CH 89

“Mother…!”

Damian was the first to react.

He got up in a hurry and looked at his mother stiffly.

The empress ignored him and looked at Siervian sternly.

“Did you forget to greet me? Seems like His Majesty gave you a bad habit instead.”

Siervian had hardened after hearing the harsh voice and quickly rose from her seat.

She immediately greeted her politely.

Unlike before, she did not stumble thanks to the increasing synchronization between her body and mind.

“The one who needs to learn manners is this chief lady-in-waiting. That’s why the discipline in the Princess’ palace is so haphazard.”

…But it seemed the empress still wasn’t happy.

Ellie bowed deeply in an attempt to please the empress, while Siervian was angry because Ellie was scolded.

Damian stepped forward as if he knew what Siervian was thinking and said, “…Mother. I’m afraid His Majesty’s strict orders will make you angry.”

Even though she was the empress, Ellie, who had blocked her, did not do anything wrong.

This was because the emperor’s order to prevent the empress from approaching Siervian was still valid.

“It’s a misunderstanding. I came to visit the Crown Prince. Wouldn’t it be fine to have your mother next to you?”

The empress spoke to the Crown Prince while smiling softly.

When Siervian heard that, she felt that the Empress was being too much.

This was the Princess Palace, so it was a sloppy excuse.

She came to see her. She wanted to keep an eye on her brother’s movements, so she arrived on purpose.

[Damian Elverdotte]

Thoughts: Why would she force herself in like this…?

Her prediction seemed correct. This was because her brother also had similar thoughts.

Well, the empress enjoyed her suffering. Her favorability always dropped even more every time she passed by Siervian’s garden and when she saw her munching away on sandwiches. She would also show her hate if Siervian wore new and beautiful clothes, as if Siervian shouldn’t enjoy any of it.

Why did she hate her so much? Siervian had only realized just how abnormal the situation she was in was.

She couldn’t understand the motive behind her attempts to abuse a child who was only eight years old.

“Well, now that we’ve encountered each other, I’ll have to teach the Princess after a while.”

“……”

“Aren’t you going to answer me? Maybe because you have a lowly mother, you don’t know manners at all.”

“Mother!”

The empress now seemed to have stopped all pretense at being a wise mother.

She didn’t know anything else, but she couldn’t understand why she even revealed her true feelings in front of Damian.

[Cybelle Elverdotte]

Thoughts: That black hair. What an eyesore. She doesn’t even know her place…!

If she didn’t look at the status window, she would never have been able to tell her real thoughts.

Siervian became depressed as she remembered how she was in her past life.

“I will accept your teaching…”

She was afraid that her loved ones would be hurt again. So, while lowering her head, Siervian replied.

She could see her maids shaking with anger while grabbing their skirts.

She just needed to be patient.

Once she bent down, the empress spoke in a nicer tone. But she never expressed her true thoughts.

“You’re being provided the heir’s education aren’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Siervian was nervous when she suddenly brought up that topic.

Her older brother standing next to her also responded that he didn’t understand why she was suddenly saying that.

“Say that you want to stop the lessons to His Majesty.”

“…!”

Hearing the order, Siervian unconsciously raised her head.

Her brother’s expression also changed as if he finally understood what was going on.

Regardless of the children’s reactions, the empress spoke again nonchalantly.

“His Majesty has been merciful for a while, but you have to know how to decline things that are not within your means.”

“Mother, this is something that my father had-!”

“Crown Prince, stop. Princess, do you understand? Go there and tell him you’ll stop.”

Siervian had also worried when she heard that she would be educated that way for the first time.

But of course, she didn’t expect the empress to act like this.

Was she in such a hurry that she didn’t even conceal her enmity in front of Damian?

‘Quit the magic lessons, tell him yourself.’

Suddenly, she remembered the empress who ‘advised’ her to stop magic lessons in her previous life.

She didn’t know the empress had influenced her enough for her to lose her reasoning. She thought it was the right thing to do.

“…I don’t want to.”

“You dare to oppose me?”

The empress approached her as if she was going to grab her shoulder like last time.

In the first place, Siervian had not said she wanted to learn it, but her father had ordered it. She was also worried about this.

Nevertheless, the empress thought it was all Siervian’s fault.

She closed her eyes in reflex at the empress’ action. Just in case she planned to hit her.

“Mother!”

But Damian protected Siervian firmly.

“Crown Prince! Who are you protecting now? Do you think this is a light issue?!”

The empress was prevented from coming closer and raised her voice for the first time toward the prince.

However, Damian was even more surprised when he witnessed his mother persecute Siervian for the first time.

“If Siervian is more capable to be the emperor, then she should do that!”

“How could you say that…!”

“Do you think that I don’t have the quality of an emperor?”

The empress raised her eyebrows at her son’s logical rebuttal.

Of course, if only the quality was considered, Siervian could not be compared to Damian.

It was just a senseless worry.

“You just need to approach His Majesty and say-”

“Stop! What are the guards doing? Take my mother back to the palace right away!”

However, she was escorted away without being able to speak.

The empress felt deeply betrayed by her son who even mobilized the guards to banish her.

‘That was close.’

Siervian could see what her brother had in mind, that was why he forced his mother to stop talking.

[Cybell Elverdotte]

Thought: How could he love her so much that he was willing to give up the throne and not to me, his mother!

This was a worry that should never be expressed out loud. She not only doubted the emperor’s judgment but also opposed his order.

Shaking as she stood, the empress turned around even before the guards approached her.

She did not forget to say something malicious until the end, “I’m not going to give up.”

[Cybelle Elverdotte]

Thoughts: That girl must have bewitched my son again. It can’t be like this!

Watching her disappear, Siervian remained silent.

When she noticed her brother standing next to her with a gloomy face, she couldn’t even comfort him.

‘If the empress calmed down a little, she would know how grave her words were.’

This time, only cold silence lingered in the noisy Princess’ Palace.

Damian sorted out his complicated thoughts after a long time, smiled and spoke to her.

“Don’t worry too much, Siervy. You just can learn everything you want.”

“…Thank you, Brother.”

“Yes. You say it’s hard to move mana in a certain direction?”

As if to change the subject, he brought back the topic they were discussing before the empress showed up.

Realizing it, Siervian answered brightly.

“Yes!”

She could obviously do it in the Welfare Foundation while directing the mana to Cassia flower. However, when she returned, she couldn’t repeat the action.

Due to her serious expression, Damian also became serious and worried about her.

“Then shall we try this?”

For a long time, the two focused on the flow of mana, closing their eyes, meditating or moving the mana in person.

However, in one side of her mind, she remained anxious.

***

Just a few days later the empress’ warning was given to the palace again.

“My name is Della Dixie, and I’m in charge of the etiquette class.”

At the social season, Countess Dixie, who was famous in high society, appeared at the Imperial Palace.

“……Welcome, ma’am.”

Siervien greeted Countess Dixie as she slowly circled the room.

Looking at the scene, Siervian inwardly tried to fake a smile. Even in her previous life, Countess Dixie had been her etiquette teacher.

The countess taught her a lot of things before.

‘She’s trying to do that again to a child?’

Siervian in the past had a very different personality from now. She was a little timid and worried, so she had a lot of difficulty mingling into the social world from her debut.

The Countess advised her at that time; that way, the young children will listen to her, she said.

“Hmm.”

Simply, she told her to hold herself back and drag the time so that she could observe the others and find a topic.

Siervian followed that advice and noticed something strange after a while.

It was only after some time she realized that the nobles thought of her as conceited.

‘When I got older, she quit being a teacher as if she was running away.’

It was clear why she would do such a thing to the Princess again.

[Della Dixie]

Thoughts: Hmm, considering what she said to her, she has a good posture.

What she was doing now was rude. Siervian realized that the empress had begun to put spies on her.

However, there was one thing the Countess Dixie and the Empress did not know.

As Siervian had been through this in her previous life, she had learned manners impeccably.

And now that her synchronization rate was increasing, if she concentrated, she could naturally do the things she was taught in a short time