Chapter 8 - CHAPTER 7. DO YOU THINK THE EMPEROR WILL LIKE YOU?

Petronilla received her sister’s reply and rushed over to the Imperial Palace. Her face was full of smiles as she had missed her sister so much. Patrizia also greeted her with a joyous look.

“Nilla!”

“Lizzy!”

It had only been a week. However, others who saw the two would have thought it was a reunion for distant family members. Petronilla spoke to Patrizia in an impassioned voice.

“My sister is the Empress! Oh, my God, Lizzy. No, now, should I call you Empress?”

Patrizia responded to her sister’s teasing antics, hitting her lightly so it wouldn’t hurt.

“No, Nilla. Just call me the same. Even if I’m a Queen, we as sisters won’t change.”

“How can that be so. But when it’s just us two, I’ll give it a little thought.”

“Okay. Oh, older sister, sit down. Your legs must be hurting.”

Patrizia placed Petronilla in a chair and asked Mirya for two cups of tea. Soon Mirya came back with two teacups, and Petronilla sipped the tea, then asked her sister.

“What in the world happened Lizzy? Of course, the choosing of an Empress is up to His Majesty’s discretion, but it would have been hard if you didn’t get a good score from the contest.”

“I don’t know too, Nil. Actually, I didn’t get a good result in the first and second parts. I thought Lady Trisha’s score would be high, so I thought she would be Queen.”

It seemed the impact of the third part was very great, but she didn’t want to tell Petronilla that much. Petronilla, hearing her sister’s words, shuddered.

“Oh, really? Then, perhaps — His Majesty has taken to you, Lizzy?”

“…”

Patrizia’s face almost rotted for the moment, but she barely overcame it.

“Who does that man like? Me?”

Patrizia laughed sounding like someone who had heard some funny news. But even with that response, Petronilla pushed her thoughts.

“Look at you. Why don’t you think that? His Majesty may have a crush on you.”

“Sister… Did you forget the rumor that floated around?”

Patrizia, who had finally reached the realm of taboos, spoke seriously.

“His Majesty already has a lover. So maybe he took me for granted….”

Patrizia kept her mouth shut. That’s it. Why did he choose me? The Count’s house was lower, so Lady Arzeldo could have been chosen, or even Lady Vashi. There was no particular reason she should have been chosen as Empress. Patrizia once again felt a sense of embarrassment at these questions but managed to ignore it. There was no way to know, even if one wondered why. Unless one asked the Emperor, there was no way of knowing.

“…It must have been a mistake, Nilla. I don’t expect anything from His Majesty.”

She quickly turned the conversation to the original topic. What could she expect from the man who killed her sister? Even if one was expecting something, it had nothing to do with herself. Patrizia said to Petronilla with a sinking gaze.

“The romance you dreamed of won’t happen to me. His Majesty is not my Knight in Shining Armor. The only thing I expect from this place is…”

Patrizia stopped speaking for a moment as if her throat was stuck. Patrizia picked up her voice and spoke quickly again, “Just … just respect as an Empress. That’s it.”

After she spoke, she felt like it would seem very negative and somber in other people’s positions. Petronilla’s bright face was dark for an instant. She seemed to feel a great pity that the love in her sister’s marriage, even though it was her own unrequited love, did not mix in the slightest.

“Lizzy… did you sacrifice for me?”

“It’s not as noble as you make it sound.”

If this is a sacrifice, it was also a sacrifice that Petronilla had been Queeness in the past. Whether she had lost in the game of chance, she still became the Queeness, and then the Queen was an undeniable fact.

“Now, let us talk about something else.”

Patrizia deliberately changed the topic. The time with her sister was too precious to talk about a man she didn’t care about.

“Our parents know, right? When are they coming here?”

“Of course they know. They asked me when I was coming here. When it would be best for them to come here?”

“It doesn’t matter, at any time. Well, I hope they come a little quicker. Mother, Father, I want to see them.”

“Got it. I’ll tell them that.”

Petronilla put the empty teacup on the table and said cheerfully, “You know, I have plenty of time. I’ll be here until the sun sets today. That’s ok right?”

Patrizia was all for it. She smiled and nodded.

“Absolutely ok.”

Petronilla kept her promise to her sister. Just before the sun had set, Petronilla came out from where Patrizia was staying.

Because her sister’s room was located near the center of the Imperial Palace, she had to leave at least at this time to get home before the sun set completely.

The path from Patrizia’s room in the Imperial Palace led up to a small garden. Petronilla had merely glanced at the beautiful place the first time. The bright sunlight and the romantic glow on the flowers made from the difference in the lights gave a different charm.

Petronilla smiled and snapped a flower stem from the flower bed. The red rose in her hand was a burning red with the glow from the light.

“If I lived here, I’d see these flowers every day.”

Petronilla, who had quietly murmured to herself, carried on with her steps. But not a few steps had been taken, did her feet stop again. Petronilla looked appalled at the random sight before her eyes.

“What the…?”

She hid her body nearby without realizing it. Then she pulled out her neck and stared at the pair of a man and woman walking towards her. And in the incredible sight that she encountered, Petronilla completely hardened with a look of dismay. His Majesty The Emperor, and… a Lady.

What… was that rumor really true? Petronilla looked at the Emperor and his lover with puzzled eyes. It was like they had been a married couple for a long time. The Emperor’s side belonged to her sister, and why was this unknown woman standing by him instead. She hadn’t put too much care when she had first heard about the rumor, but when she witnessed this with her own eyes, Petronilla was shocked.

“Oof!”

The pain of the momentary bodily pain caused Petronilla to crumple down. Petronilla, sitting on the floor, clenched her neck and suddenly started choking.

“Ugh…”

Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. Why she felt so sad. Her sister’s husband, so her brother-in-law openly cheating before his marriage wasn’t the only reason. It was shocking enough, but to feel this… it was not appropriate for her to feel so breathless and miserable.

Petronilla felt tears flowing from her eyes regardless of her will. At the same time, a sob came from her mouth.

“Sob, aahh…”

Sad. Miserable. Wanting to kill. Strange emotions swept through her head. Petronilla was dominated by these sentiments, without knowing why. Unknown feelings and unknown pain, everything was strange. She choked a few more times, then finally lost her consciousness and collapsed completely.

Patrizia ran and ran. Since she was born, she never ran so hard like this. When she turned the corner, she finally saw the palace made of white marble. She was wearing high beyond high heels, and without hesitation picked up the speed.

“Ugh.”

Then her ankle finally folded. She lost her balance and fell in place. Thud, there was a loud noise. She saw Mirya, who wasn’t able to match Patrizia’s speed. Shocked, ran within her.

“Lady Patrizia!”

Mirya quickly looked over Patrizia’s condition and realized through her swollen ankles that she had sprained her ankle. She spoke while being flustered.

“I’ll bring a maid over.”

“No.”

Patrizia refused. The only thing that mattered now was not herself.

“It’s fine, Mirya. Instead please help support me.”

Patrizia, who had taken the action to get up, was quickly backed up by Mirya. She bit her lips strongly to stop herself from crying out. My lips were red as if they were bleeding. Patrizia stammered, and said, “I have to go, Mirya.”

Patrizia, who said so, moved her foot forward, with her poor, swollen ankle dragging along. She shouldn’t have ran so she could have arrived faster. Patrizia barely reached her destination while cursing at her foolishness. She opened the door with a hurried look.

“…”

And she met not one person, but two people. Patrizia was embarrassed at the moment but soon opened her trembling lips to show respect.

“I greet the Great Sun of the Empire. Glory To Your Majesty The Emperor.”

“Is this your sister?”

Lucio asked a short question instead of accepting the greeting. Patrizia then moved her gaze to her sister. When she saw her sister’s pale face, Patrizia wailed without knowing.

“Ah, agghhhhh.”

Lucio was heartless as he could have comforted Patrizia, who was crying with her face wrapped up, but he did not try to appease his future wife. He looked at Patrizia with an emotionless glance and soon explained the situation.

“The gardener found that she had fallen unconscious in the garden of the Imperial Palace. It’s not a serious problem, it’s just a sudden shock.”

“Ugh, ugghh.”

With his explanation, Patrizia sobbed more. It was against courtesy to show tears in front of the Emperor. But when she saw Petronilla lying on the bed, Patrizia felt her own grip on her mind break.

She moved her foot to the bed where Petronilla was lying, but soon felt a great deal of pain and fell to the floor.

“Ah!”

She writhed in unparalleled pain and gripped her ankle. The ankle was redder than it had been before. Lucio, who saw it, slowly approached her.