PNA~31

Chapter 31

‘Do you think you’re the only one I can use, Derek?’

Pashina wanted a more definitive method.

If Derek wouldn’t move according to her wishes, there was still one other way.

“You there.”

Pashina called out to a red-haired attendant walking down the corridor.

“Do you need something, my lady?”

At the attendant’s polite response, Pashina sneered. He looked so feeble and pathetic.

Just the Queen’s type. Who knew if he was a real attendant or a secret lover pretending to be one?

Pashina chuckled while staring at the red-haired attendant.

“Has Her Majesty developed a new taste?”

As her eyes scanned him like evaluating merchandise, the attendant’s face hardened.

“Tell Her Majesty that I wish to request an audience.”

The attendants and maids working in the palace were all familiar with who Pashina was.

Until Erne appeared, she had been the count’s daughter whom the Queen doted on like a real daughter.

The Queen had always been generous with Pashina, and that had given her the shield she needed to roam freely through the palace.

Now, she was also known as the close friend of the Queen’s hidden daughter, Princess Erne.

Those working in the royal household knew that this was where Pashina’s power came from.

So she believed the attendant wouldn’t dare refuse her request for an audience.

“I’m sorry. Her Majesty is currently in a serious conversation with Marquess Damian. She has ordered that no one be allowed in.”

“What?”

But the attendant’s troubled expression made it clear he had no intention of letting her in.

“Do you know who I am?”

Pashina growled furiously at him.

Her fierce demeanor made it seem like she’d grab him by the collar at any moment.

But the attendant, unfazed, simply nodded with a troubled look.

“Yes, my lady. You are Princess Erne’s close friend.”

“Ha! And what else? There’s one more thing besides being Erne’s friend.”

The attendant looked at Pashina with a peculiar expression, as if looking at a fool.

“What, cat got your tongue?”

When the answer didn’t come quickly enough, Pashina tapped his shoulder threateningly.

“…You are also someone Her Majesty cherishes greatly.”

Finally, the answer Pashina had been waiting for slipped from the red-haired attendant’s lips.

“That’s right. I’m someone Her Majesty cherishes. And a mere attendant dares to block my audience?”

Pashina’s contempt deepened. The attendant quietly sighed, his face hardened.

It was detestable to see someone flaunting power that wasn’t even her own.

“…I will inform Her Majesty.”

“Good. You should’ve done that in the first place. Why does everyone need a push to listen?”

A satisfied smile played on Pashina’s lips. A foolish and simple woman, tiresome to deal with.

The attendant walked toward the Queen’s quarters after telling her to wait.

From the beginning, he’d never liked Pashina.

Foolish and vain, full of arrogance. That was what he always thought of her.

Now that he had met her directly and spoken with her, that belief was solidified.

“Oh, Velly. Where are you headed?”

“Lady Blanser has requested an audience with Her Majesty.”

“Oh dear. That lady must be being stubborn again. I still don’t understand why Her Majesty treats her so kindly.”

He ran into the head maid in the hallway. She clicked her tongue, already knowing the situation without Velly needing to explain.

Because of his name, Velly had at first been mistaken for a woman, but those rumors had long died down.

Velly smiled faintly and excused himself, saying he had to carry out the lady’s request.

From the head maid’s comment, he already had the answer.

The Queen’s affection for Pashina wasn’t normal.

He had once overheard a conversation between the Queen and her consort.

‘Why do you care for that girl so much? You even delay our time together for her.’

‘She’s cute.’

‘…Pardon?’

‘She’s stupid and cute. Her expressions give away everything she’s thinking. She pretends to be kind even though she’s full of greed. It’s like watching a puppy perform tricks—amusing.’

The Queen, indeed, was not someone to be taken lightly.

She had already seen through Pashina’s true nature, and that was exactly why she gave her favor.

Not normal, certainly. If anything, to the Queen… Pashina was more like a pet.

With a tired face, Velly walked slowly toward the Queen’s chambers.

Since Marquess Damian was there, at least she wouldn’t be doing anything shameful.

＊＊＊

The Queen summoned Pashina a little over an hour after the attendant had left.

Pashina was a bit annoyed by the wait, but the joy of being granted the audience overpowered it. With a shy smile, she knelt at the Queen’s feet.

She spoke the words she had practiced dozens of times on her way there.

“Your Majesty, I thought you might be feeling troubled lately, so I’ve come to be your companion.”

Pashina’s smile deepened. If Derek wouldn’t act, she would go to the Queen directly and bring Erne back to the palace herself.

As long as Erne was back in the palace, and their engagement still stood…

They could still marry.

‘And once Derek kills Erne, the Queen’s seat is mine.’

She had once wanted to be the Queen’s adopted daughter and inherit all of Nesheld, but with Erne’s return, that dream could only be achieved if Erne died.

Pashina hid her black-hearted desires perfectly and bowed low to the Queen, easily faking concern for her friend.

“I heard that Your Majesty has been greatly distressed over Erne’s disappearance. My goodness, she’s already grown and yet she runs away from home—especially as a princess of Nesheld. I’m so very worried about her. Of course, I’m even more worried about Your Majesty who’s been grieving so deeply ever since.”

Pashina’s act was flawless.

The Queen responded with a slow and cold voice.

“…Oh dear, Pashina. Then you should already know how irritable I’ve been lately. I appreciate your antics, but you picked the wrong day.”

A click of the tongue accompanied the scolding tone.

Pashina looked up with wide, stunned eyes.

This was the first time the Queen—who had always doted on her—was this cold.

Even after Erne, her long-lost daughter, returned to the palace, the Queen’s affection for Pashina had never changed.

So this response left Pashina bewildered.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“I kept praising you as lovely, and now you casually speak the princess’s name before me. I didn’t expect proper decorum from you, but I also don’t care to see such foolish antics.”

“W-What do you mean by that, Your Majesty!”

Pashina nearly shrieked, swallowing a sob.

The Queen pressed her fingers to her temple, clearly pained by Pashina’s loud voice.

“I only agreed to see you because I admired your persistence. I really didn’t want to meet anyone today.”

A sigh escaped the Queen’s lips.

Fear rooted itself in Pashina’s heart at the thought that the Queen had abandoned her.

‘T-This can’t be happening!’

All the effort she had poured in to become the Queen’s closest confidante—was it all for nothing?

Pashina’s eyes darkened with madness as she looked up at the Queen.

But the Queen, as if weary of Pashina’s greedy face, waved her hand dismissively.

“Pashina. Even if the princess didn’t exist, you were never going to become my adopted daughter.”

That final exposure of her innermost desire shattered her.

“Erne will return soon. The royal knights are expanding their search range. Before she left, she told me something. She said she’s going to break off her engagement with young master Babylon. Oh, that’s right—she disappeared right after saying that.”

“……”

“So I looked into it. You foolish little thing. The mere idea that you would sleep with the princess’s fiancé made my skin crawl.”

Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

It was shocking enough that the Queen knew about her and Derek. But the cold, accusing gaze sent chills through her.

“You should go back and reflect. Or at least pretend to. Who knows? Maybe I’ll feel like seeing your little tricks again someday.”

And so, Pashina stumbled out of the audience chamber, her soul crushed.

What she felt while facing the Queen… was the fear of death.

She wondered if the Queen would decide to have her executed right then and there.

She trembled in overwhelming anxiety.

But surprisingly, the Queen had let her go.

After that wave of terror passed, only rage remained.

Pashina glared fiercely at the Queen’s chamber and muttered,

“Never going to be your adopted daughter? Even if that country bumpkin Erne hadn’t shown up? Ha!”

The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it felt. Pashina murmured with venom in her eyes.

So it wasn’t Erne, the bumpkin, who was the problem.

That meant—the problem was the Queen.

Then I just need to kill the Queen.

Pashina thought simply.

Kill the Queen, make sure that runaway Erne never comes back, and install Derek as the acting regent—then she would become Queen of Nesheld.

To Pashina, her plan was flawless.

That’s how the Queen’s icy rejection became the spark that ignited the fire of her ambition.