needles.
I pouted and presented it to him like a treasure.
Alaric didn’t even glance at it and casually tossed it aside.
He looked down on me from above, while several servants threw Elara to the floor at his feet.
He stepped on her hand, grinding it cruelly, causing her to gasp in pain.
“How dare a lowly maid touch Vivi?”
Alaric hadn’t come to see me he was there to defend Vivienne,
He punished Elara, but that was meant for me.
A coldness spread through my heart as I said, “Move your foot off her hand.”
Alaric touched my furrowed brow, his touch as soft as silk, but his expression was detached and indifferent.
“Seraphine Vivi is under my protection,” be hissed. “Touch her again, and I’ll have your handmaid’s head on a pike. When I was young, I missed my chance with her, but now that I’ve found her again, I will never let her suffer. I will give her everything good. If you want to challenge me, then go ahead.” He didn’t care whether Vivienne had provoked me.
He simply couldn’t stand to see a single tear fall from her eyes.
Before he left, Alaric glanced at the pouch on the table, then at my fingers, covered in pricks and scars.
He mocked me, “Clumsy hands, stop stitching.”
It used to be that he would say, “Other men wear what their wives make for them. I want the same ”
Thad
grown up on horseback, skilled with the bow and arrow, but embroidery was never my forte.
Still, Alaric bad persisted until I reluctantly agreed.
Now that I had barely finished half of the pouch, he said he didn’t want it anymore.
Usaw him wearing a new pouch at his waist–one identical to Vivienne’s.
understood. He still wanted his woman to make things for him, to create for him with her own hands.
He simply didn’t want me anymore.
It was as if something inside me was being ripped away, and with Alaric’s receding figure, it seemed to drift farther and Earther from me
His clothes fluttered in the wind as he disappeared from the door.
I rubbed my eyes and wiped away the tears on my hand.
I picked up the pouch from the table, and in a burst of frustration, I jabbed the needle into the embroidered duck’s backside
Elara tried to comfort me. “Please, Your Majesty, stop. You’ll hurt yourself staying up too late. Your headache will worsen.”
1 swallowed my sobs and expressionlessly instructed her, “Apply medicine to your hand. No more words.”
I had never bowed to no one.
The pouch I embroidered–Alaric didn’t want it, but there were others who would.
Glopen 2
Chapter 3
Alaric always kept his promises. He gave all the good things to Vivienne.
There was only one piece of shimmering silk in the world. He promised me he would find it for me, but in the end, it ended up draped over Vivienne’s
shoulders.
The seven–colored gems from the Southem Sea–he said he would collect a hundred of them to make a headdress for me. Yet, every one of them was placed in Vivienne’s hair.
What I had, Vivienne had.
What I didn’t have, Vivienne didn’t lack.
My father and brother, seeing how aggrieved I was, sent many treasures from the frontier to comfort me
1 wrapped myself in a tiger skin, holding a crossbow in my left hand and a quiver of golden arrows in my right.
Elara remarked that I looked like a wealthy savage, living in a deep forest.
We both burst into laughter.
1 laughed so hard, tears came to my eyes.
“No wonder Mother always says Father is such a rough man, he’s as clumsy as can be, and so is my brother. The gifts they sent me are a mess.”
I collapsed onto the couch, burying my head in the pillow, my tears soaking into the cotton.
Elara fell silent, then asked cautiously, “Your Majesty, if you miss home, shall I send for your lady mother?”
Seeing I said nothing, she suddenly brightened and said, “Wow, there’s even a fox tail hidden here! It’s so soft and thick. A fox fur coat would look great on you!
Iclenched my fists, swallowing my
Turning to her, I smiled, “Go tell them to embroider lambs on my cloak, and maybe even calves, with patches of grasslands…”
I longed for the landscapes of the frontier.
I didn’t want to stay here any longer.
Before autumn arrived, my fox fur cloak was finished,
Elara, holding it, chattered away as we walked, praising the lambs and the endless grassy fields.
In the end, she couldn’t resist complimenting me, “Your taste is just exquisite, Your Majesty.”
As we reached the bridge, I happened to run into Alaric,
He paused when he saw me
“Why have you lost weight?
He took a couple of steps forward, reaching for my sleeve, but I turned away, awkwardly curtsying.
Alaric suppressed his breath, pulling me up from the ground. He gripped my hand and wouldn’t let go.
I was too stubborn. Whenever I got angry, I wouldn’t make up with him i
for at least halt an hour.
In the past, if I was upset, Alaric would hold me firmly, kiss me, tease me, and I would scold and hit him, but he would always come closer.
I used to enjoy that, but now, it seemned childish and a little bothersome.
Alaric seemed to notice my irritation. He gently released lais grip, staring at his empty hand, his expression one of hurt.
Vivienne, holding a kite, ran up and urgently called his name, complaining,
“Alaric! You told me to find you, but you’ve come here.”
Perhaps he had seen me, which was why he hadn’t gone to look for Vivienne.
But that was impossible. I laughed bitterly.
My smile seemed to irritate Vivienne
Chapter 3
She probably thought I was mocking her. Her eyes narrowed, and she quickly shifted her gaze to the fox fur cloak in Elara’s hands.
“What a beautiful fur!”
She snatched the fox tail and brought it over to Alaric, cheerfully saying, “I want it!”
Alaric pinched her cheek and smiled, “Alright, whatever you like.”
She had already taken so much from me.
But those were Alaric’s things. He could give them to anyone he wanted. I didn’t care.
However, the fox fur was a gift from my father, and no one would take it from me.
Without thinking about manners, I lunged forward to snatch back my cloak, but Vivienne held on tightly.
In the ensuing tug–of–war, her fist struck my forehead.
My ears began to buzz, and the world spun.
1 gritted my teeth and shoved her, and Vivienne screamed as she fell into the water.
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Vivienne was not seriously hurt, but she caught a cold due to the chilly air.
Alaric insisted that I give her the cloak to apologize.
“Vivi says she doesn’t blame you. She doesn’t ask for much, she just likes the fox tall. You shouldn’t have bullied Vivi. After all, without her, there would
be no you
He said without Vivienne, there would be no me.
It felt like a blow to the head. A wave of humiliation 1 had never felt before surged through me.
“Does that mean whatever Vivienne likes, I have to give it to her? In your eyes, am 1 just a substitute for her? When she’s not around, you’re kind to me, but when she returns, you give all your love to her. But don’t forget, the fox tall is mine, it was a gift from my father! It’s not yours, so who are you to tell me what to do!”
I threw away all my composure and cried, kicking Alaric and pushing him out of the room.
“Leave! Go! I never want to see you again!”
Alaric forcefully held me, wrapping his arms around me tightly,
With a frustrated look, he asked, “Does your hand not hurt? What’s all this nonsense? It’s just a fox tail…”
It’s not just a fox tall!
Alaric, it’s not just a fox tail!
It’s all that’s left of my love and dignity, the love and dignity you’ll never give me again.
But now, even that has been torn away by Vivienne.
Everything around me suddenly felt unreal, shifting between reality and illusion. I couldn’t tell the difference anymore.
Alaric held me tightly as my body slumped. I heard his panicked voice calling my name, “Zhou Sera! Sera, wake up…” As if he still loved me.
When I wolke up, Alaric had already left
He hadn’t taken my cloak, probably because it was ruined, no longer beautiful, and Vivienne had lost interest in it Doctor was loneeling in front of me, his expression somber. After a long pause, he finally spoke softly: “Your Majesty’s condition is worse than last year. I fear there is little I can do
I pressed my hands into my palms, my head in a daze. It took a long while before I could regain my composure.
I asked doctor to rise and pretended to be calm, asking, “How much longer do I have? How long can I live?”
He lowered his head, his eyes full of regret.
“At most a year and a half, but possibly only three to four months”
Oh, so I’m going to die soon.
Everyone must die, I know that
But I’m still so young. There’s so much I haven’t done yet.
My grasslands, my cattle and sheep–I haven’t even had a chance to go back and see them.
Father often said, “Death is nothing to fear.”
But I am a coward. I have falled his teachings,
When I heard that my time was short, I could only tremble in fear.
lid under the blanket, carefully concealing my weakness, I didn’t want to become a pitiful person.
I have one request. Please don’t tell anyone that I’m dying, alright? You know, so many people are waiting to see me fa
see me fall” I whispered.
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
I tried to summon the strength to keep up appearances, pretending everything was fine.
But the headaches, chest pains, and nausea became more frequent.
Elara, seeing me deteriorate, tried to cheer me up
up in front of others, but behind my back, she secretly wiped away her tears.
One evening, she burst in cradling a half–dead kitten. “Save it, my lady! It won’t last the night!”
Great, I’m not dead yet, but she’s already losing her mind.
A little while later, she sneaked into my chambers, her eyes furtive as she looked at me, then pulled out a small sickly cat from her pocket.
“Your Majesty, please save it. It won’t survive unless you help”
Elara, with tears in her eyes, gazed at me.
I was both angry and amused. I didn’t know if she was being clever or just trying to irritate me.
The sick cat was barely alive. I thought it wouldn’t last long, so I let Elara take care of it, just as long as it didn’t bother me.
The next day, when I woke from a nap, I found the cat’s head buried in my milk bowl, drinking so much it looked like its belly would burst.
I feared it might choke, so I quickly scooped it up in my hands, too scared to move it.
Elara heard the noise and rushed in, exclaiming, “Your Majesty! It’s eating so much, it’s going to explode!”
Before she finished speaking, the car began to vomit and defecate.
I cried, truly cried.
My hands are ruined.
I thought it was about to die, but instead, it grew more lively every day, stubbornly clinging to life.
It loved to drink from my bowl, and because of the cat, my appetite improved.
Every day, I had to drink quicldy or else there wouldn’t be any left.
Elara, seeing me regain my strength, happily made a few yarn balls and let the cat play with me.
Neither of us liked it.
We both preferred climbing trees. Every day, we scampered up to the trees in the yard, scaring away several nests of sparrows. One day, as I climbed up to about two or three meters, I heard a crowd calling, Your Majesty, long life!”
Alaric was standing beneath the tree, staring up at my back with a look of bewildered confusion.
I couldn’t help but laugh, Suddenly, a sharp pain struck my chest, and I nearly lost my grip op the tree.
Alaric quickly extended his hand, seemingly ready to catch me.
He nodded at me, saying, “Spra, don’t be afraid. Jump
In that moment, I felt like I was back in a time without Vivienne.
Back when he had been so kind to me.
For a brief moment, I softened, closing my eyes and making a bet with myself
If Alaric could catch me, I would say goodbye properly, so we could part on g
on good terms.
1 heard Vivienne crying outside, saying, “Where did this cat come from? It hurts!”
Alaric, who will you choose?
