Mother And Son

The information-gathering only took a full day, thanks to everyone's help. But the one they wanted to thank was the final journal book that Lady Yunsoo had written. Most of the information written there enabled them to finally track down the movement of the magical island for the past 4,000 years.

After calculating and ascertaining its current location, Yuri ordered them to head out to the island two days from now. Thankfully, there hadn't been reports about the puppets—which they learned from Lady Yunsoo's accounts were named Phantasma—attacking the villages outside the capital. Almost all of them agreed to Yuri's suggestion. It was just that the problem lies in who would accompany Yuri to the island. Well, Murata, Wolfram, and Conrad were a given. Shori, as well. After much deliberation, Gwendal was added to the list with Günter staying to protect Shin Makoku while the others were away.

Later that night, after making sure that the Maoh was resting, Conrad decided to stay outside the castle for a while. Until now, he still couldn't believe what he had heard from Murata about His Majesty and Lady Yunsoo's relationship. That could only mean the "brother" she was talking about on the first page was possibly His Majesty Shinou. A lot of things must have happened at the time that made her turn her back on Shinou at the most crucial times. He could imagine it, but perhaps he won't be able to understand anything about it no matter what.

Just as how Conrad had never understood the curse that took the life of a special friend in his childhood life—the Wind Tiger Knight he met a long time ago who was also the last princess of the Kingdom of Esovia who died 25 years ago. Yes, he deliberately left that part out when he told the others about the Beast Knight he met before. That was because the truth about Princess Lyall must not be known to others, as per her older brother's request. It was Klaus Elirch Amrein—the last prince of the Kingdom of Esovia—who requested that when the prince told him of what happened to Esovia three years after Lyall died.

Klaus told him that Lyall's death started a war with the Phantasma that attacked the kingdom in an attempt to use the princess' body and remaining powers as a source or core to produce more Phantasma to attack and take over the other kingdoms, as well. It was Queen Roheis—Klaus and Lyall's mother and the last queen—who prevented all that at the cost of her own life and the monarchy system of the Kingdom of Esovia.

From what Klaus told him for that last time, the kingdom would then be ruled by the leaders of the Five Aristocratic Families—Klaus included—since the monarchy system was completely abolished when Queen Roheis died. He didn't know how the kingdom fared and survived after that, though. For more than two decades, he hadn't seen Klaus at all or even heard anything more about the kingdom's situation.

Conrad found himself standing in front of his mother's flowerbed. He looked rather wistfully at the flower Conrad Stands Upon The Earth for a long time before raising his head to look at the full moon. He remembered the first time he met Lyall that night she was bleeding. It was a meeting that truly changed everything between them.

And it was a meeting that truly brought him even more pain as he recalled his regrets and what-ifs. It was magnified even more when Lyall died. He saw her suffer in so much pain, but she was still able to smile at him when he visited her at the Roseberke Castle for one final time. He tried his best not to break down in front of her but failed. After all, Lyall could see through him.

When he faced the flowerbed once more, he frowned at the sight of a flower he had never seen before vibrantly blooming beside Yuri's Innocence. Come to think of it, her mother had been pretty busy here lately. Could this flower be her new creation?

"Oh? And you've finally seen another of my beautiful flowers."

He turned around as soon as he heard that voice, which inwardly startled him. He smiled as soon as he saw his mother Lady Chérie approaching.

"Shouldn't you be resting by now, Mother? You're still planning to leave tomorrow for another of your free love trip."

"And let my son remember his special friend all alone here? I don't think I'd be able to sleep peacefully knowing that."

So Lady Chérie knew about that, huh? Nothing less from his mother. Conrad's gaze landed once again on the newest flower. The one feature he immediately noted about the flower was the petals' color. It has the same color as Lyall's hair—silvery green. It was an unusual color for a flower if one would ask him. It was exuding a bright and vibrant vibe as it proudly bloomed tall.

"Lyall's Effervescence..." Lady Chérie uttered wth a wistful smile which truly caught Conrad off guard.

Did his mother name it after his special friend?

"This was supposed to be my birthday gift to her, you know. But the moment I heard from Klaus that she was sick, I don't know what had gotten into me and just fell there. It felt like I was about to lose a child of my own. That girl's bright and bubbly demeanor even earned her a friend in Julia while trying to keep her identity a secret from everyone except you and me. But even such contagious brightness was doomed to disappear in some ways. That's what I felt when I heard about Lyall's condition. So I thought that I'd create a flower that I would name after her as soon as she survived the ordeal," Lady Chérie explained before crouching down to hold the newest flower blooming on that flowerbed as gently as she could.

"In the end, it consumed her..." Conrad continued in a pained whisper. "But what made you decide to create this now?"

"Because I want to create something that will always remind me of her bright demeanor which had captured my heart the day you introduced her to me as a friend. Honestly, I don't think I'd ever find another girl like her who was completely suitable to be your wife. Oh, I even remember that day when she blushed heatedly when I told her that I want her as a daughter-in-law. It was such a beautiful and truly fascinating sight." Those words from Lady Chérie were followed by a giggle.

All Conrad did was shake his head when he heard that from his mother. Then he recalled that there was an instance when Lyall couldn't even look him straight in the eyes. He wondered endlessly as to what could've happened for that to occur.

After so many years, he finally knew the answer. True, it was just a memory that would remind him again of a sad tragedy. But he still couldn't help smiling at that.

"I know that heading to Esovia would only give you mixed feelings because of your connections to the last royal family," Lady Chérie continued, this time in a serious yet sad tone. "But I know Lyall wouldn't want you to keep holding on to the past. She doesn't want to see you so hurt after all this time. So try your best to be strong, okay? Don't let King Yuri see you in this pain that you've been bearing for 25 years."

Though Conrad knew where his mother's words would head to, he didn't stop her. She knew what he had been through, that was why she was telling him all this.

"I know that, Mother. But please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He couldn't tell if it was enough as an assurance for his worried mother. But he would do what he said he would. He'd try his best.