“I’m fine now... I’ve calmed down.”
Some time had passed since Anna had stopped crying. Just when she’d calmed down, however, a wave of embarrassment suddenly fell across her. All she could do was look down to keep her burning hot face out of sight.
“There’s no need to rush, dear. We’re the only ones here.”
Cullina took Anna by the hand and guided her over to a table. Waiting for them there was a teapot and a pair of teacups.
“Um, but why, mother?”
“I heard you’d returned,” Cullina answered. “And I figured you were bound to have some things you’d like to ask me. Besides, there are some things that I have to tell you as well.”
After Anna took her seat, Cullina offered her tea. The tea had gone completely cold, without even so much as a puff of steam left. Had it been a social occasion, it would’ve been boundlessly rude to offer it, but when Anna realized that was how long her mother had been there waiting for her, the cold tea delighted her instead. It was more than enough for wetting her throat and calming down.
Anna took a breath. When she lifted her gaze, Cullina was there, looking right back at her. Out of all the members of her family that treated her as if she hardly mattered—her father, and her younger siblings too—her mother was the only one who always took the time to actually see her. It was fair to call her mother her one and only ally—and that was exactly why Anna had to make certain of things.
“I went to Front-Edge City, just as you told me to. I even met my father...Watt Sears. And...”
Indeed, it had also been Anna’s mother who’d instructed her to go to Front-Edge City. Her mother was the sole person she could wholeheartedly trust, and that was precisely why Anna had done just as she’d been told and set out on her very first journey—and now she had arrived at the end of it.
“My great-uncle was... My stepfather, he...”
“Yes...that’s right. I heard.”
Cullina cast her gaze down slightly. That night, Lezamer had said that it had all played out precisely according to his estimation. If that had been the case, however, that naturally left Anna with one question: Just how much had her mother known?
After a moment, Cullina lifted her head, staring straight into Anna’s eyes as she spoke. “First, allow me to answer your question. I knew everything he was plotting—and I even aided him as his wife.”
Noticing Anna unconsciously start to open her mouth, Cullina softly stopped her. “His original plan was even more careless. You would have only been a decoy and exposed to nothing but danger. But then I realized, dear—I realized that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to let you see what it’s like outside the capital.”
Anna nodded along. She’d set out on a journey on the Trailmarcher, and the city she’d arrived in had given her all sorts of experiences, just as her mother had wished.
“The remaining issue was your safety,” Cullina went on. “That’s why I decided to make one addition to his plan. I decided to send you off to the frontier...to Watt’s care.”
She slowly exhaled. It was a heavy sigh, as if everything she’d been storing up was flowing out all at once. “I couldn’t think up any other means to keep you safe. I can’t put a stop to his plan—and that’s why I had to choose a method that he’d agree to.” Cullina gave a weary smile before slowly sinking back into her chair. “He’s not very fond of you on account of your father. As your mother, I should’ve kept you safe no matter what...but I wasn’t able to. I wasn’t strong enough to push him away.”
She paused for a moment. “No, that’s not right. That’s nothing more than an excuse.”
“No, that’s not true!” Anna objected. “You’ve always helped me—more times than I can even count!”
“Yes, I suppose... I was able to console you, if nothing else. But if he knew I was doing anything further to protect you, he’d never go along with it. That was just the case with his plan, and even for your education. You were raised far more harshly than was necessary. But didn’t you ever think it was strange? Your studies had almost nothing on government or the duties of a monarch.”
Her mother’s words made it all click. While there was no doubt she’d been instilled with all sorts of knowledge, there was a gaping hole in that knowledge for what would’ve been considered necessary for a royal. That was likely why Anna hardly identified as one—it was because Lezamer had hated the thought of her being a proper princess.
“I can’t believe he’d go that far.”
“While it was hardly a replacement, I did make sure that you’d have all sorts of different skills,” Cullina replied. “I thought that it might prove useful should you ever leave the palace behind to live in the outside world. What do you think? Did it, perhaps?”
“It did... Very much so!”
Anna had been able to make excellent use of her knowledge in all sorts of situations in both her job and life in Front-Edge City. She’d never thought about it before, but her mother had kept her safer—and stronger—than she’d realized.
That was all the more reason she had to tell her this right now. Fixing her posture in the chair, Anna opened her mouth. “There’s...something I have to tell you as well, mother. Father... Sir Watt truly was a splendid knight. He braved any danger to help others and wielded his sword to strike down evil. It wasn’t about his standing—it was his heart that was knightly.”
Cullina’s eyes widened for a moment before she cast her gaze down. Unable to conceal her feelings even then, however, a faint smile tugged at her lips. “That’s right... He truly hasn’t changed one bit. He’s managed to stay just as he was back then—so radiantly unchanged.”
The way she spoke almost made it sound as if she herself had changed for the worse, but Anna figured that wasn’t the case. Cullina hadn’t changed at all—she’d continued to believe in Watt after all that time. That was why she had thought to entrust Anna to his care as her last hope. That was why Watt had resolved himself to aid her without any semblance of a reasonable doubt the moment she’d mentioned her mother’s name on the day they’d met. In the very same way, he had continued to believe in Cullina, the same as always. Her unwavering faith in Watt through the years had kept Anna safe all this time. And for some reason, Anna couldn’t help but feel unbearably jealous at that same faith.
“Mother... Is it truly the case that even you can do nothing to stop my stepfather?”
“My very best efforts amount to nothing more than clever sleights of hand,” Cullina answered. “Lezamer has never been the type to listen to others’ opinions. That was what allowed him to triumph in Legalisbelm. Once His Majesty is gone as the final obstacle, there’s not a soul who’ll be able to stop him.”
Anna clenched her fists. If even the words of his own wife wouldn’t reach him, then how was anyone to set about correcting him when he went astray? Fortifying her resolve, she lifted her head.
Her mother greeted her with a nod and the same smile she always kept. “Tell me—tell me what you think.”
“I... I think that what my stepfather thinks...is wrong.”
Cullina merely urged her daughter to continue without any objections.
“He took it upon himself to strike down my great-uncle Duke Turk to secure the throne for himself, yet even my great-uncle launched an assault on Front-Edge City as if it were nothing at all. I do not believe Legalisbelm nor the throne are meant to be won by such measures.”
“Yes, that’s right. If every soul in the world were as kind as you, Anna, then the world would be a truly wonderful place. But...”
But that wasn’t the case. The world was just as cruel as it had always been. The throne was stained from top to bottom with the blood of countless people—as if its authority only grew with the number of lives sacrificed in its pursuit. And that might not have necessarily been wrong either. The individual who could create more bloodshed was the same one who would pursue power with even greater greed.
No... I can’t stand that. But just what am I to do?
This wasn’t the sort of problem that could be solved by Anna offering herself up. Far from it—doing that risked worsening the situation yet further. Anna had no choice but to search for a new way to solve the problem.
“Think well upon it,” Cullina said. “Regardless of whether you can or cannot fulfill it, what you wish for upon reflection will never go to waste. The important thing is to never stop thinking. That is the very moment you run the risk of falling astray.”
Anna paused. “You’re right.”
Perhaps Lezamer and Turk had fallen astray the same way. Yet Anna couldn’t shake the feeling that the direction of their wishes had been mistaken right from the very moment they’d thought to pursue the throne.
“If you’ve found your answer, then all that’s left is to set out on your own two legs. I can only aid you in the smallest of ways. But if you’re about to make your grand debut...then I’m certain there’s nothing left I can do for you.”
Anna clenched her fists tight atop her knees. Her mother had helped her by avoiding confrontations with her father. If she were to face off against Lezamer after this, she could no longer count on her mother’s aid. Without her mother as her sole ally, Anna would be left completely and utterly alone...
Cullina smiled as if to calm the worry she saw in her daughter. “But that’s quite all right, dear. You already have someone who’ll protect you in my stead, don’t you? He was my greatest and strongest knight, but now he’s on your side.”
Cullina cast a wink brimming with so much mischief that Anna couldn’t help but snicker too.
“Heed my words. No matter what the situation may be, you will always have someone on your side. Discern them well. Those who fight alone are riddled with blind spots.”
Anna was quiet for a moment. “Of course! Thank you, mother!”
“Be on your way then, dear—wherever that heart of yours leads. No matter how matters might play out, make sure that you’ve no regrets.”