Lady to Queen

She shed tears Literally, water flowed from her eyes.

“Ah…”

Only then did Patrizia realize that she was crying, and wiped away her tears. Nevertheless, tears continued to pour down her face. She was still in tears as she mumbled.

“So, sorry, Your Majesty.”

“…”

“However I… I just really cannot believe this.”

Patrizia murmured with an empty voice.

“How… how did you go through such a terrible thing…?”

“…”

“Like this… can you speak casually about it?”

Patrizia asked while almost crying out at the end. This couldn’t be. He went through something a human should never have to. Yet, he talked about that event much too calmly.

Why was he? Why was he so indifferent about this? Was her heart the only one that was hurting? Was she the only one shocked? Was she the only one… sad?

“SOB… ah…”

Patrizia now began to cry out loud. Patrizia wasn’t confident that she could stay composed after hearing about this. Patrizia was a normal and ordinary person. It was natural to hear these stories and get upset. Anyone other than her would also have responded in this manner.

“You… why…”

Why was she crying? Lucio did not understand. Although any ordinary person would see this as a natural reaction, he was unaware that it was natural.

This was because no one had cried for him. No one was miserable towards his tragedy. As someone who had undergone something a human should never have to, all he got in return was voices gossiping about his experience in the Imperial Palace, and not comfort or warm encouragement. So he did not know at all. So sad, angry, and crying about what he had been through…

“Why… are you crying?”

It was natural. It was something anyone would do. In the face of a tragedy, one must be angry, sad, and wail in tears. Nobody had taught him that.

“I am so… sad.”

Patrizia spoke while continuing to cry.

“At that young age… even an adult would not be able to handle something so difficult, and it is so sad that you are reliving the memories of that day.”

How many tears were shed before he could calmly talk about the memories from that day? How often did he have to tremble? How much did he blame and hurt himself? Just how much…?

“Why… why do you put on such an indifferent expression on your face?”

Was he sad? Alas, poor man. Patrizia finally wailed.

“Do not act like someone who is not affected…”

She would have been sad even if he said this while crying. But why didn’t he cry? Wasn’t he sad? Didn’t he think it was unfair? Didn’t he want to kill that woman?

She wanted to. She didn’t even like him or love him, but her heart so much for his misfortune and the person behind hurting him was not like a human, she felt so very bad for him.

But why was he… why did he not cry? Why did he not get angry?

Was he just so used to it? Were that pain, anger, and sadness already familiar?

Then how much did he have to hurt alone?

“Cry, Your Majesty.”

“…”

“It is something to cry about…”

“…”

“It is not a story to tell with such an indifferent expression…”

Patrizia finally knelt in front of him and cried. Lucio stared at the crying Patrizia that was kneeling before him.

Lucio did not understand Patrizia being like this. Why was she feeling so sad for him? She had said she didn’t love him. She must have blamed him at the very least for Rosemond.

“You are…”

He asked in a choked-up voice.

“Why are you… doing this much for me?”

“… what are you talking about?”

“You do not like me.”

He said this calmly.

“You hate me.”

“I do not like Your Majesty.”

Patrizia confessed this while still crying.

“I hate Your Majesty.”

“… then why?”

“Because I feel bad for you.”

Patrizia raised her eyes full of tears and looked at Lucio. Still, there wasn’t even a single emotion showing on his face. Patrizia felt even more pain when she saw it.

“Nevertheless, what you have been through is more terrifying than my hatred.”

“…”

“Your misfortune is unfortunate enough to be incomparable to how I hate you.”

“…”

“So I am crying. I have pity for Your Majesty.”

She stole her tears as she said this.

“I feel sorry for you, where you cannot even shed a tear in this situation.”

“Ah…”

At the end of Patrizia’s words, a crack began to form on Lucio’s face. Patrizia even looked at the crack with sad eyes. Oh, such a pitiful man he was. Poor man.

“Ugh…”

Lucio covered his face with both of his hands. No one cried for him. No one had allowed him to cry. Even Rosemond did not do that.

Only his Empress, who he had hurt and nailed down with words telling her not to love him, was doing so.

He cried. It seemed to be crying. Patrizia shed tears and looked at him with sad eyes. He cried while killing his sound at first, then cried out, finally making a noise.

“Ah… SOB”

“…”

Patrizia swallowed her cries and slowly approached him. She bit her lips and embraced him. The sound of his sobbing and the hot tears he shed rode the cold air and came to her. She also started crying again with a lowered volume.

For a long time, the garden was dying of suffocation from the sadness.

“Arrived, Lady Rosemond.”

At the end of the driver’s words, Rosemond got off the carriage with a cold glance. Her eyes caught a shabby castle with two people inside who she didn’t want to see. Rosemond laughed and played around with her feet in high heeled shoes.

“…”

On the way to the castle, Rosemond didn’t say a word. Looking at her from the side, Glara was anxious. Her owner was never this silent. Even when she was imprisoned in the prison last time, she had spoken in a relaxed manner. But this time, she said she was going to see her father, and without saying a single word, moved her feet forward with a stiff expression. Glara couldn’t erase the feeling that something was off.

“Lady Rosemond, you arrived.”

As soon as she entered the castle, the butler came to greet Rosemond with a gentle voice, but Rosemond went to look for the Darrow couple, without caring to listen. It was not difficult to find them. It was because, at the butler’s words, they also came out to greet her.

“Our Rose is here. It has been a long time.”

“Yes, honey. How many years has it been? Anyways, you went through a lot, traveling a long journey.”

Rosemond did not make any expression at these warm lines. Now it was only hatred that remained in her for them, so it didn’t matter whether they talked badly to her, or praised her. Besides, she would soon become the daughter of a Duke. Rosemond pulled something out of her bosom with an expressionless face and extended it to Baron Darrow.

“Sign this.”

“What is this, daughter?”

Daughter. It was disgusting. Had this man ever treated her as his daughter at any time?

“Oh my goodness, a waiver of paternity?”

Baroness Darrow shouldn’t have looked too shocked. She always wanted this. She wished for Rosemond to be gone. To just want to disappear from this world. That was why she had just stood there after what she had gone through? No, she didn’t even suffer but urged it on. That specific happening.

“With whose permission?!”

“You are my daughter.”

Rosemond looked tired in the face of intense opposition. She didn’t want to talk to these people for as long as possible. Her perfect plan was to come here and leave the castle in exactly 30 minutes. 10 minutes would have passed by now. Thus, the remaining time was 20 minutes. She opened her mouth to get the job done quickly.

“It would be beneficial for you to sign.”

Rosemond spoke in a cool voice.

“His Majesty already granted his permission. Instead of being some daughter of Baron Darrow, I will become the daughter of the Duke of Efreni. If both of you really care for me at all, just shut your mouths and sign. I want to leave here as soon as possible.”

Everything was true. Sadly it was. As soon as she could, she wanted to tear off the dirty Darrow name stuck behind her. It was obviously her first identity, but now it was just something she wanted to try to get rid of it.

“How can you say such words…?”

The Baroness made an expression as if she was hurt. It was so ill-fitting, that Rosemond couldn’t even laugh. To show such a human reaction, she was too disgusted with this house.

“Now put away the mask, Baroness. It’s disgusting.”

“You…”

“Honey, stop it. Rose, stop.”

Baron Darrow intervened as if he couldn’t watch anymore, but even that made Rosemond feel disgusted. Where did he think he was to pretend to be her father?

“You stop it. Do you have the right to call my name?”

“Rose…”

“I said don’t call for me.”

Rosemond warned with monstrous eyes. She kept feeling nauseous since earlier. Rosemond spoke coldly, ignoring the bile that was rising.

“I think you are mistaken about something, but this is not your option. Both of you just have to accept it.”

Like she had done in the past, they should do the same. Even so, they had nothing to lose, right?

“So shut up and sign. I want to get out of this damn castle as soon as possible.”

“…”

The expressions of both Baron and Baroness Darrow hardened. The Baroness even seemed to have some annoyance on her face. The Baron seemed to be thinking about something but soon opened his mouth.

“Baby.”

The two of them cried for a long time and at some point, did not cry any longer. Not aware of her swollen face from all that crying, Patrizia sat side by side with Lucio. Both seemed exhausted due to the loss of too much moisture. Of the two, who kept guarding each others’ sides for a long time, Patrizia was the first to open her mouth.

“Your Majesty.”

“… yes.”

“I have a question.”

“Ask.”

Patrizia looked at Lucio and asked.

“You having loved Rosemond, and treating her as so special…”

“…”

“What you talked about… is it related?”

“… yes.”

She knew it. Patrizia confirmed that her predictions were correct, and then closed her eyes.

It had been strange from the beginning. It wasn’t just affection or favor, and she had always thought it was weird. What was the reason, because his attitude was always unnatural as if he treated Rosemond like his alter-ego… she had wondered. With this kind of reason, she understood. Lucio spoke.

“She is a woman with as many stories as me.”

“…”

After hearing that, Patrizia was forced to laugh internally. The main characters of the story were the three of them, and all three of them had stories. One person’s family was beheaded and she was reincarnated. One man killed his mother with his own hands due to the schemes of his crazy stepmother. What was the other one? Patrizia did not feel good about it.

“The reason I cannot leave her… is because of that.”

“… does she have similar pain to Your Majesty?”

“Well.”

He gave out an ambiguous answer.

“Is not the size of pain originally subjective?”

That was agreeable. Nevertheless, objective pain like Lucio’s case seemed to exist. Patrizia quietly swallowed her dry saliva.

“Her pain is objective.”

Like his.

Another story began.