159 – Fog-6

“You were still young, but you had eyes just like hers. I realized then.”

In Eleanor’s memories, the emperor greeted him with such a warm and benevolent appearance.

She was too young to fathom the sorrow and pain hidden within.

“This is the daughter of the person I loved. It is the only legacy that Elessia left in this world. This is… my daughter.”

“therefore…”

The world Eleanor believed in was crumbling. The authority and honors of the empire that she took for granted were all accomplished because of one person’s whim.

“So, you became my daughter. That’s all.”

After the difficult story, the emperor seemed to have used up most of his limited lifespan.

“Even so, there would have been a chance to turn it back by then.”

“what?”

“If only you hadn’t accepted me… as your son.”

At least, all of these events happened consensually.

Even Elesia, who rejected marriage and love, was not reckless enough to commit an affair while in the imperial palace.

Even if the emperor released her, they couldn’t hide the fact that they were separated. Because there must have been a lot of eyes to see.

“Just a little more… If you’ve been harsh on me and my mother.”

Even though she was an empress, she did not give birth to a child who could be recognized as an heir. The contractual marriage is still being maintained, and the emperor must have already let her go when Eleanor was born.

“If only you had abandoned me!”

It wasn’t common for a woman who rejected the emperor’s love to appear, or even to reject the honor and power of an empress.

However, the incident itself was not impossible. It was not uncommon for emperors to hand over their concubines to their favorite subjects, or to allow them to find freedom by turning them into slaves.

“…sadly, I couldn’t.”

“why…”

“Because I loved him. Because I loved you.”

There was not a single bit of regret in the emperor’s eyes.

“You were my hope. As much as this empire and my authority… No, more than that, it was the purpose of my life.”

“father.”

“I devised a plan for you, and I tried to make a place for you. There was not one thing that I wasn’t happy about. Even if it was tiring and hard work, I could do it for you.”

Eleanor couldn’t bear to say that his actions were wrong.

From the point of view of the Empire, it was a futile action. It was an irresponsible idea to call it the emperor’s move.

“Rather, if you made another successor…”

“I’ve tried, but I just couldn’t get the motivation. Maybe I was infertile.”

“no way.”

“It wasn’t that he was looking for women greedily, but it was also the emperor’s duty to make heirs. We had a relationship enough to say that we worked hard for that duty… Although none were disclosed to the outside world.”

Rumors that the emperor was infertile were often heard. However, as long as Eleanor’s eyes were wide open, not many people could openly say that.

At least, as long as she has one offspring externally, no matter how suspicious she is, the moment she mentions it, she doubts Eleanor’s legitimacy.

“But… how did you deceive everyone?”

Since the emperor had said this far, Eleanor could not doubt the authenticity of the words.

“You can’t fool everyone. Someone must have known this.”

If it’s an unrelated noble, even if it’s an abandoned empress, ‘the emperor would visit and hug her a few times.’ and can pass it on.

However, the emperor’s attendants were aware of his every move. His activities cannot be hidden from key human beings, such as the emperor’s bodyguards and maids.

“Why didn’t everyone… doubt His Majesty’s words?”

“I made a move. I couldn’t hide it from those closest to me… but it was possible to twist and prevent them from exchanging information, though.”

There is only one emperor, and many they serve.

The emperor was very careful and cautious, making ‘the time he might have met his abandoned lover’.

“After you meet me? Could that be possible…”

“It wasn’t easy. But, it wasn’t impossible. There are not one or two people close to me… Unless their information is combined, there will always be gaps.”

No one wants to scratch and bruise when no one raises any doubts. Both of them thought that the emperor had hugged her at a moment when they didn’t notice.

“Did no one really notice? Even so, there must be someone who found the difference between me and His Majesty the Emperor…”

Even so, he is the emperor’s son. If blood wasn’t connected, there would be someone who would notice the difference.

“I had no excuses for him… no, I had a bait in place. I had a way to use it because you were amazingly strong, pure, and determined as a child.”

“What is that…”

“Eleanor. How much do you know about the warrior legend?”

Eleanor frowned. No matter how you think about it, her birth and the hero had nothing to do with it.

“The details… I don’t know.”

“Heroes are mostly summoned from outside, but not necessarily.”

“That means…”

Eleanor, who had vaguely recalled information about the hero through her memories, was able to sense what he was about to say.

“I’ve heard of it. A scruffy son of a noble family was chosen as a hero at some point, and showed a different side from before…”

“Yes. They are hidden from the outside, but they are also from another world after all.”

“What is that…”

“Possession, or reincarnation. When the goddess bestows warriors, there are times when they give up their bodies and bring only their souls into this world.”

Eleanor couldn’t hide her agitation, but she was able to regain her sanity with difficulty.

“What does that have to do with my birth?”

“It has nothing to do with birth. But… it gave me a good excuse.”

The emperor’s voice was gradually cracking.

“Why are you different from me? How do you look, act, and think differently? You’ve been a great shield against those questions.”

When the emperor leaked words to his subjects, as if she was the hero she possessed, they wrung out information on their own, convinced themselves, and went back.

“Did you… hide something like that?”

“Even if there were people who noticed your birth, it was a factor that would make them turn a blind eye. The lineage of a hero and the lineage of an emperor can be replaced, and the protection of the imperial family continues.”

A lie gave birth to another lie that spread irreversibly.

All of that was for Eleanor.

“How did you plan to take care of the aftermath?”

“After the hero’s journey is over, I tried to make him or her emperor. I thought that no one would use political blackmail on you with the hero, and even if there was, you could sort it out.”

“So far…”

The Emperor bowed his head sadly, admitting his mistake.

“I was complacent. The information I could get was limited, and at least in the capital, they seemed friendly to you.”

“…”

“I’m not saying this because I’m my daughter, but she looks more beautiful than anyone else. After overcoming that hardship, I thought we would be able to accept each other.”

From here on, Eleanor’s mistake was greater than the Emperor’s.

He is such a good person that he is stupid. If only he had listened to his pain a little longer, if he had acknowledged his pain a little longer, the emperor’s plan could have succeeded.

Even if they didn’t become lovers or husband and wife, if you begged them to remain in this world for at least a few more years, he might have listened to you.

“…If Enerel rejected the offer, what would you do?”

It was just pure luck that he transferred the hero’s power.

“I thought that once you made a kite with a hero, there would be no one who would threaten you even against him.”

“Well…”

“After entrusting him with the position of emperor, fewer people will be interested in the lineage of the previous emperor.”

Eleanor thought this was a crazy plan. But it wasn’t impossible at all.

if it wasn’t for her

“If you had treated me as a knight and maid rather than as a daughter…”

I wanted to say that I should have abandoned her. Even if Eleanor thought of it from the emperor’s point of view, it was hard to come up with a better plan than this, given that he accepted her as his daughter.

“I couldn’t.”

Eleanor realized that she had to admit it. The past was the past, and there was nothing she could do about it.

However.

“If only… when I first saw him, if I had honestly confessed all of this and asked him to join me…”

Eleanor lowered her head.

Her birth, her birth, and the lies the emperor had to tell for that were all areas she could not touch.

The regret that I should have done better, and the reflection that he made me shoulder too many responsibilities, are now too late.

“still…”

However, I couldn’t stop. Because of what I did today, I couldn’t regret it tomorrow.

Eleanor raised her head. It was after hearing the shocking truth about her, but her eyes were not on her.

“He said he would not become emperor.”

Feelings for him welled up in Eleanor. Atonement, obsession, love, delusion. Maybe, none of that was true.

However, the size of that feeling was too huge.

“It will.”