Lady to Queen

"…"     

"What do you want me to do?"     

"You are saying that as if you will do whatever I want."     

"Are you trying to tell me to kick her out?"     

"If that is so."     

Patrizia spoke with a slightly trembling voice.     

"If that is so… Will you do that?"     

"Empress."     

He sighed briefly.     

"I cannot discard her."     

"…Why is that?"     

She asked as if it was a bit strange. She had felt that it was a bit strange before. It was hard to describe in words, but something seemed strange. In other words, it was a kind of intuition.     

The Emperor loved Rosemond. She knew this so far, and everyone knew of this fact.     

But Patrizia sometimes thought that there was something else in the relationship between the two of them that she and others didn't know about. She didn't know exactly what it was. To guess that, she knew too little about the two. Lucio, who hesitated, slowly moved his lips.     

"She is…"     

"Your Majesty!"     

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard through the rain. Patrizia was amazed and raised her body from her spot without realizing it. Raphaela appeared in front of them through the heavy rain. She called out to Raphaela in an embarrassed voice.     

"Sir Rafaella."     

"Your Majesty, are you okay?"     

She urgently got off the horse and ran under the tree. Patrizia stood up from her position and met with her. Rafaella quickly asked her.     

"Your Majesty, are you okay?"     

"I… am okay, Sir."     

"Oh, there was also His Majesty."     

Only then, Rafaella discovered Lucio and quickly bowed to greet him. Lucio lightly received her greeting and asked her, "Why is Sir Rafaella all the way here?"     

"I came because Her Majesty had not returned by the appointed time. In addition, it was raining, so it was difficult to guarantee the safety of Her Majesty… But, what is your Majesty doing all the way here?"     

"I haven't had a chance to ride my horse for a while, so I came out to exercise a bit."     

"I see. It seems best that Your Majesty also returns to the palace. It is unlikely that the rain will cease soon, and if you stay wet, you will catch a cold. I'm going to cover you, so please get on top of your horse."     

"Okay."     

Lucio, who replied calmly, climbed on the back of the horse that was by his side. Patrizia, with the help of Rafaella, climbed carefully on top of the horse. Soon the three people on their horses began to move slowly, but not too slowly.     

"..."     

"..."     

"..."     

All three of them were silent. Rafaella wanted to ask Patrizia a pile of questions, but Lucio was next to her, making it difficult to open her mouth. Patrizia was curious as to what Lucio was about to say, but it was awkward to ask him again at this point. Lucio was in his own thoughts about Rosemond. Eventually, the three of them covered the long distance without saying a word.     

"What happened, Your Majesty?"     

Rafaella, who had returned to the Empress Palace, asked Patrizia who was drying her wet body in front of the heater. Patrizia drank the hot rosemary tea that Mirya had brought while saying nothing, and then she opened her mouth as if she had finished thinking.     

"I went into the depths of the forest and met His Majesty. It was without luck that I had met His Majesty, and also thought it was unreasonable to move right away when I was injured. That is how this happened."     

"I was worried. It was a good thing that nothing happened because if there were those that had impure intentions, something bad might have happened."     

Nothing had happened as a result, but she wasn't quite in the right to push out these facts. Patrizia looked sorry and apologized to her.     

"I am sorry, Sir Ella. It is my fault."     

"Anyways… I'm glad that nothing happened. Nil was very worried."     

"Yes, Lizzy. It's only been a few days since I've been here, and you're already worrying me this much. In addition to hurting your hand."     

When Petronilla scolded her with a slightly pale face, Patrizia apologized to her as if she could not even lift up her face.     

"I am sorry, Nil."     

"I am going to have to retrain that horse. If you want, I can blame the person in charge."     

"That is too much. You do not have to go that far. Just give a fair warning."     

"Okay."     

As soon as she finished speaking, the palace physician that Mirya had summoned was brought into her residence. He gave the proper greetings to Patrizia, and then immediately began treatment. The white handkerchief that had been previously tied by Lucio was already hardened with dried blood. The palace physician spoke while in the midst of treating.     

"I am glad you stopped the bleeding right away, Your Majesty. It could possibly lead to a scar, but I will try to stop that from happening as much as possible."     

"Please do."     

Patrizia responded shortly and soon fell back into deep thought. What was he doing now? How would the story she had just talked about influence him?     

Patrizia didn't expect her words to have a big impact on him, but she thought it would be enough if it could even cause a small wave. She just wanted the situation to flow in a direction that favored her.     

On the other hand, Rosemond had no chance to welcome Lucio who visited Vain Palace, as she met him immediately after taking a bath.     

"Your Majesty. What would you have done if you had caught a cold like that?"     

Lucio stared silently at Rosemond who embraced him and spoke in a tone that showed her feelings full of being upset. Lucio, who remained silent for a while, then opened his mouth and called out to Rosemond.     

"Rose."     

"Yes, Your Majesty."     

Rosemond, who appeared as an obedient woman, soon raised her head and looked at Lucio. While hesitating, he finally opened his mouth and asked her a question, "That day there was an interview with the wives of the envoys."     

"..."     

Rosemond's complexion paled slightly as soon as these words were brought out. 'Why was he suddenly bringing up that day?' The shocked Rose asked him in return, "Yes?"     

"What happened on that day?"     

"…What happened, Your Majesty? Your Majesty knows better than me."     

She replied to him with a trembling voice.     

"I was hit on the cheek by the Empress. You also saw this, Your Majesty."     

"Before that. The Empress would not have hit you for no reason. Is that not true?"