Lady To Queen Chapter 64

Chapter 64 – Husband's Greatest Obligation

“You were in the carriage from back then! Right?”

It was the man that Petronilla bumped into while on her way to the Ephreney estate. Before she could welcome him, she noticed that he held out his hand towards her.

“Please take my hand, My Lady,” he said in a gentle voice.

“Ah… yes.”

Her embarrassment catching up to her, she quickly took his outstretched hand. She placed fallen cocktail glass on the table before looking at the man. He was slightly taller than she was, and looked to have received the proper upbringing of a noble family. Of course, the man made the same observation about her as well.

“I apologize, My Lady. I should have been more careful, but I instead caused you much inconvenience.”

“Oh no, good sir. I, too, should have been more aware of my surroundings. Now then…”

Petronilla then made to leave, but the man unexpectedly stopped her.

“Wait, please.”

He grabbed Petronilla's arm. Taken aback, Petronilla looked back at the man, and he gave her a saucy smile.

“I think this was meant to be.”

“Isn't there a saying that says even brushing past someone is considered fate?”

'He honestly believes in something like that?'

Petronilla inwardly scoffed at the man. There was no doubt he had yet to taste the bitterness of the world. What a fantasy he lived in. As she was thinking this, the man firmly introduced himself.

“I am Rothesay Aile Lee Bradington.”

Ah, so he was Count Bradington's eldest son, who had recently come back from abroad. Petronilla doubted whether introductions were necessary for two people who met twice by coincidence, but since he already introduced himself, it would be impolite to ignore him. She inwardly heaved a deep sigh before telling him her name.

“My name is…Petronilla Laura le Grochester,” she said timidly. Afterwards, she bid him farewell and tried to leave, but Rothesay ignored her wishes.

“Excuse me, My Lady.”

What does he want this time… Can't he just let me leave?

She looked back at him with growing irritation, but she couldn't maintain it for longer than three seconds after seeing his warm, friendly expression. She had never met someone who looked as kindly as him. A dazed feeling came over her.

“Your dress is sullied…” Rothesay said apologetically.

“I would feel guilty sending you off like this.”

“No, that's alright. I'm fine…”

“But I am not,” Rothesay stubbornly insisted.

Petronilla was half taken aback and half annoyed as she looked at him. “I'm fine,” she repeated.

Eventually, Rothesay surrendered. “You're quite the stubborn young lady.”

“Yes, I suppose that is the case.”

“I'm not a suspicious person…”

“I have never said you were, sir.”

“Then why do you continue to avoid me? I'm only acting like this because I truly feel sorry, My Lady.”

Worn out, Petronilla closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. She ended up listening to this meddlesome, overly thoughtful man's demands longer than she wished.

“Alright, sir. Then what is it exactly that you would like to do for me? I'm quite curious myself.”

Rothesay's face lit up with a bright smile.

Ah, this man's smile really suits him, she thought as she waited for his response.

“For now, allow me to reimburse you for your dress.”

“…It's a dark color, so I think it'll be—” Petronilla was about to say that it was fine, then decided against it. She wanted this matter to be over with as soon as possible. I'll just let him do as he pleases.

“Yes, then please send it to Marquis Grochester…”

“I have one more request.”

“…And what is that?”

Rothesay, with the sweetest smile in the world, went down on one knee before Petronilla. Petronilla became flustered that he was below her eye level, and he spoke in a tender voice that rang through her ears.

“Would you care to dance with me today, My Lady?”

Patrizia was strangely enjoying the cool breeze outside. No doubt that Mirya would nag if she were here, saying that Patrizia would catch a cold before urging her to put on a shawl.

Patrizia stifled a yawn with her hand, then slowly started walking across the terrace. It was a place made for nobles who weren't as enthusiastic about the partying atmosphere like her. She lingered on the terrace until the cold started to nip at her skin, then decided she should head inside.

“…went there?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice caused Patrizia's entire body freeze. It was Rosemond.

Patrizia quickly stepped behind a pillar. From her hiding spot, she scanned the area to see where the voice was coming from. Not far from where she was standing, Rosemond was talking to another woman. Patrizia could only see Rosemond's back, but she spied the other woman's auburn hair and reddish-brown eyes. She was quite striking. Patrizia listened into their conversation.

“That's right. I think she did something,” the woman said.

“Damn it, why did you do it like that?” Rosemond hissed.

“You think that's my fault? From the start, she was the one who came in as she pleased.”

“Shut up. Are you talking back to me?” Rosemond sounded extremely angry. “So you're saying that it's gone now. Are you out of your mind? Do you know what will happen if this gets out?”

“That's why I'm thinking of a plan! You're not the only one who could die. I could die, too! We're accomplices, so hurry up and try to think of a plan.”

Though she could only see them from afar, Patrizia could tell that they were glowering at each other. Accomplices, huh… Just what are they accomplices on? Is Rosemond planning something again…?

“Queen?”

Patrizia jumped in surprise at the sound of a familiar voice, then looked behind her, only to discover Lucio standing there.

“What are you doing here by yourse—”

“Shh!”

Flustered, Patrizia slapped a hand over Lucio's mouth, before dragging him behind the pillar. Lucio, who was equally startled, could do nothing else but follow her lead. He looked like he had many questions to ask, but she didn't have the luxury of being considerate at this time.

“Please be quiet,” she whispered.

In the midst of this commotion, Rosemond seemed to have finished speaking with the auburn-haired girl, and the two had already parted ways. Considering how they acted with one another, it didn't appear that they were on close terms.

Patrizia finally withdrew her hand from Lucio's mouth. She wasn't able to find out anything about Rosemond, and she looked at Lucio reproachfully.

“I wasn't able to listen until the end because of you, Your Majesty.”

“…Just what on earth was it to make you so resentful?”

“It was something important,” Patrizia said, before taking in a deep breath. Lucio still looked curious. Seeing his reaction, she gave a cynical smile. “Besides, I don't think we're close enough to share details like that, right?”

It was true though. Lucio didn't say anything, and Patrizia, who suddenly felt like she had become a bad person, bit her lip.

“…What brings you out here?” she said in an attempt to dispel the awkward mood.

“You seemed to be out for a long time, so I thought something had happened and came to check on you. I'm glad that nothing happened though.”

“…You didn't need to worry.”

“Is that so? But I think I'm the judge of whether I should worry about something or not,” he said in a stern voice.

Patrizia averted her eyes. This was awkward. Suddenly, something was draped around her shoulders, and she jerked her head up.

“What are you…?!” she said shrilly.

“It will be troublesome if you get sick, so just wear this.”

Why does he keep doing this…

Patrizia called out to Lucio. “Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“There's something that I'd like to know.” A serious expression rested on her face. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Why are you suddenly doing this to me? Isn't this a bit out of character for the two of us?” Her voice trembled. “This should be something that you should do for Princess Ephreney. If you could recall our wedding night, you were the one who proclaimed that you will never love me, Your Majesty.”

Every single word she said was true. Lucio didn't have a single thing to say back to her.

“And since then, you have given me nothing but scars and insults over a mere concubine…”

Oh, dear. The more she spoke, the more broken she started to feel. Patrizia clamped down on her lips as hard as she could to stop herself from crying.

“If you keep on doing this to me, then my stupid self won't be able to understand it.”

“…That's right,” Lucio quietly responded. “I'm also a fool, so I can't give you an answer.”

“…What?”

“I'm only performing my duty as a husband to my wife.”

“Hah, a husband's duty!” Patrizia suddenly burst out in uncontrollable laughter. “That's not a husband's obligation, Emperor of Mavinous. A husband's greatest obligation…”

Patrizia reached forward and pressed her hand against the pillar. Lucio, who had backed up against the pillar, looked down at Patrizia. With a cold smile, Patrizia spoke in a whisper.

“Is to be faithful to his family, and do everything he can for his relationship with his wife.”

“That's something that you can never do, Your Majesty. Am I wrong?”

“…Queen.”

“You should be happy to live the life that we agreed on from day one. So please stop suddenly trying to act like a good husband, like a kind emperor,” Patrizia said in a controlled voice.

“…If,” Lucio started.

“If I'm able to do both those things, then what would happen?”

“No, Your Majesty.” Patrizia sternly drew the line. “You can't do either of those things for me. Our vow to be faithful towards each other has already been broken on the day of our wedding.”

“Even if you begged, we cannot turn back time. Even moreso, I would not agree to it. I gave you an opportunity from the very beginning. We…we could have lived normally.”

“Queen.”

Though his voice was filled with regret, she remained firm. Up until this very moment, Patrizia continued to chastise any part of her that felt something for the emperor, and continued to hold that boundary. That was the right thing to do. That was what Patrizia thought.

“Please uphold your end of the agreement, Your Majesty. The only thing you need from me is an heir to the throne.”

“…Then I will take my leave.”

Patrizia turned around, and took long strides back into the banquet hall. She said everything she wanted to say, and discarded any wavering feelings that lingered. These were all things that she wanted to do, things that she needed to do. So why was it that…

'I'm so annoyed.'

She felt so upset?

Chapter end