Chapter 15 - CHAPTER 13. I SHOULD NOT HAVE SENT YOU

Petronilla looked at Rosemond with a rare emotionless expression. Patrizia felt awkward seeing the unfamiliar face on her sister.

“No one here wants to know about the private life between you and His Majesty.”

“It seems they were wondering about it, everybody.”

Rosemond smiled and replied, but Petronilla’s impassive face did not change.

“That’s where you must be mistaken. And it seems you don’t know about this, but the Empress has a body that can only accept His Majesty on the agreed upon dates for copulation. She can’t serve His Majesty at any time. It is work for those that are less noble than Her Majesty.”

“…”

At those words, Rosemond stiffened her face. She seemed offended by the nuance of equating her to that of a prostitute. However, Rosemond soon revealed her distinctive, pitying expression, and rebuffed Petronilla’s words.

“It would not be a big deal if you could actually bring His Majesty to those appointed meetings, don’t you think?”

“Lady Phelps.”

Patrizia had been sitting still until she quietly called out to Rosemond. She had to end this before the tea party’s atmosphere blurred over even more. The longer this dragged on, the more Patrizia herself would lose.

“Even so, you are nothing but a Baroness, and I cannot allow you to continue to freely discuss the Empress’s private life.”

“…”

“Don’t you think so?”

“Well. To consider this as Her Majesty’s private life…the issue of an heir is on the line, right?”

“That also is not something that Baroness Phelps should worry about. I understand that your interest in the Imperial Court has increased from serving His Majesty, but do not cross the line. This country’s Empress is me, and that means the Emperor’s official wife is me. Is there any household in which the side passes judgment on the main?”

“…”

After cleaning the words from “shut your mouth when you’re a mere concubine,” Rosemond released a bitter laugh. She said nothing more and- she wasn’t sure if she could not, or would not- Patrizia sighed internally and barely managed to organize for facial expression.

She was preferably trying to stay quiet but got carried away from the excitement.

She lifted the teacup placed in front of her, drank from the teacup a few times, and pulled out a calmer voice to turn the topic around.

“Right, come to think of it, the young lady of the Earl of Eiland got married recently?”

The women’s chatter lasted considerably longer than Patrizia had expected. She had worried that the early atmosphere would affect how smooth the atmosphere would be, but it wasn’t bad if the earlier part was excluded. Surprisingly, Rosemond returned to her seat and stayed until the end, and seemed to try to speak to the other wives, but all of them had ignored her.

Patrizia knew better than anyone that for the moment that her position was more powerful than that of the intimate favor, but the situation would reverse if this persisted in the long run.

In the absence of the Emperor’s intimate favor, she had to make her authority and power more solid.

That was the only way the Empress that didn’t receive favor could survive the plot.

After the tea party was over, Petronilla quietly found Patrizia. Patrizia asked with a worried face at her sister who looked darker than the last time she saw her.

“Sister, your face is dark. Is something wrong?”

“Is something wrong?”

Petronilla’s body shook as if she was really asking if she didn’t know. Patrizia intuitively realized that what she was referring to was about Rosemond, and soon laughed carelessly.

“I’m fine, Sister.”

“I’m not okay, my little Sister Majesty. Ah, Lizzy, is this something you’re doing constantly? Is that mistress treating you this wrong at other times?”

“No, it was only today.”

Actually, it was only recently a similar thing had happened, but she decided not to say it. It didn’t seem like a good decision to divulge that as well.

And if she said that, she had to stop and discuss the Emperor’s attitude as well. And when she heard that, Petronilla, with her weak heart, was surely going to be sad. Patrizia looked at her smiling as if nothing was wrong, and reassured her sister.

“I’m doing well. Lady Phelps is not picking fights with me, and we’re just remaining as strangers every day.”

“…She mocked you at a spot where all the noblewomen had gathered, Lizzy.”

When she thought about it again, she shivered a little as if the thought was unpleasant. Patrizia, who looked at her with a complicated gaze, tried to tell her anything, but Petronilla was faster.

“I … did I do wrong, Lizzy? Should I not have sent you?”

“Nilla, as I said, the situations don’t change. At this time, you are standing in your position and it has just flipped so that now I am standing in this position.”

Patrizia hugged Petronilla and whispered, “I’d rather it be like this now, Sister.”

“Ah…”

With those words, Petronilla finally shed the tears she had been holding in. She didn’t know the reason why, but she just burst into tears. My little sister, my other half is so pitiful. I feel sorry for you taking on all this hardship instead. Patrizia held Petronilla harder with her hands as if she understood her mind.

“This is my choice. I volunteered.”

“Lizzy…”

“Nil, you’ll respect me, won’t you?”

“…yeah.”

Petronilla then wiped away her tears. Her heart ached when she saw her eyes were red. But she tried to smile without giving it away. Petronilla would obviously want to see her smiling.

“Send my well wishes to Mother. That I am doing well.”

The Marquess of Grochester had a slight cold and couldn’t come out to the tea party today. Petronilla nodded as if she was saying she understood. She gave her little sister’s forehead a small kiss and finally hugged him once more.

Patrizia was very sad that she had been with her sister for a short time after not meeting for a long time, and the thought that they should be separated again was very saddening, but nothing could be done about it. Looking forward to the next time was all that could be done.

-CRASH

A loud noise was heard as the vanity with all kinds of cosmetics on top of it, rolled and fell to the floor. Despite the fact that the carpet had been laid down, several of them fell to the floor with such force that they were shattered into little pieces. Glara, appalled at the discovery, approached Rosemond.

“Lady!”

“…”

She scarily glowered at Glara, and soon hit her cheek hard. Glara had a confused expression on her face over being slapped on the face for no reason. Rosemond soon came to Glara in a horrifyingly low voice, “What…?”

“Lady, why in the world would you do that…?”

SLAP.

Once again, Glara’s head twisted around. Glara’s cheek was sadly reddened with the force from the strong friction. She grabbed her reddened cheek that looked like it would bleed, and in a taken aback voice called out to Rosemond, “La…”

But this time, the words couldn’t even be finished. Once again Glara’s cheek went back, and at the same time, her cheek started bleeding. Glara was now almost on the verge of crying.

“Who… am I?”

“Lady…”

“I said no!”

She yelled like a madman, and Glara flinched in shock and stared at Rosemond forgetting the pain. But Rosemond wasn’t concerned and continued to scream, “I! Because I am not the Empress!”

“…”

“How much! Insults! Suffered! Do you know how I returned?!”

“Ah…”

Glara looked perplexed as she finally understood the reason for Rosemond’s strange behavior. The rise of Rosemond continued.

“Try calling me Empress, Glara. You’re not going to treat me like a mere mistress too, are you?”

“No, no, Your Majesty.”

If she didn’t satisfy her whims now she could disappear without a trace. Glara, with a nervous look, gulped down her saliva and said a bunch of words she wanted to hear.

“You will soon become the Empress. Please calm down, Your Majesty. Anyways, the Empress can’t give birth to a child, so if you wait just a little longer, the master of the palace will change.”

“Miserable…”

She began to cry when she had been yelling moments before, and Glara sighed. Anyways, it was right that she should be appeased right now. Glara disappeared after thinking that she should bring some tea to calm Rosemond down, and Rosemond, who was left alone, promised herself with eyes full of hate.

“Watch and see. I will surely become the Empress, and the words I heard today, I will return them back equally. To those two brats, everything!”

Rosemond was muttering with a sullen look, her face looked like it was overcome with evil. Her hand clenched her bedsheet with so much strength that it revealed the bone behind her skin.

It had been ten days since Patrizia had not seen Lucio. Patrizia, who was not aware of the fact at all, realized it at one point and was amazed.

Anyways, in her position if she didn’t confront him, then it would have been a good thing, so she just wanted this space to last as long as possible. But once she had this idea, of course, Lucio came to visit.

“What is the reason you’re here?”

She asked for the purpose of the visit. It was not a blunt voice but it wasn’t welcoming either since he was not here to ask for her well-being anyway. He would ask a favor for himself, or he would threaten. He looked at Patrizia, who was standing still, and then he turned his head and said, “…A week later, important guests will visit, you know this right?”

“Ahh.”

She nodded her head as if she knew. A week later, an envoy from the Empire of Christa was scheduled to visit. She didn’t know the details because it wasn’t her area, but she knew it was regarding trade issues. Patrizia replied, “Yes I know, Your Majesty.”

“There’s a little change in that schedule. It was originally supposed to be a visit only by the envoys, but earlier today I was asked if their wives could accompany them. I didn’t want to say refuse them since I want to take care of this issue well, so perhaps can you be in charge of meeting the envoys’ wives?”

“…”

He had ended up visiting her because of work. All the good work would go to Rosemond, and all the bad work that bothered or troubled was given to her. Patrizia complained internally, but she knew well that there was no room for rejection.

This originally was the Empress’s affair, and if Rosemond was to take over this, it would be a disaster. As well as the fall of her authority, it may soon empower Rosemond further. In the end, she was in a position where she had to accept. Patrizia nodded her agreement and said, “I will do it.”

“There’s nothing specific you need to worry about. Oh, I forgot one thing.”

“Please speak.”

“The Christa Empire never eats pork for religious reasons. I would like for you to keep this in mind when the meals are being prepared.”

Ah, that’s right. Patrizia recalled what she had seen in a book some time ago. The symbol for their god was the pig, and to not undermine and protect the sacredness of pork, intake was prohibited by the empire… Of course, other than pork, there were no limits on any other meat.

Patrizia nodded showing she understood, and Lucio, who was staring at her, slowly opened his lips.

“How is the work for the Imperial Household, doable?”