Spoiler A Stepmother's Märchen

Discussion in 'Spoilers' started by twistingfeelings, Jul 28, 2019.

  1. KathyClysm

    KathyClysm Well-Known Member

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    The way I understood it, all this looks like a play to make the nobility look bad.
    If I remember correctly, in the first council meeting, he had them move an event and come up with an alternative plan (which probably ment they had to re-arrange a lot of stuff, which costs money), and now he is withdrawing his side of the funding. As a result, I assume the noble's christmas event stuff would either be very bare-bones or cancelled alltogether, while the church's christmas stuff would be almsgiving and charity --> church looks good, nobles look cheap and uncaring.
     
  2. Shimozuki Yue

    Shimozuki Yue Well-Known Member

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    I don't think Shuli was totally alone in the latter part of the first timeline. As already established in the manwha (both current timeline and the flashback), Shuli has her trusted maid(s) and butler who actually followed her and become collateral in her death.

    And as the spoilers indicated, the children try to change halfway. It's irredeemable and the end results are futile. But still, only a very dense idiot wouldn't notice the real nature of the head and the status quo after all that ques. Especially with that kind of tense household, you wouldn't survive if you are not sensitive enough.

    So yeah, I believe halfway, although her reputation cannot be saved anymore outside, Shuli's head status is very much stable in the house.

    Having said this, I declare that head knight is fvkng idiot. So close yet so blind! Grab your pitchforks!
     
  3. KathyClysm

    KathyClysm Well-Known Member

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    So here's what I am curious about for the people who read the novel:
    How is the first timeline explained? Is there a massive flashback, or is it just a bunch of little flashbacks? And when is it explained? At the very end?
    Just wondering, cause I can't wait to get to that part in the manhwa. I am a sucker for tragedy, and I cannot wait to see the faces of all the people when they realise what they have done.
     
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  4. Vivixoxo

    Vivixoxo Well-Known Member

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    The order of the novel is quite random. There are a few big flashback chapters that shows what happens in the original timeline. For example, the first flashback chapter was shown after Shuli went to visit Nora’s mom. This already happened in the manhwa so I’m not sure how or when the manhwa will show what happens in the past.
     
  5. ATrueStory

    ATrueStory Villainesses, Historical Shit, Noble Circuses

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    Looks like you hit the nail in the head.
    The recent release looks like the opening salvo between nobles and the Church and Shuli and the Cardinal.
    As usual, the last has his ass somewhere where the sun doesn't shine.

    If I interpreted it correctly, there was already an ongoing civil war before Shuli was dead in the last timeline and perhaps, her death was the metaphorical final nail int he coffin.

    I have to say thought the Cardinal knows how to push Shuli's buttons and perhaps maybe the reason why he caught her alone to have a private convo. A good reason enough that Shuli will alienate Theobaldy and said Theibaldy will be more clingy than ever.

    I have my popcorn ready and still hopeful, more raws to come.
     
  6. Shinygold13

    Shinygold13 Well-Known Member

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    So, I was curious why the cardinal was focusing on Shuli and being antagonistic and I went to Namu wiki for some spoilers and boy, oh boy, was I spoiled rotten by this creepy priest. Now, here’s the spoiler
    In short, he is Claude Frollo while Shuli is his Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame in case you are not familiar.

    From Namu Wiki:

    Richelieu was born as the youngest son of a countess and became a priest, and he lived and maintained the doctrine in full detail, unlike the fallen priests around him, who believed that all others would be saved even if they fell to hell. However, when he saw Shuri who came to worship with her husband as newlyweds, he falls in love at first sight and tries to forget her by abusing himself because his body is obsessed with desire.
    Though he is obsessed with Shuri, he doesn't believe that her feelings of cherishing Jeremy will be her mother's feelings because he thinks she can't be pure, and when the prince courts her, the priest doesn't like it, but self-rationalizes that he can't see the prince being fooled by the devil. When the first trial happened and Shuri proved her chastity and rescued Jeremy, Richeliu lamented that she was a devil in the shape of the Virgin and pledged to either have Shuri completely or get rid of her.



    There’s more but lemme summarize them by saying that Cardina Richeliu was jealous and did everything he can to dispose of the men around Shuri.

    Richeliu was thirsty + jealous, period.




    The lyrics of Hellfire keeps on playing in my head while reading and writing the spoiler lol

    “Be mine or you will burn!” —there’s a scene later on after the 2nd trial (which he also orchestrated) where he threatened to burn Shuri and that she can only be saved if she gives herself to him

    Also, in the 2nd trial before Shuri was defended, Richeliu planned to take Shuri away to a monastery and there—yeah, they’ll be alone

    Anyway, at the end during the civil war he tried to commit suicide but was unsuccessful and was found and killed by Jeremy
     
  7. rock.doll

    rock.doll Well-Known Member

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    oh boy. :facepalm: he's fucked up...completely. period. :blobawkward:

    Thanks for spoilers! :blobsmilehappy:
     
  8. theilikepie

    theilikepie Well-Known Member

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    See this is what happens when you pledge yourself to be an eternal virgin in the service of god
     
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  9. Shimozuki Yue

    Shimozuki Yue Well-Known Member

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    Wtf. Wow so he just went and blame everything on shuli cause he forgot he is also human that could experience human desires. Lol so he thought he was so pure! Yikes
     
  10. ATrueStory

    ATrueStory Villainesses, Historical Shit, Noble Circuses

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    People's opinion on themselves are very biased and since he's part of the clergy and an over-achiever, I am not gonna be surprised if he thinks he is above people or classes, not just Shuli. Sprinkle wanting power and demanding obedience from others and maybe we got a religious tyrant in our midst. I think he's zero-ing in Shuli because he knows her buttons and her past, thus the intimidation route. However, I think he unconsciously exposing himself by exposing his weaknesses and jealousy. I don't know if anyone else experienced this but in my exp, a jealous person always opens themselves and make others see how ugly their personalities are.
     
  11. SoShy

    SoShy Well-Known Member

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    Well I expected such disgusting rationale from him. Now I'm waiting for the justifications of people around him to condemn Shuli as well. Ah what a bunch of psychopaths. Again, I'm really glad Shuli didn't know how she actually died and what happened after her death. I hope she will never come to know of them either.
     
  12. EustiaVissenna

    EustiaVissenna Well-Known Member

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    Can anyone tell me if the knight Everette a male or female?? thank you:blobpeek:
     
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  13. theilikepie

    theilikepie Well-Known Member

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    Since this is a time period where it seems women can be burned at the stake for having an opinon im assumings its a male knight
     
  14. KathyClysm

    KathyClysm Well-Known Member

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    I mean, technically it could be a female in disguise, there've been pracises of hiding your gender and living as a male if there are no actually male heirs before, especially in south-eastern Europe, but if they are staying true to the South German setting, then I agree, it is extremely unlikely.
     
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  15. Migrad

    Migrad Well-Known Member

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    probably female in disguise, since i cant explain anything else about everette huge...chest lol, like different kind of huge.
    and the former marchioness are also famous as a knight before she got injured CMIIW
     
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  16. KathyClysm

    KathyClysm Well-Known Member

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    Honestly, I don't think the chest size is a good indication here, because armour design for that time (also occasionally in this manhwa) had a buldge at the chest so that arrows, lances and swords would... slip off to the side. Kind of like trying to shoot an arrow at the corner of a pyramide. That automatically made the chestplate huge regardless of the body type underneith it.

    And I don't think the former marchioness was a proper knight with knighthood, but rather just a tomboy-ish lady who likes sword fighting, horseback riding and hunting.
     
  17. Migrad

    Migrad Well-Known Member

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    yeah i get what you mean.
    i said this because in chapter when elias and everette heart to heart moment, we can see everette on their normal clothes. and we can see everette relatively huge chest.
    if its not a breast then its a ultra pecs :LOL::LOL:

    its awesome either way :ROFLMAO:
     
  18. Vivixoxo

    Vivixoxo Well-Known Member

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    So I translated part 2 of the flashback arc (I don't have access to part 1 anymore) a while back due to quarantine boredom but forgot to post it. Just a disclaimer, it is not 100% accurate. I've reworded some stuff so that it could somewhat make sense. Enjoy! c:

    The End of a Fairy Tale Part 2
    The dark cloud-covered sky outside the window was full of warm rain that seemed to represent the reality of the people gathered here. Even so, since the festival of the century that many had been looking forward to for months had quickly become the roots of unprecedented cracks that even those who always used to make a small daily pleasure of finding gossip could not dare to argue about it. It is probably the first time in the history of the empire that such an incident occurred. In the midst of a blessed wedding ceremony, an unprecedented situation occurred in which the groom strangled the bride. If the man standing next to the groom at the time of the incident did not intervene, two noblewomen of the empire would have died within a day.

    Maximilian von Baden Bismarck, the emperor who was staring at a young blonde man with an indescribable glow of pity and compassion yet his golden eyes were blazing like a flock of birds chasing down a cat. Three people gathered in the reception room - the Emperor, Duke Albrecht von Nuremberg, and Marquis Jeremy von Neuvanstein who was at the center of all of this.

    "I want to confirm the body."

    It was the sound that the young man, who had been silently biting his mouth for about half an hour, finally mumbled out. The duke shook his head with a sad face.

    "Your mother was horribly murdered. It would be better to keep the image of her life as it was."

    The young man did not answer back. The dark green eyes, which were always glistening with mischievous vigor and youth, were desolate and dark. The hands on top of his knees were clutched tightly as if it were crushing something invisible. He gripped it so hard that blood veins popped out from under his hand. The emperor opened his mouth again.

    "Your mother left a seal and an inheritance for you before she left. The marriage seems to have been perfect, so if you want to destroy the peace, it's not difficult to do so."

    "....."

    "......Why do you think your father left such a will? Should Jeremy take over the golden lion even against the will of the deceased? How am I supposed to look at the face of my friend in 'the other world'?"

    (I'm skipping this part a bit since it's just some political talk about the law and some inheritance stuff between the emperor and the duke - and I have no idea how to translate it.)

    In the duke's opinion, if the marriage was truly established, sooner or later, there might have been news that a new bride had been found dead in the Neuvanstein family. Even if the young knight immediately lost his mind at the moment, did he not strangle the bride's neck in front of everyone? She is a woman who was strangled by a man who almost became her husband. Only a small number of people, including the two gathered in this group, were aware of the reason, but the more they tried to hide it, the more speculative rumors spread.

    The Duke glanced over at the youth again and was surprised at the next moment. The young man, who seemed to be staring at the floor with a blank, desolate look, was now staring at the middle-aged people with an expressionless face.

    "So who exactly is behind my mother's death?"

    The duke took his mouth off his pipe and looked up at the emperor. The emperor was hiding the agitation he felt by raising his hand and taking a casual attitude of smoothing his beard.

    "As soon as it's revealed, you'll be the first to know. It won't take long since we're working hard on the investigation from Stripe. Don't act rashly until the results are out. Come to think of it, the duke's son played a big part in this."

    (Note: Stripe/Strife/Stra Ipe is the name of the secret police organization. I have no idea which one is the correct name/spelling so for now, I'm going to use Stripe.)

    It was a natural fate that the incident near the mountain range leaving Wittelsbach was the first to appear in the eyes of the Stripes. Otherwise, whoever was behind it would have ended up with a hapless death from the bandits' assault. The target was the Knights of Neuvanstein, who was escorting her along with the marquis. There were more than one or two suspicious aspects of the bandits' advantage. If someone was behind it, the question of how did they knew that she would pass by at that time was also one of the key points in the matter.

    With the helpless advice of the duke, Jeremy was walking into Stripe's district office at the northern tower. Leon, the youngest brother, was next to him as he shifted his steps with a blank look as if he had been possessed. Even though I told him that I was going alone, he was forced to follow me. Jeremy walked silently down the dark underground corridor. Soon, the one who blocked his way was the person who had come to the wedding ceremony to inform of the tragedy and that was his lifelong enemy.

    "This isn't a place for a dog or a cow to visit."

    Jeremy responded to the sarcastic remarks with his own sarcastic tone, knowing exactly who his opponent was.

    "I'm not you. I just came to see my mother."

    "Mother?"

    The man who repeated his opponent's words, stood with his arms folded and stared at him. In the dark underground area, dark blue eyes were shining coolly.

    "It's amazing. Why can't they check out a dead body that's no different than a rotting piece of meat?"

    BOOM!

    "Brother!"

    To the shame of Leon's cry, Jeremy was already pushing hard against the wall, holding Nora by the collar with one hand. In contrast to the green eyes that began to burn, the blue eyes of the man, who was grabbed by the collar, were dry without a slight movement.

    "Why, am I wrong?"

    Still, a voice full of disdain, with no bitterness. For some reason, Jeremy was overwhelmed with a sense and his anger suddenly fades away.

    'Ha, ha..' a dejected laugh escaped from his mouth.

    "When you get into the stripe, you're all over yourself?"

    "Well, I don't know. What about the other guys?"

    "You...You don't have any respect for the deceased, do you? You're going to talk about a dead person's body like that?"

    "There are guys who are just like you. I'm sure you know very well. When a person dies, all he has left is rotting meat. What's the difference if you hug a dead body that's already gone to bed? If you pay homage to the dead body and cry, will the dead come back?"

    There was a strangely sharp feeling in the heart. Jeremy let go and stepped back. He had never really known his rival, but at this moment, he could see why this young lord's reputation was so harsh and horrible. At least, the rest of Jeremy's stripe crew didn't act so insensitive to the dead. It is a secret police organization that strictly follows the emperor's orders. But since all of them were knights, they have their own honor and chivalry. However, this fellow in front of him seemed to have a high sense of honor and morality and had no regard for him. For a moment, a thin ice-like silence fell. The silence between the two rivals staring at each other ended when the wolf spoke out.

    "It's not over yet. The body investigation hasn't been finished so I can't show it to you. If I were you, instead of wasting time like this here, I'd start with the people in your house. Where did you wish for the death of your stepmother?"

    "You..."

    "Of course, assuming one of you isn't the culprit."

    The blue, icy eyes seemed to flash something. Jeremy frowned instead of straightening up as usual.

    "One of us......?"

    "The key to a real investigation is that no one is excluded. Do you think that you're different? I think there's a good chance that all of this was part of your plan."

    It was a truly absurd remark. At the same time, it was also a very plausible logic. Captured by such sense, Jeremy clenched his teeth with a look of disinterestedness.

    "I wonder if you're as good at acting as you are with your tongue. All right, well, get your hands on it. But if you can't find anything after all this, you'll be the first one I come for."

    Even though it was a terrible time warning that his legs would have been loosened if he had been an ordinary person, only ridicule rose on the face of Nora. Jeremy turned around and walked out of this sickly place. He felt strangely insensitive and indifferent the whole time he headed home, where someone he had always been waiting for was no longer there.

    The sound of his brother carefully handing him the silver, the sound of the carriage's wheels, and the footsteps of the horses felt far away. One of the things that's very vivid is a peridot brooch that is held tightly in one hand.

    Jeremy's thoughts were full of 'what ifs' and it was not pleasant. He didn't want to go down with the idea of "if", but really, if he went to visit her the night before the wedding, if he had tried to clear up all the misunderstandings, she might not have left them. But he didn't. As always, he was shy and so awkward. He didn't want to be like a clumsy rainstorm in front of her, so he blew his last chance. And she's gone. All that's left is the promise he made with his sister that day. A choking sigh escaped through his mouth. It was almost like a groan. In the moist dark green eyes, a frightened little boy was shivering and crying.

    'People often say that I know how to see the truth. I always know the answer, I'm a true lion with nothing to fear. But right now, I can't see anything. I don't know what to do. What should I do? What should I do? Shuri, where are you?'
    "Well done, Nora. If it weren't for you, we would have missed the end. I'll delegate all the investigative powers to you, so try harder."

    The emperor's somber voice seemed more like a mixture of personal feelings than simply grieving over the death of his father-in-law. It was the same as the duke who smoked a pipe with a miserable face that hardly matched him.

    Nora von Nuremberg knew very well that his old uncle and father had this kind of similar reaction.

    "I'll get behind it. Leave it to me."

    The low-pitched voice was cold and business-like. As ever in recent years, whether or not the two adults who are closest to him are grieving, he was not interested.

    "Nora,"

    His father suddenly called out to him when he was about to quietly retreat. Nora turned his body slightly and looked at the Duke with a look asking why.

    "...Stop by the house once. Your mother is worried about you a lot."

    "Oh, is that so?"

    Nora looked straight at his father's face, hoping that the emperor would not look at him with that expression. Unlike his father who had bitter and sad eyes, his son's eyes were cold without any warmth. Even though they had the same shape and color, they could not look so different.

    "The more I come home, the more worried you'll be. I think it's enough to run into my father here often."

    "Nora........"

    "I think it would be better for us to just keep it as it is. Then, I'll say goodbye."

    Whatever the Duke was going to say next, it was blocked by Nora's dissuasion of walking away without looking back. Needless to say, the emperor began to cough in vain.

    Meanwhile, Nora, who left the reception room thinking that he had become old, had to face another unexpected person. To be exact, the thin voice of a certain lady, who approach him, caught his step.

    "Sir Nora........."

    The person who came into Nora's sight this time was Princess Heinrich, the person who was at the center of the incident. Whether she came to petition for something or to follow the orders of Duke Heinrich, the princess, wearing a scarf wrapped around her simple dress, was shivering with a blush on her cheek.

    "What is it?"

    "Well......I just wanted to thank you for saving me at that time. I wonder how I can repay you."

    The shyly stretched woman glanced her violet eyes under her eyelashes to examine his expression. Nora tilted her head slightly and smiled at her.

    "Why do you think that I saved the young lady?"

    "What? Oh, but......"

    "Well, I understand. You're on the verge of canceling your marriage, and you'll never find a good place to go....it's not unreasonable to hold on to Nora, who apparently fell in love with the young lady."

    He seemed to have hit the nail on the head. The princess, who slowed down and stepped back, blushed and blinked her eyes.

    "I was just........"

    "It would be difficult for a little girl like the princess to handle a guy like me. If you are confident, it would not be bad to try it out."

    The relaxed blue eyes began to glance slowly from the top of the woman's head to the toes as the blue eyes glowed darkly. Ohara, who felt goosebumps at the moment, took a long step back. In the game she planned, she didn't expect that she could shed animal attraction as strong as her opponent.

    "Be careful of your behavior, Princess. Your reputation is already hitting rock bottom."

    Nora turned away from the woman who was half-heartedly stiff with a sarcastic taunt full of cynicism.

    Certainly, Nora was right when he stopped Jeremy, who suddenly turned his eyes and began strangling the bride's neck as if he had caught something at the wedding. However, it was never that the action was due to universal reasons like chivalry or honor. At that time, Nora had hold on to the arm of a half-strained lion and said,

    "You don't deserve it."

    'I just held on to tell you that.' It was none of his business whether or not a single princess died gloriously. He just wanted to make his opponent realize it. You are not entitled to such anger. When Nora von Nuremberg was young, when the whole world felt like a fairyland, a cousin who visited his house broke a vase that was decorating the shelf. He didn't remember how important it was. The only thing he remembered was the cowardly look of his cousin, who was playing with a wooden sword next to him, and the fierce look of his father, who raised his shoulder and looked into his eyes again.

    "You didn't do that? The witness is right next to you? Your Highness, the Crown Prince is lying?"

    When asked a series of stern questions, he said, "I don't intend to do it," and did not do anything. 'Then for the first time in my life, I was slapped by my father.' Maybe he thought it was nothing. It was when he was young, but it was no big deal. The problem was that the man who became his cousin and the crown prince of the empire did not stop at once. Prince Theobalt has been an example of elegance and goodness since childhood. That's what it seems like on the surface. The first few times, Nora himself even thought that he might have misunderstood something. By the time his cousin, whom he had trusted and followed since he was a child, realized that he and his father were being estranged, the trust between them had already been shattered. And the problem was that his strict father did not tolerate lying. From that point on, Nora became a troublesome boy among his relatives, who would open his mouth with excuses or excitement. He tried to solve the misunderstanding in his own way, but once he was branded as a liar, it only got worse whatever he did. It was his mother who had hope, but she was so sick and weak that it did not help him much. It was indeed a dark and painful boyhood. In a way, the people who were supposed to be on his side more than anyone else turned their backs on him. It was the fact that hurt more than my father's harsh discipline and my mother's timid treatment. When the people who gave birth to him don't believe him, who can truly be on his side?

    So Nora hated banquets. He hated all official events, not just the banquets. He didn't like to create a friendly family feeling on the spot, and most of all, he hated facing his cousin, who would appear and cut him out.

    Then one day, it was a Christmas day when he was 14 years old. At that time, he couldn't stand it any longer and was left alone at home after being beaten while trying to get into a big fight with his father the day before. Although it was a good thing to endure the banquets, he belatedly headed to the royal banquet hall due to childish sentiment that he would cause trouble for his father. He didn't even think about covering up the bloody bruise that was displayed on one cheek. When he arrived, he was a little scared and hesitated for a while, snooping around at the entrance to the banquet hall. At first, he came here with a boyish spirit of victory, but when he actually arrived, he felt regret for no reason. It was embarrassing. So he planned on going back but then saw a woman standing alone in a secluded garden, a little far from the entrance to the banquet hall. The woman was crying alone for some reason. The white snow fell down on the long pink hair that had been loosened, and the pale cheeks turned red in the cold wind. Nora saw a girl like that for the first time, so he was half curious and approached her without even realizing it.

    "Why are you crying?"

    As soon as he spoke, the woman, who was sobbing and holding her breath stopped crying. Then she quickly pulled out her handkerchief, wiped away her tears and smiled at him.

    "I'm not crying. Where are your parents?"

    It sounded strange. She looked like his age, but she spoke like a person his mother's age. While he hesitated, the woman turned completely over to him, and her wet green eyes widened.

    "Oh, my god. I think you're hurt, are you okay?'

    "I'm not hurt. Why are you crying?"

    At his implacable reaction, she hesitated for a moment and smiled with a clear feeling somewhere.

    "There are times when you just have to do something you don't want to do. That's why. Why are you crying?"

    Crying...? He was not crying. It wasn't because of last night when he had to sit on his knees for hours. But why did she say that?

    "I don't do anything like crying? I'm not really interested in it, or I don't want to squeeze out tears."

    She touched his bruised cheek with a cold, soft touch. It was an unexpected action, so he shook his hand and took one step back.

    "What, what are you doing....?"

    She still looked at him with a smile, so he tried to say that he wasn't really crying, but at that time, a blonde girl with a pigtail jumped out from the inside interrupted their encounter with a loud voice.

    "Oh, fake mom, big brother is looking for you!"

    "Oh, I'm sorry."

    "You must be really bothered!"

    He was staring at the back of the woman who quietly followed the blonde girl who was grumbling. Why was it that the woman that Nora met then was called a fake mother? Then he realized why her tone was so weird. The wife of a former marquis who died. Neuvanstein's temporary wife, the blood-iron widow who kicked out all of her children's relatives a month after her husband died. She possessed many great nicknames.

    Nevertheless, Nora could not believe that the woman he had stumbled upon at that time, the woman who was crying alone, was a vicious and greedy witch. She was so sad... yet looked so sweet. And no other soul that he has ever seen was as pretty as her. Perhaps she is also suffering from a terrible misunderstanding, as she cried alone in the chapel because she had nowhere to confide. Of course, it could have been simply a deceptive guess of a boy who was difficult in appearance, but the speculation grew with confidence as he observed her appearance and her stepchildren's treatment of her. Ironically, his father's words played a part in it as if he were passing by his mother.

    "He's a poor person. He did something he couldn't bear."

    His father had a fairly soft spot for the Marquis of Neuvanstein. It was the same with his old-fashioned emperor. However, his aunt, Empress Elizabeth, was exactly the opposite, and it was only a few years later when he accidentally saw a portrait of a former empress on the wall of the emperor's office when he volunteered for Stripe at the age of eighteen. The former empress, Ludovica, who was also the birth mother of Crown Prince Theobalt, seemed to have captured the hearts of the three men, who were the key pillars of the small empire- The Emperor, Duke of Nuremberg, and even the Marquis of Neuvanstein.

    I wonder if it was because she looks so much like the former empress? Nora felt sorry for her, the late marquis's mistress. All those who were sympathetic to her were just thinking about someone else through her, and the same goes for those who were hostile. Perhaps only the stepchildren she ever had in her life looked at her for who she was, but what he saw from afar was the way the stepchildren treated her- mean and childlike. Of course, he didn't know everything about other people's homes. Just as no one knows his family.

    When Nora first volunteered for Stripe, the Duke was furious. Naturally, it was normal to oppose that the only successor of Nuremberg was a member of Stripe, which was more dangerous and harsher than any other knighthood. Nevertheless, Nora took the test in secret and eventually passed. Unlike the Duke, who was on the verge of having his blood pressure explode, the Emperor was quite happy. He was happy that his nephew, who had the strongest swordsmanship skills, entered the secret police force under him, whether or not he thought it was some kind of a form of rebellion. But for Nora, it wasn't just an expression of defiance. And perhaps more than he expected, the work of Stripe, which is responsible for all the nasty and secret affairs of the empire, worked well with him. The most interesting thing among all of them was the Neuvanstein family. It was said that Marquis Neuvanstein and the emperor were close friends in their childhood. So, did the emperor give secret instructions to his direct troops to protect the death of his friend? It was a mystery...

    In any case, it was never intentional for Nora to delve into the past and present state of the figures related to Neuvanstein that way. Since it was just a job, it was only a matter of fact that he was able to examine the whereabouts of the woman he met briefly as a child. As a result, his once-confident guess was right. Behind everything she has done, truths that would be troublesome to the public were hidden one after another. For example, the illegal hiring of mercenaries. At the same time, he felt a strange feeling of pity and sympathy at the same time. It was a strange thing. On the other hand, there was a cynical feeling towards the stepchildren. If someone like her was his family, he would have never treated her that way. He wouldn't have let her be criticized. If his father and his mother had shown him half the affection she shown to her children, he would have been the best son in the empire by now. How pathetic and pitiful it is to have a person besides you who will always be on your side no matter what.
    It was fortunate that it was time to search for the savage spies. It was only possible because a small number of elite Stripe members were hiding nearby that the accident was detected so quickly. A broken carriage was found under the gruesome valley of the gods of the monks who were proud of the lion's claws. The carriage was empty. After searching through the whole mountain, the woman's body, which was finally found near the waterfall, was in a far more devastating state than what they had expected. What did the hell happen? The body was completely dismembered as if it was trying to keep her identity hidden. He could barely find the head as well. Nora gave instructions to the crew with an expressionless face as usual. In the process of collecting the fragmented body in a sack, a shiny object fell over his knee. It was a peridot brooch of the same color as her eyes that he encountered that day. Maybe he didn't find it? No, no matter how hard he looks at it, it wasn't a living thing. The whole situation was saying so. He put the brooch in his inner pocket and lifted up a package of dead bodies. All the way back to Wittelsbach, Nora kept his usual cold face while holding the package with both arms.

    The lions that the wolves remember were bright and beautiful, like the main characters in fairy tales. The dazzling children are best suited to stand in the bright sun. Regardless of their fate, everyone in the capital admired and envied the children of Neuvanstein. But what made them so, for sure, was that she must have been as lonely as he was in his life. Just like he was sitting in a seat that didn't have anything to be envious of, but he was always miserable and lonely. Nevertheless, Nora could not dare to compare her to himself. He was just a sorrowful, miserable, lone wolf who had fallen out of the pack. It wasn't unreasonable that the lesser-looking lion looked at him with such a disgusted expression. He once envied him. He envied him in a different sense now.

    Even though the precious families of the empire were transformed one after another, everyone was helpless, and he envied the ability and popularity of the man wielding such overwhelming blades full of revenge. Who would have guessed? The fact that the characters in the fairy tale, who should have blamed their stepmother, actually had the opposite in mind. If there was a problem, everyone was too late. Like the relationship between him and his father; it's too late to make it right.

    It was funny that they were now obsessed with anger; obsessed with remorse only after they had lost it. Nora found it funny but was envious as well. At least they're loved. There will be warm memories that cannot be exchanged for anything else in the world......as opposed to him. Nora put down his dagger and began touching his chin with one hand. One clue was found, and the other clues were coming out one after another, just like the stem of a well-wishers copper crop. There were too many intertwined people, too many intertwined forces. Most of all, what he couldn't understand was why the Vatican seemed to be involved in this. Was she deeply hated everywhere? So many people have been sacrificed? If this is revealed, what will happen to the fate of the present situation? Neuvanstein's red-blooded lion was half-mad with longing for a dead woman. If the wavering blade reaches all the way to the Vatican, then civil war will be inevitable. The emperor would surely ask if he reported this to him. He hit the bulls-eye anyway. A personal pity for a dead woman would not have put the empire in place. But what if he let the lion burrow, which is seething with anger instead of the emperor, know first? It's a pretty good ending. Isn't that right? It was a pretty good situation.

    Nora looked up for a moment and looked around the foot of the mountain. Winter was passing and the warm spring was coming. The weather was great for a picnic and a horse ride. It's already been four months since she died here. A quiet whisper leaked through his lips. It was a murmur almost close to prayer.

    "Please forgive me, Lady Neuvanstein. All those people you loved in your life will be destroyed......"

    It wasn't in the hope of helping the stupid guys who realized recently how blessed they were. It wasn't for those clumsy lions who were left behind to clung onto the investigation all night long in the past a few months ago. Just......because it was the only thing he could do. That's because, once upon a time, to her who cried alone in a snowy garden, it was the only tribute he could give to the only person who wiped away his tears.

    Furthermore, he was very curious to see how people would react to him hitting the back of the imperial family, seeing as he was in a position to be loyal to the imperial family more than anyone else. It could have been a very vicious and despicable act, but it was Nora von Nuremberg. How did it become like this? As a child, he just wanted to be someone's knight. That was all he wanted.

    Nevertheless, at this moment, he was trying to do something completely against his childhood dream. The righteous hero, full of passion that he should have been, has long been melted in the tears of his boyhood. For him, honor was a trampling tragedy in his childhood, and so was his affection for blood ties or loyalty. At that time, the boy who knelt down and cried alone on the altar was no longer here. If the empire was sacrificed to raise consciousness, would the dead come back alive then? Could they come back and correct all this wrongfulness? Of course, it was just a delusional question. The spring breeze blowing after the severe cold was warm. Soon, the cherry blossoms would begin to bloom. Feeling the warmth of the spring sunshine that doesn't match him, Nora stepped on a mounted stallion. The winter that covered everything white is over. It was time to start a full-fledged bloodbath. His life was also something that could not be guaranteed, but it didn't matter. And finally, as he told her one day, wept.

    P.s Everette is female for those who are wondering ^_^
     
    im_trash42, M30WWWW, Bleh00 and 146 others like this.
  19. theilikepie

    theilikepie Well-Known Member

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    What really, how? People get so bent up over the smallest things women do in the novel so far. She must have been though a lot of shit to get to where she is now
     
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  20. TsukiSetsu

    TsukiSetsu Well-Known Member

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    I want to know more of Nora and Shuili love moments :aww::X3: Especially their married life :bloblove:
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2020