Remaried Empress

"What?"

"I think it must be some kind of plan. What is it?"

Prince Heinley looked surprised. He didn't answer, and closed his mouth and looked downward. When I saw his calm face, I remembered my first impression of Prince Heinley.

'That's right. He only smiled after we were acquainted. Before, I thought he seemed cold.'

Even if he may have just been thinking, the mood was chilling.

"I..."

It was not long before Prince Heinley looked up at me and spoke, his expression softened.

"Queen, I don't want to lie to you."

His answer had many implications. Good and bad.

"Yes."

On the good side, he was proving how serious his friendship was. He didn't make excuses when the other option was riskier.

On the bad side...he was up to something, and he couldn't tell me. It crossed my mind that whatever it was could be personal or contain confidential information of his country. But there was likelihood that the plan involved bringing Duke Elgy into the Eastern Empire...

"You don't have to answer if you can't."

I smiled and spoke in a casual tone, and Prince Heinley stared at me with nervous eyes and sighed.

*

*

*

McKenna leaned against the wall of the drawing room as he waited for the prince to return. He had a mind to complain to Prince Heinley for calling him a foolish bird in front of the foreign empress. He was most definitely not a foolish bird. He sulked even more as he remembered how Prince Heinley told him to play a pet bird.

However, McKenna's mood changed when the prince entered the room and collapsed onto the couch.

"Your Highness? Are you alright?"

McKenna wasn't worried, not initially. He knew how strong Prince Heinley was, and it wasn't often he had to be concerned about him. However, Prince Heinley unexpectedly waved his hand away.

"Your Highness?"

McKenna leaned down to peer at him carefully. McKenna was the one that had been forced to play as a pet bird in front of the Empress, but it was Prince Heinley who had a look of defeat.

'Did it not work out as he thought?'

"Your Highness, did the Empress say anything bad?"

McKenna placed his hand on Prince Heinley's shoulder, but the prince shrugged it off. There was no anger in his face over what had happened. McKenna was starting to worry a little.

"Did you hear anything bad?"

"Well, McKenna."

"?"

"I—"

"Yes, I'm listening. Speak."

"I think I like her more than I thought."

Prince Heinley's reply, however, was a complete nonsense. McKenna frowned.

"What?"

Prince Heinley buried his face in his hands and gave a shuddering breath.

"I think I made a slip of the tongue."

"A slip of the tongue? In front of the Empress?"

"Yes."

McKenna was more puzzled by his answer.

"What did you say that made you sad?"

"What if she's wary of me now?"

"Wary?"

"Studying me with those sharp eyes...aah."

The prince stood up from the couch and fell into his bed with a groan. He had rambled incoherently at all of McKenna's questions, and the knight looked at Prince Heinley in surprise.

"Did she find out you can change into a bird?"

"Not that."

"Then?"

"Something else."

*

*

*

Although I considered Prince Heinley a good person and a good friend, even differences could cause good people to become enemies. However, being an enemy did not necessarily mean being a bad person—it only meant that they stood opposite of me.

As soon as I returned to my room, I summoned Sir Artina to give him a mission.

"Sir Artina. There is something I want you to look into. Be discreet."

"Yes, Your Majesty. What is it?"

"It's about Prince Heinley and Duke Elgy."

"What?"

Sir Artina, who knew Prince Heinley was the owner of Queen, looked at me in surprise. He seemed to think it strange that I wanted to investigate someone I was already sending letters to.

"Duke Elgy is understandable...but Prince Heinley as well?"

"Yes. I want you to focus on their activities before New Year's, before they came here to the Imperial Palace."

Sir Artina looked suspicious, but he was a model knight. Instead of questioning me, he gave a short "Yes" and left the room. Afterwards, I walked towards the window and leaned my head against the frame.

The Western Kingdom was the Eastern Empire's most powerful rival, but they were neither too distant or too close. In the meantime, what could Prince Heinley do by bringing in Duke Elgy?

*

*

*

I remained busy for the next five days. The public ball was to be held a month earlier than last year in exchange for a generous sum paid by Grand Duke Lilteang, and the relevant documents had been approved and distributed.

There was also good news. For the first time, a child from a state-sponsored orphanage earned a scholarship to attend the academy of magic. It was imperative to nurture magical talent. No matter how much one spent, magic was a priceless talent.

As a symbolic gesture, the officials recommended that someone in the Imperial Family should present the scholarship, and I was willing to assume the role. I didn't remember all the children raised at the orphanage, but I did know a fair number of them, especially the child who was chosen. I was happy to do the honor of congratulating them. However, the trip would take more than a day, and so I visited Sovieshu's office to consult him. I found him sitting at his desk, turning over a small ring in his hands.

"I thought you lost it?"

The Red Flame ring, which Sovieshu said was gone, was right before his eyes. I stared at him in puzzlement, and he smiled.

"Yes. It's amazing."

"Did you find it?"

"I wouldn't say I found it."

"?"

Sovieshu set down the ring on his desk.

"I gave this ring to Rashta, but she said she felt sorry for a poor maid and gave it to her."

" ...The Red Flame ring?"

"I suppose she didn't know about the spell. When I told her about it, she was upset."

Sovieshu's voice turned fond, and he continued.

"I asked Count Pirnu to look for a ring that had a similar property. You remember that from a few days ago, right?"

"I remember."

"And Count Pirnu gave this to me today. He bought it from an auction last night, not realizing that it was already mine..."

He smiled faintly.

"Isn't it amazing?"

"I see."

I wasn't impressed at all, but I was still obliged to answer. Sovieshu tucked the ring inside his breast pocket. I thought my answer was too brief, so I spoke further.

"If the maid was poor, she likely needed the money and sold it."

"I agree. But information about jewelry, especially magical items, is difficult to find. The average person would not know to sell it for its full price. I told Count Pirnu to find out how much the woman who sold the ring received."

The corners of Sovieshu's mouth lifted in pride.

"Rashta is kindhearted. I want to make sure her good deed was done properly."

Eight days after Rashta asked Viscount Roteschu to uncover Duchess Tuania's weakness, the viscount paid a visit.

"You're earlier than expected."

Rashta spoke to him in a sharp voice and ordered Viscountess Verdi to take away the tea.

"Oh dear. You won't even serve me tea?"

"No. And I didn't send her away because of you."

"Then?"

Rashta did not reply. She didn't want to tell Viscount Roteschu that she didn't trust Viscountess Verdi.

"Hm. You don't want to say."

Viscount Roteschu seated himself comfortably in a chair and smiled.

"Speak quickly. Have you found anything useful?"

"Indeed. It was not that hushed, so the information wasn't hard to find."

"What information?"

Rashta waited in anticipation for his answer. Viscount Roteschu grinned and pulled a gossip magazine from his bag.

"What is this?"

Rashta took out the gossip magazine and unfolded it. It was dated from twenty years ago.

"Read it."

The magazine included topics on trendy designers, fashionable hat shops, popular actors, weddings that month, and restaurants. Although the fashion was two decades old, Rashta was still dazzled by the pictures.

Why was she looking at this? She flipped the pages with a frown. With her limited reading ability she could only glean some information through the pictures or simple words, but she couldn't tell what Viscount Roteschu was talking about. Annoyed, she set down the magazine and stared at the viscount, who gave an "Oh" and took the magazine away.

"I thought the Emperor taught you everything."

He smiled as if to reassure her that he was not making fun of her, and pointed to a section of the magazine.

"Nian, a beautiful young lady; Marquis Tuania, who devoted himself to the Church; and Lord René, Nian's fiancé. This is the most talked about story here."

Rashta frowned.

"I told you to find information about the Duchess, didn't I?"

"Here, Lady Nian is now Duchess Tuania."

Viscount Roteschu explained with a click of his tongue.

"You think she was a duchess from birth?"

"Then is Marquis Tuania the Duke Tuania now?"

"The man we call the Marquis Tuania here is the eldest son of the Duke Tuania at the time. Now everyone calls him 'Lord Marian'."

"?"

"At the time, the successor was this man. But now Nian's fiancé, René, is Duke Tuania. "

"..."

"I'll speak of them with their current titles, as it's confusing. Lord Marian fell in love with his younger brother's fiancée, Duchess Tuania."

"Really?"

"It's in the gossip pages, but it's true. He even chased after her and they had a good relationship. But when the Duchess Tuania finally married Duke Tuania, Lord Marian was completely shocked, and he gave up his inheritance and went into the Church."

Rashta opened her eyes wide.

"Why give up everything?"

"I don't know. The problem was, Lord Marian committed suicide within a week of entering the Church. Since then the Duchess has had the reputation of a femme fatale. The gossip was all ablaze."

Rashta's gazed at the magazine with keen interest.

"This is the duchess' weakness, isn't it? People wondered if she killed him."

"There were more rumors after that, but there isn't any more information because the publisher went out of business."

"More rumors...?"

"Duchess Tuania had a baby seven months after she married the duke. The duchess claimed the baby was born prematurely, but people said the baby looked like Lord Marian's."

"!"

"At the time, the father-in-law, Duke Tuania, was so angry that he drove not only the journalists out of business, but publisher as well."

Rashta swallowed hard. This was it.

The rumor could be reignited, and the role as the chewbone of society would pass over to Duchess Tuania.

"How do you like it?"

Viscount Roteschu looked on with a smile. Rashta nodded and took some jewelry from her jewelry box and handed it to Viscount Roteschu, who accepted it with glee.

"Well?"

"There's more I want you to do."

"More?"

"If you're on my side, you have to keep working."

Rashta placed another jewel in Viscount Roteschu's hand.

"You said Lord Marian killed himself in the church, did you?"

"Yes."

"Buy the people around the church and spread this story."

"Story?"

"Before Lord Marian died, a beautiful woman visited the church several times."

"Hmm. It may seem obvious that someone's trying to attack Duchess Tuania. Will such rumors be enough?"

Rashta raised her eyebrows and laughed.

"It will be enough."

Rashta remembered Duchess Tuania at the ball. There was another man around her that was always staring at the duchess with a darkened expression.

'That man is a duke.'

Although many would side with the duchess, if someone with a similar status expressed doubt, it would certainly fracture opinions.

After Viscount Roteschu left, Rashta nervously paced the room in excitement. She could now pass her suffering to someone else. Duchess Tuania was highly visible in high society, and so when the gossip broke, everyone would talk about it.

'By then, the rumor will disappear that I was a runaway slave.'

Rashta chewed on her lower lip and sank onto the couch. As soon as this was sorted out, she needed to find out about the baby...and that was not something she could trust Viscount Roteschu on.

'It would be even more difficult if I chose the wrong person. Isn't there anyone I can trust?'

*

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*

'Strange...'

Count Pirnu walked down the corridor and tilted his head in deep thought. The more he puzzled over it, the less he understood. Then, at the intersection where the central palace and the western palace met, he almost ran into the subject of his thoughts.

"Oops. My apologies, Count."

Viscount Roteschu was quick to leave with a smile and apology, as if he knew Count Pirnu's face. Count Pirnu looked behind him. The viscount's step had a lightness to it.

"Hmm..."

Count Pirnu stared briefly at the back of his head, then headed straight to the Emperor's office. As usual, the Emperor was laboring under a mountain of paperwork, but soon as Count Pirnu came in, the Emperor looked up.

"Ah, Count. Have you found it? How much did the maid pay for?"

It was two days ago when Count Pirnu informed the Emperor of the Red Flame Star he had bought at the auction house. The count had sought information from the auction house, but the person who put the ring in the market had gone to another region, and it had taken two days to track him down.

Count Pirnu approached the Emperor with a serious expression.

"Your Majesty, I heard the ring was paid its proper worth."

"That's good to hear."

"But there is something strange."

"Strange?"

"Well...the merchant said the person who sold him the ring was not a maid."

"Then?"

"It was Viscount Roteschu."