Episode 19. Did you think I’d just get hit?
Crunch!
The rose-patterned teacup fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m not used to this kind of situation, so I guess I was too nervous.”
Adele pretended to be flustered and hurriedly picked up the teacup.
“It’s okay, Ma’am. The teacup broke, so be careful.”
That was the moment April stopped her.
“Oops!”
Red blood gushed out from Adele’s fingers.
“Are you okay, Ma’am? Call the doctor right now!”
Adele waved her hand as April kept yelling at the attendant.
“No, it’s just a small cut. Just wrap it with a handkerchief.”
Then Adele smiled at Seira.
“I’m sorry, Seira. Could you take off your shoes?”
“What... you said?”
When Seira glared at her with a furious expression, Adele naturally put her foot out.
“My foot seems wet, but as you can see, my hand is hurt.”
Seira had been acting all friendly with Adele, calling her stepmother just a moment ago. So she couldn’t refuse.
In this situation, she could do anything she wanted to her daughter.
“Come on.”
Everyone watched the scene with interest. Except for April, no one knew about their relationship.
Reluctantly, Seira knelt down in front of Adele. Adele naturally placed her foot on her lap.
“Thank you for helping me, Seira.”
There were whispers and laughter here and there. Rumors would spread through the social circles by tomorrow morning.
Seira Oswald, the jewel of the empire, kneels before Adele, the villainess of Kalame!
Just the thought of that humiliation made Seira’s fingertips tremble. However, she didn’t know. Even more humiliating things were waiting for her.
“Oh my, you two are really nice to see.”
April, who didn’t know anything, was the only one who was pleased. Then Adele followed suit.
“Seira sometimes rubs my feet.”
Are you crazy?
Seira looked up at Adele with an angry face and mouthed the words. Adele looked away and smiled at the Princess.
“She still wants to rub my feet. Her fingers are long, and it feels really good.”
“Oh, I see.”
April clasped her hands together and made an expression of admiration.
Adele looked at Seira again and smiled gently.
“Seira, how about rubbing the Princess’s feet instead of mine? I think she’s curious about your skills.”
Seira’s face turned bright red with anger, but she forced herself to smile.
“Mother, wouldn’t that be rude to the Princess? You shouldn’t let anyone touch her feet...”
April quickly said.
“I’m fine! I’m curious about Miss Seira’s skills.”
“You’re fine, Seira. Go ahead and do it.”
Adele nodded gracefully. As if giving permission.
The Princess’s maids, who had been watching with interest, also took Adele’s side.
“I guess the Princess is really curious, Miss Seira.”
“I envy you. This is a good opportunity to show Miss Seira’s skills.”
They were by no means taking sides to help Adele. That was the nature of the high society. They bowed their heads to those who had power, but they wanted to drag down and bite anyone who showed even the slightest weakness or opening.
They were all secretly looking for an opportunity to mock Seira.
“Well, then.”
Seira had no choice but to kneel before the Princess and take off her shoes.
“Wow, your fingers are really long and beautiful. Hands like these must be really refreshing.”
“Where else could you get such a glorious opportunity to rub the Princess’s feet?”
While the women were having fun mocking Seira,
Adele naturally switched the Princess’s dessert plate with Seira’s.
This was the epitome of ‘you reap what you sow.’
***
Whoosh!
The women who were laughing while drinking tea stopped for a moment. But they looked at each other with expressions that said, “No way.”
Pwung, burp... burp...!
At that moment, everyone was flustered and didn’t know what to do at the explicit sound that followed again.
“Madam Hans, are you okay?”
Then Seira asked Madame Hans, who was next to her, with a kind face.
“Uh, me?”
Madame Hans looked around in embarrassment. At this point, she would become the main character of this bizarre sound.
“Yes, of course I’m okay!”
However, Seira held her hand and asked for the Princess’s understanding.
“Your Highness, can I take a walk with Madame Hans for a moment?”
“Yes, please do so.”
April nodded quickly, embarrassed.
“No, I’m fine! I’m really fine!”
Seira consoled Madame Hans, who blushed and shouted.
“This happens to everyone, so don’t be embarrassed. Go ahead and leave, Madame.”
“It’s not me! It’s really not me!”
Madame Hans desperately insisted that there was nothing wrong with her physiology. However, Seira, who was in a hurry, used her incredible strength to drag her out.
“There’s nothing you can do about someone of humble origins.”
“That’s right. What on earth did you eat to have such a rotten smell...”
The Princess’s maids held their noses and scorned Madame Hans.
Madame Hans was wealthy, but she wasn’t from a noble family. She had been able to step into high society thanks to following Seira around. That’s why the Princess’s maids, who were from a noble family, secretly looked down on her.
Adele once again vowed to distance herself from high society.
And after a while, the chamberlain approached the Princess and said,
“Her Majesty is looking for Madame Oswald.”
“Your mother is looking for Madame?”
The chamberlain bowed his head respectfully to Adele.
“I will show you, Madame.”
***
“Have you called, Your Majesty?”
Christine, dressed in a neat uniform, entered the Emperor’s office.
The Emperor, who was seriously studying a report at the large desk, smiled happily when he saw her.
“Welcome, Count!”
Emperor Jan Valencia, in his mid-forties, was tall and thin, with a somewhat nervous appearance.
In the early days of his reign, he was often compared to the gentle-natured former Emperor. The five elder nobles were particularly displeased with him.
If the former Emperor had not suddenly passed away during the war, the throne would have naturally gone to the Emperor’s young son.
However, the Emperor suddenly passed away in a war with a neighboring country. Furthermore, the castles of Kalame were falling one by one.
Every day was critical. The empire needed an Emperor with the leadership to command this situation.
The council of elder nobles eventually raised their hand for the late Emperor’s younger brother, Grand Duke Jan Valencia.
After becoming Emperor, Jan Valencia conquered neighboring small countries one after another, expanding his territory. Thanks to this, he was now very popular among the people.
“Would you like a drink?”
Jan came out from his desk and winked while holding up a transparent golden bottle of wine.
“I’m working.”
He looked embarrassed at the firm answer and drank the entire bottle.
“The inauguration ceremony is coming soon. It would be really great if you were in charge of the guards.”
“You are flattering me.”
“But when are you going to take April as your wife? How about getting engaged at the inauguration?”
“Is it an imperial order?”
Christine’s response was stiff and even rude.
Jan’s brow furrowed, and he put down the bottle of wine he was holding.
“I heard you went into the Marchioness’s house. It was probably to find the documents I instructed you to do, right?”
“I had some personal investigations to do.”
“Don’t forget my warning. Don’t do anything that will upset April.”
Christine’s eyebrows furrowed in embarrassment.
“I have never promised you any future.”
Jan, who approached Christine, straightened his neat uniform for no reason.
“You know very well, don’t you? You will soon become my strong consort. To do that, you and April must show love for each other. Honestly, I don’t care what you do with the Marchioness. However, it would be troublesome if other people or April suspect and notice.”
Christine slowly grabbed Jan’s hand that was stroking the shoulder straps of his uniform.
“I’m not the one who’s getting in trouble, Your Majesty.”
His arrogant blue-gray eyes looked down at him.
“...!”
Jan’s hands trembled as he tried to suppress his anger. Finally, he took Christine’s hand away and gave an imperial order.
“I’ll give you one month. Find the blank document and leave the Marchioness’s house within that time.”
“I’ll decide everything.”
Jan glared at him coldly, but Christine didn’t show any sign of wavering.
“Does she know about your true identity?”
This was a threat.
However, Christine laughed as if he found it funny.
“Then I’ll have to tell the Princess my true identity. Even so, Your Majesty will force me to marry her, and she will lie down next to me every night in fear. And I’m a beast, so I don’t know how to control my lust.”
“You bastard!”
In the end, Jan, unable to contain his anger, threw the bottle, but Christine caught it lightly. Not only that, but the moment he grabbed it with all his might, the bottle in his hand shattered into pieces with a 'pop!'
"...!"
As the glass shards fell from Christine's hand, Jan's face turned pale. He was newly afraid of the fact that he had powers different from those of humans.
"Don't forget. Who made Grand Duke Jan Valencia the Emperor?"
This was a real threat.
However, Christine soon bowed his head politely as if nothing had happened.
"Then that's it."
He closed the door and left, but Jan just stood there blankly for a while. Then he trembled all over and muttered,
"I raised him too much...!"
The Emperor of Kalame, whom the whole world feared and revered.
Those arrogant eyes looking down on him!
However, it wasn't like he had no gains at all. He knew that even that beast, who seemed to have no weaknesses, had weaknesses.
Adele Oswald...
By no means were they simply acquaintances. When he spoke of her, he had the eyes of a fierce male.
Perhaps she could be the reins that would control him.
The Empress seemed to be on her way back from a hunt.
She was crossing the palace gardens in her riding attire, holding a horse whip in her hand. Blood was splattered here and there on her clothes.
She was said to be from a low-ranking knight family and had fought in battles with the Emperor. Because of this, the Council of Elders had questioned the Empress’s origins and qualifications. All Empresses up until now had been the daughters of families of the Council of Elders.
“Hello, Your Majesty, the Empress.”
When Adele greeted her,
“It seems that things have improved a lot.”
The Empress looked at Adele from head to toe and did not hide her displeasure.
Adele always showed up at the year-end banquet in the shabbiest way. A poor Marchioness with an out-of-style dress and no accessories.
But now, the clothes she was wearing and the overall atmosphere were much more luxurious. Above all, her face had become so splendid.
“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty. I’m grateful for allowing me to deliver my desserts to the palace.”
“Well, they say women become prettier when they have a man. Especially, if they have a rich man, they’ll become rich in many ways.”
“Yes?”
Adele’s eyes widened in surprise.
The Empress smiled thinly and nodded to the attendants behind her.
Soon, a woman with bloody blond hair was dragged out and made to kneel on the floor.
The Empress looked down at her and said to Adele as if telling her to listen.
“I despise people who are not moral the most. In particular, I can’t stand the vulgar people who rely on their pretty faces to flirt with other men.”
“I don’t know why you’re saying that to me.”
Adele barely suppressed her insulted feelings and asked.
“I’m not the one who’s getting in trouble, Your Majesty.”
His arrogant blue-gray eyes looked down at him.
“...!”
Jan’s hands trembled as he tried to suppress his anger. Finally, he took Christine’s hand away and gave an imperial order.
“I’ll give you one month. Find the blank document and leave the Marchioness’s house within that time.”
“I’ll decide everything.”
Jan glared at him coldly, but Christine didn’t show any sign of wavering.
“Does she know about your true identity?”
This was a threat.
However, Christine laughed as if he found it funny.
“Then I’ll have to tell the Princess my true identity. Even so, Your Majesty will force me to marry her, and she will lie down next to me every night in fear. And I’m a beast, so I don’t know how to control my lust.”
“You bastard!”
In the end, Jan, unable to contain his anger, threw the bottle, but Christine caught it lightly. Not only that, but the moment he grabbed it with all his might, the bottle in his hand shattered into pieces with a 'pop!'
"...!"
As the glass shards fell from Christine's hand, Jan's face turned pale. He was newly afraid of the fact that he had powers different from those of humans.
"Don't forget. Who made Grand Duke Jan Valencia the Emperor?"
This was a real threat.
However, Christine soon bowed his head politely as if nothing had happened.
"Then that's it."
He closed the door and left, but Jan just stood there blankly for a while. Then he trembled all over and muttered,
"I raised him too much...!"
The Emperor of Kalame, whom the whole world feared and revered.
Those arrogant eyes looking down on him!
However, it wasn't like he had no gains at all. He knew that even that beast, who seemed to have no weaknesses, had weaknesses.
Adele Oswald...
By no means were they simply acquaintances. When he spoke of her, he had the eyes of a fierce male.
Perhaps she could be the reins that would control him.
***
The Empress seemed to be on her way back from a hunt.
She was crossing the palace gardens in her riding attire, holding a horse whip in her hand. Blood was splattered here and there on her clothes.
She was said to be from a low-ranking knight family and had fought in battles with the Emperor. Because of this, the Council of Elders had questioned the Empress’s origins and qualifications. All Empresses up until now had been the daughters of families of the Council of Elders.
“Hello, Your Majesty, the Empress.”
When Adele greeted her,
“It seems that things have improved a lot.”
The Empress looked at Adele from head to toe and did not hide her displeasure.
Adele always showed up at the year-end banquet in the shabbiest way. A poor Marchioness with an out-of-style dress and no accessories.
But now, the clothes she was wearing and the overall atmosphere were much more luxurious. Above all, her face had become so splendid.
“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty. I’m grateful for allowing me to deliver my desserts to the palace.”
“Well, they say women become prettier when they have a man. Especially, if they have a rich man, they’ll become rich in many ways.”
“Yes?”
Adele’s eyes widened in surprise.
The Empress smiled thinly and nodded to the attendants behind her.
Soon, a woman with bloody blond hair was dragged out and made to kneel on the floor.
The Empress looked down at her and said to Adele as if telling her to listen.
“I despise people who are not moral the most. In particular, I can’t stand the vulgar people who rely on their pretty faces to flirt with other men.”
“I don’t know why you’re saying that to me.”
Adele barely suppressed her insulted feelings and asked.
“This woman is His Majesty’s mistress, Madame Lyned. She dared to touch the Empress’s things because she trusted only in the favor of a man, so I’m going to cut off her wrist to teach her manners.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the bloody woman screamed and clung to the Empress. However, she was soon caught by the servants and dragged away.
This time, the Empress lifted Adele’s chin with the end of the whip handle.
“Let me explain it in simple terms. Our April will soon marry Count Weiss. So you can’t act recklessly like you have been.”
Adele’s face turned red with shame. Everyone around her glanced at her and whispered. It was as if they were mocking a prostitute.
Adele clasped her hands together and stared straight at the Empress.
“I don’t know, but do you not trust the Count that much?”
“What?”
“You two are the ones chosen by His Majesty. Above all, he is not the kind of person who would turn his eyes to someone else while leaving the woman he has in mind.”
“Shut up!”
The Empress shouted venomously.
But Adele stubbornly looked at her and said,
“I can no longer tolerate words that question the Count’s honor.”
“Hey, how dare you!”
The Empress's horse's whip slashed sharply through the air.
Crack!
A sharp whipping sound was heard, and drops of blood spurted into the air.
"Kyaaak!"
Adele, who had been screaming in surprise, quickly raised her head. A large shadow blocked her path.
"Count Weiss!"
The people shouted as if they were screaming.
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