The Savior Says She's Having a Breakdown - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The Past

Seeing that Feng Qingyu was almost finished eating, Maggie turned her face and said to Yuna in a low voice: “You go to the training ground today.”

Yuna looked at Feng Qingyu, remembered her furious table-slapping from yesterday, and hesitated: “Do you really not need a subordinate to accompany you, Your Highness?”

Maggie nodded: “That is an order.”

Yuna immediately straightened her posture: “Yes, Your Highness.”

Although she was eating, Feng Qingyu was still alert and attentive. Seeing Yuna leave and realizing only she and Maggie were left in the dining room, she quickly shoved the last two mouthfuls into her mouth. She hadn’t figured out how to be alone with Maggie. She had assumed Yuna would be present for the so-called “chat,” but now she had been sent away.

If what she had seen in her dream had truly happened, then there was a reason for all of Maggie’s violent behavior. If you were contradicted, you got the whip. If it were her, she would certainly try to make sure others got the beating instead.

Then, considering her own actions all this time, she had not only “contradicted” this person but had also made her lose face in front of her subordinates as a member of the royal family. Furthermore, she was no longer their only hope…

Was Maggie going to beat her up to vent her anger this time, or even kill her?

With this thought, Feng Qingyu stood up and said: “Let’s talk in the garden. Looking at the flowers might help calm us down and prevent us from being too impulsive.”

Maggie was a little surprised, thinking Feng Qingyu was worried about her own mood. She agreed readily.

As the weather grew warmer, more types of flowers bloomed in the garden. Feng Qingyu followed Maggie and found a table and chairs to sit at. Before long, Nancy brought over tea and snacks, then retreated to a distant spot.

“I… have a few things I want to ask you.”

Maggie, who was just about to speak, was preempted. She frowned but quickly regained her composure and deliberately softened her voice: “Speak.”

Feng Qingyu carefully observed her expression as she cautiously began: “When you were little, were you scolded by Idith because you were bullied by a maid?”

The moment the question was out, Maggie’s face immediately fell: “How do you know?”

Feng Qingyu didn’t answer and asked again: “When you were about seven or eight, did you receive Idith’s… whip because you fought with Barbara at the training ground?”

“Did Mina tell you?”

Fearing Maggie would take her anger out on others, Feng Qingyu quickly shook her head and waved her hands: “It wasn’t her! You tell me if it’s true first, and then I’ll tell you how I know.”

Maggie bit her lower lip, her face looking even paler: “Yes.”

“Then… was Fiana appointed as the captain of your security detail by your mother, even though you had already chosen someone else before that?”

“Yes.” Maggie frowned deeply. “How do you know these things? Only Mina knows about my injuries. And I was only three when my mother scolded me; even Linda doesn’t know about that, besides my mother and me.”

Feng Qingyu stared into her deep blue eyes and said very seriously: “If I told you that I saw your past myself, would you believe me?”

Finally, a sound broke the long silence in the garden.

“I believe you.” Maggie saw that Feng Qingyu was still staring at her and couldn’t help but stare back, suddenly noticing something: “Your eyes…”

Feng Qingyu subconsciously reached up and rubbed them twice: “Huh? What about my eyes?”

Maggie shook her head: “Nothing, I must have seen wrong.”

“That’s strange,” Feng Qingyu muttered, and then said, “Then I have one last question, and I hope you think carefully before answering me.”

“Alright.”

“All these changes you’ve made recently, are they because you genuinely realized the problem, or are you following Hana’s advice to just put on a show and return to your old ways once everything is over?”

As soon as the question was asked, the entire garden fell into silence.

“If you are just planning to put on a show, I think we should forget it sooner rather than later.” Feng Qingyu felt that such a long silence made the answer quite obvious. She exhaled in relief but also pulled at the corners of her mouth in disappointment: “You must be very tired of pretending all this time, right? To be honest, I’m tired of watching too, constantly on edge, afraid that you’ll suddenly turn hostile and run me through with a sword. It would be better if we were both straightforward. You hate me, I hate you… Oh, right, let’s also forget about that so-called love contract Hana mentioned. Anyway, there are now clues regarding the spring’s drying up, and I believe with your technological level, you’ll definitely find…”

“No.”

Feng Qingyu was confused by the interruption: “No what? I haven’t finished speaking.”

When she heard that question, Maggie suddenly felt a complex, inexpressible feeling surge in her heart. She tried to speak several times, wanting to say something, but couldn’t open her mouth.

From the initial tolerance urged by Hana’s repeated advice, to the later spontaneous restraint for the benefit of the Star Kingdom, and then the active efforts to understand after establishing the love contract, she had gradually become accustomed to this lifestyle that was completely different from before.

Now, she herself didn’t know whether she was “putting on a show” or genuinely wanted a new life…

It wasn’t until she heard Feng Qingyu say “forget it” that she felt not the anger she usually felt when contradicted, but rather a hint of… reluctance.

Yes, reluctance.

Maggie suddenly realized—during the few days she brought Feng Qingyu back to Earth and stayed at the Feng family’s house, she and Yuna constantly kept an eye on them to prevent tricks. The natural, warm way the Feng family members interacted and the protective stance of the three men toward Feng Qingyu had already planted a seed in her heart.

As Maggie delved deeper into Earth culture, she discovered that this seed had taken root, sprouted, and blossomed at some point.

Every time she heard Hana use the “emotional detachment of the Star Kingdom people” to comfort Feng Qingyu, she took it as a warning to herself, but deep down, she knew it wasn’t true.

These past events had been sealed and forgotten, but after discovering yesterday that the spring water’s drying up was man-made, Maggie had dreamt all night. She dreamt of being severely scolded by Idith, being whipped by Idith after fighting with Barbara, and routinely receiving the whip after contradicting Idith… These were all part of her former daily life.

Of course, there was more to Maggie’s past that Feng Qingyu didn’t know—she had seen Idith cry only once, in Debbie’s room, clutching clothes Debbie once wore.

Therefore, from a young age, Maggie clearly understood that the people of the Star Kingdom were not born emotionally detached, and Idith was not truly cold-blooded and unfeeling. It was just that all her affection was given to Debbie; everyone else, including herself, Barbara, and Vivian, were merely tools Idith wanted to be obedient and unswayed by emotion.

But even they weren’t obedient enough after Fiana replaced Yuna as the security detail captain, Maggie found ways to establish the Royal Guard within the detail and persuaded Barbara to join. By the time Idith received the news and tried to make them both disband the unit, it was already too late.

Despite being whipped until her flesh was torn and bloody by Idith again after she reached adulthood because of the Royal Guard, Maggie did not regret it.

“I’m not putting on a show.” Maggie said. “I know you are prejudiced against me, so you will be suspicious of anything I say. I don’t know how you managed to glimpse my dream, but since you know everything, I have nothing to hide. What I told you yesterday was all true; I did not lie to you. As for the love contract, after I went to Earth and saw your mother’s affection for you, it reminded me of Mother’s feelings for Debbie… So when Hana approached me and asked me to ‘pursue’ you, I agreed. I thought, maybe you could… could…”

Feng Qingyu was somewhat astonished to hear Maggie speak so much in one breath. She paused before asking: “Could what?”

Maggie’s face visibly flushed: “Hana told you, I am not good at expressing myself.”

After thinking for a long time, Feng Qingyu still didn’t know what she was trying to say, but being stared at by her made her cheeks warm up. So, she changed the subject: “You just said that I glimpsed your dream?”

Maggie, relieved that the awkwardness was broken, nodded: “Everything you mentioned is what I dreamt about last night.”

“I’m sorry for opening old wounds. What I said were also things I dreamt about last night.” Remembering what she had seen, the soft-hearted Feng Qingyu felt a pang in her chest and immediately changed the topic: “Right, why were you so insistent yesterday that Debbie isn’t dead? And that she was the one who tampered with the Spirit Spring?”

“I think Mother must have found something else in the Spirit Spring, something that would let her know Debbie isn’t dead.”

“Even if Debbie isn’t dead, with Idith’s past behavior, she wouldn’t abandon the Star Kingdom just to cover for Debbie, would she?”

“I don’t know.” Maggie shook her head, and fearing Feng Qingyu wouldn’t believe her, looked at her and said, “I really didn’t lie to you.”

Seeing how nervous she was, the image of three-year-old Maggie flashed in front of Feng Qingyu’s eyes again, and she laughed: “I’ll believe you for now, but you still have to give me a logical reason.”

Maggie thought hard about this request and finally said: “I really can’t think of why, maybe… maybe…”

“Forget it, I won’t pressure you. We can investigate this slowly.” Feng Qingyu waved her hand. “How about we first consider why I can dream your dreams? We won’t figure it out just sitting here. Shall we ask Hana and the others to discuss it?”

“Good,” Maggie said, opening her communicator. But the hand preparing to send the message paused, and she looked at Feng Qingyu: “Promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Don’t tell them the content of the dream.”

Feng Qingyu saw her tightly pursed lips, and the image of the slender yet strong young girl from the dream surfaced in her mind once more. In the end, her heart ached, and she said: “Alright. But I have something to say, even though it might sound like I’m giving unsolicited advice: So many years have passed, let go of what you should let go of. After all, you still have Hana and the others now, and you will have the Star Kingdom in the future. I promised you that I would help you solve your predicament.”

“Thank you,” Maggie gave her a slight smile, and the light returned to her eyes. “Also, I’m sorry for all the bad things I did to you at the beginning. I don’t know how long it will take to make up for these mistakes, but I hope you can give me a chance.”

This time, Feng Qingyu clearly felt that the person in front of her was genuinely apologizing and recognizing her mistakes. So, she heard herself say: “Alright.”