Lady to Queen

Chapter 37: CHAPTER 35. I AM NOT ASKING ANYTHING

Patrizia was only able to return to her quarters after she locked Rosemond in the dungeon. It was already nighttime, and Patrizia was almost on the verge of fainting from the accumulated fatigue and the poison she absorbed in the afternoon, but she squeezed together all of her strength so she could return to her place.

When she entered the Empress Palace, Patrizia felt that every maid there was worried about her, but she didn’t even have enough energy to respond to their worries. Even if the person was her sister, Petronilla, or the head of her maids, Mirya.

“Lizzy, are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?”

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

As she tried to calmly accept the many worried voices pouring into her, Patrizia quietly made a request.

“Mirya, please prepare a bath. As soon as possible”

“Ah…”

Mirya noticed the transformation in Patrizia faster than anyone else. Her master, who had always used honorific words towards her, spoke down to her for the first time. Mirya realized with her many years of Imperial life, that this had originated from the day’s events, and soon followed Patrizia’s words.

Petronilla, who was watching her from the side, also quickly noticed her sister’s change and said nothing about it.

It was because she seemed to be visibly tired, and it seemed inappropriate to speak about it right now.

At least Petronilla, who decided that it would be better for her to talk to her when she was in a stable state, instead called in the imperial physician while Patrizia entered the bathroom. The palace physician quickly reached the Empress Palace, and Petronilla, who had many questions, quickly asked him.

“You were the one that took care of both Majesties at the hunting competition, right?”

“Yes, Lady Petronilla.”

“What happened?”

Petronilla had only been in the palace, so she did not know the exact course of the incident. So naturally, she had no choice but to feel frustrated. The physician hesitated for a moment as if he was trying to choose his words, and then opened his mouth and told her everything he knew, which was exactly what was known to the public so far.

Of course, Petronilla seemed to be in shock after hearing that.

“Oh, my world.”

After hearing all the stories, Petronilla sighed. She should have known in advance that Rosemond would never miss this opportunity…! Blaming her own foolishness, Petronilla asked again.

“So, what are both of the Majesties’ conditions now?”

“His Emperor Majesty received excellent first aid, and even more in-depth treatment after, so he will probably wake up as soon as possible without any surprise. However, Her Majesty, the Regent has not yet been treated because of the reason that it is not so bad.

“Not only is it because of the poison, but the stress and fatigue that she has received today will have a negative impact on her health. Please treat that part with that in mind, sir.”

“I will, my Lady. Don’t worry too much.”

While the two were talking, Patrizia came out of the bathroom wearing only a thin white dress and looked a little surprised when she saw the Imperial physician. Patrizia stared at Petronilla as if to ask what had happened, and she soon replied with a casual expression.

“I called for him, Your Majesty. Because you haven’t been treated properly…”

“Ah…”

Patrizia nodded slightly and responded as if to show she understood, and soon passed her wet hair to her back, and moved towards the table.

Soon the physician diagnosed her condition, and after a long time, his lips opened.

“It’s not as serious as mentioned before, but the mind and body are both a little weak because of all that has happened today. You will be busy enough tomorrow, so please drink a cup of hot tea today, and get ready to sleep early.”

“Thank you for the advice. It is okay to go back.”

He left her quarters after showing courtesy to her words, and Petronilla spoke to Patrizia with a casual expression.

“I will leave now Lizzy. It is too late today.”

Patrizia laughed with a more relaxed expression, at the tone that was the same as usual. Maybe it was because she had changed, and she hoped that at least her sister hadn’t changed.

Patrizia said to her in a slightly curious voice.

“You are not asking anything.”

“Did you not hear the physician? It would be better to talk about everything tomorrow, Lizzy.”

Petronilla left a small kiss on Patrizia’s forehead and spoke to her after.

“At least for tonight, no one can interfere with your rest. Unless it is His Majesty. Let’s talk about everything tomorrow, got it?”

“That is what I wanted.”

It was saddening to hear the tired voice. Petronilla swallowed her dry saliva, and finally left the Empress Palace, asking Mirya to take care of Patrizia well.

Anyways, it was night time now, so whether she heard it now or early tomorrow, the results would not change. As long as she could bear the curiosity. She hadn’t told her anything, so her father must have some information she could know.

Petronilla thought about asking the Marquis of Grochester about something at least but did not expect that it would help her greatly understand the situation.

Meanwhile, Patrizia dried her not fully dry hair and went to bed. As Petronilla had said, today she had gone through so much, so she was too tired to think about the next step.

She decided to pass on her thoughts and ideas to tomorrow. Even Mirya, Rafaella, and Petronilla didn’t ask her about anything, so all the answers could be put off until tomorrow.

Patrizia let out a tired sigh and fell asleep. She had been suffering from insomnia lately, but she seemed to be able to fall asleep easily today. Because without falling asleep, it was an unbearable night.

“Your Majesty, it is time for you to wake up.”

The next day began for Patrizia with these words from Mirya. Patrizia, who slowly lifted open her eyelids to those words, blinked twice as if trying to figure out what was going on, and then slowly rose up from her spot. It was probably the beginning of a day that could be hell. Patrizia said nothing for a while, and then slowly opened her lips.

“…When will the three Prime Ministers arrive?”

It was Patrizia’s first question. Mirya replied without delay.

“All three people are heading now to the Imperial Palace. They will probably arrive without being late.”

The other kingdoms and empires surrounding the Marvinus Empire each only had one Prime Minister, but in the case of the Marvinus Empire, three Prime Ministers served the king.

It was to prevent tyranny by preventing a concentration of power through mutual checks and balances.

When Patrizia was born and first learned about this system, she thought it was a good system.

It was common sense that absolute power was absolutely corrupt. Unless the opponent was a saint or a philosopher.

She finished washing her face with the help of her maids and then dressed in refined clothes. The acting of an Empress as the regent was not a common case, but since it certainly existed historically, the maids moved according to the manual.

Wearing a dark dress that was a little more serious and harsh than the ones she wore previously, Patrizia put on a tiara emblazoned with the pink diamond that symbolized the Empress. The golden crown with a slightly dark glow was shining authoritatively above her head.

Only then did she move to the reception room, and the voice of a maid was heard shortly after she sat by the table.

“Your Majesty, the three Prime Ministers are entering.”

The three Prime Ministers were from the three families that made up the central power of the nobles of the Marvinus Empire: the Duke of Vashi, the Duke of Efreni, and the Duke of Witherford.

In the case of the Duke of Vashi and the Duke of Witherford, as national heroes that helped with the founding of the empire, they had held on to these positions from the beginning of the country to the present, but in the case of the Duke of Efreni, the position had been passed on from the Duke of Oswin who had also helped with the founding of the nation.

Except for the fact that the Duke of Efreni was not a descendant of a founding hero, he was strong. Among them, his economic power, for instance, was the strongest among the three Dukes that occupied the position of the three Prime Ministers.

“Come in.”

The door opened at Patrizia’s words and the three men came in. The oldest was the Duke of Vashi, and the youngest was the Duke of Efreni.

“Greetings to Your Majesty, Queen Regent. Glory to the Marvinus Empire.”

“Greetings to Your Majesty. Glory to the Imperial Family.”

“Welcome in. You all must have been suffering a lot since morning.”

Patrizia briefly greeted them, acknowledged them with a dry voice. They all sat at the table in the reception room, and Patrizia briefly explained the situation.

“Currently, His Majesty is not conscious, and I am acting as a regent instead. I have only managed the inner palace affairs, but I have not done anything regarding the outer palace, so I hope you can assist me a lot.”

“I will help Your Majesty with all I have. Do not worry.”

At the Duke’s words, the other two prime ministers spoke similar words. She laughed once more and then went on to the main subject.

“An advisory council meeting will be held in an hour. I will have to discuss the details there, but I am just going to report on issues that are not urgent, and not discuss them thoroughly. I am acting strictly within the Emperor’s authority, and am not himself.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. You may already know, it is rare for the regent to deal with a matter, unless it is urgent. You do not have to worry about that part.

“Because you have to deal with the affairs of the inner palace, the workload will be heavy. If possible, it will be helpful to handle the affairs of the palace in urgent order until His Majesty restores consciousness.”

“All right… Any other advice?”

The Duke of Efreni, who was briefly thinking about Patrizia’s question, slowly opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty.”

“Speak on.”

“…Never mind. It would be better to deal with the details at the advisory council meeting.”

‘Lame.’ Patrizia muttered to herself internally and soon asked another question.

“I would like to receive the journals detailing the duties thus far. As you know, I am completely ignorant of the affairs outside of the palace.”

“Do not worry about that. The ministers of each department will organize them respectively, and send them to the Empress Palace.”

Patrizia nodded as if she was satisfied with the Duke of Witherford’s clean voice. If so, it seemed most was done. The Duke of Vashi gave her a stack of thin paper.

“These will be the topics that will be discussed at the advisory council meeting today, Your Majesty. When you read it, you should not have much trouble understanding it.”

“Thank you.”

Patrizia gave a short reply and accepted the paper. At a quick glance, it seemed to be about a problem regarding the drought in the northwest. Duke Witherford asked her a question.

“Do you have any further questions, Your Majesty?”

“Not yet. We shall discuss the more necessary information later in the consultation meeting.”

“Yes, then with this understanding we will be leaving.”

The three people politely bowed to Patrizia and left, and she used two to three fingers to measure the amount of paper they had left behind. It didn’t seem to be the amount that she read in an hour, but it seemed possible if she went a little overboard.

When she was just about to turn the first page, Rafaella approached her carefully. She called out Patrizia in a voice without any laughter, which was unlike her usual tone.

“Uh… Your Majesty.”