The Empress Returns - Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Translator: Lunarise

Editor: Larkspur

Lustian hugged her to the point where it was as if Viola’s body would shatter. She could feel his deep sigh on the top of her head. He kissed her on the lips. Just then, she regained her senses.

“Wendy! Wendy…. I’ll have to check on her.”

“She’s praying right now.”

“No. I must also go.”

Viola got up. But this was not the time for this. Lustian could not help but follow her, but he did not look good.

When they entered the temple, they smelled an aromatic scent. While her heart was ripping apart, Viola went to the altar. Wendy was now lying down in the place where the previous emperor was. The previous empress next to her held Wendy’s hand, praying for her recovery.

The usually adorably talkative girl was silent. Her heart was aching. Looking at the little one who looked as though she were dead, drove her insane. Viola bit her lip. She smelled blood, perhaps because she bit the inside of her mouth.

“…Wendy….”

“She will be alright. She won’t get worse. Wait for a week, Viola….”

Lustian tried to comfort her, but it didn’t work. She remembered the whispering from God in her dream. There were limits to how much she could hold on. She now had to make a decision.

Viola kissed Wendy’s forehead and ran her hands through her hair. She felt a sting at the tip of her nose and her eyes felt hot, but she had to hold back the tears. Breaking through the lump of her throat, she started speaking.

“My daughter… Wendy, your mother will save you. Just wait. I will make sure you wake up… Just hold on a little longer.”

Viola kissed Wendy’s frail hand and got up. Lustian and the previous empress looked at her.

‘Do not cry. She will not lose. And don’t give up. Even if you part, it won’t be so sad.’

As soon as Viola clenched her fists, Lustian made a pained expression, realizing what that meant.

“No! You mustn’t! Viola!”

Lustian held Viola’s body and screamed. But he could not hold back any longer. Using her child’s life as a pawn for her fruitless act of defiance would cause her to no longer exist. A situation where the lives of the children outside of the castle were at stake made it so that she couldn’t stand and do nothing.

Knowing he was afraid to lose her, Viola caressed Lustian’s face. With a solemn smile, she whispered to him lovingly, “Lune… Please come to save me. Even if I become a flower once again, I will wait for you.”

♛

She could hear Lustian’s angry voice in her head. His eyes were trembling in confusion. He could feel a bitter taste in his mouth and the inside of his throat was stinging. Since she knew his desperation better than anybody else, her heart was hurting.

“I will not allow it.”

“Lune….”

“If I was intending to let you go so easily, I would not have prepared for this war. I will not accept this.”

“——”

He muttered that in a low voice. Then, he grabbed both her arms and looked into her eyes. His eyes were burning, they were bloodshot as if they were about to explode.

“I told you to not even dream of it. It’s going to be a week. Do you think Wendy won’t last a week?”

“…No. She will. Our Wendy is a strong child.”

“Then that is the end of it. I don’t want to hear any more of it.”

He ruffled up his hair roughly. As if he heard the last of it, he let go of her hand and turned around. His back twitched. A deep sigh came from Viola’s mouth. Then, she hugged her softly. There was a heavy silence that followed. Viola wanted to convince him in any way possible.

“Lune… I mean, Your Highness. Just like how Wendy is a precious child to us, other parents have their own children that are just as precious to them. They have too little power for their desperation to reach God. Yes. Since Wendy is royalty, she will be able to hold on for a week. With the flower of Judith, the prayers of the chambermaids, and even the healing stone… we have the luxury to wait. But what about the children of the subjects? Can you guarantee that they will last a week?”

“——”

Yes. It was the truth. Wendy could last as long as time would allow since she was royalty. However, the same did not apply to the other children. Lustian winning the war still would not guarantee their survival.

At the end of the day, he had to accept that this negotiation would end if he faced God himself.

“In a situation where it is uncertain if the war would end in a day, we need more time to know for sure. If they died in the meantime, I would fall into the sort of guilt I could not handle.”

“Must you fixate on this? Do you think I don’t know this? I am Emperor of this land. Do you not think I’d want to protect my own subjects as the emperor? If this sort of tragedy happened, I absolutely intend to repay them in full.”

Holding the sick child, she thought back to the wailing women.

“…There is not a single parent that would want a repayment after losing their children.”

“——”

Since he was the emperor who had to protect thousands of subjects before he was the husband of a woman, she knew full well that he had a lot on his mind. Knowing he had to prepare for this war from eight years ago, she could feel it.

“I am Empress of this land. They are no different from me as mothers looking after their children.”

“Viola…!”

Lustian turned around and looked at her. Viola tried to force herself to maintain a calm demeanour. Using a tone she had always used in front of him, she conveyed how she felt.