CH 22

***

[I should never go near the pond. I’m not going to die if I miss it anyway.]

During her stay in the temple, Lelia learned how to swim from her friends.

When she recalled that time, naturally a smile was drawn on her lips.

How hard she tried not to get caught being a woman. After swimming, she took all of her friends’ belongings and wrapped them in towels, and went back to her room.

It was a pleasant memory. A beautiful lake where the sun was setting, friends who screamed and laughed loudly.

Even thanks to them, she was able to almost master swimming.

“I don’t know if it’s the sea or the river, but at least I won’t get drowned in a lake or a pond.”

When she recalled that time, she began to miss her friends even more. Lelia deliberately diverted her mind to something else.

‘Because it’s late today… I will go to the hut tomorrow.’

Lelia looked at the sunset from the window and tried to shake off her depression.

The next morning.

Lelia washed and changed her clothes as soon as she opened her eyes. And she left the tower with a big bag on her shoulder.

She was a little lost because she couldn’t remember the detailed location, but she managed to find the cabin.

The wooden cabin was old but stylish. Lelia opened the door carefully and went inside.

‘It’s cleaner than I thought. Emperor Perseus must have been here.’

It looked like he had the servants brush off the dust.

Lelia began to look inside carefully so as not to leave any trace.

Inside the small cabin, someone’s sincere touch remained everywhere.

Small picture frames with beautiful scenery, hand-embroidered tablecloths, and cute decorations.

They were all made and touched by Elizabeth, who died.

‘…’

Lelia was caught in a strange mood in that space.

Until now, in her mind, Elizabeth was only a character in a novel.

No matter how she was reborn in this world, she still remembers her previous life.

However, when she entered this small and narrow space, her heart shook strangely.

She realized once again that she had someone to call “mother.”

Now that she had come here, she felt like she knew what Elizabeth was like.

Even in the story, she was a person with a warm heart and love enough to capture Perseus’s whole heart.

Lelia’s heart was filled to the brim.

This place felt as warm and safe as in her mother’s womb, which she could not remember.

[How would it feel to be held in my mother’s arms?]

Lelia first envisioned what it would have been like if her mother had not died.

Elizabeth must have protected her children more than her own life.

She must have loved her with all her heart and made all the beautiful things in the world known to her.

That was enough.

“…”

Lelia stood absent-mindedly, staring at some random space.

***

Only after a while did Lelia realize, she looked around cautiously.

“I found it!”

It was under the wooden floor next to a small dining table that she found the magically protected emergency food.

The vial seemed to contain nothing, but it had a label on the outside.

It was written on there what kind of food it was. This glass bottle, filled with mysterious magic, appeared as an emergency food that can be eaten at any time if it is broken. It was a glass bottle with special magic developed by Elizabeth herself. It was a tremendous magic that could preserve food as it was freshly prepared for up to a hundred years.

[It’s more amazing when I see it in person…]

She was a wild wizard and liked to invent a variety of magical goods.

This was one of her inventions.

Lelia put some glass bottles in her bag without even checking the labels for what food it was.

This was because Lelia was not in a situation where she couldn’t be picky and talk about her likes and dislikes.

“I’m glad.”

It was because of the relief that she had acquired food, but for some other reason, she laughed. It was an idea that anyone could hide something by creating a space under the wooden floor, but she wanted to add meaning to it.

Lelia also hid something important under the wooden floor of the small tower. Fortunately, no one seemed to have found Elizabeth’s food hidden away. There was no sign of anyone touching it.

“Emperor Perseus won’t know this place either.”

In the novel, Juliana had discovered things about magic in this hut.

“This food was originally found by Juliana, but…”

Lelia felt angered, but she immediately shook her head.

[Juliana has a lot to eat even without having these bottles. It’s okay if I steal them.]

She said that anyway as she had a problem with her survival.

Lelia left her hesitation behind and packed her bag.

[First, I’m going to make a living.]

She thought after getting food for herself. She wondered if there was something more useful, so she started looking around again.

“There must be something…”

She didn’t know in detail, but in the story, Juliana had found something special here. Emperor Perseus smiled at Juliana, who boasted that she found a treasure. Then he comes to think of Juliana, who was as warm hearted and pretty as his dead wife, as his real daughter.

“Let’s go home for today.”

Lelia left the hut feeling unsatisfied, expecting someone to come.

[I’ll come back in a few days and look in it more carefully.]

Lelia hurried back to the tower, hoping not to get caught by someone.

That night, she cried a little after eating emergency food prepared by her mother.

It was so delicious that she couldn’t hold back my tears.

***

It was a few days later.

Lelia sneaked into the cabin and hid herself behind a big tree.

[It’s Juliana…!]

Because she found Juliana in the distance.

To be honest, it was better to hide because there was nothing good that was going to happen if they were to face each other.

[I’m sure the twin brothers will be together.]

She didn’t want them to speak ill of her again. However, it was difficult to endure the instinct of curiosity, perhaps because she was still young. Lelia looked across the tree carefully.

“Cheer up, princess. Okay?”

“No, let’s go downtown. You will feel better if you wear a beautiful dress.’

“Or shall we go and see the princes?”

A smiling knight was giving Juliana a ride on his shoulder.

And Juliana’s maid comforted her gently.

[Something must have happened.]

Juliana, riding on the shoulders, looked rather dark. As if one had been seriously injured.

“Your Majesty is too much…. He refused Juliana’s hand. He is cold-hearted.”

“Yes.”

The maid and knight comforted Juliana. But Juliana muttered timidly, pouting her lips, “No… Father is a good person. He is just not comfortable…”

Lelia listened to them as they walked through the forest trail, and narrowed her eyes.

[Ah, I see. Is it that time now?]

Just before the doll incident in which Emperor Perseus becomes a complete fool for his daughter in the story.

Juliana tries to gather her courage and hold Perseus’s hand, but gets rejected in return.

Today seems to be the day of that incident.

From this day on, Juliana gets depressed when she stands before Perseus, and Perseus buys her a doll to comfort her.

It was right before the birth of the emperor who became a fool for his daughter.

[She must be very hurt…]

Lelia thought as she looked at Juliana’s back, who looked particularly depressed. The knight who carried her on his shoulders and the maid comforted her and tried their best, but Juliana’s drooping shoulders refused to straighten up.

At a younger age, Juliana grew up with her biological father, who was violent.

But her stepfather Perseus was different.

He was blunt but basically kind to everyone.

Young Juliana reaches out to him first. Maybe she knew about it. That there is a deep scar inside Perseus. Maybe that was the reason why she wanted to hold his hand.

[Well… you’ll smile after a few days. So, cheer up!]

Lelia offered words of consolation to Juliana, who was in tears.

Then she took a busy road back to the cabin. Unfortunately, Lelia did not make it to the cabin that day. It was because she found Emperor Perseus standing in front of the cabin at a distance.

[Why is everyone walking around so much today?]

Lelia grumbled to herself.

Emperor Perseus seemed to be in a very bad mood. He stood in front of the cabin for a long time and then went inside.

[Maybe he must be feeling guilty for hurting Juliana?]

Lelia wanted to tell him not to go there and rather go to a doll shop quickly, but she held it.

[I need to find something in the cabin soon…]