I Became the Villain’s Lost Daughter Chapter 82

 

The Emperor’s unexpected announcement shocked the people.

 

— When it comes to choosing the next Emperor, I will put both Princes on the same starting line.

 

The meaning of his words was clear.

 

It meant that he would not follow the eldest son’s succession and tacitly allow a power struggle between the two heirs.

 

After the Emperor left the banquet hall, he spoke sternly to the man who had spoken against his will.

 

“Do you mean to say that His Majesty has truly made up his mind?”

 

“You saw it earlier. The Emperor seems to have made up his mind to treat the two Princes equally.”

 

“But… His Highness has only just returned from the battlefield, so what power does he have against His Highness the First Prince?”

 

“…That is difficult to say.”

 

Some people were quietly talking amongst themselves while observing the situation.

 

“What the hell is going on!”

 

“Do you know, it’s not even the anniversary of the founding of the country, and His Majesty the Emperor hasn’t even told us a word…!”

 

Some expressed anger and bewilderment at the Emperor’s sudden remarks.

 

Especially those who stood by the First Emperor’s side were unable to hide their bewilderment.

 

“…You don’t mean to say that His Majesty the Emperor is going to push this prince around, do you?”

 

“Hey, man, be careful what you say!”

 

A foolish nobleman whispered in a low voice, causing the person next to him to cover his mouth in horror.

 

At the end of the bewildered nobles’ gazes was Duke Lenosen, his face crumpled in an effort to hide his disbelief.

 

“How dare you…”

 

The Duke of Lenosen, who had been staring at the Emperor’s departure with his piercing eyes, spoke slowly.

 

“I must speak with the Empress. I will return to you later.”

 

Then he turned on his haughty foot and strode briskly to where the Empress sat.

 

Where he stopped, the Empress stood, her gorgeous face set in a stern line.

 

💫

 

At dawn, when the Emperor’s words quieted the tumultuous banquet hall.

 

“How can this be? How can this happen!”

 

Bam!

 

“Aaah! Ugh!”

 

The Empress’s palace was filled with the sound of a woman’s screaming and the shattering of expensive furniture.

 

Interspersed with the Emperor’s name and profanity, the palace guards showed no sign of surprise.

 

“My poor Empress…”

 

The Empress’s maid of honor muttered to herself, her eyes glazed over with sorrow, at the sound of the burst from inside the tightly closed door.

 

There was something uncanny about her mutterings to herself, but no one else knew.

 

“Asila, you will disturb me to the death!”

 

The shrill sound that still rang in her ears refused to stop.

 

Perhaps the interior was already a mess.

 

“Are you secretly a priest…”

 

The head maid was about to give instructions to the maid next to her.

 

“Head Maid!”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

The maid hurried over and announced the news.

 

“His Highness the First Prince is here.”

 

“What? How far has he come?”

 

“He entered the Empress’s palace a little while ago…”

 

Just as the maid was about to reply with an uneasy expression, a gorgeous head of golden hair appeared down the hall.

 

It was just after the banquet, so he was dressed in his pure white uniform.

 

“His Imperial Highness, the Sun Prince!”

 

“Greetings, His Highness the First Prince!”

 

“Raise your heads.”

 

After acknowledging the bowing greetings, the First Prince strode briskly to the closed door of the Empress’s chamber.

 

The maids hadn’t alerted the Empress to his arrival.

 

Everyone in the palace knew that to speak to the Empress now would be suicide.

 

The First Prince also knew this and did not reprimand them.

 

“…Is Mother in her room?”

 

“Your Majesty, it would be best if you didn’t see her right now.”

 

The Maid of Honor bowed her head in front of the First Prince and opened her mouth.

 

Clang—!

 

A loud explosion sounded from within the room.

 

“…How long have she been like that?”

 

As if the sound was familiar to him, Prince asked casually, looking toward the doorway.

 

“No, that’s a silly question. Since shortly after returning to the palace. 

 

As he muttered this, there was an undeniable weariness and resignation in his tone.

 

“I’d like you to leave us alone for a moment.”

 

“Your Highness…”

 

“It’s all right. I have something to say to my mother, so please stay back.”

 

The Maid of Honor made a small plea, but the Prince answered firmly and expressionlessly.

 

As she took a few steps back from him, gesturing to the others, Thesis was soon alone in front of the Empress’s quarters.

 

“Mother…”

 

Thesis looked beyond the closed door into the sunken, dark walls.

 

In his distant memory, his mother had been a graceful, respectful, if not affectionate, Empress.

 

Even when the Emperor brought in an imperial concubine, she never lost her composure.

 

But at some point, she had changed into someone else.

 

‘…Callian.’ 

 

In his memory, his mother changed when his half-brother was born, and the child began to run, free of his horse.

 

It was when the black-robed men came and went from her quarters, and when she began to stare into space and mutter something with a strange look in her eyes.

 

Thesis was only about four years old, so he doesn’t remember all of it, but he does remember the uncomfortable black-robed figure.

 

‘And then, at some point, I stopped seeing them.’

 

By the time Thesis was seven, he had stopped seeing the men in black robes.

 

In any case, ever since he turned four, his mother, Aisha Lenosen, often looked like someone else.

 

She would grip him so hard that her nails dug into his shoulders. She would lecture him, and if he fell even slightly behind Callian in any aspect of his studies or swordsmanship, she would lock him in solitary confinement to make him think.

 

Then one day, she hugged him like he was the most precious thing in the world and whispered to him that she loved him.

 

When I was younger, I had been terrified of her, but now I felt sorry for her.

 

After a few moments of reminiscing, Thesis relented and knocked on the door.

 

“Mother, it’s Thesis.”

 

His voice must have carried through the silence, but there was no answer from inside. He waited patiently and still.

 

A few minutes of standing there like a ghost.

 

“…Come in.”

 

A hoarse, thin voice came from inside.

 

At that permission, Thesis exhaled softly and opened the door.

 

The door swung open with a heavy, lightweight, revealing the scene he had already suspected: a mess.

 

Precious curtains from across the sea were torn and scattered across the floor, and shards of pottery littered the floor.

 

The Empress sat on a couch in the center of the room.

 

Thesis approached the Empress, a grim expression on her face, even grimmer than before.

 

Without a moment’s hesitation, he dropped to one knee in front of the Empress, even though the floor was littered with shards of glass.

 

It was a familiar gesture.

 

The Empress looked at him coldly. Her eyes flashed black for a moment.

 

Perhaps ten seconds passed.

 

Snap—!

 

The Empress instantly raised her hand and slapped her son’s cheek as he knelt before her.

 

There was a loud crack, and the thick ring on the Empress’s finger cut a thin gash across Thesis’s cheek.

 

“Thesis, my beloved son.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“If only you had been a little better, this mother wouldn’t have had such a hard time.”

 

After staring at him for a moment, the Empress called out to him in an awfully sweet voice and cupped his cheek.

 

The touch was uncharacteristically gentle for someone who had just scarred his face.

 

But the words were neither sweet nor gentle.

 

Thesis simply curled his clenched fists in response to the woman’s words. He had gotten used to the pain, but her harsh words still choked him.

 

Snap—!

 

Just then, the Empress slapped her son’s cheek once again.

 

“Alas, my son, you look so much like the Emperor.”

 

Then, with a loving touch, she slapped her son’s swollen cheek again.

 

Despite the Empress’s behavior, which seemed anything but normal, Thesis said nothing.

 

His expression showed no embarrassment, no revulsion at the unwarranted violence.

 

It was as if he was familiar with this situation.

 

And it was.

 

“…Are you hurt?”

 

Although he had been hit, Thesis turned to the Empress instead.

 

“Of course, Prince. This mother is fine.”

 

The Empress responded affectionately to her son’s words. Then she slowly pushed herself up from the couch.

 

“I am tired, and I must lie down.”

 

Her eyes were glazed, and her tone was a mixture of respect and disapproval.

 

“I’ll help you up.”

 

As the Empress rose to her feet, Thesis raised himself to one knee to support the staggering mother.

 

His white uniform pants were stained red near the knees, but there was no one here to worry about him.

 

Rustle—

 

Crunch!

 

Shattered glass made a noise with each step toward the only intact bed in the room.

 

“Prince, my son, you have come to me in concern for this mother, have you not?”

 

The Empress asked, her pale face clutching his hand as she was helped to the bed by Thesis.

 

She didn’t seem to care that she had just slapped her son across the cheeks, leaving them bruised and red.

 

“…Yes, Mother.”

 

“Prince, this mother thinks only of you. Everything I do is for you.”

 

The Empress’s eyes flashed frighteningly, and she gripped Thesis’s hand fiercely.

 

“The prince must never forget that. Do you understand?”

 

Her elegantly polished nails dug deep enough to scar the firm hand.

 

“I will not forget, so sleep in peace, Mother.”

 

Thesis obediently answered the question, ignoring the pain in his hand.

 

The Empress soon fell into a fitful sleep. Her colorful exhalations indicated that she was fast asleep.

 

Thesis’s lips curled into a faint smile, and soon he muttered a single word.

 

“Mother…”

 

A voice softer and weaker than the one that answered the Empress.

 

Naturally, there was no answer from the sleeping one.

 

After watching the Empress sleep peacefully for a moment, with a pained gaze, Thesis quietly left the disheveled room.