The old maid, Viscountess Miriam Horte, did not spare herself at the Empress's orders. She did not blink an eye while beating the maid.
The Empress said coldly.
"Didn't you say with your own mouth that the Second Prince was unable to move? That he wouldn't be able to ride a horse. And yet he was flying around the hunting grounds."
Miriam cut off the beat between beatings.
"How dare you, you bitch, tell me a lie!"
The maid cried out on the floor.
"Ugh. No! Since the apothecary came by, His Highness the Second Prince has been vomiting all day and hasn't been able to eat...! I have never told a lie. Please save me!"
The maid's plea was so desperate that it seemed impossible for it to be a lie. The Empress, who was watching her, muttered quietly.
"Then you must have been fooled. You must have been fooled by the play that the apothecary came by."
“His Highness the Second Prince’s symptoms were real. Kydel, Prince Kydel must have come looking for medicine.”
The maid no longer had the energy to scream, so she crouched down and covered her head. If they continued, they might have completely ruined hee.
At the Empress’s gesture, the maid stopped beating her. The sweat dripping down Miriam’s forehead showed that she had done her best.
She ordered the maids to drag the Second Prince’s maid away and turned to the Empress.
“Was that all part of His Highness the Second Prince’s play?”
“He must have gotten weaker after going to war. Thanks to that, all I could see in front of His Majesty was his healthy recovery.”
The First Prince contracted an unidentified illness in his mid-twenties, but the Second Prince flies around like a subject.
After fighting on the battlefield for a year or two, doesn’t he now exude a stronger manly scent than his older brother who is a few years older?
She heard that the Second Prince’s bravery was endless at the night’s fireside. The First Prince had nothing to say there.
Miriam, who knew that this made her master unbearably anxious, approached the Empress and spoke calmly.
Her forehead was still glistening with sweat.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. There will be another opportunity. There always will be.”
“Now that the Second Prince’s health has been revealed, there is talk of succession. There is not much time left.”
“...”
Princess Miliora heard a woman’s cry as she walked through the palace corridors. She followed the sound into a room where the maids were gathered.
On the floor, a maid who had been beaten groaned like a dying dog, and the maids around her were weeping and waiting for a male servant to come and carry her back to her quarters.
Miliora recognized her as someone from the Second Prince’s palace and approached her in surprise.
“Why are you here? Who would have done this to...”
“Huhu, Your Highness the Princess...”
Miliora did not ask any more questions. Who else in the palace could call the maid of the Second Prince’s palace and beat her to this extent?
She wondered why the Empress was doing this. The hand of the upper court was so strong that the lower court was afraid to look at her.
However, she spoke harshly.
“Can’t you stop? The palace is noisy. What are the servants doing? Hurry up and move this child quickly. You go first and tell the Second Prince’s palace to bring a doctor!”
The maid next to her was delighted at the word doctor and got up. A maid could not dare to ask for treatment at a hospital. It was at least thankful that the upper court gave permission.
However, the maid who got up after being supported stopped and lowered her head.
The air became cold in an instant.
Miliora knew who was standing outside the door before she could even look back. It was a familiar sight for her as well.
In front of the Empress, she, a legitimate daughter of the imperial family, was no different from this maid.
“What are you doing?”
The Empress’s sharp voice flew first and pierced her delicate back.
“I greet Your Majesty the Empress.”
As Milliora turned around and bowed, the maids dragged the beaten maid out of the room.
The Empress waited for them to move away before opening her mouth.
“Should I just move your quarters to the Second Prince’s Palace?”
Milliora’s head turned white as she realized that she seemed to be taking care of the Second Prince’s Palace maids. It seemed as if the maids’ negligence was her fault.
She was born and raised as the most precious daughter in the empire, but whenever she stood before the Empress, her palms would get wet and her mind would go blank.
“No, it’s just that I was passing by...”
“You’re really useless.”
A dagger in the form of a voice. The Empress’s dry criticism was devoid of emotion, sounding like an unchangeable fact. Even though she had heard it her entire life, she had never become even a little familiar with it.
“Do you like running around like a mouse with your small body and causing discord among your brothers? Do you think anyone would consider you useful?”
“Your Majesty the Empress! Sowing discord, I...”
“Just lie down quietly and think about asking for your elder brother’s mercy.”
When she gathered her thoughts to tell her not to say such scary words, that she had only heard the crying sound as she passed by and looked in, the Empress had already left.
She found herself abandoned in the empty room and let out a conscious sigh. Then she slowly walked over, locked the door, and began to cry quietly.
The Empress headed straight to the room of the First Prince Orl.
Orl, who was sitting on a comfortable chair in front of the balcony, smiled gently in welcome when he saw the Empress. His silver hair, neatly trimmed to the tip of his neck, made even his weakness look noble.
“Why is my precious mother feeling uneasy?”
The Empress smiled comfortably at her son’s question. The anger that had piled up until just now had melted away like spring snow on her face at his words.
“What could possibly be disturbing me? It’s worrying about you. All my joys and worries come from you, Orl.”
“Please be happy for me, Your Majesty.”
The Empress gently patted her son’s shoulder and returned to the sofa.
“Your Majesty told me to stuff the fox that Grayon caught during a hunting party. He said it was a lucky fox that brought iron ore mines to the empire.”
Orl answered as if trying to appease his mother.
“As the empire has grown, we have now become self-sufficient in the iron ore that was lacking. I am just as happy as Your Majesty.”
“Your heart for the empire is big and deep, Orl. However, foxes are not animals that can be tamed.”
“...”
“As Grayon showed off his complete recovery, nobles and officers began to line up for him. It means that people now consider him a real power. We must not let Grayon draw attention anymore.”
The First Prince’s Palace was managed very quietly, thinking of Orl’s health. So outside, there was only the beautiful chirping of birds in the garden.
If any birds made annoying noises and flew in, the palace servants would hunt them down and kill them.
“How about just giving them that gaze?”
“...”
The Empress quietly stared at his pale face resting on the back of the fancy chair, wondering what her son was saying.
“The empire has now entered a period of stability. If things continue as they are, even if I become the Crown Prince, the military forces will not forget Grayon, who fought with me. I will probably have to continue fighting Grayon’s shadow.”
“That’s why I’m saying that.”
Orl quietly raised his back and turned to the Empress. The beautiful silver-haired man, who looked taller than his wife and thinner, smiled faintly at the Empress and said.
“Ask His Majesty to compete. Tell His Majesty to watch the Princes compete against each other and demonstrate their abilities before choosing a successor.”
The Empress’s eyes narrowed for a long time.
“There will be things that are impossible for your body. Grayon will definitely target that weakness.”
“I also targeted his health weakness. We will each do our best, Your Majesty the Empress.”
The Empress’s gaze wavered.
Orl cannot ride a horse and swing a sword. In that respect, he is no match for Grayon.
Then, all he has to do is move the battlefield to a place that is advantageous to him. A secret plot, a battlefield where he has fought before. He will not be pushed back by Grayon there. Moreover, she will be guarding his back.
Orl’s decisive proposal seemed to prove that he was indeed the material of the Emperor, and it pleased her.
However, she could not bear to see Orl get hurt and wounded in the process. His health condition always made her sensitive.
That was a mother’s heart.
“Isn’t it fortunate that we don’t see bloodshed in the royal family’s battles? Your Majesty won’t dislike that proposal either. You hate the memory of killing your brothers yourself.”
“...Are you confident?”
Orl got up from his seat and approached the Empress.
“Your Majesty. This is like a journey. In the end, I walk to my destination. Even if I don’t have to force myself to do so, the road leads to where I want to go.”
The Empress said coldly.
"Didn't you say with your own mouth that the Second Prince was unable to move? That he wouldn't be able to ride a horse. And yet he was flying around the hunting grounds."
Miriam cut off the beat between beatings.
"How dare you, you bitch, tell me a lie!"
The maid cried out on the floor.
"Ugh. No! Since the apothecary came by, His Highness the Second Prince has been vomiting all day and hasn't been able to eat...! I have never told a lie. Please save me!"
The maid's plea was so desperate that it seemed impossible for it to be a lie. The Empress, who was watching her, muttered quietly.
"Then you must have been fooled. You must have been fooled by the play that the apothecary came by."
“His Highness the Second Prince’s symptoms were real. Kydel, Prince Kydel must have come looking for medicine.”
The maid no longer had the energy to scream, so she crouched down and covered her head. If they continued, they might have completely ruined hee.
At the Empress’s gesture, the maid stopped beating her. The sweat dripping down Miriam’s forehead showed that she had done her best.
She ordered the maids to drag the Second Prince’s maid away and turned to the Empress.
“Was that all part of His Highness the Second Prince’s play?”
“He must have gotten weaker after going to war. Thanks to that, all I could see in front of His Majesty was his healthy recovery.”
The First Prince contracted an unidentified illness in his mid-twenties, but the Second Prince flies around like a subject.
After fighting on the battlefield for a year or two, doesn’t he now exude a stronger manly scent than his older brother who is a few years older?
She heard that the Second Prince’s bravery was endless at the night’s fireside. The First Prince had nothing to say there.
Miriam, who knew that this made her master unbearably anxious, approached the Empress and spoke calmly.
Her forehead was still glistening with sweat.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. There will be another opportunity. There always will be.”
“Now that the Second Prince’s health has been revealed, there is talk of succession. There is not much time left.”
“...”
***
Princess Miliora heard a woman’s cry as she walked through the palace corridors. She followed the sound into a room where the maids were gathered.
On the floor, a maid who had been beaten groaned like a dying dog, and the maids around her were weeping and waiting for a male servant to come and carry her back to her quarters.
Miliora recognized her as someone from the Second Prince’s palace and approached her in surprise.
“Why are you here? Who would have done this to...”
“Huhu, Your Highness the Princess...”
Miliora did not ask any more questions. Who else in the palace could call the maid of the Second Prince’s palace and beat her to this extent?
She wondered why the Empress was doing this. The hand of the upper court was so strong that the lower court was afraid to look at her.
However, she spoke harshly.
“Can’t you stop? The palace is noisy. What are the servants doing? Hurry up and move this child quickly. You go first and tell the Second Prince’s palace to bring a doctor!”
The maid next to her was delighted at the word doctor and got up. A maid could not dare to ask for treatment at a hospital. It was at least thankful that the upper court gave permission.
However, the maid who got up after being supported stopped and lowered her head.
The air became cold in an instant.
Miliora knew who was standing outside the door before she could even look back. It was a familiar sight for her as well.
In front of the Empress, she, a legitimate daughter of the imperial family, was no different from this maid.
“What are you doing?”
The Empress’s sharp voice flew first and pierced her delicate back.
“I greet Your Majesty the Empress.”
As Milliora turned around and bowed, the maids dragged the beaten maid out of the room.
The Empress waited for them to move away before opening her mouth.
“Should I just move your quarters to the Second Prince’s Palace?”
Milliora’s head turned white as she realized that she seemed to be taking care of the Second Prince’s Palace maids. It seemed as if the maids’ negligence was her fault.
She was born and raised as the most precious daughter in the empire, but whenever she stood before the Empress, her palms would get wet and her mind would go blank.
“No, it’s just that I was passing by...”
“You’re really useless.”
A dagger in the form of a voice. The Empress’s dry criticism was devoid of emotion, sounding like an unchangeable fact. Even though she had heard it her entire life, she had never become even a little familiar with it.
“Do you like running around like a mouse with your small body and causing discord among your brothers? Do you think anyone would consider you useful?”
“Your Majesty the Empress! Sowing discord, I...”
“Just lie down quietly and think about asking for your elder brother’s mercy.”
When she gathered her thoughts to tell her not to say such scary words, that she had only heard the crying sound as she passed by and looked in, the Empress had already left.
She found herself abandoned in the empty room and let out a conscious sigh. Then she slowly walked over, locked the door, and began to cry quietly.
***
The Empress headed straight to the room of the First Prince Orl.
Orl, who was sitting on a comfortable chair in front of the balcony, smiled gently in welcome when he saw the Empress. His silver hair, neatly trimmed to the tip of his neck, made even his weakness look noble.
“Why is my precious mother feeling uneasy?”
The Empress smiled comfortably at her son’s question. The anger that had piled up until just now had melted away like spring snow on her face at his words.
“What could possibly be disturbing me? It’s worrying about you. All my joys and worries come from you, Orl.”
“Please be happy for me, Your Majesty.”
The Empress gently patted her son’s shoulder and returned to the sofa.
“Your Majesty told me to stuff the fox that Grayon caught during a hunting party. He said it was a lucky fox that brought iron ore mines to the empire.”
Orl answered as if trying to appease his mother.
“As the empire has grown, we have now become self-sufficient in the iron ore that was lacking. I am just as happy as Your Majesty.”
“Your heart for the empire is big and deep, Orl. However, foxes are not animals that can be tamed.”
“...”
“As Grayon showed off his complete recovery, nobles and officers began to line up for him. It means that people now consider him a real power. We must not let Grayon draw attention anymore.”
The First Prince’s Palace was managed very quietly, thinking of Orl’s health. So outside, there was only the beautiful chirping of birds in the garden.
If any birds made annoying noises and flew in, the palace servants would hunt them down and kill them.
“How about just giving them that gaze?”
“...”
The Empress quietly stared at his pale face resting on the back of the fancy chair, wondering what her son was saying.
“The empire has now entered a period of stability. If things continue as they are, even if I become the Crown Prince, the military forces will not forget Grayon, who fought with me. I will probably have to continue fighting Grayon’s shadow.”
“That’s why I’m saying that.”
Orl quietly raised his back and turned to the Empress. The beautiful silver-haired man, who looked taller than his wife and thinner, smiled faintly at the Empress and said.
“Ask His Majesty to compete. Tell His Majesty to watch the Princes compete against each other and demonstrate their abilities before choosing a successor.”
The Empress’s eyes narrowed for a long time.
“There will be things that are impossible for your body. Grayon will definitely target that weakness.”
“I also targeted his health weakness. We will each do our best, Your Majesty the Empress.”
The Empress’s gaze wavered.
Orl cannot ride a horse and swing a sword. In that respect, he is no match for Grayon.
Then, all he has to do is move the battlefield to a place that is advantageous to him. A secret plot, a battlefield where he has fought before. He will not be pushed back by Grayon there. Moreover, she will be guarding his back.
Orl’s decisive proposal seemed to prove that he was indeed the material of the Emperor, and it pleased her.
However, she could not bear to see Orl get hurt and wounded in the process. His health condition always made her sensitive.
That was a mother’s heart.
“Isn’t it fortunate that we don’t see bloodshed in the royal family’s battles? Your Majesty won’t dislike that proposal either. You hate the memory of killing your brothers yourself.”
“...Are you confident?”
Orl got up from his seat and approached the Empress.
“Your Majesty. This is like a journey. In the end, I walk to my destination. Even if I don’t have to force myself to do so, the road leads to where I want to go.”
The Empress smiled. How could I not fall in love with him? Now, the only one who could comfort her, who did not know anything like love, was Orl. The children who followed her only hurt her.
A child who did not receive the father’s blessing could not be anything other than the mother’s wound. It is said to be a fact that cannot be spoken of, but because it cannot be spoken of, it becomes an unchangeable fact.
“I plan to bring Count Loire.”
“Why the third messenger? He is His Majesty’s man.”
“To ask for his daughter.”
A child who did not receive the father’s blessing could not be anything other than the mother’s wound. It is said to be a fact that cannot be spoken of, but because it cannot be spoken of, it becomes an unchangeable fact.
“I plan to bring Count Loire.”
“Why the third messenger? He is His Majesty’s man.”
“To ask for his daughter.”
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