MHFW 67

Chapter 67

The Founding Festival banquet ended successfully. There had been many incidents at a single banquet.

First, the person standing beside the Emperor at the Founding Festival banquet was not the First Empress Consort or the Third Empress Consort, but the Sixth Empress Consort, Ilisiana. Second, the Emperor had officially mentioned the marriage between the Fifth Prince and the Lady.

The issue of Empress Consort Ilisiana entering while standing beside the Emperor was immediately pushed into the background by the announcement of the two’s marriage.

In a way, since the Emperor had announced such an important matter in his son’s life in front of many nobles, it was something that could be understood if one explained it as an attempt to preserve the mother’s dignity.

The problem was that the Emperor himself had declared the marriage that Eliana and Calis would have after six years of engagement.

This made people think once again about what the Emperor truly intended.

There was no one who did not know that the Emperor considered only the Crown Prince, the son of the late Empress Reniela, his true son and intended to pass everything completely to him.

In such a situation, the Emperor personally mentioning the marriage of Calis and Eliana made people wonder if the Fifth Prince might also be included in his plans.

This caused several minor nobles who were not very powerful to start calculating their options.

Everyone in the Empire knew that the Lady had almost given up her position as the heir of the Grand Duke’s family because of her poor health.

That was why they had mocked her by saying that if Calis failed to become Emperor, received a title, and left the Imperial Palace, Eliana would only become the wife of an ordinary Marquis.

It was no exaggeration to say that the way they had relieved their inferiority complexes through such mockery had now been completely ruined by the Emperor’s declaration.

And lastly, there was the fact that the Lady and Lady Rembrix seemed to have a close relationship.

Selina had made her debut at a rather late age last year, and at the same time, she had taken control of high society and become its queen.

The Grand Duchess had long been treated like the godmother of high society simply because of her presence, but she had been absent for a long time. Since the Grand Duchess was only human, people had expected her to oppose Selina.

However, on the day the Lady’s marriage was announced, those who saw Selina and Eliana together guessed that the two seemed to be quite close.

A rumor that Selina had argued with a central nobleman who was insulting the Lady also supported the idea that the two had a close relationship.

Eliana, who appeared in all of these rumors, was now in the garden of Empress Consort Ilisiana’s palace.

The two had even forgotten their dignity and were sitting beneath the shade of the largest tree in the garden.

The tree’s shade blocked the slightly harsh summer heat, and the breeze beneath it was cool and refreshing.

It was a peaceful afternoon.

If only Eliana could fully enjoy the moment.

Eliana glanced sideways at the Empress Consort, who was leaning against the tree trunk with her eyes closed and enjoying the air.

‘Why did she do that?’

It was a situation that had never been mentioned in the original story.

In Winsa Beop, Eliana originally never married Calis and died.

And before that, Empress Consort Ilisiana also died.

Eliana had been prepared for the original story to become distorted to some degree because she was going around doing everything she could to survive.

But she had never expected the distortion to happen in this way.

Empress Consort Ilisiana, who had never once ordered Eliana to enter the Imperial Palace after she arrived in the Imperial Capital, had summoned her.

Eliana thought something was strange, but she also had something she needed to discuss, so she entered the palace.

Eliana had prepared herself with quite a serious mind before entering, but the Empress Consort welcomed her very warmly.

Then she said that the weather was nice and that she really wanted to feel the grass beneath the largest tree in the garden, so she grabbed Eliana’s hand and pulled her along.

Eliana’s tension instantly disappeared.

Since it was both an order and a request from Empress Consort Ilisiana, she could not refuse and reluctantly followed her and sat down.

Eliana looked up at the sky.

The deep blue sky and white clouds were so clear and beautiful that they did not seem to belong to this world.

The sunlight was pleasantly warm, and the breeze beneath the shade was cool enough to relieve the heat.

The weather was damnably perfect, completely unaware of Eliana’s troubled heart.

“Were you surprised when I suddenly mentioned marriage at the banquet?”

Perhaps she had finished admiring the scenery, because Empress Consort Ilisiana asked.

Eliana answered awkwardly.

“I had not heard anything beforehand……”

Her voice trailed off.

At those words, Empress Consort Ilisiana quietly laughed as if she found something amusing.

She had not yet found a complete method of treatment, but perhaps Vutar’s treatment had been effective to some degree. The Empress Consort’s laughter and voice had more strength than before.

Eliana thought that alone was fortunate.

She did not know how long it would last, but she hoped she would endure just a little longer.

If possible, it would not be so bad if Empress Consort Ilisiana were still alive when everything was over, and they could go to Calis’s territory, Renikel, and live together.

The eastern region was warm and had a port where many material and human resources passed through.

Who knew?

Perhaps a method to completely cure her illness might also find its way there.

Of course, the probability was even lower than one in ten million.

“Lady.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“How about getting married now?”

“What?”

Eliana asked back in a foolish voice, startled.

The Emperor had already officially declared that they would marry, so why was she bringing this up again?

Did Eliana even have the right to refuse in the first place?

“I know very well how you worry about this person’s health and wish for this person to remain in this world a little longer.”

Gulp.

Eliana swallowed.

Of course, the Empress Consort knew that her own death was approaching.

Empress Consort Ilisiana was, after all, a princess of Ertilla.

Although they worshipped different gods and had developed different ways of using divine power to benefit the world, their essence was not very different.

There was no way she could have failed to notice Vutar examining her condition while covering her entire body with divine power.

“Isn’t that… only natural?”

Eliana answered with difficulty.

It hurt even more because she knew that, in the end, it would have no meaning.

“But Lady, please let go of that feeling.”

Eliana’s pupils widened.

It sounded as if she was telling her to leave the Empress Consort to die.

She knew that was not what she meant, but that was how it sounded.

“H-How can you say such a thing?”

Eliana rarely stammered.

Her voice trembled, and heat rose around her eyes.

She had been forcing herself to endure it, but the shock and emptiness from the previous day came crashing over her again like a wave.

“Human life is something humans cannot control no matter how hard they try. Leave it to the natural order.”

The natural order.

What exactly was this natural order?

Eliana had spoken about the natural order when trying to persuade the Grand Duke, but was it really useful?

She herself was living in another person’s body, having defied a fate in which she might have been supposed to die.

How could anyone say that leaving a person who was sick and dying alone was following the natural order?

Even if she had been dropped into a place where no one in the entire world knew her, Eliana believed that being able to freely move her hands and feet and breathe while living was something precious.

She could not understand it at all.

“How can humans dare to interfere with the natural order decided by God?”

Eliana answered while trembling slightly.

No one knew.

Who could say that the Empress Consort might not recover after suffering like this?

Who could say that Vutar might not discover a way to save her?

Even if gods truly existed and those beings had decided a natural order for each person’s life, it was only natural that humans could not know it.

Then how many people could sit still and do nothing even while knowing that someone close to them was dying, simply because they wanted to follow the natural order?

Eliana could not understand such an attitude.

“That is true. Humans cannot dare to glimpse the natural order decided by God. But Lady, I know my condition better than anyone. The physician who came to see me before probably thought the same thing as I do, didn’t he?”

“……”

“Do not lose something truly important just because you are trying to hold on to something that is passing away. If you truly wish to do something for this person, I want to see you marry before my time comes to an end. As a mother, I do not want to be unable to attend my son’s wedding.”

“How about it?”

Her tone was gentle, as if she were soothing a young daughter.

Empress Consort Ilisiana gave her a beautiful smile.

Eliana lowered her head helplessly.

How can this happen?

In the end, what she wanted was death.

After living a life that had been like a muddy swamp, the most peaceful moment for her was death.

That was all she wanted.

Eliana could not bring herself to say that she would do as she wished.

Could she really readily say that she would do as the Empress Consort wished when she was being told to marry quickly for her son’s peace rather than to save herself?

At least, Eliana could not.

Seeing Eliana bow her head deeply and remain silent, Empress Consort Ilisiana let out a long breath.

If possible, she wanted to respect Eliana’s wish to have a long engagement.

She was even willing to respect her if she wanted to continue their engagement and later change her mind and break it off.

After all, hadn’t their relationship originally begun because of Ilisiana’s selfish desire to protect her son?

If Eliana said that although they could live as good friends, she could not live with Calis as husband and wife under the same roof, Ilisiana intended to accept that as well.

That was how she felt until she heard that the Lady had been summoned by the First Empress Consort and had nearly died.

Ilisiana knew that her son wanted the Crown Prince to ascend to the throne.

She knew that he wanted to help the person who had become like his only sibling in an Imperial Palace where he had practically no brothers or parents.

What mother would willingly send her son into Jin-hae, where he might lose his life?

But they also said that no parent could defeat their own child.

Empress Consort Ilisiana decided to support her son’s choice.

If the Crown Prince safely inherited the throne, her son’s safety would practically be guaranteed.

Having lived as the heir to the throne of a country, she was not foolish.

She could see many things and calculate many things.

But now, there was no time left.

If she wanted to meet the late Empress Reniela and Grand Duchess Elonie after death, she had to do everything she could while she was still alive to ensure the children’s safety.

“Please, instead of remaining engaged, marry him and let the Prince take the Winther family name.”

Eliana suddenly raised her head, doubting her own ears.

Empress Consort Ilisiana wore a gentle expression.

Eliana immediately understood what the Empress Consort meant.

A fiancée and a legitimate wife were certainly different.

An engagement could be broken at any time without being strange, and once it was broken, that was the end of it.

It would be better to marry and become a true married couple, supporting Caleon together and sharing the same goals.

Furthermore, if the Prince took the Winther family name, the three of them would be able to accomplish much more.

Eliana’s eyebrows twisted.

How could she say no after being persuaded this much?

And how could she possibly say that all the affection they had shown each other was fake, created through some kind of deal?

“……I will do as you wish.”