Sophia advised that she should be careful because Montiel Zelma resembled his father and tended to bite and hang on to people very persistently.
However, Erdene was not too worried.
A dog that bites and hangs on persistently would become a good hunting dog if tamed well.
Even if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a threat to her.
If it didn’t get tamed, wouldn’t it just be kicked out?
Of course, this woman would think differently.
Erdene stared blankly down at Montiel’s tear-stained face and suppressed the laughter that was about to escape.
“What did you do to me wrong?”
Montiel raised her head.
Her lips were drawn down and her cheeks were flushed red, which made her look very pitiful to others.
If anyone had seen her, they would have thought Erdene had slapped her in the face. His expression was that sad.
“I, I... You scolded me for making a rash remark in front of Your Majesty before. After that, I really, deeply reflected on it.”
It’s funny. Erdene’s lips twitched faintly.
The reason she and the few nobles who followed her couldn’t gossip about Erdene openly was because of Sophia.
Almost all of the young nobles in the society of Vetor admired Sophia Fiddlers.
She was the perfect person who could even bury all the outrageous behavior of her mother, the Marchioness Fiddlers.
Sometimes, some said that she was so flawless that she had no charm at all, but in reality, most of those people were people who had tried to court Sophia without success and were laughed off, so no one listened to them.
On the other hand, Montiel was the central axis of the minority who truly hated Sophia.
Of course, they also pretended to sympathize with Sophia—saying that Sophia was the Queen’s real material—but there was a faint sense of mockery in there about Sophia’s failure to become Queen.
Erdene had heard about such conflicts from Sophia in advance.
The young Queen, who rarely engaged in social activities, was as savvy as if she were looking at the social circles of this country. No matter how much she had been on the battlefield, she could not suddenly lose the sense of humor that had been cultivated half voluntarily and half involuntarily as the princess of the empire.
That was why Montiel’s current bravado was just funny to Erdene.
Was she stupid or was she ignoring me...? In any case, Erdene decided to continue listening to her.
“So?”
“So... I was deeply reflecting, bu... Ugh, it seems that Your Majesty has not forgiven me...”
Arkan already had a bored expression.
He wanted to order his servant to send Montiel back home, but since Erdene, who was the person involved, was listening to her, he couldn’t do that and just watched.
Erdene spoke again.
“What did I do to make you think that? It’s not that I haven’t forgiven you, but isn’t there a reason why you shouldn’t be forgiven by me?”
Montiel’s eyes widened.
“T-what do you mean? Me?”
“Yes. Even if you don’t show it on the outside, well... For example, you still don’t think I’m fit to be the Queen of Vetor.”
Montiel’s shoulders trembled. She quickly shook her not-so-good head.
‘You’re just guessing. What would you know? Being cooped up in the Queen’s palace and chatting with the maids. Not the type of person Sophia Fiddler would be nitpicking about.’
Montiel could never have imagined that Sophia would relay every move of the nobles to Erdene, and as a result, Erdene would conclude that there was no one among the nobles of Vetor that was worth getting close to.
She sobbed even louder at Erdene’s words and shook her shoulders as if she were dying of resentment.
“Your Majesty! No, I really didn’t do that. I didn’t mean it that way back then... I didn’t say that! Your Majesty!”
Why did you suddenly look at me? Arkan frowned and stared at Montiel.
She pursed her lips and stared at Arkan, making pitiful sobs.
“Your Majesty, you will trust me, right? It was definitely wrong for me to speak so thoughtlessly... because I was worried about Your Majesty. However, I swear that I will never say anything disloyal to Your Majesty after that! I have truly reflected on it deeply.”
Arkan let out a deep sigh without realizing it. Then he glanced at Erdene.
She no longer seemed interested in Montiel but seemed curious about what Arkan would do.
Arkan, who was looking at Montiel, who was sitting on the floor, shook his head and said.
“Get up. The servants are watching, and what is this shameful behavior of a daughter of a Count?”
“But, Your Majesty..."
“If you have reflected on your mistakes, show it with your actions. The Queen is not someone who is swayed by a few words.”
Arkan looked at Erdene.
“Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
Erdene made a face that seemed to know and not know and tilted her head slightly.
“Of course. I am glad that Your Majesty knows me so well.”
Arkan’s lips twitched slightly as Erdene muttered in a sarcastic tone.
He looked at Montiel, who was still sitting, with a puzzled look, and then suddenly realized what she was waiting for.
“Ouch!”
As Arkan’s gaze met, Montiel suddenly rubbed the area around her ankle and let out a shrill scream.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your Majesty, on .y foot... I think I have a mouse.”
Before Montiel could open her mouth to say, “ Please give me your hand,” she heard Erdene’s voice from behind her.
However, Erdene was not too worried.
A dog that bites and hangs on persistently would become a good hunting dog if tamed well.
Even if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a threat to her.
If it didn’t get tamed, wouldn’t it just be kicked out?
Of course, this woman would think differently.
Erdene stared blankly down at Montiel’s tear-stained face and suppressed the laughter that was about to escape.
“What did you do to me wrong?”
Montiel raised her head.
Her lips were drawn down and her cheeks were flushed red, which made her look very pitiful to others.
If anyone had seen her, they would have thought Erdene had slapped her in the face. His expression was that sad.
“I, I... You scolded me for making a rash remark in front of Your Majesty before. After that, I really, deeply reflected on it.”
It’s funny. Erdene’s lips twitched faintly.
The reason she and the few nobles who followed her couldn’t gossip about Erdene openly was because of Sophia.
Almost all of the young nobles in the society of Vetor admired Sophia Fiddlers.
She was the perfect person who could even bury all the outrageous behavior of her mother, the Marchioness Fiddlers.
Sometimes, some said that she was so flawless that she had no charm at all, but in reality, most of those people were people who had tried to court Sophia without success and were laughed off, so no one listened to them.
On the other hand, Montiel was the central axis of the minority who truly hated Sophia.
Of course, they also pretended to sympathize with Sophia—saying that Sophia was the Queen’s real material—but there was a faint sense of mockery in there about Sophia’s failure to become Queen.
Erdene had heard about such conflicts from Sophia in advance.
The young Queen, who rarely engaged in social activities, was as savvy as if she were looking at the social circles of this country. No matter how much she had been on the battlefield, she could not suddenly lose the sense of humor that had been cultivated half voluntarily and half involuntarily as the princess of the empire.
That was why Montiel’s current bravado was just funny to Erdene.
Was she stupid or was she ignoring me...? In any case, Erdene decided to continue listening to her.
“So?”
“So... I was deeply reflecting, bu... Ugh, it seems that Your Majesty has not forgiven me...”
Arkan already had a bored expression.
He wanted to order his servant to send Montiel back home, but since Erdene, who was the person involved, was listening to her, he couldn’t do that and just watched.
Erdene spoke again.
“What did I do to make you think that? It’s not that I haven’t forgiven you, but isn’t there a reason why you shouldn’t be forgiven by me?”
Montiel’s eyes widened.
“T-what do you mean? Me?”
“Yes. Even if you don’t show it on the outside, well... For example, you still don’t think I’m fit to be the Queen of Vetor.”
Montiel’s shoulders trembled. She quickly shook her not-so-good head.
‘You’re just guessing. What would you know? Being cooped up in the Queen’s palace and chatting with the maids. Not the type of person Sophia Fiddler would be nitpicking about.’
Montiel could never have imagined that Sophia would relay every move of the nobles to Erdene, and as a result, Erdene would conclude that there was no one among the nobles of Vetor that was worth getting close to.
She sobbed even louder at Erdene’s words and shook her shoulders as if she were dying of resentment.
“Your Majesty! No, I really didn’t do that. I didn’t mean it that way back then... I didn’t say that! Your Majesty!”
Why did you suddenly look at me? Arkan frowned and stared at Montiel.
She pursed her lips and stared at Arkan, making pitiful sobs.
“Your Majesty, you will trust me, right? It was definitely wrong for me to speak so thoughtlessly... because I was worried about Your Majesty. However, I swear that I will never say anything disloyal to Your Majesty after that! I have truly reflected on it deeply.”
Arkan let out a deep sigh without realizing it. Then he glanced at Erdene.
She no longer seemed interested in Montiel but seemed curious about what Arkan would do.
Arkan, who was looking at Montiel, who was sitting on the floor, shook his head and said.
“Get up. The servants are watching, and what is this shameful behavior of a daughter of a Count?”
“But, Your Majesty..."
“If you have reflected on your mistakes, show it with your actions. The Queen is not someone who is swayed by a few words.”
Arkan looked at Erdene.
“Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
Erdene made a face that seemed to know and not know and tilted her head slightly.
“Of course. I am glad that Your Majesty knows me so well.”
Arkan’s lips twitched slightly as Erdene muttered in a sarcastic tone.
He looked at Montiel, who was still sitting, with a puzzled look, and then suddenly realized what she was waiting for.
“Ouch!”
As Arkan’s gaze met, Montiel suddenly rubbed the area around her ankle and let out a shrill scream.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your Majesty, on .y foot... I think I have a mouse.”
Before Montiel could open her mouth to say, “ Please give me your hand,” she heard Erdene’s voice from behind her.
“Anne, help Miss Zelma.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Montiel lowered her head and pursed her lips. When Anne helped her up and she called a servant to brush her dirty dress, Pelarhar, who was leading the horse with the stableman, opened his eyes wide at the sight of this unexpected intruder.
“Who is this?”
Montiel also knew Pelarhar. Was that all? She had once badmouthed the Queen in front of him and gotten a scolding. However, Montiel had one very strange talent: the ability to ignore and forget the unpleasant words of someone he liked.
“Your Highness Pelarhar, it has been a long time since I have seen you.”
“You’re the youngest daughter of the Countess Zelma. What’s going on here?”
Pelarhar was truly a sly man. He pretended not to notice Montiel’s face was red and her eyes were bloodshot. Montiel felt very sorry for that, but she smiled brightly and answered.
“I heard that Your Majesty and His Highness Pelarhar are going horseback riding today.”
“I just snuck in because Your Majesty and the Queen were going.”
It was obvious that Pelarhar had put special emphasis on the word “Your Majesty.” Montiel looked embarrassed for a moment, then smiled charmingly and shrugged her shoulders. This was also a movement she had practiced since she was young, looking in the mirror.
“Yes, that’s right. I heard that Her Majesty the Queen is going horseback riding, so I came to serve Her Majesty today. I made a big mistake toward Her Majesty, so I’m reflecting on that.”
It was as if honey had been applied to her tongue. The sweet coquetry flowed, but it was so pitiful that it made the listener feel sorry for her. And yet, the fact that the end of her words trembled, was it because she practiced it so hard or was it just natural?
Erdene knew that it was not a situation to laugh at, but she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. When she snickered, everyone’s eyes were focused on Erdene. Montiel’s expression was truly something to behold, and you could clearly see that she was habitually glaring at her before suddenly coming to his senses.
Erdene said,
“Yes, that’s what happened. So, Duke, don’t pry any further and make things difficult.”
Pelarhar shrugged his shoulders, grabbed the reins of the trotting horse, and stroked its mane. Erdene looked straight at Montiel. Montiel met her eyes for the first time then, and her eyes, as clear as glass and blue, flashed for a moment, sending shivers down her spine.
“What is your name?”
“Oh, Montiel.”
She did not ask to be called “Tiel,” as she had done to Arkan. Erdene nodded.
“Since you want to apologize to me so badly, it would be my duty as a Queen to give you a chance. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
Arkan answered Erdene’s words like this.
“Since the Queen has shown you generosity, you will take care of her today in place of Miss Fiddler.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Montiel bowed her head obediently. But there was one more problem. Erdene said,
“But, Montiel. You said you were going to go horseback riding, but you didn’t come wearing riding clothes. You can’t ride in those clothes, and you will probably have to ride with someone else...”
Arkan realized then that Montiel’s clothes were not at all appropriate for horseback riding.
Just by looking at the richness of the dress she was wearing, it was obvious how many layers of petticoats she had worn underneath.
Erdene's lips moved faintly.
"The Duke's horse and mine are not that big, so it's hard to carry two people. I've prepared them to be fast... Then all that's left is His Majesty's horse. Will you ride with him?"
Just by looking at the richness of the dress she was wearing, it was obvious how many layers of petticoats she had worn underneath.
Erdene's lips moved faintly.
"The Duke's horse and mine are not that big, so it's hard to carry two people. I've prepared them to be fast... Then all that's left is His Majesty's horse. Will you ride with him?"
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment