Chris Dia von Alcreasia, the reigning Empress of the Arclesia Empire, had walked a path that was anything but smooth.
It began when the previous Emperor suddenly took a succubus as his concubine. Possessing a devastatingly beautiful form, a peerless understanding of the male heart, and a cunning intellect, she combined these traits to an almost supernatural degree. In an instant, she captivated the men of the Imperial Palace and rapidly expanded her influence.
Depending on one’s perspective, it looked as though she had appeared out of nowhere to seize the very heart of the nation. That succubus was Chris’s mother.
Even as a precocious child, Chris had loathed her. Her mother left her upbringing entirely to servants and rarely visited, spending her days and nights in pursuit of hedonistic pleasure. Whether it was the countless men she enthralled or the women she captivated, she returned their affection with nothing but cold indifference, treating everyone like slaves. To the young Chris, her mother was an abhorrent creature.
Fortunately, the succubus lacked any penchant for wastefulness and had no interest in statecraft, so she never steered the Empire toward ruin. However, her life of unbridled desire sparked nothing but disgust in Chris’s heart.
Looking back now, however, it was clear that the root of those feelings had been simple loneliness. In truth, she had wanted her mother to come to her. She had craved affection. But her mother never came.
To mask that ache, Chris chose hatred. She constantly made excuses to herself, insisting that because she despised her mother, it was only natural they lived separate lives. In a sense, Chris simply didn't know how to be a daughter. She was far too clumsy when it came to her own mother.
"You are the most loathsome being in this world. Even if it is only half, carrying the blood of a creature like you is a stain on my life that I will never be able to erase."
"..."
That was why, at the age of sixteen—when she had finally reached the threshold of adulthood—she had hurled those words at her mother during a rare meeting. She expected her mother, who seemingly lacked any interest in her, to simply brush the insult aside with her usual indifference.
Instead, those words, intended to sever their ties forever, became the catalyst for a long period of suffering.
"I see... Yes, you’re likely right."
"What!?"
Her mother had affirmed the insult with a face that looked as though it might shatter into tears at any moment. Chris was shaken to her core—not merely by her mother’s expression, but by the fact that she immediately regretted hurting her.
She was supposed to hate her. She believed she did. Yet, for days afterward, the image of her mother’s crumbling face refused to leave her mind.
Confused by her own heart, Chris began to travel across the lands under the guise of broadening her horizons, though in reality, she was simply fleeing. During her journey, she met the Underworld King, Kuromueina. It was only after spending several years living in Kuromueina’s home that Chris finally accepted the truth: she couldn't bring herself to truly hate her mother.
Having finally reached a resolution, Chris expressed her deep gratitude to Kuromueina and her family before returning to the Arclesia Empire. There, for the first time since her birth, she stood before her mother to speak to her properly.
"There is something I must ask."
"...What is it?"
"What am I to you? Am I a nuisance born of chance? Or am I merely trash not even worth your interest? I want to hear your true feelings."
"I... I never..."
"What?"
"When did I ever! When did I ever say such things! I never once said you were a nuisance or trash!"
"Then why! Why did you never come to see me? Why did you ignore me whenever I spoke to you? I don’t understand you at all!"
It was their first parent-child argument. Like it or not, they were remarkably similar. At that moment, the clumsy mother and daughter finally spoke with their hearts.
"I didn't know! I didn't know what to do... or how I was supposed to love you!"
"Mother..."
"Giving birth to you was a whim. I was curious what a child was like; it really was nothing more than that. But when I saw you... you were so pure, so white... and so helplessly beautiful that it terrified me."
"It terrified you?"
"Just as you said, I am a succubus who preys on others. I have lived my entire life for my own desires; I am a foul creature. I thought that if I touched you with my filthy hands, you would be stained. I didn't know how to be near you."
For Lilim, the strongest of succubi, love had always been something others offered to her in servitude. It was never something she was meant to give. She had never directed love toward another, and so she had no idea how to pour affection into the child she found so helplessly precious.
"Mother, tell me the truth. Why did you leave my care to the servants?"
"I thought it would be better for you to be raised by someone with proper experience... rather than someone like me."
"Why did you never come to see me?"
"I did. Every day. I went to see you every single day without fail... but I couldn't bring myself to enter the room. I didn't know what to do if we came face to face."
"Why didn't you answer when I spoke to you?"
"I was afraid. I thought you hated me... and I didn't know what kind of face I should make to talk to you."
"Do you... love me?"
"I do. I love you so much that even I don't know what to do with the feeling. You are more precious to me than anything."
Hearing her mother’s raw, clumsy honesty, the dark fog that had clouded Chris’s heart for years finally lifted. The two, who had spent their lives passing each other in the dark, finally began to find their way toward one another.
A relationship misaligned for years could not be fixed overnight. However, steadily, they began to close the distance.
Late into the night, Chris was working in her office when a knock interrupted her. Before she could answer, the door swung open to reveal Lilim, dressed in a nightgown.
"Working so tirelessly at this hour... how tedious. I truly cannot fathom it. You should just leave such trifles to your subordinates."
Seeing Lilim enter with words that sounded like an insult, Chris let out a soft laugh. Her mother was as clumsy as ever.
Unlike before, Chris now recognized the kindness hidden beneath those words. When Chris had moved to take the throne to save the declining Empire, it was Lilim who had secretly pulled the strings from the shadows to clear her path. Since their reconciliation, she had abandoned her flamboyant lifestyle with men, choosing instead to subtly mentor Chris in diplomacy and etiquette.
Even now, despite her sharp tone, the concern in Lilim’s eyes was plain to see. She had clearly come to check on Chris because she was worried about her staying up so late.
"It is rare for you to visit this room, Mother."
"There is nothing for me to do here. Anyway, you should learn to moderate your schedule, Chris-chan. Unlike me, you are half-human. A lack of sleep is terrible for the skin."
"I understand."
Chris no longer hated her mother. She was awkward, and her displays of affection were difficult to decipher, but Chris finally understood that she was loved.
As Chris watched, Lilim produced a wrapped box from nowhere and set it carelessly on the desk.
"What is this?"
"A cast-off from some tedious man. I have no use for it, so you can have it. It’s been getting chilly lately, and since your body is so much weaker than mine, you should wear it."
"Thank you, Mother."
"Well, I’m going. Your hair is looking a bit dull; I’ll have to teach you how to properly care for it another time."
"Yes... Good night, Mother."
"...Good night."
Having finished her business, Lilim hurried out of the room.
Chris stared at the door for a moment before slowly opening the box. A genuine, joyful smile spread across her face.
"Really, if she’s going to lie, she could at least try to make it believable."
Inside the box was a lumpy, uneven red woolen scarf.
"There is no way anyone would give Mother—a member of the Imperial family—something so obviously handmade by a rank amateur..."
Chris knew immediately who had knitted it. Wrapping the scarf around her neck, she imagined her mother—a woman who looked entirely out of place with a pair of knitting needles—laboring over the gift. The thought made her smile deepen.
Entity: Since Serious-senpai still hasn't woken up from her fainting spell, I’ll handle the next preview. We’ll have a few more relaxed chapters coming up, and then we finally dive into the final chapter of Part 1: the Shallow Vernal Arc. This is the kind of story Serious-senpai has been waiting for... though I can already imagine her panicking once things actually get serious!