Lady to Queen

0He silently stood up from the spot. The teacups were filled to the brim with tea, and not a sip was taken. Before he was out, at last, Patrizia spoke quietly, "Do not forget about what I had asked you then."     0

"..."     

"If you want, I could even give her the position of Duchess. But it is up to that point. Not any more than that. You're not... going to provide me with an illegitimate child."     

"..."     

He left without answering. Patrizia bit her lips and glared at the spot where he had gone. If he broke the promise he made with her, then she also would not stay put. Patrizia sighed as she thought this far.     

"Haa..."     

It was unfair. After all, the Empress's respect depended on the Emperor. No matter how good the family background may be, it was the end if the Emperor's intimate favor was lost. The only reason she could keep this position, for now, was that she was the daughter of a Marquis, and would one day become the mother of the future Emperor.     

Indeed, it was unfair. That man could meet anyone he wanted to. But soon Patrizia raised her head.     

"Let's not complain, Patrizia."     

She entered this knowing everything. To prevent the past's tragedies. She would not act as her sister had, with jealousy engulfed her and behaving emotionally. These thoughts were endless if she kept thinking this way. Then her reincarnation would lose its meaning as well.     

She decided to become more above all this. She decided to get rid of her feelings for the Emperor a little more. Only then would she live, her family live, and survive to the very end. It was a bitter fact, but it was a reality.     

"Crazy. It makes no sense."     

Rafaella spoke sharply, but Patrizia, who would normally have restrained her, did not restrain her this time. To be honest it was crazy. Of course, this was limited to herself.     

"It's crazy, but I mean it makes sense. My husband is the Emperor."     

"...You're too calm, Your Majesty. Now your husband has declared that he's going to bring his mistress in, but you say this?"     

"I can't do anything about it."     

She didn't know if she was just pretending to be calm, or if she really felt that way, but at least in front of Rafaella, she was. Well, it wouldn't be bad to deceive both her and herself in this way.     

"There's nothing you can do? Oh, my world, Empress. You can't really imagine how I feel right now."     

"I can imagine. But it would be funny for me to comfort Sir Rafaella."     

That was true. Rafaella released a sigh. It was scarier and more daunting because she pretended nothing was wrong. Originally, no, most in this situation wouldn't react this way. They would be angry. Or they would be sad. Maybe even curse. Perhaps hoping for their defeat and suffering.     

Whatever it was, it was normal to have negative feelings, but Patrizia didn't. She couldn't. She didn't have the power and wasn't in the position and situation to do so. Rafaella thought about how she could not understand up to that and said, "Really... What is His Majesty thinking?"     

It was not unusual for an Emperor to have a mistress. It was not something to be blamed for. But if one's friend was the Empress, the story had to be different. Rafaella sighed and told Patrizia.     

"That mistress, I really want to see her face. Who in the world? When you hear a rumor like this, don't you have to come out at least once?"     

"..."     

Patrizia was the only one who knew about her existence besides the Emperor. Only laughter seemed to come out. She briefly made a thoughtful expression and spoke simply.     

"I think we'll meet one day, anyway. You're not going to slap her on the cheek, are you?"     

"I will never do anything to bring harm to Your Majesty. It's not like I don't have a brain just because I'm a soldier."     

But it should be okay to shoot, right? Ah, that might not be allowed either? Patrizia looked at Rafaella who was pondering cutely with a faint smile. But the smile quickly went missing. The thought of Rosemond caused a shadow to fall on her face. Patrizia muttered her name with her mouth.     

'Rosemond...'     

She was beautiful. However, she was not beautiful enough to be called the beauty of the century. But there was a kind of sexiness, as well as charm. It would never be strange if the Emperor fell to her.     

She was a rose, and she had thorns. To keep the beauty, the thorns made in order to protect herself had begun to threaten other flowers, and in the end, it was her sister Petronilla. And now that the past has changed, it would turn out to be herself.     

Patrizia had no intention of attacking first, but she planned to defend it hard if her opponent attacked first.     

Without drawing attention to the interests of others as much as possible, acting nonchalant. At the very least, for now, she was just going to watch the situation.     

If she had been Petronilla, and Petronilla had been the one to reincarnate, she would have known about her opponent perfectly, but unfortunately, she had only been a bystander in her previous life. Because of this, she didn't know the Emperor, nor Rosemond.     

So the main thing now was to pinpoint the enemy. Attacking at any time would not be too late. Anyway, this Empress's position was not one that was to be taken lightly. Even if one was the most favored of the Emperor, it would not be easy to face the Empress.     

"If you think positively, you can put her under Your Majesty's care. Well... then Your Majesty will have to take care of it."     

"I don't want to admit it, but it's true that this much is an advantage. It was difficult to know what to do because up until now, everything was covered in veils, and it is difficult to manage, and control."     

In addition, the Baroness was also an aristocrat. If the Emperor had appointed her as his mistress, it would have been advantageous to take advantage of her weakness later on.     

Anyway, if she thought positively, she could definitely do that. Patrizia decided to make her mind comfortable and began to smile a little.