Erdene ran out of the study and did not return to her residence, but just walked. She wanted to go outside, to a place where there was no one. Even the narrow parade ground from before would have been fine.
But she had no idea where to go.
Her steps were quick and hurried as if she was almost falling, the thin string decorating the top of her hairline jangling and shaking.
She was so angry that she didn't know what to do, so she walked in circles in place and then continued to walk aimlessly wherever her feet took her.
'Damn.'
Erdene, who was cursing inwardly, stopped walking and glared at the beautiful garden beyond the corridor railing as if she were going to burn it down.
The pond was decorated cutely, the silver birch trees planted around it, and even the weeds were neatly trimmed, which was an eyesore for no reason.
It was even more so when she thought that it was Arkan’s taste.
“Damn it!”
The moment she kicked the corridor railing with her shoe and hurled a single curse, several nobles who had been chatting with her jumped up in surprise. They stared at Erdene’s back as if wondering who the hell this rude person was, and then realized a moment too late that it was her and held their breath.
The Viscountess turned her head toward the woman who was sobbing.
“Miss Zelma, what a shameful thing for a grown lady of the Count’s family to do. Stop crying. Many eyes are watching.”
At the Viscountess’s words, the woman who had been sobbing like a child turned red again.
She looked at Erdene once as if she wanted to tell a story, then looked at Viscountess Wickes with pleading eyes again.
“Your Majesty, please go quickly, His Majesty is looking for you urgently.”
Erdene’s brow furrowed at the viscountess’s words.
“What are you talking about? I...”
“Oh, hurry, Your Majesty. By the way, is it really okay for you to tease His Majesty like this?”
Erdene looked down at Viscountess Wickes’s hands that were tightly grabbing her arms with a look of bewilderment.
She almost pulled Erdene with all her might and barely managed to get away.
The direction where Viscountess Wickes was headed was completely opposite to where the King’s residence was.
Erdene realized that, just like her earlier, she too was walking aimlessly wherever her feet took her.
“Where are you planning on taking me? Is there a hidden dungeon?”
At that moment, the Viscountess let go of Erdene’s arm in shock.
She was so flustered that she had forgotten that she had dared to drag the Queen halfway through.
“Your Majesty! I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I, please forgive my rudeness...”
Viscountess Wickes bowed deeply, her face pale.
“Enough, tell me what you’re doing.”
The viscountess slightly raised her eyes and answered with a sad face.
“Uh, uh... uh... That, on the way... uh, I think Your Majesty is in trouble, so stop.”
“I should take care of it. What are you meddling in?”
“I, I’m sorry. Uh... uh...”
Erdene stared at the Viscountess with a very unpleasant expression.
'I seem to be in trouble, so stop? Did you think I would be in trouble and flustered like that? Did you think I would sigh and show weakness?'
The thought that was no different from being stubborn came to her head.
She was already angry, and those three people were pouring oil on her, but instead, the Viscountess was the one who was trying to put out the fire, and it was the Viscountess who was the one who got the sparks.
However, Erdene took a deep breath and calmed her mind.
No matter how angry she was, she was not short-sighted enough to take out her anger on the Viscountess and say that her behavior was outrageous.
"Raise your head. If you're not going to cry and act like you broke your back because of me, then that is."
When Erdene's voice seemed to soften somewhat, the Viscountess raised her head, feeling a sense of relief inside.
Her cheeks, which had been pale with fear, flushed brightly.
Erdene said,
“Was you Viscountess Wickes?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Please call me More.”
“Is that your name?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
More. Erdene repeated the name on her tongue several times and sighed.
“So, it must be a lie that His Majesty is looking for me, right? More?”
Viscountess Wickes’s face, or More, turned bright red again.
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
“The nobles of this country all lie without blinking an eye.”
She was sarcastically bringing up the matter of the Marchioness Fiddlers.
It wasn’t her fault, but she was there too, so she suddenly blushed.
More said,
“Your Highness, I, I know it sounds like an excuse, but I... I thought what the Marchioness Fiddlers said was true.”
Erdene stared at her with eyes that could not read her mind.
From the moment she first introduced herself as Viscountess Wickes, More seemed somewhat naive, but she did not have the arrogant malice of Marchioness Fiddler. Even if she only looked at today’s events, it was something she had done to save Erdene from trouble.
“It was a useless thing, but I appreciate your willingness to help me.”
As she said that, Erdene rubbed her hand that had turned red from hitting the railing. She felt a slight sting as if her skin had been slightly scratched.
More staggered for a moment, looking as if she was about to collapse from the tension, but she came to her senses when she hit her shoulder against a pillar.
She thought of the Countess’s daughter sobbing in the middle of the hallway.
What on earth had happened with Erdene?
'I brought out His Highness because I hated the way you acted like you were doing something you would never do normally...'
"Why are you looking at me like that? If you have something to say, say it."
Erdene asked rudely.
More hesitated, not knowing what to do, and after a long time, More carefully opened her mouth.
"Excuse me, Your Highness. In the hallway earlier... What on earth happened with Count Zelma's daughter?"
But she had no idea where to go.
Her steps were quick and hurried as if she was almost falling, the thin string decorating the top of her hairline jangling and shaking.
She was so angry that she didn't know what to do, so she walked in circles in place and then continued to walk aimlessly wherever her feet took her.
'Damn.'
Erdene, who was cursing inwardly, stopped walking and glared at the beautiful garden beyond the corridor railing as if she were going to burn it down.
The pond was decorated cutely, the silver birch trees planted around it, and even the weeds were neatly trimmed, which was an eyesore for no reason.
It was even more so when she thought that it was Arkan’s taste.
“Damn it!”
The moment she kicked the corridor railing with her shoe and hurled a single curse, several nobles who had been chatting with her jumped up in surprise. They stared at Erdene’s back as if wondering who the hell this rude person was, and then realized a moment too late that it was her and held their breath.
“Oh my God, did you see that just now?”
“Other people are watching, how could she do that...”
“Your Majesty is the only one who has to feel sorry for you, what the...”
They whispered so low that only the person standing right next to them could hear them, but unfortunately, Erdene had very sharp ears. She could ignore the talk of whether she saw them or not, whether others had eyes or not, but the last word turned Erdene’s already boiling stomach upside down.
“Stand there.”
The three people who had been walking quickly while whispering turned their heads at once. They hesitated with their faces reddened, like people who had been caught stealing. Erdene looked at their faces one by one and raised the corners of her mouth in a murderous manner. Then she strode over.
“Tell me again what you just said.”
The lips of the person standing on the far right trembled. He was a tall young man with freckles on his nose. His pale face and timid gaze reminded Erdene of Tenek, and she felt herself getting even angrier.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty. We didn’t say anything...”
“Where did you get any lies? Did you say you were pitiful? Who on earth would say you were pitiful, and for what reason?”
As Erdene slammed her fist on the solid railing of the corridor, a woman with her curly blonde hair puffed out in a lovely puff, crawling away, flinching her cheeks, said in a voice.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, should be an example to all, but if you act so violently, Your Majesty...”
At that moment, Erdene took a step closer to her. Although she had only gotten closer, the woman, who was suddenly frightened, hurriedly backed away, caught her heel on the bottom of her long dress, and fell on her buttocks.
“Ouch!”
A loud scream rang out, and the man and woman standing nearby supported her in fright. Erdene frowned and burst into laughter as she watched the woman struggling to get up properly because of her thick petticoat.
“What are you doing? Are you doing this on purpose to make me laugh?”
The face of the woman who had fallen turned pale. It was not fear, but shame. Her face, flushed with fever, became even redder. Tears welled up in her eyes as she barely managed to get up with support.
“You, you’re too much...”
The woman covered her face with her palm and burst into tears. Then, the others who had been watching this scene from afar, unable to come closer, began to whisper among themselves. Those who did not know the situation well began to wonder if Erdene had pushed her, and it did not take long for this to change from mouth to mouth to ‘the Queen pushed someone over.’
‘Ah, it’s annoying.’
As Erdene watched the sobbing woman and the two people trying to comfort her, she wanted to kick down a pillar instead of the railing. Just as she was about to yell, “Can’t you stop?” someone who had pushed through the crowd quickly approached Erdene.
“Your Majesty, you’re here. How long have I been looking for me! His Majesty has ordered us to find you urgently.”
Erdene stared at the woman kneeling before her eyes. At first, she wondered who it was, but then she remembered it. It was Viscountess Wickes.
The Viscountess turned her head toward the woman who was sobbing.
“Miss Zelma, what a shameful thing for a grown lady of the Count’s family to do. Stop crying. Many eyes are watching.”
At the Viscountess’s words, the woman who had been sobbing like a child turned red again.
She looked at Erdene once as if she wanted to tell a story, then looked at Viscountess Wickes with pleading eyes again.
“Your Majesty, please go quickly, His Majesty is looking for you urgently.”
Erdene’s brow furrowed at the viscountess’s words.
“What are you talking about? I...”
“Oh, hurry, Your Majesty. By the way, is it really okay for you to tease His Majesty like this?”
Erdene looked down at Viscountess Wickes’s hands that were tightly grabbing her arms with a look of bewilderment.
She almost pulled Erdene with all her might and barely managed to get away.
The direction where Viscountess Wickes was headed was completely opposite to where the King’s residence was.
Erdene realized that, just like her earlier, she too was walking aimlessly wherever her feet took her.
“Where are you planning on taking me? Is there a hidden dungeon?”
At that moment, the Viscountess let go of Erdene’s arm in shock.
She was so flustered that she had forgotten that she had dared to drag the Queen halfway through.
“Your Majesty! I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I, please forgive my rudeness...”
Viscountess Wickes bowed deeply, her face pale.
“Enough, tell me what you’re doing.”
The viscountess slightly raised her eyes and answered with a sad face.
“Uh, uh... uh... That, on the way... uh, I think Your Majesty is in trouble, so stop.”
“I should take care of it. What are you meddling in?”
“I, I’m sorry. Uh... uh...”
Erdene stared at the Viscountess with a very unpleasant expression.
'I seem to be in trouble, so stop? Did you think I would be in trouble and flustered like that? Did you think I would sigh and show weakness?'
The thought that was no different from being stubborn came to her head.
She was already angry, and those three people were pouring oil on her, but instead, the Viscountess was the one who was trying to put out the fire, and it was the Viscountess who was the one who got the sparks.
However, Erdene took a deep breath and calmed her mind.
No matter how angry she was, she was not short-sighted enough to take out her anger on the Viscountess and say that her behavior was outrageous.
"Raise your head. If you're not going to cry and act like you broke your back because of me, then that is."
When Erdene's voice seemed to soften somewhat, the Viscountess raised her head, feeling a sense of relief inside.
Her cheeks, which had been pale with fear, flushed brightly.
Erdene said,
“Was you Viscountess Wickes?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Please call me More.”
“Is that your name?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
More. Erdene repeated the name on her tongue several times and sighed.
“So, it must be a lie that His Majesty is looking for me, right? More?”
Viscountess Wickes’s face, or More, turned bright red again.
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
“The nobles of this country all lie without blinking an eye.”
She was sarcastically bringing up the matter of the Marchioness Fiddlers.
It wasn’t her fault, but she was there too, so she suddenly blushed.
More said,
“Your Highness, I, I know it sounds like an excuse, but I... I thought what the Marchioness Fiddlers said was true.”
Erdene stared at her with eyes that could not read her mind.
From the moment she first introduced herself as Viscountess Wickes, More seemed somewhat naive, but she did not have the arrogant malice of Marchioness Fiddler. Even if she only looked at today’s events, it was something she had done to save Erdene from trouble.
“It was a useless thing, but I appreciate your willingness to help me.”
As she said that, Erdene rubbed her hand that had turned red from hitting the railing. She felt a slight sting as if her skin had been slightly scratched.
More staggered for a moment, looking as if she was about to collapse from the tension, but she came to her senses when she hit her shoulder against a pillar.
She thought of the Countess’s daughter sobbing in the middle of the hallway.
What on earth had happened with Erdene?
'I brought out His Highness because I hated the way you acted like you were doing something you would never do normally...'
"Why are you looking at me like that? If you have something to say, say it."
Erdene asked rudely.
More hesitated, not knowing what to do, and after a long time, More carefully opened her mouth.
"Excuse me, Your Highness. In the hallway earlier... What on earth happened with Count Zelma's daughter?"
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