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Chapter 23
In the dowager empress’s chambers at the separate palace.
Inside the room, the sharp clink of a teacup shattered the silence.
“So, have you looked into the hottest piece of news in the imperial palace these days?”
In an indifferent voice, Dowager Empress Beatrice—her hair a cold shade of violet and her eyes crimson—asked Kanna, her confidant and closest attendant, who stood bowed before her.
“Yes, Your Majesty. They say that His Majesty the Emperor has been showing blatant favoritism toward a single sanitation officer every day.”
Beatrice tapped the armrest with her finger, narrowing her red eyes.
That cold Killian?
“What a ridiculous rumor.”
“Then—have you found out what kind of sanitation officer it is?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. They say the emperor personally went to the Principality of Fiordin and scouted a cleaner himself.”
“A cleaner? How absurd.”
She had thought it might be someone remarkable if he had personally scouted them—only to find out it was merely a cleaner.
A scoff escaped her.
Beatrice lifted her teacup and stared for a long moment at the red tea inside.
“You said Killian personally brought this person back?”
“Yes, Dowager Empress.”
“So. And what does he have this ‘remarkable’ cleaner doing?”
“She serves as the emperor’s personal sanitation officer. From morning until night, she stays by his side, taking care of everything. There are also rumors that she was given the largest adjacent room in the imperial palace.”
“Ha!”
Killian doting on someone?
A cold fire flared in Beatrice’s crimson eyes.
She hadn’t managed to take Killian’s life, but she had been so relieved when she thought his growth had stopped.
And yet that same Killian had deceived her perfectly—returning fully grown, expelling her from the Empress’s Palace and sending her to the separate palace instead.
Even now, just thinking about it made her blood boil.
“Mother, the tea is spilling.”
Her only son, Prince Theodore, took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tea running down her arm.
My poor son.
Beatrice turned her gaze to him.
Her son, who looked exactly like the late emperor, was gentle and warm-hearted by nature.
Golden hair and golden eyes.
The one who should inherit the throne is my son Theodore—not that executioner orphan Killian.
How hard she had tried to instill ambition for the throne in this child, who showed no desire for it at all.
“Mother, if you’re feeling stifled, how about a walk in the garden? I’ll escort you.”
“Oh, my son is so considerate. You always know just how to soothe your mother’s mood.”
To the world, such gentleness might be a great virtue—but for one destined to ascend the throne, it was the trait that required the most caution.
An emperor needed cruelty and coldness more than kindness.
That’s why you’re so frustrating.
Whenever she looked at her son’s face—so free of ambition—she felt suffocated, sometimes even angry.
Do you have any idea how much power lies at the very top? You could place the entire world beneath your feet. Foolish child.
“Very well. Since my son has invited me, let us take a walk together.”
Beatrice nodded arrogantly, smiling with sharp eyes.
As she stood, the surrounding maids hurried forward to prepare for her departure.
It was hard to believe she was the mother of a twenty-two-year-old son—she looked young enough to be mistaken for an older sister.
Holding a black fan, she strolled through the garden when, in the distance, she noticed a slender woman with red hair cleaning in front of the palace.
At Beatrice’s gesture, Kanna stepped closer and whispered,
“That’s the cleaner.”
Ah. The one Killian dotes on.
Just a cleaner.
Unaware that she would be among the first to be executed once power shifted, she looked so peaceful.
Beatrice spoke to Theodore.
“Theo, something interesting has caught my eye. Shall we go take a look?”
Theodore lifted his gentle golden eyes and followed the direction Beatrice indicated with her fan.
Escorted by Theodore, she approached the cleaner who was sweeping fallen leaves.
What an insolent cleaner.
How dare she hum to herself, not even noticing that the great Dowager Empress of the Oscaldea Empire had approached?
Noticing Beatrice’s displeasure, Theodore cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
Startled, the cleaner turned around. Even then, she didn’t immediately offer a greeting and simply stood there, staring blankly.
Kanna, Beatrice’s maid, scolded her from behind.
“How dare you. You fail to greet Her Majesty the Dowager Empress and Prince Theodore first.”
Beatrice slowly swept her piercing gaze over the cleaner from head to toe.
“I greet the Dowager Empress and the Prince. Please forgive me for not greeting you sooner. I was so stunned by your elegance and beauty that I lost myself.”
The cleaner’s face flushed red in an instant.
Judging by that dazed expression, she at least had decent taste—despite her station.
So she’s not completely dull. She does have an eye for things.
“And what exactly are you doing here, singing to yourself?”
“Ah, yes! I was sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground. Leaves unworthy of someone as beautiful as Your Majesty should be removed at once.”
Her voice rang out loud and clear.
“This is a garden reserved for the imperial family. It is not a place where a mere cleaner may enter freely.”
Even in the face of Beatrice’s sharp rebuke, the red-haired cleaner answered boldly.
“No wonder I thought it was such a beautiful garden. It truly suits the Dowager Empress. If you permit me, I will do my utmost to ensure that Your Majesty may stroll here without the slightest discomfort.”
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke energetically. Beside Beatrice, Theodore let out a small laugh.
Is she bold—or just foolish?
Still, the first impression wasn’t entirely bad.
She seemed useful enough to keep around as a way to monitor Killian.
I’ll summon her to the separate palace later and test her properly.
That foolish, spellbound look as she stared at Beatrice made her seem easy to manipulate.
“What is your name?”
“My name is Red.”
Did they name her after her hair color? How vulgar.
Hearing such a crude name drained what little interest Beatrice had left.
“……”
“I will serve with all my heart so as not to sully Your Majesty’s beauty.”
“……”
The cleaner’s overly loud voice and the way she stared at Beatrice with shining eyes made her slightly uncomfortable.
“Theodore, we should return to the palace now. I’m tired.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Have a safe journey, Your Majesty!”
At the ear-splittingly energetic farewell, Beatrice’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
Without looking back, she left the garden.
On the way back, Theodore couldn’t stop thinking about the cleaner they had just met.
What stood out the most was how she hadn’t been intimidated at all—even in front of the beautiful yet severe and vicious Dowager Empress.
[‘Leaves unworthy of someone as beautiful as Your Majesty should be removed at once.’]
Ever since his older brother became emperor and his mother was exiled to the separate palace, Theodore had endured her daily hysteria.
And what he had just witnessed was the most amusing thing he’d seen in a long time.
Mother was flustered.
The overly bold answers and the pure expression that seemed completely free of deceit had left his mother momentarily speechless—something Theodore had never seen before.
Almost no one could fluster his mother. She always controlled every situation.
What a fascinating cleaner.
Just thinking about it made him smile.
Red, was it? Even her name is amusing.
Her orange-red hair rippling under the sunlight, her clear eyes reminiscent of an emerald lake—
She was beautiful… and bold.
Red’s presence left no room for boredom, and Theodore felt an odd itch at his fingertips.
Will I see her again?
Perhaps some vitality might enter this dull, lonely palace life.
She’s the sanitation officer my brother brought in?
If that was the case, he might be able to find an excuse to interact with her.
Still… she feels strangely familiar.
He tilted his head, puzzled by the sense of déjà vu.
“Theo, we’ve arrived. What are you thinking about so deeply?”
Beatrice’s sharp voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Ah—Mother. There’s a book I want to borrow from the library, so I’ll head there first.”
Beatrice looked at him with a scornful gaze.
“Do as you wish.”
For Theodore, his mother’s cold eyes didn’t matter right now—he’d just met someone far more interesting.
Watching her son walk away after escorting her, Beatrice quietly called to her confidant.
“Kanna. It seems I must write a letter to my dear nephew.”
