C141
I stayed at the door, watching Liena, who trembled in contemplation.
"Why, why is she here...?"
Liena, who couldn't even complete a single sentence, seemed to want to say this.
Why is Professor Ángela here?
To explain it, I had to go back in time.
Back to the day I had a "conversation" with Mikhail in the greenhouse.
After I mentioned the Empress's love, Mikhail simply listened to my story in silence.
He opened or played with the books I had studied as a child for a while, and at some point, he stood up without saying a word.
After seeing that his eyes were much clearer than before, I didn't stop his steps.
After Mikhail stumbled away, a man entered the greenhouse as if he had been waiting.
"Did I do it for nothing?"
Terence, who came to the pavilion, responded to my question.
"Why do you think that?"
"He has improved a lot, but the brainwashing of Prince Mikhail hasn't been completely resolved. Even though I poured all my divine power."
Probably, except for the three members of the Cassius family, Mikhail was the most influenced by Liena's blessing.
In the novel, isn't he the companion of Liena who swears eternal love to her?
I looked at the books lined up on the table and the paper Mikhail had written.
These were things I had prepared with the Empress's cooperation as ingredients that would resonate in his soul.
Indeed, the Empress was also imbued with Liena's divine power.
It's just that the amount was insignificant, and she distrusted Liena a lot, so it didn't turn her into a follower.
I had a conversation with the Empress about Liena and erased the divine power from her body.
And then, to free Mikhail, they planned today's matter by listening to the Empress's story about her childhood.
"I decided that it would be too late if the two of them got engaged."
Mikhail was a person who wouldn't abandon Liena once the engagement ceremony was held, even if it was out of a sense of responsibility.
Above all, the emperor was the problem.
Once Liena became engaged to Mikhail, whether because he wanted the dowry or because the engagement was announced, the emperor had to meet the person who would become his daughter-in-law.
"There is a high possibility that even His Majesty the Emperor will receive the blessing."
The reason why the emperor had withheld Liena's blessing until now was that he disliked Cassius so much that he ignored Mikhail's repeated attempts to arrange a meeting with him.
In a way, it can be said to be similar to Kais.
Indeed, if you look at "Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers," Liena couldn't have a meaningful conversation with the emperor until the latter half of the story.
Although she was the Cassius princess, she couldn't force herself to talk to the emperor if he didn't like her.
However, in the final chapter of the novel, even the emperor finally recognizes Liena, who saved the world from the clutches of the evil spirit.
It's an advantage that he regretted his mistake of daring to abandon his illegitimate son and turn him into a potential successor.
For us, the worst situation would be if the emperor fell into Liena's hands.
I can erase Liena's blessing, but it would be better to cut it off at the root before it becomes a problem.
So, I called Mikhail to the greenhouse...
"It hasn't been completely resolved yet, so I don't know if Liena will brainwash him again."
Terence smiled as he sat next to me.
"It will be fine. I heard that the divine beast also said that once caution is taken, it won't disappear easily."
Moreover, he said, looking at a piece of paper on the table.
It was something that young Mikhail wrote during the writing class.
"... I don't like it, but I think it's worth recognizing his desire to become a good emperor."
He seemed to have his own thoughts as well.
Indeed, Terence didn't oppose my plan to free Mikhail, but he didn't show much reluctance either.
It seemed that he thought there was no hope for Mikhail.
However, when the Empress gave Mikhail childhood items, he looked at them closely.
Suddenly, I became curious about the kind of relationship Terence and Mikhail had in Liena's previous life.
Of course, since they were a pair of legitimate and illegitimate children of the emperor, they couldn't have been normal and friendly brothers...
"It would have been better if it were the second round, where there was a bloody power struggle."
Perhaps, in reality, maybe they were just good brothers who didn't bother each other when they met face to face.
"Oh."
Then Terence looked at me and said.
"I received a call from your teacher."
"If it's my teacher... do you mean Miss Ángela?"
"Yes, she contacted me through my subordinate."
In the secure house where Angela stayed, her subordinates were always stationed to escort her.
"What's going on?"
"Well. She finally made a decision and asked me to tell you."
"A decision...
I had a supposition.
I visited Angela some time ago and asked her if I could reveal the truth to Duke Cassius.
The truth that she was close to Duchess Cassius and that the girl Cassius was originally going to adopt was not Liena.
But Angela trembled at the mere mention of the words Cassius and Liena.
She had lived in fear for a long time that Liena could kill her at any moment, so it was natural.
I kept reassuring her that it wouldn't happen, but seeing her in such a miserable state, I didn't feel like recommending it again, so I left the matter pending.
But Angela finally made a decision.
I went directly to the safe house to meet her.
Angela, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, seemed a little scared, but spoke with determination.
"I'm sorry, it took so long, didn't it? But even now, I want to correct my mistake."
The peaceful and comfortable life here seemed to have restored her courage and health.
"I stayed still as I clearly saw the director getting rid of you and adopting Liena with Cassius. I was afraid that if I disobeyed the director, I would be fired from the orphanage."
Angela closed her eyes tightly and blamed herself.
"On that matter, because Liena threatened my safety, I thought about you later. And shamelessly, I came to you like this. I'm really a coward, aren't I?"
I held her trembling hand.
"I don't think you're a coward."
I said it seriously. In my opinion, Angela was just an ordinary person who was kind but not brave enough to risk her livelihood.
"Thank you, Ethel. And I'm sorry..."
Angela expressed her gratitude and apologies for a long time and then spoke energetically.
"Take me to Cassius."
I immediately sent a request for the visit.
Fortunately, the next day we received a response from Duke Cassius, as well as Leandro and Leheim, that they could meet with us that day.
If possible, it would be better to see them all together.
Because they also have the right to know the truth.
In reality, my feelings towards Cassius were complicated.
Of course, I know very well that they acted that way thanks to Liena's blessing.
However, as someone who had personally experienced their cold treatment during the two years of my marriage, I couldn't look at the Cassius family with so much pity.
However, when I thought about how close they were to the real Ethel in their first life, I felt very bitter about the current situation where their relationship had become completely different.
As I crossed the threshold of the Cassius residence with Angela, I thought that at least I didn't want to argue with them as much as before.
At first, Duke Cassius didn't know who Angela was, but after hearing my explanation, he gradually remembered.
"She was definitely a teacher at the orphanage where Liena was."
Angela, along with the director, was in danger of being punished for child abuse, but was released thanks to the testimony of the children.
The Duke also must have been impressed by that and seemed to have a good opinion of Angela.
"I, Duke. Actually, I have something to confess about that incident..."
Angela's confession was enough to confuse him.
"... The girl Cheryl was close to, was it Ethel?"
Leandro, who was present, continued.
"But Liena took that position..."
The next was Leheim.
"Nonsense! I can't believe it!"
I understand. To be honest, even if I were in their place, it would have been difficult to accept this shocking truth.
But this was the truth.
"There are other witnesses besides Mrs. Angela."
I left some papers on the table in the room.
"This is an address book of children who grew up in the same orphanage as us. They will also testify about the girl who was particularly close to the duchess."
For today's visit, we investigated the whereabouts of the scattered children from the moment Liena was adopted.
"Even if that's the case, I can't believe it."
The Duke reacted abruptly without even touching the bundle of papers.
"The children from the orphanage unfairly ostracized Liena. It was something bad, but since she was still young, I assumed it was possible. But I can't fully believe what those children say."
"Liena said that? That's strange."
It seems they had created a negative perception in advance, fearing that any of them would go to the Duke and tell the truth.
"It's true that Liena didn't get along with the children, but she wasn't unilaterally ostracized. I was a friend of that girl."
I met the Duke's gaze directly.
"Are you going to conclude that what I'm saying is also false? If so, I ask. Who found the time capsule hidden by the duchess?"
"Well, that's..."
"At that time, I had lost my old memories due to an accident, but the time I spent with the duchess remained vaguely with me and helped me find the time capsule."
Indeed, it was purely thanks to the reading of the novel, but sometimes it is necessary to lie a little.
In the end, the Duke asked us to give him time.
Perhaps after that, they contacted the orphanage children on the list and discovered the truth.
A few days passed, and finally today.
Duke Cassius invited Angela and me back to the mansion because he had something to say.
"I didn't know that Liena would return at that moment."
Duke Cassius stood up, looked at his frozen daughter, and opened his mouth.
"Liena, I'm really disappointed in you."
