Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Marilsian Count Family (2)
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Buuuuuum...
She gazed at the street scenery beyond the car window.
It looked incredibly vibrant, as if a festival were underway. People's faces were full of smiles, brimming with energy. It certainly hadn't been like this just a short while ago.
Perhaps because of that, even though it had only been two days since she returned home, it felt like a whole month had passed.
'...Is it because I became the Saintess...?'
For them, it was certainly something to celebrate.
The fact that the lady of their territory was the Saintess was more than enough to fill them with pride. Plus, devout believers would come on pilgrimages to the Marilsian Count Family lands, which would surely boost the local economy.
"...Haa."
But Sena's heart felt only stifled.
Ever since her conversation with her friend, Yujin had been constantly on her mind.
His face kept appearing before her eyes, and each time, a deep guilt welled up from the depths of her heart, gnawing at her. It was enough to keep her tossing and turning at night.
Thanks to that, the maid assigned to attend her had been fretting, wondering if the bed was uncomfortable, but all Sena could do was give a bitter smile.
That she had made one man's childhood even more miserable,
That she hadn't given faith to someone precious,
That she had simply turned away and left him alone,
That she hadn't been by his side in his most difficult times,
"...There's no way I could say that..."
She found herself utterly repulsive.
If she couldn't even confess it to others, how could she properly apologize to Yujin...?
For a moment, she caught sight of her trembling eyes reflected in the window.
Squeeze...
"...Get it together."
So, before that, she would at least meet her parents.
She would tell them that as the Saintess, she probably wouldn't be able to see them much anymore, and bid them farewell. After all, her parents were her only family.
And... she would ask if they had known that the rumors surrounding Yujin in his childhood were fake.
"Hoo..."
After having an open talk with her parents, she would return to the capital and head to the Holy Kingdom. And on the way to the Holy Kingdom, she would offer Yujin a sincere apology and beg for his forgiveness.
"...Yeah. That should do it..."
Before she knew it, the car had pulled up in front of the Marilsian Count Family manor.
A knight in a black uniform came and opened the door for her. He was one of the Black Lotus Knights.
Why were the Black Knights here?
Well, from the moment Yujin was assigned as her escort, her protection had been his responsibility. Naturally, when she first said she wanted to visit her family home, it was Yujin who had granted permission—and insisted on sending Black Knights along.
'Is he looking out for me...?'
...
'...No, probably not.'
Looking out for her? Hardly. He was just worried something might happen to his charge.
Feeling a sharp pang in her heart, she slowly entered the manor.
As she stepped inside, the servants she had known since childhood and her parents came out to greet her.
"Sena!"
Especially the Countess, who spread her arms and rushed toward her.
Squish—
The Countess embraced her daughter. The warmth of her mother's embrace felt truly comforting.
...It would have been nice if Yujin had felt this warmth too.
"...Mom."
"Good girl, our wonderful daughter. The Saintess... I always knew you'd become someone great one day."
The Countess showered Sena with praise.
For a family member to become the Saintess brought immense honor and glory.
Even if Sena lacked abilities as the Saintess right now, once she began learning in the Holy Kingdom, everything would change.
Her true value would rise, and with it, the status of the Marilsian family that produced her.
Above all, the thought of Sena living happily as the Saintess from now on warmed the Countess's heart.
That was the way of a parent's love.
"Let me hug you too."
"...Dad."
"Yes, Sena. Thank you... We've done nothing for you, yet you've become such an outstanding person. We're truly grateful..."
"...Yeah."
"Ah, don't just stand here—come inside."
The Count and Countess led her into the manor.
"We've prepared a meal. Will you join us?"
"...Yeah. I'll eat."
And so, she shared what might be her last meal with her parents.
Clink—
Clink—
The dining table was filled with the Count and Countess's laughter and their pride in their daughter, creating a warm atmosphere.
The person in question, Sena, remained silent, unsure how to broach the topic.
'...I can't just stay quiet like this...?'
...
In the end, she was the one to bring up Yujin first.
"Mom, Dad. Did you know that the rumors following Yujin around when he was little were fake...?"
Please say you didn't.
If they had known, it meant her parents had turned their back on Yujin, who was just a fragile child.
'Please...'
But contrary to her hopes, the Count and Countess had known the rumors about Yujin were false.
"We knew."
"You... knew...?"
"Yes. As the head of a Count family, after all."
"...Then why didn't you help him? He was my fiancé..."
"Well..."
The Count hesitated at the question. In the end, the Countess answered in his place.
"...At the time, His Excellency the Duke called him a bastard child."
"...Because he was a bastard?"
...What?
"That's right. We all know a bastard is a shackle to nobles. Even if we helped, the nobles' scorn toward a bastard would have continued."
"B-But still—"
"The reason such rumors followed His Excellency in the first place was because he was a bastard, wasn't it?"
...That was true.
"So that's how it was. Even if we helped back then, unless His Excellency proved himself, the scorn and malicious rumors would have persisted."
"...Ah."
...Now she understood.
The parents she loved—had loved—did not see bastards as fellow humans.
More precisely, they saw them as refuse born between nobles and commoners.
...She decided to ask one last thing.
"...Then what was the real reason for the breakup back then? You knew the rumors were fake."
What had the breakup been for?
What was the point of announcing it unilaterally without even a conversation? Of course, she had tacitly agreed, but now she was curious about her parents' thoughts.
Back then, she thought they timed the breakup because the rumors were all true, but if they were all fake, what had it been for?
...
"...It was all for your sake, Sena."
"For... my sake...?"
"Yes, all for you. We didn't want to see our daughter ruin her future by getting involved with a bastard."
At those words, Sena's body stiffened.
For my sake.
For my sake...
Her parents had surely acted that way for her benefit.
They couldn't have foreseen Yujin becoming a war hero and a duke. Back then, he was just an unwanted bastard from the Banus family, a constraint on them.
They wouldn't have wanted her future tied to such a bastard.
She understood.
She understood, but...
Squeeze—
An indescribable disgust and self-loathing overwhelmed her.
In the end, she had condoned the breakup.
And now, trying to blame it all on her parents would only make her uglier.
"Sena! Blood! Blood from your hand...!"
Thud—!
"I'm fine...!"
But even so, she couldn't show her parents a smile. She had no choice but to bare her teeth.
"Wh-Why are you like this, daughter?"
"Don't you even know what's wrong...?! "
"Wh-What did we do wrong? Everything until now has been for you..."
"I know...! I know you did it all for me...! But because of that, you deceived and hurt one person's life? In the end, in the end..."
...
For a while, she couldn't find words.
The engagement had been decided by adults' circumstances. Yujin's opinion as a child hadn't mattered. And yet, Yujin had tried to be good to her.
He would bring her favorite flowers every time they met, or try to tell her fun stories somehow.
She hadn't noticed back then, but looking back now, his efforts were so obvious it made her wonder why she hadn't seen them.
Throb—
...Because of her and her parents, one person's—Yujin's—childhood had been ruined.
She had ignored her fiancé, and her parents hadn't seen Yujin as human. Just because he was a bastard.
Of course, the Banus family was at fault for treating their bastard harshly too... but they were long dead and gone.
That didn't erase the fault. In the end, it was all the original sin of Sena, her parents, and the name Marilsian.
She couldn't deny any of it.
But...
"That's not our fault, is it...?"
Looking at her parents, who still didn't grasp the problem, she barely suppressed the rising disgust.
'What in the world...'
...Where had it all gone wrong?
...
'...I already know.'
I,
'Even I should have looked at Yujin properly instead of ignoring him...'
Then her memories wouldn't be tainted, and they might still be on good terms now...
Maybe, they could have been gazing at the same sky together.
...
In the end, she shouldn't have ignored Yujin's story back then.