Chapter 154: Victoria’s Mother
The voice probably came from inside the number two mansion. It was a bit far away, with at least two walls in between, so I couldn’t hear it clearly. All I caught were vague terms like “church” and “council.” The one shouting was a strange woman whose voice I’d never heard before, but man, she was loud—louder than the rain outside!
My brows furrowed.
What’s going on next door… another headache?
After straining my ears for a while, I realized it seemed to be the same strange woman rambling on and on, and I hardly heard Victoria’s voice at all… Is she even next door?
Once the commotion died down, I thought I’d sneak over and check it out.
Holding a big bowl of pie, I plopped down on the couch in the living room and began munching away… If I didn’t finish this soon, it would definitely go bad. Food cannot be wasted!
But even after I polished off my pie bowl, the racket next door still hadn’t subsided. In fact, it seemed to be getting louder! I sat on the couch, patting my little belly, then decided to change upstairs into a new dress, tidied my hair a bit, grabbed a black lace umbrella, and headed out towards the noise.
The rain was coming down in buckets, soaking the edges of my dress in no time.
Hurrying over to the number two mansion, I found the large iron gate in the outer courtyard wide open. A beautifully luxurious war chariot was parked at the entrance, its carriage seemingly gilded. A robust, pure white horned horse stamped its front hooves impatiently, snorting explosively. On either side of the carriage stood several glistening-armored soldiers holding long swords, lined up in neat rows that extended into the courtyard… Iron Guards, of course.
Oh great, those annoying guys are back…
I lowered my head and thought for a moment, but decided to go in anyway.
Not that I wanted to get involved in these pesky matters, but I desperately needed to figure out what was going on with Cataloma. Every second counts.
However, just as I took a couple of steps forward, those guards blocked my path.
“Miss, this is Her Majesty the Queen’s estate; you can’t…”
“Miss Silvya!”
Before the guard could finish his sentence, I heard someone calling me from afar. Following the sound, I spotted Rect standing on the lawn in the courtyard, walking toward me with an expression of surprise.
“Don’t be rude! This is an honored guest of Her Majesty the Queen.”
He barked at the Iron Guards and then turned back to me with a big grin. “Miss Silvya, Her Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time. Please, come in.”
With that, Rect bowed formally to me. He wasn’t holding an umbrella, and he was practically soaked, but his gestures were very well performed. His respectful attitude left the guards at the entrance looking puzzled, yet they dared not stop me anymore. They had no idea who I was; maybe they hadn’t received instructions that no one could come in, so they could only exchange bewildered expressions while letting me through.
But my frown just deepened.
“Forgiveness Head, what’s going on in there?”
I certainly wasn’t buying his nonsense about Victoria waiting for me. Our dear Queen was probably stuck in some headache-inducing mess and wanted to use my name to dodge it.
As Rect led me toward the mansion, he lowered his voice and said carefully, “Her Majesty’s mother has arrived…”
…Victoria’s mother? Isn’t that the former Regent Empress of Ethanbel… well, she probably isn’t anymore.
But her coming over at this time can’t be a good thing.
“Have you found Abe?” I asked.
Rect shook his head.
“Not yet. Tanis is out searching. I just came back from the northern district of the Royal City, and there are some things I need to report to Her Majesty right away. But now…” Rect scrutinized my expression as he hesitated, then sighed softly, “It’s a bit complicated… Let’s go in first.”
…Alright then.
As we quickly approached the mansion, I could hear a woman’s frantic voice shouting from inside, “…Conspiring with the church behind closed doors, making a mess of the Royal City! As the Queen, you’re being so irresponsible… Victoria, listen to me!”
CLANG! Something smashed to the ground.
“You’re doing this while disregarding the entire royal family! Disregarding the nation! You’ll ruin everything for us! You will ruin me—!”
Rect and I immediately stopped at the door, exchanging bewildered glances.
A moment of silence followed, then Victoria’s calm voice rang out: “The council has already approved my decree. Mother, do you have anything else to say? If not, please leave.”
“…Approved? Hmph! Who said it was approved? Those church clergymen? Victoria, this is the Royal City! Since when did they have the final say here!”
“Mother, according to you, who does have the final say in the Royal City?”
“The Royal City influences everyone’s interests! Ethanbel is ours! Of course, it’s up to us to decide!”
“Does ‘everyone’ include the common people as well?”
“…Common people? Victoria, are you really speaking for that ignorant bunch? Don’t make me laugh! What are common people? They’re like decaying wood or fish meat! They only need to live happily and don’t need to care about anything. But what do we bear? What do we carry? We created all of this for them! So why can’t we have a little in return!”
“Victoria, stop with the hypocrisy. You just want to consolidate military power, disband the Iron Guards, and use that to suppress the Clive family—stop using the common people as a shield!”
“Believe what you want.”
“Am I wrong…? Look at me! What’s this attitude? I’m your mother! Your father didn’t care about the family while he was young; it was me who raised you and your younger brother! What? Now that you’re grown up, you think you can take power for yourself?”
“……”
“You didn’t tell your uncle that we don’t deserve to be your family… Victoria. In your heart, are we just a bunch of leeches, huh? Only you, Victoria, think so highly of yourself… Hmph, you think we’re not worthy of being your family? You better say that to my face if you have the guts!”
“…Say something!”
Victoria remained silent.
Feeling a bit awkward at the door, I stood there not knowing whether to go in or not. I glanced over at Rect, who seemed to be lost in thought, his gaze slightly dazed, revealing a hint of sadness.
I gently nudged him with my elbow.
Rect snapped back to attention, smiled apologetically at me, then stepped forward into the room and cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Your Majesty, sorry to interrupt… Miss Silvya has arrived.”
I closed the umbrella and set it by the door, shook off the water on my shoulders, and followed him inside.
The interior of the number two mansion was arranged somewhat like my own home but seemed simpler and more modest. A quick glance revealed nothing particularly valuable. Right across from the entrance was the main hall, where on one side of the fireplace sat Victoria and a woman with elegant features and a somewhat opulent appearance.
This woman had golden hair and eyes, resembling Victoria about sixty to seventy percent, but she was a bit more voluptuous. Her alluring almond-shaped eyes added a seductive flair compared to Victoria. Though she was older, she still retained a certain beauty—clearly, this was her mother.
Between the mother and daughter was a low coffee table in a brown hue, with a shattered glass vase scattered across the floor. The bouquet that had once been in it lay in A messy heap, brilliant red petals strewn on the carpet, all while the sound of rain outside provided an odd ambiance.
Victoria’s face… still showed no expression.
She lifted her head, about to speak, but her mother interjected first: “Miss Silvya. The youngest Pope Knight in history, the young daughter of Duke Skarlick of Shanter Castle… Victoria, is this your trump card?”
