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nChapter 96

n“That’s so like Father. On the Omerta side, they can’t show it openly because of the presence of the princess, but it’s possible if we push her.”

nHa, yes. It’s really a Borgian idea.

nUnless the Pope admits it, no king of any country can sit on the throne at will.

nIt was a powerful holy right that came down through a very long history.

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nOf course, no matter how absolute the power was, it was surprisingly unlikely that it had a great impact on the succession rights of other royal families without a proper justification in the Vatican.

nFor now, it was a common practice for the heir to the throne to pledge loyalty to the Pope, and for the Vatican to send greetings to attend the coronation ceremony in the sense of approval.

nBut if it’s the current situation in Britannia…….

nIf the Pope declared that there could be no king mixed with the blood of a pagan, there was no shortage of justification.

nIt was rather unfair. There would be many people inside Britannia who’d welcome it.

nNo, there’d be a lot. If Omerta agrees with that, the result was already set.

nWas that why they were talking earlier?

nDid King Feanol ever guess what would happen?

n“Do you want to be a queen, Ruby?”

nThere was actually someone else who wanted to hear that question.

nAs the wave-like confusion receded, my mind worked quickly.

nIf it really happened, wouldn’t the ending of the original work, which I was so worried about, be a completely different world story?

nEllenia’s assassination was likely to have never happened.

nBut what about Arien? What will happen to Arien? And should I say that this was right?

n“I… I don’t know, I’ve never imagined it. I don’t know if my husband will agree with it.”

n“It’s your husband. All you have to do is say that you want to be a queen.”

nCesare muttered with a snort.

nI wondered if he was serious, as his purple eyes became distorted.

nI carefully chose my words, swallowing my trembling breath.

n“But then.. I have no chance of going back home. Is that okay with you?”

nCesare did not answer immediately.

nInstead, he just stood holding my hand and stared at me silently for a long time.

nEmotions were completely gone in both eyes.

n“You’re right. Even if it’s not Father, I’m me.”

nFinally, the voice answering the question was low. It sounded almost hoarse.

n“So you can’t be a person who is satisfied with catching fish while living on an island.”

n“That…”

n“Do you want to be a queen, Ruby? Be honest. Are you happy here?”

nFireworks quickly erupted in his eyes. As the blue fire blazed, my hand hurt.

nAside from the sudden question, it was such a terrible situation that I was aghast.

n“What’s that all of a sudden?….”

n“I’m asking if you’ll be happy to be a queen next to him. I don’t think you want to come back home anymore.”

nMy mouth fell open. This wasn’t a question.

nIf he could slaughter a person only with his eyes, I would have been fragmented and scattered.

n“That can’t be true. I’m only…”

n“You’ve been thoroughly turning a blind eye to the temple’s approach throughout your time here. Why is that?”

n“That’s because people in the family always doubt it, so my husband hates it and…”

n“No. If you still missed me, you would have found a way to communicate with the temple at all costs. You don’t just write letters that are monitored every time. Seriously, what rights does he have to stop you? What right do you have to do whatever you want?

nThe last word sounded like an explosion.

nRather than just anger toward me, I felt the hatred of someone who was not here vividly.

nA doubt passed through my mind.

nWas he mad with jealousy?

nMy husband who had everything he craved?

nBecause he had to put all his strength against his father, didn’t have a natural right from birth, a flawless noble lineage, knight’s path, shining throne, not even the ability to go against his father?

nThe sense of inferiority that the Pope’s eldest son, Cesare de Borgia, secretly retains.

nPerhaps it was because of the inferiority complex that he was such an ambitious person.

nNevertheless, I didn’t know it would be this bad.

nI didn’t expect Izek’s presence to be a reminder of an inferiority complex that bothered him.

n“I…”

n“…….”

n“Brother, I’m very confused right now. My husband is nice to me, but…….”

nI guess I shouldn’t have said that.

nI shouldn’t have said ‘nice’.

nHowever, the decisive problem was that I had no idea what the source of Cesare’s inferiority complex was or exactly what made him who he is today.

nThe problem was that I was not the real Rudbeckia to know that, but an outsider who monopolized her body three years ago.

n“I shouldn’t have let you go here.”

nHe cut me off and growled graciously. Then he pulled me close.

nLike that of the viper who made the decision, it was suffocating to be near him.

n“Nice to you? Yes, God forgive me if I didn’t expect that even after seeing all those moments. Do you want to be a queen with him? Really?”

n“I-I mean…”

n“I don’t want to be a puppet for my father anymore. Don’t get me wrong, Ruby. It’s only a moment before he abandons you. If that happens, the queen will stay as the queen. In the end, it’s always you and me. You’ll realize it from now on.”

n* * *

n“Oh, I remember hurting my head while rolling here a long time ago. Was it when I was 9?”

n“Is that so…?”

n“Don’t you remember? At that time, the princess was playing hide-and-seek over there.”

n“Well, I was so young.”

nShe hesitated, but she actually remembered.

nA dim afterimage of old memories. A time when the courtyard of Omerta’s was full of young children running around.

nPushing away a chapter of dimly rising memory, Ellenia stared at the sparkling glass building.

nThe siblings seen over the transparent wall showed no signs of movement. Her long golden hair shook.

n“Are they fighting?”

n“I think so too….”

nIvan tilted his head and scratched his head. Likewise, he seemed to regret chasing them.

n“At this point…”

n“Ellen!”

nAt this point, she was about to say let’s just go back.

nEllenia flinched at the sudden voice. At the same time, she wondered why she felt uncomfortable about her appearance.

n“Frey? Why did you come all the way here…?”

n“I’m here to find you, to take a walk. I’ve been sitting down for so long that I have a headache.”

nNext to Freya, who grumbled and pressed her temple, Sir Camu, a man with wet hair, escorted Freya with a feisty face as usual.

nEllenia turned a blind eye to him and Ivan exchanging strange looks with each other.

n“I was about to go back.”

n“Really? Oh, wow. That’s the cardinal Valentino. Is he here to see the greenhouse?

n“Let’s go.”

nEllenia quickly held Freya’s hand and urged her.

nThe reason was still unknown, but she was confused whether it was right for Freya to be here. To be exact, watching them.

n“…wait a minute.”

nBut for some reason, Freya, who was about to turn around together, hesitated.

nAnd then she didn’t move.

nEllenia, who was slightly stiffening her face with a soaring feeling of irritation, soon realized that Freya was not the only one staring at one place frozen on the spot.

nCamu and Ivan also looked completely horrorstruck.

nSo she also threw her gaze at the greenhouse again.

n* * *

nThe shock I’d felt so far had not been a shock.

nI had no idea exactly what was going on until his hand suddenly grabbed my one face.

nFunny enough, I just thought he’d hit me. That was all I knew. Until then.

nThere was only one person who put his hand on my face for another purpose.

nWas I ignorant? Was I a fool who didn’t even guess?

nI didn’t know. How much did I have to understand the hearts of others in order to survive?

nDid I have to grasp all the twisted feelings that even he tried to suppress?

nMy mind was blank. It was all white. I didn’t feel anything in my head.

nThe short moment when Cesare retreated with a short kiss on my lips, dropping his hand seemed slow and unrealistic like a slow motion video.

n“It’ll always be you and me.”

nI thought he said something, but I couldn’t understand.

nThe hem of the black robe fluttered. I couldn’t move on the spot until he turned away and disappeared completely.

nI was spaced out like I was possessed by something.

nAs if something had jerked my shoulder, I even looked back.

nAt that moment, I didn’t know what made me look at the wall behind my back.

nStanding not too far beyond the glass wall, the moment I saw the blue faces of four people who were as shocked as I was, a roar that sounded out.

nA hallucination that only I could hear.

nThere was no way I didn’t know.

nThere was no way that Cesare could not have recognized their existence. This was what he meant when he said I’d realize from now on.

nLooking at Ellenia’s red eyes, which were wide with indescribable astonishment, I suddenly wondered if Izek would have the same eyes.

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nFurthermore, I wondered what emotions I should feel.

nShame? Chagrin? Frustration? Horror? Or all of them.…?

n“Don’t say anything.”

n“…….”

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nT

/N: Anddd that’s all for today xD I almost cried at the part where Cesare hit her with a belt ngl,,, made me so damn angry ADJSKD**DBS

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