Chapter 222 - Rebellion, Revolution, and Coup D'état

[Side Story: The Third Episode]

“Rebellion,” Lorraine intervened with a sharp voice at that moment. She appeared slightly angry as she continued, “Who could dare call what we are trying to do, a rebellion?”

“What do you mean, Lady Lorraine?”

“As long as this all works out successfully, then it could never be called or even considered a rebellion,” Lorraine elaborated as such, and concluded with a firm tone, “This is a revolution!”

The other people who had overheard her words burst into hearty laughter. Yes, it was a revolution. If this really ended up as a success, who would dare to call it a rebellion? It was something that would get their heads chopped off right away!

Lorraine asked, “So, when is the grand event?”

“It will not be too long from now,” the Duke of Witherford answered.

“We shall recapture the Imperial Throne as soon as possible. Then, folks, we will become the heroes and contributors of the revolution.”

“That sounds good. Heroes and revolutionary contributors!”

Others laughed with boisterous chuckles, and this time Lorraine laughed aloud in delight as well. All of their plans were smoothly unfolding and proceeding accordingly.

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The Duchess of Efreni was not in a very good mood these days. Despite the fact that Rosemond, who she had been supporting unofficially, had finally become the Empress, the Duchess did not appear to be too pleased with the current situation. The Duchess of Efreni had a rough idea of the reason she was displeased, but she was putting off the recognition and acknowledgment of why because she did not want to confirm it to herself.

“Duchess Efreni, please come this way.”

Despite this not being her first time visiting, the maid of the Empress’ Palace guided her in an overly attentive manner, as if it was. Perhaps the Duchess was being too sensitive, but she did not like that either. She admitted to herself that this was most likely due to the fact that she already had an unfavorable attitude towards Rosemond.

“Your Majesty, the Duchess of Efreni has arrived.”

“Ah, hurry up and let her in!”

It was quite funny, but the Duchess of Efreni also did not like Rosemond’s tone, as the woman talked down to people of lower station than herself. She had begun to look down on Rosemond ever since she learned that Rosemond was the daughter of a lower noble from the countryside. Despite the fact that her husband was also the son of a “lower noble from the countryside,” the Duchess showed excessive awareness of one’s ancestry or position. This was probably because she was the only child of a line of nobility deeply rooted in the history of the Marvinus Empire.

“I greet Your Majesty the Empress, the Moon of the Empire. Glory to the Marvinus Empire!” As soon as the door was opened, the Duchess of Efreni walked in with demure footsteps and approached Rosemond. Although Rosemond was someone she had supported and assisted, the Duchess of Efreni seemed to be greatly bothered that this woman, who was once incomparable in status to herself, had now become the most exalted and noble woman in the entire Marvinus Empire.

Rosemond was shrewd enough that she somehow picked up on this immediately, “Why does your expression look so unwell, Duchess?”

However, the Duchess of Efreni was not an opponent who was easy to handle. First and foremost, she was the only daughter of a prestigious and highly-esteemed noble family. Putting on a sociable smile, the Duchess of Efreni replied, “Not at all, there would not be any reason for me to be feeling that way.”

Rosemond smiled brightly at those words. “That is a good thing, if you say so. Take a seat.”

As soon as the Duchess of Efreni sat down, Rosemond proceeded to lay out her complaints, “There is nothing left in the Imperial Treasury, it is completely empty! How in the world are they collecting the taxes from the citizens…”

“Your Majesty, worrying about the Imperial Treasury is the favorable thing to do but…” the Duchess of Efreni was unrelenting in her reproach, “When it comes to taxing the people, it is strictly the responsibility of His Majesty the Emperor to take care of these matters. As for the Inner Palace, all that Your Majesty must concern yourself with is how to make good use of the funds from the allocated budget.”

Her words were not wrong, but clearly it was a message aimed to discreetly let Rosemond know that she had been crossing the line too much. There was no way that Rosemond would not realize this. She showed her disapproval by looking sideways with her eyes lowered toward the Duchess of Efreni.

“…Your words are correct, Duchess. But I am bringing this up since the budget for my Inner Palace has continuously been decreasing.”

-If you are so worried about that, how about reducing your spending on luxury goods first?-, the Duchess of Efreni sincerely wanted to ask, but it was obvious that the Empress would not take a liking to that. -Ah, at least the previous, dethroned Empress was not like this.-

The Duchess of Efreni recalled the dethroned Empressed, now deceased. She had been a frugal person. Even though the way she had met her end had not been good, the woman herself had certainly not been a bad person.

Looking only at the cause of the demise of the previous Empress, it had been the excessive jealousy the Empress had expressed to the Emperor that had ruined her. However, the Duchess of Efreni thought about how she was also not confident that she would not react in the same manner if she had been in the dethroned Empress’ position. Thinking about it rationally, what woman could remain sane and not lose her senses if the husband she loved chose to love his mistress more than his own wife? Moreover, if the rival in love was as cunning a villain as Rosemond, then the destruction of the benevolent Empress was part of a fixed sequence of events that had been determined in advance.

The Duchess of Efreni thought up to this point, but soon realized that she was becoming too sentimental, and deliberately cleared up her thoughts about the dethroned Empress. It was not a good thing to be lost in thoughts such as these. Above all, she had also played a part in bringing about the downfall of the dethroned Empress Petronilla. Having these kinds of thoughts only insulted one who had passed on.

-It would seem ludicrous to others if they knew I was having thoughts such as these, after all.-

The Duchess of Efreni crafted her advice with as much care as possible, so as not to offend Rosemond, “It is up to His Majesty the Emperor, to organize the budget, Your Majesty. If it feels like the budget is too small, it is also up to Your Majesty’s competence to be able to use it sparingly and wisely. Since Your Majesty is a clever person, I have no doubts that you will do well.”

After the Duchess of Efreni overdid it with the delivery of her ornate words, she subtly tried to gauge Rosemond’s reactions. Her expression did not look so bad, perhaps because the Duchess had made sure to leave a few words of praise at the end. When she saw that, the Duchess of Efreni sighed inwardly. -It is seriously unbelievable the lengths I must go to play along and humor her…-

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED