CH 36

RJR11-14 minutes 22.10.2023

It seemed like a long time had passed until the third shadow knight’s answer was heard.

“…I couldn’t find it.”

“…Right.”

She had to bite her lip to prevent her sigh of relief from escaping.

“I ask one more question. Was it His Majesty’s order?”

“You didn’t order it, but you gave permission.”

She felt like she knew what happened. Decan came forward to check the magic, and Leskal would not have opposed it. In any case, it was no different from giving his orders. The Emperor also wanted to know why the Empress used a witch doctor.

“Then I can’t punish you for getting wet. I will pretend it never happened.”

“…yes?”

Decan winced. Lasilia just turned her body around.

“Let’s go back.”

“Oh, yes. Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Yvette, who was still dazed, ran after Lasilia.

“Her Majesty, are you okay?”

“…no.”

It wasn’t okay. It couldn’t be okay. Her body was shaking.

“My body is cold. I think I might catch a cold.”

“I guess the water was too cold. What should I do?”

Yvette stamped her foot.

“I can’t take off my clothes here… No, of course, if you tell me, I will take it off as much as I want!”

It seemed so sincere that Lasilia chuckled.

“It’s fine. I’ll take her heart.”

“Ah, it’s true…”

“I know. It would be better to walk faster than that.”

“Ah, really… Why did the driver I saw for the first time fail the order…? If Her Majesty catches a cold, I will always blame the knight. Lord Sigress, too.”

Yvette couldn’t stop worrying until she arrived at the empress’ palace.

* * *

“Ha, how did this all happen?”

Serben put his sword back in its sheath and shook his head.

“I still can’t believe it. Deccan Horsed made a mistake with his spell. Did you eat something wrong? No, it was a mistake, right? Did you have anything stored up with Her Majesty the Empress?”

Serben rubbed his chin, feeling strange even as he spoke.

“No… You have hardly ever met Her Majesty the Empress. What is there to accumulate? No, really. Why are you acting like Ryan?”

“So…”

Decan clenched and unclenched her fists with a look of disbelief.

“It was a spell that could not fail. It wasn’t complicated or difficult, it was just a very basic spell to detect traces of other shamans.”

“What? Did you fail at that?”

“No, rather than a failure…”

Decan frowned, recalling the situation just now. His spell didn’t fail. Rather, he should have said that he was disturbed. If there had been no interruption, the Empress would not have been covered in water, but only a few drops of water would have splashed on the hem of her dress. A few drops of the water would seep along the shaman’s trail, and then dry up as if nothing had happened once he had finished checking. However, the Empress’ entire body was wet. As if trying to cover her eyes. What on earth happened? Serven tapped Decan on the shoulder.

“Well, don’t worry about anything. He said that Her Majesty the Empress will make something like nothing that happened before.”

Even though they were the same shadow knight and the same knight rank, there was a slight difference between the two. The Sigres family was a prestigious family that had produced knights belonging to the imperial knighthood for generations. His grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather all held the title of baronet. Decan’s father was a vassal of Baron Sigres, Serben and Ryan’s father. Because of this, Decan tended to treat Serven and Liyan as people he still served. Serben and Ryan didn’t really care how he treated them. To them, Decan was a skilled shaman and a knight trustworthy enough to be entrusted with the third shadow. Since he joined the Royal Guards later than them, he just treated them as juniors.

“Still, I wanted to ask. Why on earth would you say that?”

“Who, Her Majesty the Empress?”

“Yes. It doesn’t make sense, does it? Your Majesty is the Empress.”

“That is… Well, it just happened that way. I guess he had a completely different personality after suffering from amnesia… It seems like you no longer have much interest in killing and harassing people.”

“Is that true?”

“You just went through that too. Our Empress was very noble even after being suddenly hit by water. Moreover, he judged mistakes and mistakes fairly.”

“That’s right…”

Decan stopped his words and frowned.

“Hey kid, why are you looking like that? Anyway, isn’t that a good thing? It’s just that the number of bloody incidents in the imperial palace has decreased.”

“Can people be that different?”

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s memory loss, a change in personality, or it’s all just an act. But so far, it’s holding up well. For your Majesty’s sake, I just hope that you will continue to do so for the rest of your life.”

Her worries about what she would do if the Empress viciously manipulated her emperor, who was infatuated with her, were now slowly fading away. Even in Serben’s eyes, the empress seemed to have become a completely different person. The Empress before her felt even more unfamiliar. Decan slowly shook his chin.

“I don’t really believe it, but it would be a good thing if there was no punishment.”

“Hmm? What are you talking about.”

Serben slapped Decan on the back.

“You won’t just let it go. You better be prepared.”

“I’m sure you’ll make it like it never was…”

“Ah, that’s what Her Majesty the Empress said.”

“Then…?”

“Your Majesty is different.”

“Yes…?”

Decan, who had not been to her palace since the Empress’s amnesia, did not understand what that meant.

“Well, you’ll know what I mean later. Anyway, I told you everything.”

After finishing his words, Serben quickly followed behind the Empress. Decan, who was pondering over Serven’s words that he still did not understand, belatedly noticed something strange.

“Now that I think about it, why did Sir Sigress escort Her Majesty the Empress…?”

Something was changing. And the Empress would know the reason.

* * *

“I will first take off your clothes, Your Majesty.”

After returning to her Empress’ palace, Lasilia was taken into the bathroom by Yvette.

“The water is heating up right now, so you just have to wait a moment. Ah, how can I do this? Her lips have turned blue, Your Majesty.”

Yvette’s hands began to diligently undo the buttons. Her heavy, highly decorated outer dress came off, revealing her inner dress. Lasilia held Yvette’s hand.

“Okay. I will take off her underwear.”

“His hands are shaking! I will do it.”

“No. Don’t touch it anymore.”

Thanks to her pale lips, Lasilia’s words sounded colder.

“Ah, then… Yes, Her Majesty. I will follow her commands.”

Yvette bowed her head and took a step back. he looked pitiful, but she was right about this. Yvette wasn’t supposed to know anything about the mark.

“Turn her around. When I take off my clothes and get into the bathtub, you can come to me then.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Yvette quietly turned her back. Lasilia took off her clothes without taking her eyes off Yvette. Her hands kept shaking, so it wasn’t easy to undo her buttons. She was glad she had changed all of her underdresses to ones that buttoned the front. Then she discovered something strange. Yvette’s clothes were barely wet. She was a little wet, but it was just from taking off her outer dress a moment ago.

“Isn’t the princess wet?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Thanks to Her Majesty’s protection, I didn’t get wet at all! …Oh my. Even thinking about it again, I feel so sad and guilty, Your Majesty. I should have covered Her Majesty the Empress and gotten wet on her behalf!”

“There is no need to say that. I’m glad you didn’t get wet.”

“Thank goodness. I just apologize…”

Even thinking about it again, it was hard to believe.

‘It was a spell aimed at me, so will I be the only one who suffers the damage?’

In Dell’arta, where the sacred power of the priests was given priority, little was known about her magic. There was only a vague perception that it was a primitive form of magic without a system and an unstable power that had been used in ancient times. But maybe that wasn’t the case. The target was clearly identified and force was applied. However, since they said it was a mistake, it may have been a much more sophisticated force. After taking off her wet clothes, Lasilia wrapped her towel around her body and entered her bathtub.

Splash.

Yvette asked as she heard a small sound of water.

“Your Majesty the Empress…? Did you take a bath?”

“Yes, you can turn your back now.”

“Yes.”

Yvette quickly turned around, tidied up her wet clothes and came to her side.

“Is the water temperature right? Can I wash her hair?”

“The temperature is good. Her head… no. I will do it.”

“Then just soap it…?”

“That’s okay too.”

Yvette was crying.

“Originally, I have to do everything…”

“No way. I only heard the Marchioness of Parshad take off her clothes.”

“No, because I was a palace servant. Attending a bath is a royal servant’s job.”

“Yes, so you don’t have to.”

“No, that’s why it’s good, isn’t it? Even though she is a maid, she can do the work of a court lady. So I thought I could be more helpful…”

She had a very disappointed face, so she felt sorry for her, but she was also grateful. Lasilia lifted her wet hand and patted the back of Yvette’s hand.

“That’s right. So it’s helping me a lot. I just don’t like being a bath attendant.”

“Ah… If that’s the case.”

As the warm water began to warm my body, the chill subsided little by little. Lasilia rested her head on the edge of her bathtub and looked up at the bathroom ceiling, which was filled with magnificent marble sculptures.

As soon as she felt better, her head exploded with worry.

‘What happens now?’

Two months were still far away. She could not just wait for the priest to arrive from Dell’arta.

‘I wonder if I can leave here without my identity being discovered.’

That was the best way to survive. But the problem was that there was no way.

‘If only I could get out of the palace… ha. Did she say that the Empress said she couldn’t leave the palace without a reason? Wouldn’t she be like that if she said she went to the duchy of Piellion? You can try to meet her family.’

That wasn’t a very good method either. Obviously, an escort will follow. The Emperor ordered his shadow knights to escort the Empress. She didn’t know if escorting was her purpose or if she meant surveillance.

‘I can’t beat those escorts by myself. And the empress looks are so striking.’

With this outfit on her face, you will notice that she is an empress wherever she goes.

‘If you change her clothes… Still, I guess I’ll have to hide her face too. ‘Wouldn’t she be more suspicious then?’

Moreover, Lasilia knew nothing about her life outside of her temple or the imperial palace. Even if she managed to escape her escorts, including Serben, she was at a loss as to whether she would be able to make the two-month long journey to Dell’arta while keeping her identity hidden.

‘It’s impossible for her to run away. Besides, she’s the empress. There’s no way I’m letting her get away.’

Why did she come back to life in the body of the Empress? Lasilia chewed her lips.

‘If only I had not been the Empress, my return to Dell’arta would not have been so difficult… ah?’

Then she suddenly had this thought. If she wasn’t the Empress she would be. If she says she was no longer the Empress. As long as she becomes someone who has nothing to do with her status as empress. Then wouldn’t she be able to go anywhere?