―――She had red hair, just like the legendary Great Saintess, and was incredibly beautiful.
She was the mother of the heir to the leading ducal family.
In other words, my mother was a high-ranking saintess, chosen to be the wife of the highest-ranking duke.
From the moment I was born, I was designated as the heir to the throne.
Because of this, I was given many tutors from a young age and had the opportunity to learn various things.
The most emphasis was placed on learning about the saintesses.
I was repeatedly taught from a young age that the royal family and the nobility existed to protect the saintesses.
I was taught that the saintesses were the foundation of the country and that the country could only function by protecting them.
The most time was spent learning about the Great Saintess from 300 years ago.
The only Great Saintess who successfully sealed the Demon King.
The beautiful and noble Great Saintess who accomplished what no one else could.
It was said that her hair was the same red as dawn, and her eyes were the same gold as the symbol of abundance, wheat.
Like many high-ranking noble families, my family also had a portrait of the Great Saintess.
In the portrait, the Great Saintess with her flowing red hair and golden eyes, staring defiantly, was truly beautiful.
That's why... I was very proud that my mother, who had the same red hair as the Great Saintess, was a beautiful person.
Like many high-ranking nobles, I was raised by a nurse.
As a child, I was not allowed to dine with my parents, and I rarely saw my mother.
Sometimes, I would accidentally run into my mother in the hallway or the garden, but she would pass by as if she didn't see me.
So, whenever such a time came, I would always stare at her until she was out of sight, burning the redness and beauty of her hair into my memory.
On my fifth birthday, I was allowed to join my parents for dinner for the first time.
When asked what I wished for as a birthday gift, I innocently replied that I wanted a younger brother.
I was envious of the scene where Prince Savis II, who was my age, was talking affectionately with the first prince.
However, upon hearing my words, my mother raised her eyebrows in displeasure.
"What a ridiculous thing to say."
That's what my mother said.
"I gave birth to you, Cyril, for the sake of the Sutherland family, which is merely a ducal family. You're not even royalty, so why would you need a spare? If anything happened to you, it would be better if this insignificant ducal family just collapsed."
Then, my mother wiped her mouth with a napkin and threw it rudely on the table.
"You and your family use the saintesses and then discard them. If a woman marries into the royal family, only male children are born. My red hair will never be passed on to anyone and will simply disappear. Look at you, Cyril. Your dirty gray hair. You haven't inherited anything from me. Even if you wanted a sibling, the next one born would also have dirty hair. Do you really need such a thing?"
This was the first time I had a conversation with my mother beyond a greeting.
Until then, I had believed that my mother loved me and was a beautiful and kind person.
I was stunned and couldn't respond to her sudden, harsh words.
My mother looked at me with the same disdainful eyes she would use to look at something inferior.
"Can't you even respond? Clearly, you haven't been properly educated, even in a ducal family. Oh, why did I have to be your mother! I am the strongest saintess, and I should have been the queen!"
With that, my mother stood up and left the dining room.
The table was left with a mountain of untouched food.
At the time, I didn't fully understand what had happened, but I knew that my words had angered my mother, so I looked at my father pleadingly.
My father, with a blank expression, looked at me and said,
"Cyril, that was your mistake. Be sure to apologize later. And at least learn enough to avoid making such ignorant statements."
I felt embarrassed and could only look down.
I was very embarrassed.
So, I hadn't learned enough and didn't even have common sense.
I was deeply embarrassed to realize that I had believed the tutors' words, such as "What an intelligent child" and "I've never seen a child who can respond so well at the age of five," without realizing that they were just flattering the heir of a ducal family.
... In the end, I couldn't get permission to meet my mother and apologize.
That night, the butler visited me and apologized with a look of regret.
"I'm sorry, it was my fault. I made a judgment that it was too early and hadn't explained the relationship between His Majesty the King, Duke Sutherland, and the saintesses."
The butler was competent, so there was a reason for the delay in the explanation, which I inferred was because it was difficult to explain to me.
The butler explained.
The facts that everyone knew, the facts that only the ducal family knew, and the emotions that could be inferred from my mother.
―――Although it had never been made public, the butler explained that my mother was the most powerful saintess of her time.
In other words, she should have been the queen, if we were to think straightforwardly.
However, there was an unwritten rule that male members of the royal family and their bloodline had to marry before the age of 30.
On the other hand, a saintess could not marry until the age of 17.
Therefore, my mother, who was 15 at the time, could not become the queen to a king who was 28.
Even if they waited until my mother turned 17, the king would be 30.
So, the church and the king's loyal subjects recommended a saintess with the next highest power to be the queen.
The second most powerful saintess was my mother's older sister.
The loyal subjects, who were dedicated to maintaining the king's prestige, insisted that the queen must be the most powerful saintess.
They gave my mother the second position and chose her sister as the leading saintess and the queen.
This was an unbearable act for my mother, who was proud and had the strength to match.
The fact that my father, the only royal prince, became her husband and she became the second highest-ranking lady in the country did not console her at all.
My mother never took pride in being the wife of the leading duke and was always dissatisfied with being undervalued.
And my father, who was a member of the royal family, felt inferior to her.
My father, who was a member of the royal family, had studied about the saintesses more strictly than I did.
He was taught that the saintesses were the most revered and should be treated with the utmost respect.
The fact that he had the most powerful saintess, who should have been the queen, by his side made him feel inferior and caused him pain.
To my mother, my father was not a husband but a shield to protect her, and my father accepted this view.
―――The butler explained this to me.
After hearing the story, I felt ashamed of how blind I had been.
I shouldn't have treated my mother as a mother.
She was a saintess, and I should have revered and served her.
The fact that she had given birth to me was meaningless to her, and I shouldn't have clung to or shown the relationship of mother and child.
After understanding our true relationship, I made every effort to treat the saintess who lived in my house with proper etiquette.
I paid meticulous attention to maintaining a polite attitude and a courteous tone.
Thanks to my efforts, she never became angry with me after that day.
This fact allowed me to feel reassured that I was keeping the saintess's heart at peace.
However, emotions are not so easily controlled, and there were times when my heart ached when I saw affectionate mother-child scenes or when I overheard casual conversations between mother and child.