“Yes, of course.”
Helen accepted Ruth’s request as if she had been waiting for it, shining with confidence that did not wane even though it must have been sudden from her perspective. I felt envious of that assertiveness, so unlike myself.
“Your Majesty.”
Before continuing, she took a moment to catch her breath and then called out to Ruth firmly. Even though I had a rough idea of what story was to follow, the anticipation still made me instinctively tense up.
“What do I appear to be to you?”
“That’s a rather ambiguous question, but if I must answer, you seem to be the legitimate daughter of the Abyss family.”
“Correct. I am the legitimate daughter. A woman. Even though I carry the blood of the legitimate line, without any other kin to continue the family, I am a woman who dares not even glance at that high position.”
“…I’m listening, continue.”
Upon noticing Ruth’s slightly surprised reaction to Helen’s firm tone, Ruth’s expression became colder as he listened on.
It was as if she was physically manifesting her empathy towards the injustice Helen felt. After all, even someone like me who has never been in such a position clenched my fists involuntarily at the story, and for Ruth, the feeling must have been even stronger.
Encouraged by Ruth’s stance, Helen spoke with a voice that grew slightly louder, pouring out her feelings.
“If I just sit here and do nothing, Abyss will surely fall into the hands of my cousin, my brother. And if Abyss falls into the hands of that debauched libertine, it’s obvious our family will meet its doom.”
“Ah, you’re talking about Sir Hotholon. I too have heard the rumors about that man. Quite the troublemaker. Definitely not the type to be the head of a household.”
“Yes, you’re right. But they won’t stop at just ruining Abyss; they’ll deem me, the family’s enemy daughter, as a risk and expel me from this mansion. And expelling a lady from the family mansion is easier than breathing, thanks to the convenient method of marriage.”
“I agree. If the position of the head of Abyss passes to Sir Hotholon, I can see how your position would become precarious. However, what I want to ask is this. Why should I get involved in your affairs?”
Ruth, who had been nodding along to her slow speech without missing a beat, suddenly asked this question. With an overly rational look in her eyes and flicking her long fingers, Ruth demanded to get straight to the point, reminiscent of a perennial snow that harbored not even a hint of warmth.
If it were me, faced with her demeanor, I wouldn’t have been able to say a word and just licked my lips. How could one possibly muster the courage against such an overwhelming sense of pressure, subtly exuded?
I glanced at Ruth, who was sitting beside me and watching Helen, and shivered. I muttered thanks several times that this pressure wasn’t directed at me.
It was the moment I curled my legs a little more inside my dress to drive away the chill that touched my skin. Ruth, who had been silently observing Helen deep in thought, added quietly with an indifferent smile that was almost brutal on her lips.
“Even if I know all about this, I can just close my eyes. I can just ignore it and move on. I have enough things to worry about already, why should I have to take responsibility for your grim future too?”
Uh… Ah…
Ruth’s attitude, so utterly calm, nearly made me forget that he had decided to join hands with Helen and me. That dangerously, Ruth was pushing Helen to the edge of the cliff, proceeding with his test.
While I was suppressing the sudden confusion that arose, Helen, after a moment of silence at his piercing question, began to speak calmly.
“I will offer you the Abyss family.”
“What did you say just now?”
“The Abyss family, I said I would offer it to His Majesty.”
“Hmm. Do you know what it means for a family to be owned by the Emperor?”
“Yes. I understand clearly. It means that, for life, no, as long as this family fulfills its duty, we will never betray His Majesty and will support him forever.”
“Yes. And as Young Lady may know, unlike another ducal family, the Obelton, which belonged to the Emperor’s faction, Abyss wasn’t blindly loyal to His Majesty. As a result, Abyss has always been the Emperor’s strongest and most dangerous weapon. But are you saying now that Abyss will abandon its unique characteristics and pursue your own benefit?”
In response to Ruth’s counter-question, Helen slowly lowered and then raised her eyelids in understanding, moistened her red lower lip with her tongue, and then placed her hand in the middle of her chest before replying with a sincere voice,
“Abyss has positioned itself as a harmful presence to the Imperial family while being part of the Emperor’s faction for hundreds of years through such characteristics. That’s why the tragedy 11 years ago happened. I want to break this vicious cycle and help Abyss step down from its neutral position to become a family that serves the Royal family.”
“However, anyone can speak well. If ruling the world were about speaking, I would have unified the continent and more. How can I believe that all the promises you have just made will be fulfilled?”
“One year.”
Showing her well-maintained index finger that had no calluses anywhere, Helen stated a precise period with steady eyes.
“Give me a position that can replace my ailing father for one year. I will prove my abilities to His Majesty to the fullest.”
“So this is what you wanted from me.”
“But this is not all, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm?”
Ruth looked at me with raised eyebrows and tilted his head, pretending not to know what I had already told him. I barely managed to suppress a laugh at his shameless behavior.
Anyway, he’s stubborn in weird ways.
As if realizing that I was thinking about him, Ruth suddenly looked at me and slightly lifted the corners of his mouth. Then he soon turned his gaze back to Helen and murmured softly,
“Continue.”
“As I mentioned before, because I am a ‘woman’, I am in a position where I must lay everything down. However, everyone living in this empire knows that my abilities far surpass those of my male cousin.”
“That’s right.”
“So, I see the imperial laws that make me, regardless of my abilities, lose everything to ‘men’ just because I am a ‘woman’, as wrong. But the adverse effects of the imperial law are not only affecting me.”
Having said that, Helen took a deep breath and continued in a flat voice, yet one that contained a faint anger.
Children of the impoverished are turned into playthings of the nobility simply for being poor, having their lives stolen from them, and illegitimate children are treated as less than human just for being born out of wedlock. This is permitted by imperial law, which, though meant to serve everyone, becomes a shackle specifically for them, Your Majesty.
“…”
“That’s why I argue that it’s time to sever this rusted chain.”
It’s time to sever this rusted chain.
I mulled over the phrase, which seemed familiar, and then sighed deeply.
“Listen carefully, my lady. The royal family is already caught in a vicious cycle. Rebellion to claim the throne is standard, and the successor becomes nothing more than a puppet under the control of power-hungry nobles, indistinguishable from an emperor.”
“…”
“Therefore, I will end this vicious cycle in my generation. I don’t want to burden future generations with something they can’t handle.”
Come to think of it, I had a similar conversation containing content similar to Helen’s with Ruth before. At that time, Ruth also vowed to break the terrible cycle in his generation, just like Helen is saying now.
I guess I’ve been living in a comfortable world all this time.
Suddenly, a realization drenched my heart. I felt uncomfortable knowing that the small world I created as a child was still protecting me. It was as if twelve-year-old Selena was saying, “See, you haven’t escaped from me yet. How does it feel to not have become an adult, twenty-three-year-old Selena?”
As I was drowning in these thoughts, Helen reminded me of an analogy she once shared with me.
“Stagnant water eventually spoils. That’s why water must always flow. It creates its own path, going anywhere without a destination. The same applies to laws. Laws that remain unchanged for a long time will inevitably develop flaws, especially those that can dictate the lives of many people.”
“…!”
I knew she was talking to Ruth, but I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of guilt.
Stagnant things rot.
I am still stagnant.
Does that mean I have rotted?
This unanswerable question roamed in my head. At the same time, something rang hollowly, hinting that if I took just one more step forward, I might find the answers I hadn’t been able to uncover so far.
Do you have the courage to seek your answers?
As if waiting for this moment, a voice from deep within me spoke up.
You are, that powerless and insignificant Selena.
“So, what the lady wants to say is this. While tearing apart this rotten imperial law, she wants to claim the rights and power that rightfully belong to her.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Helen, agreeing with Ruth’s summary with a nod, looked back and forth between me and Ruth before making an irrevocable decision to the world.
“I will, have what rightfully belongs to me.”
