She returned to the kingdom after a long time.
It was then that she finally learned the truth that had been hidden from her alone.
The alliance had been a lie from the very beginning.
They had used her through a political marriage alliance to deceive Delight.
Because of this, the Soren Kingdom was able to avoid suspicion from Promian and secretly collaborate with Ilnord to produce counterfeit magic stones in the mines.
“When did something like this exist in the mines?”
Moreover, beneath the mine, there was even a laboratory dedicated to creating counterfeit magic stones.
“I wasn’t helping him; I was only adding to his burden.”
All the time she had spent was brutally shattered.
At that moment, she realized something else.
“Am I really pregnant? Of all times… No, baby, I’m not talking to you. I don’t hate you. Mommy just made a mistake with her words. I won’t do it again.”
When she realized that there was a child of her and its growing inside her, she was overwhelmed.
For a fleeting moment, she couldn’t be happy and instead felt shocked.
For that brief moment, she couldn’t wholeheartedly welcome the child’s existence.
Realizing this, she felt immense guilt toward the child.
“I’m truly happy you’ve come to me. I mean it. Mommy will do anything for you.”
She made a firm promise to the child and resolved herself.
She couldn’t give birth to the child in the kingdom.
She had to leave.
Her heart longed to return to the place where he was, the place she had missed so deeply.
But she couldn’t reveal to him what she had seen in the kingdom.
She feared that the betrayal of the kingdom would negatively impact the child she was about to bring into the world.
So, she told him a lie.
She claimed she didn’t have much time left to live, that she wouldn’t survive childbirth.
She asked him to accept the child as his own since it would be fully his child after she was gone.
Delight accepted it—not her, but the child that would soon be born.
And that’s how Ollia came into the world.
“Daddy shouldn’t hate you. If only I weren’t your mother, you would surely be loved.”
If it meant protecting this child, she didn’t care what happened to herself.
“If I die, maybe that would be better for the child.”
No matter how much she thought about it, that seemed like the best option.
So she faked her own death and left. She never intended to return.
Instead, she completely changed her identity and headed to a village near the border where Soren and Ilnord met.
She kept a watchful eye on the situation because she was worried about the counterfeit magic stones she had seen in the kingdom.
She eventually discovered the people who had been used for experiments and those who had managed to escape.
She helped those who had fled and, through them, gathered information.
At first, the information she collected pertained to the results of the counterfeit magic stone experiments and how they were being used.
Though it wasn’t useful at the moment, she stored all the information she gathered.
Then one day, by chance, she intercepted a secret letter.
Inside that letter, there was information related to Delight.
– There is a possibility that one of the experimental subjects, who had been an unidentified mage in the past, was the Emperor of Promian.
If this is true, then the Emperor of Promian must be suffering from mana rampage. It could be used as a weakness, so it must be confirmed. –
This was a secret letter bound for the Soren Kingdom.
The moment Blueny read the letter, memories of her time with him flashed chaotically through her mind.
Delight had always drawn a clear line and had kept many things hidden from her.
“I had no idea.”
Even though they had lived together for quite some time.
She had no clue that he was going through something like this or that he was suffering from mana rampage.
All she had noticed was that there were times when his health didn’t seem right.
At that time, she had tried to check on Delight to see if he was alright, but he had been extremely reluctant to let her in.
She assumed it was because he didn’t want to show her any signs of weakness.
So, out of stubbornness, she stopped paying attention.
‘Was that the sign of a mana rampage?’
It was only much later that she realized the pain he had endured alone.
***
“If I had known back then… I would have done everything I could to find a cure.”
At the very least, she would have stayed by his side, Blueny thought, filled with regret.
“Even if I hadn’t returned, the King of Soren would have found another excuse to come. Their goal was always Delight.”
From what Blueny had explained, it was easy to piece together the situation.
‘I already know how they conduct their experiments.’
Their experiments had been going on for a long time. Over time, they had built a meticulous system and classified the test subjects into ranks.
If the test subject was of critical importance, they would keep detailed records of their identity, abilities, and more.
However, if the subject was just someone captured to collect as many samples as possible, only simple records were kept.
At that time, it was unlikely that Delight had been considered an important test subject.
That’s why there were no records of him.
Most likely, since Delight wasn’t considered a crucial test subject back then, no record of him was kept.
That’s why no one had known that Delight, who would later become the Emperor of Promian, had once been used as an experimental subject.
It was unclear how, but somehow, they had recently become aware of this fact.
However, since they didn’t have definitive proof, they wanted to check it for themselves.
“There’s a magical device that stimulates the symptoms of mana rampage. The King of Soren is likely planning to use it to check Delight’s condition. We must stop it.”
“Is the powder Her Majesty possesses the key to stopping it?”
“That’s right.”
She examined the powder the woman showed her.
“It’s a stabilizer made in Ilnord, isn’t it?”
Blueny nodded at her question.
“I got it from someone who fled after stealing it. It’s not a cure, but if he takes it, it should prevent a rampage for about a month.”
It was as she had expected.
“That thing is definitely tainted. It’s best not to use it.”
It was a drug made to be used on disposable experimental subjects.
There was no way it had been made with proper ingredients.
“But we have no other option but this medicine.”
It was clear that this concern was also troubling Blueny. But from her point of view, the stabilizer was the best solution she had.
“Dad is fine right now. He won’t go on a rampage so easily.”
After all, he had been consistently taking Undilarod.
He had likely built some resistance to the effects of the rampage.
“Dad will never go on a rampage. You don’t have to worry!”
With a bright smile, I spoke with absolute confidence.
Jayren’s plan would fail. And he wouldn’t be able to take Blueny away either.
“So, please don’t leave, Empress.”
“Huh?”
“Once this is all over, let’s live together here.”
“…You want to live with me?”
Her eyes trembled as she asked.
“Of course!”
“You don’t hate me?”
“No, I’m happy to see you even now.”
I was relieved that she was alive and hadn’t died.
The courage she must have mustered to make it back to this point was admirable.
I didn’t want to lose someone like her.
“Just trust me!”
They had me, so everything would work out just fine.
***
In truth, Blueny had something she was still hiding from Violyana.
“When this is all over, I won’t be able to stay here as if nothing happened.”
Before she left, she had intentionally revealed her true identity and leaked several pieces of information.
Among that information was the fact that she knew everything, including the crimes committed by the Soren Kingdom.
Once Delight learned everything, he wouldn’t forgive her for keeping secrets all this time.
Her goal was to put an end to all the problems the kingdom had created, along with Jayren.
“I’m glad I came back one last time.”
Thanks to that, she received an unexpected gift.
Unlike the past, Blueny, who had no memories, had nothing to be wary of.
Because of that, she was able to do things with Delight that she hadn’t been able to do before.
But that wasn’t all. She also got to spend unexpected, special moments with her daughter.
“It was overwhelmingly happy.”
Now, she felt at peace. It seemed like she could end everything without any regrets.
Her heart settled, she returned to her room.
“Blueny.”
Jayren had come to see her.
“Looks like you went somewhere.”
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“Big brother has a favor to ask you. Can you help me?”
As expected, he was trying to use her, just as he always had when she had no memories.
“Of course. If it’s a request from my big brother.”
For the first time, she was strangely glad that his actions were so predictable.
She decided to play along with his act.
