“Please, what I’m saying now… I hope it’s just a useless worry.”

“…”

Countess Ermano smiled bitterly, pointing to one of her eyes, which was covered by an eyepatch.

“Then, I will excuse myself first.”

“…Yes.”

Has she finished what she has to say? Charelize expressed her gratitude to Countess Ermano, who said she would go. Talking loudly… and giving the bottle with blue water?

While walking, Charelize kept thinking about the story she had just heard. Then a loud noise was heard from somewhere. She stopped thinking for a while and went to the noise source.

She could see a boy who had fallen on the ground and couldn’t get up and Lillian, who couldn’t control her anger. Next to them was Countess Nosen, restless and bewildered. She quietly watched for a while to grasp the situation and realized it.

“What kind of family are you from? How dare you!”

“…The one who ran without looking ahead was you, not me.”

“You? Did you just call me as ‘You’ right now?”

“If I do, what—”

“Who the hell are you to call Princess of Duke Marsetta like that…”

Embarrassed by being ignored by Countess Ermano, Lillian ran away without looking away. Then, she bumped into a boy coming from the other side, and the relatively small boy fell. The boy’s clothes were plain, to the extent that it wouldn’t be strange for him to be a commoner. So he was either a low-ranking noble or a servant.

Lillian, who thought he was a servant, waited for him to apologize. The boy said it wasn’t his fault and didn’t apologize. He called her as ‘You,’ which increased Lillian’s anger. Had been ignored for a long time, Lillian had no intention of letting this slide. It didn’t matter to her who made a mistake first.

“I’ll give you a chance now.”

“…”

“Get down on your knees and apologize for doing something wrong.”

“It’s not me who didn’t look ahead.”

“Ha, seeing that you can’t speak the imperial language, you must be sold from another country and luckily become a servant…”

Hearing that, the boy couldn’t stand it, got up, and charged at Lillian. Lillian suffered injuries from the fall and was about to lose her temper.

“Your Highness!”

“What’s going on?”

When the situation came that Charelize couldn’t just watch, she eventually stepped out.

“The two bumped…”

Countess Nosen’s face brightened when she saw Charelize, then she talked about the situation.

“Even if Your Highness doesn’t acknowledge me, I’m still the Princess of Duke Marsetta.”

“…”

This servant, not like an imperial person—”

“In the imperial palace, what kind of rudeness is this?”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you the one who bumped into him first?”

“…”

Charelize at once raised the fallen boy.

“Your name?”

“…”

“It seems difficult to identify yourself, so I won’t ask anymore.”

“…”

“The treatment fee for the wound on his cheek should be delivered through Countess Nosen…” she said, wiping away the dust at the boy.

“Little Duchess!”

“Let’s hear the details later. Right now, Her Majesty is waiting for us.”

Hearing Charelize’s words, the boy nodded his head and disappeared to the other side.

“Lillian.”

“?”

“If you don’t like being ignored, learn not to do it yourself.”

“…”

How can she kill her later if she can’t even outrun her? Lillian thought it would be convenient to take at least a step back.

Charelize thought Lillian didn’t know how to survive yet, so that’s why she said it.

“Where is Her Majesty?” They already went inside toward the Garden of Light, but seeing no one in sight, Charelize asked Countess Nosen.

“It seems Her Majesty is preparing the tea.”

“…By herself?”

“Yes. Her Majesty enjoys making tea by herself for her guests.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Looks like she will be back soon, so please wait a moment.”

Before long, the footsteps were heard. Empress Lireet wasn’t alone. She came with the boy they had just seen in her arms.

“Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress, the beautiful moon, the Mother of the Elioter Empire.”

“G-Greetings… to Her Majesty the Empress.”

Flustered at seeing the boy following Charelize, Lillian awkwardly greeted the Empress.

“Did anything happen while I was away?”

“I… that…”

Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Empress Lireet looked at Countess Nosen. Countess Nosen spoke of what had just happened in Empress Lireet’s ear. Lillian, who didn’t know that the boy belonged to Empress Lireet, bit her fingernails.

“This child is my cousin’s son, and I’m in charge of him for the time being.”

“Her Majesty’s cousin…?”

“The son of Marquis Benic and Queen Anastasia’s nephew.”

Empress Lireet, whose expression was gradually hardening, put down the boy and said, “Yohan, say your greetings to the little Duchess and Princess.”

“My name is Yohan Lail Dan Ricarn, the first prince of the Ricarn Kingdom.”

“I wondered why he didn’t say anything even though he had a cut on his cheek… So there was a small commotion.” Empress Lireet, sitting in her seat, hardened her expression.

“Y-Your Majesty.”

“I don’t think there will be any tea for the Princess.”

Empress Lireet poured tea for Lillian that she had brought onto the ground.

“Head of the maid, please see off the Princess.”

“I accept your orders, Your Majesty.”

“Yohan, go and finish your class.”

“Yes.”

When Yohan left, Empress Lireet said in a firm tone, “Please leave, Princess.”

“I-I… didn’t know, Your Majesty.”

Countess Nosen bowed at Empress Lireet and approached Lillian. Lillian quickly fell to her knees. “I-I just… No matter how much I ask, he doesn’t answer, so…”

“Princess.”

“Countess Nosen didn’t explain that he is a child in the care of Her Majesty…” And she spoke in a voice mixed with tears.

“Yohan… doesn’t answer when someone raises their voice because he’s been abused. And I gave orders to keep quiet about Yohan for the time being.”

“…”

“Even if Yohan’s status isn’t a prince, you shouldn’t treat people that way.”

“…I apologize.”

“Get out. I don’t want to see Princess’s face right now.”

Due to Empress Lireet’s tough attitude, Lillian was forced to stand up from her seat.

“It’s my negligence, Her Majesty. Please punish me.”

“…No. I heard little Duchess wasn’t there. And…”

“…”

“Yohan asked for your name. I know how you treated him even if you didn’t say anything.”

Charelize immediately bowed her head.

Empress Lireet said with a slight smile, “I called little Duchess because I had a request.” She then took out the necklace out of her arms.

“Your Majesty, this is…”

It was a green jewel, the same color as Empress Lireet’s eyes.

“Take this to the Peschte Empire and give it to Lanensia Xavi…”

“Lanensia Xavi…?”

“She’s an old friend of mine.”

At Empress Lireet’s remark, Charelize struggled to hide her surprise.

Lanensia Xavi. She was born as the second daughter of Duke Halloten. Since her mother was the second wife, she was naturally pushed out of the line for succession with her half-brother. Her half-brother, who became the new head of the family, married her to the previous emperor of the Peschte Empire, with an age gap of approximately thirty years.  

Before her wedding, the previous emperor died of a chronic disease, and she was due to return to her parent’s house. What was even sadder was that her half-brother sent a letter asking her to come back as soon as possible, saying that he had found a new marriage partner for her. However, it was revealed that she was pregnant with the previous emperor’s child.

Akan I, who succeeded to the throne, wondered how to treat her. It was ambiguous because she didn’t go through the proper procedure to be crowned as a queen. The previous emperor left his will to his child to regard her as their mother.  

Akan I pondered for quite some time. Of course, she was supposed to be his father’s concubine. After a long discussion, they decided to call her ‘Xavi’ and always respected her by using her honorific title. Born after twists and turns, the son of Lanensia Xavi passed away two months later.

Thinking of what she knew about Lanensia Xavi, Charelize looked at Empress Lireet.

“Please tell Xavi. The time has come to keep the promise the three of us made back then.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

Charelize could see that Empress Lireet wasn’t simply saying her greetings to her old friend. However, she didn’t ask for the meaning of their promise because Empress Lireet’s face was dark, and she knew only a little information about Lanensia Xavi.

“You can go now.”

Charelize, who came out after saying goodbye to Empress Lireet, stopped walking because she felt someone’s presence. A boy who had been hiding appeared.

“…”

“Prince?”

“Not prince.”

“…pardon?”

“Yohan, not prince.”

She didn’t know in detail what happened, but he was entrusted to his relative, Empress Lireet.  Seeing that he was scared when someone raised their voice, it seemed like a pretty shocking story. He also seemed to hate being called as a prince.

“Do you have something to do with me?”

“…this.”

“What is this…”

The boy handed Charelize a small bottle he was clutching in his hand.

The boy handed a small bottle to Charelize, which he held tightly.

“The woman from before. It fell off her body.”

“…”

It was the bottle of blue water that Countess Ermano had told her before.

“Name… I don’t know.”

“What?”

“Come, find you. I have to know your name…”

“Ah.”

If you show a little kindness, even a stranger will approach you so quickly. Even though it wasn’t the same case, it was like the boy seeking someone’s affection. She felt sorry after learning about his childhood. 

“My name is Charelize.”

“Chare…lize.”

“If you need someone to talk to, feel free to visit the Duchy of Marsetta.”

At Charelize’s words, the boy nodded slightly, and his cheeks were red.