Chapter 226

Chapter 13 Fallen Blossoms and Flowing Water

“I know.”

Victoria whispered softly.

Her expression remained calm. But I noticed that after her two dazzling golden eyes blinked, their luster had dimmed somewhat.

“Mother, I know… You’ve always harbored resentment.”

“You certainly know. You’re so smart, you know everything… It’s exactly because of this that I distanced myself from you later on.”

The Empress sitting across from her smiled more broadly; her demeanor was already beginning to appear somewhat excessively mad to me… as if she were venting some long-accumulated negative emotions, and she wanted to say these things in front of Victoria at this moment.

“Victoria, I watched you grow up, and I watched you gradually, gradually… become like your grandfather. He was an incredible person, the great hero in the eyes of the people of Ethanbell. Hmph. You’re just as smart and strong as he was. So strong that you became arrogant and self-righteous.”

The Empress suddenly reached out her hand.

What does she want to do…

I was startled, instinctively wanting to stand up, but then I saw the Empress gently place her palm on Victoria’s cheek.

“My daughter…” She called out softly.

Victoria clearly looked surprised, but she did not resist, allowing the Empress’ slender fingers to slide from her cheek to her forehead, combing through her smooth golden hair.

“You probably don’t understand… Mother has always hated the royal family of Ethanbell…”

“I understand…”

“No, you don’t understand.” The Empress slowly shook her head. “You can’t understand… what kind of mood I walked through to get here. Sometimes, even I don’t understand whether I’m still alive. Many times, I felt like I had died long ago, on that day… Your grandfather burst into the room, covered in blood, holding my uncle’s severed head in his hand, raising his sword and slashing it towards my mother’s chest… Blood splattered on my face, warm and hot. My mother fell down… I still dream about those moments now. It’s as if… time stopped there for me, my consciousness also stopped there… Victoria, I will never forget that scene… never…”

The Empress’ hand began to tremble.

Tears welled up in her eyes, yet her lips still curled into a sickly smile.

“But… your grandfather thought I could forget. He was that kind of person, thinking that I should naturally understand all of this. He told me that we, such people, are born with immense responsibilities. I should forget the grudges and hatred for the sake of the kingdom’s stability, for the sake of the common people of Ethanbell, for the sake of that ridiculous peace, and marry his son quietly, as the first step to reconcile the royal family with the north, thus restraining those who still wish to fight… I really did it… because everyone thought I should do it… Hahaha…”

In the church, candlelight and sunlight intertwined and flickered, the colorful stained glass windows on the walls shimmering brilliantly.

Margaret beside me closed her eyes again.

I saw Victoria’s sorrowful appearance—her delicate eyebrows furrowed, her thin lips tightly pressed together, the skin between her brows creased… Just like this, her expression didn’t show too much fluctuation, but I knew she was very sad.

“Mother…”

“Nobody ever told you these things before, Victoria… They seem to have forgotten about this, but I remember, I remember clearly, so I want revenge.”

The Empress’ hand fell from Victoria’s head, her tone suddenly harsh.

“I want them to destroy the glory and status they earned with blood and heads! Starting with their proud Jermaine Knight Order, I’ll gradually erode them, causing the knights to disintegrate and be dispersed among the people! Then I’ll assist the Clive family, privately absorbing the reduced military equipment to form the current Iron Guard. They can’t afford the salaries, so I’ll give them gold coins! I’ll send all the gold coins they stole, and give them away! Ahahaha—”

The Empress seemed to have gone mad.

She had probably… already gone mad.

“I feel very satisfied… The rapid decline of the Ethanbell royal family, I played a significant role… Victoria, do you know? The happiest moment of my life was not when I had your younger brother, nor when I had you… but that moment, using my own strength, I achieved something I dared not imagine.”

Victoria remained silent, only looking at her mother with a hint of sadness, watching her laugh, watching her laugh enough, her frenzied expression gradually fading, her lips starting to tremble.

“At that time… I really thought that was my own power. I thought that if I gave them gold coins, they would listen to me. I was waiting for the right opportunity, waiting for the day when I could gather millions of soldiers, where the northern nobles would become the true masters of Ethanbell. I thought I could achieve all of this.”

“Until later… my son died.”

The Empress pointed to the ground beside her.

“I saw him lying there.”

She slowly stood up, walked over, squatted down, and opened her arms.

“I held him like this… His body was stiff, his little face blue and pale, his eyes motionless… staring at me… I remember it very clearly. At that moment, I suddenly wondered… Victoria… did I commit an unforgivable mistake… Did I kill him… Did I kill my own son… Later, their hands reached out for my daughter… I remember the night they hurt you…”

The Empress stood up lightly, her red-rimmed eyes looking at Victoria, her black dress swaying slightly, her golden hair scattered over her shoulders like a dancing specter in the night.

“You were poisoned by datura, unable to move… but you stood straight, your dark blood staining your nightgown, dead assassins shattered into pieces, sticky like meat hills… how old were you, Victoria…

…I was terrified… I knew that so-called ‘support’ had long turned into a pack of wolves who would devour us without even spitting out the bones… They wanted to eat us…

Victoria let out a breath.

“So Mother, you obeyed them blindly.”

“Yes. Later on… I listened to everything they said. Because I wanted to survive, and I wanted you to survive too… I thought that if I did what they asked, they would spare us. Not long ago, they promised me that as long as I could make you lose the support of the people, they could depose you without bloodshed… They wouldn’t kill you, we could escape to the North, never set foot in the capital again, and they would no longer interfere… They still deceived me… The assassin today…”

“I understand about the assassin.”

Victoria spoke softly.

“Publicly disrupting the sacred ceremony, attempting to assassinate the Queen and the hero Empress Dowager, an accomplice of heresy… Such rumors will spread soon.”

She stood up, walked in front of the Empress Dowager, and continued speaking while tidying her mother’s slightly wrinkled collar.

“In fact, it was a member of the Clive family who consorted with the heretics. These years, they have been allowing people into the city. Perhaps they know some things about Teresa, or even secretly provide assistance. Now that Teresa’s affairs have been exposed… Mother, they fear the Church will find out about them and want you to take the blame.”

The Empress Dowager stared at Victoria, somewhat stunned.

They looked at each other for a moment before the Empress Dowager smiled again.

“How impressive. My daughter, you’re so impressive… If only I were as capable as you… No one can deceive me…”

Her laughter was no longer deranged, but it made me think of Lady Catherine from Santelburg.

Suddenly, I felt a longing for my own mother.

Surely, news from the capital would reach her soon. She would worry for a long time once she heard…

Not long after, Margaret stood up, waved at the knights, and walked towards the Empress Dowager.

“Your Majesty, Her Highness. I will carefully consider what you’ve said, but I cannot make a judgment based on just one side of the story. Please understand… and believe that the great God is always watching over us, and will not allow any evil to go unpunished.”

Victoria nodded.

“Holy Princess, please take care of my mother.”

Margaret smiled slightly, looking at the Empress Dowager: “Her Highness, please.”

The Empress Dowager followed the knights toward the church door.

I watched Victoria, who remained standing there expressionless, stand up from her seat and walk towards her.

I didn’t know what to say to her, but I felt… it was good to have someone talk to her at this moment.

The next moment, the Empress Dowager suddenly turned back when she reached the door.

“Vicky, I lied to you just now.”

I was taken aback, then saw the Empress Dowager’s face turn pale and then turn ashen.

“The poison that killed your father, I administered it.”

She fell down.

Her golden hair spread out like blooming flowers in March.

What… What happened?

“Mother!”

Before I could react, Victoria had already screamed, rushed to the Empress Dowager’s side, knelt down, picked her up, and checked her eyes and mouth, probing inside with her hand while turning to Margaret: “Save her.”

Margaret didn’t need to be told; she had already clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and softly chanted. A dazzling golden light immediately enveloped the Empress Dowager’s body.

“Vicky… I’m tired…”

A weak voice came from within the golden light.

“Don’t speak.”

I ran over to stand behind Victoria, hearing her voice tremble.

I was at a loss. I roughly understood what was happening, but I couldn’t do anything; I don’t know how to heal people.

I could only watch and listen to the Empress Dowager’s faint words.

“Vicky… Your mother is too foolish… I can’t outmaneuver them… This poison… It was meant to kill your father… cough, cough…”

“Mother, please don’t speak.”

Victoria turned her head, her eyes filled with a heart-wrenching confusion.

“Save her.”

“Vicky… I killed… your father… I did many wrong things… Let me go… please…”

“No.”

She shook her head and said to Margaret: “Save her, please.”

The golden light suddenly intensified, almost illuminating the entire church. I squinted, unable to see the figures in front of me.

Only the dialogue continued to reach my ears.

“Mother, you don’t have to do this. They call me the Black Mandrake, they are very afraid of me…”

“Ugh… I know… Vicky… I know you’re very capable… But… I’m too tired… Let me rest…”

“Mother. What you’re doing is really selfish.”

“I can’t hear… what you’re saying… Vicky… I remember liking someone… cough, cough… He was in the North… skinny… I wonder how he is now… I was… the famous beauty there… Why must I marry someone I don’t love… Why must I live like this… In the end, it’s all because I was… foolish…”

“Mother.”

“Little Vicky, just let me go… Then you can… get rid of those scoundrels…”

“Get rid of them all…”

The Empress Dowager’s voice gradually faded away.

After a moment, the golden light slowly dissipated. The hall was silent, with only Victoria, holding her mother, whispering gently.

“Mother…”

No one responded to her.