Heart full of Wounds
With this, I have finished saying everything.
Everything that happened at the separate residence.
“I am a terrible woman, just like Dania.”
Even if I hurt my real mother, I don’t feel guilty.
It’s the same for my half-brother, Shepherd.
“No, it’s different… that’s not true.”
“Marie, listen carefully.”
Mother grabbed my shoulders as I lower my head and speaks to me as if imparting a lesson.
“It’s possible to have a distant relationship with someone, even if you are related by blood. Just because there’s a blood connection doesn’t mean there’s love. Rather, you believed in them until the end, Marie.”
“I did…?”
“From the beginning, there could have been a more efficient way to handle those two. But you didn’t do it.”
Did I believe in them?
Did I show mercy in the end?
“Your kindness was trampled upon when your beloved father was insulted.”
“That’s right. You’re not a terrible woman. If you were, what would happen to this great witch in front of you?”
“Why are you saying such things to your Mother?”
“You have already done it, haven’t you?”
Even in times like this, their unchanging interaction is comforting.
“Will you forgive me, Henry?”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
“Marie, you truly are my daughter. Sometimes, women must be strong.”
“Stop saying unnecessary things…”
Mother gently held my hand, and a smile appeared on her face.
“As a mother, you must be strong to protect your child. You need determination to protect your child.”
“Please don’t provoke her any further.”
I still don’t possess the strength and wisdom of my mother-in-law or Lady Oriana.
But perhaps I have gotten a little closer.
“Marie, you will face even more difficult times from now on. You must drink dirty water to survive.”
“Yes.”
“But you can’t lose. You are not alone.”
That’s right…
I’m still a newcomer in the social circles, and my spirit has been on the verge of breaking.
I can’t break.
I mustn’t break.
Yet, I was this scared and tried to escape.
“It’s just beginning. Your fight has just begun.”
“Yes.”
“But you’re not fighting alone. So this time, rely on me properly.”
“Shouldn’t that be me?”
“Men can’t enter the battle among women.”
I smiled wryly at Henry’s disgruntled expression, but my fight has only just begun.
It will continue.
I must keep fighting.
“Yes, I will keep on fighting.”
I felt that I needed to become stronger to laugh off the past.