3 bar menu

Chapter 86 Part 9 – Things that never change. And a promise. In order to protect the lives of the mother and the baby, Countess Rosenthal will put everything on the line to fight against Alisa.

‘It’s just as you say, young lord. When a real man dies, they don’t care about themselves. It’s just hard when someone they care about is left crying. Even if they die, they can’t bear to leave.’

‘They wanted Rona to be happy, so they were constantly trying to tell her that they were happy. What great younger brothers.’

‘As expected of our disciples.’

‘That’s what your younger brothers wanted most of all. It took a long detour, but now you know. Really, you’re such an awkward and troublesome 「younger sister」 until the very end. It’s okay for you to feel happy. That’s the best thing you can do for your younger brothers. And also. Don’t be afraid to express your precious feelings.’

The smiling three old warriors and Marielle encouraged Countess Rosenthal and quickly disappeared. It was probably not an illusion or a hallucination. Because father turned around with his eyes wide open from surprise, while Countess Rosenthal’s nose turned red and she looked like she was about to cry.

But she didn’t cry anymore.

With father supporting her shoulders, she fought back the tears and timidly showed a very beautiful smile. It was a radiant smile that seemed to spill out the love she had for her younger brothers.

I understood. No one can heal the wounds of her sorrow. But the rain of curse that she put upon herself had finally lifted.

Even after the particles of light faded away, she continued to smile as she faced in that direction for a while.

「…… Ronny, Teddy. I’m sorry. I’m probably going to hell. So I won’t be able to fulfill my promise to see you again. But my love for you two will never change, even if this body is destroyed ……」

No one here could easily deny that she won’t receive that ending.

Her love for her younger brothers and father was undeniably genuine.

However, going from nothing to the king’s favorite mistress in just ten years or so, it isn’t possible to do so with proper ways. In fact, in the previous 「108 lives」, I was nearly killed by Countess Rosenthal’s private assassination squad. Even from the fragments of her memory in this life, I could see that she had resorted to all sorts of schemes, seductive techniques, bribes, and false accusations. I can’t even imagine the amount of resentment she has accumulated.

She had committed too many crimes to end it all on a high note.

We shed tears for Countess Rosenthal’s sad way of life.

「…… What a bunch of good-natured fools you are. I can’t believe you would cry for such an evil woman. Really …… I wish you could know how it feels to have all your memories stripped completely bare.」

Countess Rosenthal spat sarcasm at us who were crying. But her tone was soft, her eyes were teary, and she looked a little embarrassed.

「…… Rona-san, I will never forget your kindness to my husband and me for the rest of my life. I will also remember your younger brothers …… For as long as I live, your way of life will always be with me.」

After mother made that vow, she looked at father as he hugged Countess Rosenthal in his arms.

「…… Wendell. Please …… give Rona-san a kiss. Give her the answer to her first love that she has always held onto.」

…… I knew that mother would say so. But before father could react, Countess Rosenthal put the tip of her finger to mother’s lips, stopped her, and smiled.

「…… Wendell-sama, I love you. Fufu, I finally got to say it. …… It was a sad love, but this feeling has remained unchanged since I was young. I have no regrets about it and this feeling has been with me all along. That’s why, even though this love won’t come true, I’ll take this feeling with me to hell.」

Then Countess Rosenthal looked at mother with a flood of emotions.

「…… And I’ll leave my dream here. I’ve always wanted to be of help to Wendell-sama. But with Cornelia-san here, I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. Please, let me see you dance the fourth stage of the ‘Thunderbolt Polka’ …… the Fulfillment of Love …… with Wendell-sama. I can’t dance anymore. Please let me see and burn into my memory your dance that I have acknowledged of for the last time ……」

After hearing Countess Rosenthal’s request, mother nodded and clasped her outstretched hand in both of hers.

「Didn’t I tell you. Rona-san …… No, Countess Rosenthal. That you are present inside my heart. I will take your feelings with me. Now, let us dance together with Wendell.」

With tears in her eyes, mother smiled. Then her tears fell down her cheeks and dropped on Countess Rosenthal’s hand.

「What a worrisome crybaby.」

Countess Rosenthal teased her.

「The same goes for you. You’re crying as well.」

Mother retorted and the two smiled at each other like they had been best friends for ten years. Even though the time they spent together was short, as they were both women that had overcome their sad past, they were able to understand each other more deeply than anyone else.

Father laid Countess Rosenthal’s body on the couch, knelt beside her, and adjusted the shifted rose hair ornament on her hair.

「…… Rona, I have never forgotten the minuet I danced with you that day. I will always remember it.」

「…… I’m so happy to hear that …… Me too. I will always …… always remember it …… It was a truly happy memory …… I’m glad I fell in love with Wendell-sama ……」

At the end of her long suffering, Rona was able to speak of her happy memories. Only by knowing her younger brothers’ feelings for her did she finally break free from the curse of sorrow.

Taking the hand of the smiling Countess Rosenthal, father held back his tears and reverently kissed the back of her hand.

「…… Miss Rona …… Can I ask you to a dance? Here, take my …… hand ……」

「…… Yes …… please take care of me …… Fufu, I can’t believe you actually remembered that. What an honor.」

It was an ordinary exchange, but it was a reenactment of the time when father, as a boy, invited Rona to a one-time minuet. They shed tears while smiling as they recalled the days of their youth that they knew would never come back.

Countess Rosenthal watched father and mother walk out onto the center of the stage with a calm and gentle expression on her face.

「…… You know, Scarlet-san. I dreamed many times that I ordered assassins to kill you.」

I was startled by Countess Rosenthal’s sudden and disturbing words. I suspected that she had a motive for telling me that, but her depressed and melancholic gaze told me otherwise.

「…… It was a truly awful dream. It was so real and graphic that it frightened me …… After giving birth to you, Cornelia-san died soon after …… Then the brokenhearted Wendell-sama repeatedly visited her grave inside the forest and finally got caught in an avalanche and died in an accident ……」

I gasped. The details were different, but I had a hunch that Countess Rosenthal had caught a glimpse of what happened in the previous loops through her dreams.

「…… I, couldn’t forgive Cornelia-san. She stayed withdrawn for ten years and made Wendell-sama feel tormented, then she made him grieve long after she died and in the end she even took his life. That’s why I hated you, who had Cornelia’s blood flowing in your veins. I was foolish. You were the treasure that Wendell-sama had left behind.」

Countess Rosenthal’s monologue made me understand why she had been so hostile toward me in the previous 「108 times」. It was as I had vaguely guessed. Losing father was too much for the Countess to bear and she could not continue to live without hating someone.

「While trying to kill you, inside my heart, my childhood self was crying.『Stop, don’t kill Wendell-sama’s child. That’s not what I wanted to do.』. But, I was so mad with hatred that I couldn’t stop. …… I committed such a terrible thing ……!!」

I clasped Countess Rosenthal’s hand in mine as she choked on her words because of her sobs.

The Countess Rosenthal who had tried to kill me in the previous 「108 times」 had always been a malicious, obnoxious woman with a lust for sexual activities and power. She was wearing heavy makeup to cover it, but her appearance was also in a mess. Her health must have suffered due to alcohol and an irregular lifestyle. She might have even gotten into drugs. It’s hard to imagine that woman as the beautiful and proud woman she is right now. Father’s death was such a shock that it destroyed everything in the Countess’s life.

This person had gone astray because of love. I couldn’t bring myself to blame her.

「…… You just had a bad dream. So, when you wake up, it’s over. Now you’ve cleared up father’s misunderstanding and become a dear friend to mother. Both of them are grateful to you. That’s the right truth.」

Countess Rosenthal opened her eyes, then timidly smiled.

「…… Yes. You’re right.」

The Countess firmly squeezed my hand.

「…… Thank you. I’m really glad I didn’t end up killing you.」

Countess Rosenthal said with a single tear running down her cheek.