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Chapter 23
The garden was not properly maintained.
Coming from the neatly kept Emperor’s Palace, the difference with the Empress’s Palace was even more striking.
It seemed that the Empress’s ill health showed even in such details.
Still, there should be quite a few tons of the palace.
If they had fulfilled their roles properly, it wouldn’t have looked like this.
And if they failed, then the responsibility largely lay with the overseer.
Vincent’s expression had stiffened slightly, as if he had felt the same thing I did.
But being conscious of me, he didn’t say anything.
Before entering the palace, I lifted my head to look at the entirety of the Empress’s residence.
Vincent, waiting beside me, spoke.
“There’s no need to be so nervous.”
He must have thought I was stalling before entering because I was anxious.
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
The Empress was a far more important figure than most.
“As long as you show proper manners, she won’t be difficult to face.”
In other words, if one failed to be courteous, she could be a very difficult person indeed.
As the Empress of an empire, that degree of authority was understandable.
“Just thinking that she’s both the Empress of the Empire and Your Highness’s mother makes me nervous without realising it.”
“If it makes you that nervous, you can always come another time, Amelia.”
Another time?
Absolutely not.
I had something I had to do here and now.
I looked straight into his tender gaze and shook my head.
“No, I’ve already come this far.
It’s only proper that I meet her and pay my respects.”
I caught Vincent’s face momentarily harden at my textbook-like answer.
He was probably thinking again, That’s not like Amelia.
Since I couldn’t reveal the truth about my possession, both he and I were stuck in frustrating silence.
I even tried to twist my words in case there might be a way to hint at it, but as long as I held the intent to reveal the truth, the words simply would not leave my mouth.
For example, I couldn’t say something like, Do you know of someone who came from another world?
That’s me.
Anyway, Vincent didn’t press the matter further.
He lowered the arm he had offered to escort me with and, taking half a step ahead, led the way inside.
I drew in a deep breath, exhaled, and slowly followed.
Get a grip.
Amelia’s memories weren’t of much use, but I had another weapon: knowledge of the original story.
I knew what would happen to the Empress later, and what role she would play.
Before the Crown Prince’s regression, the Empress hardly appeared at all.
But after his regression, she played a fairly significant role, as I recalled.
When Amelia had been accused of being a witch and executed in the original, the Empress neither encouraged nor stopped it.
But thinking back, that silence was a form of tacit approval.
Had she actively intervened, the outcome could have been very different.
Vincent might not have been an affectionate son to the Empress, but the novel made it clear that he still respected her deeply.
As we entered the lobby, the Empress’s lady-in-waiting, Viscountess Rizel Berelli, appeared.
She currently holdsbility for managing the Empress’s palace.
She bowed respectfully to the Crown Prince.
“I greet His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince.”
Viscountess Rizel Berelli was not only a lady-in-waiting but also a renowned instructor of etiquette to young noblewomen.
Strict, elegant, and dignified, her comportment was praised throughout the empire.
So even though she was only a viscountess, her influence and standing in high society could not be ignored.
After greeting the Crown Prince, Rizel stood tall with a polite smile and turned her eyes on me.
I lowered my gaze and offered a slight curtsy with bent knees before straightening.
Her expression flickered with surprise.
I’ve gotten used to seeing that reaction by now.
By imperial noble law, a duke’s child without a title was still ranked below a viscountess.
So it was proper for the duke’s child to greet the viscountess first with courtesy.
But in practice, that rule was often ignored.
Children of dukes, counts, and marquises usually carried themselves as if they shared their parents’ rank and were treated accordingly.
Sometimes it was even the viscountess who bowed first.
As for Amelia?
Needless to say, she rarely bothered with greetings to anyone below her.
“Your Highness, please come in.”
After one quick glance at me, Rizel gave a warm smile and walked beside the Crown Prince.
“I heard there was an accident.
Seeing you well puts my mind at ease.”
It almost seemed like she was intentionally ignoring Amelia.
Not that it mattered.
I wasn’t planning on seeing her often anyway.
The only reason I showed her courtesy was because of the Crown Prince, not for her sake.
From a step behind, I studied Rizel carefully as I walked.
Vincent glanced back at me briefly but continued forward.
“Lady Berelli, how is Her Majesty the Empress?”
Rizel smiled bitterly and shook her head.
“She still can hardly eat.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she dabbed them away.
“It’s so heartbreaking to watch by her side… I hope Your Highness can bring her comfort.”
Vincent didn’t answer, only walked in silence.
Hmm.
Watching Rizel’s teary display, I let out a quiet chuckle.
Before long, we reached the Empress’s bedchamber.
Rizel knocked, and a voice from inside granted us entry.
“Come in.”
But contrary to my expectation of finding her bedridden, the Empress was seated on a sofa.
She sat with perfect posture, dressed and adorned impeccably, as she looked toward us.
“I greet Her Majesty, the Empress of the Empire.”
Standing before her, I knelt in the same formal manner I had used before the Emperor.
I felt her gaze on me, calm and unblinking.
“Rise.”
Her voice was stiff and monotone.
I straightened and looked upon her face.
It was clear she was unwell.
Her frame was gaunt, her cheeks hollow, and her complexion pale.
Yet despite her frailty, she maintained her dignity as Empress.
It was both pitiful and admirable.
At the same time, I realised perhaps it was this very aspect of her that made the Emperor fear her.
“Sit.”
Vincent and I sat together on the long sofa opposite her.
The Empress turned her eyes from me to Vincent.
“Vincent, are you fully recovered now?”
“Yes, Mother.
I’m quite well again.”
Her gaze upon him seemed unchanged at first, but I caught the faintest softening in her eyes.
“I regret that I could not visit.
My health has been too poor.”
A touch of remorse lingered in her words.
And how could it not?
Her son had fallen from a horse and lain unconscious, yet she had not come once.
No matter how cold the Empress might appear, her heart could not have been at ease.
And at the same time, it showed just how frail her condition was.
“It’s all right.
Your health must come first, Mother.”
After a short while, Rizel entered the roomhe roomhe roomhe room.
Hm?
Again, an image overlapped with Rizel’s figure.
I had grown used to such visions, but this time the scene was troubling.
The Empress collapsed in in in in pain after drinking tea.
Startled, I glanced quickly between the Empress and Rizel’s hands.
The tea had not even been poured yet, but already the fragrance was strong and and and and an oddly bitter scent.
The Empress’s preference?
No, unlikely.
I glanced sharply at Viscountess Rizel Berelli.
Her preference, then.
Just then, Vincent suddenly stood and reached out.
“Allow me.”
“Your Highness?”
Without hesitation, he took hold of the teapot in her hands.
It was an action that might have been considered rude, yet he did it smoothly.
He smiled at
the flustered Rizel.
“It’s been a while.
I’d like to pour for Mother myself.”
“Ah, yes… of course.”
And the moment Rizel completely let go—
“Oh my!”
Crash!
With a startled cry from Rizel, the teapot slipped to the floor and shattered into pieces.
