Chapter 249: Born With A Crown, Raised With A Collar
"...I... I didn’t have a childhood like that..." Cassandra spoke softly.
Her voice carried a weight that made my chest tighten. Without hesitation, I quickly activated the Shared Burden and Lanter’s Glow, letting the warm light flow between us as I prepared to shoulder whatever pain she was about to reveal.
I didn’t know whether she would continue, but I was ready to listen, no matter how long it took.
The silence stretched for a few more moments, maybe she was hesitating to speak, to reveal her past.
"...I... I don’t remember having preferences about food because..." She paused, her fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the table. "Because there’s not always food to have preferences about."
I remained silent, feeling the edges of her emotions through the invisible connection - a deep, aching emptiness that spoke of more than just physical hunger.
"Your mother... she told me about all these little moments of your life. How you’d wrinkle your nose at cooked carrots, how she’d negotiate with you to finish your vegetables." A sad smile ghosted her lips. "It sounded so... normal. So wonderfully normal."
Her voice grew quieter, more distant. "I think... after talking with your mother today... seeing how a real family works, how a mother treasures such simple things..." She looked up at me then. I saw something raw and vulnerable in her eyes.
"It made me remember my own childhood. Or rather... what I wished it could have been." She drew in a shaky breath. "You see... Being born into the Virellia house would have meant luxury, abundance, glory, and never wanting for anything. And in terms of material wealth, that was true enough for the most. But...."
Her laugh was hollow, bitter.