Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

"He is someone we can't talk about," the Great Lady answered, shaking her head. "Just know that my grandson's extraordinary powers came from Him, and He is capable of turning this entire world upside down."

Seren understood she should not ask about that person and asked, "What about his mother, the previous queen? How could she…?"

The Great Lady showed a sad smile, but her reply didn't really satisfy Seren's curiosity. "She was a nice lady who I loved like my own daughter. Esther, such a pure soul, but she was an unfortunate lass. She had to sacrifice a lot for this kingdom…"

After a few minutes of silence, Seren asked, "Where is Queen Esther now?"

"We used to think she was no more, but your presence here and this flower mark on your forehead had given us a hope that she is not gone but present somewhere in this world," the Great Lady replied.

Seren touched the flower mark on her forehead and asked, "This flower mark?"

The Great Lady nodded. "As I said last time, only the owner of this flower can pass it to someone else. As you are the current owner of this flower, that means Esther had come across you and made you an owner of this flower. Given your age that you are just seventeen and Esther had left us even before then, it means she is still there somewhere but doesn't wish to return here."

Seren shook her head. "I don't have any memory of meeting any woman who could be Queen Esther. Other than Martha, my nanny, I was never close to anyone, let alone a female outside of my family. I just know I had always seen this mark on my forehead. I even thought it was a birthmark."

"Then you must be a baby at that time, that is why you cannot remember meeting her. Though I am not sure what her reason must be to pass this flower to you, it seems like it is your destiny to come to Megaris."

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Note- the below part in the square bracket got repeated. I will have to ask the tech team to remove it. apology for the inconvenience

[The Great Lady showed a sad smile, but her reply didn't really satisfy Seren's curiosity. "She was a nice lady who I loved like my own daughter. Esther, such a pure soul, but she was an unfortunate lass. She had to sacrifice a lot for this kingdom…"

After a few minutes of silence, Seren asked, "Where is Queen Esther now?"

"We used to think she was no more, but your presence here and this flower mark on your forehead had given us a hope that she is not gone but present somewhere in this world," the Great Lady replied.

Seren touched the flower mark on her forehead and asked, "This flower mark?"

The Great Lady nodded. "As I said last time, only the owner of this flower can pass it to someone else. As you are the current owner of this flower, that means Esther had come across you and made you an owner of this flower. Given your age that you are just seventeen and Esther had left us even before then, it means she is still there somewhere but doesn't wish to return here."

Seren shook her head. "I don't have any memory of meeting any woman who could be Queen Esther. Other than Martha, my nanny, I was never close to anyone, let alone a female outside of my family. I just know I had always seen this mark on my forehead. I even thought it was a birthmark."

"Then you must be a baby at that time, that is why you cannot remember meeting her. Though I am not sure what her reason must be to pass this flower to you, it seems like it is your destiny to come to Megaris."]

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Great Lady Theodora's words caused Seren to let out a helpless sigh. "Forgive me, Grandmother. I wish I can lend you help about Queen Esther's whereabouts, but aside from the fact I grew up isolated from people, I know nothing about myself​​​​—about my abilities, this mark on my forehead, or my mother. I had only been told that I was being hidden. Who I need to even hide from, I do not know..."

"What is there to forgive? Sometimes, not knowing anything is for your own good. I am sure that's why your father never told you anything. But trust me, no secrets are kept hidden forever. You will get to know everything when the right time has come," the Great Lady consoled her.

Seren looked at the Great Lady. "And when will that time come?"

"I wish it won't come so soon. The kind of secrets that are kept heavily guarded, when they are revealed to the world, they normally bring disaster and heartbreaks to one's life. Even if you don't want it, you will be forced to accept the reality of things," the Great Lady replied with a wistful expression, her tone seemingly implying how many such instances she had experienced in her old age. However, instead of sadness, pain, or anger, there was only serenity in her gaze. "My dear, live your life the way you want it. Be happy when you need to be happy, and be sad when you need to be sad. Do not worry about the future that is beyond your control. No one can avoid what is written in one's destiny, whether it be boon or bane."

Seren lowered her gaze as she kept those precious words close to her heart. What the Great Lady said made sense to her. She was living a prisoner's life till now; perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was fate, but she got the chance to live a life of freedom, something which she had never imagined she would get to experience. It would not be worth it if she were to ruin this, worrying about finding the answers to all the questions plaguing her mind. No one had ever answered her. Whether it was to protect her or for some other reasons, at this moment, she could only wait till everything was revealed.

"Will I not get to know about His Majesty's past and about his mother?" Seren asked after a while. She was curious to know more about him, especially after seeing his other side, the scary part of him which he was trying hard to hide from her.

"You are his wife so you deserve to know it," the Great Lady replied.

Seren felt happy hearing the old woman's response.  "Then, does this mean that His Majesty is aware of everything about his parents?"

The Great Lady nodded. "Of course, he does. The past which had hurt him the most, he needed to know the reason behind it."

"Who told him?" Seren asked.

"I did!"