Chapter 24 — The Man from Superion
Chapter 24 — The Man from Superion
Translation: Godtl
Suddenly, she wondered if Oscar had ever felt such great fear, and she missed that child.
'But... who on earth was that?'
Lelia recalled the scary man she had seen earlier.
Reddish hair and green eyes. Young age in his late twenties.
'There is one person I can guess...'
If she recalled the words that man had said... it was probably certain.
'He must be a brother of my mother, Elizabeth.'
Elizabeth's family was the Superion ducal family that guarded the northwestern region.
After Elizabeth died and Lydios became emperor, their power weakened a bit, but it was still a prestigious noble family in name and reality.
'In the end, it fell apart, but...'
Elizabeth had several siblings. That man from earlier must be one of them.
'He probably came to meet his nephew, the twin brothers...'
The Superion family also helped in the process of Perseus reclaiming the throne. However, without claiming credit, they immediately returned to the northwest.
It meant that since Elizabeth's revenge was complete, everything was meaningless.
Emperor Perseus felt indebted to them.
'The Superion family also resented Emperor Perseus for not being able to protect Elizabeth...'
But since Cedric and Damian, who would inherit the throne in the future, were of Elizabeth's blood, it wouldn't turn into a bad relationship.
'Come to think of it, he's actually my uncle too...'
For a moment, Lelia thought about going back, revealing the truth, and asking for help.
But she quickly dismissed it.
They wouldn't believe her anyway. And if he got angry like earlier, she might really faint from fear this time.
'He'd rather try to kill me.'
Lelia shuddered and shook her head.
'He was really scary.'
He must have loved his deceased sister very much. Seeing how he got so angry as soon as he recognized Lelia as Princess Iris's daughter.
Perhaps because that person, who might resemble her mother a bit, kept coming to mind with his angry face, Lelia felt uneasy.
Karius Superion, the very one who had unleashed his anger, was equally ill at ease in his heart.
"…."
With a fierce scowl etched across his face, he gazed upon the neatly arranged interior of the cottage.
Perseus had safely ascended to the imperial throne, and his nephews were also safe. It was now time to gradually return to his territory.
His visit here today was to bid farewell to his sister.
Emperor Perseus had informed him of this location for his sake, as he had to depart once again on a long journey.
After all, Elizabeth had been on good terms with him, her younger brother, before her death.
"Sister…."
Karius's face crumpled uncontrollably. Before long, tears streamed from his distorted eyes.
The fact that they had failed to protect Elizabeth from Lydios was a painful wound and a source of shame for everyone in the Superion family.
Karius, too, carried deep guilt in his heart.
He soon swallowed his pain and wiped away his tears. Then he recalled the young girl he had seen earlier.
That child was, from the start, a presence entirely unwelcome to him as a Superion, but he had felt a particularly peculiar sense of discomfort.
'It's because of those green eyes.'
The cause of his discomfort was surely that the child had the same eyes as his sister. Of all people, the man who had fallen in love with Princess Iris also had eyes similar in color to his sister's.
Though he had snapped at her momentarily, he also felt a subtle guilt that perhaps he had been too harsh.
'Worried over nothing….'
Just like the discomfort, this emotion too was clearly due to those green eyes.
However, the robe that child had been wearing, which was clearly well-worn, her terribly thin frame, her gaunt face—such things grated on his nerves.
'Is no one looking after her? Well….'
She was like a thorn in Emperor Perseus's side.
Unless he had lost his mind, there was no way anyone would step forward to care for a child who couldn't possibly curry favor with the newly crowned Emperor Perseus.
'That child's fate is truly twisted.'
If not for the fact that she was Princess Iris's daughter, hers would have been a pitiful life.
He recalled the meeting he had attended that morning.
The reason he had immediately recognized the child's identity upon seeing her was also because of the court meeting he had attended today.
At the meeting, that very child had come up for discussion.
The ministers had debated how to dispose of the child, and the contents were so wretched and sordid that merely hearing them was irritating.
'Even so, she is of the imperial bloodline, yet they're trying to send that young child to become a second wife to nobles who have rendered service.'
Emperor Perseus had commanded that the child's name not even be mentioned for the time being, saying he didn't want to hear it…
'In the end, she'll be disposed of using one of the methods discussed today.'
Such was the wretched life of an imperial heir with no one to rely on.
And Karius had a mission to ensure that his two remaining nephews would not meet a fate like that child's.
'Who's worrying about whom… damn it.'
Karius cursed low under his breath and exited the cottage.
Now vengeance for his dead sister was complete.
The only traces of Elizabeth remaining in the Superion family were Cedric and Damian.
For the sake of the dead Elizabeth, he had to safely protect his two nephews.
With all traces of his tears cleanly erased, he made his way to bid farewell to his nephews as a kindly uncle.
And someone standing in the distance had been watching Karius heading toward his residence.
The man had been standing in that place for quite some time.
"…."
Naturally, he had witnessed Lelia fleeing from the cottage as if running away.
With his brow deeply furrowed, he began walking in a certain direction.
It was the direction of the small tower where Lelia resided.
Just then, Lelia had barely calmed her mind and was tidying up her surroundings.
Bang!
However, the things she had organized in front of the door became a mess again as someone kicked the door open and entered.
Lelia was so startled as if struck by lightning that she fell on her bottom.
The one who opened the door with a fierce expression was a large adult man.
Lelia clenched her fists in tension.
She wondered if it might be Elizabeth's younger brother who had been so angry with her earlier....
'Emperor Perseus...?'
Fortunately or unfortunately, it was Emperor Perseus who had come to the tower.
He was alone without any attendants or guard knights.
"...."
Perseus approached her with an even more intimidating expression than the man she had encountered earlier.
Lelia held her breath at his imposing manner.
She had thought it was fortunate it wasn't that man, but perhaps it would have been better if it had been him instead.
Perseus squeezed his eyes shut as if suppressing something, then opened them again and asked.
"Why did you go to the cottage? How dare you? How did you find out about that place! Did Princess Iris tell you when you were young? That place is...!"
He couldn't continue speaking, like someone who had been greatly wounded by having something precious damaged.
His tone and expression revealed dark emotions such as grievance, resentment, grief, and hatred.
It seemed he had witnessed Lelia coming out of Elizabeth's cottage.
"...."
Emperor Perseus's face bore such a wronged and grief-stricken expression that Lelia couldn't easily bring herself to answer.
Because right now, no matter what she said, he would be angry.
Perseus spoke while forcibly suppressing his anger.
"That place... is not a space where Iris's bloodline can go. Answer me. Why did you go there?"
It was a firm tone. One could feel the will not to ask twice.
Overwhelmed by his force, Lelia unconsciously knelt and bowed her head.
'Let's speak honestly.'
No, she couldn't be completely honest, but....
"I, there was no food... so...."
Lelia carefully began to speak. This was clearly a fact, so it wasn't entirely a lie.
"What?"
"I was so hungry... I went to find something to eat. But I didn't steal anything! I just looked and came right out!"
Actually, she had stolen food, but she lied.
If he found out she had stolen the food Elizabeth had preserved with magic, she feared he might really kill her then.
Not wanting to die was one thing, but....
If Lelia died at Emperor Perseus's hands, that would also be a great loss to him.
Eventually, Emperor Perseus would learn that Lelia was his own blood.
In the original work, even when Lelia died from an accidental death, he struggled so much later, so how much harder would it be if he knew he killed her with his own hands?
This was also for Emperor Perseus's sake.
So Lelia rubbed her hands together and begged. Because she had to survive somehow.
"I was wrong, but I didn't steal anything. Please forgive me, I was wrong...."
"...."
Emperor Perseus frowned and couldn't say anything. He was dumbfounded and flustered.