Lady to Queen

Rosemond looked at Baron Darrow with an expression asking what it would be, and Baron Darrow spoke to Rosemond with a groveling expression.

“Shouldn’t you have to pay for the cost of having raised you thus far?”

“… Huh?”

The cost of being raised. Rosemond thought silently. Who was the person that had ordered her around like a maid from the age of ten, only dressed her in rags, and left her half-brother to rape her? Someone like that dared to mention money with his mouth? Rosemond was shocked at his shamelessness. Soon, however, she showed her distinctive smile and whispered to Glara for something.

“Good. So you want that?”

Rosemond pulled up the corners of her mouth and laughed.

“You should have said that before. Then I could have left yesterday.”

What a waste. Rosemond added to her words with a voice filled with regret.

“Sure, money. It’s good.”

Alas, the condition for her to be able to forget about her childhood misfortune was just measly money? Should have said it sooner. She could have just shoved so much money down their throats so they would suffocate.

Rosemond grabbed the waiver of parental authority from the hand of Baroness Darrow. She smiled coolly and threw a purse full of gold coins that she had received from Glara to the Darrow couple. Gold coins poured out of the open purse and bounced off the body of the Baron and Baroness. Rosemond greeted them for the last time with a voice full of fury.

“Please live long. Baron as well as Baroness.”

Until the day she could become the Empress and completely destroy them, she hoped they would live for a long time.

That morning, Patrizia regretted having heard the story of the past from Lucio last night. She lowered her head with a flustered expression.

“Ah… how will I see that person’s face now?”

Knowing the secret meant knowing the person’s weakness. Patrizia had discovered Lucio’s weaknesses. The problem was that the ‘weakness’ was something that worked on her. In the past, she would have reacted coldly, but after hearing the terrible story, it seemed that she could no longer treat him coldly. She should have just not listened. Patrizia regretted it.

“Your Majesty, is something wrong?”

Mirya asked as she had no idea what was going on, and Patrizia shut her mouth. It was about the Imperial Family. Even if it was Mirya, she was very cautious to bring it up out loud, so Patrizia just shook her head and said, “I am just not feeling well today.” After hearing the words, Mirya made a big fuss and said she would boil up some soup and bring it up. As she disappeared into the kitchen, Patrizia wore a dress with the help of the other maids and raised her head elegantly.

“Ella, how much time is left before Rosemond will return?”

Rafaella, who had been watching Patrizia get ready beside her seemed to ponder for a bit at the sudden question and then answered.

“Well. Perhaps by now, she is heading back from the countryside? The Darrow home is a bit far from the capital. Probably less than a week.”

It was far away indeed, and while Patrizia mumbled to herself, Mirya appeared with pumpkin soup. Since it was a lie that she was not feeling well, Patrizia felt a slight stab from her conscience. However, Patrizia did not show any of it, and gave a small smile while saying, “Thank you.”

“Mirya, I think we need to re-budget the Vain Palace.”

Patrizia, who took a bite of pumpkin soup, casually brought up the topic. Mirya responded with a voice that thought it was a given.

“Now, she is not even a Baroness, but just a lady. I think you must definitely do that.”

“Alright. It is too late. Reduce the budget, and other useless expenditures designed to consume luxuries from the original budget. Anyway, the maids in the Vain Palace are few in number, so they should not care anymore.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do that as soon as possible.”

Patrizia smiled brightly and nodded her head. Now it felt like the surroundings were being sorted out a bit. But she still couldn’t be relieved. Rosemond wasn’t like a usual bet. The comfort that she felt right now was fleeting, as it was just the illusion of not having to see Rosemond in front of her eyes for the time being.

Patrizia thought that before Rosemond would try to do anything else, this time it would not be bad for her to do something first. Even if it was fatal, it could not be helped. It wasn’t necessary to deal gracefully with a person who ignored moral ideas.

“How are the preparations for the Founding Day celebration?”

“It is almost over, Your Majesty. Now only the small details are left.”

Mirya said this with a smile.

“Congratulations. You can rest a little from today. You were so overwhelmed these days that I was very worried about whether you might get sick.”

“Fortunately, the one thing I was born with was the gift of strength.”

Patrizia smiled with a smirk after those words. She was safe even after having sucked poison, so she had to admit she had physical strength at least. Patrizia emptied the soup bowl clean and spoke quietly, “Then it would be better to go to the library today.”

Since Rosemond’s appearance, it has been a long time since she had felt her mood soured toward the library. Anyways, there was no Rosemond right now. Patrizia moved slowly with a satisfied smile.

The sunlight wasn’t as hot as she had thought it would be, so Patrizia enjoyed the refreshing feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time.

As she walked into the library, a librarian who she seemed to have seen after a few months, greeted her properly. Patrizia moved to the bookshelves filled with books on science to find a book that she had been trying to read before.

At such leisure, her face looked more comfortable than ever. When she finally found the bookshelf she wanted, she mumbled to herself at the welcome discovery.

“Ah, found… it.”

However, the joy did not last long. Patrizia, within the large and numerous bookshelves of the spacious library, encountered Lucio and blinked her eyes at being taken aback. Why was this person here at this time…? Patrizia was so surprised that she stood blankly, without even thinking of greeting him properly. Lucio greeted her first.

“Empress.”

“Ah…”

“You must have been quite surprised.”

He laughed after he said that. Patrizia finally came to her senses and greeted him.

“I greet Your Majesty, the Master of the Empire and the Sun. May the road ahead be filled only with light.”

“You are the same.”

He muttered with a bitter look as she greeted him with perfect manners. Patrizia quietly bit her lips because she doesn’t like that look on his face. Lucio asked.

“Why are you all the way here?”

“I wanted to read some books.”

The words ‘because Rosemond isn’t here for a while’ was omitted. He was uncomfortable for her, but Rosemond was more uncomfortable. But Lucio seemed to have noticed and spoke to her.

“She no longer enters the library. You will not have to feel uncomfortable about coming here.”

“You really know the details well.”

Made sense. Patrizia was being sarcastic, and Lucio had a sheepish expression. Anyways, unless he organized his relationship with her, this was bound to happen with them. She sighed. With Rosemond, it was enough for Patrizia to respond to her consistent hatred and contempt, but the problem with this man could not be solved by such simple logic. Because this man was a very complex being for her.

Anyways, he was her husband, and also an unscrupulous one who kept a mistress, but to be factual, it wasn’t such a flaw if an Emperor had a mistress. Until that point, she was able to blame him for his hesitation, but it was hard to do so beyond that unless she knew the relationship between Rosemond and him.

Anyways, it was a difficult situation. It would have been better if she had met him before her. Patrizia had such a useless thought.

“If you are uncomfortable, I will leave.”

“There is no need for you to.”

Patrizia answered bluntly and continued to look for the book because she didn’t want to be caught with the truth that she was being affected by him. The best answer was just to get the job done quickly, and return to the Imperial Palace. Patrizia was so eager to find the book that she didn’t even notice that Lucio was staring at her.

Lucio was sorry for her even having this idea, but he was thankful to her.

After hearing such a story, people would tend to treat the protagonist in a special way. “Special” here did not mean that the quality of treatment is improved, but that it meant being cautious in the treatment towards that person. After hearing such a story, most people treated the person carefully. As if the person was a glass bottle that broke easily, with the slightest bit of touch.

Patrizia did not do that, so Lucio felt that this was actually rather special. Anyways, it was definitely something to be thankful for, and with the amount of his gratitude, he was that much apologetic to her as well.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

Only then, Patrizia did notice, and asked. The mysterious expression was clear without anything to block it. He replied with a smile.

“I am sorry if that made you feel bad.”

“No, well…”

She wasn’t expecting an answer like this. However, Patrizia felt strange, as if she was the one to have done something wrong. She coughed awkwardly, and eagerly tried to find the book again. It was then that her eyes twinkled.

“Oh, found it.”

While Patrizia was muttering unknowingly, she raised her heel to pull a book from a high shelf. However, because it was too high, she could barely touch the book. At that time, her hand seemed to have grabbed the book, but as she happened to disturb the other books, five or six books began to fall below the bookshelf. Patrizia closed her eyes without realizing she was doing so and said, “Why were the books put up so high? How could short people look?!

“Ugh…”

However, what was unexpectedly heard, was someone else’s moaning. Patrizia slowly opened her closed eyes. And what Patrizia saw made her look at Lucio with suspicious eyes.

“Your Majesty…?”

“Ugh… You should be careful.”

Lucio, who had blocked all the books pouring into her with one arm, grabbed each book and put it in its original place. Patrizia naturally let out her anxious voice, even though he looked just fine after having been hit by all those books.

“Your, Your Majesty. Are you alright?”

“I am alright.”

To be honest, it was very painful, but he said nothing. This kind of woman would worry about him if he said it hurt and would frown her little face while pretending not to care. A sad, good woman who had hated him, but eventually cared for him.

“Are you alright, Empress?”

“… I was not hit with anything. Are you really alright?”

“I said I am. There is nothing to worry about.”

When the book she was originally looking for was on the floor in front of her, Lucio picked it up and handed it to Patrizia. Patrizia managed to accept it, and before she even thanked him, he was already walking towards the entrance. Patrizia murmured while looking at Lucio, who was indifferently receiving the greetings of the maids from the Empress Palace.

“… He is good at making people concerned about him.”

“Your Majesty, there was a loud noise. Are you okay?”

After returning to the Empress Palace, Mirya had asked anxiously, and Patrizia replied in a quiet voice.

“I am fine. I am not the injured one, His Majesty is.”

“His Majesty?”

“Yes. He was hit by the books in my stead.”

Which made her concerned. Patrizia had a very displeased expression on her face. Mirya first noticed the change inside of her and her mental state, then carefully asked Patrizia.

“Your Majesty, was the court physician called for?”

“He probably did not call for one.”

Because he didn’t feel much attachment to his body. Patrizia, who was a bit depressed by that entangled background, made an expression as if she was thinking something for a moment, and soon told Mirya.

“Mirya.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I must call for the court physician anyway. There were only a few books, but the thickness of them cannot be ignored, and you never know.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will send one to the Central Palace.”

Mirya captured the meaning of Patrizia’s words and left with a bright smile, while Patrizia was left alone to then have a peaceful expression on her face as if she had finally unburdened her mind. Of course, these were changes that she did not notice.