My maternal grandfather's love for me was the same then as it is now. Regardless of their own feelings, Anasha and Evan would have acted for my sake according to my grandfather's will, just as they did back then. It was I who refused that.
As if following the Marchioness, Anasha came to visit me several times after my maternal grandfather passed away. However, I sent her away without even looking at her face. The reason she couldn't tell me the truth until the end might have been because she couldn't meet me. Of course, she might have kept it a secret on purpose, since it was true that I had provided the pretext for her inheritance.
Now, the true reason why she did what she did back then did not matter. In any case, there was no way to know now. What mattered were the things my maternal grandfather had left me.
The ring, engraved with a seal, felt heavy. The ring on my finger felt like a shackle. I knew that everything was my maternal grandfather's love for me. His love was warm, vast, and endlessly deep. It was also true that the more I felt such love from my grandfather, the more grateful and happy I felt, yet at the same time, my heart grew heavy. It was a pity that I could not return this love of his.
"I apologize for being late, Lady Elliot."
It was a servant I had never seen before who woke me from my reverie. Usually, the person who greeted me was a servant belonging to the Crown Prince's household. The Crown Prince always sent the same servant to me.
I frowned as I looked at the servant who had come to greet me.
"I've never seen that face before"
"Nice to meet you. Lady Elliot. I am Sieg, a servant of Hiber Palace."
"What business does a servant from the Empress's palace have with me?"
"The Crown Prince is currently away. Her Majesty the Empress has sent her messenger, concerned that the Young Lady might make a wasted trip."
He bowed respectfully.
In that instant, I inwardly cursed the Crown Prince. He should have at least let me know where he was going so I wouldn't have made the trip in vain. I had barely managed to endure coming despite my strong reluctance, only to end up in this state. I clenched my fists and suppressed my anger so as not to take it out on the attendant.
"I came all this way for nothing."
"Young lady, please wait a moment!"
As soon as I turned around, a servant called out to me urgently. I turned my head back to him while keeping my body still turned. He looked quite flustered and was even sweating profusely.
"Her Majesty the Empress is waiting."
"Her Majesty the Empress, me?"
"Yes, she is waiting for the young lady."
I could not help but furrow my brow. There was no reason for the Empress to summon me. Moreover, according to the attendant, the Crown Prince was not in the palace. What reason could the Empress have for calling me while the Crown Prince was away?
“Young lady?”
The attendant called me cautiously. He seemed restless for some reason. It was quite suspicious, but his uniform clearly indicated that it belonged to the Empress's Palace.
If he was truly a servant sent by the Empress, refusing would have been a problem. Even though she was an Empress who merely held the position like a puppet, she was officially the highest-ranking woman in the Empire, and I was just a Marquis's daughter.
“Guide me.”
The attendant let out a sigh of relief and took the lead.
As I followed behind him, I pictured the current Empress in my mind. The Empress I remember is weak.
She always had a timid look on her face.
The position of Empress, which had been vacant due to the checks and balances between the factions of the Crown Prince and the First Prince, was filled by a woman from a humble Viscount family. She possessed neither the power nor the authority to oust the concubines who had already firmly established themselves in the palace. With a humble background and no backing, she was the Empress, but not an Empress in the true sense of the word.
"Your Majesty the Empress, Lady Elliot has presented."
“Come on in.”
The door opened with the sound of an answer. I stepped through the open door. Inside the Empress's reception room, the Empress and the First Consort were sitting side by side. I bowed toward the Empress.
"Bjornne Rossa Elliott greets the Moon of the Empire."
"Welcome, Lady Elliot."
I straightened my back and turned toward the First Consort. The First Consort was looking at me, covering the corners of her mouth with a fan made of peacock feathers.
"Bjornne Rossa Elliott greets the First Consort."
"Welcome, Young Lady."
The Consort swayed her fan as she accepted my greeting. She looked so young that it was hard to believe she had a son over thirty years old. Once called the most beautiful woman in the Empire, she still maintained her splendid appearance despite her age.
"Please sit down, Young Lady."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, the Empress."
I went and sat in the seat the Empress pointed to. It was a seat directly opposite the First Consort. The First Consort smiled at me. Fine wrinkles formed around her eyes.
"When the Empress said she was summoning the Young Lady, I foolishly asked to be allowed to join her. It would be alright if I were with you, wouldn't it?"
"You are stating the obvious, Your Highness, the First Consort."
I smiled at the First Consort. Her presence here meant a great deal. It was not the Empress who had summoned me. The one who had brought me here, borrowing the Empress's name, was the First Consort, who was smiling with her mouth but staring at me with cold eyes.
"I'm glad to hear you're okay."
She waved the fan again. With every swing, a strong musk wafted in on the breeze. I smiled even more brightly to avoid frowning.
"It is tea from Dentarc Mountain."
The Empress had a court lady place tea in front of me. Amidst the pungent musk, a faint tea scent brushed past the tip of my nose. After thanking the Empress, I lifted the teacup and took a deep breath of the aroma.
"The aroma of the tea is truly wonderful, Your Majesty the Empress."
"Is that so? It is truly a relief that it pleases the Lady."
The Empress smiled at me. Her smile was awkward and slightly stiff. The Empress's gaze frequently glanced toward the First Consort. She continued to watch the First Consort's reaction.
Judging by her appearance and the aura she exuded, the Empress looked very weak-willed. If you put the two side by side, the First Imperial Consort was more suited to be Empress. Even when I was the Crown Princess back then, the Empress could not even raise her voice in front of me.
"Your Majesty, what is the reason you summoned me?"
The Empress gave a distinctly awkward smile and glanced at the First Consort. As expected, it was definitely the First Consort who had called me.
"Is there any particular reason? There are no peers of her age in the palace, so the Empress is always lonely. I wish the Young Lady would visit the Empress often. Don't you think so, Empress?"
“Yes, I am.”
I barely managed to suppress the sneer threatening to escape. Anyone could see that the claim that there were no women of the Empress's age in the Imperial Palace was a lie. The Inner Palace was teeming with Concubines and Princesses. There was no way there wouldn't be anyone of the Empress's age. Moreover, the First Consort's tone clearly looked down on the Empress. Who, looking at the two women now, would believe this was a conversation between the Empress and the First Consort? The First Consort was treating the Empress with the same attitude as an Empress Dowager.
"It has been a long time since I last saw you. I am deeply humbled, Your Majesty the Empress."
"Ah. No, Young Lady."
The Empress was at a loss for words at my earnest tone. She smiled awkwardly and continued speaking.
"I heard the news about Count Pison."
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
"Come to think of it, I heard that caused quite a stir."
The First Consort interrupted the conversation between the Empress and me. Through the fan, I could see the First Consort's red lips, curled up at an angle.
"I heard rumors that the young lady cast aside her own flesh and blood."
The First Consort was exactly the same then as she is now. Even back then, she irritated me with a smiling face. She was impatient.
Being slow to assess situations, I fell for the First Consort's schemes time and time again. She was a woman like a snake harboring venom beneath her splendor.
The First Empress was the eldest daughter of a Count family and voluntarily entered the Emperor's harem. Taking advantage of the birth of the Emperor's first son, the First Prince, she not only secured the position of First Consort but also achieved the feat of elevating her own family, the Count Moyton family, to the status of a vassal family.
Until the Crown Prince was born, the First Prince was treated as a provisional heir. I also heard that the First Consort enjoyed power comparable to that of the Empress. However, their empire was shattered the moment the Crown Prince was born. To the First Consort and the First Prince, the Crown Prince must be someone they wouldn't mind chewing up. Naturally, in her eyes, I would appear just as much of a thorn in her side as the Crown Prince.
"It seems the First Consort took a great interest in my family affairs."
"Since we might become a family, isn't that only natural?"
Although it is not something I would like at the moment, as the Crown Prince's fiancée, I will become the Crown Princess and a member of the royal family barring any major unforeseen circumstances. The major unforeseen circumstances that would prevent me from becoming the Crown Princess are the death of either the Crown Prince or me, which would cause the marriage to fall through, or the Elliot family staging a rebellion and facing complete annihilation.
It meant that unless there was a major incident big enough to turn the entire country upside down, nothing could prevent my marriage to the Crown Prince. Faced with such an undeniable fact, the First Consort told me that we might become one family. That was tantamount to saying that it might not happen.
Of course, I did not want to marry the Crown Prince at that moment. If possible, I wanted to break off our engagement. Breaking off the engagement between the Crown Prince and me would have required both the Elliot family and the Imperial family to suffer significant losses. The Emperor and the Crown Prince would never accept such a loss. The First Consort also knew this fact better than anyone.
The First Consort's words could be interpreted in many ways. Within her words, which carried multiple meanings, lay her warning that she would prevent me from becoming the Crown Princess.
An invisible war of nerves began between the First Consort and me. The Empress stood between the two of us, her face pale and at a loss for what to do. I turned my attention away from the Empress and focused on the First Consort.
"I see. Since we will soon be a family, it is only natural to take an interest in each other."
Apart from not wanting to marry the Crown Prince, I did not want to be suppressed by the First Consort. At that time, I disliked the First Consort. She was wary of my background but consistently ignored me personally. In the beginning, after entering the palace as the Crown Princess, I clashed with the First Consort quite a lot. Looking back now, it seems she was testing the waters to see what kind of person I was.
At that time, I was full of vanity and self-centered. Aside from chasing after the Crown Prince, I did nothing. Perhaps judging that I was someone who did not need to be wary of, the First Consort soon began to ignore me.
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