Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Aria''s Undying Envy and Hatred (II)


    She was so envious of Swan, who was married to Gale, to the point she resented her mother for not forcing her to marry the Beast King instead.


    ''If only this stupid bitch arranges me to marry Gale instead of Swan. I would''ve be Queen Aria of the Beastmen Kingdom. I could''ve been loved by a strong, handsome, and vigorous man who would breed me every day. I would''ve gotten the treatment I deserve as Gale''s wife, and I would''ve been the mother of his cubs!''


    Deep down, Aria knew that it wasn''t her mother''s fault.


    Anastasia was just trying to protect Aria because all of them thought that the Beast King would kill Swan after one night.


    Aria just wanted to vent the hatred in her heart. She wanted to direct her hate on anyone, Swan, Gale, even her mother, Anastasia, for failing to make her the Queen of the Beastmen.


    Swan had purified her power, but that didn''t mean she was out of options. She still remembered what Madam Harsetti said.


    ''Madam Harsetti said that I could be a Great Witch as long as I sacrifice the most important person in my life. I need to taste despair as I kill that person. As long as I can feel any sort of love a daughter has for her mother, I should be able to


    sacrifice Mom and regain my power to be the Great Witch!''


    Thus, with hatred and envy fueling her heart''s desire, she regained her determination to kill Swan no matter what.


    Aria continued staring at her worried mother and started sobbing.


    Anastasia might be unfeeling towards other people, and she might not be a good mother either. But before everything, she was still a mother, and she felt distressed seeing Aria cry. Aria rarely cried, so this development flustered her, "A- Aria?! Did you get hurt somewhere? Show it to me. We will have the doctor check


    it!"


    Aria continued crying. She wiped the snot under her nose and replied with sobs, "Mom... Swan..."


    "Y-yes, what''s wrong?"


    "Swan is the Saintess..."


    Anastasia was unresponsive at first because she thought that her daughter must''ve been mistaken.


    "A-Aria, are you alright? You are speaking nonsense right now," Anastasia said worriedly. She gently patted her daughter''s head and added, "It''s okay, you can rest first. We can talk about what happenedter."


    "I''m not speaking nonsense!" Aria snapped amid her tears. "Swan is the Saintess of Holy Achate! Why do you think I fainted after only five minutes in the throne room? She used her holy power against me, and I cannot do anything to fight back!"


    Aria pointed at her neck, "Look, even my ne given by the Great Witch has been destroyed by her!"


    Anastasia gulped. She got nervous as she realized that Aria wasn''t speaking


    nonsense.


    Aria rarely cried, and she never fell into despair like this. Her daughter was a smart girl and someone who was loved by everyone.


    She could maneuver through any difficult situation with her own method, but it seemed that she had truly hit the wall right now.


    "Mom... you have been lying to me, haven''t you?"


    "Lying? What are you talking about? Why would I lie to you!"


    "You, Dad, and everyone else told me that Swan is just a whore''s daughter. But she turned out to be the Saintess from our kingdom''s legend! She told me everything, about how her mother is the incarnation of the Goddess that got kidnapped and raped by dad!" Aria yelled. "You and Dad must''ve known about this, so why don''t you tell me!"


    Anastasia was silenced this time.


    What Aria said was correct.


    She knew about the identity of Swan''s mother because herte husband told her right after he raped the priestess.


    She thought that she could keep this a secret for the rest of her life, as she didn''t want Aria to think that she was inferior to Swan, but it seemed to be toote.


    "Mom! Tell me everything!" Aria demanded, and Anastasia sighed woefully.


    "Your dad and were childless for more than five years into our marriage. He got angry at me and called me barren. He said he would find a mistress outside to give us a child, Anastasia started telling the truth to her daughter knowing that she could no longer hide anything. "He identally met Swan''s mother, who was a priestess of a small church on the outskirts of the Holy Achate. He knew about the old legend regarding the Saintess, and all the physical signs confirming her status as the incarnation of the Goddess. He got excited, thinking that he could get a powerful child as long as he had sex with that priestess."


    ???


    "However the Priestess refused his advances and your angry dad kidnapped her and raped her. He forced her to stay inside a secret castle without me knowing, and she was chained while she was pregnant with Swan," Anastasia continued. "The Priestess died a few hours after Swan was born, and your dad was disappointed because Swan showed no physical sign of inheriting the Goddess'' trait. Swan is worthless because she is not of noble blood, and she has no holy power like he expected."


    "He finally told me everything after Swan was born, and I told my servants to share the gossip in the pce about a whore that made the King drunk, and seduced him into having sex. The whore died after


    giving birth, but your dad was so kind that he allowed the child to live


    in the pce. It was a perfect damage control to protect your dad''s image as the wise king of Holy


    Achate, especially since I got pregnant in the same year, and you were born the next year," Anastasia recalled.


    "You are the blessing that I''ve been waiting for. Ever since you were born, your


    dad has been kind to me, and he also spoiled you with all the wealth in this world, right?"