CH 100

Yuliana was fully aware that the empress hadn’t been attending outside events. The rumors said that the emperor forbade her from leaving the palace, and judging from his attitude at the banquet, the rumors probably had merit. Yuliana’s mention of the empress led to stiffened expressions of the attendees, as the ladies nervously eyed each other. Eventually one attendee cautiously responded, “Her Majesty will not be attending.”

“Oh, but why?” Yuliana inquired in a light tone.

“She was sent an invitation long ago, but we have yet to receive a reply. Also…” The speaker’s expression darkened, as she trailed off.

“You may not be as familiar, Princess Yuliana, but Her Majesty has never attended an outside event before,” another person chimed in.

“Yes. Until now, she has only appeared at events inside the imperial palace.”

The topic of the empress’ limited appearances quickly invited everyone listening to add their two cents, and the momentum of the conversation quickly devolved into speculation for her absence from outside events, with an attendee guessing, “Maybe it’s because she considers it a nuisance to meet people?”

“How could that be? Her Majesty invited me to a tea party not long after the reception of our delegation ended,” Yuliana quickly replied. Her declaration left everyone surprised.

“What? Her Majesty invited the princess to a tea party?”

“Unbelievable! The empress has never called for any noble daughter of the empire…”

It was well known that tea parties in the empire could be categorized into two types: the purpose of the former is a regular tea party where like-minded guests were invited to enjoy a relaxing afternoon of pleasant conversation, while the latter was to… keep someone in check.

What was more ideal than a tea party to serve up a dose of humiliation? It was the perfect arrangement for surrounding oneself with allies with the purpose of harassing a singled-out target. It gave the perpetrator the perfect advantage, as widely evidenced by its use as a literary device in an abundance of literary works. The empress had invoked the same strategy… the only difference being that her ally took the form of a dragon. It wasn’t long before Yuliana received the reaction she’d wanted.

“Princess Yuliana. Did anything happen at… I, I mean, did you enjoy the tea party?”

It was obvious that the empress’ tea party invitation had fallen into the latter category. This was the outcome Yuliana had been targeting. ‘Now, shall I begin?’ Her next move would be the climax to her self-directed play. She had to delicately balance feigned naivete while revealing the empress’ veiled threats.

“But of course! The empress’ palace bestowed by the emperor lived up to the rumors of its extraordinary beauty. Her Majesty was most welcoming too. Only… I am a little worried, for I believe I may have erred.” Yuliana purposely added a slight quiver to her voice.

“Mistake?” Everyone hung off Yuliana’s words with shining eyes.

“Her Majesty brought with her the rumored dragon, you see,” Yuliana said pitifully.

“What?”

“The dragon?”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. The dragon that had suddenly appeared and destroyed the imperial palace? Little was known about the dragon, other than the fact that it had mysteriously shrunk in size after it was subdued by the emperor. It was said that the dragon was isolated and imprisoned deep in the dungeons of the imperial palace. Yet, the empress was parading around the rare creature at a tea party?

“Yes, so obviously I gazed at the dragon out of curiosity. Sadly, it didn’t seem to like me. The dragon tried to bite me all of a sudden, so…” She shuddered then, as if reliving her fear from recalling that moment.

“Good heavens…”

“My word…”

In the eyes of a third party, Yuliana appeared as a distressed woman recalling a terrifying memory. However, in truth, her shudder was out of irritation rather than fear. Of course, there was no way for her empathetic listeners to have known that.

“Oh dear, princess. Your complexion is unwell. Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. I apologize. I think I was too surprised at the time. Nothing much happened, fortunately, since Her Majesty ordered for the dragon to be removed. But even so, I was… afraid…” Her woeful recounting led to a growing number of hushed whispers among the listeners, as the ladies gazed tenderly at the pale countenance of the princess.

“To host a tea party for the first time, and only summon Princess Yuliana? This must mean her purpose was to keep Princess Yuliana under control, right?”

“You’re right. And to keep a dragon at her side while calling for the princess… that’s obviously a threat!”

Although Yuliana couldn’t make out everything being said, she could tell the attendees were speaking ill of the empress. She quickly ducked her head to hide the mirth that was on the verge of bursting on her face.

“Oh dear. Here. Use my handkerchief, Princess Yuliana,” the lady seated next to her offered. She’d mistaken Yuliana’s action as an attempt to conceal her tears. Yuliana gladly accepted the handkerchief, but did not raise her head. The sight of her little performance served to encourage more dissatisfied voices.

“Really, what is the emperor thinking?”

“My thoughts exactly! Did they not say that Her Majesty treated the nation’s treasure as trash during her first meeting with the ministers? How long will the emperor turn a blind eye?”

“I can’t imagine how low our empire’s imperial dignity will plummet at this rate.”

“According to Princess Yuliana’s words, Her Majesty seems to hold complete control over that dragon,” a cold, sharp voice cut through the chattering. The interruption came just as the disapproval of Cecile shifted towards dissatisfaction towards the emperor for tolerating her misbehavior, and the voice belonged to none other than Irene. She elegantly took a sip of her tea before placing her cup down.