Chapter 17 - CHAPTER 15. MEETING THE ENVOYS’ WIVES

On the evening of the interview, Patrizia wore the most gorgeous red dress that she had. The intense red dress embroidered with gold thread was so splendid that Patrizia didn’t usually wear such extravagant dresses, but it was an absolute must for today. It was an important day after all.

The actual meeting of usefulness with the envoys would be held with the Emperor, but meeting the wives would be up to her. Anyways, it was a matter of national diplomacy, so there could not even be the slightest mistakes. After checking herself in front of the mirror, Patrizia carefully reviewed everything that she had to check.

“Is all the food ready?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. You don’t have to worry. Not only the food, but all the other small matters have been taken care of.”

“You did a good job, Mirya. You must have gone through a lot of trouble. ”

As she smiled brightly and corrected the tiara on her head, a maid came into the room where the two people were and spoke.

“Your Highness, I think you have to go out now. It is said that the envoys have arrived.”

“Yes.”

She replied in a calm voice, then moved towards the door. As she walked out of the door and walked to the small palace where the meeting would take place, Patrizia asked Mirya with passing words, “Did the Baroness respond to the invitation?”

There was no last name mentioned, but only one Baroness had been invited to dinner today, so Mirya quickly understood. She replied, “She sent an answer that she would attend four days ago.”

After hearing that, Patrizia said, ‘I had expected it, but … ‘ and muttered to herself. Meanwhile, they had arrived at the small palace. Patrizia once again patted down her clothes and went inside. Already the ladies had arrived and were sitting down, and as soon as they saw Patrizia, they immediately stood up.

“We greet Your Majesty, the precious Moon of the Empire. Glory to the mother.”

“Please, everyone sit down.”

Patrizia said that and began looking around making a face as if she was looking for someone. The quick-witted Marquess of Bringstone provided Patrizia the answer she wanted to hear.

“Your Majesty, Baroness Phelps said she was going to be a little late.”

“I see.”

Patrizia nodded, and after that calmly replied. As soon as they sat down, the ladies began to pour out the compliments. Most of them were family members that had produced Queeness candidates like Patrizia, so they were generally friendly to her.

“This is your first time doing this, so I dared thought you might be a bit clumsy, but it was my mistake. The preparation has been excellent.”

“That is an exaggeration, Duchess of Witherford. I’m relieved to hear that you like it.”

“But Your Majesty, what is the reason for going so far as to invite the Baroness?”

Marquess Bringstone had been quiet, but then interrupted and asked the question. Her voice felt strong and wise like Rafaella’s mother would, and Patrizia made a thoughtful expression before answering the question calmly.

“What do you mean, going so far, Marquess Bringstone?”

“Aren’t all the people who gathered here all of Marquess or Duchess stature? I am curious as to why you have invited a woman who is not only just a Baroness but also His Majesty’s mistress.

“What would I do if she gets upset and uses this as an excuse to backhandedly go to His Majesty. That is what bothered me and why I extended the invitation.”

Of course, that wasn’t the real reason. Patrizia briefly laughed, seemed to be completely unperturbed. Everyone felt a sense of disagreement as they looked on at her appearance, but they did not refute it.

If the Empress said so, that’s what it was. And actually, the explanation wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

“I am late, Your Majesty.”

At that time, someone with a clear voice rippled into the calm atmosphere. Obviously, she had been invited by Patrizia, but she felt like she had not been invited by the audience who had gathered here. The only one that didn’t seem to think so was Patrizia, who welcomed Rosemond with a bright smile.

“Welcome, Baroness. You are late.”

Patrizia glanced over Rosemond’s appearance once, and then quickly remarked.

“You look like it took a lot of time for you to dress up. It is very glamorous.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Neither the speaker nor listener accepted it as praise, but both of them pretended to do so. Patrizia pointed out her seat without removing her smile.

“Please sit down. Soon the envoys’ wives will arrive.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Your Majesty. In fact, there are many wives of higher rank than me attending, so I was unsure if I should include myself, but I am simply grateful that you have invited me so.”

“No, my Lady. I am the one to give thanks.”

After Patrizia responded with a warm voice, the Marquess of Grochester could only stare at her with an anxious look.

The last she had heard, those two people had not faced each other with such an atmosphere, but suddenly, her daughter had changed so much, it felt strange.

On the surface, there seemed to be no problem. Outwardly, it really was.

“But you look happy today, Your Majesty. I heard that you usually don’t wear a red dress, but you wore one specifically today. ”

Patrizia replied with a laugh at the words of Countess Arzeldo.

“Ahah, you are fast Countess Arzeldo. As you said, I actually feel a little good today.”

“Oh my, did you have any particular reason? I don’t think this meeting is the only reason today.”

“Yes. This meeting is definitely a good reason for me, but it’s not just that. ”

She smiled mischievously and played with the glass of water in front of her.

“I recently received a gift. Thanks to that, it made me feel so good.”

At the word “gift” the Marquess of Grochester’s curious voice asked a question, “A gift? What kind of gift did you receive after entering the palace that Your Majesty felt so good about? I’m curious.”

“It was a good gift. It was probably the best gift I’ve ever received since I started my life in the palace.”

“Is it a dress, Your Majesty?”

Patrizia shook her head at the question from the Duchess of Vashi. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

“No, my Lady. It wasn’t that kind of thing.”

“Then what in the world is it?”

“It was a gift that made my mind and body stronger. Thanks to that, I think I can become stronger. So that’s why I feel good.”

“I’m curious, Your Majesty. Can you show this to us too?”

“Yes, Duchess of Witherford. Unfortunately, this is not a situation I can show you right now. I’ll show you later on. Would that be okay?”

The Duchess of Witherford nodded as if that was a given, and Patrizia smiled once again. At that time, Rosemond, who had been quiet, interrupted, “I want to give you a gift as well as Your Majesty too. Is that okay?

Patrizia responded back, with an amused look in her eyes. What else was she going to say to try to shake her up this time? Anxiety rose at the same time as interest.

“Suddenly a gift? Is there any particular reason, Baroness?”

“If it has to be a particular reason, there is a particular reason. I heard that Your Majesty helped me get my title.”

She acted innocent as she smiled and said to Patrizia.

“If the Empress had not helped, I would not have been sitting here. How dare the daughter of a poor family raise her head towards Your Majesty? That’s why I have never forgotten the grace of Your Majesty ever since I moved to the new palace.”

On the outside, there was clearly nothing wrong with those words, but a few words in the middle disturbed Patrizia’s mentality. However, she calmly smiled and captured her emotions, then responded casually, “No need to thank me for that, Baroness. It was not a big deal for me, and it was not difficult. I have heard that you have kept His Majesty’s side for a year when I wasn’t there, so I have to pay up for that.”

“I’m glad you acknowledge my hard work, Your Majesty. I hope I can maintain this relationship in the future.”

“I think for a smooth relationship to keep running, both parties must be friendly to one another. If one side starts having certain thoughts, then everything would be over, Baroness.”

“I feel the same way as Your Majesty. You are as smart as I have heard.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

It was a face that didn’t look grateful at all, but neither Rosemond nor Patrizia did anything else about that. In a strangely taut atmosphere, the other ladies including the Duchess of Grochester were tense, but fortunately, that atmosphere was broken by Mirya, who had just arrived.

“Your Majesty, the envoys’ wives have just arrived. Would you like them to come inside?”

“Of course. Welcome them in, Mirya.”

The conversation that had naturally been broken up from the rigid atmosphere was revived. The strange vigor brought on by the appearance of new guests quickly spread through the room.

Soon a group of women came into the room where Patrizia was. The age range varied from younger to older women, but given that they had come from a foreign country by ship, no lady seemed that old. Patrizia welcomed them with her fluent foreign language skills.

“Welcome. We were waiting.”

When her sister Petronilla, had gone around having tea parties with other girls, Patrizia had stayed alone in her home to learn foreign languages, especially the one belonging to the Christa Empire which was allied with the Marvinus Empire. She had vaguely thought that she was going to use it someday, but she never thought it would be used like this. They seemed to admire Patrizia’s fluent conversational skills, and the seeming leader among them spoke out.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Moon of Marvinus. It is an honor to see the new mother of this Empire. I am Christa’s Duchess of Verica.”

“I am also extremely happy to meet with you, Duchess. Please, everyone, sit down.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Christa’s noblewomen, who sat in the empty seats, all had the distinctive black hair and impeccable complexion of the Christa Empire, which was hard to see in the Marvinus Empire, so Patrizia was amazed. However, she didn’t show that kind of amazement on her face as she thought it might be rude.

“You must be tired of coming from such a distant place, it would be better to start eating. The chef in our palace is quite amazing at cooking.”

“Since you talk that far, we are excited to try. To be honest, we are very excited about the food from Marvinus. I had heard that Marvinus food was that good?”

“That’s an excessive compliment, Duchess. It would be good if it fits with your palette.”

Patrizia, after saying that, made movements with her head as if asking Mirya to bring the food, and soon, a number of maids came into the banquet hall with plates of food.

Along with colorful vegetable dishes, there were meat dishes with delicious smells that caught their attention. Someone seemed to already be salivating as a gulping sound seeming to swallow their saliva could be heard. Patrizia had on the world’s proud face, Rosemond looked on at her as she smiled inwardly.

The steak, which the maids came in innocent expressions originally had to be a beefsteak, but the ingredients had been replaced because of her plans.

Of course, if one had been a chef who cooks professionally, one would be likely to be able to distinguish the two, but even then, it would not be easy. Just before the chef started cooking, she had replaced it with pork of similar shape and color, which made it hard to tell. Rosemond discussed the steak with an expression that she knew nothing.

“Oh, the steak looks really delicious. I think very good quality meat has been grilled.”

“Correct, Baroness. I specifically asked the chef. To make the dish with very good quality meat. So please eat a lot. I hope everyone else also enjoys it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We will enjoy this food.”

Rosemond, with a smirk, soon began slicing the steak with her elegant hands. As she did this, the juice from the meat came out, and the large steak began to be cut into small pieces. Rosemond deliberately cut into the steaks in a slower motion than the others, and then glanced at the other people taking the steak pieces into their mouths. One of Christa’s most prominent wives had a look of anticipation and put a large-sized piece of steak in her mouth.

Just because pork was not allowed in the Christa Empire did not mean they wouldn’t even know the taste of pork. Rosemond put a piece of steak in the dish into her mouth, hoping for a huge uproar. However…