Chapter 22 - CHAPTER 20. DID YOU STAY WITH HIS MAJESTY LAST NIGHT?

When one lived a life that did not encounter a single hardship, this meant that it wasn’t a fun life and dry overall.

However, at times Lucio wished that he didn’t mind if his life was crazily not fun and dry if he did not have to go through any hardships. These words were a luxury for him.

It was dawn when Lucio opened his eyes. Exactly before dawn, in other words, it was time for the sky to gradually begin to shine from dark black to slightly blue.

He instinctively noticed that this was not his room, and realized that it was the room of the Empress only with the subtle scent of freesia flowers somewhere. Lucio sighed, recognizing this fact.

“Ha…”

Lucio showed a side to Patrizia that he shouldn’t have. He didn’t show this side of him to a single person except for Rosemond.

Lucio wrapped his arms around his face in a sense of frustration. Perhaps it was due to it raining all night, and his head was shaking. He might have caught a cold.

As he saw the raindrops still knocking outside on the window, the rain still did not seem to stop. He thought of leaving this room and returning to his palace even now, but he decided to just lie down after feeling his heavy fatigue and body at the moment. Because he had shown this side of him already, he couldn’t play it off, and overall it was just meaningless.

By the way, he realized he hadn’t seen the Empress. This bed he was lying on right now couldn’t be hers, could it? As he thought this far, his forehead started to wrinkle.

Ah, this was totally the worst. He had not been a drunken drunkard, but he had acted really stupid and ugly. He thought it would be better if he didn’t stay here anymore and eventually raised up his heavy body. Still, this side was better.

After opening the door and leaving the room, Mirya, who was the head of the maids for the Empress, discovered him while looking surprised. She seemed to begin coughing for some unknown reason, and then quickly greeted him.

“I see Your Majesty of this great empire. Glory to the precious Sun.”

“… Did the Empress bring me to this place?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I have given her trouble.”

“…”

Mirya, who hesitated for a moment, carefully talked to him.

“Your Majesty, I regret to say this…”

“…”

“I don’t know that Lady Phelps is special to His Majesty.”

“…How do you know that?”

It was both safe and fatal. Nobody could touch it. No one, except Rosemond, whom he had solely allowed.

So Mirya was now, perhaps risking her life and telling him this.

“I am sorry. My late mother who had served as a maid for a lifetime told me.”

“…”

“I cannot dare to request you to not place her in your heart, Your Majesty… Can’t you just turn around and look back at Her Majesty a little?”

“…With what daring?”

He spoke this in a bitter voice.

“On the first day of being wed, I said don’t expect love and got a promise to not touch Lady Phelps out of her. Do you think someone like me deserves to care about the Empress?”

“…”

Mirya couldn’t bear to reply in agreement, so she did not say anything. At that honest attitude, he made a bitter face and then spoke on.

“I have already gone too far to do that. You must know since you heard it from your mother, but I can’t abandon Lady Phelps. That’s an act of denying my identity.”

“…”

Mirya was no longer able to speak. To side with her master, Mirya was one of the few people who knew the Emperor’s feelings.

She, as the Empress’ maid, knew well that she shouldn’t have this sort of mind but, the Emperor was pitiful. To the point that it was amazing that he had not gone crazy right now. Mirya bit her lips without her knowledge, and as he saw this, he still couldn’t hide his complicated expression and spoke to her.

“Tell the Empress that there were many instances of inappropriateness last night. I don’t feel comfortable knowing that I have given her trouble.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

So Mirya could only answer like that after all. Lucio turned around and started walking along the hallway of the Empress Palace.

Thus, when he came out, the rain that had been pouring heavily until now was gradually fading away, and he walked to the Central Palace getting hit in full by the weak rain, without even thinking of having to use an umbrella.

Patrizia felt very tired when she opened her eyes. Her ominous feelings had become reality. She might have really caught a cold.

Ah, she felt like she had done a kind deed and ended up only losing out. Patrizia sighed deeply and raised up her heavy body. A moan of “oh my” sprang out by itself.

“Have you coughed, Your Majesty?”

“Ah, Mirya. Did His Majesty cough?”

However, the face of Mirya who was asked this question looked serious. Patrizia asked about her expression with a confused face of her own.

“What’s wrong?”

“That is… after coughing at dawn, he immediately returned to the Central Palace.”

“Ah…”

She nodded as if she understood. It made sense if he had a conscience, it was right to leave right after he got up. He had taken over and slept on someone else’s bed after all. Of course, he was the Emperor, but still. Mirya passed on to Patrizia what Lucio had said earlier.

“He said that you felt uncomfortable for bringing you trouble. There were many examples of this last night …”

“It’s a relief that he knows.”

“…”

Mirya said no more. Yes, maybe it was already late, as His Majesty had said. Patrizia would not understand Lucio on a level with common sense, and Lucio would not be willing to explain to Patrizia the situation with the presence of Rosemond.

In any case, His Majesty the Emperor was obstinate in this respect, but it was, in fact, inevitable, from his point of view. It was a situation where he had no choice but to. And if she had been in that situation, she might have done the same thing.

Anyways, she didn’t want to continue to worry about his situation. Because her owner was Patrizia, no matter what.

Mirya erased all the words she had shared with Lucio earlier in the day, and then came back to the original situation.

“Right, you have to send off your envoys’ wives this morning. They are apparently leaving for their Empire after breakfast. It would be good for you to be prepared.”

“I will, Mirya. Thank you.”

“Your body isn’t perhaps feeling very sick? Shall we call the court physician?”

“It’s fine. For now… I don’t think so.”

Patrizia brushed up her long turquoise hair with a bit of a conflicted look and then told Mirya.

“First of all, it would be better to have breakfast first.”

Meanwhile, Rosemond was awakened from sleeping alone with the shocking news from the morning, and she became furious after hearing about it.

“His Majesty went to the Empress Palace last night?”

It was unbelievable. It was Lucio who had looked for her even on the first day of the wedding night. How could he … When Rosemond struggled with the betrayal, Glara talked to her as if to calm her down.

“I don’t know the details, but it was said that both His Majesty and Her Majesty arrived at the Empress Palace last night drenched from the heavy rain. It was raining too much and he had stayed on overnight …”

“So, that! It means that the two of them met together during such a conspicuous time at night. No?”

When Rosemond pointed out the most important facts, Glara hesitated for a moment and gave a positive answer.

“… I think it’s right.”

“Ha!”

Rosemond released a wild breath. How could he do this to her? She thought he went to the Empress Palace to pick a fight about the scars on her cheek, but instead, he had gone to spend the night with the Empress?

Rosemond grasped the white bed linen to calm down her body that was trembling with anger. She jumped up as if she couldn’t stand it any longer. As she looked at Rosemond taking hold of her shawl, Glara asked, with an expression that doubted, “My, my Lady, surely… You’re not going to the Empress Palace, are you?”

“Why not? You’re right.”

“Lady!”

She tried to stop Rosemond with her dried-up face. This could not be. Disregarding anything else, this was definitely not the way to go. Now was the time for Rosemond to restrain herself, not involve herself.

There was already yesterday’s work that had firmly placed her on the bad side of the Empress, and gained a weakness, if she acted out like this it would only backfire badly on her.

Glara wondered how she should somehow stop Rosemond.

“Lady, it has been less than a day since what happened yesterday, and it is too reckless to go to the Empress again. Strictly speaking, last night was not the fault of Her Majesty either, so just this incident…”

However, Rosemond left the room putting on the shawl, lightly trampling all over Glara’s words.

Alas, her master had great strength even in the morning.

Glara helplessly followed Rosemond with a nervous look. She just hoped that nothing bad would happen.

Patrizia was shocked to the utmost. The news she had heard as soon as she finished her makeup, to see off the envoys’ wives after breakfast, was the news of Rosemond’s visit. At the same time, she thought that this was a woman with great guts, and thought that things seemed to be weirdly twisted since yesterday.

It wasn’t anything good anyway. She had met with two of the most unlikeable people in this Imperial Palace too many times.

Looking at Rosemond who seemed to boast a spirit that lasted since yesterday, Patrizia made a tired expression as she looked at her that could not be even said to be friendly. As she did so, Rosemond gave her a keen look and picked a fight.

“You look tired, Your Majesty.”

“I was not that tired at first, but I am more tired now that you have come. How can you possibly have come to visit me? I think we both know that we have an uncomfortable relationship. Besides, it’s time to be careful after the events from yesterday.”

“Be careful, Your Majesty? I don’t know what I could possibly have done wrong for you to be saying that?”

Rosemond laughed and asked Patrizia this. No matter if she did not publicize these matters, it was not so easy to deny such a shameless thing and act so brazenly. Patrizia admired Rosemond’s iron skin and mocked her again.

“You sure seem to live an easy life. If you do something wrong, you blindfold yourself to it and that’s the end.”

“Isn’t it possible because everything is thanks to His Majesty’s favor? It would never be possible if I had sat in the Empress’ seat without any favor.”

Patrizia wanted to deny it, but did not really feel the need to do so, and quickly asked her for the reason of the visit. It was good for her mental health to send her away quickly.

“Why are you here?”

“I have something to ask.”

“Ask, this question.”

“Were you with His Majesty yesterday?”

“Now, what was this about?”