Bureti.
It’s a small kingdom in the North, and was often called the “The Northern Witch’s Kingdom.” Their symbol is an opal with antlers, their guardian spirit was a black panther, and it used to be the most powerful kingdom before the rise of S-Hertogenbosch. Their kingdom’s throne was passed down through matriarchal lineage. Even now, princesses were prioritized over princes there. They were also the descendants of witches. As such, their eye color would change if they touched someone with stigmata, almost like a sign of repulsion.
I always thought books contained all the world’s knowledge, but now that I was looking through them, I realized that there wasn’t much written here.
When I went to the library, every maid in the palace became so curious why I was suddenly browsing the library. It did feel a bit odd to learn about my mother’s home country all of a sudden.
As I always said, I didn’t have an ardent feeling of love for my mother. I didn’t, but what should I say?
It’s a bit subtle. I often thought that it’s okay since I had Serira. But still. There seemed to be something that couldn’t be entirely satisfied lurking within me, even with Serira, and it had been bothering me.
I did often wonder why she gave birth to me…
I wondered what this ‘curse’ was that dad and I apparently possessed.
Everything related to my mother was a mystery. I sometimes thought that if my mother hadn’t passed away while giving birth to me, I wondered what sort of life she would have now. Would we have died together? I doubted Caitel would have let us live.
I imagined what I didn’t have. Well, such thoughts were pointless now.
“The difference between the three countries…”
It was a little uncomfortable to face Serira for no reason.
So I just smiled at her.
That’s right. My mother’s right in front of me, why was I getting so distracted? I guessed this was why they said one shouldn’t let others get too close too quickly. I had to try not to become that way.
“The food in the north is mild, and the food in the south is salty.”
Northern cuisine had a mild taste, and southern meals were salty. I wrote those things in small letters on the notepad and looked up at Serira again. Anything else, Mom?
“Aren’t you going to ask Elyne?”
“No, thanks. She’s probably busy preparing for her wedding.”
She even took time off for it. Elyne would be back tomorrow after her three-day vacation…but I was not exactly thrilled about already missing her like this. Haa… did she really have to get married? She couldn’t call it off now, though…
Serira looked down at me with a smile. Her gaze made me feel awkward, and I coughed for no apparent reason.
“You should definitely ask Your Majesty. I’m sure he knows much better than I do.”
Asisi taught me that the northerners tend to value efficiency, so they move less but with more power. They were noticeably more calculating with every move they made. On the other hand, southerners tend to fight with wider, bigger swings that almost hypnotize their opponents.
Should I really ask dad?
Serira said that he did not know more. Well, I guessed I had to go see my dad.