/
-Clap!
When a sharp ear-splitting sound rang through the air, the quiet group became completely quiet like static.
Melina looked up at Anastasia in a daze, covering her blood-flowing cheeks with unconscious eyes.
Anastasia’s eyes, looking down at her, were infinitely dry and cold.
“……Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Your Majesty the Empress”?
Anastasia replied with a cold look.
“I didn’t know. Did the young lady ever see me as an empress?”
“Well, what do you mean…”
“You just said that, look at me.”
Anastasia smiled coldly and recited exactly what Melina had said earlier.
“It’s just a pretty package, but it’s a piece of crap.”
“Your Majesty, that’s…”
“Or was that a self-introduction?”
Anastasia glared at Melina and asked.
When Melina could not answer, Anastasia continued instead.
“That’s how I feel these days. I didn’t recognize the true value of love because of the so-called childhood friend title”
After finishing the conversation, Anastasia poured tea water directly into an empty tea cup on the table.
Then he turned over the filled cup and poured the tea over Melina’s head.
“Oh, oh, oh……!”
Melina, who was unexpectedly hit by the tea, puffed her lips like a goldfish with a startled face.
It wasn’t hot enough to get burned, but a hotter sense of shame injured Melina.
“In fact, it was a piece of junk that was a traitor and a fool.”
“Her Majesty the Empress!”
Melina, who belatedly came to her senses, screamed.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh no, there’s going to be bugs in here soon, too.”
Anastasia frowned and waved her hand in front of her nose.
Melina was deeply insulted by the way she seemed to treat her like smelly garbage.
“Even the Empress of the Empire can’t insult the aristocracy in this way!”
“An insult? That’s funny.”
Anastasia snorted.
“Lady, the starting point of all the rumors floating around in the social world right now, is speaking insults to me. I’m laughing at the thoughts in your mind.”
“Mo… What?”
Melina refuted Anastasia’s parable with a smile as if she was dumbfounded.
“I didn’t say anything wrong.”
“Nothing wrong? Do you mean to say I’m infertile?”
Anastasia asked with a smile.
“So the goddess was angry because she was afraid I’d cut the line of the royal family?”
“Isn’t that the most reliable hypothesis for now?”
“Can you take responsibility for what you have been saying?”
Anastasia asked, glancing at Melina.
“I’m infertile, and because of that, the goddess was angry and made a disaster. Everything.”
“Of course. I never say what I think is wrong. I’m proud.”
“I see.”
Anastasia nodded quietly and said.
“Then if I save the garden of the withering goddess, the young lady would have been talking complete nonsense.”
At that moment, a significant smile came up around Anastasia’s mouth.
“If she let her anger wither her garden, she wouldn’t let my efforts revive it.”
“Is that so?”
Melina’s mouth also had a meaningful smile.
Strictly speaking, it was the result of hiding confidence to the fullest.
‘It’s absolutely impossible. How can you revive an already bug-infested garden?’
The goddess’s garden was already covered with numerous caterpillars.
It was the result of Melina spraying caterpillars in secret every night, avoiding people’s eyes.
They were insects that were deliberately raised in the garden owned by Marquis Lutent and brought into the Imperial Palace.
“How will you be responsible if I revive the Goddess’s garden?”
“If that happens, you can punish me as you wish.”
Melina smiled and promised.
“Whatever punishment it is, I’ll take it sweetly.”
“The young lady must not know how serious it is to spread the rumor of the Empress’ infertility and dare to associate it with the Goddess.”
Anastasia continued clearly.
“There’s nothing to say about the blasphemy as well as the blasphemy of the royal family.”
“…I suppose so. If I’m wrong.”
Melina stared at Anastasia and asked.
“But what are you going to bet on?”
“……what?”
“I can’t be the only one who bets on something. If I’m not mistaken, how would you take responsibility…”
That’s it. Anastasia, unable to contain her anger, raised her hand once again and slapped Melina.
Clap!
Melina’s cheek turned mercilessly to the side with a sharp sound.
Anastasia opened her mouth grimly, staring at Melina with furious eyes.
“I think you’re being arrogant.”
Still, Anastasia’s voice was restrained and refined, but everyone could recognize it.
Melina had completely destroyed Anastasia’s patience who had struggled to restrain her emotions and maintained her dignity as an Smpress.
“Are you being rude to me like this, knowing that the young Lady can do anything right now? Anyone who sees it would think that the young Lady is the Emperor’s fiancée.”
“Your Majesty, how could I…!”
“No, you can’t do this to me, the Empress, even if you’re the Emperor’s lady-in-waiting. How dare you!”
She ate Melina’s plea in a loud voice, and Anastasia called out to Mrs. Rochester, who was standing behind her.
“Mrs. Rochester.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Keep Lady Lutent in her room and don’t let her come out. From today until she says differently, she’s to keep a low profile. Tell that to Lord Colton.”
“Your Majesty, what is this!”
Melina immediately protested.
“You can’t do this to me. I am His Majesty’s maid, not Her Majesty’s maid! You can’t command me!”
“I think the Lady is mistaken about something.”
Anastasia looked down at Melina with a sneer.
“Even if I am infertile and the goddess is angry, as the young lady said, none of the Lady’s actions can be justified. What court lady dares to talk about the palace and discredit the royal family?”
Melina had nothing to say at Anastasia’s words, so she kept her mouth shut up.
Anastasia was right. It was a very dangerous act for a court lady who served the imperial family at a close distance to publicly make remarks related to the imperial family.
The family could have been torn apart for blasphemy.
Of course, despite that risk, Melina gambled purely with the aim of shaking Anastasia’s position.
However, she had no excuses for whatever punishment she received if Anastasia had a strong heart.
“It’s an insult to the imperial family in itself. I’ve stayed still all this time because I was wondering how far the young lady was going crazy alone, but I can see for sure today. We need to hurry up and exterminate the bugs that are tangled in the palace.”
“Your Majesty!”
“When you talk about my maid’s education level, it’s amazing. Did the Marquis of Lutent teach you that way? You want to gossip about your superiors?”
Anastasia covered Melina’s mouth with a sharp voice as if she dared to make a loud noise.
“If I save the garden of the goddess, I will tell the Emperor directly about this and punish his maid. Knowing that, I am sober as a mouse is dead.
“Call the Emperor, please. You can’t do this without his permission!”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Anastasia replied with a smile.
“There are so many eyes here that someone will tell His Majesty what happened today. Don’t you think so?”
Anastasia, with the words, looked around the ladies who attended Melina’s tea party that day.
When the eyes met with Anastasia, all the young ladies there hurriedly lowered their heads and avoided eye contact.
It was clear that they knew well who was holding the power.
Anastasia made a low laugh.
“Oh, my God, Melina. No one will testify for you.”
The empress, who was rumored to have become gentle at some point, had shown a strong performance for the first time in a very long time, so those who have been unable to agree with rumors for a long time would all be spared when today’s news comes out.
“I wonder how many good friends the young lady has.”
“Her Majesty the Empress!”
“Take her right away. It’s too loud.”
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty…! Eup!”
Melina kept screaming, and her maids eventually covered her mouth and took her away.
All that was left was Anastasia and the existing tea party attendees.
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean to ruin the tea party.”
As if Anastasia wasn’t just angry, she quickly returned with a sweet face and smiled.
“Now, should I join you here?”
The gentle question shook everyone in the room and hurriedly opened their mouths.
“Oh, no, Your Majesty! I was just about to go!”
“Yes, yes…! I just remembered that I had an urgent appointment.…!”
“Me, too! Then we’ll be on our way, Your Majesty!”
Those who rushed to say goodbye to Anastasia quickly left, and Anastasia, who was left alone, had no choice but to smile.
“Hwa, Her Majesty is so beautiful!”
Selene, who was watching from behind, cheered with sparkling eyes.
“It was like a goddess coming down to defeat her enemies! How elegant you were when you slapped the Lady in the face…!”
“It’s just me, Selene. I’m embarrassed.”
“But you were really, really cool! If other ladies listen to what happened today, they’ll react the same way as I do”
I think so. Maybe the reaction is more intense than Selene?
Anastasia smiled awkwardly and then told Selene.
“Well, shall we go now?”
“Yes, I’ll take you to the Queen’s Palace!”
“No, not there.”
Anastasia smiled gracefully and corrected herself.
“Let’s go save the garden of the Goddess.”