🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 18
I thought the original story had ended, but here’s Episode 18.
Instead of calling me to the imperial palace as often, Leopold promised that from now on we would meet at the Duke’s mansion.
I didn’t know why I had to meet Leopold, but at least this meant the Duke’s treasury wouldn’t be wasted.
And since busy Leopold had to make time to visit the Duke, he wouldn’t be able to summon me as frequently as before.
Just as I was thinking about how to spend my newfound free time, a maid approached me, holding a piece of stationery in her hands.
“Milady!”
“Hm?”
“An invitation has arrived from the imperial palace.”
“What?”
I asked in disbelief.
There was no way Leopold hadn’t understood me. We had only promised yesterday to meet at the Duke’s mansion. No matter how much he disliked me, he wasn’t the type to change his mind just a day after making a promise.
I quickly checked the invitation from the maid. The sender was someone unexpected.
Francia Systea de Langdaretsa.
Not Leopold, but Leopold’s stepmother, and the full name of the Empress of this country.
“…Why is it from her?”
In my previous life, Empress Francia had no connection with me.
In this life, there wasn’t much connection either… oh, there was Leopold, wasn’t there?
Moreover, I had insulted the Empress at a banquet. It was an anecdote I had completely forgotten while being harassed by Leopold.
“….”
Suddenly, my head began to ache, and I threw the letter aside, clutching my head and collapsing onto the bed.
Was fate conspiring to torment me one by one?
No, Leopold and the Empress weren’t related by blood… but in terms of trouble, they were equally formidable.
“…What should I do?”
She was surely calling me to the palace to interrogate me about the banquet incident.
…Yes, looking back, I had been too reckless. How terrifying the Empress was, and yet I had acted on behalf of Leopold.
I had just been momentarily insane. Leopold wouldn’t have thanked me even if I had done that. Doing things I normally wouldn’t do—was it the influence of reincarnation?
I clutched my head and regretted my actions, but what was done was done.
Rolling in anguish on the bed, I eventually fell onto the rug, my energy drained, staring at the ceiling.
“Leopold… I never want his help… ever again…”
I muttered this while staring at the ceiling.
I was puzzled as to why the Empress had sent me an invitation, but I couldn’t refuse it.
I had just escaped Leopold’s obsession with tea time, and now it was the Empress. Somehow, this life seemed to tie me closely to the imperial palace.
I thought this while absentmindedly counting the patterns on the ceiling and then closed my eyes.
The next day, I returned to the imperial palace, with no time to enjoy the liberation I had felt from Leopold.
I was guided by the Empress’s attendants to the garden where the Empress was waiting.
“From here on, we cannot enter. If you follow the corridor straight ahead, Her Majesty the Empress will be waiting.”
“…Yes.”
The palace attendant finished guiding me at the entrance and left. I stood at the garden entrance, my face expressionless, sighed, and took a step forward.
I hadn’t slept a wink the night before. I had stayed up worrying about why the Empress had summoned me. Even my normally neutral expression looked darker than usual today.
The path to the Empress’s garden was so beautiful it could make someone lose focus and wander off. But to me, it looked like a path leading straight to a beast with its mouth wide open.
“…Wow.”
After passing the long corridor, the Empress’s garden appeared in the distance. I gazed at it, impressed.
Honestly, it was beautiful. Even with my glum mood, the Empress’s garden was stunning.
I was momentarily captivated by the colorful flowers and the garden’s scenery. In my previous life, I had never been here.
If I were given the chance to choose where to die by my own will, I would have chosen this place without hesitation.
As I walked to the innermost part, I saw the Empress seated gracefully at a garden tea table in the distance.
In front of her sat a sharp-featured boy with red hair and sapphire-blue eyes.
“….”
I froze at the familiar face. I had wondered if the Empress might be with Asad, but I didn’t expect to actually see him.
I wanted to leave immediately. I had always wanted to leave, but now I wanted to leave even more.
I tried to calm my wildly beating heart. After all, that boy didn’t remember me, and we were nothing to each other right now.
Overreacting would only make me look suspicious. I tried to control my mind, but it didn’t seem very effective.
“Your Majesty, Tina Valentine has arrived.”
“!”
At that moment, a maid attending the Empress spotted me. At her words, the two of them enjoying tea in the garden simultaneously turned their gaze toward me.
“…You! From back then!”
Before I could even greet him, Asad jumped up in surprise, pointing at me.
I had thought he had forgotten, but apparently he remembered me running off when he offered to guide me that time.
Even so, it had been a brief encounter of less than five minutes, yet he hadn’t forgotten me.
He must have been so upset that the memory had stuck with him.
I forced myself to stop from being startled as I met Asad’s gaze. Then I quickly looked away from him, noting how much younger his face appeared compared to my memory.
I never wanted to see that boy again… truly, it was a bitter fate.
That aside, he was from a Duke’s household now, but he was unbearably ill-mannered. He probably needed proper home training from scratch.
There was no reason to focus on Asad. Today’s invitation was from the Empress.
I ignored Asad completely and bowed to the Empress. It was a flawless gesture of etiquette.
“Your Majesty, it is an honor to be invited.”
“Oh my, the Crown Prince’s friend has come. Please make yourself comfortable.”
…Friend of Leopold? The Empress was mistaken, but I couldn’t correct her now. I would have another chance later.
I held back my words, bit my lip, and calmly addressed the Empress.
“Yes. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“…The Crown Prince?”
Asad, listening to our conversation, muttered to himself in confusion.
I ignored him and lightly bowed in gratitude to the Empress before straightening up.
“…Oh, the one who lost to me?”
“….”
Asad, after a brief hesitation, seemed to figure it out, speaking confidently. His smug tone annoyed me. I frowned while keeping my head bowed.
Leopold had lost to Asad once, but that had been before Leopold’s reincarnation. The current Leopold wouldn’t be a match for him.
Seeing Asad so full of pride made something boil inside me.
I didn’t like Leopold much, but the person I disliked the most right now was this boy in front of me.
I subtly glanced at Asad. When our eyes met, he looked puzzled. Unlike my memories of the future, Asad looked pure at fourteen.
“Don’t get cocky just because you won once. If we spar again, you’ll fall right away.”
I unconsciously spoke my true feelings in a cold voice.
“…Ah.”
I immediately clamped my mouth shut, but it was too late.
I quickly glanced at the Empress. Defending Leopold in front of her…
Maybe it was because he was a child and my self-control slipped, or maybe it was just because it was Asad.
Honestly, the fact that I hadn’t punched that smug face at all was commendable self-control.
“What?”
Asad frowned in disbelief, as if he misheard me. He stared at me in astonishment as I suddenly showed hostility.
“…My apologies, Your Majesty.”
I bowed deeply to the Empress, ignoring Asad’s question.
At that moment, Asad, having regained his composure, asked seriously:
“…If I win again, does that mean you acknowledge I’m above him?”
“….”
…Why would he want acknowledgment from me? I looked at him in disbelief.
Before I could answer, the Empress clapped her hands to lighten the mood.
“Good. You seem to be spending a lot of time with the Crown Prince. I had actually wanted to talk about him, which is why I summoned you.”
“…The Crown Prince?”
The Empress had called me to talk about Leopold. I didn’t have good feelings about this. Should I deny being his friend now?
No, I had just defended Leopold in front of Asad and the Empress. Denying it now wouldn’t work.
She would think I was making excuses to refuse her request.
“….”
I had no choice but to anxiously wait for the Empress to speak.
The Empress looked at me with a smile that hid her true intentions, like a snake.
“I’ve heard you’ve been spending a lot of time with the Crown Prince lately.”
“…Yes.”
I almost reflexively said no, but instead, I nodded in agreement.
Having entered the imperial palace so often, it was impossible that the Empress hadn’t heard of it. Lies wouldn’t work.
I glanced at her. Her expression brightened at my answer.
…I thought she might immediately order, “Kick this filthy friend of the Crown Prince out of the garden!” But her reaction was unexpectedly positive.
“Then, Tina, could you take care of this boy for me?”
“….”
The Empress, smiling brightly, held Asad by the shoulders and gently pushed him toward me as if introducing him.
