The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 218: Their Mother

Leave, as in dead.

William’s heart sank at the possibility. The thought of Jerrick losing Jessamyn, of being left alone to raise their child, was almost too much to bear. He understood now why he hesitated, why he was so deeply troubled.

"You’ll be happy with her for a long time, brother," William said, patting Jerrick’s shoulder. "Believe in it."

"I see no distress on her face whenever she talks about our son. Just pure bliss... So, I don’t think she’ll leave me. But I can’t shake off this dread at times. I cannot live without her, William..." Jerrick’s voice wavered, revealing the depth of his fear.

William’s expression softened. "It’s natural to fear losing someone you love so deeply. But Jessamyn is strong, and so are you. Together, you can overcome anything."

Jerrick nodded, though the heaviness in his heart remained. "I just want to protect her, to keep her safe and happy."

"You’re already doing that," William reassured him. "Trust in your love for each other. Trust that she’ll be by your side for many years to come."

Jerrick took a deep breath, feeling a measure of comfort from William’s words.

"Did she tell you anything?" Jerrick asked, his voice laced with desperation. Sometimes Jessamyn confided more in William than she did with him.

"She’s not taking walks in the forest anymore, is she?" William asked, noticing Jessamyn’s absence in her usual haunts. He had been looking for her but couldn’t find her.

Jerrick bowed his head, scratching the back of his neck. That might be because of him, he thought guiltily.

"Has she said anything about Imogen? Did you talk about Imogen to her?" William pressed. He had heard that Jerrick had thrown away everything belonging to Imogen, hoping to send a clear message.

"No," Jerrick shook his head and took a sip of whiskey. "I have a feeling she knows. She’s happy in Theodulf Castle after I removed all the paintings and belongings of that woman. I can feel her happiness."

"Does she know about Isadora?" William asked. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Jerrick looked at William, considering. "Possibly. She mentioned our mother. She should know about Isadora too."

"Our mother?" William raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"She said that our mother started the end of the curse..." Jerrick’s lips curved into a mocking smile. "She did manage to—"

"That’s enough," William cut him off sharply. He was not impressed with the tone Jerrick used when speaking about their mother. "She lived her life the way she pleased. You cannot blame her for that."

Jerrick scoffed and took a seat. "Skipping from man to man, leaving the children she birthed, is not respectable behavior, William."

"What do we know? Those men didn’t treat her well, and it was within her right to leave."

"Heh! The men were too terrible for her to live with, so she left her babies with them," Jerrick shook his head, rubbing his chest. "I am overwhelmed by her love."

"I don’t get your hate," William poured another glass for Jerrick. "I’ll have to agree to disagree on this."

Jerrick pressed his lips together. His father didn’t live for long, but he was not a bad person. When their mother left him, it broke him. He wept at night, tried to soothe himself with alcohol, and did his best to take care of Jerrick during the day. He had watched how deeply their mother had hurt his father. There was no way he could forgive her for leaving.

"She was the first woman from the Theodulf bloodline. And she gave life to us. Give her some respect," William spoke in an admonishing tone.

Jerrick only scoffed. "Watching my father break down every night, trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol, while our mother lived her life freely... It’s hard to respect that."

William didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Isadora’s story echoed Jerrick’s in a way, reflecting the complicated legacy of their family.

William, however, had never known his mother, and his father had shown little interest in him. If he had another chance, he would love to meet her, to understand the woman who had been a stranger his entire life.

William’s mother was born into a noble family, yet she had always been an illegitimate daughter, denied the birthright that came with legitimate lineage. Despite this, her beauty allowed her to navigate the upper echelons of aristocratic society with a grace that turned heads. She possessed the temerity of noble blood, coupled with the cunning of a woman who had been overlooked and ignored.

It was this audacity that led her to the king’s bed, becoming his mistress in a court filled with intrigue and power struggles.

But the life of a mother to an illegitimate child was far from the glamorous existence she had envisioned. William learned that his mother often preferred the allure of parties and social gatherings over the responsibilities of motherhood, choosing merriment over the needs of her newborn son.

Her neglect sparked rumors that circulated through the palace like wildfire, drawing the ire of the king. Unable to endure his rebukes any longer, she orchestrated a ruse, faking her own death to escape the confines of royal expectations and the judgment of those around her.

For years, William believed like everyone else that his mother was dead, her story fading into the annals of court gossip. It wasn’t until he met Jerrick that everything changed.

The connection he felt toward him was stronger than mere admiration; it was a bond forged in blood. Discovering that they shared the same lineage filled him with a sense of belonging he had long craved.

When Jerrick introduced Isadora, it became evident to both of them that she was their sister, completing a family they never thought they’d have.

Yes, Isadora, their baby sister.

William was grateful that their family had expanded, yet the void of his mother lingered like an unhealed wound. He searched tirelessly for any sign of her, scouring every corner of the kingdom for traces of her existence, but she remained elusive.

Deep down, he suspected that she was probably dead for real this time, leaving behind nothing but shadows of regret. Despite all his efforts, he couldn’t shake the ache of never having met her, of missing the chance to know the woman whose choices had shaped their lives in ways they could barely comprehend.

The sorrow of lost opportunities weighed heavily on his heart, reminding him of the family bonds that remained just out of reach. Isadora took after their mother in appearance, and looking at her, and talking to her provided William with an unexpected solace.

In Isadora’s eyes, he saw glimpses of the woman he never knew. He imagined that his mother’s demeanor would have been similar to Isadora’s—graceful, resilient, and compassionate—despite the stories he had heard in the palace that painted a starkly different picture.

The tales from the palace described a woman more interested in her own pleasures than in her children, a mother who had chosen the glittering facade of high society over the warmth of familial love.

Yet, as William spent more time with Isadora, he found it hard to reconcile those stories with the sense of connection and understanding he felt with her. Isadora’s strength and kindness hinted at a depth of character that William yearned to attribute to their mother.

Won’t girls take after their mothers?

In quiet moments, William allowed himself to dream of a different past, one where their mother’s spirit shone through Isadora’s actions and words.

"Isadora is not her," Jerrick said as if he had read William’s thoughts. "Isadora is the opposite of her. She’s sweet and adorable."

"Maybe..." William let out a deep breath. He knew that deep in his heart. It would be unfair to his sister if he looked at her as a replacement for their mother. But he yearned for his mother.

"There might be no one like her."

"Oh, that I am sure of," Jerrick said with a scoff. "If anything, that mistress by the King’s side can come close to—"

"All right!" William stood up, cutting Jerrick off. He didn’t want their mother to be compared to that cunning mistress of the King.

Well, maybe Jerrick was right, but still... She is my mother, he thought, frustration bubbling within him.