episode_0135

While Raoul was receiving intensive care from the Empress and the Imperial Physician, on the other hand, some very uncomfortable encounters were taking place.

Camilla, who was going through one of them, showed signs of blatant discomfort.

“…”

Ratri drank her tea as if nothing had happened, but Camilla felt uncomfortable in that seat as if it were a bed of thorns.

It would have been easier to face the Demon King who was wielding a sword in reverse.

Not only was their past bad relationship bad, but they had not had a deep conversation. When the Empress began to resent the fact that they had brought the two together, Ratri was the first to speak.

“You’re different from me.”

“Yes…?”

“That’s enough. You’ll reach a different end than us.”

“No, what are you talking about…”

“Because it won’t mean much if it’s repeated. If it did, I would have opposed it. But since I won’t, I’m saying I’ll tolerate it.”

Raoul’s unique way of speaking seemed to be greatly influenced by Ratri.

Otherwise, there would be no way that he would be saying something so incomprehensible and completely ignoring the other person’s intentions.

Camilla resisted the urge to swing her spear for the first time in her life, then asked calmly.

“Can I ask you more specifically what you just said?”

“Arthur and I also loved each other. However, there is no guarantee that the ending of love will always be good. Because that man ended up loving the worst woman. Unlike me, who loved the best man.”

Latri looked at the tea in her teacup without saying a word, with an unreadable expression on her face.

“I ignored his will, broke the peace he wished for, and couldn’t give him anything he wanted.”

“…”

“It’s a tragedy. And it’s also a farce.”

“…Yes.”

“You said that you might reach a different ending than me. Because it would be a story without a foolish character like me.”

Camilla sighed. How could they resemble each other so much? Camilla almost felt disgusted at the sight that seemed to embody the saying, “Blood is thicker than water.”

“Over there…”

“Please take care of me. I don’t know if I’m qualified to say this, but.”

“Oh, this is really useless. That’s not your style.”

“What…?”

“Isn’t it your style to just take it on and see whether I’m stronger than you or not? Someone who only acts based on cold standards is now selling emotions right in front of me. This is really making me sick.”

Camilla would rather have Ratri object to her dignity and conduct, so that they could argue and kill the awkward, boring time.

But Latri, crushed by guilt, could not deny Camilla. She began to think of herself as a sinner who was not even worthy of denying the woman her son had chosen.

Camilla felt her heart race as she looked at Latri’s frail appearance.

“I told you to be sorry. I didn’t tell you to live like a rat that’s so sagging. What’s wrong with you? There’s no middle ground between the son and his mother. There has to be a limit to extremes, really.”

“But I’m not qualified to do that…”

“You’re the mother. What kind of woman is dating her son? You should be interested in that much. Or is it because you still don’t think of him as your son, so you don’t care what he does?”

“You can do whatever you want with a pierced mouth…!”

“You should be the one raising your voice like that.”

Camilla snickered. Only then would she remember Ratri. The most poisonous of poisons, the woman who tore to pieces with her bare hands the assassin who tried to kill her husband.

She must be the only noblewoman who has ever caught a trained assassin’s jaw and upper teeth and tore them in half.

How could I possibly hold back my anger while watching such a farce, with her drooping like a drowned rat?

“Hey, I’m in love with your son.”

“Who doesn’t know that? If you make a big confession like that and then hope no one doesn’t know, you must have no conscience.”

“But I don’t care about the ending. I’ve only just turned the first page of the book, so wouldn’t it be a waste to talk about the ending? We’re not interested in tragedy, conflict, secrets, love, or anything like that.”

“….”

“Because I’ll just live every day faithfully, thinking only about that day. What to eat for breakfast, how to fight, how to tease each other, how to fight, what book to read together, how to fight, what to eat as a snack while drinking. I’ll worry about things like that… I’ll have a normal love.”

Ratri doubted her ears for a moment, as if she had heard something strange.

But he approached Camilla as if he didn’t care about such doubts.

It still seemed like walking was uncomfortable, but that instability seemed to be a good thing. The way he didn’t care about his own discomfort was exactly like Raul.

“Yes. Please. If we can continue to have a normal love, that will be enough.”

Ratri hesitated for a moment, then seemed to have made up his mind and held something out to Camilla.

“Take it.”

“What the heck is this…?”

“My husband gave me this as a gift… but I don’t deserve it anymore. Plus, you’re the one who needs it.”

What Ratri held out was none other than a necklace with a small silk pouch sewn onto it.

“They say it brings various good luck. I don’t know much about that kind of thing. But it would be better for you, who is about to have a big fight, to have it than for me, who can’t even fight because I can’t walk properly.”

“You…”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m lending it to you. Please return it to me someday. It’s old and shabby, but… it’s one of my treasures.”

Even though Ratri lent me the necklace, he held on to it tightly until the end, showing that he did not want to give it back.

Nevertheless, in the end, he obediently gave the necklace to Camilla, and when Camilla put it around her neck, he said dryly.

“As expected, it suits me better.”

“Would you like to have a war of nerves like that?”

“… No.”

“Well, I’ll use it gratefully. If it’s something that he left behind, it must have some kind of magical effect.”

“Yes. It definitely has that effect. Lizel is a living witness to that.”

“What is that…”

When Camilla tilted her head, Ratri answered calmly as if nothing had happened.

“I wore it and slept with it, and I got pregnant right away. Apparently, one of the magical effects was the dramatic increase in the probability of conception…”

“I don’t want to hear that kind of stuff!”

“Have you ever tried it?”

“How long has it been since we last met…!”

“If you need any advice on how to please a man, I have a little advice for you…”

“This crazy lady is for real!”

After resisting the urge to swing her spear for the second time in her life, Camilla ran outside.

Latri sat alone in her room, drinking her cold tea, and checking the traces of her empty necklace in the mirror.

“If you get mad because I borrowed it, I’ll accept it.”

Latri recalled the scent of that day through the cooled tea. The deep scent she had smelled the first time she was held in her husband’s arms.

“You already have a thousand reasons to be angry, so what difference does adding one more thing make?”

The fresh and sweet smell I smelled on the day you saved me from my nightmare was an intense memory that I still can’t forget.

“But if it were you… I think you would have stepped forward and asked me to lend it to you, so I did. Now that you’re dead, even this may sound like my opinion… my own interpretation… and an excuse. But you, who can’t sell, would have fought and gone around saying you were my only daughter-in-law.”

After Latri emptied her teacup, she opened the window to let in a cool breeze.

The cool breeze that had hit me that day while riding a horse with my husband seemed to blow away all the worries and burdens of the past.

“But now I will live based on what you wanted, not me… That’s how I will live…”

Tears like chicken droppings began to flow from Ratri’s eyes.

Ratri wanted to be forgiven.

To the son whose life was trampled upon, and to the husband whose will was trampled upon.

“Forgive me, please…”

Ratri knelt down.

At one time, she brandished her hatred and hurt everyone around her, never imagining that it would eventually hurt her husband as well.

Raoul was a child whom she had to love. But her husband was a man whom she wanted to love.

“From now on… No matter what happens, I will live like that… I will understand you… And I will judge only through that understanding…”

Latri’s hatred for the man who had abused her in the past could not overcome her love for her husband who had saved and cherished her.

Just as a burning flame has no weight, burning hatred cannot be heavy.

Just as a calm sea is heavier than anything else, the love that calmly affirmed Ratri was heavier than anything else.

“Please don’t hate me… and… watch over… not me… but our son…”

At that moment, a flower petal flew through the window and touched her lips.

It felt like someone’s affirmation, or a kiss, or forgiveness.

“……”

But only the parties involved know the correct answer.