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~Chapter 53~
I’m not sure they’ll like it.
After checking Lady Herring’s expression, Regina smiled gently and joined the noblewomen’s conversation.
The tea party flowed smoothly, lacking nothing. The ladies’ faces remained bright throughout; none looked anxious or uneasy.
“Thank you for spending this time with me today.”
As the sky deepened into sunset, Regina announced the end of the tea party.
Not a single guest had left early. That alone meant the social world had effectively acknowledged Regina as Empress.
“Your Majesty, what do you plan to do next?”
Contrary to Regina’s intention to end things there, the noblewomen did not let the moment pass so easily.
Countess Ulysses cast a warning glance at the woman who had spoken, but she did not stop.
“To pry into the will of royalty—are you not afraid of the consequences of such boldness?”
“I won’t deny that we came here wanting something, Your Majesty.”
Rather than bristle at the bluntness, Regina smiled.
“Something you want, you say.”
“But it is not a personal request. It concerns those who will form the backbone of this empire.”
The other noblewomen’s gazes sharpened. It was clear they had not come merely to exchange pleasantries.
Regina spoke softly, her tone calm and open.
“I will listen. Speak.”
“We are all mothers of Fredericks’ proud knights. What was revealed about the treatment of the Imperial Knights shocked us beyond belief.”
When news spread that knights had been insulted by mere servants and maids, the noblewomen had refused to believe it.
They could not imagine their children’s duties being regarded as so trivial.
But after hearing the anger of husbands and household heads returning from council meetings, deep distrust toward the imperial family took root.
Above all, resentment toward Chloe grew strongest.
“If those who devote themselves to the empire are treated unjustly, then the same could happen to anyone.”
“That’s true.”
Regina did not deny it. As long as Chloe clung to financial power, the same injustices would repeat themselves.
“So we wished to ask how Your Majesty intends to address this unfairness.”
All eyes turned to Regina.
Reading the anger, sorrow, and faint hope in their gazes, Regina opened her lips calmly.
“No matter what I say here and now, it would sound like empty words.”
Silence followed.
“But if you give me time, I promise that the knights who serve alongside His Majesty will receive far better treatment than they do now.”
“Is… that so.”
“I will do everything within my reach.”
Without financial authority, loud promises would amount to nothing more than hollow cries.
Because of what had happened in the Permang Empire, Regina never spoke lightly of things she could not guarantee.
If a promise is broken, the disappointment only cuts deeper.
She remembered the mage division she had once encouraged to endure, trusting only the emperor’s words. Where were they now?
Most were surely dead or imprisoned by Hereis.
Her eyes wavered as she thought of the subordinates no longer by her side.
Yet the noblewomen were drawn even more to Regina’s restraint.
“We will trust in Your Majesty’s promise.”
As Lady Herring stepped forward, the others nodded one after another.
It was the moment Regina became the new star of the social world.
“Lastly, I’ve prepared something for you all. It’s modest, but I hope you’ll accept it.”
For those who attended her very first tea party, Regina had prepared hair ribbons imbued with her magic.
To make them, she had hardly left Conrad’s side for two days—sometimes even clinging to him on the bed as they talked late into the night.
She wanted to properly reward those who had abandoned Chloe and chosen her hand instead.
I’m glad the turnout was close to what I expected.
“It’s only a small gift.”
Yet to the noblewomen, the little boxes felt as heavy as gold.
Though giving gifts at a first tea party was custom, the expressions of the maids handing them over made it clear these were no ordinary items.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Only after the very last guest received her gift did the gathering finally end.
Left alone in the reception room, Regina let the tension drain from her body. As she lazily waved a hand, all the maids withdrew.
“It’s finally over.”
Forming signs with her hands to check her magic, she reclined sideways on a long sofa.
“My magic has decreased again, but…”
She didn’t feel bad.
Her magic was still insufficient. Even with daily contact with Conrad, she knew she would not fully recover unless the seal was broken.
Still, she had overextended herself to prepare those gifts—to show those who trusted her that their choice had not been wrong.
It went better than I expected.
So many noblewomen had come.
Tilting her head, Regina sank into thought.
But is being acknowledged as Empress in Fredericks really a good thing?
Someday, she would have to return to the Permang Empire.
She did not know when, but she never intended to remain in Fredericks forever.
Once her seal was lifted and the barrier dismantled as promised, she planned to return to Permang and exact her revenge.
“Haah…”
As night fell, her thoughts only grew more tangled. What pulled her back was a faint flow of magic.
Theodore’s voice emerged from the communication artifact.
[Your Highness.]
“I’m listening.”
[We’ve made contact with Vice-Captain Martin.]
“…!”
Martin, the last to be dispatched to the Madarin barony, was the vice-captain of Regina’s mage division.
Sensing danger in the Permang palace, Regina had sent him to Fredericks to protect him—only for the barrier to rise, trapping him away ever since.
He was her most loyal subordinate, someone she trusted deeply.
When Regina did not respond, Theodore called again.
[Your Highness?]
“Where is he now?”
[He stayed near the barrier until recently. He’s on his way back now.]
“…I see.”
The light faded from the earring that had been gently siphoning her magic.
“Once Martin returns, we can begin research on the barrier.”
The barrier’s magic circle was not something Regina had created alone. The mage division had built it together.
Martin, in particular, had designed its core with her. She needed him.
Though I don’t know whether he’ll agree to dismantling it.
Biting her lip, Regina flinched as a hand suddenly brushed her ear.
Conrad had approached so quietly she hadn’t noticed him at all.
“What has my Empress so lost in thought?”
He sat down in the empty space on the sofa before her.
Meeting his blue gaze, Regina looked away slightly.
“Just thinking about what happened at the tea party today.”
“What’s troubling you so much?”
His fingers lingered near her ear as he spoke. In truth, that touch bothered her more than the tea party, but she feigned calm.
“I gave them hair ribbons as gifts. I’m not sure they’ll like them.”
“Hair ribbons?”
Regina simply nodded.
Conrad already knew from Limutan’s report. They were thin strips of fabric, delicately embroidered.
“I heard the palace maids worked hard on them.”
“That’s right.”
Magic had been added as well, but Regina chose not to mention it.
It’s nothing all that impressive, anyway.
