'I should have paid attention to Heinley when he showed interest in me.'
Rashta waited for the nobles to move away before she emerged from the bushes and headed for Duke Elgy's room.
Every time she heard the crunch of grass as she stepped down, her anger rose.
"Don't you look well?"
Duke Elgy asked, immediately noticing Rashta's deep anger.
"I heard bad news."
Once Rashta confirmed that no one was around, she closed the door.
"Bad news?"
"How would the Duke feel if someone you have a bad relationship with became happy?"
"Not very well. It would be a little unpleasant."
"It's the same for Rashta. A woman Rashta hates is living happily. Rashta doesn't like that. That woman dumped her misfortunes on Rashta and left to be happy."
"Who are you talking about?"
"… There is such a woman."
Rashta spoke vaguely and pointed to the large suitcase behind Duke Elgy.
"By the way, where are you going?"
"Ah. I'm going to visit the Western Empire for a while."
"The Western Empire? Why?"
Rashta worriedly approached Duke Elgy. Gently gripping a corner of his suit with both hands.
"Will you abandon Rashta?"
"I'll just be gone for a while. I want to see Heinley."
"Why him…"
"I'll congratulate him on his first child."
Rashta's expression darkened. She was in a bad mood about it. Her insides seemed to twist when she heard that Duke Elgy would be going to congratulate him.
"Oh, right. The Duke is a close friend of His Majesty Heinley."
"Your Majesty Rashta isn't going?"
"Why would Rashta go there?"
"You should have received a formal invitation. Don't you want to go?"
"She should have received a formal invitation, doesn't she want to go?"
Rashta whispered in a depressed voice.
"It's not that I don't want to. Rashta recently hasn't been treated like an Empress even in the Eastern Empire. Would Rashta be treated well in another country?"
"Every country should treat its distinguished guests with the utmost courtesy. You are the Empress of the Eastern Empire, so you will certainly be treated well."
Truth be told, Rashta did not want to see Navier flaunt her happiness. She didn't want to see the woman who pushed her into a well and left to be happy.
However, she wanted to see Emperor Heinley one more time.
Rashta believed that Heinley had interest in her back then, but she was so obsessed with Emperor Sovieshu that she pretended not to notice. In the end, Heinley married Navier.
Now that her situation had changed, she thought the outcome might be different.
Whether he was still interested in her or not, she wanted to test the waters. Besides, Duke Elgy would also go to the Western Empire…
"On second thought, there's no special reason not to go."
"Shall we go together?"
"I would like to, but I don't think His Majesty would allow it…"
Rashta sighed with regret.
Although she unexpectedly wanted to visit the Western Empire, Sovieshu immediately granted permission when she asked him.
Rashta was glad, she didn't even have to try to convince him.
"Can I really go?"
"You seem depressed lately. It will do you good to go on a trip."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Watch Navier while you're there and learn how an empress behaves."
Although his naive attitude seemed suspicious, since it was a request from herself, Rashta eventually confirmed her visit to the Western Empire and began to prepare for the trip.
After a few days, Rashta left for the Western Empire, accompanied by Grand Duke Lilteang. Duke Elgy left separately, by a different route from the rest of the group.
The next day, Marquis Farang left to meet his friend Koshar, and Sovieshu sent Evely, whom he had intended to send for Heinley's birthday.
Many other nobles also went to visit the Western Empire on their own, so the bustling imperial palace suddenly seemed to fall silent.
At this time, people's attention was focused on the Western Empire. Sovieshu took the opportunity to send his close knights to Rashta's maids.
Meanwhile, old Duke Zemensia called his grandchildren to tell them about their aunt Christa.
"Your aunt committed suicide for the sake of the family, for the sake of your future. So you have to study hard and be great people, to strengthen our family and avenge your aunt. Do you understand?"
Although Christa did not voluntarily sacrifice herself for these children, it was for the sake of these children that old Duke Zemensia abandoned Christa.
Even though he had to give up his daughter, he wanted his grandchildren to honor and remember Christa's sacrifice with dignity.
Or rather he did it because his daughter had been too pitiful in the end.
However, the two children had an annoyed expression.
"Why do you guys have that face?"
Once Duke Zemensia asked sternly with some suspicion, his grandson answered sullenly,
"My friends make fun of me because of my aunt, they say she was a liar."
"What?!"
"I heard that my aunt was so crazy about the emperor that she tried to disgrace the Empress, that's the reason she ended up in Compshire. What sacrifice did she make for us?"
"Do you believe such nonsense?"
"Yes. What do we care if my aunt committed suicide? My aunt is my father's sister, not mine."
"Child…rude child!"
Angry at his grandson's words, old Duke Zemensia slapped him across the cheek.
As soon as he burst into tears, his granddaughter, who was by her brother's side, shouted angrily,
"Grandpa, why did you hit him! My brother didn't say anything wrong! Even if it's true that my aunt died for us, that was her choice, we didn't ask her to do it!"
"You are heartless!"
Old Duke Zemensia cried out in horror.
"Your aunt held birthday parties for you at the imperial palace, invited your friends over to play, organized events just for children, and gave you all kinds of gifts! What need did your aunt have to do all that? How can you be so cruel?!"
Just then, a sharp cry was heard through the open door,
"Oh my! Father-in-law!"
When he turned around, he saw Duchess Zemensia approaching in disgust.
The Duchess, who was soon at her children's side, exclaimed as she embraced her crying son.
"You hit him just because you didn't like what he said?!"
"Nirhia!"
"He's right! Because of Christa we are in a terrible position! There will be a banquet in celebration of the first child of the imperial family, and neither my husband nor I were invited! The other nobles make fun of us every time they see us! It's all because of Christa!"
"Nonsense! Thanks to my daughter you held your head high with pride for years, but now that she's dead you're not on her side because others make fun of you?"
"Isn't it natural to be on someone's side only when it's useful?"
"Nirhia!"
Old Duke Zemensia shouted angrily, his eyes bloodshot.
The butler, who approached the room after hearing the raised voices, paced back and forth while thinking that his master's blood vessels might burst at any moment, so he eventually went in to assist the old Duke.
Duchess Zemensia coldly glared at the old Duke and walked out with the two children.
"Those children… those children, how can they be like that…"
Certainly, Christa definitely did not sacrifice herself voluntarily. However, he sacrificed his daughter for the sake of his grandchildren, and his daughter died desolate from abandonment.
Her body brought from Compshire couldn't even close her eyes from the resentment inside her.
"How could I choose to save them instead of my daughter?!"
The old Duke gasped for breath and clutched his chest.
"Master!"
The butler hurried to seat the old Duke in a nearby armchair. The old Duke gripped the armrests of the armchair tightly and gasped repeatedly.
"Butler… Butler."
"Yes, master. Here, here I am."
"If I hadn't given in to that damned emperor's demands for the sake of those two children, I would have managed to keep my daughter here. Even if the family collapsed, I would have been able to protect her!"
Tears streamed down the old Duke's cheeks.
"But those heartless children… when Christa was the queen, those children always followed her and said that their aunt was the best…"
The old Duke, who remembered his two grandchildren, his son, and daughter-in-law, going to Christa every time they needed something, especially money, felt that his heart would burst and he kept pounding the armrests.
"Master…"
The butler, who had watched Christa grow up since she was born, also had tears in his eyes and wiped them away with his sleeves.
"My daughter. My Christa. My baby."
The old Duke burst into tears and covered his face with both hands.
At the thought that his daughter had died without being able to close her eyes because of what he himself had done to her, his heart ached as if it were being crushed.
What's worse is that he couldn't kick them out even though he was so angry. If he kicked them out, his daughter's death would be in vain.
Besides that he would be left without a family.
He had not heard from his nephew, Marquis Ketron, these days, and Duke Liberty, for some reason, was trying to approach the Empress through his two children.
"Master…"
The sobs of the old Duke and the butler filled the gloomy mansion.
337The day of the banquet had arrived.
To separate it as much as possible from Heinley's birthday, the banquet to celebrate my pregnancy had to be held on short notice.
On each invitation was also added the message, 'We hope to see you again soon, so do not feel pressured to come on this occasion.'
Due to the short notice, it was not possible to get a response from the guests, so it was not known who would come.
Of course, I assumed that all the nearby nobles would come, but not many foreign guests.
But as soon as they started to enter the hall, there were, surprisingly, many foreign guests. People I missed also came, one of whom was Marquis Farang.
"It's a little strange to see you here."
Marquis Farang joked and hugged my brother. As I approached he said with a complicated expression,
"Your Majesty, how have you been?"
"Fine. Thanks to His Majesty Heinley's care. How have you been?"
"I have felt lonely since Your Majesty Navier, who cared for me, left."
Hearing the depressed Marquis Farang, my brother looked at him with a deadpan expression. Marquis Farang pretended to be extremely embarrassed, and hastily covered his mouth.
But soon he acted as if he was annoyed, spread his fingers slightly apart and spoke between them.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"I don't want you to joke so friendly with my sister."
"I can't even talk? I'm just a funny friend."
"I don't want you to act like you're too close to my sister."
"Huh? Are you jealous? You don't want to lose me, right?"
"Why don't you just shut your mouth?"
"Good advice."
Once Marquis Farang fell silent again, my brother laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.
Seeing the two of them joking and having fun for the first time in a long time, I naturally smiled. My brother looked very happy to be reunited with Marquis Farang.
Looking over at Heinley, he seemed to be having a good time with Duke Elgy. The two were separated from the rest, talking quietly.
Oh. In the middle of the conversation, Heinley suddenly pressed Duke Elgy's cheeks when he frowned. Duke Elgy's mouth had turned into that of a fish.
As I stared quizzically at the shape of his mouth, Heinley told him to smile. Once the Duke smiled reluctantly, Heinley lowered his hand.
… What were they talking about?
"Why hasn't Your Majesty done anything lately? I feel like I'm doing the work alone."
"What are you saying, Elgy? You don't even do the work directly."
"Even so, I do more than Your Majesty. Why don't you help at all now?"
"I won't take that path."
"Is it because of Empress Navier?"
At Duke Elgy's question, Heinley looked over at Navier in silence. Not far away, she was surrounded by friends from the Eastern Empire.
As he intently watched Navier's neck that moved slightly each time she laughed, the beautiful strands of her hair that swayed with each gesture, the bright smile that occasionally appeared, and her eyes that repeatedly curved into a crescent shape, Heinley whispered.
"After all, it is My Queen's home country."
"Hmm."
"Realistically, it would not be easy to win a life-and-death war against the Eastern Empire. Even if we were to win, we would not be able to destroy it. Although we can reduce the number of mages that will emerge in the future, the same is not true for the number of current powerful mages. Even this has been hindered, so it's not as effective as before."
"Wasn't your goal the conquest of the Eastern Empire?"
"That was in the past."
Heinley smiled bitterly.
"My Queen loves the Eastern Empire, loves her people, and loves her friends. Besides, My Queen's family has its roots in the Eastern Empire and a territory they have cared about for generations."
"That is true."
"No matter what the reason for the war, if the Eastern Empire is not completely destroyed, there will be records. Historians will say that My Queen, who became the Empress of the neighboring country, plunged her home country into the war for revenge. In fact, all countries will say the same, except the Western Empire."
Heinley's brow furrowed.
"I do not want My Queen to receive such a stigma."
As Heinley pretended to rub the corners of his lips with his fingers, Duke Elgy flashed a smile and said with a raised eyebrow,
"So, have you decided to quit?"
"I don't know yet."
"It's okay, do what you want. Anyway, I won't lose my share."
"Do you intend to go ahead?"
"There's no reason to quit now."
Duke Elgy's determined gaze shifted to the front door, where there was no one.
"I'm going to go ahead."
As soon as he finished speaking, a woman in a white dress that swayed as she walked entered the front door.
The white dress sparkled under the chandelier light.
"It's Empress Rashta of the Eastern Empire!"
The official in charge of announcing the entrance of the guests named Rashta in a loud voice.
Just then, the corners of Duke Elgy's lips turned up.
"The time is coming to reap the fruits."
I was chatting with Princess Soju from the Southern Kingdom who unexpectedly came all the way here.
Princess Soju and Mastas communicated surprisingly well with each other, the things they said were so funny that I couldn't stop laughing with my hands on my belly. Suddenly, Princess Soju averted her gaze and murmured as she placed her hand on her forehead.
"I thought she wouldn't dare come."
As I followed her gaze, I saw Rashta enter the hall. Her eyes immediately shifted to me. However, it wasn't just that.
As soon as she saw me, she approached without hesitation. Once she stopped in front of me, Rashta smiled broadly and opened her mouth to speak.
338"I hear you are pregnant. Congratulations, Empress Navier."
Princess Soju turned her head with a disdainful sneer.
She had only seen Rashta as a concubine trying to imitate me. She did not want to acknowledge her current position.
In fact, I didn't want to see Rashta either.
By the way, why didn't she enter earlier together with Grand Duke Lilteang? Did they come separately?
"Yes. Thank you."
Well, that doesn't matter. I merely replied curtly with a smile.
Those who knew of the relationship I had with Rashta watched us with bated breath.
For my part, I looked at Rashta in silence. Now that she congratulated me, I was curious as to what she really wanted to do.
She would probably give me a gift. In the past, she didn't like that I gave her a decorative sword, so she may have brought a gift that I disliked also.
"Ah, I brought you a gift."
It was completely as I expected. No, correction… It was a little different than I expected. The gift Rashta held out to me didn't turn out to be a gift I hated.
"It looks familiar to me."
The decorative sword I had gifted her. It was exactly that sword. Actually, Rashta was giving it back to me.
"Isn't life amazing?"
She asked me, the corners of her eyes curved into a crescent shape and her voice was very sweet.
Rashta pretended that she had no bad intentions. But if what she really wanted from me was to make me angry, she wouldn't get it.
"Thank you for giving it back."
I accepted her gift with a smile and deliberately chose the words 'give it back'. Then, I spoke softly so only Rashta could hear.
"Actually, I never wanted to give you anything of mine."
Rashta's expression stiffened, but I paid no attention.
As if she didn't want to stay any longer, Rashta looked at me coldly, turned and walked away.
After Rashta moved away considerably, Princess Soju, who was hiding behind Mastas, slowly returned to my side and asked,
"I disliked her before, but now I dislike her even more. Don't you think her mood has changed a little?"
"She looks colder."
In the past, she always tried to look helpless and pitiful.
I heard that bad things have happened in the Eastern Empire, she might have changed because of that.
While I was lost in thought, Marquis Farang asked.
"Your Majesty, did you see the gift Emperor Sovieshu sent you?"
Although he seemed to be having fun with my brother, his ears must have been tilted towards here.
"He sent me a small chariot through Grand Duke Lilteang."
As I watched Rashta's distant back, I noticed she was heading in Heinley's direction, so I stared at her as I spoke, "A small racing chariot of the highest quality."
But Marquis Farang shook his head and said, "No, I don't mean the gift he sent you through Grand Duke Lilteang."
"He sent another gift?"
"Yes. He sent a girl named Evelie or Evely."
The unexpected name caught my attention. I looked away from Rashta and asked Marquis Farang in surprise.
"Evely? Are you sure?"
When I asked puzzled, Marquis Farang murmured, "Ah. Hasn't she arrived yet?"
Shouldn't Evely be at the magical academy?
"Are you sure it's Evely?"
Once I asked again, Marquis Farang described some of Evely's features. As soon as I replied that she seemed to be the same Evely I knew, he said with a cocked head,
"She left around the same time I did, so she should have arrived by now. I thought she would come to see you immediately. Where else could she have gone? It's strange."
"She could have gotten lost…"
"I don't think so. She surely comes with a coachman."
That was true. If she came as a gift from Sovieshu, she would not come alone.
I had a bad feeling. Did she come across bandits or robbers on the way here? Did the carriage break down? In any case, I was worried.
Eventually, I ordered the situation investigated because one of the guests had not arrived.
"She'll be fine, Your Majesty."
Marquis Farang assured.
But contrary to what the Marquis had assured. Evely did not show up that night, nor the next morning, nor later.
It had gotten to the point that I was afraid that something bad had happened to her. Evely did not even show up at the end of the banquet.
As a result, I couldn't help but worry about Evely even when I sat down to dinner with some of the distinguished guests who still remained in the imperial palace.
I couldn't focus on dinner, but a clear laughter woke my mind.
When I saw who was laughing, my mood quickly worsened. The laughter was Rashta's.
"Of course. Perhaps it wouldn't have been Navier and Your Majesty Heinley sitting next to each other, but Your Majesty Heinley and I."
The more I listened to her, the more obvious it became that laughter was not the problem. What nonsense was she talking about?
"Then Empress Navier and I would be in opposite positions, right?"
Everything she said was nonsense. I remember that Rashta had always been like this.
Heinley repeatedly denied it, but Rashta just laughed as if it were a joke and insisted on that point.
Naturally, Heinley's expression darkened with each passing second.
339"The Empress of the Eastern Empire says very strange things. None of that would have happened."
"Even if Your Majesty Heinley doesn't want to admit it. In fact, it is the truth."
"Oh. Since when is an assumption the truth?"
"Because you always have such a wicked sense of humor with Rashta."
"Empress Rashta."
"Rashta just talks about the old days, what's wrong with that?"
Why wasn't Heinley as blunt as usual? Why did he allow her to continue to talk nonsense?
"Don't you remember the letters, Your Majesty?"
Ah. It's because of the letters.
He seemed not to speak firmly to Rashta for fear that she would talk about the letters we had exchanged in the past.
If it became known that I had exchanged letters with Heinley before the divorce, my enemies would be the ones who would be most happy.
They would accuse me of having had an affair with Heinley, and emphasize that the divorce was not Sovieshu's fault but mine.
After Christa's death, the position of those who followed her fell drastically. Although in the Western Empire, it wouldn't do me much harm to hear a rumor that I had an affair with Heinley, they might cling to that.
"Your Majesty Heinley, what Empress Rashta says is not a lie. Although now Your Majesty only has eyes for Empress Navier, before it seemed that you liked Empress Rashta."
Heinley pressed his temples as he heard about the letters. This time Grand Duke Lilteang intervened and said that Heinley really liked Rashta.
Heinley sighed as he looked at Rashta. He had the face of a person without a plan and seemed to be thinking about what to say in this situation.
"Empress Rashta, you are obsessed with my husbands." I ended up talking because I couldn't bear to see him like this, "Or is it that you are obsessed with me?"
"When did you start to be interested in this?"
"…"
"At first you weren't interested at all in nobility, gossip, and so on."
"…"
"Huh? Won't you really tell me? That's mean, I thought we were friends, huh?"
At his colleague's insistence, Joanson finally answered,
"I was always interested, but not enough to write articles about it."
Despite the clear annoyance in his voice, his colleague did not leave his side and asked another question,
"But how did an interest you kept quiet suddenly become so definite? How?"
"Why are you so curious?"
"Everyone is, not just me!"
His colleague exclaimed with a twinkle in his eye.
"It's surprising that you suddenly revealed such an interest in nobility, high society parties, gossip, and so on… but what's more surprising is that you spread all kinds of rumors as soon as you revealed that interest. You are now the most famous journalist in the Eastern Empire. Don't you know that?"
His colleague's words were true.
When Joanson began to smear Empress Rashta, not many agreed with him. It was the same when he began to raise suspicions about her.
However, the situation had changed. Newspapers in which Joanson wrote about Empress Rashta were now sold like hotcakes.
He had become one of the most popular journalists. People's anger towards Empress Rashta increased with each of his articles.
"Are you really not going to tell me how you got it?"
Joanson eventually answered indifferently to his nagging colleague.
"A high-status noble provides me with the information."
His colleague's eyes widened.
"A high-status noble? Really? A high-status noble tells you the gossip of high society?"
"Yes."
"Do you trust that person?", His colleague asked bitterly, "Do you know that many of the nobles are not to be trusted? Is that noble any different?"
Joanson lifted one corner of his mouth.
"I don't trust that person either."
His colleague's expression became more confused.
'How can you write such delicate articles if you don't trust that person?'
For commoner journalists who could not attend high society parties in person, the gossip of the nobles was a risky subject to broach.
'Besides, how could he get such valuable information from a high-status noble he didn't trust…?'
The bewilderment on his colleague's face made Joanson laugh.
"Don't worry. I don't trust the high-status noble who provides me with the information, but I'm sure that noble detests the same person I do."
"Who is that noble?"
Instead of answering, Joanson stood up and asked,
"Will Empress Rashta return to the empire this afternoon?"
It was around 3 o'clock in the afternoon when Rashta returned to the Eastern Empire.
She was quite satisfied with her visit to the Western Empire, so she hummed happily in the carriage. It had been a long time since she had felt so good.
Although she went through some troubles, it was nothing compared to what she had suffered in the Eastern Empire. To the point that she didn't mind.
'I can understand that Emperor Heinley is no longer in love with me.'
It was not such a surprise as to disturb her joy.
'I deserve it because I was the one who rejected him first.'
Rashta even considered the confrontation with the Empress insignificant.
She found it unpleasant to argue face to face with her, and hated to see Navier being congratulated by everyone, but those feelings were only momentary.
The polite attitude of the people of the Western Empire toward the Empress of the Eastern Empire made her so happy as to overshadow those annoyances.
Duke Elgy was right. Despite her situation in the Eastern Empire, the people of the Western Empire treated Rashta as the Empress of the Eastern Empire.
Ever since it was discovered that she had used Navier's promissory notes on her behalf, ever since a journalist named Joanson began to tarnish her reputation, and ever since her daughter was taken away by Sovieshu, she had not felt so respected.
'I tried to see Glorym a few more times. Still, His Majesty refused to show me my daughter. Wouldn't it be better if I stayed in the Western Empire?'
As the carriage entered the suffocating Imperial Palace, Rashta thought with regret.
'Come to think of it, it might be a good idea. Wouldn't it be better to be treated as a distinguished guest than to be a forgotten empress here?'
Eventually, the carriage entered the garden of the Western Palace.
'But does that mean that His Majesty Sovieshu will be free to see other women? I don't like that.'
Her excitement faded as she saw the familiar garden. Her flushed cheeks regained their color and the tingling inside her also disappeared completely.
Her desire to live in the Western Empire as the Empress of the Eastern Empire was unrealistic…
Rashta quickly became depressed and grabbed at the carriage curtains. This feeling was intensified when he saw Alan at the entrance of the Western Palace. He held Ahn in his arms like a weapon.
'Why is he here? Did he come again to make the absurd demand that his son be treated as a quasi-prince?'
She had already given him a severe written warning.
'Did he forget my words?' Rashta thought angrily.
The carriage stopped near the entrance as Rashta watched Ahn and Alan through the window.
"Your Majesty."
Alan, who had his eyes on the carriage, held his son more firmly as if he had realized who was inside.
From the first moment Rashta saw his face, she felt really uncomfortable. In contrast, Alan's expression brightened just at the thought of Rashta riding in that carriage.
Rashta forced herself down from the carriage as she fought the urge to order the coachman to turn the carriage around.
If she were to walk away after seeing them, it would cause strange rumors. She had to move on with dignity.
Once Rashta got out of the carriage, she approached Alan and asked him in a low voice.
"What are you doing here?"
"I… I only came…"
Alan did not finish his words and hugged his son to his chest. Fortunately, this time the child wasn't crying, so he didn't attract as much attention from the people around.
"Let's talk inside."
Rashta couldn't throw him out, so she hurriedly walked ahead. However, she stopped after a few steps when she heard a screech sound from above.
When she looked up, she saw a large bird that seemed to be used as a carrier pigeon. It had a letter tied around its leg, but Rashta lowered her head again. She had no relation to this large bird.
'Now what's important is to send Alan back as soon as possible.'
Rashta walked once again to enter the West Palace first. Just at the moment Alan was about to follow her with the little child in his arms, the long bird, which seemed tame as it scratched its fur, suddenly swooped down.
"Get out!"
Startled, Alan waved his free hand. But the bird wasn't frightened, spread its wings and swooped down faster.
Ahn was scared, so he clung to his father. The large bird brushed past the little child. After a moment of commotion, the bird immediately flew away to another place.
Rashta was startled when she turned her head,
"Nooo!"
The hat that covered the child's head rolled on the ground as if it had been hit by the bird's wings or legs.
Rashta hurried to run to the hat. By the time she reached out to grab the hat, the attention of the people around had already focused on little Ahn.
340Evely was found a few days before most of the guests had left, but by the time the knights brought her to the imperial palace, the festive mood had already dissipated.
"Evely!"
The carriage door opened once it stopped in the courtyard. Evely, who had grown bigger than I could have imagined, appeared without strength.
Evely looked very weak when she got out of the carriage. She was thinner and her skin paler than when she was in the orphanage. However, she had a better countenance than the last time I saw her collapsed from the loss of her mana.
"Your Majesty, I am glad to see you again after a long time."
I stopped her from bowing and asked a guard to take her to my room.
After Evely followed the guard, I turned my attention to the knights who found her. They were the 5th Division of the Supranational Knights, commanded by Viscount Langdel.
"The girl who greeted me a moment ago. Where did you find her?"
I asked a knight who participated in the search for Evely.
"She was lost in the Moon Forest."
The Moon Forest was a place near the path from the Eastern Empire to the Western Empire. Many people fell there because they took the wrong path. The Moon Forest itself was densely wooded and had complicated terrain, so people often got lost inside.
"There were also some knights and envoys from the Eastern Empire."
Behind the green carriage of the Western Empire, from which Evely had gotten off, a damaged carriage could be seen. It was even missing a wheel.
"Were the rescued people in that carriage originally?"
"That's right. When we found them the carriage was already damaged. It's not easy to get out of the Moon Forest, and they also were carrying a lot of luggage, so they could only hope to be rescued."
"They must have had a bad time."
"Yes. But there's something strange."
"Something strange?"
"Look at the carriage. Isn't one side completely wrecked? At least one person must have been injured. However, everyone is unharmed."
The knight added significantly, "It looks like magic."
"Was there a mage in the group?"
"Not officially. When I asked, no one stepped forward."
I knew Evely was a mage. However, didn't Evely lose her mana? Of course, it would be great if she had recovered it.
"First of all, check the identity of the rescued people and where they were located inside the carriage. It is possible that the culprit is among them."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As the knight turned to his colleagues to do as I had ordered, Heinley approached me and asked as if he had overheard the conversation.
"My Queen, are you sure the culprit is among them?"
"Although I was surprised that Sovieshu sent Evely, it's impossible for him to send a delegation without first ordering to check the condition of the carriage."
Heinley raised an eyebrow.
"He may have forgotten."
"He was the worst as a husband, but as an emperor he was never so careless."
There might even be a disguised knight in the delegation. Anticipate potential dangers and plan countermeasures in 's how Sovieshu acted.
"He is a person who would not only check the condition of the carriage, but also prepare two or three spare wheels. Someone definitely caused the carriage to be damaged. Probably… whoever was located farthest from the wrecked side is the culprit."
As I spoke, I noticed that Heinley's expression was not good. He looked a little sad.
"Heinley?"
Why did he have that expression? Heinley put his hands to his face and rubbed his numb eyes with his thumbs, then muttered with his eyes half closed like a cat being petted.
"I don't like it when My Queen says nice things about him."
"Did it sound like a compliment?"
I didn't mean it with that intention. I just meant that it couldn't have been a mistake about the carriage given his personality.
However, Heinley nodded with a shadowed face. Then he repeatedly rubbed his forehead against my shoulder.
"Heinley, it's not dignified for the emperor to do this in public."
Once I murmured in concern, he reluctantly stopped. Still, he pouted his lips.
I sighed and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
However, he's sly… Heinley was clearly no longer sad. Now he only pretended so that I would comfort him.
When I stared at him, he turned slightly and covered his face with his hands. As if he knew that he would look very sad and lovely.
In fact, that bothered me for a moment. How was he so clear about the impression he would make?
Heinley kept glancing at me, as if he wanted to see how I would comfort him now. So I told him honestly.
"Heinley. Every time you act like that you look so lovely."
From his slight smile, he seemed to like what I had said.
"Do you often use this tactic with other women?"
He could barely speak to my question.
"My Queen?"
This was the reaction I expected. Heinley lowered his hands and turned to me. As if a leopard, who mimicked a cat, stopped pretending to be weak.
"My Queen. There are no other women. You know—"
"I don't know anything."
"!"
"You know my past, while I don't know yours. That's enough."
"!"
Even without casting a spell, Heinley froze instantly.
I smiled pleasantly inside. Did he think I didn't know how to be jealous?
"My Queen, I…"
"I need to go see Evely."
"Wait, My Queen?"
When I went to my room, I was informed that Evely was with my ladies-in-waiting.
I couldn't believe she was with my ladies-in-waiting. They hadn't met Evely. What's going on?
I was surprised, but I went to my ladies-in-waiting's room first.
There, Laura was combing Evely's hair in front of the dressing table.
Before I knew it, Evely was dressed beautifully with her hair braided.
But embarrassed by her appearance, Evely's face blushed and her eyes looked down at her own feet.
"Evely."
At the utterance of her name as I approached, Evely jumped up with a face full of life.
"Your Majesty!"
From the way Laura laughed, she seemed to find it fun to be with Evely, who was almost her own age. Even in the Eastern Empire, Laura always went out to have fun with young ladies her age.
"I'll get something to drink!"
Once Laura left, Evely walked over to me, grabbed my hands and bowed.
"I heard it was Your Majesty who sent the knights to find us. Thank you. I always get help from Your Majesty."
"No need to thank me, tell me what happened."