Lady To Queen Chapter 21 - Do You Love The Emperor?

Chapter 21 – Do You Love The Emperor?

Patrizia gave Rosemond a confused look, then gave an “Ah” of recognition. She must be talking about the Emperor's overnight stay because of the rain. But how did Rosemond find out about it so quickly?

“I was,” Patrizia replied, wondering if there was a spy in the palace.

“Why?”

“Because I was alone with the Emperor, and we got caught in the rain.” The implications in her words made it sound romantic, but not so much for the two people who were actually in the situation. Rosemond, of course, interpreted it her own way. She clutched the skirt of her dress with a trembling fist.

“Last night…were you together with His Majesty?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Ha. Patrizia thought that if she had to pick the most ridiculous moment of her life, it would probably be this one. How dare a concubine talk criticize a queen's relationship with her husband as if it were an illicit affair? Unfortunately, Rosemond seemed to be unaware of her own lunacy. That, too, was a talent—although a very annoying one.

“It is not unusual for a queen to be with her emperor,” Patrizia said. “However, a queen but help question when an emperor gives a noble title to a concubine.”

“…”

“So, I should ask when you spend the night with His Majesty," Patrizia said.

“…Your Majesty!”

“Don't yell. You have no manners, as I have told you yesterday. I'm beginning to doubt the name of Baron Darrow. How on earth were you educated?”

“You're going too far.”

“Don't you think you're going too far?” Patrizia was starting to lose her patience with Rosemond. No matter how much Patrizia vowed that she would sit still, she couldn't hold back, no matter how good-natured of a person she was. How could she not react when someone was poking her with a hot skewer?

“I can't believe you would worry about a queen spending time with her husband…you must have been caught in the rain too, Rosemond. If not, can you go back to being the crazy you were before?”

Rosemond narrowed her eyes. “It's not me who's crazy, but you, Your Majesty. Apparently, you made a promise to the Emperor on your wedding day. You won't ask for his love, and you won't do anything to me. Are you going to break that promise?”

“It's based on the premise that you won't provoke me first. If you keep trying to conspire against me like this, do you think I'll sit idly by as a fool? Or did you hope for an empty-minded queen?”

“Do you love the Emperor?”

“Excuse me, Lady Phelps,” Patrizia shouted harshly. She found it more difficult to keep hold of her mental composure, probably due to her sickness from the rain. Otherwise, she wouldn't be rattled this much. She knew Rosemond was a cunning woman, but for some reason Patrizia felt incensed that she spent the night together with Lucio. She had never even thought of it that way.

“I thought you still had some semblance of communication ability, but this is serious. Is your head wrong because of the rain? Do I have an obligation to tell you whether I love the Emperor or not?" Patrizia ranted. "What if I love him, what if I don't love him? I don't understand why I'm hearing this from you in my palace. Do you need to see a doctor?”

“…”

Rosemond's face turned smug, and Patrizia sincerely thought that the concubine must be mentally ill. Deciding that there was nothing more to be said, Patrizia decided to end the conversation as soon as possible.

“Whether I rolled around in the sheets with the Emperor last night or only slept next to him, there is no reason to explain it to you. If you're so curious about it, go ask the Emperor whom you love so much,” Patrizia said derisively. “Or are you scared? Scared of losing his shallow favor to me?”

Rosemond's eyes immediately turned as dangerous as a feral animal's. Yes, she was scared. She was aware of the situation she was in.

Patrizia continued on without concern. “You've acted quite rudely today. I already warned you yesterday, but the lesson still hasn't sunk in your head. Do you need me to slap your cheek again?”

“…”

Rosemond glared poisonously at Patrizia, then stood up and left the room without another word. The sound of the door slamming shut echoed loudly in the room, and when the concubine was finally gone, Patrizia sighed. The concubine always exhausted her after every encounter.

Raphaella went up to her with a stunned expression. “Your Majesty, are you insane? Why did you let her go? You should have slapped her on the cheek one more time!”

“Yesterday sufficed, Dame Ella. The Emperor said nothing about what happened yesterday, but if I hit her cheek again today, I may end up in trouble. Then I may be branded as a jealous queen.”

Patrizia never wanted such ridiculous rumor. Anything else but that. She took in a breath and patted down any stray curls on her hair, which had come loose from anger.

“When are the guests leaving, Mirya?” Patrizia asked.

“I think you still have plenty of time to see them off," Mirya replied. "Will you leave now?”

“Yes,” Patrizia replied casually, and slowly put on her blue high heels. Yesterday she wore a fiery red dress, but today she wore an aqua one that was reminiscent of water.

Patrizia walked slowly to the designated location, and she saw Lucio dressed in uniform about a hundred meters from the Hanren palace. It was him, not her, that caused trouble last night, but for some reason she felt embarrassed to be the one seeing him. She made her face look as casual as possible, then approached him.

“Greetings to the Sun of the Empire. Hail to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Ah, you're here?” Lucio said, turning towards her.

“I must finish my duties as queen. If you don't want me to be here, I'll leave.”

“…Stay.”

“As you wish.” Patrizia then pulled out a handkerchief. It was the white one she borrowed from him. She didn't want to acknowledge that last night happened, but she knew that the handkerchief was important to him. She dared to return it in front of all the senior nobility, as that might help her image a little more. As expected, she felt the gazes of the crowd fixed on them.

“Thank you for last night,” Patrizia said.

“I'm more sorry about it,” Lucio replied. Patrizia cleared her throat as she remembered what happened. The nobles seemed to be frantically searching for hidden information in the words, and Patrizia gave a small smile. That wasn't the only thing that pleased her.

“I was worried that I had taken your bed,” Lucio said. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm a little tired, but I'm fine. Are you alright?”

Patrizia's good mood was because of a woman hiding behind a tree and watching them.

‘Rosemond.'

Lucio nodded. “Good.”

Rosemond was now grinding her teeth in fury. Love was like a reed, and could be shaken and broken at any time.

At the moment, the group of envoys appeared, and one of them bowed and spoke respectfully before the Emperor and Queen. “We thank the Mavinous Empire for their hospitality.”

Patrizia answered fluently in the language of the Christa Empire. “I hope that you were comfortable. I was worried I wasn't prepared enough for it.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. You speak out language fluently, and everyone felt very comfortable,” Duchess Verica said, and she turned to Lucio to speak to him.

“You two are a lovely couple, Your Majesty. It is a glory to your empire to have such a wise and beautiful queen.”

“Thank you for your praise.”

On the surface, the atmosphere was friendly, but Rosemond was still behind the tree, clenching her jaw and emanating a cold chill. As she watched the scene from afar, she intuitively sensed that something was wrong. No, she couldn't do anything yet. At the very least, she guaranteed she would be the one that would bear a prince. Before that, she had to keep the Emperor's love as much as possible. She chewed her fingernails in anxiety and turned around, muttering angrily underneath her breath as her eyes shone fiercely.

Read full chapters on WordExcerpt or Crystal Crater's Patreon.

*

That afternoon, Patrizia received a letter from Petronilla, asking if she could visit the next day. Patrizia agreed, of course, as it had been a long time since they last saw each other last. Patrizia spent the rest of the day doing as much work as possible so she would be free the

The day of Petronilla's arrival came, and Patrizia instructed the chef to bake her sister's favorite strawberry macarons, before waiting excitedly for her sister's appearance. She was soon rewarded, and Petronilla arrived at the palace earlier than she expected. Patrizia welcomed her with wide open arms.

“Nilla!”

During the visit with the envoys, Patrizia regretted that Petronilla couldn't come with their mother Marquess Grochester to the banquet.

Petronilla responded with the same enthusiasm. “Rizi! How are you?” She suddenly stiffened. “Ah…should I say ‘Your Majesty'?”

“Nilla, you know I don't like that. Nobody's here, it's just the two of us. You can stop with the formalities.”

“You're shameless. Alright. Can I have a cup of tea? I'm thirsty because I rushed here.”

Patrizia smiled widely at Petronilla's request. “Of course. I also prepared your favorite strawberry macarons. We can have them with the tea.”

As Patrizia ordered, a plateful of macarons and two cups of milk tea were placed on the table in front of them. Patrizia smiled genuinely as she enjoyed her time with her sister.

They talked about various things for a while, before touching on a delicate subject.

Chapter end