“What?”
“Yes, have you ever ridden a horse?”
Judith hesitated for a moment. Looking back on her past life, she had never ridden a horse.
Even though she knew that they were gentle animals, Judith was always afraid of horses that were much larger than her. She couldn't even get close to it when it was purring and screaming, and sometimes when she passed by, she couldn't even make eye contact because she felt like it would suddenly lunge at her.
However, since Cheraan had made an offer for her after a long time, she did not want to refuse it. She already knew that, unlike the other girls, Cheraan was active and liked to exercise. She was right to show her courage here to win Cheraan's certain favor.
"Great. But I haven’t really ridden a horse before... Cheraan, won’t you teach me how to ride?”
“Well, it’s not difficult. It’s an honor, Your Highness."
A few strands of hair as red as autumn leaves fell down the side of Cheraan's cheek as she smiled brightly. Without realizing it, Judith reached out her hand and tucked a strand of Cheraan hair behind her small ear. It was a habit that Judith had had before, and it was only when she saw Cherana's wide eyes that she realized she had made a mistake, and she was shocked.
“I’m sorry, your hair...I thought it would bother you.”
Judith's face turned a little red. Cheraan played with her own hair with a somewhat bewildered expression, and then suddenly burst out laughing.
“Your Highness the Princess is a more interesting person than I thought.”
"Fun...? Me?”
"Yes. I honestly never thought you would be this kind of person. People say you are a very quiet person.”
“They will say that I am a foolish and unsightly girl.”
Maybe it was because the other person was Cheraan, but words like pampering came out. However, Cheraan shook her shoulders as if it was no big deal.
“Those who do not have eyes to see are bound to talk as they please. I’m sure you’re not hurt by those words, are you?”
Judith smiled. It was a smile that contained many things.
Cheraan liked that Judith was a stronger girl than she thought. Until she came to the Princess's palace, she had doubts about how Judith knew herself and why she was looking for her, but when she actually met Judith, those thoughts disappeared like a cloud of smoke.
“Then I will come back to see you in three days. There is a good place for horseback riding near the palace, so I will take you there.”
“Are you going back?”
Judith's eyes were full of regret. Cheraan suddenly wondered if she would have felt this way if she had a younger sister. Not only was Judith actually young, but the way she looked at Cheraan seemed like that of a young girl who did not want to be separated from her friend, rather than that of a Princess.
Cheraan, who was about to stand up, was weakened by Judith's gaze. Cheraan said with a grin as she put her butt back on after trying to lift it.
“Well then, since it’s been a long time coming, could you please give me one more cup of tea?”
***
Queen Gilsis had very emotional ups and downs. Although there was nothing special about her, her personality would change every few days as if she were a different person.
When she was in a good mood, she tended to be relatively tolerant not only of the maids who served her nearby but also of the maids. She held extravagant banquets that most people could not even imagine and devoted themselves to pleasure for two or three days and nights.
However, the moment she turned around, she suddenly became irritable and vicious. She was accustomed to stabbing the maid and breaking her belongings. She sometimes had reasons for her fits of rage, but she was mostly uncaused.
The nobles, who had seen the Queen's judgment turn wrong several times, whispered in the Queen's absence that she was half crazy with an inferiority complex that came from her position as the second wife. Whoever said it reached the Queen's ears, it was hard to keep their head alive, but it wasn't completely nonsense.
“Ugh!”
Prang!
There was a loud sound of something breaking. The frightened maids did not even come near the Queen's bedroom, and several maids who served her were watching and whispering to each other to go in.
“Is there anyone outside?”
When a roar finally came out of the Queen's mouth, the Countess opened the bedroom door and went inside. A prized vase was lying on the floor, broken into pieces.
“Your Majesty, I'll fix it. It’s harmful to your mind and body.”
“Duke Vergy, I got greetings from this bastard!”
The sight of the Queen, with her bloodshot eyes shining brightly, was nothing short of creepy. She was so frightened that even the Countess, who had stayed by her side and seen everything, flinched.
The reason the Queen was in this situation was because of a letter from the Duke of Vergy that was delivered directly to the Queen's palace this morning. The fact that he was the former Queen's younger brother was a thorn in her eyes, but to make matters worse, he was not afraid of Queen Gilsis at all. Not only that, whenever he had the chance, he did something that got on the Queen's nerves.
“How dare you make an unreasonable threat in front of me, mentioning the late Queen Mother! How dare you! How dare you tell me that such a woman died of illness in the middle of the night!”
The Queen, who was screaming loudly, seemed to not be getting any better, and this time she started sweeping up everything that was on the table and throwing it away. The Countess couldn't even think of stopping the Queen and just kept shaking.
The Duke's letter did not contain much information. As the anniversary of the late Queen's death was coming soon, he asked for permission to prepare a memorial service for her as befits the late Queen's status.
Even so, for Queen Gilsis, who had been on edge for the past few days because of Judith, who could not be swayed as he wanted, the Duke's letter was like pouring fuel on the fire.
Even before she became Queen, she had heard rumors about the relationship between King Jedercayer and the late Queen and was jealous as she gritted her teeth.
This is because, before Queen Gilsis married the King, she was among the young ladies who were originally mentioned as candidates to become Queen. However, King Jedercayer became infatuated with the late Queen upon the first meeting, and the state wedding took place soon after. Because of this, Queen Gilsis did not even get a chance to meet the King.
After the late Queen died after giving birth to only Franz, Gilsis was able to take the position she had longed for as a Queen, but she was not satisfied. King Jederkayer only missed the deceased Queen consort, and he was steeped in his grief, mourning day and night.
It wasn't just because of the late Queen that the King couldn't be affectionate with Gilsis, but Gilsis thought it was all the late Queen's fault and ended up cursing the dead person. The more this happened, the more the relationship between her and King Jederkaire widened, and in the end, the vicious cycle continued.
“One day, I will uproot this entire family and set it on fire! The Duke of Vergy, his son, and that woman’s son will all be thrown into the fire and burned to death!”
The Countess's complexion turned white as she heard the hideous language pouring out of the Queen's mouth.
At that time, she heard someone knock on the door and come inside. The Queen, who was ready to grab anyone by the hair and throw them away as soon as they got caught, raised her bloodshot eyes.
"What's the matter!"
It was Helen. She saw the inside of the messy room and the state of the queenly state and almost noticed the situation before and after. After sending the Countess away, who was shivering and useless, Helen came to Queen Gilsis' side and comforted her shoulder.
“Queen, please calm down. The Duke of Vergy is someone who can kneel down whenever you want. How can you be so angry and hurt yourself over the insolent letter sent by such a person?”
“It’s so embarrassing I can’t stand it. I can’t wait to whip that face!”
“You will do it. Don’t worry, he will pay the full price for daring to mock the Queen.”
At the sound of Helen's voice, which was as gloomy as a curse, the Queen seemed to have finally calmed down, wheezing and stroking her messy hair. Helen, with a flattering smile on her wrinkled face, helped the Queen and sat her down in front of the dressing table.
There was an ugly crack in the corner of the mirror decorated with expensive crystals as if it had been hit by something the Queen had thrown. When the Queen frowned at her when she discovered it, Helen quickly went to the shelf and brought out a new, small but still intact mirror.
“Let me comb your hair.”
Taking out an ivory comb, Helen carefully removed the disheveled headdress and began to slowly comb the Queen's hair from the ends. No matter how many maids she had, none could please Queen Gilsis better than Helen. The Queen twitched her lips and frowned her brows with a somewhat satisfied expression.
“What’s going on with that shabby girl? She's still crying and not clinging to me. She's more strong than I thought. Is she just stupid?”
“Even if it wasn’t, I stopped by to post that message. She exclaimed so loudly that she had already memorized the royal family tree that the Queen Mother had given her.”
"Ha! It looks like she didn't get beaten. Who dare you lie to? How can she memorize that genealogy chart?”
“So that’s what I’m saying. If she becomes the Princess of a country and tells lies or works, what will happen to the discipline of the country? I think Your Majesty needs to teach her.”
“I guess it has to be that way. She's arrogant. Let's see if she can talk cutely in front of me. Bring that girl to me right now.”
As the Queen spoke, taking the comb out of Helen's hand, Helen's face twisted slyly.
“I will.”
“This guy, that guy, they’re all just annoying, but it just so happened that I got caught. I won’t leave you alone.”
A grinding sound came from the Queen's mouth as she clutched the comb. Helen bowed her back and left the Queen's royal palace, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile. It was something that could have been overlooked, but the fact that Judith was looking up at her and speaking clearly back to her became unbearably annoying as time went by.
Of course, she couldn't lie in front of the Queen, and if the truth was revealed, the Queen would definitely whip Judith. Let's see if she can keep those bright blue eyes open even after being put through such a situation.
Malice overflowed from Helen's tightly clenched hands as they rocked back and forth.
“Is there anyone outside?”
When a roar finally came out of the Queen's mouth, the Countess opened the bedroom door and went inside. A prized vase was lying on the floor, broken into pieces.
“Your Majesty, I'll fix it. It’s harmful to your mind and body.”
“Duke Vergy, I got greetings from this bastard!”
The sight of the Queen, with her bloodshot eyes shining brightly, was nothing short of creepy. She was so frightened that even the Countess, who had stayed by her side and seen everything, flinched.
The reason the Queen was in this situation was because of a letter from the Duke of Vergy that was delivered directly to the Queen's palace this morning. The fact that he was the former Queen's younger brother was a thorn in her eyes, but to make matters worse, he was not afraid of Queen Gilsis at all. Not only that, whenever he had the chance, he did something that got on the Queen's nerves.
“How dare you make an unreasonable threat in front of me, mentioning the late Queen Mother! How dare you! How dare you tell me that such a woman died of illness in the middle of the night!”
The Queen, who was screaming loudly, seemed to not be getting any better, and this time she started sweeping up everything that was on the table and throwing it away. The Countess couldn't even think of stopping the Queen and just kept shaking.
The Duke's letter did not contain much information. As the anniversary of the late Queen's death was coming soon, he asked for permission to prepare a memorial service for her as befits the late Queen's status.
Even so, for Queen Gilsis, who had been on edge for the past few days because of Judith, who could not be swayed as he wanted, the Duke's letter was like pouring fuel on the fire.
Even before she became Queen, she had heard rumors about the relationship between King Jedercayer and the late Queen and was jealous as she gritted her teeth.
This is because, before Queen Gilsis married the King, she was among the young ladies who were originally mentioned as candidates to become Queen. However, King Jedercayer became infatuated with the late Queen upon the first meeting, and the state wedding took place soon after. Because of this, Queen Gilsis did not even get a chance to meet the King.
After the late Queen died after giving birth to only Franz, Gilsis was able to take the position she had longed for as a Queen, but she was not satisfied. King Jederkayer only missed the deceased Queen consort, and he was steeped in his grief, mourning day and night.
It wasn't just because of the late Queen that the King couldn't be affectionate with Gilsis, but Gilsis thought it was all the late Queen's fault and ended up cursing the dead person. The more this happened, the more the relationship between her and King Jederkaire widened, and in the end, the vicious cycle continued.
“One day, I will uproot this entire family and set it on fire! The Duke of Vergy, his son, and that woman’s son will all be thrown into the fire and burned to death!”
The Countess's complexion turned white as she heard the hideous language pouring out of the Queen's mouth.
At that time, she heard someone knock on the door and come inside. The Queen, who was ready to grab anyone by the hair and throw them away as soon as they got caught, raised her bloodshot eyes.
"What's the matter!"
It was Helen. She saw the inside of the messy room and the state of the queenly state and almost noticed the situation before and after. After sending the Countess away, who was shivering and useless, Helen came to Queen Gilsis' side and comforted her shoulder.
“Queen, please calm down. The Duke of Vergy is someone who can kneel down whenever you want. How can you be so angry and hurt yourself over the insolent letter sent by such a person?”
“It’s so embarrassing I can’t stand it. I can’t wait to whip that face!”
“You will do it. Don’t worry, he will pay the full price for daring to mock the Queen.”
At the sound of Helen's voice, which was as gloomy as a curse, the Queen seemed to have finally calmed down, wheezing and stroking her messy hair. Helen, with a flattering smile on her wrinkled face, helped the Queen and sat her down in front of the dressing table.
There was an ugly crack in the corner of the mirror decorated with expensive crystals as if it had been hit by something the Queen had thrown. When the Queen frowned at her when she discovered it, Helen quickly went to the shelf and brought out a new, small but still intact mirror.
“Let me comb your hair.”
Taking out an ivory comb, Helen carefully removed the disheveled headdress and began to slowly comb the Queen's hair from the ends. No matter how many maids she had, none could please Queen Gilsis better than Helen. The Queen twitched her lips and frowned her brows with a somewhat satisfied expression.
“What’s going on with that shabby girl? She's still crying and not clinging to me. She's more strong than I thought. Is she just stupid?”
“Even if it wasn’t, I stopped by to post that message. She exclaimed so loudly that she had already memorized the royal family tree that the Queen Mother had given her.”
"Ha! It looks like she didn't get beaten. Who dare you lie to? How can she memorize that genealogy chart?”
“So that’s what I’m saying. If she becomes the Princess of a country and tells lies or works, what will happen to the discipline of the country? I think Your Majesty needs to teach her.”
“I guess it has to be that way. She's arrogant. Let's see if she can talk cutely in front of me. Bring that girl to me right now.”
As the Queen spoke, taking the comb out of Helen's hand, Helen's face twisted slyly.
“I will.”
“This guy, that guy, they’re all just annoying, but it just so happened that I got caught. I won’t leave you alone.”
A grinding sound came from the Queen's mouth as she clutched the comb. Helen bowed her back and left the Queen's royal palace, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile. It was something that could have been overlooked, but the fact that Judith was looking up at her and speaking clearly back to her became unbearably annoying as time went by.
Of course, she couldn't lie in front of the Queen, and if the truth was revealed, the Queen would definitely whip Judith. Let's see if she can keep those bright blue eyes open even after being put through such a situation.
Malice overflowed from Helen's tightly clenched hands as they rocked back and forth.
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