Chapter 34

There once was a girl. Her mother called her Bea. She was the daughter of a noble family that protected the southern border of Cransia. The northern border was often attacked by pirates.

It was an old, powerful family, but unfortunately, Bea didn't lead a privileged life. It was because her mother was an unmarried lowly maid who got pregnant by the count.

Her beauty was legendary, but it didn't help her. Her father's legal wife, the Countess, was angry at how Bea was more beautiful than her own daughter. The Countess was cruel to her. The count, her own father, ignored her.

She didn't lead an easy life. It got even worse when she turned 16.

The former emperor, Levencius, was over 40 years old at the time and still without an heir. An order was made to every noble family in the kingdom to send in their daughters. The emperor would choose some of these girls to become his concubines and bear him a son.

The former emperor's cruelty and deviant taste were well-known to everyone. Any girls sent to him were bound to be abused by him.

The Countess had no intention of sending her own daughter to such a pervert. She nagged her husband and finally, when Bea became 16, she was legally acknowledged by the Count as his daughter. Within six months, she was sent to the former emperor.

The emperor did not select all the girls sent. If she wasn't chosen, or she didn't keep the emperor's interest, she could have had a quiet peaceful life.

However, her beauty worked against her. She was one of the three most beautiful women in the castle. The former emperor didn't favor her the most, but she still held the emperor's interest.

This made many to hate her. The one who was most jealous was Katleyanira, who, at the time, was the second wife to the emperor.

The following year, Bea gave birth to a son. It was Lucretius. The former emperor was so thrilled that he gave her the position of the fourth wife. He demoted the existing fourth wife to become a mere concubine, which made her hate Bea.

When Lucretius was three years old, the former emperor anointed him as his heir to the throne. He was the only living son to Levencius. The former emperor divorced his empress at the time and placed Lucretius' mother in the position. This made the divorced empress and his powerful family Bea's enemy.

She collected so many enemies over time. On top of it, Bea didn't have a good personality for an empress. She was neither sneaky nor diplomatic.

If she married an average nobleman and lived a normal life, perhaps she would have become a good wife and a mother with her gentle, naïve personality.

However, as an empress, it made her weak. Katleyanira, who was the second wife at the time, pretended to be her friend. When the position of the first wife became available, it was Empress Beatrice who begged the emperor to place Katleyanira in that place. She placed her in a place of huge power.

After a while, Katleyanira finally gave birth to a son and became the emperor's favorite. He lost interest in Empress Beatrice and didn't sleep with her for a long time. Then one night, he became terribly drunk and visited Bea. From this night, Empress Beatrice became pregnant and her belly started to get bigger. The problem was, the emperor was so drunk that night he didn't remember visiting Empress Beatrice.

He became angry and suspicious as the empress got bigger. A record was kept of which wife the emperor visits every night. This should have cleared Bea's name, but Katleyanira bribed the record keepers to delete the entry. She then paid off a few witnesses to swear the emperor was with her that night.

Empress Beatrice had no one to help her. Her own father, the Count, abandoned her, and there were many who despised her for her rise to power. When she gave birth to a child, the emperor was convinced it was not his.

She was accused of a.d.u.l.tery and, therefore, treason against the emperor.

In the end, Empress Beatrice and her baby were executed. Bea knew the baby was the emperor's child. She was a kind honest woman, but no one helped her when she needed them the most.

When Bea went to the emperor, her mother couldn't let her go by herself. She disguised as Bea's nanny and followed her daughter into the castle.

Dame Dotrya was Empress Beatrice's own mother.

When her daughter was executed by her husband, Dame Dotrya lost her mind.

Agnes cried as she told me this painful story. I never expected to hear such a cruel story, so I didn't know what to say.

After a long hesitation, I asked, "Then… You are Empress Beatrice's sister?"

Agnes shook her head.

"I was just one of Empress Beatrice's maids, but this lady, Dame Dotrya, took me in when I became an orphan and adopted me as her daughter."

"…"

I still didn't know how to react to the horrible story, but I knew one thing for sure. I now understood why Lucretius despised his own father. I felt like he had every right to hate him.

How could he not resent his own father who killed his mother? I would have felt the same way if I were in his shoes.

I felt ashamed. I used to think he was such a horrible bastard, but now I knew I was wrong to judge him so harshly.

I was about to let them go back to bed when I suddenly thought of something.

"You just said that Katleyanira had a living son?"

As far as I know, Katleyanira only had two daughters. I had already met them when I first arrived here.

Agnes replied severely, "Her son died before he turned one. What goes around, comes around."

She sounded bitter, which told me how much she cared about her adopted sister, Empress Beatrice.

I felt silly for worrying about a ghost when the real story was even more chilling.

Dame Dotrya, Agnes, and Empress Beatrice.

Three women with such cruel unfortunate fates.

Beatrice le Cransia.

Bea.

I found the story of her life familiar. This could be how my life would turn out. Was it because we had similar names?

Bea and Bina.

Just like her, I was sold to this royal family as a concubine. Just like her, I suddenly found myself to be in a position of power.

I remembered a short conversation with the emperor.

It happened right after the coronation ceremony.

I was angry at the emperor for giving me the last name le Cransia. I wanted to goad him a little as a small revenge.

"Aren't you a little disappointed?"

"About what?"

We were in the bed underneath the same blanket. It was an odd question to ask one's husband, but then we were an odd couple.

"About Lisbeth."

He frowned deeply. I smiled wickedly and continued, "She is so pretty. She is also young and naïve."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. It's just that you rejected such a pretty young girl and ended up with someone like me. You must be very disappointed…"

His frown deepened even more.

My heart beat fast as I waited for his answer. I knew I was being petty, but I wanted to put him in an awkward position like he always does to me.

Suddenly, he smiled brightly. "I hate women who are stupid."

"…"

I hated that smile. Such a fake evil smile.

However, now that I think about it, perhaps it showed how he really felt about women. Especially his mother.

"And I hate kind, soft-hearted women even more. That's worse than being stupid. Of course, I don't think that girl was truly a kind person anyway."

I thought at the time how strange and twisted he was. I felt envious of Lisbeth who got away from becoming this man's wife.

That was the end of our short conversation. Now that I learned about what happened to his birthmother, I could understand the true meaning of that conversation.