[The Empress of Windsor, Viola, was a woman of rare beauty, remarkably similar to Edwin.]
[She looked no more than thirty, young, fresh, graceful, like the personification of eternal spring. But in fact, she is already over sixty.]
Adaline remembered how long the Empress had treated her with warmth, right up until the moment she ran away. [Ten years passed from their first meeting, when Adaline was only eight, to her escape at eighteen. And during all this time, Viola has not changed one iota.]
Sometimes Adaline seriously wondered: [is she an elf? Or maybe a representative of some other, non-human species?]
[Unlike the Emperor, who, after deteriorating health, retired to a country palace, Viola held both high society and political power in her hands. It was thanks to her that Edwin could so confidently replace his father without even officially taking the throne.]
[Underneath her gentle, doe-like exterior lay a steely character: passionate, proactive, insightful. Some even whispered that she was the real Emperor in this country.]
[The Emperor was kind, but sometimes lacked charisma, so together they were considered by many to be a perfectly balanced couple.]
[Viola and Emma had a friendship even before their marriages, and since then Emma remained her closest maid of honor.]
[The father is a member of parliament, the elder brother is the owner of fertile lands, the second is a successful merchant, and the mother is the maid of honor of the Empress herself... The Bertrand family is simply something... Sometimes it seemed to Adaline that Emma was one of the most influential women in all of Delmez.]
“I heard you almost got into trouble.” - Emma said with a smile, but there was a cold note in her voice.
“Shane protected me well.”
“We warned you: if danger arises, hide behind someone.”
Even if Adaline had ten mouths to feed, she would have nothing to say in response.
[She wanted to justify herself, to say that everything worked out and she was not hurt, but she understood: such a statement would only bring her mother to tears. Emma only recently believed that her daughter was still alive, and now she could lose her again.]
“You were probably full of human shields around you.” - Emma added.
[What exactly did she mean, people instead of a wall or a sword? Or was it just Adaline's imagination that painted a terrible picture?]
Seeing Adaline look down and frown, Emma sighed quietly:
“Okay, let's leave it at that for now. But Patrick and Jeff will visit you soon. And Gregory probably won't hold back either. You know what they are like: they will hang over, press down. Better prepare yourself mentally."
“I understand...”
Jeff's stern face came clearly to Adaline's memory. [And Gregory and Patrick...They were always masters of pushing with words. Especially Gregory, he spoke in such a way that after every sentence Adaline felt like a criminal worthy of a harsh sentence.]
Once she even thought: [this is how victims of political manipulation must feel...]
“Emma, even you turn into an ordinary mother next to your daughter.” - the Empress remarked ironically.
"Please don't tease me, Your Majesty."
“Do you really love her that much?”
“She’s a miracle, isn’t she? For parents, all children are beautiful.”
“If my children were half as cute as Adaline, I would adore them too...”
Viola clicked her tongue softly.
“All my children are kind of strange. One is more wonderful than the other."
“Don't say that. In your own way, you still love them.”
“Well, yes, probably. In my own way."
The conversation turned to a subtle, almost intimate wave. Adaline watched them silently, raising a cup of tea to her lips.
And as soon as Viola saw her face, she, like Edwin before her, said quietly:
“So you’re really alive, Adaline...”
[Hearing the same words from people who were as similar to each other as two peas in a pod, but of different genders, was eerie in its own way. And especially, under the gaze of Viola: her piercing blue eyes seemed to see right through.]
But then the Empress smiled softly, congratulated her and was genuinely happy, allowing Adaline to avoid awkwardness and simply nod in response.
[Later, when Jeff mentioned that he had asked Lloyd for cooperation, Adaline realized that neither of the Bertrands actually believed in the "miracle Saint."]
[And yet, everyone was pretending. Everyone accepted it.]
[No questions, no accusations. Only the fact of her return.]
And this is what put pressure on Adaline much more than any interrogation.
“It would be better if you married my son.” - Viola suddenly said.
“We wouldn't dare, Your Majesty. Our family is unworthy."
“But did you believe in the Blanchards? They also have Imperial blood, by the way.”
“That’s why we agreed to get engaged. At that time, Prince Edwin was negotiating a marriage with a princess from Remwi."
“What a shame. If I had known that everything would turn out this way, I would have insisted stronger.”
[It was a cold, frightening conversation in its own way.]
[Even if Adaline managed to avoid an engagement to the main character, Shane, she would still be engaged to someone else: Edwin, his “second” in this strange, twisted novel.]