Reed and Eltia
Farah and I are currently standing in front of Lady Eltia’s room. From what Farah told me and what I knew, I thought Eltia didn’t necessarily dislike Farah. This may be overly meddlesome of me. But still, I wanted to do something about Farah and Eltia’s relationship.
With the situation with my mother as well, you never know what could happen to someone. Even if the marriage talks progressed smoothly, Farah and Eltia would still have to spend time together eventually.
Thinking this could be an opportunity, I resolutely told Farah I wanted to go meet Eltia. She seemed perplexed, but I insisted wanting to greet Lady Eltia. Standing before Eltia’s room, Farah’s voice trembled with a hint of anxiety.
“Mother, it’s Farah. I would like to speak with you again if I may.”
To reassure the shaking Farah beside me, I firmly added:
“Lady Eltia, it’s Reed Baldia. Thank you for the push earlier with Princess Farah and myself. I would very much like to speak with you.”
Soon after we spoke, a cold yet beautiful and elegant voice responded.
“Please, both of you come in.”
Upon hearing Eltia’s answer, I smiled at Farah beside me and said, “It’ll be okay, I’m here too.” Then I opened the door, bowed my head and said “Excuse us” as we entered. Eltia smiled slightly, her eyes narrowed.
“Welcome, Lord Reed, Princess Farah. Please, have a seat over there.”
Including our two escorts, there were four of us visiting Eltia’s room. But I asked the escorts to wait outside until we finished speaking. Asna and Nels nodded in agreement.
So now, the only ones in the room were Eltia, Farah and myself. We sat on the sofa as directed by Eltia, facing her across a desk. Eventually, Eltia addressed us.
“So, what can I do for you two today?”
“Yes, first as I mentioned earlier, thank you for the push in front of His Majesty Elias.”
I bowed slightly to Eltia. Then looking up, I smiled at her.
“As such, I shall henceforth refer to you as ‘Mother’.”
“Huh…?”
Seeming taken aback by the unexpected, Eltia looked stunned. But she quickly regained her usual composure and cleared her throat.
“I have cut ties with Princess Farah, so I do not have the qualification for you to call me ‘Mother’, Lord Reed. Moreover, you have not yet married. I’m afraid that remark was rather rash.”
“Mother, I beg to differ. You say you cut ties with Princess Farah, but that is impossible. You and Princess Farah will become part of the same royal family lineage. It is not something individuals can simply cut ties over as they please.”
She furrowed her brow with a perplexed expression. But I continued undeterred.
“Furthermore, regarding the marriage, once His Majesty Elias and my father have approved, my marriage to Princess Farah is definitive.”
“Heh…as expected of the one who bested Norris back then. Very well, I’ll leave it to you how you address me, Lord Reed. However, when I said I cut ties, I meant there is no parent-child bond between Princess Farah and myself, despite being blood relatives of the royal family.”
She looked at me coldly and piercingly, then turned that gaze to Farah. Farah shrank under her gaze, but I firmly grasped her hand and caught her eye. Responding to my glance, Farah nodded slightly, took a deep breath, and met Eltia’s eyes. Then she spoke the words we had agreed to convey before visiting the room.
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“I do not know what Mother is thinking to say such things. But Lord Reed has assured me that Mother does not dislike me. So I choose to believe the Mother that Lord Reed believes in. Someday…someday I believe the day will come when you can speak to me. To me, you will always be Mother!!”
Farah’s small but resolute voice echoed in the still room. At that moment, I thought I saw Eltia’s ears twitch ever so slightly upon hearing Farah’s words. Eltia looked at Farah’s face sharply and coldly, then dismissively replied:
“Nonsense. Lord Reed and Princess Farah seem quite fond of platitudes. Love and kindness alone cannot protect anything. You should strive to better see through people.”
“Mother, with all due respect, it is because of love and kindness that one finds the resolve and strength to protect people and family. If one has neither love nor kindness, they would simply abandon everything and flee at the first sign of trouble.”
“…”
Rather than retort, Eltia simply stared at us coldly and dismissively. I glanced at Farah beside me, then turned my eyes back to Eltia.
“What Princess Farah and I wished to convey is that no matter what you say, Mother, you are our ‘Mother’ to us.”
“I believe in Mother and will wait. I will never cut ties with you, no matter what you say.”
We looked at Eltia with resolute eyes. Eventually, she sighed as if exasperated with us.
“Hah…suit yourselves then. If that is what you two have decided, I have nothing more to say. Believe what you wish.”
“…!! Yes, Mother. Thank you.”
It seemed Farah had found something for herself in this exchange. The darkness she had when consulting me was gone. Hearing Farah’s words, Eltia coldly muttered:
“If you’re done with your business, then you may leave.”
“Understood. We shall take our leave for today then.”
Having accomplished our purpose for visiting, we decided to leave the room as Eltia said. Our purpose was to convey that we ‘believe in our Mother’ through our words. When I heard Farah’s full thoughts, I felt that Eltia did not actually dislike Farah. And Farah was struggling with how to face Eltia as well. So I told her, “Let’s believe in our Mother.”
There were still many things about Eltia’s behavior I didn’t understand. But she would never do anything to make Farah truly unhappy. So I conveyed that we should believe in her.
Farah said, “Yes…I want to believe in Mother too. No, I do believe in her.” So we decided that no matter what Eltia said, we would wait until she spoke to us. As we were about to leave the room, Eltia’s voice rang out.
“Lord Reed, if you don’t mind, may I have a word with just you for a moment?”
Hearing her words, I looked at Farah to confirm. She smiled and nodded silently. After confirming Farah’s assent, I smiled at Eltia.
“Yes, Mother, of course.”
Called back by Eltia, I took a seat again where I had been sitting earlier. I wondered why only I was called back. As I pondered this, Eltia, seated across the desk from me, began to speak.
“Lord Reed, let me ask you one thing. Why do you concern yourself so much with my relationship with Farah? If you’ll pardon my bluntness, it does not involve you.”
She had a very puzzled look. For some reason at that moment, I felt I could open up to Eltia, so I began speaking calmly.
“Mother, I hope you’ll keep this close to your heart, but my birth mother Nunnally Baldia suffers from the deadly disease called ‘Mana Depletion Syndrome’.”
“Mana Depletion Syndrome…”
I explained about Mana Depletion Syndrome to her, as I had heard there were few cases in Renalute according to Nikīku. Without going into much detail, I conveyed that my mother could pass away at any time, and that my father and I were exploring various methods to try and prolong her life as best we could. Eltia simply listened silently to my explanation. Finally, I began honestly relating my feelings about her relationship with Farah.
“I do not know what lies between you and Princess Farah, Mother. However, I could not simply view it as someone else’s affair. I overstepped, and I apologize.”
TLNOTE :
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