Chap 10
"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager awaits you."
Upon hearing the news from Lena, Blair returned straight to the Imperial Palace.
As soon as she entered the reception room, Blair was greeted by Katrina's hand.
Smack!
Blair's body swayed unexpectedly as Katrina's hand flew toward her.
"Your Majesty!"
Following behind her, Lena pulled the staggering Blair into her arms.
Katrina raised her hand again but couldn't bring herself to strike, her anger overwhelming her.
"It's one thing to disrespect your mother! How could you visit that woman on the eve of your wedding? The woman who tried to kill you!"
Though her cheek stung, Blair looked at Katrina with unwavering eyes, not uttering a sound.
Katrina, with her lowly birth, was acutely conscious of other people's gazes. Inwardly, she tried to conduct herself as nobly, elegantly, and dignified as possible.
It was uncommon for someone like her to personally handle a hand dagger.
Blair had touched on her insecurity.
"Your mother is me! I carried you in my womb for ten months and suffered in pain to give birth to you. It's me, not that woman!"
In her violet eyes, identical to her own, a mad gleam flickered.
Blair scoffed at the sight.
Katrina, the adoptive mother who despised Blair following Esmeralda's footsteps, had thought of her daughter as nothing more than a pawn for her son.
From the time Blair began to show signs of femininity, Katrina had meticulously controlled her daughter's weight. If she exceeded even slightly the target weight, Katrina would punish her and starve her until the maids' calves bled. She claimed it was punishment for not serving her mistress sincerely.
Katrina whispered that everything she did was for Blair.
"Think about the end of that woman who wasn't loved. Jealousy and resentment led her to self-destruction. How pitiful and worthless her life was."
"…"
"You have to become a woman who is loved, Blair. Like me, her mother."
Thus, whenever Blair felt she had gained even a little weight, she would purge everything she had eaten.
Chi Mi found it agonizing to watch but believed it was fine. As long as she endured, the maids would not be punished in her place, her mother would not hate her, and everyone would see her as beautiful and lovely.
Everyone would love her.
Yes, it was fine as long as she could be loved. This was nothing if she could be loved…
But she realized it when she held the newborn Asiel in her arms.
"Herdin Delmarc, you have to make him fall for you. You have to become an unwavering ally to your brother's future wife. Do you understand?"
If she truly loved, she couldn't prioritize her son over her daughter about to be married.
If she truly loved, she couldn't help but find her child's messy eating endearing.
No matter what others said, she couldn't help but see this child as beautiful and precious.
It hurt her heart, but she couldn't deny it any longer. Katrina's so-called love for her was not love.
That's why…
"What made you treasure me so much, Mother?"
With a composed but resentful voice and gaze, Blair's words and eyes pierced Katrina.
"You…!"
Confronted with her daughter's sudden change from always clinging to her love, Katrina hesitated, her raised hand trembling.
Blair spoke again.
"If the new bride has a scar on her face, won't that be problematic?"
At Blair's words, Katrina's hand, which seemed ready to strike at any moment, froze.
The tremble in her hand subsided, and eventually, she lowered it.
"You're really nailing a thorn in this mother's heart. I hope you realize that…," Katrina said, then left the reception room, passing by Blair and Lena.
Blair closed her eyes, listening to the fading sound of Katrina's footsteps.
The sound was somewhat painful but also relieving.
It was the end of a desperate one-sided love.
The wedding took place at the temple located on the outskirts of the imperial estate.
A multitude of people gathered to witness the marriage between the Emperor's only brother and the Duke of Delmarc's daughter, from nobles to commoners alike.
In the bride's waiting room, dedicated maids were putting the finishing touches on Blair, today's protagonist.
"Fortunately, the swelling has gone down."
A maid who was tidying up her makeup carefully wiped Blair's cheek, which had been struck by Katrina yesterday, and sighed in relief.
"It's all thanks to your measures. Her Majesty should reward you generously."
"Empress Dowager is quite something. What's the matter with the new bride's face?"
Blair just smiled faintly in response to the maid's complaints, as if she found it more vexing.
At that moment, Lena, who was approaching with a face towel, suddenly looked out the window and let out a small gasp.
"Oh, it's snowing outside."
"It seems even the gods have come to congratulate Your Majesty's wedding."
Looking out the window, there were indeed small, white snowflakes swirling around. It was the same as the first wedding.
Blair, who had once watched that snow with excitement and fear, now looked at it with calm eyes.
Search "the duke only" at "redcatty . com" to read ahead chapters.