The Executed Saint Reincarnates as a Princess and is Loved by Her Older Brothers - Episode 41

“Angela, you are not my real daughter.”

Not understanding what was being said, Angela was bewildered.

“Your real mother’s name is Anna. Anna was my maid.”

“Mother’s maid…!?”

Josephine’s clasped hands trembled violently.

“When I found out that Anna was pregnant with His Majesty’s child, I was consumed with rage…”

Hearing the voice still tinged with lingering resentment, a sharp pain pierced Angela’s chest.

That’s right. It’s only natural for Mother to be angry.

A maidservant serving the empress having a child with the emperor is an unforgivable betrayal from the empress’s perspective. It’s an act that deserves to be called a homewrecker.

The late former queen consort of the Kingdom of Coral, Diane, was known for her fastidious nature and her unforgiving attitude towards her husband’s mistresses.

If the king’s infidelity is exposed, the woman involved will be severely punished. If there are children, they will be exterminated as well.

Intense jealousy is terrifying, and I think it’s wrong to harm innocent children, but as a queen, she might have considered it a necessary act to maintain her position and secure a stable future for her child, Nathan.

Above all, her pride as the rightful wife must have driven the queen into a furious rage.──How dare she seduce my husband? How dare she bear the child of infidelity?

“How dare you…”

Josephine trembled with anger.

“How dare you take my dear Anna!”

That way!?

“Really, what on earth are you thinking, Your Majesty? To lay a hand on the maid I was particularly fond of!”

Staring in astonishment at the fuming Josephine, Angela quietly raised her hand.

“Uh… um, it’s not that I’m angry at you, Anna Mother…?”

“Of course. There’s no way a maid could defy the emperor.”

Josephine was furious not because her husband was seduced by the maid, but because the maid had taken her husband away.

“I know very well that Anna is an honest and good girl. I have never thought that she could be at fault.”

The tension that had been building up in Angela began to dissipate as Josephine spoke clearly and decisively. Angela finally took a breath.

“Mother Anna is now……”

By asking that question, I weave the answer myself.

“They have passed away, haven’t they?”

I can’t tell anyone, but Angela has memories from when she was a baby.

However, I have no recollection of interacting with a woman named Anna.

I can’t believe that Josephine, who dotes on Anna and insists she is an honest and good girl, would kick her out so soon after giving birth.

Perhaps Anna… left this world without even having a chance to interact with Angela.

That’s right. Back then…

What I remember is when I was just born.

It was when Josephine picked up Angela after she started crying.

“It’s too dangerous to watch. I’ll hold them, so you all just stay back.”

My body floated gently, and as I was embraced by the soft bosom, the black clothes Josephine was wearing brushed against my cheek.

“Absolutely no rough handling. You have to hold them gently and kindly.”

At that time, Angela still couldn’t see well. She couldn’t distinguish colors, and the world appeared in black and white.

However, even if I could identify more colors, I now understand that the clothes at that time were black.

Josephine was in mourning. Mourning for Anna, who had passed away leaving Angela behind.

“Anna cried all the time during her pregnancy. She didn’t do anything wrong, but……”

Tears welled up in Josephine’s eyes.

It seems that Anna was crying and apologizing to the Empress and the princes, saying she was sorry for having become pregnant with the Emperor’s child.

Even after having a child, it is overwhelming to be treated as royalty. It seems she wished to leave the palace with her child.

However, perhaps due to the toll of constantly crying during her pregnancy, Anna exhausted herself and succumbed during childbirth.

After hearing the cries of her safely born daughter and shedding tears, it is said that Anna’s closed eyes never opened again.

“……Such”

Angela was at a loss for words.

The reason Father won’t look at me is because of that, isn’t it……

My father’s beloved woman is Josephine. He deeply respects and trusts her both as an empress and as the mother of his sons.

Even so, he must have felt guilty about having taken advantage of Anna and about her dying in childbirth, leaving behind a child.

The series of events must have been quite a blow for him, especially being sternly reprimanded by Josephine, and seeing the newborn Angela must have weighed heavily on his conscience.

Angela is just a momentary whim, a foolish mistake for the emperor. That’s why he has always turned his back on her and maintained an attitude of near-ignorance.

Such actions by her father were heartbreaking, but an even greater feeling filled Angela’s heart.

It’s a feeling of gratitude.

I am overflowing with heartfelt gratitude to Josephine, who lovingly raised Angela, even though she is not related by bl00d.

“Thank you very much… Mother…”

Until now, I always thought that Angela’s name had the same angel-related meaning as her three brothers’ names.

It wasn’t just that.

It was the same name that started with “AN” as my biological mother—Anna.

Josefine gave her a name that connected her to a mother she had never seen. Even though she wasn’t by her side, Anna was her real mother, always with Angela, as if to convey that.