Final Chapter 4:
Another Ending
(CURRENT TIMELINE)
“IS SHE REALLY MY CHILD?” MY HUSBAND ASKED.
He gazed at my daughter, who had just turned six. His usually smiling face had been replaced with one of awe. Serena’s every whim was granted in the blink of an eye, yet she vehemently tackled her studies. She learned etiquette, equestrian skills, swordplay, self-defense, and even magic. She was passionate in every field and excelled in each one. All of her private tutors uttered the same phrase.
“Lady Serena is a genius.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. No longer would I be suspected of adultery, though my daughter seemed to be a bit too perfect.
On her tenth birthday, she made an astonishing request.
“I’d like a squire,” she said. “Preferably one my age.”
Even my husband couldn’t hide his bewilderment. What use was there to have a ten-year-old look after a child of the same age? Usually, an older and better-educated squire would attend to a noble. Still, my husband did his best to agree to our daughter’s request.
Serena then added, “I would like to choose from unprivileged children. Ah, perhaps starving kids in an orphanage would be perfect.”
A noble would generally have an outstanding squire of high standing around them as a symbol of status. Yet Serena was trying to pick people who were from the bottom of the barrel. I frowned when I heard her request.
“Father, perhaps they’re of lowly birth, but they’re humans, just like us,” she said. “With proper education, I’m sure that they’ll grow into splendid people.”
Could a ten-year-old child be this profound? How in the world did she gain this mindset while she lived in this manor? I couldn’t hide my astonishment. Ultimately, my husband gave in to Serena’s request. While he had claimed that he would listen to all her selfish desires, I was almost impressed by how much he followed through with his promise.
✦ ✦ ✦
After Serena visited the orphanage with her father, she returned, purposefully selecting six of the most problematic children in the facility. While my husband seemed to treat everyone equally, deep down, he was heavily prejudiced against the poor. He couldn’t possibly bear to share a roof with those orphans.
“I don’t really understand her,” he said.
My usually smiling husband began to look troubled. Our daughter was a genius in every sense of the word, but she also wanted orphans as her squires. He wasn’t sure if she had his blood in her veins or not. Serena was allowed every luxury in the world, but she didn’t buy clothes or jewels. Instead, she requested for him to build a training facility. Even my husband couldn’t have predicted that. She even had her private tutors help her orphans receive a proper education.
The orphans had excellent grades. This destroyed my husband’s belief that a person’s success or failure depended heavily on their blood and birth.
“No, Serena is blessed with extraordinary talents,” my husband said. He did some mental gymnastics to twist the evidence in line with his views. “That’s why the orphans were also raised to become useful people.”
Serena continued to run wild. She picked up six stray dogs and had her orphans raise them. When the animals were first brought into the manor, they ran around wildly, and even my perpetually smiling fatty of a husband was taken aback by this turn of events. I thought that he had gotten what he deserved, but I was also fed up with all these stray dogs in the manor.
It didn’t last long. The dogs were properly trained by the orphans, and they soon behaved as well as—if not better than—the pets of the other nobles. Their transformation was astonishing, though they still acted rather spoiled around Serena.
Furthermore, the orphanage’s director came by for a visit and saw just how well-educated the orphans had become. She praised Serena’s skills very highly, and my daughter soon became known among the nobles as an extremely talented lady. Serena apparently became recognized as a gentle noblewoman who expertly raised orphans and stray dogs to be outstanding.
My daughter had the orphans undergo training stricter than any knight or soldier off to war had gone through—I couldn’t possibly see her as a kind child.
One day, His Majesty requested to meet Serena personally.
“I’m quite sure that Serena will lay the groundwork for an engagement with the crown prince,” my husband said. “She’s a splendid child and the pride of House Rosenberg!”
It had been fourteen years since she was born, and after much agony, he had finally accepted Serena as his daughter. It had been such a long journey until now. Not a day went by when I wasn’t faced with my own powerlessness. However, I couldn’t let my guard down yet. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Serena would be up to next.
My premonition rang true.
“I shall head to Lake Elfen for a summer retreat,” she said.
Her request was an ordinary one, but the carriage she prepared for her summer retreat had been stuffed with weapons and armor. She looked like she was headed for a war zone.
“Serena isn’t planning on starting a war, is she?” my husband asked.
He saw his daughter off, but he was clearly worried by it all. Serena and her squires trained to an almost absurd degree despite their young age, and she had even taken the mithril gear of House Rosenberg. She was ready for battle and could easily besiege a low-ranking noble’s land if she wished. I began to grow worried too.
Despite our worries, Serena didn’t instigate war. Instead, she defeated the serpent, a legendary monster. My mind simply couldn’t keep up with this whirlwind of events. All I knew was that after Serena vanquished the serpent, her reputation skyrocketed. People even began to claim that the saintess had returned. His Majesty, and by extension, the entirety of the kingdom, relied on her combat prowess. She went around defeating monsters that had terrorized people for many years. Her name spread far and wide and made her renowned even in foreign nations.
There was no end to the rumors about her.
“She’s an expert in both blades and spells.”
“She’s a saintess with six squires.”
“She’s a Valkyrie who shows no mercy toward anyone who stands in her way, even women or children.”
I began to doubt if she really was my child, and I could only gaze at my daughter with wonder. Her appearance closely resembled mine. Clearly, we were related.
✦ ✦ ✦
After she entered Rosewood Academy, I heard that she practically became the queen of the place in her first year. Even Crown Prince Edward was left in the dust. Her squires had been rather violent when they unified the students, but the praise they sang heavily outweighed the criticisms. People were in awe, believing that she had created her own faction to secure her future after graduation.
She was so popular that Crown Prince Edward requested to cancel his engagement with her. Serena didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she boldly suggested that our household demand reparations, such as a plot of land from the royal family. My husband was impressed.
“She chose profit over fame,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to do. Our household shall flourish and welcome the golden age during Serena’s generation.”
Though Serena lost her claim to the throne, he praised her to bits. He placed his utmost faith in her. After Serena graduated from the academy, she married Marius. He hailed from the house of a viscount, and while their social ranks greatly differed, he was one of the top mages within the kingdom and had been appointed as one of the Seven Luminaries. My husband wasn’t against this marriage—in fact, he was elated to learn that their bloodlines would undoubtedly produce even stronger mages.
He’s an utter fool, I thought. Not a single drop of your blood will remain in this world. Before I married him, I had said my vows to my cousin. Ever since I arrived in this manor, I made sure to drink a certain medicine that prevented pregnancies. For many decades, our household was close to a pharmacist. They gave me a secret herb. At a glance, they looked like normal tea leaves, but they served as a form of birth control.
Indeed, Serena was my cousin’s and my child. She wasn’t related to the duke at all.
I’ll never allow your bloodline to persist. You killed my beloved, and for that, I’ll never forgive you for as long as I live. We’ll take over House Rosenberg. You mocked my entire family for being inferior to your house and your dignity, but we’ll become the house that you were so proud of.
God would never allow a wicked deed to go unpunished. Every human would one day get what they deserved.
Go to hell!