Empress of Another World

Forty Five

I felt unhappy when I left the dowager empress’s place with the emperor.

As far as I knew, the dowager empress was not an overly emotional person. Of course, I couldn’t say I knew her very well, but I was her enemy. This meant I had studied her like my life depended on it and therefore knew her well enough.

That’s right. I was Katleyanira’s enemy, so I was sure of one thing. What I just saw in her room was not the usual dowager empress.

When I first met her, she didn’t show such disgust towards her daughters like she did today. At the time, she looked perfectly normal.

Today, what I and the emperor saw meant one thing.

She hated her children, and because she must have thought it was a normal feeling, she had no qualms about showing it to anyone, including her own enemies.

There was no doubt the princesses were Katleyanira’s offspring. Both girls were miniature versions of their mother. It was strange to see the dowager empress mistreating those who looked exactly like her.

I had seen similar occurrences when I was in Korea. No matter how far Korea had come, the deeply rooted male preference or son favoritism still existed. Even in my own home, my parents only had two girls and the relatives often criticized them for not having a son.

However, I knew it wasn’t so bad in my own household, because I saw a worse example when I entered high school.

My friend Yoojung’s mother was just like the dowager empress.

Yoojung’s mother had been trying to have a son but ended up with three girls. She was sure Yoojung was a son before she was born, but when it turned out she was a daughter, her mother became cold and resentful towards her.

Yoojung told me that she was never breastfed and that she had never celebrated her birthday.

In the end, Yoojung’s mother did succeed in having a son. It was obvious to everyone that she only loved her son. She ignored all her daughters and even showed hatred towards them.

It seemed like the dowager empress was the exact same way.

In the second year of high school, Yoojung moved away because of her father’s job. I hadn’t seen her since, but I still remembered her very well.

Of course, I couldn’t be a hundred percent sure if the dowager empress felt that anger towards her daughters. However, if she cared even a little about her children, she wouldn’t have acted that way especially in front of the emperor and I.

I did briefly consider that perhaps she acted that way as a part of her convoluted plan, but it seemed unlikely. I knew genuine emotions when I saw them.

I wondered suddenly.

Why was I so interested in the dowager empress and the princesses’ relationship?

I asked myself.

Why? Was it sympathy? Did I want to protect those young girls out of empathy?

I shook my head with a bitter smile. I knew I couldn’t afford to be that emotional.

I did remember what Yoojung told me before moving.will be successful no matter what! I will be so successful my mom will want me back, and when she does… I will get back at her!”

I remembered her eyes filled with fury.

Those princesses looked like they were living in hell. I couldn’t be sure if they felt like Yoojung since different people felt differently in similar situations.