CH 123

“Oh? What’s this?” Cecile hurriedly called the attendants to bring a notebook and pen, and was soon settled and ready to take notes.

“First, please look at number 1…” Irene began. “Number 1: Treat the imperial palace like my home. The empress’s first responsibility is to understand the structure and organization of the imperial palace like the back of her hand.”

Listening to Irene’s smooth explanation, Cecile wanted to pat herself on the back for finding herself such a good teacher. Irene was both prepared and burned with enthusiasm! Even the attendants seemed impressed. Cecile was certain she had made the right choice.

“This is something that is learned naturally over time rather than through quick memorization, just as you’d naturally familiarize yourself with the structure of your own home.” Irene paused to shrug nonchalantly, with the implication that ‘I’ve frequented the imperial palace since young so I know all about it!’ However, the reaction she received wasn’t what she intended.

“You live up to your role as my personally selected handmaiden, Lady Irene. Having you here is very reassuring,” Cecile beamed brightly. There wasn’t the slightest hint of vexation, and she even seemed to be on the verge of clapping.

‘That was meant to dampen your spirits! Why are you happy?’ Irene narrowed her eyes. Only amateurs readily showed their emotions upon provocation. She had presumed Cecile to be a thoughtless woman judging by her exceedingly imprudent actions, but perhaps that wasn’t the case. ‘She may be a stronger foe than I thought.’ Irene swiftly scanned the list for something that might crush the empress’s confidence. “Then, please turn your attention to number 27.”

“What about numbers 2 to 26?” Cecile asked.

“I think it’s fine to skip a few items during the crash course. It’ll be sufficient to go over the rest after dealing with the important things.”

“I see!” Cecile nodded happily. The two women burned with eagerness. Their studious attitudes were akin to a tutor and student preparing for the entry test to the Imperial Academy. “Let’s see now… Number 27: Uphold Awareness Of Social Status?”

“That’s correct. On this continent, there are countless royal and imperial families… Ahem, well, there aren’t that many imperial families remaining. His Majesty cleaned them up so well, you see,” Irene explained.

Cecile coughed dryly at Irene’s use of ‘cleaning’ and briefly glanced away. She supposed that eliminating imperial families also counted as cleaning. Cleaning house was the phrase, no?

“Back to the subject, there are many noble houses in the empire. When it is difficult to differentiate rank, you may refer to these books. Attendants, bring what I’ve prepared.” Irene clicked her fingers and the attendants on standby placed two books before Cecile.

“This one is titled ‘Who’s Higher Than Who?’ and the other one is ‘Who Are You?’?” Cecile stroked the titles gently; the books were so thick that their covers could substitute as a shield and their corners used as a weapon.

“Yes. These books are part of the noble almanac published by the empire. For reference, this is the latest version published two weeks ago,” Irene explained.

Cecil promptly flipped open ‘Who’s Higher Than Who’ and found Estian’s name listed on the very first page. Unlike other nobles, his entry was sans portrait. As Cecile scanned her husband’s page, she noticed a twinkling star next to his name. “50 stars? Number one in the empire?” Cecile muttered. She almost added ‘He was cool?’ in reference to the title of a novel she’d read during her childhood, but managed to catch herself. It was a novel depicting the romancing of an emperor; the protagonist’s lips accidentally met those of a man while crossing a fence, and that man turned out to be the emperor who ranked first in the empire. Cecile had to suppress her urge to draw excited faces in the margin, as she resumed her reading.

“Yes. As you can see, His Majesty ranks number one among the imperial blue bloods. 50 stars is a score only the emperor can possess. And I…”—Irene flipped through the book and pointed to a certain page—”…am here.” She presented the page with a flourish. Written on the page was ‘Irene Revenan, 41 stars, 651st rank in the empire.’

‘Wow, Irene’s on here too! To think that my handmaiden is this famous!’ While Cecile naturally expected Estian to be included, she was amazed that her tutor had a page too.

“And here you are, Your Majesty. Here. At the very end,” Irene continued. 

On the last page, was the empress’s entry: Cecile Franvier Navitan, zero stars, no imperial rank. Irene looked at Cecile with a shrug. ‘It’s a big misunderstanding if you thought being the empress granted you a high rank!’ The book was scored strictly based on status by birth. In Estian’s case, he achieved number one because he disposed of all the imperials ranked above him. As the sole daughter and heir to a long-established imperial earldom, Irene was ranked within the top 1,000, which meant most would have to bow in her presence. None of this applied to Cecile. Not only was she a foreigner, but she also lacked a title in her own country and possessed a mixed bloodline from her mother’s humble origins.

In other words, Cecile’s name was recorded in the book, but she was essentially without rank. Irene’s intent was to illuminate Cecile on the insurmountable difference between them. However, the message Cecile took away from it was completely different.