Chapter 4

The Envoys from Her Mother’s Country (1)

It was Ana Rosa’s seventh winter in the Great Mun Empire.

Ana Rosa clicked her tongue as she looked over the dispatches that had been brought before her.

With the arrival of the New Year, countless people had been coming and going through the Imperial Palace. Even simply meeting the women of the outer court who came to pay their respects kept her so busy that she felt as though her head might spin.

And that wasn’t all.

As the second Empress of the Emperor of Mun, Ana Rosa had the duty of ensuring that this enormous Imperial Palace, the imperial family belonging to it, and the many palace officials and palace servants assigned to care for them all operated smoothly without any problems arising.

“Your Imperial Majesty, Lady Han has arrived.”

“Have her come in.”

At some point, the language of Mun had become more familiar to her than Ausian.

These days, she occasionally even found herself pausing when speaking Ausian.

It was only natural.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken Ausian. It had been nearly half a year.

The same was true of Blanca, who had been given the name Han Bu-ryeon after entering the Mun court.

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

Blanca came before Ana Rosa, knelt, and formally paid her respects.

At first, both Blanca and Ana Rosa had found it terribly uncomfortable to have someone kneel before them in greeting.

Now, they were accustomed to it.

“Have you returned?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Let me hear it.”

Blanca rose with the assistance of one of the palace maids of the Empress’s Palace and sat across from Ana Rosa.

Ana Rosa looked at the Mun-style clothing Blanca was wearing.

It was both elaborate and beautiful.

The garment was made from silk produced in the Shiyuan region, a type of fabric difficult for even ordinary people in Mun to obtain, and lotus flowers and butterflies had been embroidered across it.

Over it, Blanca wore a thick fur vest that fell to her knees.

Although unmarried, she wore her hair elegantly pinned up in the style of a married woman.

She was already over thirty, and as the Empress’s close attendant, she was also considered one of the women of the Mun imperial household.

People called her Madam Han.

A palace maid hurriedly served them tea.

She knew that whenever the Empress seated someone across from her, tea was always to be served.

“Count Menios has arrived.”

Blanca could have spoken in Ausian so that the palace maids and senior court ladies wouldn’t understand, but she deliberately chose not to.

“Count Menios. This is only his second time coming to Mun, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Ana Rosa thought back to seven years ago—the year she had been sold to this empire under the title of Empress.

She could still vividly remember spending an entire month aboard a warship with Count Menios.

He had looked down on the young princess and hadn’t even wanted to exchange a single word with her.

At the time, Ana Rosa hadn’t fully understood the attitude he had taken toward her.

But now, after reigning as Empress of Mun for seven years, she could clearly understand just how much he had looked down on her.

He hadn’t seen her as a princess.

He had seen her as nothing more than a tool for an alliance.

And the Ana Rosa of that time had been so young, foolish, and powerless that perhaps she had deserved to be treated that way.

She had no particular intention of discussing how she had been treated back then.

But she couldn’t lower her guard.

Count Menios was the very definition of a petty man who swallowed whatever was sweet and spat out whatever was bitter.

“Did the Count make any requests of you?”

“An appalling number of them.”

Blanca ground her teeth, making Ana Rosa burst into laughter.

Every time her head shook as she laughed, a faint jade-like clinking sound could be heard.

It came from the long strands of beads hanging from the hairpin in her hair.

“Were they really that terrible?”

“He asked for separate lodgings to be prepared for him in Yeongyeon. He said he needed a place for ‘his business.’ Judging by the atmosphere, I suspect he’ll be asking for money as well. He also says he wishes to see Your Majesty.”

“I suppose it was only natural for the Count to be part of the delegation when I was married off here. But for him to leave Casas and come all the way here during such peaceful times is rather difficult to understand.”

Ana Rosa paused.

“Wasn’t he one of Father’s favored men? …Senior Court Lady Min.”

At Ana Rosa’s call, Senior Court Lady Min, who managed the Empress’s Palace, came around behind her and bent her knees in acknowledgment.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Find a house to give Count Menios. Somewhere near the Imperial Palace would be best, and preferably near a guard post as well. If anything troublesome happens, those Ausians will make a great fuss, so have the area patrolled.”

She paused briefly.

“And find some servants to fill Count Menios’s house as well.”

Senior Court Lady Min had no difficulty understanding what the Empress meant by that last part.

They were called servants.

But in reality, Her Majesty meant that she wanted to place informants among them.

“Yes, Your Majesty. This humble servant will carry out your orders without the slightest omission and report back to you.”

“Good. If any part of my meaning is unclear, ask.”

Telling her to ask if anything was unclear meant that Ana Rosa expected everything to be carried out thoroughly, without the slightest mistake.

“I shall keep it in mind.”

Ana Rosa waved her hand.

Senior Court Lady Min backed away several steps before turning and leaving.

Ana Rosa then looked back at Blanca.

“If Count Menios has come with the delegation, there must be some rather prominent people among them. Who caught your attention?”

“First of all, Count Casella stood out.”

Blanca paused.

“…It seems Count Molina, who has normally led the delegations, will have little authority this time.”

“Ah.”

Ana Rosa smiled before falling silent.

Count Casella and Count Menios.

That was an excessively impressive lineup for an ordinary diplomatic delegation.

Why had those two come?

What reason could there be?

“Madam Han. Tell Count Menios that I will grant him an audience tomorrow morning.”

Ana Rosa stopped.

“No. Just tell him that.”

She smiled faintly.

“Let’s see what this is about.”

Whatever matter could have brought those two men here.

Count Menios clicked his tongue as he walked.

He had thought the same thing seven years ago when he first came here.

This Imperial Palace is far too large.

Once one entered through the Imperial Gate, carriages and horses were forbidden within the Imperial Palace grounds.

As a result, one had to walk far more than usual.

It would have been much more practical to make the palace enormous like the Casas Royal Palace, all in a single building.

What a backward country.

There were certainly many luxurious things here.

But in other respects, the country was primitive.

Unlike Casas, which already possessed a municipal water system, this country had barely installed gas lamps along its streets, let alone developed proper running water.

Could this country ever develop as far as Ausis?

Probably not.

Their arrogant behavior won’t last more than a few years.

Count Menios remembered the Emperor of Mun whom he had encountered seven years ago.

The Emperor, whose presence had been as oppressive as a mountain, had inflicted a humiliation upon him that he could never forget.

Even now, his teeth clenched whenever he remembered being forced to stand there and listen while the Emperor declared:

“I shall appoint Ana Rosa Isabel la Redrideta as Empress, but I will not have her produce an heir.”

Later, when the Emperor granted the delegation a private audience, Menios had hurriedly brought up the matter and attempted to object.

But the Emperor had rendered him speechless.

“You seem to be the sort of man capable of doing that with a twelve-year-old. I am deeply moved by your patriotism, Count. It would be difficult for an ordinary man to stomach such a thing.

But I am the master of this empire. Surely my circumstances cannot be compared to those of some common man who must force himself to perform such a pitiful duty? …I hope my meaning is clear. That was the best explanation I could give you in words.”

It had been humiliating.

The Emperor had essentially told Count Menios that he was either a pedophile or a man so servile that, if his superior demanded it, he would force himself upon someone who did not want him.

And then he had added a threat:

If Menios couldn’t understand through words, the Emperor would make him understand by other means.

Of course, the Count hadn’t immediately backed down.

He had made considerable efforts to discuss the matter with the Emperor again.

But the Emperor refused to listen.

Instead, he had taken an even harder line.

“If you dislike it, we can simply nullify all the terms of this alliance.”

The Count’s assignment had been nothing more than the handover of the princess.

He had possessed no authority to negotiate the terms of the alliance.

In the end, he had been forced into silence, and the Emperor’s condition had been accepted exactly as stated.

Afterward, the Count had returned home and received a severe reprimand from the King.

For some time, his position within the royal court had been unstable as well.

“No one speaks of the mistake you made seven years ago, but that does not mean everyone has forgotten it. Count, this time you must make up for that mistake.”

Count Menios remembered the words of Duke Valiona, Eusebio.

The Count was both the King’s right-hand man and a close associate of Duke Valiona.

The Duke had pointed out the Count’s disastrous failure in no uncertain terms.

His attitude had felt like a demand:

Show me what you’re capable of.

The princess may have become Empress, but she’s only nineteen. She’s still young.

And besides…

The Count remembered the time the princess had first come to this country.

She had been absolutely terrified.

She had been frightened by everything—from having to be served by palace women who came from slave backgrounds to having to wear loose clothing that didn’t constrict her body anywhere.

Her rooms were too large.

The bed was strangely hard.

The food was unfamiliar.

Everything had been difficult for her.

Even the jewelry was completely different from what she was accustomed to in Ausis.

On top of that, she had to learn the language of Mun and the etiquette of the Mun imperial court.

For a foolish princess like her, it must have been completely overwhelming.