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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: An Uncle's Tears
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Returning to her room with Becky, Lellia lay on her bed, her heart unsettled.
For Lellia’s sake, Becky had brought a mountain of desserts, including maclias, but for some reason, she had no appetite.
‘Is he sick or something?’
The thought of Carius, who had suddenly burst into tears and then laughed like a madman, made her uneasy.
He might dislike her, but he was her mother’s closest sibling.
‘Besides, from what Grandma said, it seems the two of them were even closer than I thought…’
To Lellia, her grandparents were the kindest people in the world, but she’d heard they had been incredibly strict parents to their own children when they were young.
Perhaps that was why she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
At first, whenever he shot her that sharp, hostile glare, she had thought, ‘What’s wrong with this grown man?’
But in a way, that look in his eyes also seemed like that of someone desperately trying to protect something.
‘Like an adult who hadn't quite grown up…’
Lellia rolled around, hugging a doll with a serious expression, then sat up in bed again.
‘Oh, right! I almost forgot. I have work to do.’
Lellia’s gaze fell upon the basket filled with health potions.
‘I need to make money fast and charge the crystal.’
She shot up and was about to grab the basket and leave.
*Knock, knock.*
Hearing the knock, she assumed it was Becky, but the person who opened the door and entered was Carius.
Lellia narrowed her eyes and looked at him.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had cried, then laughed, then cried again.
“Have a seat for a moment.”
Carius spoke bluntly and sat down on the sofa. Lellia hesitated before walking over and taking the seat opposite him.
“What is it?”
“…I have something to say.”
“…”
“Before, at the imperial palace…”
“Yes.”
“I apologize. I’m sorry for getting angry at you out of the blue.”
“…”
Lellia looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he had truly hit his head.
“And… I believe you now. No, perhaps I knew the truth all along but didn’t want to admit it.”
“…”
“I’m sorry for being such a petty uncle, Lellia.”
*Uncle?*
Lellia’s eyes widened.
She had wondered what he was going to say, but it seemed he now truly believed she was her mother’s daughter.
Lellia couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from rising and let out a small laugh.
Carius, too, offered a faint smile.
“When I was your age.”
“…Yes.”
“To you, your grandfather might seem like a very kind old man, but he was actually very strict.”
“…”
“He was a very frightening father. He always compared us siblings to the children of his vassals, wishing we would be more exceptional.”
“I see…”
“Both Father and Mother were always so stern and scary that I was terrified.”
“…”
“I think I was in a lot of pain whenever I was scolded by my father or my tutors and ended up crying. I even wondered if I was a useless person.”
Lellia simply listened quietly to his unexpected confession.
Carius’s eyes had reddened again as he continued speaking calmly.
“But whenever that happened, my sister would come find me, hug me, and comfort me.”
“…”
An image formed in Lellia’s mind: a young Carius and Elizabeth. Hurt by their strict parents, comforting one another.
Her mother must have been that precious to Carius.
Lellia spoke carefully.
“I’m not trying to defend Grandfather, but he always says he regrets it. That he should have been a kinder father…”
At those words, Carius smiled faintly and looked at Lellia.
“Yes, Father changed a lot after my sister died.”
“Still… it must have been very sad.”
Realizing she might have sounded too much like she was taking her grandfather’s side, Lellia muttered quietly.
The thought of a child her age, terrified after being harshly scolded by strict parents, pained her.
It was similar to the wounds her friends, the most precious people to her, had received.
‘I don’t have parents, so I can’t know for sure… but I think I understand.’
Carius was speechless at Lellia’s empathy for his childhood wounds.
Lellia glanced at the desserts on the table.
They were the ones Becky had brought earlier.
“Have some.”
Lellia carefully pushed the plate of maclias toward him.
After a moment of hesitation, Carius spoke.
“…Don’t you find it ridiculous? A grown man talking about being scolded by his mom and dad when he was a kid?”
“…Not at all.”
Lellia replied with a shrug.
People often belittled the wounds received in childhood.
When you get a cut on your skin, you have to disinfect it, apply ointment, let a scab form, endure the itching, and get through that process for new skin to grow.
The wounds of the heart needed a similar process.
‘Especially wounds from childhood.’
If you become an adult without going through that process, you might look like a perfectly fine adult on the outside, but the wound left in your heart will remain, festering for a lifetime.
‘A wound from childhood… it’s the kind that stays with you even after you’re dead and gone.’
Lellia herself had many childhood wounds before going to the Neutral Zone, but she had been able to heal them to some extent thanks to her friends.
That’s why she knew.
An adult who hasn't fully grown up is just as fragile as a child.
“…If my father knew I told you all this, he’d be dumbfounded. He’d say I was acting unbefitting of an adult.”
“If you asked Grandfather to talk about his childhood wounds, he’d probably hesitate at first but then spill everything, you know?”
Carius chuckled at Lellia’s words. For some reason, they seemed to hold a deeper meaning.
A wave of guilt washed over Carius, and he apologized again.
“Once again, I’m sorry. For hurting you.”
“It’s okay.”
Honestly, compared to all the hurt Lellia had endured, the pain Carius had caused her was nothing.
As if he knew this as well, he asked in a much gentler tone.
“…Did you run away from the imperial palace because Cedric and Damian tormented you so much?”
“That was part of it…”
To be precise, it was to avoid being killed.
To survive, no matter what.
‘But if I tell him the truth, he’ll be heartbroken.’
That was why she couldn’t tell her grandfather, either. For those who knew her mother, Lellia’s misfortune would be a great source of pain.
“…You can tell me. You can tell me everything. I’ll be your uncle, not Cedric and Damian’s.”
“…”
Lellia froze for a moment at his words.
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to confide in someone?
But she couldn’t summon the courage to speak just yet.
‘I keep acting like a child.’
In her past life, she had died before she could fully become an adult.
Though she had memories of her past life after reincarnating, perhaps because her brain wasn’t fully developed, she often found herself acting like a child of Lellia’s actual age.
It was the same now. She felt the urge to tattle on everything she had suffered, just like a ten-year-old child.
“…”
Lellia fidgeted, staring at the innocent basket of health potions.
For now, she just wanted to escape the situation.
As if sensing this, Carius nonchalantly changed the subject.
“What’s all that for? Are you planning to hand them out to the people of the castle?”
“…No. I’m going to sell them.”
“…What?”
“I’m going to sell them for money.”
“What… what for… Are you trying to earn some pocket money?”
Lellia gave a small nod at Carius’s question.
“…”
He looked at Lellia, his eyes filled half with pride and half with pity.
“I’ll buy them all.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, how much is it?”
Lellia hesitated for a moment before speaking.
The exact amount she needed right now was 500,000 shillings.
“Five hundred… fifty thousand shillings.”
She felt a little guilty for raising the price by 50,000 shillings, but Carius was clearly a wealthy man.
As Lellia watched him cautiously, he smiled and said.
“A million shillings, two million shillings, I’ll buy them all.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
As if to prove his words, Carius took a leather pouch from his coat and began to empty out gold coins.
Each gold coin was worth 100,000 shillings, and a quick glance told her there were dozens of them.
A rough estimate put the amount well over one or two million.
‘Wow…!’
Lellia looked at Carius with sparkling eyes. She thought he was an adult who hadn’t grown up, but she was wrong. He was a total adult.
“Uncle!”
The title that slipped from Lellia’s lips made the corners of his mouth lift. But contrary to his smile, tears streamed down his cheeks.
The strange sight flustered Lellia, but she soon managed a smile in return.
“Let me hug you, just once.”
Carius held out his arms. Lellia cautiously approached him.
“I’m sorry… so sorry.”
Lellia quietly enjoyed the feeling of Carius patting her back.
The embrace of her mother’s family always had a warm scent.
‘I never imagined that all of my mother’s family would become my family, too.’
Lellia remained in his arms for a long while before she finally managed to speak.
“Actually, you were right, Uncle. I ran away from the imperial palace because I was scared…”
“…”
“Emperor Perseus hates me. I was sure he was going to marry me off to some strange person. And Cedric, Damian, they want to get revenge on me…”
“…Why didn’t you tell the emperor the truth? Hmm?”
Carius asked, his voice thick with tears.
“Because he wouldn’t have believed me anyway.”
Carius couldn’t deny it. If even he hadn’t been able to believe her, there was no way they would have.
“How upsetting it must have been. The emperor, my nephews, they’re all so captivated by that girl… It was frustrating for even me to watch. You knew everything, so how much must your heart have ached?”
Lellia’s lips trembled at Carius’s words. He understood everything without her having to say it, and her chest grew tight.
Suddenly, she remembered that day.
The day she was forced by Cedric and Damian to apologize to Yuriana.
That day had been a great shock and a deep wound for Lellia.
It would surely become a scar she would never forget, even as an adult.
She would probably spend her whole life hiding that festering wound, pretending it wasn’t there.
That’s why Lellia wanted to be brave. It was childish and petty, but she wanted to tattle about that day and be comforted.
She wanted to heal that wound herself, before it was too late.
“The truth is…”
“Go on, tell me. I’ll listen to everything.”
Lellia began to speak very slowly.
She spoke very slowly, reining in her emotions, because she felt if she spoke too quickly, she would burst into tears like a child.
About the day she was first summoned by Emperor Perseus and ran into Cedric, Damian, and Yuriana.
About what happened on the day of the banquet, and the sorrow she felt then.
How much her legs had hurt when she knelt before Yuriana to apologize, how hoarse her throat had become.
How cold Cedric and Damian’s eyes were as they looked down on her. And how she resented Yuriana a little for watching anxiously but not stopping them.
Everything, up to being kicked out of the place she was staying, going to her mother’s cabin, and the process of her escape.
Slowly but surely, she calmly poured out all the sorrows she had held deep in her heart.
But it was Carius, the one listening, who couldn’t control his emotions.
*Bang!*
Lellia flinched at the sound of Carius slamming his fist on the table.
“Those wretched boys! Where did they learn such things… Making you kneel and apologize? Do they even know who the real princess is?!”
Carius’s bitten lip trembled.
To him, Cedric and Damian were his precious nephews, whom he had to protect in place of his sister.
But for them to torment Lellia to that extent.
‘They even kicked her out of the tower she was living in?’
Of course, he understood how Cedric and Damian felt. Believing Lellia to be their mother’s enemy, how could they not be furious?
He couldn’t just blame his nephews. After all, he himself had misunderstood Lellia and had been just as angry.
“…I’m sorry. If only I had known sooner…”
“I’m okay. It was a situation where a misunderstanding was inevitable… But still… I wanted to tell you.”
Because just seeing Carius get angry on her behalf felt like applying ointment to the wound in her heart.
Lellia let out a sigh of relief, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her chest.
Tears welled in her eyes.
She had no idea how hard she had held back to speak without crying.
In fact, it was Carius who had been crying the entire time she told her story.
“How upsetting it must have been. How sorrowful you must have felt, hmm?”
“…It’s okay. I managed to escape safely, didn’t I?”
“…Yes, you did well to come here. Thank you for coming here safely.”
“…Okay. But please keep this a secret from Grandpa and Grandma. They’ll be upset. We can’t have their health decline.”
At those words, Carius covered his face and began to weep even more loudly.
How scared and sad this small child must have been while escaping the imperial palace.
At an age where she should be whining and throwing tantrums without a care in the world, her concern for her grandparents was both admirable and pitiful.
When he was Lellia’s age, he had been a helpless child. He just trailed after his sister, crying and throwing fits at the drop of a hat.
For her to have grown up so mature and commendable in that situation.
“Alright, I understand. I’ll keep it a secret.”
Carius managed to reply.
It felt as if his heart was being torn into a thousand pieces.
If he, her uncle, felt this way, how would a parent feel?
Carius felt his heart clench with guilt toward his deceased sister.
And another parent.
The thought of Emperor Perseus made his chest tighten.
“…”
Logically, he should inform him of this.
But…
‘I can’t send a child who fled in fear of Emperor Perseus back to that place…’
Moreover, another face surfaced in Carius’s mind.
The new family Emperor Perseus had made by remarrying to reclaim the throne.
The empress and Yuriana.
Emperor Perseus especially doted on that girl, Yuriana, as if she were his own daughter.
The way he looked at her was as affectionate as when he looked at his own children, Cedric and Damian.
‘It’s not just me; that bastard is pathetic beyond words. To not even recognize his own child…’
Carius clenched his fists.
Like most members of the Superion family, Carius did not like Emperor Perseus.
To vow to make his sister happy for life, only to let her die alone.
If it hadn’t been for the sake of revenge, he would never have helped Perseus reclaim the throne.
Tears kept flowing from his grief.
“…Don’t cry.”
Seeing Carius sitting with clenched fists, silently weeping, Lellia brought a handkerchief and gently dabbed at his cheeks.
Her touch was clumsy, but her warm heart was conveyed all the same.
Carius forced a smile, took the handkerchief, and wiped his tears himself.
“I’m sorry. For showing you such a pathetic side… From now on, your uncle will protect you.”
‘I don’t know about that. I think I’ll be the one doing the protecting…’
Lellia thought to herself but nodded as if she agreed.
The tragedy that would befall House Superion would happen after Lellia became an adult.
To prepare for that time, Lellia planned to develop her abilities as much as possible through the ‘Alchemy Lottery.’
‘To do that, I have to spend money.’
Lellia, before Carius could change his mind, began to diligently fill her basket with the pocket money he had given her.
Carius watched her, his expression full of admiration.
