Viktoria watched quietly as Vierenna sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her with confusion and caution. Sometimes, she would open her mouth to express her feelings, but she would always end up saying something completely different.
Viktoria was very tired, especially after her exchange with Ashe, but she wanted to give her daughter time, to satisfy her curiosity. She knew that the honesty Vierenna might expect was out of the question, yet she still wanted to talk to her.
"I heard that you've been avoiding your baby brother?" Viktoria was the one to break the thin wall of hesitation surrounding Vierenna.
And like a dam waiting to burst, Vierenna let out the most important question on her mind, her sorrow and sense of injustice evident on her beautiful face. "Why would you do this, Mom? Why Deon and not me? I... please, tell me."
Viktoria smiled—a faint smile filled with sadness and nostalgia. "Straight to the heart, that's my V."
Vierenna waited for an answer, unfazed by her mother's attempt to tease her. But Viktoria remained silent, her tongue tied as if the words refused to leave her lips.
"Tell me, Mom!" Vierenna pressed, her voice heavy with the pain and unfairness that had bound her heart.
Viktoria took a deep breath and looked straight into her daughter's eyes. "Deon needs a protection that no one but me can provide. I'm trying to free him from his chains. I'm not giving him anything more than what I've given you. You are strong enough to stand on your own. He? He's not like you. He can't survive alone..."
Vierenna slowly leaned closer to her mother, her face frozen in doubt and hesitation. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"
Viktoria held her gaze, but Vierenna got her answer from the expression she read in her mother's eyes. Yet, she still couldn't stop herself from asking, "What is it that Deon has that you won't tell me, Mom? I want to know, please!"
Viktoria tried to embrace her daughter, but Vierenna pulled away, refusing to look at her. Viktoria withdrew her hands and answered in a calm voice, "Here is where you're wrong. Deon has no one but you and me. He doesn't even have himself, and soon, he will only have you. You must be strong when he regains what he once was. He needs my protection, but he needs your guidance more than anything else."
Vierenna's heart started beating dangerously fast. Her mother's words had been vague from the start, but what she just said now?—Was that... concern in her voice? "Mom, what's going to happen to Deon? Is he... like you?"
Vierenna didn't think she could bear losing her brother. She hadn't even come to terms with her mother's illness, and she doubted she ever would. She still saw her mother the way she always had, and that only made it hurt more.
But thankfully, her mother soothed her worries—at least some of them. "No! That won't happen. Protect his soul—why would you even think that?"
Vierenna frowned and yelled in frustration. "Then what will happen to Deon?!"
Viktoria said nothing at first, allowing the silence to settle. Then, after a deep breath, she answered slowly, "V, I don't have the words to tell you everything. I can't do that. Even words wouldn't be enough for you to understand. When you see with your own eyes, you will understand what I mean. Whether you accept the truth or not, that is up to you. But all I ask is this: give your brother the time he needs. That's all he will need—both of you. One thing to remember: he will always be your baby brother."
Vierenna looked like she was about to push for more, but she found no strength within her. She knew how stubborn her mother could be. One thing she did know was that she trusted her mother, and she would listen.
Vierenna closed her eyes and went in for a hug, feeling guilty for pushing her mother away earlier.
Viktoria held her daughter in her arms, feeling guilty herself for what Vierenna had to face. But this was necessary—to protect her children and keep them away from danger, at least until they became stronger.
"So, Deon needs me?" Vierenna spoke in a barely audible voice, her face buried in her mother's chest.
"Yes, he will need you," Viktoria said, kissing her daughter's head. "And the two of you will have to figure things out together."
***
The next morning, Viktoria woke up from her sleep, the pain in her body always at its worst when she opened her eyes, and she took her time dealing with it.
Normally, she would wait for her maid to bring her breakfast, but today, Viktoria was going to have breakfast with her babies. She had missed dinner with them, and she would make it up to them today. They must have been devastated, my poor little ones!
With that thought, she went to take a cold bath—after all, she loved the cold. She stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the illusion around her for a while, and spent even longer admiring her perfect appearance.
When she stepped out of the bath, she found her maid, Yulna, who—unlike usual—didn't look ugly, staring at her with concern. But that concern vanished in the smile Viktoria wore.
"Good morning, Lady Viktoria. Is there anything I can do to make your morning better?"
Viktoria smiled—she almost found her maid beautiful again. "You're doing a fine job today, aren't you, Yulna?"
She gestured toward the food tray in the maid's hands and said, "Take that back to whatever godforsaken place it came from. Today, I'll be eating real food with my little ones."
"As you wish, my lady," Yulna said as she prepared to leave.
But before she could, Viktoria's voice stopped her. "What about that fool?"
Yulna froze. She knew her lady was referring to her husband. Despite being her spouse and the head of the Eirenios household—a symbol of absolute dignity—Viktoria always referred to him as the fool.
Yulna turned back to her lady and answered with as little detail as possible. "The lord is in the capital." He had spent most of his time there since the day he learned of his wife's illness. No one knew what he was doing there, and he himself had told no one except his wife.
"The fool allows himself to be used," Viktoria shook her head in disapproval, though she knew better than anyone.
"I don't think so. The lord is smarter than that," Yulna responded, knowing her lady's ever-changing moods.
"I know that!" Viktoria snapped at her maid, clearly angry. Yulna didn't say another word, so she was simply dismissed. "Leave now."
Viktoria remained standing in place for a while. But soon, her smile returned, gracing her beautiful features once more.
Her children were waiting—how could she think of anything else?
She thought about the interactions she would have with them, the words she would say, the expressions they would make for her own satisfaction... She would never get tired of something like that.
But unfortunately, her time with them would be short.
Still, that burden did not weigh on Viktoria now. She would simply make the most of the time she had. That was all that mattered.
Viktoria took a deep breath and stepped through the door with a radiant smile on her face.