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Chapter 7
I waited for this banquet to end as quickly as possible.
However, the line of nobles offering congratulations showed no sign of ending.
“Hahaha, Her Highness the Princess and His Highness the Prince take after His Majesty very much.”
“They will surely grow into a fine and dignified ruler like His Majesty.”
“Indeed. I wonder which one will become the sun of this empire. Hahaha.”
While offering their greetings, they seemed busy trying to gauge who should sit on the throne.
“You would do well not to speak so carelessly.”
“Pardon?”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
“Be careful not to have your mouth torn open.”
At my father’s restrained warning, the noisy nobles immediately fell silent.
‘Honestly… dividing sides over babies who’ve only just learned to walk…’
I sighed softly at the nobles and shook my head slightly.
“Ahem. We have spoken too much.”
“We shall take our leave now.”
Even as the nobles withdrew, I could feel their glances flickering toward Lucas and me, and I shifted restlessly in my mother’s arms.
“Your Highness, are you uncomfortable somewhere?”
My mother immediately noticed my condition and asked while making eye contact with me.
“Uhm…ma.”
“Uh… bu…”
As soon as I opened my mouth, Lucas, as if waiting for his turn, began wriggling and fussing in my father’s arms.
For such young infants, remaining seated still for long must have been uncomfortable.
My father looked at Lucas and me, then gestured to the chief attendant.
The chief attendant standing nearby soon brought two cups filled with a yellow liquid and handed them to my father and mother.
“His Majesty the Emperor will now speak.”
At the chief attendant’s announcement, all eyes in the banquet hall turned to my father.
As my father extended the cup forward, the nobles standing also lifted their own empty cups.
“I express my gratitude to all of you gathered here today to celebrate the birth of the Princess and the Prince.”
My father surveyed the banquet hall as he addressed the nobles.
“From this moment, enjoy the banquet to your heart’s content.”
Having given his blessing for the banquet, my father raised his cup.
“We are grateful for your consideration, Your Majesty. Congratulations on the birth of Her Highness the Princess and His Highness the Prince.”
The nobles bowed toward my father, mother, Lucas, and me before raising their cups.
Seeing this, my father lifted us both in his arms and, together with my mother, exited the banquet hall.
“Ma-ma!”
“Princess, have you come to see this mother again today?”
After the first birthday banquet passed, my mother gradually lost vitality day by day.
There were more days when she remained in bed than when she engaged in activities outside. Lucas and I, determined to see her, practiced walking even more diligently and visited the Empress Palace.
I toddled forward and nestled warmly into my mother’s arms, which welcomed me.
Even when she had been lying down, if she saw me at the doorway, she would rise from the bed, open her arms, and wait for me.
“You seem to be walking more confidently than yesterday.”
My mother hugged me and kissed my cheek.
“Kya-ha-ha!”
I felt overwhelming happiness from her kiss.
The joy I experienced in this moment was something I had never felt in my previous life, and it filled me with contentment.
“What did our princess do today?”
My mother always asked Leni about my day before I came to the Empress Palace.
Meanwhile, I would fiddle with my mother’s fingers and roll around beside her, exposing my belly.
“Your Majesty, His Highness the Prince has arrived.”
“Today the prince is a little late.”
Since I had been visiting my mother’s palace every day, Lucas began following me there as well.
He had been arriving at similar times as me, but today it seemed he had fallen behind after taking a nap.
Carried in Sylvia’s arms, he entered the room with sleepy eyes—clearly indicating he had been in a deep sleep.
Sylvia handed Lucas over to my mother and stepped back.
“Maah?”
“Prince, are you waking up now?”
At my mother’s voice, Lucas seemed to shake off some of his drowsiness, smiling faintly as he nestled into her arms.
“Ri-i.”
At the sound calling my name, I looked toward Lucas. I wondered if Lucas also knew about my mother’s death.
His ever-cheerful face looked as though he knew everything yet pretended not to.
Over the past year, I had visited the Empress Palace daily and spent time with my mother.
In that time, I had devised various plans for living a life free from work, but in the end, it seemed the only viable option was to make Lucas into an emperor who would listen to me well.
I did not want to become emperor myself, and I disliked the idea of fighting for the throne even more. So my plan was to place Lucas in that burdensome position while I lived comfortably.
And for a peaceful retirement, it would be wise to secure some funds and leave the imperial palace.
In that case, I would also need to prepare money to live outside the palace.
‘Among the jewels I receive as gifts, I’ll quietly siphon off what I can… that should be enough.’
As I formulated my grand plan, I wiggled my bottom excitedly.
“Your Highness, you’re going to the Empress Palace again today, right?”
“Mm! Gonna go!”
Leni lifted me into her arms, looking cheerful, and headed toward the Empress Palace.
As I continued visiting the Empress Palace, my unsteady steps turned into a brisk toddle, and my babbling gradually developed into actual speech.
Amid this fragile balance of happiness and unease, Lucas and my second birthday arrived.
The atmosphere in the imperial palace was much more subdued than the previous year.
My mother’s condition had deteriorated to the point where it was unclear whether she could even attend the banquet.
A notice had been issued stating that gifts would be accepted from provincial nobles without requiring attendance, and invitations were sent only to nobles in the capital.
The banquet was to be held modestly. Though “modest,” it was still held in the Parts Hall, the second largest hall after the Central Hall.
Up until the day of the banquet, we monitored my mother’s condition, but ultimately the imperial physicians concluded she could not attend.
Just before the banquet began, Lucas and I went with my father to the Empress Palace to see her.
“I’m sorry I cannot be with you.”
“Nooo… don’t be sick…”
“Mo-ther…”
A shadow of death had already begun to deeply settle over my mother’s face.
I held back tears that threatened to spill at any moment as I took in her appearance.
Her once soft, pale hands had become thin and bony, with every joint visibly pronounced.
“Let us proceed to the banquet hall. The Empress should rest.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Please take good care of our children.”
“…Do not worry.”
Seeing my mother’s condition, my father quickly led us out of the Empress Palace and toward the banquet hall.
“Today, your father will be by your side, so do not worry.”
“Mm…”
“Mm-hm…”
My father carried Lucas and me as he entered the banquet hall.
“The Emperor His Majesty and…”
The attendant who had been announcing our entrance suddenly bit his lip tightly.
Perhaps it was because of my mother’s absence.
“I apologize, Your Majesty…”
“Enough.”
The attendant bowed in apology toward my father.
My father calmly dismissed the apology and looked forward.
Taking a breath, the attendant raised his voice again:
“The Emperor His Majesty, Princess Aileen, and Prince Lucas have arrived.”
The nobles gathered in the hall bowed solemnly as we entered.
Our second birthday banquet passed in a quiet atmosphere, unlike the previous year.
“Sniff… sob… waaah…”
Not long after our second birthday, my mother ultimately could not escape death.
“Mo-ther! Mo-ther!”
Held in Leni’s arms, I cried desperately.
“Please don’t cry, Your Highness… please don’t cry…”
Leni, holding me tightly and soothing me, also had tears streaming down her face.
“I… couldn’t protect her… Eileen failed…”
I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt for failing to protect my mother.
“That’s not Your Highness’s fault… please, don’t say such things…”
“I want to see mo-ther… sob… waaah…”
“Your Highness, my little Highness…”
Leni continued to comfort me until my crying subsided.
I cried day and night, and my body grew feverish to the point that I collapsed.
“Mo-ther… mo-ther…”
Even in a hazy state of consciousness, I kept calling for my mother.
“Your Highness, I’m right here.”
Each time, Leni held my hand tightly and gently patted my belly.
While losing consciousness, fragments of my previous life began to surface in my mind.
I had once been delighted when my powers manifested earlier than Lucas’s, and when I proudly showed my father, he had praised me for the first time.
Then the scene shifted to the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, where I failed to manifest my powers before a hall full of people, receiving my father’s cold gaze and Lucas’s mocking smile.
The scene changed again, showing me after my regression, witnessing my mother’s death.
“Mo-ther!”
I woke up shouting for my mother.
My entire body ached as if I had been beaten, and my mind remained unfocused and hazy.
“Your Highness!”
A voice called out to me from beside.
“Are you awake now? Can you see me?”
“……”
However, I had no strength to respond to Leni.
“I was so worried…”
“……”
“I truly thought you might be lost as well…”
Leni clutched my hand and burst into tears.
“Leni…”
“Yes, I’m here. I’m right here beside you.”
“I hurt… sniff… it hurts so much…”
“Your Highness! Summon the imperial physician at once!”
Even afterward, I could not regain full consciousness, and whenever I briefly did, I would only call out for my mother.
The Princess Palace, once filled with constant laughter, gradually became desolate, and Leni and the maids could only watch me with sorrow.
“Waaah! Mo-ther! Don’t go! Please don’t go! Eileen will go with you!”
“Your Highness, what should I do… what can I do to make you stop crying…”
Even when I finally fell asleep, I would soon wake up crying again. Watching this, Leni quietly wiped away her own tears as well.
After a month passed, I finally came to my senses—and began to notice the changes in my body.
