I genuinely wanted to make a trip back to Hilles City. Mommy Elizabeth was there. Some strange things happened between us when I left, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I don’t know why I did that back then myself.
‘Was it an impulse of the moment on my part or do I genuinely hold some strange feelings for Mommy Elizabeth?’
She was my mom to me. Based on my human memory, she was my biological mom. She was still considered my mother who gave me my body and heart in spite of us not being together all the time initially. It was just that my organs were remodelled once by Mommy Vyvyan. However, Mommy Elizabeth didn’t give me motherly love despite giving birth to me.
Vyvyan was the one who gave me motherly love. That was why I was more afraid of something happening between me and Mommy Vyvyan compared to with Elizabeth. Mommy Vyvyan was more of a motherly figure to me, while Mommy Elizabeth was a mom I needed to acknowledge.
I think I started developing weird feelings for Mommy Elizabeth after we kissed with our masks on. With that said, I didn’t want to speak of her in her presence, and I didn’t know why I didn’t want to talk about her to anybody. I hugged her when I left; I even kissed her for that matter. I was back, so I should go and see her. Sadly, she had left Troy City. She had returned to Hilles City, the resting place of the phoenix.
Perhaps she had been by my side for too long. She didn’t do anything while she was at Troy City. She just looked after Nier in peace, took strolls, rode horses every day, sometimes found somebody to spar with, drink tea and eat. It was a time of total relaxation to her.
I saw so many of her smiles here, as well. Elizabeth basically didn’t smile but when she was by my side, in my nest at Troy City, she always smiled blissfully and tranquilly. I didn’t know if she, like me, forgot her identity and what she needed to do. By that I meant that I only just remembered that Elizabeth wasn’t a normal aristocrat, but the Empress of the empire. She was the almighty Empress who established and maintained the empire. She was the strongest representative of the empire. Perhaps I should say she was this empire. I forgot that and maybe she did, too.
I ruled Troy City as its lord in peace. I lived in peace as the Prince of humanity, as Lucia and Nier’s husband and as her child. Elizabeth, too, lived as a mother in peace. We forgot our duties when we were at Troy City.
I thought I was fine, but I overlooked something: Mommy Elizabeth was fated to not be able to be by my side. The palace was her cage. She had left, but that palace was still her cage. No matter how long she lived for, she inevitably had to obediently return in the end.
I said that I’d smash that cage, so the question now was, “How am I going to break it?” The problem was the system; the problem lied with the nation established by Elizabeth. Mommy Elizabeth could never split herself for as long as the nation exists.
She focused all of the authority onto one individual. She, therefore, had to shoulder the most duties. She had no regrets in the past. She had given far too much for the nation. She wanted to live her own life at this point, but the nation didn’t give her the opportunity to do so. She was the brains of the nation. She established this nation, and she’s also the nation’s symbol of strength. As a consequence, she had to be there.
It’s easy for me to take Mommy Vyvyan away if I wanted, as the elves wouldn’t think of revolting for as long as there is nobody who possesses mana that surpasses hers. It was a different matter for Mommy Elizabeth, though. She had to approve of policies, and she needed to keep other territories in check. If I wanted to help her break free, I’d have to take her place in her cage.
‘What do I need to do in order to bring her out from her cage? What do I have to do so that the nation can continue moving forward without her? I think that’ll require effort on my part. I want to combine the humans, elves and north, but I still lack the strength to do so.’
I needed to go to the North now. I needed to change it. It wasn’t just land in my eyes. It was a place I wanted for my moms and wives to live at and by my side. That meant I need the North to provide me with a home as well as strength.
I couldn’t return to Hilles City yet. It upset me, but I didn’t have a choice.
I really wanted to see Mommy Elizabeth. I had lots of things I wanted to tell her. I wanted to embrace her. I wanted to have a good rest in her arms. In the past, I didn’t want to be a Prince who didn’t do anything, but I want to return to being the Prince living in peace for a bit.
I shifted around. The warm water slowly ran over my body. Nier hugged my arm and rested her head on my shoulder with her eyes shut. I didn’t know if she was asleep or not. She wore a blissful smile. I pressed my hand gently stomach and slowly stroked it. My wife was by my side, but I didn’t have any desire to sleep. I, instead, looked at the sky full of stars and yearned for Mommy Elizabeth, who was far away at Hilles City.
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Current time at Hilles City.
Elizabeth sat in her chair with her long black hair behind the chair. Two ladies-in-waiting carefully combed her long hair. Elizabeth was dressed in her loose bathing robe with the tie loosely done up. Her cleavage was basically on display. She had one leg over the other. She leaned back on the chair’s backrest and gently fiddled with a gold coin using her fingers. She didn’t say a word or reveal any expression. Nobody could tell what mood Elizabeth was in, so it was in their best interest to comb her hair without breaking any strands if staying alive was of any importance to them.
“Cut a bit of my hair.”
A lady-in-waiting lingered. She looked at Elizabeth, who spoke out all of a sudden, and asked, “Sorry?”
Elizabeth replied somewhat irritably. “I said, cut part of my hair, and then place it on the table. Don’t cut it too much. One strand will do.”
Elizabeth looked at the letter and envelope on the table. She then listened to the sound of a scissor carefully snipping. She revealed a faint smile…
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