Chapter 12.10

“To… survive?”  

“Shh. Keep your voice down. There are many guards around here. One of them might hear us.”  

Sure enough, a shadow flitted past the bushes where the two were standing.  

“Be careful.”  

The woman’s voice dropped, becoming serious.  

“Do not trust anyone. Ever.”  

Her words were cryptic, yet they didn’t feel like nonsense.  

“Why are you telling me this?”  

Who was she, really?  

“What’s your name?”  

“My name?”  

The woman blinked, as if surprised by the question.  

“Why do you ask? Are you suspicious of me now?”  

“You said you’ve lived in the palace for a long time. But as far as I know… all the royal women either died young or went mad.”  

Livie’s voice trembled as she spoke, unable to hide her growing unease.

“Then, who exactly are you?”

“Who said I’m royalty?”

“Well, just by looking at you…”

Light green eyes, cascading golden hair. 

For a moment, Livie tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t want to admit it, but this woman bore an uncanny resemblance to herself. It was as though she were looking into a mirror—there was no denying the similarities.

“You look exactly the same.”

The words of Duke Resette, who had scrutinized her face with an almost unsettling persistence, came to mind. While he hadn’t specified who she resembled, it was clear that the person he referred to was Princess Elga. 

He seemed to have known Princess Elga in her youth and had recognized her shadow in Livie.

‘Wait, Princess Elga?’

Livie stared intently at the woman again.

‘Could it be…?’

No, of course not. That couldn’t be. 

The woman before her looked to be about her age or, at most, just a few years older. Besides, Princess Elga was said to have already passed away. Although the details of her death were shrouded in secrecy, it was certain she was gone.

“Just by looking?”

“…No.”

Livie shook her head.

“No, I must have mistaken you for someone else I know.”

“Who?”

The woman continued to ask, curiosity evident in her clear eyes. Her innocent gaze left Livie momentarily speechless. What on earth was she supposed to say?

‘Mother?’

The word that suddenly came to mind felt utterly foreign. She had only recently learned that Princess Elga had given birth to her, and she had never even seen her face. How could she so easily call her “mother”?

Then, should I call her “Her Highness”?

For some reason, that didn’t feel right either. She was still her mother, after all. Even if they had never met, she was the one who had brought her into this world.

Neither term came easily to her lips. Even for the stepmother who had given birth to her half-siblings, Livie had rarely used any affectionate titles.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh… it’s nothing. Just someone I know.”

In the end, she gave the strangest answer possible. “Just someone I know.” While technically true, it sounded ridiculous.

“I see.”

“I know her, but I’ve never seen her. So…”

Livie hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

“She’s someone I can’t meet.”

“I see…”

“She doesn’t know me. We were separated when I was very young… And now…”

She’s dead. 

The last part of her sentence remained unspoken.

“…Still, I wish I could have met her, at least once.”

The realization that she could never meet her, no matter how much she wanted to, weighed heavily on Livie. Memories of the princess, long forgotten, resurfaced, filling her with an overwhelming sense of emptiness.

Her stepmother had passed away not long after giving birth to the twins. Already frail, her health had deteriorated further during the pregnancy. Although she had married Earl Hayden and become the Countess, she had always known that the title was in name only. Livie remembered how much she had struggled.

Watching her, Livie had wondered if her own mother had suffered in the same way during her pregnancy. But since Livie had consciously avoided thinking about her mother, the thought hadn’t lingered long.

And now, she had mistaken the woman standing before her for Princess Elga. Moreover…

‘She looks like me.’

The thought embarrassed Livie deeply. To think, even for a moment, that she resembled such a beautiful woman. If she said that out loud, she would undoubtedly be laughed at.

Perhaps it was because Boris had showered her with excessive praise too often, causing her to internalize it.

“Adorable.”

“Lovely.”

“Beautiful.”

She had lost count of how many times she had heard those three words since their reunion. It was no wonder she had been brainwashed.

“Ahem.”

Realizing this, Livie let out an awkward cough, tinged with embarrassment. Looking at the woman, who was still smiling with clear eyes, waiting for an answer, Livie finally confessed.

“…She’s someone I wish I could meet.”

What does it feel like to have a mother? Livie had never experienced such emotions with her stepmother, given the significant age gap between her and her half-siblings. By the time they were born, Livie had already learned how to eat, sleep, and play on her own. She was a strong child who didn’t require much adult supervision. 

When she played with the village children, she would often feel a strange emptiness as one by one, they were called home by their mothers.

“Dad, what was the woman who gave birth to me like?”

She had asked that question one day. Nicholas had drowned himself in alcohol for three days and nights afterward, unable to get out of bed. After that, Livie had given up asking him about her mother.

She had managed to live without thinking about it—until now. Suddenly being told she was the princess’s daughter, becoming a pawn in a marriage arrangement, meeting Boris, ruining the wedding…

And now, here she was.

“My mother.”

“…”

“She’s the one who gave birth to me. But she passed away, so I can’t meet her. People say I look a lot like her, but I wouldn’t know… Even if she were alive and I met her, I wouldn’t recognize her.”

“I see.”

The woman spoke with a gentle smile. A brief silence fell between them.

“In any case, you’re fortunate. If someone with ill intentions had come across you here…”

It wasn’t an empty warning. Livie realized anew how dangerous it had been to wander around the vast palace on her own.

“Your name… Please tell me your name.”

Livie pleaded earnestly. For some reason, she felt an overwhelming urge to hold on to this woman. She didn’t know why.

“I’ll be leaving soon. We won’t see each other again. But if I know your name, I can at least thank you later.”

The woman, watching Livie’s desperate expression, simply smiled mysteriously.

“Don’t worry. We’ll meet again.”

“Pardon?”

“Now, lift your head.”

“Oh, alright…”

Following the woman’s instruction, Livie raised her gaze. In the distance, she could see the entrance to the grand banquet hall. The woman had safely escorted her to her destination.

“Thank you…”

Livie turned around with a grateful smile.

But the spot where the woman had been standing was now empty. It wasn’t as though she had left—rather, it was as if no one had been there to begin with.

A cold night breeze swept past. Just as she had felt while with the woman, it was as though she had been utterly enchanted.

As she looked around, dazed, a dark shadow loomed behind her. Before she could scream, the shadow spoke.

“Livie.”

“Oh, my!”

Startled, Livie let out a small shriek, caught between surprise and relief.

“Where have you been?”

Boris, catching the swaying Livie in his arms, asked.

“Just…”

“Just?”

“I went for a walk.”

Boris’s expression was unusually stern. Wondering why, Livie looked up at him, only for him to let out a deep sigh.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Even in the palace, it’s dangerous to wander alone, Livie.”

“Yeah, I realized that.”

She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she had gotten lost. She didn’t want to imagine how he might react.

“But I made it back safely.”

Livie beamed and threw herself into Boris’s broad chest. She loved the feeling of being enveloped in his embrace. Boris, momentarily startled by her sudden gesture, eventually wrapped his strong arms around her.

“This feels nice.”

Snuggled in his arms, Livie rubbed her face against him. She finally felt like she was home.

“Huh?”

Boris, flustered by her candid words, blushed.

“Let’s go home.”

“…”

Boris’s large violet eyes stared at her.

“To our home.”

Livie decided not to mention the mysterious woman filled with an air of enchantment. 

For some reason, she felt it would be wrong to speak of it. She wanted to keep that memory to herself.

***

After the tumultuous wedding events, the day to finally return to Edrach Territory arrived.

Of course, King Andros had persistently tried to persuade them to stay until the very last moment.

With coaxing and persuasion—though stopping short of outright threats—the king’s relentless efforts to keep them had left both Boris and Livie utterly exhausted.

When they finally passed through the castle gates, they felt like dancing with joy inside the carriage.