Chapter 166

The next day, Patrizia entered the carriage heading towards the Grochester estate, with an excited look on her face. It was her hometown, which she had not been able to visit for the past few months. Patrizia murmured to herself with a happy expression, “How long has it been, since?”

“Are you that happy, Lizzy?”

Mirya had remained in the Empress Palace, so Rafaella had accompanied her as an escort. Patrizia nodded, and put a bright expression on her face, something absent for a long time.

“It has been a few months since I have been able to see their faces, so I am excited.”

“Yes, you have had to deal with a lot of trouble these past few months,” Rafaella agreed with a sad face, and soon added in a hopeful voice, “Let us stay until late into the night, without a care.”

She did not know when she would be able to visit again after today. In a few words, it was a separation without promise of reuniting. Patrizia nodded as if she agreed.

“Yes, we should do that. Will you not be bored?”

“There will be Nil, you as well, and there is the Marquis and Marchioness of Grochester, so how could I be bored. If I have nothing to do, I can just sleep. It is useless for you to worry.”

“Then, that is relief.” Patrizia put on a warm smile, and leaned back in her seat.

Rafaella saw this, and told her tactfully. “Sleep a little, Your Majesty. Your sleep has lessened too much lately.”

It was inevitable, due to the overload of work. Patrizia laughed faintly, as if she was someone seeking to be excused, and then quickly fell asleep.

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When Patrizia opened her eyes, the carriage had reached the estate of the Marquis of Grochester.

Rafaella opened the door for her, and Patrizia carefully got off the carriage. The first people she spotted were her parents, the Marquis and Marchioness of Grochester. She smiled brightly and hugged her parents. “Mother, father.”

“The Moon of the Empire, Your Majesty the Empress, we greet you.”

Instead of hugging their lovely daughter however, the Marquis and Marchioness of Grochester first greeted her respectfully. It was unavoidable that Patrizia felt their actions were unfortunate, even though she understood why, and her lips stuck out in a pout despite herself.

“I came here as the daughter of the Grochester family, not the Empress of the Great Marvinus Empire.”

“This does not change the fact that Your Majesty is the Mother of all the people in the Empire.”

“Do not be too upset, Your Majesty. This is also a courtesy that should be a given, as Your Majesty’s servants.”

“Let us go in, Mother, Father.” Patrizia laughed mischievously as she went inside the house with the two of them. Then she saw Petronilla running out towards them.

“Lizzy?”

“Nil,” Patrizia grinned and greeted her. It had been a really long time since she saw her sister in their own home, and not in the Imperial Palace.

Patrizia asked her, “What is so urgent?”

“I slept late yesterday.” Roughly, the reason made sense – her sister had met with the young son of Count Bradington until late at night – and Patrizia just laughed.

She asked, “Then will I be able to expect good news soon?”

“We are not like that!” the startled Petronilla quickly denied. She must have misconstrued Patrizia’s words.

As she could understand to some extent, Patrizia broke into a fit of giggles, “I was talking about marriage.”

“… I know that.” Petronilla reddened a bit in the face, and looked down. She continued in a shy voice, “Now, let us talk later… Should we all eat first?

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Patrizia had to put a huge amount of food into her stomach for lunch that day. There was no reason to starve while living in the Imperial Palace, but the Marchioness of Grochester fed her constantly. Fortunately, she ate with confidence, because she was not the type to gain weight, but it was still too much food, and Patrizia had a hard time breathing at the end of the meal.

After enjoying a cup of sweet tea for dessert, Patrizia had a chance for some one-on-one time with her father in the reception room.

“So, Lizzy. Is life in the Imperial Palace worthwhile?”

Patrizia answered the Marquis of Grochester’s question with a disappointed expression. “As someone that had wondered about that, how come you never stepped foot into the Imperial Palace?”

“I thought you would understand, my child,” the Marquis of Grochester said with a gentle smile. “As you know, if I were to stay close to you now, then there would be no chance of good words spreading. I did not want to bring any trouble to you, or of course to the Imperial Palace and His Majesty as well. I should not be providing him with any unnecessary worries, right?”

“Even if that was so, you could have still visited. It is not like Father would do something bad.”

“The important thing is that it would not appear that way in the eyes of others.” The Marquis of Grochester smiled broadly, and asked Patrizia, “So, how is your life at the Imperial Palace anyway? I roughly already know, as I heard the gist of it.”

“If you already know then why do you ask?” she grinned, and told him the truth. “My lacking relationship with His Majesty leaves much to be desired, and I am busy mutually growling and howling with the Marchioness of Ethyller.”

Although she pretended to be quite bright about it, the Marquis of Grochester quickly noticed that the meaning hidden in the words was not pleasant. He quickly changed the troubled expression he was about to show, and said to his daughter affectionately, “I am sorry, that as your father, I can not be of much help.”

“Do not be sorry, Father. I am the daughter of the Grochester family!” She shook her head calmly, and replied to his words firmly, “I am already grateful enough that you have passed on this bloodline to me.”

“More than that, you said that your relationship with His Majesty is quite lacking?” He looked at Patrizia with a face that showed he did not understand, and asked her, “I heard that His Majesty’s favor has already left the Marchioness Ethyller, though?…”

“…” At that moment, Patrizia had a flustered expression on her face.

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED