Chapter 132

The red-haired maid raised her face at Astelle’s words.

She entered the Empress Palace without permission and was directly reprimanded by the Empress, but she has no regrets at all.

Instead, she looked Astelle in the eye.

Bead-like sparkling eyes scanned Astelle up and down.

“Aren’t you going to answer my question? Why is the maid of the Emperor Palace here?”

The maid opened her mouth slyly like a satisfied cat. “I apologize, Your Majesty. I met my friend after a long time and was asking for a favor.”

Her demeanor was so confident that Astelle briefly wondered if she had misunderstood the Imperial Court etiquette.

“A friend?”

Astelle turned to Naen.

Naen froze like ice, only biting her lip.

At first glance, they didn’t look that close.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Naen and I have been friends since childhood.”

In an instant, Astelle realized who this maid was.

She had seen her a few times before about six or seven years ago.

She was obviously one of the relatives of Viscount Bürgen.

“Lady Daphne. Are you older than Miss Naen?”

[T/N: Because she called Naen without a title]

I think she is an adult now.

Her impressions from her childhood have changed a lot, so I couldn’t remember her quickly.

I think she had a cuter impression in the past.

Well, that was before she came of age.

Astelle knew this lady is the minister’s niece.

She is also a woman who was brought to the Imperial Palace by the nobles to make her Kaizen’s concubine.

So she seems to have been arguing with Naen because she wanted to enter the Empress Palace as her maid.

Daphne answered calmly, “Yes, I take care of her like my own sister.”

Take care of her like her own sister? She only seemed to scream and yell at her.

“Miss Naen is my assistant. It’s okay to treat her comfortably in private, but a maid in the Imperial Palace is not one to raise her voice.”

A maid and an assistant are different.

A maid is literally a maid, but an assistant is some kind of low-ranking official, like a secretary or clerk serving the empress.

There is a difference in the position.

Daphne, who kept her mouth shut, said with a gentle smile. “We have been close friends for a long time, so I forgot the etiquette for a while. Please kindly understand.”

Looking at this lady reminded me of Florin’s older sister, Marianne.

Marianne was a little annoying, but that was tolerable.

On the other hand, Daphne was far more brazen than Marianne.

“You said you are a maid in the Emperor Palace. Who gave you permission to come here?”

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Daphne pretended to be bewildered and stuttered. “I apologize, Your Majesty. I…… I have not entered the Imperial Palace long, so I did not know that I had to get permission to come here. Please forgive me.”

She seemed to have practiced in advance to say something like that if she came in and was caught.

“I think it’s been more than a month since you entered the Imperial Palace. Have you been entering other palaces at will?”

“As I said, I’m still not good at etiquette……” Brazenly raising her head, Daphne answered, “I thought I could visit without permission during the day. I apologize, Your Majesty.”

Astelle genuinely wondered what made this lady act so arrogantly.

‘Because she has her uncle by her side?’

After all, the Minister of the Home Affairs is now the Emperor’s confidant.

Maybe that’s why her eyes looking at Astelle were a little hostile.

“We can’t have a maid who doesn’t know etiquette serving in the Imperial Palace. I’ll tell the butler to get you out of the palace.”

“I have entered the Imperial Palace with the permission of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Daphne suddenly had a sad expression on her face.

“If you allow me, I would like to tell the Emperor what I did wrong and ask for forgiveness.”

Daphne’s words mean that she can not be fired by the empress because she is the emperor’s maid.

She also has the will to go to the emperor and tell him the circumstances and try to get his attention.

‘How shameless.’

On the other hand, Naen, who was watching all this from the side, looked so tired that she could faint at any moment even though she didn’t say a word.

In fact, the Imperial Palace is literally the palace of the emperor, and all the servants and maids working here are directly appointed by the emperor.

Of course, the emperor is too busy to pay attention to every maidservant, so most of them are taken care of by the butler.

In other words, Daphne is the emperor’s maid, so even the empress cannot fire her without the emperor’s permission.

That’s what Daphne believed.

“No, you can’t bother the Emperor, who is busy with government affairs, with such a trivial matter.”

Astelle continued in a gentle voice, “After all, His Majesty the Emperor has entrusted me with full authority over the affairs of the Imperial Palace. I don’t even have to tell him.”

“Sorry?”

“His Majesty the Emperor has given me permission to appoint every maid and servant as I wish. You haven’t entered the Imperial Palace long, so you might not know that.”

Few people knew about it, but it wasn’t a lie anyway.

Kaizen said so to Astelle upon their wedding.

Do whatever you want in the Imperial Palace.

As a matter of fact, empresses rarely had that much authority.

As it was unusual, Astelle did not tell anyone.

It was then that Daphne’s beautiful face turned white.

“I was wrong, Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”

She was suddenly being polite, probably because she thought she was really going to get fired.

In fact, Astelle had no intention of firing this lady.

If the empress openly fired the emperor’s maid, rumors would spread that the empress was jealous and kicked her out.

This lady didn’t seem to think that far.

“Tell the butler what happened today and to re-educate you on the etiquette.”

In the Imperial Palace, there is an elderly maid who teaches imperial court etiquette.

She is a very strict teacher. There were rumors that the etiquette education she taught was similar to military training.

Daphne knew that, too, so there was fear in her eyes.

“……yes, Your Majesty.”

“Go back now.”

Daphne bit her lip, barely lowered her head, and walked away.

‘……’

It felt like she was angry because of something useless.

Astelle walked through the garden again.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

Naen followed Astelle and apologized.

“Sister Daphne isn’t a bad person……”

Naen didn’t finish her words.

She’s not a bad person, but she’s a little arrogant.

That’s more or less what she wanted to say.

As Astelle just walked without answering, she could feel Naen staring at her back.

Naen spoke again hesitantly. “Sister Daphne wants to become the emperor’s concubine.”

“It’s up to the Emperor to decide,” Astelle answered without a single thought.

Few emperors in the history of the empire did not have concubines.

“But still……”

Naen bit her lip as she tried to say something with a worried face.

Naen seems to really care about Astelle.

Astelle said as she walked ahead. “If something like that happens to you again, tell me. You are my responsibility, so I will take care of anything. ”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Even if there are other difficult things, you can talk to me anytime.”

She said it because she thought staying in the Empress Palace might be uncomfortable for her, but Naen immediately shook her head.

“Nothing difficult. I like this place.”

Astelle turned around to look at her.

“When I’m here, I have things to do and I feel comfortable,” Naen said frankly.

No one scolded her or complained to her.

When in her mansion, she always had to listen to her eldest sister or her mother’s complaints, and she had to be careful not to anger her father and her second sister.

In comparison, she had a comfortable life in the Empress Palace.

After helping the empress take care of the documents, she had free time in the evening.

No one interfered with wherever she went and what she was doing in the Empress Palace.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Astelle likes Naen because she is sincere and simple.

As Astelle walked first, she thought of Daphne, whom she had just met.

The current Minister of Home Affairs, Viscount Bürgen, had been quite close with the Reston family in the past.

It wasn’t a very powerful family, but I remember that he was a middle-class official back then.

With such a beautiful niece, I think he wants to join the Emperor’s side.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Even Astelle doesn’t  think Kaizen will only see her forever.

Moreover, their marriage is a contract marriage with a fixed time.

‘When the contract is over……’

In fact, Astelle herself isn’t sure what will happen after that.

I got the confirmation that I can leave, but will Kaizen really let me go?

How about Theor?

‘Can I leave?’

Astelle couldn’t make a decision as easy as it had been at first.

Astelle had to think about Theor’s future.

Only when she keeps her position as the empress, Theor will live as the crown prince safely.

I don’t know how my relationship with Kaizen will change, but unless there is something special, it would be better to live as the empress.

‘Something special……’

The special thing that can turn this situation around is Kaizen’s change of heart.

If she continues like this, Kaizen will one day lose interest in her and find another woman.

Not long ago, her maternal grandfather, the Marquis of Carlenberg, also asked with some concern.

Are you going to stay like this? The words contained worries about the future.

‘I have to make a decision.’

The decision for how to prepare for the future.

Astelle made up her mind as she walked down the garden path.

Whether she accepts Kaizen or rejects him completely and prepares to leave, she has to make a decision either way.

***

Minister of Home Affairs, Viscount Bürgen was stunned when he heard the news from the Imperial Palace.

“What the hell……”

It was said that Daphne angered the empress by entering the Empress Palace without permission.

How absurd and pathetic.

“Why did she get the Empress’ attention for useless things when she couldn’t even get the Emperor’s attention?”

His niece sent him a letter, all about her whining.

The Viscount didn’t read it to the end and then tore it up and threw it away.

He was annoyed by his useless niece.

He thought Daphne would be able to catch the Emperor’s attention only when the relationship between the emperor and empress deteriorated.

Far from catching his attention, the Emperor looked at Daphne as if she were an ornament of the Imperial Palace.

After the Croychen family was driven out, the Viscount wanted Daphne to sit next to the Emperor. That way, his family could become a new powerful, and prestigious family.

However, that dream was shattered when the Emperor and the Empress reconciled not long after.

Daphne, his only hope, also failed miserably.

In the end, the Viscount had no choice but to keep in touch with the expelled Marquis Croychen.

“Sir.”

The servant knocked on the door with hasty steps.

“What’s the matter?”

“The secret letter came from the Croychen family.”

“Secret letter?”

Why did he suddenly send me a secret letter?

I met the Marquis a few days ago.

Does he have any news to share? The Viscount received the letter from the servant, with a puzzled look.

The seal and handwriting on the envelope are obviously those of the Marquis Croychen’s.

The Viscount, who took out the letter and read it, was startled.

He wrote something he didn’t expect in a short letter.