Chapter 23.1

I returned to my room, took off my dress and put it back in the closet, and changed into a milky white nightgown that was made to cover up to below my ankles.

I untied my hair, which I had tied up, and laid myself down on the bed, thinking about whether I should take another bath or leave it for tomorrow morning.

As I turned over, I noticed a letter on the small table next to the bed.

I can’t say I’m very curious, but I stretch out my hand to pick up the letter while lying down and stare blankly at it.

There, on white paper with a smooth texture, was written in flowing black letters, “Lydith-chan, thank you for the delicious meal”.

It was probably a letter of thanks from Astaroth.

I was a little surprised to see that the characters  here are also the same as those in my country, but it makes sense that the language and writing are the same since they seemed to have lived together in the same kingdom before the Great War.

The fact that Master Gilbert did not invite Astaroth to the dinner means that he wanted to be alone with me.

And yet, I don’t think that Gilbert-sama’s attitude just now was praiseworthy, even if he hadn’t been with a woman for a long time.

He said I should go back to my country.

I closed my eyes. I’m angry, anxious… it’s not like me. At times like this, it’s better to fall asleep quickly.

I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep.

It is one of my special skills that I can fall asleep quickly anytime, anywhere.

Then I had a dream, which I rarely have.

A petite girl, her eyes moist with tears, was standing in front of me, looking confused.

She was neatly dressed in her school uniform. Her shoulder-length, chestnut-coloured, fluffy hair was half up and tied with a green ribbon. I knew that the ribbon was a gift to her from Master Rafael.

It was the colour of Master Raphael’s eyes, in other words, a sign of his affection for her.

I was fine with that. It was common for kings to marry concubines. If Rafael-sama has such feelings for Cynthia, it’s one of my jobs as a virtuous queen to work for the country from then on.

In the long history of the country, there have been many stories of people’s lives being negatively affected by the deterioration of the country and the quality of governance due to jealousy and other problems between the queen and the concubines

I had to be careful not to let that happen.

I was not angry with Cynthia about the fact that she stole Rafael-sama’s heart.

The fact that Raphael-sama, who for a long time had only seen me, his fiancée, would feel protective towards Cynthia, a helpless girl of unusual origins, is similar to the fact that one got tired of eating expensive meat and finds the food from the market stalls tasty.

“…Master Rafael, me, me.”

I am taken aback by the frightened girl’s voice.

I tilted my head, not quite understanding why she was calling Master Rafael’s name there.

“The Anahoriyasude one… No, Miss Cynthia. I am speaking to you. Master Rafael is not relevant right now.”

“Um, I…”

“Everyone is perplexed by your behaviour. I recognise your desire to take the queen’s throne from me. But isn’t it a bit greedy of you to reach out not only to Rafael, but also to the men to whom other people are engaged?”

“I have no intention of doing so…!”

“You must learn the meaning of moderation at school very carefully. You should first look up the word ‘moderation’ in the dictionary. Speaking of dictionaries, the Dictionary of Kingdom Terms, written by Ms. Maisanne, is the most detailed and easy to understand. I don’t think Cynthia has one, so I suggest you go to the library or something.”

Books are expensive.

I told her to look it up in a dictionary, but if Cynthia doesn’t have a dictionary, she would have just been flaunting the financial power of the dukedom.

I told her as politely as I could what to do.

“Terrible, I, my textbooks are…”

“Stand up straight and speak forward. Being Master Rafael’s Concubine means that you will be in friendly competition with me and aim for the further development of the kingdom. If you continue to cry like a weeping clam and crawl in the ground like an Anahoriyasude, then nothing will ever get done.”

“I am not an insect.”

In a very quiet voice, Cynthia refutes this.

It is good to object. If you don’t stand up to me like that, you won’t be able to endure living in the royal castle. As long as she stays by Master Rafael’s side, Cynthia-san will be compared to me, who performs the queen’s work perfectly.

The national expenses are covered by taxes from the people of the country. As long as she lives off of them, even as a queen, she will be looked upon with strict scrutiny by everyone, and I don’t think Cynthia will be recognised in her current state.

“Anyway, you should properly reject the love that is directed at you from people other than Rafael-sama. I can’t tell you their names, but the ladies of the academy are of a certain status. Their engagements are a way of connecting their families and keeping their estates in good order. It is inevitable that men will feel protective of you, but then you must be sincere in your dealings with them.”

“I’m just here to study, and I didn’t mean to do that… I didn’t mean to trouble Lydith-sama, or make you feel bad… I don’t like it. I’m sorry.”

“We’re not talking about personal feelings right now, but as for me, I don’t really dislike or like you. It is foolish for a person in your position to think about things based on your feelings. But there are still some people whose feelings are disturbed by your behaviour. Think about it, look at yourself and change.”

Somehow Cynthia covered her face with her hands there.

She is crying again.

I thought I was teaching her very rationally, theoretically and with kindness. If she cries at even this level of words, there is nothing I can do about it.

Still, I wonder which words hurt Cynthia.

I wonder if it’s because I told her to reject other men, or because Cynthia-san feels comfortable in her current state and doesn’t want to do that.

If so, she’s a very, very volatile person.

I can’t help it if she has the unusual proclivity for having numerous men at her beck and call.

“Lydith, why don’t you leave it at that?”

Rafael-sama, who had been watching our exchange next to Cynthia-san from a while ago, said as if troubled.

“That’s right. No matter what you say to those who are crying, they will only feel like they are being blamed. I was hoping for a proper dialogue.”

“Your words are probably right, but Cynthia is still getting used to aristocratic society,” Rafael-sama defended Cynthia-san.

As a duchess, my position is strong, and Cynthia-san, who has just become a baroness, is weak. The most powerful person in the academy, Rafael-sama, is probably right to protect Cynthia-san, who is crying on top of her weak position.

I sighed and watched them leave. My head ached a little as I thought of what lay ahead.

Afterwards, the noble Ladies who were watching the exchange said things like “Cynthia-san is unforgivable” and “Lydith-sama, poor Lydith-sama, you’re hurt”, but I didn’t have any particular feelings for them, so I just nodded and listened to them.

The ladies are also angry and sympathetic out of the goodness of their hearts, so there is no need to belittle their feelings.

As long as they are sheltered by Rafael-sama, they can’t say anything directly to Cynthia-san either. It is natural for them to rely on me, so I had to somehow make Cynthia-san understand.

Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 12 chapters in advance!