Before she knew it, Latil had moved closer to her mother. Carlein, seated on the window frame, watched this perplexing standoff.

“So why did you let me become the Princess!”

“I was at the temple then.”

“Ah, yes. You were right. From the start, you were not by my side.”

Latil, harshly pulling at her hair, asked.

“Who on earth said I’m the Lord? My brother? Then why did my brother let me become a princess? No, from the start, my brother was the one who pushed for me to become a princess! Did he plan this from then?”

“That’s not true, Latil.”

“I can’t trust you. I can’t trust anything you or my brother say.”

“You were not certain to be the candidate before you ascended to the position of Princess.”

“If you’re still not sure that I’m the Lord, what does it mean you weren’t sure about me being a candidate!”

“It was only after Leandro became a disciple of the Grandmaster and went to the temple that he heard for sure what the signs of the Lord were, and thought you had a high possibility of being the Lord.”

Latil stared blankly at her mother, a choking sound coming from her throat. She wanted her mother to explain this situation.

But at the same time, she wished that her mother wouldn’t say anything at all and just said it was all lies. On the contrary, she felt an urge to destroy everything in the room.

“If you knew I could be like that when I was the Princess, why didn’t you stop me then?”

“Even if you were my daughter, and my sister, how could I immediately reject you once I found out you might be the reincarnation of the Lord? I knew how purehearted you were. Even if you were a reincarnation, I believed you would be different.”

“But I wasn’t?”

Latil let out a sigh she had been holding in. No matter how gently her mother spoke to her, it didn’t sound genuine to her ears.

“Because you ascended the throne, calling upon blood as the prophecy said.”

Latil remembered the day of her coronation. Leandro, who hated Tula as much as she did, also criticized that killing his stepbrother was too much. Could this have been related to that?

“You rule properly and take care of national affairs, but no matter how good an empress you try to be, dark energy is gathering more and more, Latil. Strange things have already begun to happen, such as the disappearance of people in remote villages.”

“It’s not my fault! I am not the Lord!”

“We couldn’t just let it be. That’s why we stepped in.”

Latil, in a fit of anger, cried out.

“Then you should have told me!”

“What? That the world is falling apart because of you? That you should step down from the throne for that reason? Would you believe us if we told you that? No, rather, you would probably have blocked us from approaching you at all, thinking that Leandro and I were crazy.”

“!”

“Mother, what will you do if you regret this later when you find out I’m not it? According to my research, the Lord is Tula. Almost certainly.”

“I told you. It could be a candidate. Tula could be right.”

Latil gave a cold snort.

“It’s not that Tula could be right. It’s definitely Tula. Seeing blood when ascending to the throne? Isn’t that applicable to Tula as well? I don’t know anything about black magic or anything. On the other hand, Tula died and resurrected, and he’s doing all sorts of strange things.”

But no matter how diligently Latil explained, her mother asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Are you sure? Tula has resurrected?”

“Yes!”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I saw it!”

Latil cried out resolutely. However, her mother’s tone was still the same as before.

“Latil. Is it that a dead person has resurrected, or is it that you saw a dead person? Which one is it… can you really be sure?”

At those words, Latil hesitated. It was a valid point. The circumstances of Latil seeing Tirla were ambiguous, and Latil was unable to discern whether it was a dream or reality.

The incident at the time felt real when recalling the sensation, but when considering the situation, the possibility of it being a dream was high.

If Tirla had resurrected, the likelihood of him being the Lord was high, but if Latil saw the deceased person with the power of darkness, the likelihood of Latil being the Lord was high. That’s what her mother pointed out.

“So what do you want? You think I might be the Lord, so you want to kill me? You want to live as an emperor while imitating me for the rest of your life?”

“Stay in the temple until it’s certain that you are not the Lord.”

“The temple?”

“I’ve prepared the priests. Live by suppressing your power with theirs.”

“You’ve even prepared for it? You said you were going to the temple to discipline your heart, but you were actually going to discipline me?”

“Like you said, once it’s certain that you’re not the Lord, then you can return. That’s why I’m imitating you on purpose.”

Latil repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hand quickly. She had something she wanted to ask, but she was afraid of what response might come if she asked the question.

But what could be worse than any response at this point? Eventually, Latil stopped and asked.

“But what if I am the Lord? Then… will you kill me?”

Her mother, who had been sitting all along, abruptly rose from the bed for the first time.

“That won’t happen, Latil.”

“I can’t trust you.”

“I have to prevent you from harming the world.”

Latil raised one corner of her mouth.

“Why don’t you just be honest? You’re trying to suppress me because you’re afraid my brother might be in danger, right?”

“…To be honest, Latil. If your brother didn’t exist, whether you’re the Lord or the world is in danger, what would it matter? All I need to do is protect you.”

“!”

“But I have two children, so I have to protect both you and your brother.”

Latil bit her lower lip hard. Her eyes were sore. It was unjust, sad, painful… Something was just about to pour out of her eyes.

Any negative emotion would fit the situation. They would all be fitting names.

“Should I be even more honest, Latil? If someone else had been a candidate for the Lord, I would have just killed them all. That would have been the safest.”

“!”

“But you’re the candidate. You’re my daughter, the candidate for the Lord, that’s why I’ve made things so complicated. Because I want to protect you.”

Her mother, who came closer, cupped Latil’s face with her hands.

But Latil backed away before her mother’s hands could touch her. She recalled that she was wearing a mask. It was not certain whether her mother knew that the magical item that changed her face was a mask.

Backed into a corner now, Latil didn’t want to reveal all the few cards she had left.

However, her mother’s eyes trembled at the thought of being rejected by Latil.

Seeing that, Latil’s heart hurt even amid all this. She resented her mother, yet she didn’t want her mother to hurt, an ambivalent feeling.

“Latil. Please go to the temple willingly. I don’t want to see you get hurt in the process. You can return to your old life once things calm down. I’ll keep you informed about how the state affairs are progressing once a week, and I’ll tell you what’s happening every day. Think of it as taking a break, okay?”

Latil thought for a moment, then nodded.

“I will.”

Then Latil opened her arms.

“I still can’t forgive you for going this far. But because you didn’t act this way for me…… I’ll accept what you said for now. Because I also want my brother to be safe.”

At Latil’s words, her mother looked sad. Then she hugged Latil tightly, just like when she was little.

“I’m sorry, Latil, even though it’s for your sake.”

Latil hugged her mother back tightly, then whispered in her ear.

“I’m not sorry, even though I lied.”

“!”