CH 101

“Lady Irene?” Everyone swiveled to look at the unexpected speaker.

‘Irene?’ It was a name Yuliana had heard of before; the woman who was known as the sole friend of the emperor, and to whom, it was rumored, he showed generosity. She was also the woman mentioned as the first empress candidate. Yuliana gave Irene a once-over, taking in her impeccable posture and graceful movements, to her well-groomed looks and luxurious clothing. What was surprising, though, was the clear hostility in Irene’s eyes. ‘But why?’

“Thinking about it, Lady Irene is right. Although the dragon was violent toward the princess, it obeys Her Majesty well.”

“Is that how it is?”

“Come now, how could a dragon understand the language of man? Aren’t their kind veritable demi-gods?”

“That’s my understanding. Could this mean that Her Majesty has tamed the dragon, enough to bring it to a tea party?”

The group began considering Irene’s point, and a shift could be felt spreading in the seminar’s atmosphere. The frigid attitudes and the critical eye that had been turned at the empress was melting into that of warm admiration. A new round of whispers began spreading, only this time the message was ‘Isn’t Her Majesty amazing?’

‘Wait! Th-this isn’t right!’ Yuliana felt cold sweat at the abrupt change, as she saw her plan veering off course. She had to put a stop to this new development! Yuliana hastily explained, “To be specific, it was not Her Majesty but the lady-in-waiting next to her that had the dragon under—” However, before she could finish her sentence, Irene ruthlessly interjected once more.

“You must be referring to Lady Tania, daughter of Margrave Kaniche. She’s known to take after her mother in possessing incredible strength and prowess. As everyone knows, Margrave Kaniche, like her ancestors before her, avoided all entanglements with the imperial palace. For generations, emperors desiring their power sought out their allegiance, but the esteemed family always refused, wishing only to faithfully carry out their entrusted duties. As a result of their distance from central politics, those that are ignorant mistake them for countryside nobles… but putting that aside, the fact that the margrave’s daughter has become the empress’ lady-in-waiting… is something to be thoughtful about.”

The crowd was now nodding along with Irene’s words. After all, this was the woman that the infamous emperor had chosen to keep at his side. She must be truly extraordinary.

“From taming a dragon to attaining the daughter of Margrave Kaniche as her lady-in-waiting… It appears that Her Majesty is truly remarkable.”

“Is-is that so?”

“Put that way, it really does seem to be the case!”

“If you think about it, it’s unlikely His Majesty chose the empress for no good reason…”

“Right? It’s about choosing the empress of the empire, after all. I’m sure there’s a deeper meaning to it all that we don’t know.”

The room was soon abuzz with praises for the empress. All the foundation Yuliana had laid to set the stage had crumbled in an instant.

* * *

‘Who do you think you are!’ Irene hadn’t intended to intervene, as she listened to Princess Yuliana malign the empress. However, as the conversation continued and the blame was shifted towards the emperor, her fury wouldn’t allow her to remain silent any longer.

Irene was entitled to feel resentment towards Estian; she had known him from a young age after all. If she was being magnanimous, she could concede that, to a certain extent, the people of the empire were allowed to grumble about their dissatisfaction of him too. It was only understandable, given the taxes they paid as subjects of the empire. Yuliana, on the other hand, was a different matter. ‘Who are you, a foreigner who contributes nothing to the empire, daring to insult?’

Irene had felt the same indignant rage once before. There was a time when a favored actor of hers had been embroiled in scandal. She had enthusiastically cursed the man, but when a friend chimed in, Irene’s eyes grew sharp and she fiercely defended him, “Who are you to talk smack? He’s my baby. If anyone’s going to cuss him out, it’ll be me.”

‘Although that’s not all, of course.’ Irene had instinctively discerned that Princess Yuliana’s actions were all calculated. It wasn’t difficult to deduce the princess’s true intentions for coming to the empire was Estian, with the goal of usurping the seat of the empress. This made Irene’s fighting spirit burn hotter, as she imagined this brazen woman strolling in with the intention of snatching her prey.

Irene didn’t bother to disguise her blatant glare directed at Yuliana, when suddenly, a short flash emitted from Yuliana’s bosom and caught her eye. “Mm? Hang on Princess Yuliana, there was something by your chest just now…?” Irene puzzled aloud. It happened so quickly, she wondered whether she had imagined it, but she felt certain something had briefly shined. As Irene moved to lean closer for inspection, Yuliana’s face froze. However, they were disrupted by an unexpected announcement…

“All hail the empress!”

There was a loud disturbance near the entrance of the venue, as the imperial knights and attendants swiftly entered, and formed two lines to create a path. Seconds later, a neat and elegant woman appeared, walking down between the two rows in a straight and steady gait. Her bright, golden hair was woven in tight braids, and her large, mesmerizing emerald eyes were framed beautifully by her even, arched brows.

Everyone was rendered speechless by her sudden appearance. Their countenances reflected their internal screams of ‘It’s the empress! But how? Why? Here?’ Confusion was clearly plastered over all their faces.

“It’s nothing to be so surprised about. It was on my way, and thought I’d drop by,” Cecile chirped, taking the initiative to speak while the crowd remained dumbfounded.

‘Lies!’ Yuliana screamed in her mind. The empress was immaculately dressed; it was clear she had come prepared. To claim she was just stopping by on her way? What nonsense was this?

Cecile bemusedly scanned the room, before fixing her gaze on Yuliana, as she continued, “Am I perhaps interrupting?”