novelraw Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Episode 141
The voice that had stopped soon continued.
"I want to clarify something in case you might misunderstand. None of what has happened now is your fault. I did my best to protect our family, and I am merely receiving the price for that. I don't want you to feel guilty for something I brought upon myself."
From the very beginning, the affectionate consolation made Athanas's shoulders tremble slightly. Yet, he did not stop reading aloud.
"My beloved husband, a few months ago, a terrible oracle was delivered concerning our precious daughter, Flora."
And finally, the will revealed its core.
"......"
Athanas, with a shocked face, couldn't continue.
"Wait, wait a moment. What is this content all of a sudden……?"
His eyes, shaking in confusion, momentarily turned toward Flora.
If the Grand Marquis hadn't angrily mentioned the related content during the previous evening, Benio and Flora would have worn the same expression.
The kind-hearted father Athanas hesitated to continue reading upon encountering unfavorable content about Flora.
'Anyway, I can't stop Dad and Brother.'
Seeing the bewilderment and worry clouding his face, Flora smiled slightly once more.
"Dad, I'm okay."
It was better for everyone to know together what was written in the will than for her to be the only one unaware.
As Flora nodded and urged him to continue reading, Athanas looked around and let out a small sigh. He realized that everyone had expected this and that Flora had known all along.
"A being that should never have been born bearing the blood of Lucifer will be born. The life born carrying a terrible fate will bring chaos to the world; this shall be the calamity approaching this world."
Athanas had no choice but to start reading the will again.
"Therefore, it is expected that the soon-to-be-born child's person will require management by the Temple. As a member of the empire before you are Duchess Lucifer, you are to cooperate with the Temple's intentions. ……This was the content secretly delivered to me."
The content of the oracle was heavier than expected, and everyone's expressions darkened.
The face of Athanas, who was reading the will, was beyond distressed, verging on anger, and Benio was also suppressing his emotions, his eyes tightly shut.
"I couldn't just stand by to protect our child. I decided to have the baby in secret, away from their eyes, and I sought my father's help. I couldn't tell him the detailed circumstances, so he got angry and opposed my plan. Please don't resent Father too much. He loved me and wanted my safety more than anyone else."
The Grand Marquis hung his head, unable to lift it. Resentment and regret toward himself surged up, but it was agonizing that it was already too late to undo.
"At least if the child wasn't a Lucifer, they wouldn't be subject to the Temple's interference. Even if it meant we might never see the child in our lifetime, I wished for the child to live. It was something I had to do alone, as I couldn't receive anyone's help. In the end, I gave birth to the child outside of Eisollen and tried to find good new parents. But even this wasn't easy. The moment I left Eisollen, suspicious people started following me."
Grind. The sound of someone grinding their teeth, unable to contain their anger, was heard.
Whoever dared to threaten Nersha, they swore, would become the eternal enemy of both Lucifer and Eisollen.
Whoever they were.
Amid the waves of intense anger swirling around the table, only Flora listened to the fate decreed for her with a serene expression.
"I had to flee without even being able to identify who they were. With my body full-term, it wasn't easy to hide, and the journey was arduous, but for our child, I could endure anything. Even if it meant giving birth to the child secretly in a shabby stable."
Sigh. Deep sighs were heard one after another. Unbeknownst to them, the Grand Marquis was crying again.
"On a cold winter day with eyes full of snow, I had to leave Flora in front of an old orphanage where people were unlikely to look. It's agonizing that because of them, I couldn't find good parents for our child. Yet, a mother who can only hope her child lives happily, loved by everyone, must seem wicked and selfish to the world. I truly hope Flora lived happily."
As the end of the will approached, the deep affection for Flora and her desperation, packed tightly within it, became evident.
"I returned to Eisollen, but my body was already too damaged, and it seems I won't be able to return to Lucifer alive. I feel my body weakening with each passing day. Selfish as I am, even at this moment, I miss you and Benio. Our family, whom I love so much… Why couldn't I tell you I loved you more?"
Finally, Benio too couldn't hold back and burst into tears.
"I was too busy fleeing to identify who was chasing me, but the one who delivered the oracle to me was definitely an Executor. It's clear that the Temple and the Executor Bureau are colluding to watch the Lucifers, so be careful of both institutions."
As the end approached, Athanas's voice grew increasingly hoarse. It was obvious to anyone that he was forcing himself not to cry.
"Benio is as soft-hearted and kind as he looks, so I hope you will take good care of him so he can grow up without getting hurt. As I mentioned earlier in the letter, I left Flora at a place called the Finny Orphanage. I truly hope that someday you will go and bring our daughter home too. I've already left an inheritance for the children's future, so please use it for them. Please be a sturdy fence for them so they can enjoy everything there is to enjoy and live happily."
Faced with the desperate love from someone she had never once seen, Flora could no longer pretend to be unaffected.
Tears welled up in Flora's eyes as well.
"I'm sorry for breaking our promise to live happily together for a long, long time. Do not forgive me, for I am a sinner to you. My dearly beloved Athanas, my love...... Please, live happily, and let's meet again. I love you…… forever."
The long will finally reached its end, and only silence passed over the dining table.
The Grand Marquis, unable to control his endless tears, stood up first, apologizing, and the Marquis, with a worried face, followed him out.
Once they left, the surroundings grew quiet again.
She couldn't know exactly what the remaining people were thinking, but if they were the Lucifers she knew, they would be worried about her rather than resenting her.
So, Flora wiped the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve and smiled.
"Mom loved us very much. Right?"
"That's right, Mother loved us very much. And even now that she's gone, she surely still does."
At Flora's effort to lighten the mood, Benio swallowed his tears and hugged his younger sister sitting beside him.
He didn't know why this terrible fate had been decreed upon this young child, but Nersha's will strengthened the resolution he held within.
"Flora, as your older brother, I will protect you. Whether it's the Temple or the Executor Bureau, I will absolutely not let them take you."
"Yes, Flora. You are not a calamity. Remember that and live confidently."
Athanas, too, unable to hold back, came over and hugged both children.
He vowed that he would protect these two children Nersha left behind, even if it cost him his life.
Flora buried her face in their embrace without a word.
'Dad, Brother, don't worry. I am more upright and confident than anyone.'
Through Nersha's revealed will, she clearly understood the oracle decreed for her and who her enemies were.
'It's definitely the damn descendants of the Heroes. I don't know why Beshart issued such an oracle, but......'
Perhaps even Beshart's oracle was manipulated to suit their tastes.
'They might have foreseen my appearance and tried to deal with me in advance. In the past, I was caught off guard, but not now.'
Flora gently closed her eyes, feeling the warm body heat from the two men holding her.
If she hadn't received the unconditional affection these two gave, if she hadn't known the love Nersha left behind. A love unafraid of death, she would have destroyed the world twisted by her enemies.
Until now, she had deliberately turned a blind eye for the sake of her own identity, but now she could clearly set her future goal.
'Let's keep the goal the same, but just adjust the direction slightly.'
She would take back all the power, wealth, and honor they had taken and return them to those who rightfully should have them.
To protect her family and precious people, and to deliver fitting punishment to the vile heroes who took her life, she would gladly become the villain.
Since they had labeled her a calamity using the grand means of an oracle, she would personally become their calamity.
'I will utterly shatter their world.'
Although their methods differed slightly, the resolve of the three people embracing each other was the same.
The willingness to burn themselves without reservation for the sake of their loved ones. In this regard, they were a true family.