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nChapter 45

nProofreader: xoxomonami

n7. Audience with the Empress

nThe day has come to see the empress.

nAlice had been making a fuss since the morning.

n“What should I do? Lady, is this pretty, or is this pretty?”

n“Both are very bright colors.”

nAlice’s hand held an ivory dress and a light blue dress. Artizea shook her head.

n“I think the light blue suits you a lot better.”

n“I’m going to wear a dark color. Put the clothes back. There’s no reason to dress up.”

n“But still it’s your first time going to the palace as the ‘Marchioness of Rosan’. It’s also the first time to greet the Empress as the fiancee of Grand Duke Evron.”

n“There’s nothing like that, because I’m coming in quietly to the Empress.. What happened in Her Majesty’s palace will not be spoken out and will not be seen by others.”

nEighteen years ago, the empress lost all of her children.

nShortly thereafter, her best friend, Viscountess Pescher, committed suicide with her husband.

nHowever, the empress’s misfortune did not end there. While she was grieving and turning away from the outside affairs, the emperor reorganized the power structure of the southern nobility.

nHe was ready to hit the Duke of Riagan, the empress’s father.

nBy the time the empress came to her senses, she was already in a state where everything was irreversible.

nThe Duke of Riagan and his wife died in an accident shortly thereafter. Whether it was a real accident was unknown.

nThe empress walked away and locked the door of her palace. And for 18 years she never took off her mourning clothes.

nIt was for her children, it was for her friends, and it was for her father and mother.

nOutwardly, she seemed to have given up on life.

n‘Nevertheless, the emperor is wary of her empress. That’s the biggest indicator.’

nDuring the 18 years of the empress’s despair and mourning, Emperor Gregor held Miraila and Lawrence in his arms and played a happy family game.

nCouldn’t the anger and resentment accumulate in the heart of the empress?

nShe is not a saint. At one time in her youth, there must have been a time when she trusted the emperor.

nWhether there was love in her trust or not is unknown to Artizea.

nIt’s true that with or without her love, she played a great role in bringing Emperor Gregor to his present place.

nHer power still remains. The emperor neither deposed the empress nor killed her.

nThe Empress has a considerable stake on the throne of Emperor Gregor.

nTherefore, it is better to show herself as it is than to decorate as brightly as possible. Because a girl drunk in her romantic dreams is useless to the empress.

nArtizea made up her mind and refined her strategy.

nAt an unexpected hour that day, Freil visited the Tuvalet room.

n“It was so close to time.”

nFreil shrugged his shoulders.

nArtizea had just finished getting dressed. No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like there was an urgent need for Freil to visit at this time.

nFreil brought out the box that he was holding. Alice tilted her head and accepted the box.

n“Wow! It’s heavier than it looks, Sir Freil?”

nAlice brought the box to the dressing table in front of Artizea and opened the lid of the box.

nSophie glimpsed and exclaimed.

n“Wow, is it a jewel?”

nWhat was inside was a blue crystal the size of a forearm. It was a deep navy blue, reminiscent of the southern sea.

nArtisea smiled unintentionally when she saw the shape.

n“This is the special salt of the South Sea. It would have been difficult to obtain such a beautiful and large crystal.”

n“Salt?”

n“Yes.”

nThere is a lot of good salt in the South Sea.

nSouth Sea salt was used everywhere except in the underdeveloped area in the western and northern parts of the empire. The revenue generated by the resale of salt amounted to nearly 20% of the empire’s finances.

n“Most of the salt in the South Sea is made by boiling sea water, but in some beaches in the Riagan region, it is said that salt grows like this crystal on the floor. So, salt is not expensive.”

n“But it’s really pretty.”

n“In the Riagan region, it’s something that commoners can bring and decorate if they want.”

n“It was incredibly difficult to bring to the capital as well. Don’t say that.”

n“I don’t think the Sir brought it, but a merchant did, right?”

nAt Artizea’s words, Freil was grave.

n“It wasn’t normal to have them bring it.”

n“Good job. But the deadline I mentioned was probably a month later.”

n“Really?”

nFreil had a frustrated face.

n“It’s not bad. It’s much better if I can take it today. I set a deadline a month later because I thought it would be difficult to get such a vivid blue crystal.”

n“It’s unfair that I have to run here and there in a hurry.”

n“The Sir has a habit of listening to one thing, but he’s not careful. It’s such a small thing. It doesn’t matter.

n“What kind of life is mine? The Lady Heiress doesn’t care, when I’m a big supporter of yours.”

nArtizea laughed.

n“I’m not kidding. Before you go somewhere to drink poison and regret it.”

n“Who will poison a knight like me?”

n“….”

nArtizea did not answer. It was then.

n“You’re talking about something nasty. Poisoning.”

nCedric said.

nThen he stood there and knocked on the door.

n“I wasn’t trying to…. The door was open…”

n“Oh, Your Grace.”

nFreil salutes him. Artizea stood up.

n“Welcome.”

n“Are you ready to go?”

n“Yes.”

nIt was after Sophie had already put a small hat on Artizea’s head and fixed it with a pin.

n“I thought I heard something about poisons….”

n“It was a joke.”

n“What is that?”

n“Oh, yes, it’s a gift prepared by Sir Freil.”

n“Freil prepared a gift?”

nFreil glanced at Cedric’s eyes.

nCedric’s countenance occurred in his eye. He wasn’t angry. He just fiddled with his eyebrows with his own hands.

nArtizea replied.

n“Yes.”

nFrustrated Freil’s brain cells sang.

nHe couldn’t tell if he knew but pretended not to know, or if he really didn’t know.

n“The Lady Heiress said she needed salt from the Riagan region so I got it for her. That’s a hundred percent not a lie. Then, I’ll be on my way.”

nFreil spoke quickly and floated away as if running away. Cedric looked away from behind him.

n‘I didn’t say anything.’

nHe stroked his forehead again with his index finger.

n“Is this a gift prepared for Her Majesty?”

n“Yes, why?”

nArtizea tilted her head and asked. Cedric grinned.

n“It’s nothing. I just thought it was a bit unexpected.”

nHe extended his arm. Artizea put her hand on his arm.

nWhen Alice heard that, she closed the lid of the box and went out first to put it on her carriage.

nThe two slowly came downstairs later.

nCedric escorted Artizea to her carriage. Artizea took a seat and asked when the carriage door closed.

n“What kind of person is Her Majesty the Empress?”

n“Isn’t it a little late to talk about it now?”

n“I’m just curious about Lord Cedric’s impressions, not objective information. You said you would come with me. You said you weren’t one of them.”

nAt first, Artizea was going to see the Empress alone.

nBecause she was going with Cedric, it would be like just going to say hello to a relative.

nSaintess Olga’s heart can also be delivered through Cedric. The Empress will then give a reasonable appreciation for presenting a fine jewelry as a gift.

nBut it shouldn’t be.

nThat’s why they left the easy path and came back round.

nEveryone in the social world knows that she has won Saintess Olga’s heart.

nShe showed her involvement in the incident. In doing so, she revealed her desire and gaps.

nShe created a probability that people thought she would want to take revenge on Miraila.

nIn doing so, she aroused the empress’s interest. Letting her know that she is a worthy opponent for trading.

nAnd she finally received an invitation with her own name, Artizea Rosan.

nHowever, Cedric was opposed to her meeting the empress alone.

n“Isn’t that strange? You’re going to say hello as my fiancée, but also leave me behind by going alone.”

n“It’s not unusual for a noble girl to see Her Majesty alone. And, as I said, I’m not just trying to say hello as a relative, but I’m going to make another request.”

n“Are you worried about me knowing your tactics?”

nArtizea could not help but be embarrassed. It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t something she could do secretly without notifying Cedric.

n“No. It’s not like that.”

n“If so, let’s go together. I won’t interfere with what you’re trying to do.”

nCedric said in a soft voice.

n“Her Majesty The Empress is not easy, but until now, the gates of the Empress’s Palace were closed. If you see her alone, it will surely catch the attention of the social world.”

nIt was an undesirable thing. Artizea was forced to nod her head.

nDespite the fact that the most important figure for Lawrence to become the prince was the empress, Artizea did not have much information about the empress.

nJust mentioning the empress was the biggest reason why Miraila was so angry. However it was also a problem that her palace was always closed.

nAll the remaining employees in the palace are loyal ones who gave their lives to the Empress. The few guests who came and went were all of the empress’s very close friends.

nThere was no one who could be bought with money.

nIt would have been possible to take the time to intimidate the family or create weaknesses with things like beauty.

nBut instead of working so hard, Artizea solved it so easily. Under the emperor’s acquiescence, she set fire to the empress’s palace.

nIt was after the saint’s oracle came out. Now she had calculated that Lawrence could acquire his legitimacy even if she wasn’t the empress.

nThe empress died without leaving the palace. None of the assassins who waited for the Empress to come out alive, got blood on their knife.

nIt wasn’t until then that Artizea thought that the Empress might have been really ill.

n‘Cedric will not forgive.’

nUnlike killing a butler, she can’t hide and do such a big thing.

nArtizea gazed gently at Cedric’s face.

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