The Flower Of Eternity
Chapter 35: The King's First Love

After his visit to the Smirnoff House as well as a quick visit to the Schiereiland Palace to see the current conditions of his Palace, Anna immediately went on to the next place as she wanted to finish everything in one day so as not to have to linger away from her daughter.

Anna went to the place Ludwig had told her. One of the houses owned by Ludwig who is now occupied by his two brothers—Wilhelm and Heinrich— who are in the Richterswill region.

The house is more appropriate if it is called a palace. Ludwig said that all the sons of King Vlad had started buying at least one property since they were teenagers to make their home after Xavier became King because they were worried about their mother's actions towards Xavier small will make them all expelled from the Palace. That is why, Ludwig who has two sisters also has more than three houses the size of the Palace scattered in various different places. The house Anna visited was the one Ludwig bought to give to Henry, his youngest brother. Anyone who saw it would instantly know that the ones who lived there were princes because of how big and luxurious the house was, and because it was heavily guarded.

But it was not only the two princes who lived there. They live there with their mother, Selena.

This time Anna came with Irene. Irene, who had left Vierra with Eliza and the other concubines, soon followed Anna when she said that Anna needed her to have an important conversation with Selena. Anna was quite confident, by bringing Irene, she would succeed in making Selena willing to help Ludwig. Xavier's journal played a major role in the meeting.

When they entered the mansion, they received a friendly welcome from their hosts, namely the two young princes. Prince Wilhelm—, whom Anna estimates is more or less the same age as the late Prince Alexis, and Prince Heinrich who is very young but his manners are blameless and his character is very mature, welcome Anna and Irene with preparation. The two princes had already heard from their eldest brother that an honored guest would come to their residence to meet the Mother. But they were not told that what was to come was the Tsarina and the Queen Mother.

Upon seeing their honored guest, the princes failed to hide their shock and stood there for a while until the younger brother, Henry, stood there, first, she cleared her throat and allowed Anna and Irene to enter their living room.

Anna knew that if she lingered on pleasantries with the two young princes, they would feel uneasy because the two still looked very affectionate towards her. Although very young, they understood that their mother had done a lot of bad to Xavier and they felt Anna as Xavier's wife, as well as Irene as his mother, would hate them. Anna tried to keep a friendly smile and tried to make the two princes more comfortable while talking to her. But the two were so polite and courteous to Anna and Irene. They treat their guests with respect. So to end the discomfort that felt would burden the two princes, Anna immediately asked the two princes to take her and Irene to meet their mother.

Selena wasn't locked up in jail as Anna had imagined. His eldest son loved his mother so much that the son simply put a magic sealing bracelet on her and placed her in the most luxurious room with the most beautiful view on the top floor of the mansion. Selena was served by the servants and got whatever she wanted. The luxury and comfort she had previously obtained in the Main Palace as the King's empress did not diminish the slightest item in the house. Both of her sons who live in the house still respect her as their mother and make sure their Mother does not lack anything. Comfortable beds, good food, beautiful dresses and jewelry, all available for her. The only drawback is that Selena is not allowed to leave the house and cannot use magic. That is why there are so many guards guarding the house.

The two guards opened Selena's room door for Anna and Irene after announcing their arrival.

The room was as large as Selena's room in the Main Palace, with its golden and silver ornate walls and windows facing directly towards the beautiful fountain in front of the house. From inside the room, Selena could see anyone who wanted to visit the house. Selena had already seen Anna and Irene coming and was already looking forward to their arrival. He sat on a chair by the balcony, sipping his tea quietly. On the table in front of him, there were various sweet snacks, and two other cups were still empty. Two servants and two bodyguards stood on each side of the room.

Selena still looked the same as Anna had seen last time. Young and beautiful, and wearing a luxurious dress with a variety of jewelry that adorns the fingers, hands, and neck. The most striking jewelry was in both of her hands, a pair of gold bracelets with beautiful and glittering gemstones. The jewelry created by Ludwig was specially for his mother, to seal her mother's magic power.

And the jewels will have Anna let go of Selena's hands if their conversation today ends well.

"Look who's coming. My powerful son-in-law." Selena said as her greeting to Anna. His tone could make anyone who heard him become annoyed even though there was no personal grudge against him. When Anna and Irene entered, Selena did not look at Irene at all, whether intentional or not.

"I'm not your daughter-in-law. Xavier's not your son. You never treated him as your son." Said Anna. He sat on one of the chairs facing Selena. Anna invited Irene to sit next to her.

Before her mother-in-law sat down, Anna saw Irene's hand holding the edge of her sword as if preparing to fight. The look in her eyes did not escape Selena, emitting a mixture of hatred, anger, and sadness.

Selena is watching Irene. If he was surprised to see it, he did not show it at all. That Irene had gotten out of Selena's magic trap after twenty-three years and that Irene had remained as young as she was twenty-three years ago, didn't seem to surprise Selena much. Selena hints at one of her servants to pour tea for Anna and Irene.

"Totally so." Selena said, responding to Anna's earlier words. "He's the son of a bitch—“

Before Selena could finish her sentence, Irene had already pulled out her sword and pulled it down Selena's neck. "Shut your mouth Selena! You seduced my husband, poisoned him and killed him. You hurt my son! What was Xavier's fault that you repeatedly wanted to kill him! You should be begging for your life right now!"

Although Irene was clearly threatening Selena, none of her bodyguards there had moved from where they were to stop her. They remained alert, watching and waiting, but not moving. Then Anna realized that their presence was not to protect the Lady of the House, but to protect the guests from the Lady of the House.

They were silent and looking at each other. The hand of Irene who drew her sword at Selena seemed to have not shifted one bit, she did not tremble, did not fear one bit, and there was no doubt in her heart. He'll kill Selena if he wants to. He can do it. She felt entitled to do so after what Selena had done to her, to her husband and to Xavier.

Then Selena said, "Kill me if you want, Irene." Selena smiled cynically. Her gaze implied a challenge to the first wife of her late husband. The hatred that had been rooted for so many years was evident from the way he saw Irene. "But there must be a reason why Her Majesty the Tsarina came to this remote place." He continued, looking towards Anna. Her tone, somehow, managed to upset Anna. It was as if Selena knew the true intent of Anna's arrival to the house was to ask for her help.

Anna ignored Selena and turned to Irene whose sword was still drawn towards Selena. "Mother-in-law, you want to beat him up first? Maybe you'll vent your anger before I start talking to him?"

"Should it?" Irene asked, really. The lightning in his eyes could not lie that he really wanted to beat up the woman. But Irene knew what purpose they had come to that place. And not bloodshed is their main goal. So Irene immediately sheathed her sword back. "I don't think so. He's the one who suffered the most after Vlad died." Irene paused for a moment, observing the change in expression on Selena's face. "You killed the man you love with your own hands. How's it feel, Selena? He's probably the only person who's ever loved you sincerely."

Selena laughed when she heard it. Sarcastic laugh. "No. He never loved me. He lied to me. Shelove you. I wasn't. He'd rather have you."

Irene shook her head, the look of the hateful eyes changed, now she seemed to be pitying Selena. "Before loving me, he loved you so much. You're her first love, Selena. At the beginning of our marriage, we were only allied to be a good couple of Kings and Queens, without any feelings. Like most northern men, he was very polite and treated me well, but not because he loved me. He confessed to me that there was a woman he loved before he married me and he was trying to lose that love in my honor as his wife. It wasn't easy for him because he loved you so much. But the longer you change in her eyes. She knew you repeatedly tried to kill me when she found out I was pregnant with her son. And that makes him hate you. His love for you is eroded away by your own actions."

Anna didn't need to ask if it was true or not, because when she saw Irene's facial expression when she told Selena all that, Anna knew Irene was telling the truth. King Vlad loved Selena before she was blinded by jealousy and vengeance. If only King Vlad had never married Irene, or if only King Vlad had told Selena the truth that he really loved that woman but he had to marry Irene Winterthur to obtain the throne, maybe Selena's love story with the King will look like Anna and Xavier. Perhaps King Vlad will also free Clera and let Selena lead her country.

And his assumption proved to be true when Irene resumed her words, "She married the only daughter of the Winterthur family, with me, to have the support of my family. To be King. He was so ambitious to become King, only to free Clera and return her to you. That's how much his love was for you. He puts your happiness and freedom first. But when I saw you turn, cruel and cunning, to the point of harming me and the son I was carrying at the time, he undoes his intentions."

There was a silent pause between the three in the room. Anna feels she has no right to speak up because it is currently the solution to the problem between Irene and Selena. Irene fell silent because she wanted to know Selena's reaction after she revealed the truth that had been hidden all along. And Selena was so shocked at what she had just heard. It was hard for Selena to believe all of Irene's words.

Selena shook her head, her lips opened to say something, a line of refutation and proof that she was indeed betrayed and King Vlad never loved her, but no words came out of her mouth. He was silent for a while until his tea became cold.

"No... He can't be..." Selena finally said. Anna could see that the woman's purple eyes looked teary, holding back tears. Anna could not read minds like Shuu or the Ortiz Clan, but she knew Selena was recalling her past with King Vlad. Find out if the King really loved her.

"It's up to you to believe it or not." Irene told Selena. She then turned to Anna, and that was when Anna could see that Irene's eyes were also glazed over. Anna thought, Irene must have long wanted to tell Selena about this so that the two would not need to be hostile. So that his son does not need to be hurt. So that her husband would not have to die. But it's useless, Irene can't do anything and no one can tell Selena about any of this. "I'm done. Please speak with him, Your Majesty. I'll be outside." Further.

"What do you want? You want to pity me?" Selena asked later after confirming Irene was not in the room. His tone turned colder, but that hateful tone of speech had disappeared.

Anna said, "I've heard of you from Ludwig. We didn't end up getting married the way you wanted, but we were good friends. Your sons are good men, Princess Laluna. They are polite to women, intelligent, and know how to behave according to manners. They were clearly very respectable members of the royal family. Like you, Princess Laluna." Anna accidentally mentions Selena by her real name as well as her honorary title in Clera. After all, Selena is still a princess of a kingdom.

Selena smiled cynically, "You're smart to speak."

"Not really. I'm actually not as good as Xavier at words." Anna acknowledged.

"Oh, yeah. That boy is the most articulate." Selena said, "Like her father."

Anna smiled, "You don't hate him, do you?"

"No. I hate him so much."

"When you could really kill him when Xavier was born and helpless. But you didn't do it." Said Anna.

For a while, Selena seemed to be looking for an excuse. "He looks just like his father." That's all he can say. From her eyes Anna could see that Selena was still pondering Irene's words earlier.

Anna held back her smile. He managed to bring out the true nature of Laluna. It was no longer the crafty snake Selena he knew that was before him at this moment. The words of Irene had made Princess Laluna of Clera who fell in love with a prince of Nordhalbinsel, who had been buried deep in Selena's weak heart, now come back to life. The one before him right now was the figure of Princess Laluna, who despite fate was so cruel to her, but she did not become cruel either. Princess Laluna who once got rid of her grudge on the kingdom that had destroyed her kingdom, because of her love for the royal heir.

"So you didn't have the heart of him at the time?" Anna's fishing, "Basically you're not really evil, Princess Laluna. You only feel so hurt because the man you love chooses to break his promise to you and marry another woman. And you have believed him, and you are willing to forgive his father who killed your family and destroyed your kingdom for love. You feel betrayed—when that's not what really happened. That's understandable.  You took revenge on him so you wanted to make him feel the loss of his wife and then his son. You got rid of Irene—but you didn't kill her, and it made King Vlad feel miserable. But you couldn't kill Xavier back then because deep down, you couldn't have killed that newborn. In any case, you were born as a royal princess, it is your reason to have a heart that loves without any view of status. Your conscience prevents you from killing that poor baby. You assured yourself that you are not a monster like those who have invaded your kingdom, that you still have a conscience."

"Don't be so wise!" Selena.

"You might forget that we have some similarities. I also lost my family and my kingdom to Nordhalbinsel. I also fell in love with the man who was the son of the King who killed my father. I'm not the first woman that Xavier married, she's already married to a woman from the Winterthur Clan. And now I've lost my husband too." Momentary pause. It still felt hard for Anna to speak of Xavier's death in front of anyone. But he knew this was not the right time to be dissolved in grief. He was on a mission to recruit Selena as additional manpower that would help Ludwig complete the Steel Dragon. Anna covered up her sadness with a friendly smile at Selena, "Well, there's a lot of similarities between us. I don't like it when other people say it, but really, I understand how you feel."

"What is your purpose in actually telling me all that? You want me to say that I'm sorry for all your loss?"

Anna sighed. Acting as Xavier used to do was not his forte. Not at all suitable for him. But what he will say next is the truth. So he doesn't have to act anymore.

Anna then said, "Before Xavier died, he had already prepared something for you."

"Jail? Death sentence?"

"Clera's Independence." Answer Anna. And Anna did not fantasize as she looked at that unceremoniously shocked expression on Selena's face. Anna continued her words, "Xavier plans to return Clera to the rightful heir to the throne of Clera. And you, Princess Laluna, are the heir."

Selena laughed nervously, "Don't make it up. Xavier must hate me. I was always cruel to him. There's no way she—“ But her words immediately came to a halt as soon as Anna gave her something.

Anna gave Selena Xavier's journal and opened it on a certain page she had marked. Selena looked down at the open page. Just a few words he had read, he had already looked back at Anna with a face full of question marks.

Anna now knew what Xavier meant in his letter, "there may be some notes you need" so it was written at the end of Xavier's letter that he gave along with the journal book. And Xavier proved right. There are some notes that can help Anna. That note, which Anna was opening for Selena, was one of them.

"Read it yourself. This was a journal entry he had written during the last year of his life. And after you read it, if your heart is moved by its good intentions, if the noble nature of the Princess of Clera is still in you, then come with me to meet your eldest son who also wants to make up with you. I'll also remove the bracelet if you're willing." Said Anna.

***

The journal of King Xavier:

Today I went to Ludwig to offer him my throne.

Somehow we can get this far now. I vaguely remember that Ludwig and I were once really like real brothers. I mean, she was my sister— stepbrother but judging by her attitude towards me when I met her today, she seemed to think of me as a threat. My relationship with all my sisters was not good, mostly because their mother thought of me as something to be rid of. But Ludwig used to be a sweet little brother who always wanted to follow me. And I used to think of him as my only friend. Until Selena really wanted to kill me one day, and Ludwig saw her, but she just kept watching without doing anything to help me. From that moment on, it was hard to think of him as my sister.

But I have to repair my relationship with him. I need it if I want to protect my kingdom and Anna. At first I wanted to count on Leon, making him King of Nordhalbinsel because he was also the son of my mother, she was the first child of Queen Nordhalbinsel, but she was still not awake. And I don't know until when Leon's gonna keep it that way. I also didn't know I could survive with this poison for how long because it felt more and more painful.

That's why I relied on the genius Ludwig and wanted to make him King. I haven't told Ludwig yet, but unbeknownst to him, I'm looking for and gathering Clera's men who may still be alive in Nordhalbinsel. I plan to liberate Clera, Selena's home country. So that the revenge and hatred that my stepmother has long piled up can be resolved well.

Anna taught me that revenge only destroys itself. Not that I didn't know or pretend not to know, Selena did all that because her kingdom was forcibly taken by my grandfather when she was very young, and when she was a teenager, my father betrayed his love. And now Selena killed my father for that revenge. And if I take revenge on him for my father's death, then this will never end. We will continue to retaliate and destroy each other. So I decided to free Clera and let Selena lead her own kingdom with a peace treaty of course.

I sent nine of the best witches in the Tower who ever worked with Selena, as well as the Clera men I found to go to the island of Clera on a secret mission, that is to improve the situation there until the place becomes as it was. I wish I was long enough to see a full, free Clera again. I heard Clera used to be a very beautiful country. I would like to someday go there with Anna to sign a peace treaty with my stepmother.

***