Chapter 123
Lionel froze on the spot for a moment.
“That…”
Before he knew it, he was looking at the back of Ruth, who was walking far away with Cassis, and then wiped his face.
“Are you going to be okay?”
Evelia smiled faintly.
“I don’t know.”
“What….”
“This is my first time doing something like this, so I don’t know how Ruth will take it. But it’s something you can’t hide for the rest of your life, I think it’s right to let Ruth know.”
Lionel still had a complex face.
“Uncle, Mom!”
Ruth, who had been walking, realized that the two were not following, turned around and gestured. Evelia, who saw that, quietly urged.
“Come on, I’ve already talked to Cassis.”
“I am….”
Lionel let out all the breath he had been holding.
“To be honest, I’m scared.”
“Are you afraid Ruth will resent you?”
“…….”
“Cassis said the same thing.”
Evelia continued speaking calmly.
“I can’t help it if Ruth resents you. But you can’t hide the truth your whole life just because you’re afraid of resentment.”
“……”
“Isn’t it our job as adults to tell Ruth the whole truth and wait for him to accept reality?”
Evelia recalled the contents of the now faded original novel ‘Aria of Light’. Adult Ruth, who belatedly found out the whole truth and resented Cassis.
Ruth, who lost both Cassis and Lionel, had no time to acknowledge and accept reality. Even if he accepted it, there were no two people who could accept his complaints.
But it’s different now. Aren’t Cassis and Lionel alive to comfort Ruth when he cries and listen to him when he complains?
So it was right to correct it before it was too late. At least Evelia thought so.
“Miss Julia would hope so.”
Lionel lifted his lowered head. Evelia smiled as she saw him twist his face like a child at the name ‘Julia’.
“Maybe she named the child Lucius because she wanted Ruth to know who his father was? I heard that before leaving for the Kingdom of Cesia, you decided to name the baby in the womb Lucia if it was a girl, and Lucius if it was a boy.”
“… I did.”
Lionel clenched his fists as he looked at Ruth, who was still looking this way and waving both hands. Then he spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“Let’s go.”
*****
Ruth, who came to Lionel’s private living room, rolled his eyes at the adults.
This was because, while they had been happy about returning to the Empire just a little while ago, the mood among the three was now serious.
On the other hand, Evelia noticed Ruth in her own way.
‘How should I bring this story up?’
The story itself was so shocking that no matter how I told it, Ruth would be shocked. Still, I wanted to talk to the child in a way that would cause as little shock as possible.
After much thought, she decided to start with the story that Ruth had been most curious about. She carefully held the child’s hand and opened her mouth.
“Ruth, have you ever wondered who your biological mother was who gave birth to you?”
Ruth was startled by the word ‘real mother’ and shook his head.
“No! I’m okay! I just need a mom!”
“It’s okay to tell the truth. No matter what answer you give, Mom will be by Ruth’s side.”
Ruth pursed his lips and whispered quietly.
“Actually… I was a little curious.”
“I see. I bet it was. From now on, I’m going to tell you about Ruth’s biological mother, who gave birth to you. Do you want to listen?”
Ruth glanced at Cassis. Cassis, who was clenching his teeth, nodded. Only then did the child say yes.
“Yes.”
“Ruth, you remember Aunt Julia, right?”
“Yes! She’s as pretty as an angel!”
Ruth, who was answering excitedly, suddenly felt something strange and lowered his voice to ask.
“But why Aunt Julia?”
Evelia took a deep breath and then answered.
“Actually, Aunt Julia is your biological mother who gave birth to you.”
“Yes?”
Ruth’s eyes widened.
“Aunt Julia is my mother? But…”
The child was slurring his words and shaking his head hard.
“Aunt Julia is father’s older sister, right?”
“Yes. And actually, your dad is not your biological dad, but your uncle.”
Ruth’s eyes shook greatly. The child’s face was colored with surprise, betrayal, and other indefinable emotions.
Evelia held Ruth’s hand a little tighter.
“Your mother, Julia, gave birth to you before she was married. Your father decided to become your father to protect you and your older sister, Julia.”
Ruth made an unknown face. Well, it was a difficult story for a child to understand.
“It’s hard to understand, isn’t it? When Ruth gets a little older, you will understand your father’s feelings. It’s a complex story about adults. It’s easier for you to get along in society if you’re your father’s son than if you’re Aunt Julia’s son.”
“……”
“But Ruth. Just remember this one thing. Father thinks of you like his own son. He loves you a lot too.”
“…….”
“And no matter what happens, you are me and Cassis’ son.”
Ruth was silent for a while. The child lowered his head and then fell into Evelia’s arms. Evelia held the child tightly and patted him.
How long has it been like that? Ruth raised his head and looked at Cassis.
“Do you really love me very much, father?”
“Yes.”
Cassis answered in a deep voice.
“And I always thought of you as my son.”
Ruth once again buried his face in Evelia’s arms. After another moment of silence, the child asked cautiously.
“Then where is my biological father?”
Evelia looked at Lionel. Ruth followed her and looked at Lionel and slowly closed his eyes.
“No way…”
“Yes. His Majesty Lionel is your biological father.”
“……!”
Ruth stuttered, looking even more confused than before.
“How, how….”
Evelia briefly explained the story of Lionel and Julia.
The story goes that the two met at the Imperial Academy, loved each other passionately and had a child, Ruth, and that Lionel headed to the Kingdom of Cesia to get permission to marry Julia, but was unable to return due to opposition.
“Lionel says he loves Aunt Julia and you very, very much. Did you hear why his hair turned white?”
“He said because something sad happened.”
“Yes. When he heard that Aunt Julia had gone to heaven, he was so sad that his hair turned white.”
“But why didn’t you come until now?”
Evelia placed her forehead against Ruth’s and whispered.
“Lionel, he didn’t know that Ruth was born healthy. Not long ago, after Ruth awakened the power of Celsion, he found out that Ruth was alive and came to visit us.”
“……”
“Ruth.”
Evelia lightly patted Ruth’s butt.
“Why don’t you go see His Majesty Lionel?”
“Ugh.”
Ruth scoffed, then got up and turned to Lionel. Lionel, who had barely been able to hold back tears until then, hugged the child tightly and sobbed.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I couldn’t come see you a long time ago because I’m a terrible father.”
Ruth just blinked, confused by everything. Then, he carefully hugged Lionel’s neck and buried his face in the crook of his neck.
For a while, only Lionel’s cries echoed in the luxurious drawing room.
*****
After Lionel calmed down, Ruth came back to Evelia’s side. The child still looked confused.
Evelia was cautious. Because I still have something left to say to the child.
“Ruth.”
“… Yes.”
“Mommy wanted to ask you one more thing.”
Instead of answering, Ruth looked up at Evelia. Evelia asked, holding back the emotions rising inside her.
“As the son of His Majesty Lionel, you can stay here as the royal family of Cesia.”
“……!”
“Of course, you can stay with the Adelhard family like you do now, as the son of your mother and father.”
Evelia held Ruth’s hands. She said she respects whatever choice Ruth makes. However, I couldn’t help but feel nervous, and my hands were shaking.
“We want to give Ruth a choice.”
Ruth looked at the three people in turn. After hesitating for a while, the child opened his mouth.
“I am….”
Everyone was surprised by the words that came out of Ruth’s mouth.
*****
The day of returning to the Empire. Evelia watched the servants working hard to load the carriage and then looked up at the sky.
‘The seasons are slowly changing.’
It was completely winter when I left the Empire. The trip, which I thought would be short, ended up being longer than expected, and the season was already transitioning from winter to spring. The wind blowing was also quite warm.
Perhaps when we return to the Empire, the season will be fully spring.
Spring, the season when everything starts again, the season when she met Ruth and Cassis. It’s already been almost a year since I became Evelia.
‘Time flies.’
A lot has changed in just one year. She, who was afraid of forming deep relationships with people, met Cassis and Ruth and formed a precious family.
Cassis, who used to not show his emotions, has now become quite honest about his feelings. He became quite close to Ruth, whom he had kept a distance from, and was not as shaken as before when we talked about Julia, whom he used to consider a liability.
Ruth…
“Mom!”
Aí gente, que lindo, adorei a abordagem dela, se eu fosse ela não saberia como começar TT