Born as the Hidden Daughter of a Villainess and the Male Lead

<Episode 74>

 

Meinhardt responded to my shock as if he wanted to add fuel to the fire.

“This fact is between the late Mariette and me. And……this is the inside story that only Archduke Heilian and his close associate Count Haldevard know.”

He hid it from the Emperor!

When I finally knew the truth, I chewed my lips so hard that they bled.

Considering the actions of the Emperor, who hated even his own son, Ashamed, so much because he was born with the dark attribute, it was clear to anyone who dared to ask that he would never have acknowledged those who were the wife and daughter of a dark spirit master as the Grand Duchess and Grand Princess of Heilian.

However, he hid the whole truth even from his closest friend, the Emperor…….

Why did he take Chastia and Allea as his wife and daughter?

Was it really because of love?

……Really.

Just because of that?¹I do think that this is too suspicious =⁠_⁠=

“……Ha!”

I let out a sharp laugh, lowered my head, and continued to think in a dazed state.

There was no mention of this much details about Chastia’s ex-husband in the novel.

And if what Meinhardt said was true, the reason Mariette persecuted and tried to harm Chastia and her daughter was…..no way.

“You wanted to know why Mariette tried to harm Grand Duchess Heilian and her daughter.”

“……Meinhardt.”

I slowly raised my head and called him in a trembling voice.

“The fact that Chastia Phrium’s deceased husband was a worshiper of Arkane corresponds to part of the message that the Spirit King of Wisdom left to Mariette.”

And finally, what I wanted to know so much…

“Do you understand, Edith?”

The villainess’s secret.

The other side of story about her evil deeds was revealed and placed before me.

“This was the only reason Mariette wanted to harm Chastia Phrium and her daughter.”

Meinhard said with a sad smile.

“They themselves did not know what kind of husband and father they had… but they are undeniably and clearly Arkane’s chess pieces.”

“Arkane’s……what do you mean by them being his chess pieces?”

Meinhardt responded to my blank expression with a small nod of his head.

“Arkane wants to destroy the world again. However, there were countless threats to all lives and the world in the past……As a result, he was bound by prohibition and was unable to move directly. So Arkane cleverly set up this plot by using his worshiper’s wife and child as puppets.”

The development of the original story came to my mind as I was caught in shock.

Mariette fell miserably, and Chastia officially married Roberick and took on the title of Archduchess Heilian.

The people of the Empire sincerely admired Chastia, saying that a woman from a commoner origin rose to a noble position just below the royal consort through the power of true love.

So, just like that, no matter where she looked, she wouldn’t find anyone hostile to her anymore…..

“The Spirit King of Wisdom moved Mariette to prevent the fate of the world from being distorted again by Arkane’s intervention.”

“Meinhardt……”

“This is the whole reason why Mariette ostracized Chastia and her daughter and tried so cruelly to get rid of them. Only for the survival of the world and to fulfill the mission given to her by the Spirit King of Wisdom.”

Ah, my whole body was shaking.

When I recalled the scene where all of Mariette’s fierce hostility, jealousy, and cruelty were revealed, I began to read everything from a completely different perspective than before.

From her love for Roberick and jealousy for Chastia.

She didn’t commit these evil acts because she was a villainess.

“To protect, then…….”

The Spirit King of Darkness used them to harm life and break the law of nature.

It was to protect the world.

“Why didn’t you disclose this fact?……Why!”

Mariette endured a mission so heavy that no one person could handle it alone, and headed down the path of being hated by everyone.

In the end, she gave birth to the child of the man who ignored and abandoned her.

……She died a cold death without regaining any honor.

“If only you had told my grandfather, no, dark spirits are ostracized in every country on the continent, if you had told the Emperor and the people of the Empire, then my mother wouldn’t have been misunderstood as an evil woman!”

My eyes became so hot that tears ran down my cheeks.

I cried out, holding on to Meinhardt, shaking with anger and sadness at having nowhere to vent.

“………I wanted to do that too.”

However, in the face of my screaming rebuke.

Meinhardt laughed as if he was crying and whispered sadly.

“I wanted to tell everyone the truth. I wanted to confess that the woman and her daughter whom Archduke Heilian took after abandoning his fiancee were the wife and blood relative of a dark spiritist.”

To that voice of desperate despair, I…

I had no choice but to stop venting my anger and look at him in bewilderment.

“But I am not permitted such arbitrariness.”

“Why..….?”

“There is something called balance in this world.”

My expression hardened at the word ‘balance’ that was said by his pained voice.

“The Spirit King of Wisdom gave Mariette a mission to protect the world, but the being that protects balance, ‘Neutrality,’ did not allow any further intervention.”

“What….…?”

What are you talking about?

Why did he stop you?

“Arkane is trying to destroy the world, so of course he is something that must be stopped at all costs, so why……!”

I cried out in frustration.

“Arkane is the spirit king of darkness, the very first of the primordial spirits.”

“……..”

“The being that protects neutrality, the absolute providence whose name is unknown, is said to give equal opportunities to both good and evil, but……The Spirit King of Wisdom said, what ‘Neutrality’ loves the most is Arkane, and he says he has no intention of abandoning the darkness of the universe.”

“I beg your pardon……?”

I was dumbfounded, I debated within my mind, then slowly muttered while holding the hem of Meinhardt’s clothes as if squeezing them.

“What on earth is neutrality and balance? Anyone can clearly see that he is taking the side of evil in the battle between good and evil!”

“……Edith.”

I was furious.

My heart was burning so much that I couldn’t calm it down.

Due to the absolute power that protects balance, Mariette was ostracized by everyone and died miserably.

And the reason why she set foot on that treacherous thorny path was solely to protect the world and the lives living there from the clutches of darkness.

She did that, yet..…… !

“After all her dedication and sacrifice, what’s left was…… The stigma of being a wicked woman and the hatred and condemnation of everyone in the world.”

In the end, I cried and mumbled helplessly.

“That’s really too much…….”

It’s so cruel.

Arkane, the Spirit King of Wisdom who entrusted such a mission to one person, Mariette, and a neutral being who watched this lowly battle and favored evil…….

Meinhardt didn’t say anything more and just held me as I sobbed breathlessly, occasionally gently patting my back.

I let my sorrow flow away, leaning into the arms of the only person with who knew the secret about Mariette and shared it with me.

With this, I learned the secret I was most curious about.

The truth was that my mother, Mariette Aydin Bastevan, was not a wicked woman.

In fact that she was someone who sacrificed her entire life and dignity to protect the world, shouldering a mission that was difficult for anyone to bear.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Meinhardt’s expression was quite complex.

Was it because there was a truth remaining inside him that he had not yet fully confessed?

He did his best to hide the fact that he had more to say, and hugged the little girl who was snuggling into his arms.

Because the time had not yet arrived to free the story of the child of destiny from secrecy.

 

***

 

Valerian Heine Ruairi, Crown Prince of the Roshan Empire, the owner of an eternal flame, suffered from a depression that he could not shake off.

This was because today, the ministers once again raised the discussion about replacing the successor to the Emperor.

The current Crown Prince was an ordinary human being who had not received any spirit blessings.

All previous Emperors of the Roshan Empire were Elementalists, and there was not a single exception in their succession.

Even though the Spirit King of Fire has disappeared, if an Emperor that wasn’t a spirit master ascended to the throne in such a precarious situation, the confusion would be further aggravated, so the wisest decision would be to give the title of Crown Prince to the second prince.

That was what they claimed.

Naturally, the Emperor expressed his anger and declared once again that the throne would be passed on to 1st Prince Valerian without any change, but the ministers did not back down.

Even Grand Duke Heilian was in a situation where he was contemplative and did not give support to the Emperor after the Grand Princess was caught up in the kidnapping.

The Emperor and the Crown Prince were truly in a corner.

“……Edith.”

Valerian ruffled his red hair and muttered the girl’s name.

Although he was still young, he had never seen such a lovely and pretty girl.

Although Allea was a rare beautiful girl, she was nothing compared to Edith.

He was happy with Edith Ronen Heilian had no doubt that she would spend her future life with him as his companion and that when she ascended the throne as his Empress, they would rule the Roshan Empire together.

He did…….

‘Ashamed!’

The image of the girl casually approaching and squeezing his hand, calling the name of that horrifying and terrible thing in a bright voice, still flashed before my eyes in an unforgettable way.²Whaat! I thought he was an innocent kid?

[To the Emperor of humans.]

[I, myself, reveal this to those who believe in their ruler.]

[You, Ashamed Haus Ruairi, the hidden second prince of the Roshan Empire who was denied of existence by the Emperor of the Roshan Empire with the lie of death and was imprisoned in an abandoned castle.]

[You are the true companion of Edith Ronen Hailian, the child I blessed.]

Was that the end of it?

The King of the Spirit of Life denied Valerian in front of everyone and declared Ashamed to be Edith’s companion.

His engagement partner was taken away from him right before his eyes.

Also, when it was revealed that he had not even received the blessing of a mere low-ranking spirit, his father was in trouble.

Meanwhile, Ashamed Haus Ruairi’s position was becoming stronger as the days went by, and he was receiving support from the high officials, including Archduke Hailian……… .

“This is how I ended up like that……….”

Could it be that everything will be taken away by Ashamed?

Valerian muttered in fear and his face scrunched up.

 

***

TL:

I don’t know how to fell about him, he is turning into a rotten egg, but let’s see…