Chapter 164

“If things go as we expect, the Duchess will probably adopt and bring in a child. The next successor to the family will be someone that she wants.”

“The Duchess has every right to do so.”

Petronilla nodded. The Duchess of Efreni was not following her husband’s surname. She was originally Lady Efreni, and the current head of the Efreni family was a mere Baron’s lad, at best. It was a natural course of action for the Duke of Efreni to have followed his wife’s surname, and not continued with his own. Anyway, the only reason a son of a Baron managed to take on the position of Duke was purely because the Duchess of Efreni had been the only child, as the daughter of the Duke of Efreni at the time.

His title had only been established due to his position of being the husband of Lady Efreni. This meant that the Duchess of Efreni was not interfering with the Duke of Efreni’s position, as she still loved him; but if things went awry, it meant that the Duke of Efreni had to return his title in some way. If that happened, January’s life would have amounted to a dog chasing after chickens.

I cannot prepare for this alone. I should receive help from Duke Witherford.”

“I think the same way, Lizzy. There would be reason for suspicion if you were to reveal it all on your own. Nobody will think it possible for you to be neutral about anything that concerns Rosemond, anyway.”

“Mirya!”

Patrizia decided to put into action exactly what they were thinking about. There was no need to wait for the moment of destruction to fully ripen. She waited for this moment to ripen; how many times had she endured, and how many years had she waited? Most of all, for matters such as this, the sooner it was done, the better!

When the wily January caught on to what Petronilla had done, it could lead to a headache from then on. It was right to prevent such a possibility in the meantime!

“Please call for Duke Witherford. I would like you to deliver a message that I want to meet with him at a convenient time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do as you say.”

“I heard you were going to visit our family home two days from now?”

Petronilla must have heard it from Rafaella. Patrizia nodded.

“It is our mother’s birthday, and above all, I have not taken care of my family much these days.”

“The two of them will understand. It is not a bad thing for you to visit our home. There is nothing that could pose a problem.”

“… Mhm. I think so as well.” Patrizia calmly muttered to herself, as she leaned comfortably on the back of the chair she was sitting on. “I miss them, our Mother and Father.”

<hr />

The Duke of Witherford sent a letter the next day, saying he would visit Patrizia in the afternoon. Patrizia received the letter with a troubled expression. It was a hard matter to reveal, but it was something that would be unveiled eventually.

If so, she had to break the news well to increase its effectiveness, and not just let it be buried. Patrizia sighed as she took a stroll around the garden.

“There is a need to find out.”

“About what, Lizzy?”

“About this matter.” She spoke with added strength. “I need more accurate evidence. Definite proof to be able to put this firmly on the chopping block…”

At that time Patrizia stopped talking. A stranger had caught her eye. To call this person a stranger was a bit awkward, however. Patrizia hesitated a little, and soon enough gave her greetings nonchalantly, “I greet Your Majesty, the Emperor.”

“Empress.” He averted his eyes with an awkward expression on his face. After the episode of that day, the two had not met until this moment. Patrizia was uncomfortable with the situation for some reason, so she bowed her head as well.

“That… Have you been well?” Lucio regretted his stupidity right after he spoke. Was there nothing else to say?

While he was trying to kick himself, Patrizia responded casually, “Yes.”

Lucio was flustered by the perfect, short answer. If this happened, the conversation would be cut off from there. It made sense, since in the first place, she would not want to talk to him. It was just ridiculous that he was trying to continue the conversation somehow. Then, he heard a voice, as if by a miracle…

“Your body…”

“… Hm?”

“Is it alright now?” Patrizia asked him calmly, without any emotion whatsoever, but to Lucio who received the question, it was the most glorious thing.

He replied to her quickly, “I am alright.”

“…”

“Thank you, for asking.”

“… Yes.” Once Patrizia said those words, she took another step to resume her walk. Lucio hurriedly caught her as she was trying to get past him and go somewhere else, “Empress!”

“… Yes?” Patrizia slowly turned around and looked at him. She was elegant and beautiful. Lucio hesitated, and eventually spoke about a different topic, instead of the words that were in his heart, “I am sorry for that day.”

“… No need to worry.”

“Still… I am sorry,” he admitted in a slightly choked voice. “You are going to the Marquis of Grochester’s home two days from now?”

“Yes.” She certainly had not let this news be common knowledge. Patrizia thought that the security of the Empress Palace was weaker than she had expected.

Meanwhile, Lucio said quickly, “As long as you want… you can stay there before you return.”

“… Yes?”

“I am saying take your time to rest well, and then come back. You have gone through a lot of trouble.”

“…”

Then how good would it be, Your Majesty, Patrizia smirked. However, to do that… the weight of her position was too heavy. She could not be away from her seat for a long time. The longer she stayed away, the weight of the documents she would need to review would continually increase.

She said to him, “I will go there in the morning, and I will come back at night, Your Majesty.”

“…”

As she said that, Lucio sighed with relief internally. Patrizia could clearly tell what he was thinking, and as she turned away and resumed her walk, she let out a grin without realizing it.

“This behavior does not match him,” Patrizia murmured to herself…

==================

Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED