CH 38

RJR11-14 minutes 05.11.2023

“What are you doing!”

Lasilia pushed Lescal away. Lescal, who had been pushed around in a haphazard manner, looked extremely mortified.

“You hugged me first.”

“Yes? I beg your pardon?”

“It’s true. You grabbed my arm first.”

He then continued with the excuse that he stretched out his arms and hugged her. Lescal had no choice but to hug Lasilia face to face. Lasilia stared with a frown at Lescal, who emphasized twice that he had no choice.

“Why did you come to my room in the first place? I told you I wouldn’t see you for a while.”

Lescal looked away for a moment, like people who have trouble answering.

“That… Because you said you were asleep.”

“What do you mean?”

“So, strictly speaking, I didn’t go against your will. You said we should avoid seeing each other face to face. But since I’m the only one who sees you…”

“It’s a play on words, Your Majesty.”

“…”

Lescal twitched his lips. He meant that he had nothing to say. Lasilia pulled up her blanket and pointed to her bedroom door.

“Please leave. It’s a cold. I don’t want to transfer it to Your Majesty.”

“If that’s the case, you don’t have to worry. I don’t catch colds.”

“I don’t know that.”

“I’ve never caught one before.”

“I can’t believe it. Please leave.”

“You can trust me. I’ve never been caught, and it’s okay if I get caught.”

“I’m not okay.”

Lasilia pointed to the door again.

“Get out. I want to rest comfortably.”

“…You said you liked it first.”

“Get out.”

“…”

Lescal reluctantly got up.

“Can I ask you something before I leave?”

Even after he got up, he couldn’t easily let go of his regrets.

“I think it would be better for you to just leave.”

And Lasilia was uncomfortable with that. It became more difficult for her to face the Emperor, especially after her dream of her demons. She kept reminding me of useless emotions, sensations she didn’t want to know.

“You’re still angry.”

She decided to pretend. If she could avoid him.

“Yes.”

“…then.”

The Emperor turned his back, his shoulders strangely slumping. The clothes, as nice as the picture, were clearly wrinkled on one side. This was because he was lying on her side and holding her body tightly.

“I hope you get over your anger quickly.”

“I don’t think that will happen.”

Lasilia said coldly. Lescal’s shoulder line went down that much.

“I will go and see. I hope you get better soon.”

“…”

She deliberately didn’t answer.

…widely.

The very slow sound of the door tormented her mind.

* * *

“You’re not feeling well. How could you…?”

The next day, her cough got even worse. Every time she spoke, her throat hurt so much that she had to keep drinking tea with honey. As a result, she was so full that she lost her appetite. Still, she could not put off meeting the Marchioness Farshad. In fact, the Marchioness had to wait for three hours in the throne room of the Empress’s palace because Lasilia could not stop coughing the entire time. The backless chairs in her throne room were extremely uncomfortable. When Lasilia appeared after three hours of waiting, the Marchioness was so exhausted that she was in a state of distress.

“…Why did you call me?”

The Marchioness’s eyes glanced, and out of the corner of her eye, she studied Lasilia. She actually had no intention of making her work this big for her Marchioness. It was true that she knew the empress’s secret. But her secret was already gone. On the day the Empress fell into the ditch, the Marchioness, who was changing her clothes, clearly saw that her mark had been revived. The reason she made it so big was her husband, who was an idiot and had an impatient personality. When she heard that Madame Qi had been kicked out of her house, not only had she been pushed out of her position as head of maid, the Marquis rushed to the Emperor’s palace. However, the Empress, who was supposed to appear in a panic, was nowhere to be seen, and the emperor had no interest in the empress’s secrets. Rather, she said that he was rude for telling her secrets and had her guards drag him out of the palace. Aside from her pride, the loss was severe. In the meantime, the marquis and his wife were too intoxicated by the power play that came with her position as the first maid of honor in the empress’ palace. It was ridiculous to ask for this to be returned intact overnight. Meanwhile, her feet were moving quickly in the temple. Although she did spin her words, it was clear that she was interested in the Empress’s secret. The Marquis quickly replied that she would visit the temple tomorrow. By the time the Marchioness had let the Empress know that she no longer had her secret, it was already too late. Her husband and his wife thought over and over again about her. But no matter how much she thought about it, the only way to return to being her first maid was to threaten the empress with her secret. So she decided to take an adventure. If she pretends to join hands with the temple, Empress will automatically surrender first. The Empress seemed completely unaware that her mark had completely returned. So adventure will work for her. An accident happened and the trip to the temple was delayed, but it could have been a good thing. The more this happens, the more anxious the empress will become. The fact that Ishewas called to the palace today was proof of that.

Squeak!

The Marchioness spread her feather fan to hide her mouth. Anyway, today was a fight she would win. However, she couldn’t help but notice her smiling face already.

“I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that you punished this body and kicked it out, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, cough, yes. I didn’t forget. I was wondering why someone who was supposed to be punished was going to the temple.”

The Marchioness grinned over her fan and crossed her ankles. It was as if she could see in her eyes the Empress who was desperately striving for her.

“Yes, Your Majesty. She was a high priest, and she was the first maid in the empress’ palace, so she took a lot of interest in this person.”

“I see.”

“Yes, you were very interested.”

“Okay.”

“…?”

The Marchioness folded her fan. The Empress, who said she had a bad cold, had a fever and her cheeks were red. It was clear that she was sick, as she had cold sweat running down her forehead. If she had called herself like that, it would have been because her body was sweet, but she couldn’t figure out why she looked so calm.

“Would you like me to speak directly about your interest?”

The Marchioness, who could no longer bear it, spoke first.

“No. I’m not feeling well, so I’d like to avoid a long conversation. I’ll hear about your personal story later.”

“…yes?”

It wasn’t ridiculous. She trembled as the Marchioness held her fan.

“Then what about me… Why did you call me?”

“I was told that you had an accident on your way to the temple,” she said. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m safe.”

“I heard a bird had an accident. Am I right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Have you been curious about that?”

“What kind of accident was it?”

“Suddenly, the birds ran up and pecked at the horse, and the horse took a wrong turn. The wheels of the carriage hit a stone and were damaged… Are you really curious about this?”

“Yes. What a relief. If something like that had happened while going along a cliff-like area instead of a smooth road, it wouldn’t have been just a hardship.”

“Yes, that’s right… God must have taken care of it. It was a relief…?”

The Empress nodded her head lightly with her pale face, and the Marchioness blinked her eyes at her Empress, not knowing what she was saying. It was then.

Knock, knock.

“Your Majesty the Empress. I brought you what you said.”

The door to the throne room rang. The Marchioness frowned at her knowing voice. She was clearly the courtier.

“Come in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”

She politely opened the door and the courtier who came in was empty-handed. Instead of her, something was sitting on her shoulder.

“Ah, anit!”

Quadang!

The Marchioness let out a startled sound and rolled around on the floor with her backless chair.

“Ahem. What kind of indecency is this, Mrs. Parshad? “Do not correct her behavior in front of Her Majesty the Empress.”

“W-what…”

The Marchioness pointed with her trembling hand to Yvette’s shoulder. Duke Schreiden, who had gently scolded the Marquis, flew over and sat down at Lasilia’s feet, bowing her head.

“I meet your Majesty the Empress. Ahem, today is also an indescribable honor.”

She wasn’t surprised simply because the bird spoke clearly. The Marchioness had seen that big parrot. Just yesterday, on the way to the temple. When a flock of birds suddenly came and covered the carriage in black, one parrot stood out in particular. Not only was it large, but its bright yellow and bright blue feathers and bright red beak were very impressive.

“Thank you for coming. Be at ease.”

“I am very grateful, Your Majesty.”

After she finished speaking, the parrot flew over and sat on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Squeak, squeal. Squeak, squeak.

A huge chandelier filled with crystals began to squeak and shake. It felt somehow eerie. Strangely enough, the Marchioness felt anxious, as if the chandelier was going to fall on her head.

“Well, that bird… why…”

“I want to show you.”

“You mean to me?”

“As you can see, it is a very talented bird. Thankfully, they listen to everything I say. Oh, they said that the accident that happened on the way to the temple yesterday was caused by birds. Do you remember what kind of bird it was?”

“That… That is…”

The Marchioness turned pale.

“I’m sorry. From now on you will have to be careful of the birds. You never know which bird will cause what kind of accident.”

“W-what are you saying… Oh, you said that… ”

“There.”

Instead of repeating her words, the Empress pointed to her parrot as if to look. The parrot used its beak to peck at a small piece of crystal hanging loosely.

Puck!

The crystal fell to the floor and made a loud noise. The Marchioness’s feet trembled. If the crystal had turned just a little to the right, she would have heard that scary sound in her head.

“Birds are everywhere. And this bird knows how to command birds. Isn’t that amazing?”

The Marchioness’s lips lost color and turned purple.

“That’s, that’s it for me right now…”

“This is advice to be careful where you go from now on. I’m so glad you were safe from yesterday’s accident.”

“…”

The Marchioness closed her mouth. It was because she realized that the Empress was now threatening her. Although she was cruel and capricious, she seemed like a completely different person from the Empress, who obeyed her orders as long as she pleased her.

“I confirmed that everything was okay, so it’s okay. I hope you get back home safely.”

Lasilia raised her body.

“Your Majesty the Empress. You can’t walk alone yet.”

Yvette quickly came to her side and held her arm. Lasilia picked up her pace, resting her head lightly on Yvette’s shoulder.

“Thanks.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. It’s my job, so please include what you said. You have a sore throat due to a cold.”

Lasilia and Yvette left the throne room like affectionate sisters.

“Ahem! Please give me the honor of being your escort!”

Duke Shriden followed behind the two food ducks.

“…”

The Marchioness remained in the empty throne room with a gaunt look on her face.