Hevelia von Bismarck was the woman who refused to take the surname of her husband, the Duke of Gertrude, for the sake of honouring her late father. She was also Ilya's estranged mother. However, Ilya had never seen her face aside from a single portrait.
As a child, Ilya was left in the care of the servants. Although, she wasn't pampered like any other descendant of a noble.
And not once did Ilya experience being loved by her parents.
Ilya's father, Brahm Gertrude, was the Prime Minister and the most loyal subject of the Emperor. It went without saying that the Duke was the most preoccupied person in the Etheros Empire. He couldn't even yield a second of his time to ask about how his sole daughter was doing, much less keep her in his mind.
Meanwhile, Ilya's mother wished to live without the burdens of being a mother. Hevelia desired to continue the legacy of her father, the Count of Bismarck, who was one of the few heroes that the Empire was blessed with. It was because of her dedication that the Duke of Gertrude noticed her.
Day and night, Hevelia would train with the knights. She was a part of the fourth order of the Empire's knightage, acting as the second-in-command. The woman was devoted to her job to the point that she had forgotten that her daughter had yet to see her face.
Lamentably, the opportunity for the mother and daughter pair to meet would never come.
Ten days after Hevelia von Bismarck was promoted as the commander of the fourth order, her death was announced in the capital. She was found in her bedroom, lying motionlessly on her bed.
At first, her servants thought that she was merely oversleeping. It was not like their master, but they were also worried that the Duchess wasn't getting enough rest so they let her be.
However, the moment that night came without Hevelia opening her eyes, one of the maids approached the Duchess' bed. Almost immediately, the poor maid noticed that Hevelia wasn't breathing. They called for the most skillful of physicians and sorcerers within the Empire, yet no one was able to bring her back to life.
And just like that, Hevelia von Bismarck died at the young age of twenty-five. At that time, Ilya was only five years old. That incident was the beginning of Ilya's sufferings.
No, that's not right.
From the moment she was born, the misfortunate path that Ilya had to take had been chosen. Because her father never cared for her, Ilya was abandoned by the servants as soon as her mother, the Duchess, wasn't there to support her position within the household.
The death of the former Duchess Hevelia von Bismarck was ruled as a suicide. There were several pieces of evidence that pointed towards that conclusion. It included the letter of farewell that the Duchess had left on her nightstand. Ilya became aware of that fact upon overhearing the conversations between the servants.
"I have no intentions of revealing your heinous plans to the public, Sorsiana. But what you did was not something that I can tolerate! Do mother and father even know of this?!"
"They don't need to know what would hurt them, Orelia. Leave them with their peace. They don't have to involve themselves in an issue that's already absolved."
Orelia let her breath out together with her frustration. She started to pace back and forth, not minding if her dress was tainted by the dirt. Shortly, she stopped pacing, stood in front of Sorsiana, and looked at her straight in the eyes.
"Do you really think that no one will discover this? You hired a sorcerer to alter the scene of the crime, correct?"
An uncanny grin appeared on Duchess Sorsiana's countenance, making her look like a villain starving to do evil.
"I can guarantee that. It wasn't my doing though. The Duke himself hired the sorcerer from a renowned guild. Our connections with that guild and the sorcerer are already severed. There are no more trails that any rats can follow."
Countess Orelia gritted her teeth, clearly unsatisfied with the Duchess' words. She proceeded to massage her head with her quivering fingers and asked, "How did Hevelia die? Did you kill her with your own hands?"
Despite how Frantic Orelia was, Sorsiana never lost her calm. She simply gazed at her sister with pity in her eyes. Aside from their facial features, there was nothing that they shared, most notably was their personalities.
Orelia was a person who heeded a set of humanistic moralities. She could even be considered as the best in playing safe. Her interest laid on not getting any of the blame. If cruelty was in her options, it would be at the bottom part of the list.
On the other hand, Sorsiana was the sort who worshipped her desires. As long as it was within her means, she would do anything to accomplish her goals, even if she had to sacrifice the lives of people apart from her children. A callous woman through and through.
"Well, yes, of course. How can I get satisfaction from knowing that Hevelia was killed by someone other than me? I'm not in the mood to discuss the details, so let's leave it. For the time being, I want you to keep that as a secret."
Orelia didn't give a response. She felt as if she wasn't looking at the sister she had grown up with. The thought made her swallow her distress, afraid that she might offend Sorsiana.
"Where's your answer?"
Countess Orelia lowered her head as she crumpled her fists. She then drew enough breath to regain her courage and replied, "You can trust me. I will make sure that no one knows of it."
Duchess Sorsiana patted the Countess' shoulder before turning around and resuming her walk. Orelia didn't move from her spot for a few seconds. After a good few seconds, she caught up with the Duchess as if their conversation didn't happen at all.
Soon, silence returned to that area of the forest. It remained that way until nearly an hour had passed.
Beside the well, Ilya could still be seen seated on the dirt. Her expression never changed -- blank from the second she heard the two noblewomen, blank once they took their leave. Even her head was barren of thoughts.
But the most forlorn part of the happening was that Ilya didn't feel anything.
The Duchess and the Countess were talking about the wrongful death of her mother, yet she could care less.
A mother who didn't make an effort to see her was a stranger.
Why would she be heartbroken from the death of someone she wasn't acquainted with?
Ilya had no business interfering with the current Duchess' life. Hence, she just dismissed the confession that Sorsiana made. If she had to worry regarding someone else's situation, she better use that effort on worrying about herself.
Nostalgia, it's the feeling that dominated Syn's being at that moment.
Back when she became aware of the circumstances of her mother's death, she felt nothing. It was similar to what she felt upon knowing the truth. Human nature couldn't possibly drive her to take revenge. It wasn't her revenge to fulfill for someone who treated her like she didn't exist.