Hearing my words, Malia closed her eyes deeply and opened them again.
In the meantime, something seemed to have changed within her.
Although Malia has maintained the image of a benevolent mother, she is Enfer's wife.
Malia, as Malia de Roach, speaks to me.
"Frondier. This is your mother's order. Listen."
"Right now, outside, they whisper about you as a 'devil'. That means you are not a child of the Roach family, and that you are not my son. That sight is so ridiculous that it's hard to endure. When you return, all that nonsense must disappear. Only when all those who slandered you kneel and apologize in tears will my heart be at ease. It's all up to you."
"...Mother, that is."
"If you can't do it, the Imperial Palace will cease to exist from today."
"Also, you must return to your mother's arms safely and without any problems. As soon as you return, I will thoroughly examine your entire body, and if there is even a speck of a scar, I will not acknowledge it. If you have done something to get hurt like that, don't even think about coming back."
"If you can't do it,"
"No. I will return safely without any injuries."
I bowed my head deeply.
No negotiation or compromise will work with Malia now. This is a task I must fulfill.
"Frondier, say it yourself again. What you have to do."
I raised my head and looked straight at Malia and said.
"When I return here, all those who slandered me will apologize,"
Malia's eyes looking at me are truly calm.
As if it should be so.
As if what she said must be kept.
"──And I will have no injuries."
Satisfied, Malia nodded.
Then she got up and came to me.
A hand lightly covering my eyes.
"...Mother. There's no need for this,"
"There's a lot of need."
The hand covering me glows. The ability of 'Sense Sharing' is activated.
"I thought you would do well on your own, but that's why it's ."
For this once, I had nothing to say.
Malia shared my vision and said.
"Wherever you are, Mom will always be watching you."
At those words, I smiled awkwardly.
I called Selena to my room.
Saying goodbye to anyone is difficult, but Selena was especially so.
"Selena, I won't be able to keep my promise to you."
Because I owe her a debt.
"The Barnier family is probably definitely a family which abandoned the Empire."
Selena repeats my words with her own mouth.
Her expression and voice were so calm. As expected of her, who I had given up on reading her expressions.
"I don't know what the Barnier family did during the past war. But now, the Barnier family doesn't exist in the Empire."
If a nobleman who is supposed to protect the Empire's land and citizens abandons it and runs away, the Empire erases the family's name and everyone despises the family.
Of course, it's not yet certain whether the Barnier family really abandoned the Empire. The situation I'm in right now tells me that what I see is not everything.
"The Imperial Palace has probably already finished investigating you."
"I asked Elysia to investigate the Barnier family. Now, it's highly likely that it will act as a poison. Elysia handles the Shadow Unit, and although they move under Elysia's management now, I don't know what those who disliked me might do behind Elysia's back."
And even if it wasn't the Shadow Unit, it was highly likely that Robert and others had already finished investigating the people around me.
"There's still a chance to find your parents, but that's not certain either."
It's unknown whether they're alive, and even if they are, the chances of them living a decent life are very slim.
In other words, I haven't kept any of the promises I made to Selena.
"You have two paths now. Either way, it's hell."
"One is to live within this Empire. But the Barnier name will probably be revealed soon. It's highly likely that you'll live being despised by people. Right now, you belong to the Roach, but I don't know how long that will last."
Selena is registered as my escort.
If I leave the Roach family, as soon as the contract ends, she will become unrelated to the Roach. There's no justification for the Roach to protect her.
"And the other is to leave this Empire with me. To walk into death with me."
Selena blinked silently.
...To be honest, she's been acting strange since earlier. I can't see any particular emotions. It's like Selena's high-level acting, but I can't guess the reason for that acting.
"Either way, the decision won't be easy, but until I'm expelled, you need to decide,"
"Then I'll follow you."
I was thinking of giving her a few days, but the answer came right away.
With a face that seemed like she hadn't thought about it at all. No, is that really the case?
I hid my surprise and said.
"Did you not understand what I said? The place I'm going to is the western land, where I don't even know if it exists. To get there, we have to cross the sea first, and from there, we have to be prepared to lose our lives."
"And I'm someone who couldn't keep my promise to you. In other words, I'm not someone you can trust."
"Right. So make a careful choice,"
"Yes. I'll follow you."
Selena's answer didn't change. On the contrary, there wasn't even time to reconsider.
Selena called me with the same calm face she had shown all day.