I bowed lightly and greeted them. My maids, who were standing behind me, bowed as well respectfully.
Good morning to his highness the emperor. Good morning to her highness the dowager empress.
The dowager empress and the emperor were sitting across from each other.
The emperor had a fake smile plastered on his face. He stood up and stepped forward to give me his hand.
I wanted to slap it away, but the dowager empress and Lisbeth were watching me closely. I wouldn’t make a stupid mistake of showing them my true feelings.
I pretended to be shy as I lowered my face and placed my own hand on top of his.
The emperor said to me,
You look so beautiful this morning, my wife.
… The dowager empress is here too, your highness. You’re making me blush.
I sounded so fake I almost made myself sick!
However, no matter how much I disliked him, I stood close to him and looked as if I was the happiest woman in the kingdom. The emperor escorted me to the sofa across from the dowager empress. I sat down next to him.
I didn’t see for myself, but I was sure Lisbeth must have looked awful as she saw me with the emperor. I had hoped the dowager empress saw Lisbeth’s expression.
I took the tea from the dowager empress’ new maid and smiled broadly.
Are you feeling well this morning, mother?
I could see the veins popping on the dowager empress’s forehead. No one believed I meant well when I called her ‘mother’, perhaps except for naïve Lisbeth. I did it to goad the dowager empress. I had hoped she would make a mistake at some point if she became angry enough.
Well, she didn’t become the empress by losing her temper easily. She was the one who survived the dangerous life of this castle and reached the highest position possible for a woman. She was dangerous.
The dowager empress hid her frown quickly and returned to her serene expression.
Katleyanira smiled innocently and replied,
Of course. My baby and I have slept very well last night.
She patted her enormous belly exaggeratedly. It was so large it looked like a full moon.
I guessed it must be hard for her to even walk.
Depending on whether it was a girl or a boy, my life here would change dramatically. In my own world, it would have been possible to know the sex by now, but here, all we could do was wait.
After patting her belly for a few seconds, the dowager empress put on a surprised expression. She turned to me and apologized. She looked almost sincere. Almost.
Oh, no. I shouldn’t have said anything in front of you, who went through such an unfortunate incident recently…
… It’s ok.
What a liar.
If I really did lose my baby, her words would have hurt me badly, but I didn’t, so I had no problem with her comments.
It would have been strange for me to look perfectly okay, however, so I had to pretend to look upset. It had to be a fine balance of looking heartbroken but trying to hide it in front of everyone.
I must have done a decent job because I saw the dowager empress looking satisfied. I felt annoyed, but I let it go.
The dowager empress said to me,
I never knew my own sister-in-law would do something so horrible, but there is nothing to worry. Once I give birth to a prince, the royal family won’t have to worry about a legitimate heir. You, my dear, won’t have to feel the heavy burden of reproducing anymore.
… What a bitch!
I stopped myself just in time from showing my disgust on my face.
I smiled quickly and replied,
I am not worried at all, your highness. The emperor is so young and healthy. Besides, the emperor will soon get an empress, and I’m sure he will have a legitimate heir in no time.
Both the dowager empress and the emperor looked uncomfortable. I could understand why the dowager empress would look unhappy, but what was wrong with him?
Anyway, I focused on the dowager empress. I also had to remember Lisbeth. The emperor will have to get over whatever was bothering him on his own.
I thought I would continue the topic of a possible new empress, but both the dowager empress and the emperor quickly changed the subject. How odd!
Again, I understood the dowager empress’s reason, but the emperor? It would have been beneficial for him to get an empress and an heir, so why was he trying to avoid this subject?
Then, I remembered him telling me about his previous wife. The emperor worried the dowager empress would fill his harem with her assassins.
I supposed it would be harder for me to focus on the dowager empress if I had to worry about other wives as well. The only good thing about it would be that he wouldn’t visit my room so often at night.
Hmm… That actually sounded tempting.
Perhaps, I should really try to convince him to get an empress.
Getting one or two wives from trusted noble families would help his fight. In addition, the emperor really did need an heir as soon as possible.
Of course, I couldn’t talk about this right now, but I decided I should bring it up when I was alone with him.
While I was deep in my own thoughts, the emperor and the dowager empress were carrying on a boring conversation.
I learned quickly that the royal family’s conversations were basically polite garbage. They never talked about anything important.
The room, however, was still filled with tension. Even now, the emperor and the dowager empress were battling against each other with polite words.
Suddenly, the dowager empress turned to me. She looked at me as if I was her prey.
Wait! No! She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at the new face who followed me!
The dowager empress commented,
I don’t believe I have seen her before.
I tried my best not to grin in satisfaction.
I tried to look protective as I replied,
Yes. She is the daughter of my previously adopted father. She became my maid recently.
The dowager empress nodded and waved Lisbeth towards her. Lisbeth didn’t seem to understand what was going on until Elza whispered to her what to do. Lisbeth flinched and bowed to the dowager empress.
I was sure she would fall on her face, but thankfully, she walked towards the dowager empress without any incident.
Greetings to the dowager empress. I am Lisbeth of Aeal.
I see…
The dowager empress studied her leisurely as if she was looking at a piece of meat. I tried to look as if I was hiding my nervousness. The dowager empress glanced at me to see my reaction.
What a pretty child. Make sure you serve your lady well. She is the only wife to the emperor.
Yes, yes… Your highness!
Being a maid in the castle offered the best chance at becoming the emperor’s concubine. That was why the Duke of Aeal was thrilled when I gave Lisbeth the position.
Of course, I had no intention of making Lisbeth one of Lucretius’s wives. It just wouldn’t work. Based on what I heard from him, she definitely was not his type.
Lisbeth was simply here to become a bait for the dowager empress.
There was a chance the dowager empress wouldn’t take this bait, but I had to try. I had nothing to lose from this anyway.
I also liked having Lisbeth around just to see her suffer. She probably thought she had a chance at Lucretius. Knowing it was hopeless, I enjoyed watching her try and fail.
Whether or not it was true love, it was clear that Lisbeth was in love with Lucretius. To see him every day and not be able to have him will be painful for her. Knowing that I DID have him would kill her.
When the maids brought in snacks, I picked up a raisin cookie and fed it to the emperor myself.
The emperor’s eyes widened, but he was quick. He ate it as if I did this all the time.
Oh, right! The emperor hated peanuts.
Your highness, here is another one…
I smiled innocently and pushed a peanut cookie into his mouth. I then looked at him like a good loving wife.
The emperor couldn’t show his displeasure. He had no choice but to eat something he hated.
Those around me either looked at us with a smile or with disapproval.
People serving me and the emperor looked happy to see us get along. The dowager empress’s people were definitely unhappy.
The ones who reacted most violently were Lisbeth and the dowager empress.
