Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 322: Missing Memories

Chapter 322: Missing Memories

Arabella’s family sighed in relief once they learned that the real culprits were indeed Jacob and Adolfo and they were going to be punished soon.

The trial was merely a formality after all. The two were set to be executed since there was more than enough proof against them.

Queen Ofelia was also relieved that although not announced in public, Lucille would also get some form of punishment after trying to set up Arabella.

Arabella learned from her mother’s thoughts that she experienced many things from Queen Lucia when they were younger. It was one of the reasons Ofelia wanted Arabella to be with a man who would be able to protect her and their children.

Further, since only Valeria was able to learn about the real culprits; her family and Icarus realized that their investigation teams were still quite lacking.

Icarus was especially bothered by it since it emphasized the gap between Reverio and Valeria.

It was because Valeria had Estrellians on their side though. Even Alwin needed to have some of his limiters lifted so he could find the culprits. And Alwin was already very much formidable and useful in investigations and information gathering even with his limiters.

Likewise, this time, it was a special case because Jacob was with the help of someone more powerful than he was.

. . .

Once they were done speaking about the heavy things and the mood got a bit lighter, Arabella followed her older brother when he excused himself as their parents had more conversations with Ferdinand.

"Ella," Benjamin hugged her. But she was not here for them to have a touching reunion or something.

"Brother, why did you bring King Icarus here with you? I’m sure you have heard about the rumors about him and my husband," Arabella pointed out.

"Sorry. I have something important to talk about with him after this so I agreed when he said he could come with me instead of waiting," Benjamin continued to lie.

[I can’t tell her it was because Icarus had long been in love with her. That’s for him to tell her himself. But if she knew about the rumors, she must have a clue about it then. Or did her husband tell her about it?]

"Are you really friends with him?" Arabella never heard about it in her past life. Benjamin did not talk much about his friendships and the like.

"Yes. I’ve known him for years. He’s a kind and good person. I meet him in Hazania quite often when we were younger," Benjamin beamed.

[He was the person I wanted you to marry. But Emperor Ferdinand suddenly proposed to you. I was so against their marriage since Icarus was just about to propose then. But Mother and Father still chose the Emperor even after I told them Icarus also wanted to marry Ella. I even began doubting our parents’ intentions back then. But it seems there is indeed quite a gap in power and capabilities. Her husband’s people were able to find the culprit of the assassination attempt on her when we, nor Icarus were not able to.]

’What?! Benjamin and even our parents already knew about Icarus back then?’ Arabella began to have a headache. How come she only learned about Icarus’ feelings after she died? Yet her whole family knew. Something must have been truly wrong with her to not have noticed anything.

"How come you never told me about him once? And I’ve never seen him in Hazania before," she tried asking Benjamin for more details.

"You were busy with the young ladies all the time. And if you were ever alone, you sneak to the gardens to enjoy the flowers," Benjamin pointed out.

[He watched over you for quite a while. We secretly guarded you when you went to the gardens of Hazania Palace. If I had known he already liked you back then, I would have introduced you two. He hid his feelings well from me too. It took a while before I noticed and made him admit it.]

’So this was what Icarus’ thoughts last time meant?’

"You knew?" Arabella tried to learn some more information from her brother. She did not even know Benjamin guarded her during those times.

"Of course. How can I not? You are always in danger so I had to keep telling the guards to follow you closely every time you sneak like that," Benjamin seemed to have had quite a headache from her little explorations.

"Right. Of course, my guards told you I was sneaking out."

Benjamin seems to have looked out for her. It made Arabella smile and Benjamin sighed when he noticed. He thought of patting her head but didn’t since she was already married now and was the Empress of Valeria.

"They did not tell me. I saw you sneaking once and followed you. Do you know just how dangerous that was? This and that could have happened...." Benjamin began ranting about the past and citing all kinds of dangers.

"I was with my guards though," Arabella reasoned.

"But what if you were attacked by monsters again? You seem to have a reliable guard in Valeria but that doesn’t mean you can go sneaking out somewhere with no other people again. Always bring other people with you when you go to the flower gardens or go out for a walk. A group of five or more would be best," Benjamin advised.

"Rendell always follows me. There are other guards too but they don’t show themselves. Ah, and one or two of my maids come with us too. But what do you mean by getting attacked by monsters again? I was only attacked by monsters once and that was when I was sixteen," Arabella replied nonchalantly and Benjamin was wide-eyed.

[Right. She doesn’t remember any of it. She always mysteriously forgets every time. That one time on the roads near Mt. Callion was the only one she could recall since it was the only time she was attacked when she wasn’t alone. It’s probably time we tell her a bit about it. But I have to speak with Father and Mother first. I’ll just warn her a bit.]

’Huh? What does he mean?’

"Ella, avoid being alone. You don’t remember probably because you were too young back then. When you were young, you repeatedly got attacked by monsters when you were alone or just had two or three people with you."

[Ever since the time she almost drowned at the pond, she kept getting attacked by monsters when she was alone or had only one or two guards. When it got worst even ten knights secretly following her was not enough. It continued for a while until she turned eighteen. It only stopped when she was married to the Emperor. Or because we don’t hear about it. But Aletha did say Ella was never attacked there. Perhaps what the elder said was working.]

’What?! Why don’t I recall any of it?’ Arabella did not have even a shred of recollection about it. Not even just a bit of hazy ones from such times. She did not even know it happened until when Benjamin thought about it.

’Is this what Mother meant about the dangers that follow me? Is this one of the reasons they agreed to the marriage with Ferdinand? And who’s the elder Brother thought about?’

Then, she recalled the man (or rather, the god) who lured her into the pond when she was young.

’Was he involved again?’

Arabella only recalled her memory of the drowning incident after she saw the image of that entity in Alwin’s thoughts.

’Did he keep trying to kill me and wiped my memories about it all the time?’

[She turned pale. Right. She just narrowly escaped death. I shouldn’t scare her more. What if she stops doing what she wanted to do due to all these dangers? This was exactly why we cannot tell her about it. She will only grow fearful if we tell her about everything. Maybe, we should wait until she gets a bit older. We can’t have her live in fear because of this. If the attacks have stopped now, then it’s for the best.]

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Shall we head back inside? Your husband must be worried," Benjamin offered his hand to escort her.

Arabella wanted to ask for more information but Alwin showed up and said Ferdinand asked him to escort her back inside since it was getting cold.

She had no choice but to save it for later since her family had to leave since they had another appointment.

Icarus bade his goodbyes formally as well.

Once they saw their carriages off and the gate was shut, Ferdinand sighed and wrapped his arms around Arabella.

"What’s wrong?" Arabella wondered if her parents told him something heavy. "Were my parents mean to you when I wasn’t around? Did they scold you?" Arabella cupped her husband’s face and searched his eyes.

"N-no. But, I... How can I be a good son-in-law?" Ferdinand asked out of the blue. He didn’t want to lose out to Icarus on anything so he was being competitive yet again.