Chapter 67 - WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?

“… Excuse me?”

Petronilla replied with a shocked look, but Rothesay said it again without any shame.

“I asked if you would dance with me, Lady.”

“I have…”

Petronilla hesitated, avoiding having to answer. Rothesay was still patiently waiting for her to respond.

“I have… I have no desire to do so.”

She had refused him, but Rothesay was persistent.

“Can you not give me just one chance?”

“No, why are you doing this to me?”

“I…”

Rothesay spoke with a slight blush that creeped up on his face.

“I think I have fallen in love, with you my Lady.”

“…”

With those words, Petronilla’s face hardened.

The trials and tribulations for Patrizia, unfortunately did not end.

“Oh, is it the Empress?”

Patrizia frowned at the trademarked, unique voice, and soon stared at Rosemond with a casual face.

“Lady Efreni.”

“I greet the Moon of the Empire. Glory to the Marvinus Empire.”

“You seem to like your new family. Your face has bloomed more than before.”

“… Thank you.”

Rosemond nodded with a forced smile, and Patrizia laughed. There was nothing different about her being the daughter of a Duke. Of course, Rosemond’s prestige may have climbed higher than that of being the daughter of a Baron, but even so, Patrizia was the only Empress of the Marvinus Empire. Even if Rosemond became more than the daughter of a Duke, such as a Duchess, this was an unchanging truth.

“However, I must say, Your Majesty.”

“Tell me.”

“I heard something strange when I went out last time.”

What else did she plan to say to disturb her mind this time? Patrizia wanted to at least hear it, and barely opened her eyes.

“It’s a monstrous rumor.”

“Well, apparently Your Majesties have not shared a bed as of yet.”

“…”

Patrizia smiled at Rosemond’s words. Her ruse was revealed. To some extent, it was expected, but she did not do anything. Because with this kind of issue, there was nothing she could do.

“You are right. It is a monstrous rumor.”

Patrizia lied calmly.

“But even if it was not, you would have no way of knowing it. On the first night, there were only myself and His Majesty alone in the room. So that is a truth you cannot dare to bring up and discuss.”

“If so, I wonder why there is still no news of a child.”

“The Lady has served His Majesty a year earlier than me. That is what everyone knows.”

Patrizia smiled fervently and stared at Rosemond.

“So, is there a fetus in your stomach now? Is His Majesty’s seed inside you I mean.”

“…”

At least this wasn’t something Rosemond could bring up. But Rosemond was confident.

“Isn’t there the best solution for all this, Your Majesty?”

“… ”

“The Empress’ duty is the production of an Imperial Crown Prince. Both of us have served His Majesty, but there is no news of a pregnancy yet. Is this not something that can be determined with a fertility test?”

“Fallen… for me?”

“Yes.”

“For me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Petronilla asked this in a taken aback voice.

“I think you have forgotten, Sir. It has been only two times since we met, including today. Also the first meeting was but for a moment.”

“The length of time is not important to love. What matters is destiny, as well as the heart.”

He was a man who was quite fond of fate. Petronilla spoke while laughing through her nostrils.

“It is regrettable, but I do not believe in stuff such as that…”

“I fell in love at first sight, my Lady.”

When Rothesay suddenly swooped in like that, Petronilla was forced to feel more flustered than before. She asked with disbelieving eyes.

“No, so just how in the world…”

“You must not believe in love at first sight.”

“I think it is a little absurd.”

“I am a witness. Because my parents got married like that.”

“…”

If so, then this man had to resemble Count Bradington. Thinking like that, Petronilla responded.

“I am sorry, but I do not like that very much. Meeting for a long time, while checking on the feelings for each other…”

“Ah, oh dear.”

Rothesay murmured with a flustered face.

“I am sorry, my Lady.”

Petronilla thought her words had finally gotten through to him, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

“It was my fault that I did not consider that you would think in such a manner. I apologize.”

“No, you do not have to apologize…”

“If so, my Lady.”

Rothesay looked up at Petronilla with a sweet smile on his mouth.

“Could you meet with me for a ‘long time’?”

“…”

… What? What did he say?

“No, suddenly to be…”

“I would like to have a formal courtship with you, my Lady.”

“…”

So, this all happened less than an hour after the two people had met. Petronilla noticed this fact and almost collapsed, but barely endured and talked to him.

“Sorry, Sir. I do not like you.”

“I hope my Lady will grant me the chance to get to know me.”

“No, I do not know why you keep bothering me like this. I definitely told you I dislike it.”

She spoke a little hard, and Rothesay stopped. Petronilla flinched at his reaction, but the words that followed were not at all what she expected.

“… Because I love you.”

“What?”

“I fell in love at first sight when I saw my Lady.”

“…”

“And I do not try this hard for someone if I do not have them in mind.”

Rothesay smiled at Petronilla with his distinctive sweet smile.

“So my Lady, please…”

“…”

“Would you dance with me to just one song?”

“…”

“It is a request, my Lady.”

“… Haaa.”

Petronilla eventually had no choice but to accept.

Rosemond’s shocking comments had everyone surrounding them buzzing. Already, the conversation between Rosemond and Patrizia wasn’t just theirs. Rosemond probably wanted this attention. The shallow tricks were amusing. Patrizia quietly opened her mouth.

“Lady Efreni.”

“Yes, Empress Majesty?”

“Now this is nothing but violence against me and the Imperial Family. Does a mere daughter of a Duke dare to find out whether the Empress is infertile or not?”

Patrizia shouted in a voice full of anger.

“This is a private matter between His Majesty and I, and it is also directly related to danger towards the Imperial Family. But you dare as a mere daughter of a Duke, try to make me, the Empress, take a fertility test? While discussing the Empress’s fertility? What is this offense? Did Duke Efreni teach you to do so? To disrespect the Moon of this country?”

“You are misunderstanding. I don’t know why Your Majesty is reacting so sensitively.”

“The Lady Efreni regards the work of damaging myself, the Empress, as nothing special. Do you know that now, this is an offense against the Imperial Family?”

As the atmosphere grew serious, the eyes of the people were naturally brought towards Patrizia and Rosemond. In an instantaneous situation, Petronilla, who had been roaming the party hall after separating with Rothesay, finally noticed the fuss and ran to their side. There she found Rosemond insulting her sister.

“….”

When Petronila tried to say a word with an angry expression on her face, someone came forward first. Everyone looked surprised at the unexpected figure.

“Everyone stop now.”

At the heart of all this controversy was the Emperor. Lucio organized the situation in a low voice. Patrizia shot Lucio a glare, and Rosemond looked happy as if she had met someone who was her savior. She greeted Lucio with an insidious voice.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

“… I greet the Sun of the Empire.”

When Patrizia barely greeted him with an expression as if she ate dung, Lucio asked Patrizia to figure out the situation.

“What is going on, Empress? On a day celebrating the Founding Day.”

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. Lady Efreni dared to insult me and the Imperial Family.”

“Lady Efreni, is the Empress’s words true?”

Rosemond was frightened by Lucio’s first time showing an angry expression, but soon went on the offensive.

“The Empress is over exaggerating. This is not true.”

Lucio sighed at the opposing positions. He asked.

“Patrizia, what did Lady Efreni say to insult you?”

“…!”

Rosemond looked at Lucio with a shocked face. He never called Patrizia by her name in front of Rosemond’s eyes, and even when she wasn’t there. His name for Patrizia has always been “The Empress,” nothing more or less! Rosemond stared at the two, Lucio and Patrizia, with eyes filled with rage.

“She said Your Majesty and I had never spent the night together. Then she asked me to test my infertility due to my not being able to conceive yet.”

“Lady Efreni, this is a misleading statement. Do you not know the meaning of what you said right now?”

“Your Majesty, is this not a serious problem?”

Rosemond, whose face was completely cold now, replied with a sharp voice.

“Your Majesty is not young, and nearly thirty. In the absence of other immediate heirs to the throne, the issue of a descendant is more important than anything else. I’m just saying that I’m concerned about whether the Empress is forgetting about that, but it is unfair to react like this. Can you really treat me like this?”

The last words weren’t a good match for the previous sentence, but it was one of the things said so far that Rosemond really wanted to say to Lucio.

How could he do this to her? How dare he!

“Even if Lady Efreni’s sincerity is true, it is very insolent to discuss the Empress’ role. Same goes for the fertility test. Is this not enough to take it as an insult?

“I am not saying Her Majesty should take it alone. I will do it too. Still, to show this kind of reaction…”

Rosemond smiled while lifting the corners of her mouth.

“Doesn’t it mean that there is something going on?”

-SLAP

At the same time those words were spoken, Rosemond’s head turned. Patrizia raised her hand once again with a terrifying look that she had never shown before.

-SLAP

“What is the meaning of this?!”

“I am right to do so, Lady Efreni. As the hostess of the Imperial Palace, I am just correcting with discipline.”

Patrizia added while pulling up the corners of her mouth.

“Of course, I am regretful for the fact that the location can be shameful to Lady Efreni but it was inevitable.”

Patrizia turned her head and found the Duke of Efreni. He was with a familiar woman, and Patrizia laughed after realizing that she was the woman who had been with Rosemond earlier. Ah, of course. Was that it? Patrizia opened her mouth.

“Duke Efreni? Where are you?”

“Empress Majesty.”

The Duke of Efreni appeared quietly when he was called. She smiled brightly and said.

“Congratulations on the adoption of your lovely daughter, Duke.”

“I am very thankful, Your Majesty.”

“But if you have such a daughter, she should be educated well.”

Patrizia still maintained her smile and spoke on.

“If the outside is clean, but the inside is dirty, it will someday lead to ruin. Duke, you are not trying to present that sort of fate to your only daughter?”

“Is that possible, Your Majesty?”

The Duke of Efreni quietly apologized.

“It is the fault of my shortcomings, Your Majesty. Please look leniently at the sins of my daughter.”

“…”

“However, Your Majesty. Is this not a matter to separate and think about?”

“What?”

“Because the situation is in dire need for an heir, precaution must be taken for this part…”

“Duke of Efreni.”

Patrizia could not bear it and cut his words off.