Couldn't Believe...

Chapter 70: The past

In the cherry blossom garden...

"It's been a long time since I last came here. As beautiful as ever-"
"Sis!"
*turn* "... Luka-" *glance*
"... Blackie..."
"..." *daze*
"Blackie, my daughter..."
*freeze* "... M, mom?"
*teary* "Yes... that's me, your mom"
*tremble* *teary* "... Eh?"

What... what's happening? Why am I crying? Why am I trembling? I am supposed to be mad at her for leaving me, but for some reason, all I want to do right now is...

*runs* *hug* "MOM!" *crying*
*crying* "My baby, my dear daughter"

Ah, I see. So this is what it feels like to get a maternal love. Such a great feeling...

*kiss on the forehead* "My baby, my dear little girl. I missed you so, so much!"
*sob* *let go* "Mom... why, why did you leave us?"
"... My daughter, I'm sorry for leaving you. But I couldn't do otherwise."
"Why?"
"... I'll tell you everything whenever you want-"
"Now"
"... Okay, but you have to promise me that you'll hear me until the very end, alright?"
*nod*
"Let's sit down first"
*sit down*
"Your father and I loved each other deeply. We wanted to get married, have children and live a happy life. But as you know, I was supposed to be the Queen of this Land, and your father the king of the Demon World. Since these 2 worlds are complete opposites, it was impossible for us to live happily. So, we decided to pretend that he took me as a concubine, and secretly got married. Because of that, I was considered as a traitor, and lost the right to succeed the throne. Shortly after, you were born. You weren't sociable; however, you were a very smart girl. Even so, we didn't want to put you in danger, so we decided to keep our marriage a secret for the time being. Later on, when you became 14, you found our marriage papers, but stayed silent. One day, your father and I had a fight, and he left the castle for a whole week. After coming back, everything went back to normal... or so I thought"
"What do you mean?"
"... When he came back, you knew that something was off. Ever since that, you started following him every night. That's when you found out... about his betrayal"
"WHAT?! WITH WHO?!"
"I don't know. You kept it a secret. The day he left the home, he got drunk and... spent the night with another woman. Luckily, it happened once. But he still went to visit her, trying to erase this moment from her memory. You waited until she forgot everything to tell me. I then took you and your brother, and went back to this Land. At first, my sister didn't want to let me enter, but when I told her that he betrayed me, she immediately accepted. And so, I continued raising you without your father."
"..."
"On your 25th birthday, I told you and your brother about our marriage, and that during all these years, I tried to get a divorce from your father, but it was all in vain. Then, he came to CelestiaLand with his soldiers, and threatened me to start a war between the two lands if I don't hand you over to him. Of course, I refused, but your aunt didn't. For the peace of this Land, she placed me in a cell underground, and gave you up. And from that day onwards, I became powerless. I couldn't get out of the cell, but because of the ring that you had, I was able to see what was happening with you. Including the fact..."
"?"
"... That you reincarnated yourself"
"!"
"The reason you did this was because..."
"Was because what?!"
"... You wanted to free me using your powers, run away with Luka and I and live happily. Unfortunately, your father wanted to take your powers and make you the Queen of the Demon World later on, while he wanted to implement some Black Magic in your brother. When you knew about this, you immediately ran away, created a book that you sent to Hexy and reincarnated yourself, hoping that in your second life, you'll be able to execute your plan, and live happily-"
*head pain* "AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"BLACKIE??!!"
"SIS!!!
*remembers* *calms down* "I remember everything"

So I only remember everything once I am told all the story...

"That's a relief"
"..."
"... Blackie"
"?"
*teary* "I'm sorry, my child. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to help you." *sob*

In the first place, it was my fault for marrying Kuro. And even after that, I should've divorced him before running away. And instead of going to Rosaline, I should've gone somewhere far away, where no one would find us. It is all my fault. I took all the wrong decisions.

"... Don't cry. I'm not blaming you"
"!"

I can't blame her, because I know what love can do to a person. She loved him deeply, so she decided to marry him despite all the issues that might come after that. I do remember everything, and it is true that she didn't want to hand us over.

"It is all Kuro's fault"
"... You should call him father"
"No. He does not deserve it."
*smile* "You were always stubborn like this"
"..."
"Blackie"
"?"
"Do you remember... with who your father betrayed me?"
"..."

I do remember her but...

"Yes"
"Then-"
"But I don't seem to know the Lady"
"... What?"
"As far as I remember, I knew she was a dancer by her clothes. But I don't know her"
"... A dancer?"
"Yes"
*sigh* "Well, it's better than nothing"
"..."
"Blackie, come here"
"?" *approach*
*hug*
"!"
"My daughter, my dear sweet little girl. I can finally see you and hug you. You don't know how much I wanted to hug you in your previous life."
"... You did so when I was a baby"
*chuckle* "Well, I only did it a few times. You were the type to get quickly annoyed, even as a baby."
"I know. I do remember this much"

I finally remember almost all my previous life. Of course, I can't recall every little detail, but weirdly enough, I do not remember seeing Hexy or Diane.

*let go*
"... Mom"
"!"
"How did I know about Hexy?"
"... Say it again"
"?"
"Say what you called me again, please"
"... Mom-"
*hug tightly*
"!"
"Yes, tell me"
"How did I know about Hexy?"
"You always loved reading books. One day, you found a book about all the Black Magic transformations possible. That's where you found out about Hexy, Diane, and the others."
"I see"
"By the way"
"?"
"Where are you living now? I want to properly thank those who raised you"
"... No need"
"?"
"They do not deserve it anyway"
"... What did they do?"
"Nothing-"
"What do you mean 'nothing'?! They ignored you all the time!"
"Luka!"
"What?! They dared ignore my baby?!"
"No that's-"
"Yes, mom. And they also compared her to her bad sister. They made sis cry. Plus, there's also this guy, Yamel. Sis used to love him, and he broke her heart, saying that it wasn't his fault! In addition, those friends also made my sis cry! I want to end them all-"
"Luka, that's enough"
"... Do it"
"What?"
"Do it, Luka. End them all."
"I will!"
"Hey! You two! Can you just calm down for a sec?!"
"..."

My mom was always like this. She was always overprotective over me, just like Luka. Even in my past life, she never even allowed any boy come near me other than my brother. And I can remember that it did irritate me a lot.

"Look, I really don't want to involve you in this. This is my problem, so I have to solve it alone."
"No"
"... What?"
"You don't have to solve it alone."
"Mom is right. We're your family, sis. If you don't rely on us, then who will you rely on?"
*freeze* "... Family..."
"?"

Can I really... have a family? Do I deserve it? Someone like me...

"Yes, you do"
"!"
"You do deserve it"
"Do you read minds?"
"No, but I am your mother. I can tell what you're thinking."
"..."
"My girl" *caress*
"!"
"You deserve to have a family. You deserve to be happy. You went through a lot of trouble, in both your past and present lives. You deserve to finally live happily"
"..." *teary*
"Oh, dear"
*sob* "Thank you" *hug*
*smile* *pat*
"Eh~ you hugged her more than 3 times, but I got only one hug. No fair" *pout*
*chuckle* "Come here"
"Hehe~"

So this is what it feels like to have a family... that's not a bad feeling at all. To be honest, even though I remember everything, I still have some doubts about her love for me. Does she love me as much as she did back then? I don't know. But I will trust her, because seeing Luka's reaction, I can say that she's sincere. Plus I do trust my memories, so let's not overthink this now.