âI apologize, Her Majesty. To think that the two of you were delayed because of me⊠Ah, I really didnât expect thisâŠâ
Yvette turned pale at the sight of the still unopened silverware. It seemed that he would either fall down or fall down while weeping. But a bigger problem than Yvetteâs being late for dinner was Yvetteâs appearance now.
âWhat the hell happened?â
Lasilia asked with a hard face. Yvetteâs clothes were dirty with soot everywhere. It was even more pity that there were traces of washing to try to wipe off the soot.
âThatâs it, Her MajestyâŠâ
Yvette was speechless. Instead, she moved her eyebrows vigorously. She looked like she couldnât figure out how to say it.
âPrincess of Shryden. You would know that trying to save your words would be useless. Please keep in mind that there are other places where I can ask you a question and answer.â
She said that if she didnât answer properly, she would ask Pippi. Yvette quickly recognized the words and barely nodded.
âAh⊠Thatâs right. yes, thatâs itâŠâ
There was an accident on the way. From the railing overhead Yvette descended the stairs, a barrel to scrape up the ash from the fireplace suddenly fell. It was covered with ashes in an instant, so she couldnât see who did it. But it was obvious. The ladies-in-waiting must have made up their mind to act properly. There would be plenty of grumps disguised as accidents like this in the future. It was something to watch out for in the future. Yvette, who had a tough personality, knew very well that she was now the first lady-in-waiting in the Empressâ palace. From the time she was born, she couldnât fight with noble ladies-in-waiting, but at least she thought of finding a way to deal with the courtiers. That was fine, but there were other things that werenât really good.
âBecause my clothes are so dirty more than anything else⊠I serve meals, but I couldnât come because I was covered in soot⊠Itâs so upsettingâŠâ
Tears welled up in Yvetteâs round eyes. Lasilia let out a light sigh.
âIt is my fault. It wasnât enough that she let Mrs. Farshad out of the palace.â
Yvette jerked her head.
âNo, what are you talking about! How could that be Her Majestyâs fault! Please stop saying that. This happened because I was inexperienced and immature! I will do well in the future, Your Majesty the Empress!â
âNo. Those who were territorial towards you were also people of the Empressâ palace. So it means that I didnât handle the people around me very well. Serving meals is fine, so the princess should change her clothes and come. What happened to the princess today will be covered later.â
âThat is⊠I apologize, Her Majesty the Empress. I apologize.â
Yvette straightened her back, her weeping face. Serben made a slightly sad face.
âThe two of you have been very late with your meal⊠Keuheum, so why donât you move away for now, keuheum. Great.â
Persson subtly instructed Yvette to leave. The reason she dropped her words uncharacteristically was because of her shabby appearance, which was not seen as the first lady-in-waiting. No matter how she looked at her clothes, accessories, or way of speaking, she did not look like a noblewoman, but since the empress called her a princess, it was difficult to either exalt her words or demean her.
âAh⊠I really donât know what to do. I will go out. I am sorry, I am sorry.â
Yvette left her dining hall. Lasilia spoke to Lescal with a not very bright face.
âI must apologize for interrupting the meal due to the Empressâ palace people. Eat now.â
âItâs okay if itâs late.â
Come to think of it, Lescal was still washing Lasiliaâs hands. Her skin was already dry, so now he just wrapped a napkin around her hand and fiddled with it.
âItâs marketable.â
âNot at all.â
ââŠI say it is.â
âAh.â
Lescal slowly let go of her Lasiliaâs hand. sing that as a signal, Persson opened the lids of the silver dishes one after another with a moderate movement. The opened lids were placed on a large silver tray and passed on to the other attendant waiting outside the door.
âIâve been thinking about it since yesterday.â
Lescal held up his fork and knife and gestured at a dish with his chin. Persson swiftly cuts a roast venison thigh elegantly and places it on Lescalâs plate. Lescal cut it in half and placed it on Lasiliaâs plate. It was so natural that it was hard to believe that the emperor and empress had been sitting next to each other every day for a meal.
âI think itâs a lie that you lost your memory.â
âŠClick.
The tip of Lasiliaâs fork brushed the edge of the plate, making a small noise. It wasnât well marked, but the name of the noise was tension.
ââŠWhy do you say that?â
âI donât mean that you are lying. Rather than losing your memory⊠I meant that you became a completely different person.â
ââŠâ
She almost missed the fork.
âSo good.â
ââŠâ
âI said itâs marketable, so itâll cost a lot.â
Lescal continued to serve this dish and that dish to Lasiliaâs plate. He seemed oblivious to the fact that the food on her plate was cooling down as he watched what kind of dishes Lasilia was eating well.\nââŠthank you, I hope His Majesty will eat it soon.â
âIf you want.â
It seemed friendly, but on the other hand, an embarrassing meal continued.
* * *
âRyan.â
Serben approached Ryan, who was sitting at the window of the corridor outside the dining room of the empressâ palace and touching his leg. Ryan muttered, turning her head to look at him.
âIâm glad I didnât have a knife.â
âYou knew me long ago.â
âAh, there are a few people with the same pace as you.â
Serben wrinkled his brow.
âWhat? To the Royal Guard?â
âHuh. A few guys have improved quite a bit lately. Donât be careless.â
âShit. I thought I was next to you⊠Oh, anyway. Did you just hear?â
âHmm? What?â
Ryan narrowed her eyes. She thought that Serben would be more distressed if he heard that several members of the guards had followed him, but unexpectedly, he wanted to talk about something else first.
âJust before. What happened at the dinning hall.â
âYou mean the lady-in-waiting was late?â
âOther maids said they spilled ashes on their clothes. But does she know what Her Majesty said?â
âUm⊠Could she have noticed the dirty and evil plan to appoint the court lady as her maid?â
âNo. I donât think so.â
âThen why are you asking?â
âShe said it was her fault.â
Ryan made a puzzled expression.
ââŠhmm? What?â
âShe said it was because she didnât handle the people under she well⊠Crazy, does that make sense?â
Ryanâs mouth fell open.
âI know. Itâs really crazy.â
âNo matter how much she pretends to lose her memory⊠Can you act like everyone else that much?â
Ryan thought, then shook her head.
âWell⊠I really donât know. I had always intended to welcome Her Majesty the Empress if she had made up her mind to become someone else. But this isnât just about making up her mind, itâs just like a different person, isnât she?â
âI do think so. I really have no idea what it is.â
Serben sighed.
âBesides, seeing the lady-in-waiting suffer like that doesnât make me feel very good.â
ââŠDamn it, thatâs right. So the insidious and evil side is rather like us.â
When Ryan grumbled, Serben straightened up.
âLetâs be honest, sister. Itâs not us, itâs you alone. Because my sister came up with it.â
âShut up, brother. Who was it that encouraged you to be a genius?â
âThe vicious and despicable idea of turning a court lady into a lady-in-waiting came entirely from your head.â
âNoisy.â
Ryan scratched the back of her head.
âWell, I guess Iâll have to keep an eye on it so it doesnât get too bad. Because I donât want her to get hurt.â
âI know.â
âIs your older brother staying at the Empressâ palace for the time being? Good job. Well, the maids of the Empressâ palace wonât be easy though.â
ââŠCan you resent me for calling you a genius?â
âOh, that is different. It is true that the idea was genius. In any case, we need to make sure that Princess Shyden isnât plotting something with Her Majesty the Empress.â
ââŠâ
âTake care.â
Ryan tapped Serben on the shoulder. Serben sighed.
* * *
âHe thinks Iâm pretending.â
Lasilia rubbed her aching stomach and returned to her room. The longer the meal went on, the more the Emperor became unusual. He asked if it would be good if she took a bite of it, if it was good, if she wanted to eat more, and if he thought she would nod, he quickly brought the food. Later, he even asked if it was not bothersome to cut. Instead, it was not enough to slice it, so she was busy refusing it because he was ready to put it in her mouth. There was no reason for Yvette to come in the first place. She felt like she was fed up with being served a meal by the Emperor.
âFrom now on, I will say that I will eat alone⊠No, I donât think I did this last time.â
The reason why the Emperor was different could all be explained by the blue moon. Lasilia took a deep breath.
âJust one more day to wait. Just one day.â
It was fortunate that after breakfast, requests for an audience with the Emperor came in line. The Emperor had planned to cancel all the audience today, but the imperial secretary looked like he was going to cry, so Lasilia actively intervened and told him to do what he had to do.
Thanks to that, she was able to get away from the emperor for a while. As she watched the emperor head toward the throne room, the imperial secretary was repeatedly surprised that His Majestyâs pace was originally so slow, but she didnât want to pay attention to that.
âJust one day.â
From then on, she really intended to avoid having the Emperor stick around her, even if it meant feigning illness. It was the moment when she entered the truth with Serben accompanying her with such thoughts.
âShh.â
When the guards tried to open the door, Serben stopped them.
ââŠ?â
Laslia looked at Serben. Serben quietly opened the door on behalf of the guards and spoke in a very low voice.
âI hear a sound from inside. It would be good for you to listen.â
âAhâŠâ
As Serben said, sharp voices were going back and forth as if they were fighting a war of nerves inside the room.
ââŠItâs ridiculous to be the princess of the Duke of Shyden.â
âDid you see her? Do you think she can become the first lady-in-waiting of the Empressâ palace with her outfit like that? She will become a disgrace to Her Majesty.â
âThe reason why nobles are nobles is that they have the dignity appropriate to their status. Not knowing the subject is the opposite of decency. Thatâs what we call vulgar.â
âIf you have even a little bit of a thinking head, step back on your own. Before you get really bad.â
Yvetteâs reply was not heard. It seemed he couldnât say a word.
ââŠRight.â
Lasilia clenched her fists.
âThanks. If it wasnât for the wonder, I wouldnât have known.â
âYou are welcome.â
Serben tried to hide the pricked expression on his conscience.
âThen what are you going to do now?â
Lasilia laughed coldly. She didnât know anyone here, but she was angry.
âSince you talked about the dignity of a noble, you should try to have it.â