Chapter 192 - 2-74
Afterward, Louis-sama requested an audience with Lady Aurelia. She responded immediately, and the meeting took place the following day. We waited for her in the reception room of the Second Palace, where I had met her before. Soon, her arrival was announced. Lady Aurelia rushed to Louis-sama the moment she entered.
"Louis! Are you sure you should be up? How is your injury?"
"Lady Aurelia, the doctor has declared that Louis-sama is fully recovered, so please rest easy."
"But..."
Lady Aurelia pressed a hand to her mouth, looking at Louis-sama with a worried expression.
"It's just as Rachel says. I'm truly fine now."
"I see..." she murmured hesitantly. Then, her cheeks flushed as she offered a soft smile. Her relief was palpable, showing just how much she had been worrying about his health.
"I've been so anxious. Now I can finally sleep in peace."
"Then that should be enough, shouldn't it?"
Louis-sama gave her a cold look and made a move to stand, seeing that she was still on her feet. Panicked by his movement, Lady Aurelia quickly sat in the chair directly across from him.
"W-Wait... You have more time today, don't you? I have so much I want to talk to you about."
"Is that so? Then let's start with whatever it is you have to say."
Louis-sama seemed to have no intention of being charming today, answering with an unusually serious face. Confused by his attitude, Lady Aurelia looked toward me. As a heavy silence filled the room, I signaled Sarah, who was waiting by the wall.
"Sarah, some tea for Lady Aurelia."
"Yes. Here you are, Lady Queen."
As Sarah placed the cup before her, Lady Aurelia seemed to recognize her and smiled warmly.
"Oh, you're Rachel-san's maid who came with the investigation team, aren't you? Thank you for your help during the journey."
"Not at all. It is I who should thank everyone for their kindness."
Sarah offered a sunny smile, bowing before returning to her position.
"She's a lovely person. Will you be bringing her with you when you live at the palace, Rachel-san?"
"I would like to, if possible."
Hearing Sarah, who was like a sister to me, being praised made me as happy as if the compliment were for myself. Lady Aurelia's eyes softened at my obvious joy.
"I suppose so. Marriage changes your environment completely. It's only natural to want to bring a trusted maid. If you don't have enough staff, I could let you have a few of mine."
"Oh, no..."
The thought of taking the Queen's own maids was far too intimidating. As I fumbled for a polite refusal, Louis-sama interjected.
"Mother, I will personally select trustworthy people for Rachel's staff. Your concern is unnecessary."
Louis-sama smiled brightly, but his words were a sharp rejection. Translated, he was saying he wouldn't dream of placing untrustworthy people in his fiancée's service, essentially telling her he didn't trust her judgment at all. The chilly smile on his face made the temperature in the room feel as though it had dropped several degrees. Lady Aurelia, seemingly oblivious to the change, lowered her brows in distress.
"But marrying Louis means she'll be my daughter... I was hoping we could become close."
"A daughter, is it? Even as your son, I never had the chance to share a private tea with you."
Even Lady Aurelia was left speechless by that. She shrank back, her eyes darting around nervously. Louis-sama let out a long sigh.
"You really haven't changed, Mother. You're uncomfortable around me, aren't you? So why are you suddenly trying to get involved?"
Lady Aurelia gasped.
"I've never thought I disliked you! That's the truth. But... I just didn't know how to act around you. You were always such a capable child. I knew you were disappointed by my failings."
I had known since our previous conversation that Lady Aurelia cared for Louis-sama and wanted to be close to him, but lacked the courage to try. Louis-sama didn't seem to deny her feelings, listening with a calm demeanor, but that didn't mean he could simply understand or accept them. He sighed in frustration.
"In that case, I think the distant relationship we had before was just right for us."
"What we had before was abnormal. I'm truly sorry for being such a mother."
"It doesn't matter. Regardless of what kind of mother you are."
Louis-sama looked up with a flat, emotionless voice.
"I am no longer at an age where I need a mother."
"Louis..."
Lady Aurelia's eyes widened slightly before she looked down. I could see her clasped hands trembling in her lap.
"I don't know what prompted you to act like this all of a sudden. Perhaps regret or atonement makes up the bulk of it. Those are your own circumstances and emotions, so I won't deny them."
His words might have sounded harsh, but his eyes were as calm as a still sea, and his tone was quiet and steady.
"However, if you are seeking a typical mother-son relationship now, I'm afraid I cannot respond to that."
"Yes, I know. It's my fault for making you say that. I am the cause of this relationship, the root of everything. I've always run away from unpleasant things and lived in denial. Even so, in whatever form it takes, I'm happy just to be able to talk to you like this."
Lady Aurelia smiled sadly. Louis-sama stared at her, his mouth slightly agape.
"I'm surprised. I thought you would cry or run away if I said that much. I've seen your profile, your downcast face, and your back many times, but I feel like this is the first time we've looked each other in the eye."
"It's just as you say. When I heard you were seriously injured, I was filled with regret. That doesn't mean I'll start acting like a mother now when you don't want it. I just wanted to confirm your safety as soon as possible."
"Lady Aurelia..."
"I watch you more than you think, Louis. I even know why... why you decided to meet me today."
Lady Aurelia watches him more than he realizes. Those words struck me. It was true. She had previously mentioned how Louis-sama had changed three years ago when I lost my magic. She even knew his smile had changed. That meant she had been watching over him all along, without him ever knowing.
"You know why I decided to meet you today?" Louis-sama asked, his brows furrowing suspiciously. Lady Aurelia bit her lip for a moment before speaking with resolve.
"It's about Joanna, isn't it? She claimed she had urgent business and left for Dutoit... but that was a lie, wasn't it?"
Did Lady Aurelia know about Madam Banks?
The air in the room grew sharp with tension.
"So you knew."
"I was born into royalty, after all. It's impossible not to notice when someone close to you is acting suspiciously."
I looked over to see Louis-sama staring in shock. He fell silent, seemingly lost in thought. After a long pause, he turned back to her.
"Madam Banks said you weren't involved, but is that true?"
I had been nervous about how he would interrogate her, but the directness of the question surprised me. Lady Aurelia didn't falter; she straightened her posture and looked him in the eye.
"Yes. I wasn't involved, but I can't say I wasn't an accomplice."
Not an accomplice? What does she mean?
Noticing my internal confusion, Lady Aurelia took a deep breath.
"I had a faint suspicion. I knew Joanna was doing something in secret, and I knew the former Marchioness Higgins only befriended me because she wanted her daughter to be your fiancée. But I never confronted them or brought it to light."
"You knew, yet you didn't confront them?"
"As long as I turned a blind eye, I could make the excuse that I didn't know. If it were true, I would be suspected as well. His Majesty has been wary of the Kingdom of Orta ever since I married in. That's why he never gave me any real authority or duties and allowed me to stay in the Detached Palace. I thought if I were ever suspected, he might discard me."
"So you prioritized your own safety over the country and its people. Don't you think that's a betrayal of the nation?"
At the word "betrayal," Lady Aurelia shook her head frantically.
"Everything I want to protect is in the Kingdom of Dutoit. I never intended to betray the country."
"Then why did you keep Joanna Banks close? Why did you let the Higgins family do as they pleased? Couldn't you have distanced yourself?"
"Nothing would have changed if I had acted alone. If I sent Joanna back to Orta, my brother would have just sent someone else. And what would happen if I gave the Higgins family the cold shoulder? They are a powerful noble family in Dutoit."
Lady Aurelia must have told herself that over and over again, that her influence meant nothing. And so, she looked away repeatedly. Because she wanted to see what she chose to believe. To protect what she wanted to protect. Or so she convinced herself. She covered her eyes with a slightly trembling hand.
"...Besides, the people who supported me when I was lonely were undoubtedly Joanna and the former Marchioness Higgins."
"People who only approached you to use you."
"To be used... if that's true, then what am I? Betrayed by my own brother and the maid I trusted like a sister. Used by my close friends. And my husband has kept me under surveillance just because I'm a former Princess of Orta. I'm a powerless being with no freedom at all."
Perhaps what Lady Aurelia had been carrying was a deep sense of unfulfilled loneliness. Despite being born a princess, she had been plagued by feelings of inferiority, and perhaps she couldn't bring herself to push away the hands that reached out to her or the eyes that looked her way.
"I just... I just wanted to live surrounded by a loving husband and children. I didn't need anything else. I didn't want for anything."
As Madam Banks had said, Lady Aurelia was likely just an ordinary girl who dreamed of a happy home. But her environment wouldn't allow it. Perhaps the "ordinary" life she wanted most was the very thing that was furthest out of reach. The same was true for Louis-sama, who was also born into royalty.
"I suppose that is the most extravagant wish of all," Louis-sama said, his voice carrying a heavy, profound resonance.
"Is it so wrong to want just that?"
"You are the Queen, the mother of a nation. You must think of the people's happiness before your own. You must always be wary of those who would undermine you and make choices for the future of the country. That is your duty."
Louis-sama, who understood his duties and could move forward with resolve, must have seemed dazzling to Lady Aurelia. She stared at him without blinking.
"You really are an incredible child."
"Perhaps you should look outward more, Mother. You might be the one creating your own lack of freedom. Why not take a good look at the country you live in?"
Louis-sama, who had been speaking dispassionately until then, looked out the window. Lady Aurelia followed his gaze, murmuring "Outward..." as she looked at the scenery. Beyond the large glass doors, a cloudless blue sky stretched out.
"The world isn't as bad as you think."
As he said this, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Lady Aurelia's eyes widened in surprise. I don't know if those words were a trace of filial affection or something else entirely. But I had a feeling they might be the words that change Lady Aurelia's future.