the successors to the head maid’s family……”

“I didn’t have time to worry about taking care of Beatrice and Theo.”

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Blair intervened.

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“You don’t age at all.”

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Blair stood next to her husband and looked at Julia together.

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“So I ask. What are you? Are you truly one of our kind?!”

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The tension that had been hovering over the banquet hall was about to turn into a suffocating murderous intent.

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