Chapter 178: Mirror (1)

‘Even a peasant can sleep soundly at night and run around lively during the day.’

A sharp pain suddenly shot up her spine to her scalp, and Lucia’s fingers gripping the knife and fork trembled violently.

Candidate Saintess… It was both because of the Emperor’s recommendation and her immense magic power. Lucia was half-pushed into becoming a Candidate Saintess. At the same time, because it was a time of temporary peace, the quality of the candidates had declined. Among the current dozen or so Candidate Saintesses, only Lucia and Mia were truly competitive.

As for Lucia… she herself didn’t have a strong desire, but given the current situation, even if the Emperor didn’t urge her, she had to continue as a Candidate Saintess and show others her desire to become the Saintess. ‘Otherwise, wouldn’t that just benefit Mia? Wouldn’t that just benefit those people in the South?’

Same appearance, same clothes, same title. One was the daughter of a conventional merchant family, the other was the only daughter of the Empire’s Emperor. But even though Helena had never fulfilled a single day of her motherly duties, Lucia still lived in her shadow.

When Lucia didn’t give a good face to the nobles who approached her, those who lost face would immediately bring up Helena to tear her down: “Lucia may look so similar to Helena, but her temper is terrible.”

Helena, on the other hand, was the kind of person who would engage in polite conversation even with factions that weren’t close to her when they approached. Yes, Helena was perfect. Even though she was the Empress, second only to the Emperor, she rarely put on airs. To this day, she still acted like a saint, using her own private funds to help the poor relocate and adapt to new lives, even personally performing healing arts.

Helena Amber’s name was a golden signboard within the Empire—known to all. That’s why the Emperor and Empress’s discord behind the scenes never erupted openly. Besides their once tragic and touching pure love story spreading far and wide, there was also Helena’s reputation.

Helena would wander around the Empire or work in the Southern Region in connection with the Church. Even though on the surface she was helping the common people of the Empire, in reality the couple had fallen out, but the citizens would still interpret it as—”The Empress’s benevolence” and “The Emperor, for the sake of his people, painfully sacrificed his time with his beloved wife.” At least on this point, the Emperor didn’t need to refute it; it was good for both the Empire and her personal reputation.

Of course, this made it even harder to have a falling out. Because Helena’s reputation in the Empire was too good. Even if the Emperor made thorough preparations to attack Helena, the current people of the Empire would probably believe Helena first. So the Emperor currently turned a blind eye to everything Helena did. Even if he really wanted to make a move, he would have to be fully prepared.

Helena’s reputation was too good. Moreover, none of the things she had done so far had wronged the Empire’s citizens. She even used her own private funds and family merchant association to subsidize the Empire’s people.

Of course, as part of the convention, even though the two of them argued, the Emperor still gave Helena a considerable annual budget. First, because the Emperor knew that Helena wouldn’t use the budget to do anything out of line, and second, to maintain their outwardly friendly reputation. As for the Emperor’s budget, Helena always counted carefully, calculating the occasions she needed to attend that year, setting aside a budget for her appearance, and occasionally buying some dresses and high heels on a whim—that was about it.

Lucia looked at the woman across from her, dressed in white stockings and high heels, watching the elegant movement as she dabbed the corner of her mouth. Helena’s spending on attire was about the same as an ordinary noble lady—very, very low by the Empress’s standards. Compared to the extravagant squandering of other nations’ empresses, Helena was a model of frugality.

‘But that perfection is never shown to me.’

Lucia gazed through the candlelight at the elegant woman across from her. Lucia and Helena, mother and daughter… Hah. In the end, they only resembled each other in appearance. Like two dolls carved from the same mold—one was carefully glazed and fired into a perfect work of art, while the other was burned in the kiln, covered in invisible cracks.

Lucia shifted her legs subconsciously. Her legs, tightly bound by white lace thigh-high stockings, were trembling slightly under the table. Not from the cold, but from a phantom pain that seeped into her bones. The two forces of magic power dueling inside her were like two greedy venomous snakes, constantly gnawing at her nerves.

This pain forced her to keep her posture tense, her thigh muscles tightly clenched together, causing the lace edges to dig deeper, almost cutting into her skin.

Lucia deliberately didn’t take her medicine before leaving home. Why? Because Lucia felt she shouldn’t forget this pain! She thought she should talk to Helena while enduring the pain. It was this woman who made her suffer from birth, yet she abandoned her without care. ‘Just because the pain is eased now, does that mean the past pain is erased?!’ Lucia could never forget, and she didn’t want to forget!

This pain, from beginning to end, was brought to her by this woman. She didn’t even offer comfort!

Lucia didn’t have a healthy body like Helena. Helena’s legs, wrapped in transparent white pantyhose, had smooth lines and well-proportioned muscles. Every step she took was steady and powerful. Those were legs that could run in the sunlight, stroll in the garden, and even travel to the ends of the earth for love in that pure love story.

And Lucia? When the pain was severe, she couldn’t even walk. She also hadn’t grown up in a loving environment. Although the Emperor was relatively good to her, that was all. After all, the Emperor was first the Emperor, and then a father. Though he treated Lucia decently, he would never show it in front of others.

Although Lucia had expressed no interest in the throne since entering school, back then it had been different. The Lucia of those days had no one to rely on, and even her biological mother Helena, who looked almost exactly like her, turned a blind eye to her.

If the Emperor had shown too much affection for her, the frail Lucia who could die at any moment would have become a living target for political enemies. Assassination, poisoning, curses… These words were too heavy for a child who could barely walk.

If the Emperor acted personally, it would almost be an open declaration of support for Lucia. Who exactly to support, the Emperor hadn’t fully decided at that time. Moreover, Lucia had power but a poor body, and the education befitting royalty had been delayed significantly due to her physical condition. Most importantly, it depended on her own will.