Chapter 14 - CHAPTER 12. IF YOU HAD SOMETHING LIKE A CONSCIENCE

“Your Majesty, now that you have been the Empress for a while, I think it’s time you opened a tea party.”

“Ah, tea party.”

Rafaella nodded as Patrizia nodded her head as if she had forgotten. The obligation was not a formal event but it was still customary. As the new owner of the Inner Palace, the Empress had to bring the nobility together to open a tea party. It was to reveal her authority and at the same time, confirming her position to them all.

Of course, since Rosemond had been formally granted the title of Baroness, and an invitation had to be sent to her as well.

The truth was, this was up to Patrizia’s discretion, but if she did not send it, it was possible that Rosemond would again rush to the Emperor again and weep tearfully that she was being bullied as an outcast. Then the Emperor himself would visit her again and make a fuss with a frowning face, warning her not to treat his woman badly.

Patrizia, who had thought about it this far, shook her head as if she had a headache. It was just better to just send the invitation, it wasn’t worth it to risk seeing the Emperor’s face over a simple tea party.

“I have to. Did the Duchess of Bringstone bring it up?”

The Duchess of Bringstone was Rafaella’s mother. Rafaella nodded her head.

“Yesterday the Haiga Viscount came to visit the Marquis. I think that’s when this story came out.”

“Yeah … there’s a precedent, and it would be weird not to do it.”

“I know you don’t like that stuff, Lizzy. But I want you to think carefully because it’s not a good situation for you right now.”

“I know.”

She was not receiving the Emperor’s intimate favor, and so the only part she could gain a competitive edge was with the nobility. In common cases, the nobles were more likely to support the Empress herself than the Baroness. Of course, as with the Duchess Efreni, there were exceptions, but… Patrizia pondered over this before opening her mouth.

“Mirya, then, could you write up the invitations now? Next week there will be a tea party under the patronage of the Empress Palace.”

The slower and slower you moved, the less advantageous it was. From the perspectives of the noble wives, they could take it as being disregarded. It was not enough to even be getting their support, let alone their hate. Mirya listened to Patrizia’s instructions and answered back with a question after a little while with a troubled expression.

“Your Majesty, then… what will you do about Baroness Phelps?”

“Send it to that Palace as well, please. Because I don’t want to see His Majesty’s face over this issue.”

She talked in a careless manner, but Mirya didn’t feel good about it. Mirya could feel her voice seemed to have just a little bit of sadness. She replied in a tone of attempting to be collected.

“Yes. I’ll do that.”

As the Empress, this was the first time she was seen standing before the noble wives and daughters, so Patrizia prepared the tea party with more fervor than ever. She didn’t want to be caught with any blemishes. Moreover, if there was the possibility that Rosemond was in attendance.

Rosemond, whom she knew, was not a lenient villain. Patrizia thought she should be more prepared because she was not stupid and foolish. If she built up her friendships with the nobility, then that would be the end. Of course, that wouldn’t happen so easily, but nevertheless, people didn’t know what could happen in the future. There was nothing bad about preparing for it.

“Your Majesty, when should those in attendance be given their gifts?”

“It’ll be at the end of the party. If I send a signal, please bring it over.”

Patrizia calmly directed her and looked down at the dress she was wearing. An extravagant and gorgeous white dress that couldn’t be said to be modest. With this, it would be hard to say she was on the losing end. Patrizia, deeply relieved inside, fidgeted with her adorned head without knowing. Acting like an adult, and acting so calm, yet she was still only an innocent 19-year-old girl.

Patrizia was by default, not a sociable character. Her sister, Petronilla, could talk to strangers and ask for dances, but she could not do it by nature. Rafaella, who was now her own knight, had also initially been befriended by Petronilla talking to her first.

So while she didn’t know if she was passive in nature, she wasn’t active and so these events only felt very uncomfortable for her. And yet there was nothing that could be done about it. This was a matter of survival. If she complained, the death would be how she shut up.

“Thank you all for coming.”

“Congratulations on becoming the master of the Inner Palace, Your Majesty. We should have visited you earlier, but we couldn’t.”

At the words of the Duchess of Vashi, Patrizia laughed a little and replied, “Getting together like this should be rather simple. Rather, I should have created this early on, but I’ve done it too late.”

Patrizia, who sipped a sip of the tea placed in front of her, swiped a look around the entire area. Rosemond was nowhere to be seen. Did this mean she wouldn’t come?

“I don’t see Baroness Phelps.”

When one of the noblewomen said that, the atmosphere flowed on strangely. Some paid attention to Patrizia, while others seemed to just enjoy the situation. Someone even said, “How could she attend this gathering, Lady? If it were me, I would feel so apologetic to Her Majesty, that I wouldn’t dare show my face.”

It was only a month after Patrizia had been crowned Empress. However, the Emperor, even though he was a newlywed, had immediately given his mistress a title.

This was not unprecedented, but it was never accepted in the good sense. Anyways, whether this was intended or not intended, there was no denying that he had dropped the authority of the new Empress Patrizia.

“True, that must be so. She can’t possibly have such a thick face to so shamelessly…”

“I am late.”

At that time, everyone’s gaze focused on the voice that had interrupted at that moment. Patrizia stared at Rosemond walking towards her, with an emotionless face. The unadorned white dress was beautiful as it matched with her white face. She approached the table that the women and Patrizia were gathered at, and elegantly bent her waist in greeting.

“I give my greetings. I am Rosemond Mary La Phelps.”

“Welcome, Baroness.”

One of them greeted her with a grim look. For the noblewomen, Rosemond was an existence to be welcomed.

As the higher nobility had great pride in their lineage they would have felt disdain towards her, and the lower nobility felt a certain degree of jealousy as they were in similar positions and age as her and yet she was the much younger Emperor’s mistress.

In either case, Patrizia’s perspective was that the more enemies she had, the better.

“Sit down, Baroness.”

Patrizia looked at her with a smile and encouraged her to take her place. As the position was set in order, of course, she was seated at the way end, and so was furthest away from Patrizia. Even more, she had just recently become a Baroness, and because she was young, it made sense she was sitting on the opposite side of Patrizia.

Patrizia felt comforted by that. If she had to drink tea with her in the near vicinity, she would have certainly not felt the tea entering either through her throat or nostrils.

“What were you all talking about?”

“Ah, we weren’t talking about much.”

Rafaella, who had attended today not as a knight but as a lady, laughed cheekily and said, “We were just talking about you, Lady.”

“My story?”

“Yes.”

Rafaella, who answered succinctly, pulled her outer mouth corners up and subtly blamed Rosemond.

“We thought the Baroness would not come. Of course.”

“I?”

“Yes. I thought I wouldn’t come if I had been you.”

“Why is that?”

Rafaella blatantly stared at Rosemond who had continued to ask questions, and with a cheery smile that didn’t seem to match the future content she responded with.

“I’d be ashamed. If I had even a little bit of something like a conscience left, I probably wouldn’t have come.”

“…”

Rosemond did not wrinkle her face at Rafaella’s criticism. Patrizia thought that she had to highly credit that ability to manage her facial expression so well, and another lady added on to the words.

“True. If there were even a bit of those feelings, there would be no reason to stay put beside the Emperor that wasn’t even bringing an Empress in.”

“…”

The situation was turning offensively towards Rosemond. Perhaps it would have been different if Rosemond had been a noble lady with a higher rank, but, unfortunately, her father was a mere Baron, so the nobles did not consider her kindly.

Rosemond sat down for a while with a deadpan face and then opened her mouth dryly.

“I don’t know why everyone does this.”

“What?”

“As you have said, I have spent a year serving His Majesty in the palace where the Empress was not even present. I don’t think it was something that was so wrong.”

Rosemond raised one corner of her mouth and laughed piteously. Patrizia looked at her for a moment and momentarily shuddered. It was a look that gave her goosebumps.

“I did not try to directly harm Her Majesty, so please don’t look at me like that too much. I actually rather wish the Emperor would grant his intimate favor to Her Majesty. Always, every night he looks for me, and my body can’t get any rest.”

“…”

Discreet mockery and implacable flaunting. Patrizia smiled momentarily out of shock. Then Rosemond looked at Patrizia with smiling eyes and tied up her words with a nice voice.

“Of course it’s not something I can control, but I think I’m going to talk to him more actively. As you have said, I have a conscience and it hurts my heart that the Empress has to sleep alone every night.”

“…”

With those words, everyone fluttered about. The truth was, they had to know. The Emperor had fallen for his mistress and stopped his visits to the Empress Palace. Nobody chose to show they knew, Patrizia opened her mouth, not knowing what to say to Rosemond that had brought it to the open, until someone interrupted, “Baroness Phelps.”

Patrizia was startled by the familiar voice.