Reborn as the Psycho Villainess Who Ate Her Slave Beasts' Contracts-Chapter 113 --

"I made arrangements. Your mother had a research assistant—a woman named Nanny Yue. Skilled in transformation magic. I paid her to use that magic to appear as your mother. Not perfectly—the enchantment couldn’t hold under close scrutiny—but enough that a small child wouldn’t know the difference."

Elara’s breath caught. "The woman who raised me..."

"Was Nanny Yue, transformed to look like your mother. I thought... I thought if you had even a semblance of her presence, it would be better than nothing. So for years, until you were old enough to remember clearly, Nanny Yue cared for you while appearing as Imperial Consort Mei."

"How long?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"The official story is wrong." The Emperor’s voice was firm. "I met your mother in disguise. Just like Lin Mei. I was traveling as a common scholar, visiting her research facility. We talked for hours about magical theory, about applications that could improve civilian life. She didn’t know who I was. And she... she saw me. Really saw me. Not the Emperor. Just a man who understood her work."

He swirled his wine. "We fell in love. Real love, built on actual connection instead of political positioning. And when she discovered I was the Emperor, she didn’t run. She didn’t try to use me. She just said, ’Well, that explains why your questions about imperial resource allocation were so specific.’"

Despite everything, Elara almost smiled.

"We were going to leave," the Emperor continued. "I was ready to abdicate. To walk away from this throne I’d built for a dead woman and live as a commoner with your mother. We had plans. A small house in the countryside. Research work. Normal life."

"What stopped you?"

"She became pregnant with you. And when the palace physicians confirmed it, when word spread that I’d impregnated a commoner..." He exhaled slowly. "The same noble families that killed Lin Mei started mobilizing. I could see it happening again. So I made a different choice."

"You married her. Brought her into the palace."

"Yes. Made her a consort instead of Empress—political compromise to keep the noble families from outright rebellion. And I built the strongest security around her I could manage. Guards. Protective enchantments. Poison testers. Restricted access. I turned her quarters into a fortress."

"People said you imprisoned her."

"They did. And maybe they were right. But I was trying to keep her alive." The Emperor’s voice cracked again. "I thought if I controlled every variable, prevented every threat, learned from Lin Mei’s death... I thought I could save her."

"But you couldn’t."

"No. Because the one variable I couldn’t control was magic itself. Your mother’s research, the experiments she loved so much—they required dangerous magical manipulations. And one day, when you were two years old, something went wrong. Magical backlash. Her own power turned against her." He stared into the fire. "The physicians said it was an accident. The evidence supported it. But I’ve always wondered..."

"If someone sabotaged her research."

"Yes. But I could never prove it. And by then..." He gestured vaguely. "By then I didn’t have the energy to fight anymore. I’d lost two women I loved. I had a two-year-old daughter who looked just like her mother. And I had an empire to rule that I’d stopped caring about decades ago."

Elara sat very still, processing this flood of information. "What happened after she died?"

"I made arrangements. Your mother had a research assistant—a woman named Nanny Yue. Skilled in transformation magic. I paid her to use that magic to appear as your mother. Not perfectly—the enchantment couldn’t hold under close scrutiny—but enough that a small child wouldn’t know the difference."

Elara’s breath caught. "The woman who raised me..."

"Was Nanny Yue, transformed to look like your mother. I thought... I thought if you had even a semblance of her presence, it would be better than nothing. So for years, until you were old enough to remember clearly, Nanny Yue cared for you while appearing as Imperial Consort Mei."

"How long?"

"Until you were sixteen. Then the enchantment became too difficult to maintain, and I had to tell you the truth—or rather, the partial truth. That your mother had died. That Nanny Yue had been helping care for you. I never explained the transformation magic. I thought it would be too cruel."

Elara’s mind reeled. The earliest memories she had—fragmented images of a woman who looked like the portraits of her mother—those had been fake. Magical deception. Well-intentioned, perhaps, but still deception.

"You lied to me for 14 years."

"I lied to a traumatized child to give her some semblance of maternal presence, yes." The Emperor’s voice was firm. "Was it right? I don’t know. But it was the best choice I could make with the options available."

Elara drank the wine. Let the information settle. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because you passed my tests. Because you’re strong enough to hear the truth without breaking. And because..." The Emperor hesitated. "Because when I look at you, I see your mother. Not physically—you look different. But in the way you think. The way you approach problems. She would have approved of what you’ve built in Port Crestfall. The supermarket, the fair treatment of beast knights, the practical innovation. That’s exactly the kind of thing she wanted to accomplish."

"She wanted to help people."

"Yes. And you’re doing that, even if your motivation is survival rather than compassion. The outcome is the same." He refilled both wine glasses. "Fourth Daughter—Elara—I want you to understand something. I’ve been testing you not to eliminate you, but to see if you’re strong enough to survive this palace. To survive the scheming consorts, the ambitious nobles, the siblings who will kill you if given the chance. Because if you can survive all of that, then maybe—just maybe—you’re strong enough to actually change things."

"Change what?"

"This broken system. This palace full of people who see each other as obstacles instead of humans. This empire built on lies and murder and political marriages that destroy everyone involved." The Emperor’s eyes were intense. "I couldn’t change it. I tried, and I failed. Lin Mei died. Your mother died. I’m trapped in a throne I hate, ruling people I can’t trust, watching my children kill each other for a prize that will make them as miserable as it made me."

He stood and walked to his desk. Pulled out a document.

"But you’re different. You don’t operate like the others. You build instead of just destroying. You create value instead of just seizing it. You think in terms of systems and efficiency instead of just personal gain." He handed her the document. "So I’m going to help you. Not because you’re my daughter—I’ve learned not to let family sentiment cloud judgment. But because you might actually be capable of winning this succession battle and doing something worthwhile with the throne afterward."

Elara opened the document. It was a detailed dossier on the palace power structure. Every consort’s family connections. Every noble’s political debts. Every secret alliance and hidden animosity.

"This is comprehensive," she said.

"It’s forty-three years of observation. Use it wisely." The Emperor returned to his chair. "I won’t favor you openly. Can’t—that would trigger the other factions to unite against you. But I can provide information. Resources. Strategic guidance when appropriate."

"Why?"