Chapter 3 - CHAPTER 2. I WILL BECOME THE EMPRESS IN PLACE OF MY SISTER

Although with all of my knowledge that I can’t retain, this is real. I have regressed back to 19 years of age. As she could deny the reality in front of her, Patrizia stared at her older sister. Her sister looked at her worriedly with eyes which were clear like a river.

In that moment Patrizia remembered one of her past life’s last memories. ‘My Nilla, who writhed in pain over wanting to be loved, ended her life miserably. If God took pity on us, sisters, and given this last opportunity…Then I…’

“Sis.”

“Yea? What is it, Lizzy?”

“There’s no need to draw randomly.” ‘Never will the tragedy in the past happen again.’

“Why?”

As she looked at her sister who asked so innocently, Patrizia made a bitter smile.

“I will do it.” ‘This time, I will become the Empress in place of my sister.’ “Queeness.”

Petronilla couldn’t really understand her younger sister. Clearly yesterday, no, up until a little earlier, her little sister threw a tantrum for not wanting to become the Empress. But, as if she died and reborn, suddenly, her mind had changed completely! It was an incomprehensible change for Petronilla, but anyways she was glad she didn’t have to be the Queeness. But since she never knew when her mind might change, Petronilla decided to make things a bit more certain, “Really?”

“Yea.”

“You won’t change your mind?”

“Yea.”

Patrizia nailed back in a firm tone, “I won’t change it. Never.”

“Oh yea!”

Patrizia looked at Petronilla who was giddy like a child with a grave gaze, and then opened her mouth, “Let’s go to the study. I need to tell Father.”

The Marquis Grochester who became 42 this year was deeply worried about the Queeness competition and which of his two daughters he had to send. To send the eldest, Petronilla, her personality wouldn’t fit with the royal court, and it didn’t sit well with him to send the quiet Patrizia. While he continued thinking about this and that without any conclusion, someone knocked on the door of his study.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Nilla, Dad.”

“Oh, come on in.”

He greeted his two daughters with pleasure. He was curious as to why his daughters had come to visit him at this late hour, but instead of questioning them right then, he provided tea. After he set the warm Assam Tea on the table, he then asked for the reason of their visit, “So, what’s going on without sleeping during this late time?”

“I had to tell you about something.”

‘Petronilla’s face somehow looked excited.’ The Marquis, unsure of the circumstances, merely guessed, ‘something good must have happened.’ Smiling broadly, Petronilla took two more sips of her tea, and began to speak, “Queeness, Lizzy said she wants to do it.”

“…Is this true?”

“Yes, Father.”

Patrizia, with a calm expression, put down her teacup on the glass table and answered quietly, “I will do it.”

“Hm…”

‘It was better this way.’ It was something he had continued to worry over, ‘Nilla’s character was in fact unsuitable for the strict and authoritative palace. So when the Marquis heard Lizzy was going to be the Queeness, he didn’t show it, but he was very pleased. He opened his mouth in a calm voice, “Are you volunteering?”

“Yes.”

The Marquis of Grochester looked deep in thought after hearing Patrizia’s answer, and spoke to Petronilla shortly, “Good. Nilla, it’s late, so you go up and sleep. Lizzy, you stay a little longer.”

“Yes, Dad, good night. Lizzy, see you tomorrow.” With a slightly upbeat voice, Petronilla wished them good night and left the study, leaving the two behind. The Marquis slowly parted his lips as he emptied the still hot, unobserved teapot, “Are you really volunteering, Lizzy?”

“Yes, Father.”

“I wonder why you suddenly changed your mind.”

The Marquis asked while looking deeply into Patrizia’s black eyes, “Can you tell me if there is a specific reason?”

“…No. I just decided that if one of us has to be the Queeness, I would be better suited.”

There was no choice for both not to take part. Because it was stated in imperial law that any Queeness candidate had to be between the ages of 18 to 20 and from families with titles of Count or higher, so the Marquis of Grochester had to send one Queeness. Patrizia asked, “Did you want it to be my sister?”

Patrizia asked with a nervous heart, but luckily the answer wasn’t so bad, “No. I was actually hoping it would be you.”

“…Is that so.”

Patrizia didn’t have to ask the reason why. In his position as a Marquis, he would be more relieved to have a quiet one be the Queeness. No complaints or misgivings were made about this position. Patrizia then asked, “Is it a week later, the day I have to go to the Imperial Palace?”

The five Queeness had to gather at the Imperial Palace for a week’s competition, and one Queeness would become the Queen among them. He nodded silently, and soon spoke in a tremulous voice, “You look calm and nonchalant, Lizzy. I know you’re composed and quiet, but I don’t know why…but you look used to it.”

Patrizia wordlessly laughed at her Father’s words. ‘It was a painful memory that I wanted to change so much.’ But she couldn’t deliver these words. She opened her lips and told lies that weren’t quite lies, “I think I must have been through it once in a dream, I guess.”

“You sure are silly.”

The Marquis laughed, and she spoke as if to inform him, “I’ll return after being dropped, Father.”

There were five Queeness, and only one Queen. The remaining four Queeness would go back to their original routine. Of course, they would be free to marry others, as her mother did. In her past life, Patrizia didn’t want a ridiculously high position, so she didn’t want to be the Queen, but now it was even more so. It was only in her own memory, ‘Marry a man that had been my brother-in-law up until recently. It didn’t make sense, even morally.’ She smiled brightly, and asked the Marquis, “Do you dislike that?”

“No. Make sure to fail and come back.”

He whispered to his younger daughter while lightly kissing her forehead, “I don’t want to send my princess to any guy just yet.”

Petrizia returned to her bedroom and laid down on the bed. ‘Not less than two hours after my recurrence, I had already changed the axis case from the past. Originally, Nilla would have told our Father. She would say she will become the Queeness. Because she would have lost in the random draw.’ Patrizia bit hard onto her lips without realizing.

‘In the past, both Nilla and I didn’t want to be the Queeness.’ She was, as mentioned earlier, a woman who didn’t want an excessively high position. She was well aware of the many dangers which came with that position due to reading on historical events. Of course, she had changed her mind now because of the terrible tragedy in the past.

And her sister, was someone who always lived in a dream. Nilla dreamed of a fairy tale, and waited for a Prince on a white horse. For someone like her, the Queeness position was almost like an arranged marriage, it wouldn’t be attractive.

‘In the past with the random draw, which was quite a ridiculous method, deciding the Queeness. The result was Nilla, and the ending was death.’ Patrizia, who had thought this far, bit her lips until she drew blood.

‘I had returned to the past, and changed the future by becoming the Queeness instead of Nilla. With this, it was possible to not repeat our tragic past which our family and I died.’

‘Anyways, even if I had to be the Queeness, it’s fine, as long as I didn’t become the Queen. Even if I did become the Queen, this sacrifice meant everyone would continue to have happy lives, then that was enough. This was a hundred, a thousand times better than re-doing the chaos of the past.’

“Now is not 3 years later.”

‘The future can be changed and I would change it myself no matter what. It was impossible to see what the future would look like, but at least it wouldn’t lead to the tragedy of the past. I would use all of my strength to make sure it didn’t happen. So you can look forward to a happy ending in this life, older sister.’

“I’ll ensure I make it that way.”

Patrizia made up her mind. Instead of her sister as a Queeness, maybe as a Queen, she could wipe away all the memories of the past.

As the week has passed, the profiles of the five Queeness were revealed, Lady Rafaela of Marquis Bringston, Lady Greta of Count Arzeldo, Lady Barbara of Marquis Divar, Lady Trisha of Duke Vashi, and finally herself.

Originally, it was customary for Lady Trisha to be the Queen, but for some reason in the past, her sister beat Lady Trisha and became the Queen. Patrizia was going to try failing the Queen as much as possible, but she didn’t expect much. This was because of how it was unfolded in the past.

Finally on the day Patrizia had to leave for the Palace, Petronilla held onto Patrizia’s hand without letting go, tears lingering in her eyes, “Lizzy, nothing else matters, you just have to return safely, okay?”

Patrizia’s look deepened as she stared at Petronilla. ‘Three years ago, I had been just like that. I had tightly held onto Petronilla’s hand as she prepared to leave for the Imperial Palace. I told her to be careful. In the end, she healthily came back as the Queen.’ Patrizia laughed thinly, “Nill, I’ll miss you.”

“Same, Lizzy. We’ve never been apart for this long…”

Petronilla’s voice was subdued as she said this. From the time they were in their mom’s belly, to now, 19 years later, they had never been apart for such a long period. Others might say, “what’s the big deal with only a week,” but it was the first time for these two sisters. Patrizia held Petronilla in her embrace, like a baby she pleaded in a whisper, “…You can’t come to the palace, okay?”

She said these words from worrying too much. ‘Petronilla had said she didn’t want to become the Queen and would ensure she was dropped, but then fell for the Emperor at first sight, and made all sorts of efforts to become the Queen.’

Of course, now she was the Queeness herself, but you just never knew. ‘There was nothing bad about being careful.’ Petronilla chuckled at her request, “You sure are silly… Do I look that stupid? I don’t plan on smearing mud on my younger sister and family, so don’t worry.”

“…Ok.”

Finally, Patrizia patted her sister’s shoulder, and greeted the Marquis Grochester couple.

“I’ll be back.”

“Yes, Lizzy. As your sister said, come back safely.”

“I believe you will behave well, my daughter.”

Her parent’s voices were so evident with worry, Patrizia thought she might burst into tears, when fortunately the arrival of the coachmen saved her from such an embarrassment. Finally, Patrizia, who had been in an embrace of the Marquis couple, boarded the carriage to the Imperial Palace.

It was the beginning of a different past…