“That’s ridiculous, Your Majesty!”
The sharp voice of Viscountess Wickes, or More, shook the palace.
Erdene’s eyes widened the moment she shouted, and then stared blankly at Marchioness Fiddler, who was sitting across from her.
Marchioness Fiddler also stared at More with surprised and bewildered eyes.
“Viscountess Wickes, how could you raise your voice in front of Her Majesty...?”
“Marchioness! Is now the time to say something like that? My goodness, Your Majesty! Absolutely not! This is ridiculous! How could Your Majesty go to such a dangerous place! Smugglers! How could you know what such barbarians would do and go to such a place yourself?”
Erdene, who had been blinking in bewilderment, put down her teacup and said.
“...More, I think you forgot, but I’ll say it again, I’m probably more barbaric than they are.”
“What are you talking about! What is wrong with Your Majesty? You can embroider really well now, and you don’t break everything you touch, and you kick chairs a lot less!”
The sharp voice of Viscountess Wickes, or More, shook the palace.
Erdene’s eyes widened the moment she shouted, and then stared blankly at Marchioness Fiddler, who was sitting across from her.
Marchioness Fiddler also stared at More with surprised and bewildered eyes.
“Viscountess Wickes, how could you raise your voice in front of Her Majesty...?”
“Marchioness! Is now the time to say something like that? My goodness, Your Majesty! Absolutely not! This is ridiculous! How could Your Majesty go to such a dangerous place! Smugglers! How could you know what such barbarians would do and go to such a place yourself?”
Erdene, who had been blinking in bewilderment, put down her teacup and said.
“...More, I think you forgot, but I’ll say it again, I’m probably more barbaric than they are.”
“What are you talking about! What is wrong with Your Majesty? You can embroider really well now, and you don’t break everything you touch, and you kick chairs a lot less!”
Was that praise or insult? Erdene stared at More with a suspicious look, then replied,
“My embroidery has improved from something a cat vomited out to something a cat brought back as a dead cicada, and I don’t break everything I touch because the things in the palace have been replaced with more durable ones, and I kick chairs a lot less because there are no more chairs to kick. His Majesty said not to kick unless they’re broken.”
For a moment, the eyes of both Viscountess Wickes and Marchioness Fiddler wavered.
But Viscountess Wickes More did not back down and shouted,
“Even so, that won’t do! It’s not something that Your Majesty should be involved in in the first place! Isn’t that right, Marchioness?”
Marchioness Fiddlers, who had suddenly been shot by an arrow, pursed her lips in bewilderment.
It was impossible to guess what had happened between Viscountess Wickes and Erdene while she was away from the capital to have the Viscountess, who was so innocent that she was often treated as a fool, change like this.
“Marchioness!”
More urged her again, and Marchioness Fiddlers coughed in vain.
“Viscountess Wickes is not wrong, Your Majesty. In the first place, such matters are not something that Your Majesty should be handling directly. Your Majesty, you just need to supervise the palace as you are doing now, check the royal finances and the budget for the items used by the various nobles, and meet with the nobles in the capital to check and respond to issues in the social world. Smugglers? Isn’t it the soldiers’ job to eliminate such people?”
Two worried nags. Erdene slurped her tea with a serious expression.
The Marchioness gaped at her attitude, as if she was sipping cheap beer in a tavern, but More, who had already gotten used to it, didn’t care.
“Your Majesty! My goodness! How dare you drink your tea like that! You should drink it more elegantly!”
“I drank half of it elegantly, Marchioness.”
“Drink the other half elegantly, too. If Your Majesty acts too freely, the discipline of the subordinates will naturally...”
“Don’t worry, the discipline in my palace is tightly controlled by your daughter.”
The Marchioness, who had her mouth shut, turned her head slightly with a loud noise.
One of her strange characteristics was that whenever, wherever, and from whomever, Sophia’s praise was heard, she would feel good.
Erdene, who had silenced the Marchioness of Fiddler, quickly seized the opportunity to speak.
“I wouldn’t have stepped forward if it were just a small matter. But the conversation was going in a direction where I could be bait...”
Erdene, whose words trailed off, bit her lips tightly with a look of remorse.
However, it was too late to take back the words that had already spilled out.
“Bait?”
“Bait!”
The two ladies sang in unison.
Erdene made an exaggerated motion of covering her ears and then spread her hands again. It was a gesture to calm her down.
“That’s what you say.”
“No, Your Majesty! What on earth are you doing? Your Majesty is the bait for smugglers? That’s ridiculous!”
“I will go to His Majesty and speak to him again. He is only allowing the vice-captains of the knights to accompany you on such a dangerous mission? It is absolutely unjust.”
Erdene gave Sophia a look that begged for her life, but Sophia naturally avoided her gaze, telling Anne to go to the kitchen and check if the cake was done.
That was it.
“What’s the fuss, in the Queen’s quarters?”
“My embroidery has improved from something a cat vomited out to something a cat brought back as a dead cicada, and I don’t break everything I touch because the things in the palace have been replaced with more durable ones, and I kick chairs a lot less because there are no more chairs to kick. His Majesty said not to kick unless they’re broken.”
For a moment, the eyes of both Viscountess Wickes and Marchioness Fiddler wavered.
But Viscountess Wickes More did not back down and shouted,
“Even so, that won’t do! It’s not something that Your Majesty should be involved in in the first place! Isn’t that right, Marchioness?”
Marchioness Fiddlers, who had suddenly been shot by an arrow, pursed her lips in bewilderment.
It was impossible to guess what had happened between Viscountess Wickes and Erdene while she was away from the capital to have the Viscountess, who was so innocent that she was often treated as a fool, change like this.
“Marchioness!”
More urged her again, and Marchioness Fiddlers coughed in vain.
“Viscountess Wickes is not wrong, Your Majesty. In the first place, such matters are not something that Your Majesty should be handling directly. Your Majesty, you just need to supervise the palace as you are doing now, check the royal finances and the budget for the items used by the various nobles, and meet with the nobles in the capital to check and respond to issues in the social world. Smugglers? Isn’t it the soldiers’ job to eliminate such people?”
Two worried nags. Erdene slurped her tea with a serious expression.
The Marchioness gaped at her attitude, as if she was sipping cheap beer in a tavern, but More, who had already gotten used to it, didn’t care.
“Your Majesty! My goodness! How dare you drink your tea like that! You should drink it more elegantly!”
“I drank half of it elegantly, Marchioness.”
“Drink the other half elegantly, too. If Your Majesty acts too freely, the discipline of the subordinates will naturally...”
“Don’t worry, the discipline in my palace is tightly controlled by your daughter.”
The Marchioness, who had her mouth shut, turned her head slightly with a loud noise.
One of her strange characteristics was that whenever, wherever, and from whomever, Sophia’s praise was heard, she would feel good.
Erdene, who had silenced the Marchioness of Fiddler, quickly seized the opportunity to speak.
“I wouldn’t have stepped forward if it were just a small matter. But the conversation was going in a direction where I could be bait...”
Erdene, whose words trailed off, bit her lips tightly with a look of remorse.
However, it was too late to take back the words that had already spilled out.
“Bait?”
“Bait!”
The two ladies sang in unison.
Erdene made an exaggerated motion of covering her ears and then spread her hands again. It was a gesture to calm her down.
“That’s what you say.”
“No, Your Majesty! What on earth are you doing? Your Majesty is the bait for smugglers? That’s ridiculous!”
“I will go to His Majesty and speak to him again. He is only allowing the vice-captains of the knights to accompany you on such a dangerous mission? It is absolutely unjust.”
Erdene gave Sophia a look that begged for her life, but Sophia naturally avoided her gaze, telling Anne to go to the kitchen and check if the cake was done.
That was it.
“What’s the fuss, in the Queen’s quarters?”
That was it. Erdene’s eyes lit up.
Arkan had arrived! She jumped up from her seat, waving both arms like a drifter who had encountered a sailing ship passing by on the vast ocean.
“Your Majesty! You’re here!”
Arkan flinched at the sound of Erdene’s overly welcoming voice.
Regardless, Erdene furrowed her eyebrows, made an unsuitable expression, and pretended to hide behind him. Needless to say, the jaws of those who saw this scene, namely Plat, Sophia, More, and Marchioness Fiddler, almost fell off.
“...Erdene?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Arkan had arrived! She jumped up from her seat, waving both arms like a drifter who had encountered a sailing ship passing by on the vast ocean.
“Your Majesty! You’re here!”
Arkan flinched at the sound of Erdene’s overly welcoming voice.
Regardless, Erdene furrowed her eyebrows, made an unsuitable expression, and pretended to hide behind him. Needless to say, the jaws of those who saw this scene, namely Plat, Sophia, More, and Marchioness Fiddler, almost fell off.
“...Erdene?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“...I’m scared, so let’s stop and talk.”
Erdene’s fist hit Arkan in the waist.
“Why are you hitting me?”
“Your Majesty deserves to be hit.”
“No, what did I do?”
“ Enough, just kick those two out quickly. They’re nagging me so much that my ears are getting worn out.”
Arkan raised his eyebrows as he looked at Viscountess Wickes and Marchioness Fiddler, who seemed to be confused.
“What on earth did you two say to the Queen?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Arkan regretted asking what he had done. If he could turn back time by just a minute, or even 30 seconds, he would have chosen to run away with Erdene there instead.
“Your Majesty! Listen! How could you do this!”
“Your Majesty, I usually believe that your decisions are wise and don’t tell you things like this, but this is absolutely ridiculous.”
Arkan’s eyes widened at the momentum of the two noble ladies rushing forward. And then, he heard Erdene whispering behind him.
“Block them well. Got it?”
Then she grabbed the hem of her dress and quickly ran across the living room toward the bedroom.
“No, where are you going, leaving me here?”
“This is what we call a tactical retreat!”
Erdene slammed the bedroom door shut and opened the window, feeling much more refreshed, ignoring the noise coming from outside. With More alone, she felt like she had another mother who was the most nagging and worrying in the world, but now with the Marchioness Fiddler joining her, she was no longer able to handle it.
“Ah.”
Erdene’s expression brightened as she looked up at the sky outside the window. She pursed her lips and let out a long, sharp whistle. Then a large shadow plummeted down from the sky.
“Glucker!”
The falcon croaked, its beak clicking. Erdene brought Glucker inside and sat him down on the perch.
“You’re answering quickly this time.”
Glucker snapped his beak. Erdene called Sabnake to bring Glucker water and food, and in the meantime, she unwrapped the letter from her leg. It was the second letter from Empress Roelica. As usual, the handwriting was neat, but there were ink marks here and there.
'Did you cry?'
Erdene sat down on the bed and began to read the letter. It said that a villa was being built to avoid Tenek's surveillance more closely and that Aiman's niece Dionina was joining in to 'investigate' the palace of the letter of resignation. Erdene, who was reading that part, suddenly sat up, and Glucker blinked his bright eyes and made a sound.
Palace. Erdene's fingertips trembled slightly in excitement. She had finally stepped on the tail. Or she had seized the opportunity to step on the tail. Either way, Thelma, Merton, and Aiman would not miss that opportunity. Roelica had said that she planned to 'investigate,' but Erdene knew better than anyone how her adjutants interrogated her. If they set their minds to it, there was nothing they couldn't get out of the captive.
'Good. Good...If they know something, it is a step forward.'
If she could find even one clue about the death of the Emperor, she could continue the persistent pursuit from there. Erdene, who had a laugh full of murderous joy and slammed the bed, read the rest of the content. In the meantime, the smile gradually disappeared from her expression.
<...I am grateful for what the Princess has done for me. It was something I never dreamed of, even in my dreams, that I would find out that Eorshin was still alive. I thought a lot and sorted out a lot of things. If the Princess can still contact him, please tell him clearly what I said. I have no regrets about him anymore. I cannot have any regrets. I had to forget him for what I wanted to protect, and that is what I did. I would appreciate it if you could tell him that I am grateful for him being alive, but do not think about meeting me again...>
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