“Whenever my mother went off to another town or city during her conscription, she’d always bring me a souvenir,” I said. “They were often hair ornaments or rings.”
“She was a good mother,” Queen Catalina said. “I often received gifts from Reckenbell as well when she returned from her military service. To this day, I’ve carefully stored the items she gave me.”
“Precisely. But back then, I couldn’t quite understand my mother.”
My fingers were rugged and covered with blisters from wielding the sword and spear. The dainty rings couldn’t possibly fit me. As I towered over everyone around me, no one could see the hair ornaments atop my head. My values from my previous world made me unconsciously avoid wearing decorations in my hair. Still, these were gifts from my mother.
“I gave them all away to my citizens,” I said. “I didn’t carefully store them away like you did, Queen Catalina. And now, not a single gift that my mother gave me remains in my possession.”
The only gift from her that I had left was my beloved steed, Flugel—I’d received him when I was fifteen. I couldn’t call him an object. But aside from him, I had nothing else. Truly, I was a terrible son who’d failed to repay his mother’s kindness.
“You were simply thoughtful toward your citizens,” Queen Catalina said.
“As I’ve said, that hardly serves as an excuse for the behavior that I exhibited toward my mother,” I replied.
My mother had never said a word, but she’d surely known that I gave away all the gifts that she gave me. She bought so many souvenirs for her son, but for some inexplicable reason, she saw other men parading around and wearing them happily. I was sure that I had hurt my mother deeply. I was so foolish that death felt like a welcome escape. I grew more emotional as I continued my story.
“My mother, Marianne, was battered from teaching me, heading to conscription every year, and enduring the scornful gazes from people around her,” I said. “She collapsed from illness when I was fifteen.”
“Sir Polidoro, you’re—” the queen started.
“Your Majesty, please stay quiet and listen! This is the story of a man who’s a greater fool that you ever can be!”
I raised my voice. The queen’s tears had long stopped, and instead, tears began to trickle from my eyes.
“And an additional five years passed,” I continued. “When I was twenty, my mother was so feeble and sickly that she could barely swallow a spoonful of soup.”
No one dared stop me from speaking.
“As she was on her deathbed, her final words to me were ‘I’m sorry, Faust.’ I let my mother pass away with great regret as she rued that she’d foisted a terribly cruel fate upon her son,” I said.
Why? Why did I allow my mother’s final words to be an apology? Why did I allow that? I wondered. I was unable to do anything for her.
“My foolish self didn’t notice even a shred of my mother’s love until the very last moments when she stood on death’s door,” I said. “I thought it was expected of me to possess my God-given powers, and I became arrogant. Not once was I able to use my powers to repay my mother’s kindness.”
After my mother collapsed, I’d spent the last five years of her life joining the military in her stead. That was all I could do—a course of action that was only normal for a successor to take. It hardly served as any sort of kindness to repay my mother’s love.
“I wasn’t even able to tell her that I loved her as a mother,” I said. “Not once did I take the opportunity to express my love to her.”
I heard someone sniffle. The Villendorfian nobles were quietly doing their best to hold back tears.
“Faust von Polidoro, you aren’t so different from me,” Queen Catalina said.
Tears silently trickled down her cheeks once more. Ah, Her Majesty is willing to shed tears for my mother. Then I suppose it was worth sharing this story of a fool.
“We’re both fools,” she said. “I see that now.”
“You’re correct, Your Majesty,” I replied. “But I’ve had a different thought cross my mind as well.”
“And what would that be?” The queen remained in her throne as she posed her question.
“Love doesn’t refer to the goodwill of others who expect something in return. You were loved by Lord Reckenbell, while I was loved by my mother, Marianne. Do you think either of them expected something back for their love?”
“Perhaps…not.”
“And mayhap the dead are just fine receiving nothing in return. That’s what I believe, Your Majesty.”
“Then what can we do to honor the dead?”
“As long as we think of them, even after their passing, I believe that our love can reach them,” I said.
“Do you truly think so?” Queen Catalina asked. “Our beloveds have left this world—both Valhalla and Heaven seem so far away from us.”
“I do. If we don’t continue to believe so…”
I paused for a moment. We had to believe as much.
“It will be far too sorrowful for all the parties involved,” I finished. “That’s what I think.”
“I see,” Queen Catalina replied. She wiped away a tear with her finger and stood from her throne. “Faust von Polidoro.”
“Your Majesty.”
I remained kneeling respectfully. The queen walked toward me, her footsteps echoing throughout the room. When she stood in front of me, she offered my gift—a bouquet of roses—back to me.
“My mother’s name is Claudia von Reckenbell,” she said. “I would love for you to visit her grave and offer this bouquet to her. You have the right to do so.”
“I’m the man who killed Lord Reckenbell, Your Majesty,” I said.
“Don’t underestimate Reckenbell, Faust von Polidoro. Do you not know the amount of time I spent alongside her?” She forced the bouquet into my hands. “If you don’t personally present these flowers to her, I believe that I’ll be scolded by my mother.”
“I shall, Your Majesty.”
My response was short. The queen turned around and returned to her throne to take her seat once more.
“Everyone, I apologize for the disturbance,” the queen said. “We shall commence negotiations once more. Faust von Polidoro, I must end my conversation with you for now.”
“Certainly,” I replied. “Please negotiate with Princess Valiele, Your Majesty.”
“I know.”
The queen was supposed to speak with the chief delegate. Queen Catalina turned to the young princess and resumed negotiations.
“Princess Valiele, you want to draft a peace treaty for a decade, I believe?” Her Majesty asked. “Very well. I can sign that treaty.”
“Really?!” Princess Valiele cried.
She was all smiles. This was our initial goal; slicing open the queen’s heart was simply the method to get this treaty signed. My role was over, and I’d managed to slice Queen Catalina’s heart asunder.
“Indeed. But I’ve got a condition,” the queen said. She pointed her finger at me and raised her voice. “Faust von Polidoro, you must impregnate me. Only then will I sign the treaty.”
“What?!” Princess Valiele screeched.
She sounded like she’d been caught completely off guard as her voice filled the throne room. None of the Villendorfian knights or Nobles of the Robe budged an inch. In fact, they seemed quite satisfied with this outcome.
“Why?” I inquired.
I couldn’t understand the queen’s train of thought. I’d failed in my initial goal to make her laugh, but I was so sure that I’d gotten a good grasp on the queen’s heart. As Queen Liesenlotte had advised, I’d managed to slice open Queen Catalina’s heart. Princess Valiele was left to proceed with the rest of the negotiations, and I hadn’t expected Queen Catalina to set any conditions.
“Seriously, why?” I wondered.
Why does Queen Catalina want a child with me? I haven’t the faintest clue what’s going through her head.