READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 145
Charelize rose up, stepped back, and denied it. “That can’t be possible!”
Although it was a political marriage, the relationship between her parents was not bad. Duke Marsetta occasionally stopped by her mother’s bedroom to tell her to get out of bed quickly.
Nonsense. There’s no way my father killed my mother…
Right. He held Charelize’s shoulder as he mourned at her mother’s funeral. Then…
He said mother must have gone to a good place.
Charelize was worried that Empress Elizabeth might be mistaken about something, so she constantly refuted it. “Father… why… to my mother… That can’t be. Aren’t you mistaken about something?”
“Charelize.”
Emperor Elizabeth shook her head with a determined face as she looked at the confused Charelize.
“Duke Marsetta poisoned Yekaterina. I conducted an autopsy in secret last year.” Empress Elizabeth handed over the autopsy results to Charelize.
[Autopsy confirmation report]
It was confirmed that the poison from the body of Duchess Marsetta came from the root of the unmistakable vallesium. It seems like she had been drinking it regularly since before she passed away. It was flowers that Duke Marsetta carefully grew in his greenhouse garden.
Charelize couldn’t deny the clear information written in the autopsy report.
Poisoning. So far, Charelize thought her mother had died from an illness. Her father said so, so of course she believed it. However, if this result is true, it means that her father has been deceiving her with lies until now.
“…”
She couldn’t deny it anymore. Her father killed her mother. It was true that her mother was poisoned by her father.
“Charelize… It’s going to be hard, but you have to come to your senses from now on.”
“…My mother, just before she died…”
With tears in her eyes, Charelize was hugged by Empress Elizabeth and wept like a little child.
“She said she was sorry for not being able to tell me that she loved me while I was growing up. But she said she never stopped loving me every moment from the moment she had me…”
She remembered clearly one by one. It was a painful memory that she would never forget. A simple bedroom filled with the energy of a sick person, a strange smell of death. Her mother gasped for breath through her parched lips. How could she forget?
The first confession she heard from her mother.
“Charelize, I’m sorry I couldn’t be a mother who held your hand and walked with you.”
“Mother… I’m sorry. I will do better. So, please wait just a moment.”
“I wanted you to grow up being loved by the people around you, but I left you so lonely. To me, you are still like a five-year-old child… I’m so sad. How can I leave you behind?”
“Don’t go… please stay with me.”
“But, Charelize. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t love you. I’m glad I told you this…”
Her mother’s hand caressed her cheek with her skinny wrist. The sight of her mother struggling even to breathe was still vivid before her eyes.
“…Yes. She sent me a letter to please take good care of you.”
The last words she heard from her mother on the last day she spent time with her floated in her head.
“This is why she told me not to cry even if I find out something, and… just live my life as if I didn’t hear anything.”
It was so ridiculous and unbelievable, which made her cry and laugh.
How could you do that to my mother… What did my mother do wrong that you killed her?
This was the first and last request she heard from her mother.
“But Auntie… I can’t do that. It’s terrible… that I have the same blood flowing through me as the daughter of the man who killed my mother.”
“…”
“Auntie knows. What kind of life I had lived as the successor of Duke Marsetta.”
Empress Elizabeth sighed to Charelize, who was unable to hide her boiling anger.
“How much did I try to be loved by that person…”
“Of course, I know everything.”
Charelize closed her tightly to the response of Empress Elizabeth, who looked at her pitifully.
“I want to quit… everything.”
She felt remorse. What had she been living for? It felt like she had lost her destination.
She wanted to receive affection from Duke Marsetta on behalf of her sick mother. If she succeeds Duke Marsetta, if she received his recognition… She thought her mother would be happy. She hoped that at least that would bring a smile to her mother’s face.
“What I’ve been living for… I don’t know. I wonder what use of everything I’ve done so far has been.”
So, the efforts that had been made were shattered and deeply embedded in Charelize’s heart.
“I shouldn’t have told you. Charelize. Are you thinking of giving up your position as the little duchess? What about your mother’s words that tell you to live your life, huh?”
Empress Elizabeth hugged Charelize and begged. “Please… Charelize. Please don’t say things like that. What will your mother say if she sees it?”
“…Auntie.”
“She will be sad. She probably thinks that… she ruined your life. I don’t want Yekaterina to not be able to sleep peacefully because she’s worried about you.”
Empress Elizabeth persuaded Charelize. “I will cover this. If this becomes known to the world, there will be a big uproar.”
“How come…”
“Before I’m your mother’s older sister, I’m the emperor of this empire. Charelize, forget what you heard today.”
Charelize was unable to follow Empress Elizabeth’s wish to move on to what had never happened. “… I’ll take away everything he has.” She gritted her teeth and declared that she would get her revenge.
“Charelize!”
Empress Elizabeth screamed in her head. Nevertheless, Charelize’s thoughts didn’t change.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s immoral. Because he wasn’t a human being in the first place.”
As if she had never cried before, Charlize wiped away her tears as she decided to take revenge on Duke Marsetta.
Father, look forward to it. How will I bring you down…
She hadn’t even started yet, so she couldn’t collapse like this.
* * *
It was on the way back to the Duchy Marsetta. Just in time, Charelize ran into Lillian, who had come out of the duchy.
“Older Sister?”
“…Are you going back now, Lillian?”
“Are you sick? You don’t look good.”
Lillian carefully observed Charelize’s complexion.
“If something’s going on, tell me. I can’t help… but I can listen. Maybe it will make you feel better.”
Lillian smiled heartily. Although she was grateful for Lillian’s concern, Charelize turned her back.
“No, it’s not that. I’m just… a little tired.”
The culprit who killed her mother.
It would be best not to let Lillian know who it is.
As soon as Lillian knew it, it was obvious that she would be caught by Duke Marsetta because she couldn’t control her facial expressions.
Without anyone knowing… Charelize planned to prepare very little by little. She couldn’t decide by what means she would push out Duke Marsetta. And maybe there was one more reason.
I don’t want to share my burden with you, Lillian. She’s a good person.
Lillian is a child with a kind nature. She didn’t want to convey her pain by knowing what she couldn’t handle.
“Lillian, I’m not feeling well right now, so can we fit the dress later?”
“Yes. Older Sister, hurry up and get some rest.”
Lillian opened the window in the carriage as if she had something to say.
“By the way, Older Sister.”
“Yes?”
“Uncle says he will teach me horse riding next week. I asked if Older Sister could come with me, and he said okay.”
Charelize forced her lips up and smiled. “…Is that so?”
“It went really well. This time, Older Sister should show your horse riding skills to uncle. I’m sure he’ll be happy. Because Older Sister is good at handling horses.”
“…”
The emotion of not that shouldn’t she felt to Lillian, who clapped her hands innocently, arose.
Lillian, why do I still feel this way? The thought of wanting to become you was something I felt in the past. I envy you because now you can spend time with that person without worrying about anything.
As Charelize just stood there without saying a word, lost in her thoughts, Lillian opened her eyes.
“Oh gosh, Older Sister must be really sick. If you can’t answer right away, let me know later.”
“…Okay.”
Charelize sent Lillian with a dark face. The carriage with Lillian left, and Charelize went up to the room. At the desk, there was a lot of work to be done, but Charlize lay down on the bed. She stared blankly at the chandelier.
What should I do now?
At one point, right after Charelize, who had fallen asleep, opened her eyes…
“Lillian, get up now. You sleepyhead. It’s already afternoon.”
It was the face of Countess Larso, who worried about Lillian.