The Evil Empress Adores Me-Chapter 16

"When I asked you if being a maid was difficult, I still clearly remember what you answered."

What did I say back then?

I frantically searched my memory.

But the Empress's words came faster.

"You said that you were lucky to be abandoned in the palace, that you were fortunate."

"Well, that's true. In any other situation, a commoner orphan like me would never be assigned as a palace maid..."

"You said that at the time."

The Empress answered with a pained expression.

Her gaze, pure and full of sympathy, made my chest tighten.

"You know, Charles, you're the only person who saw me as 'Eloise' and not 'The Empress.'"

"...I, I don’t know."

"When I was with you, I wasn’t lonely. And that’s why I wanted to make you happy too."

The Empress tilted her head toward me.

From her cascading red hair, a fragrance more elegant than roses wafted.

...It was the scent of 'Rose Unni,' the one I had loved dearly for so long.

"Because you’re like my little sister..."

Her deep green eyes were more serious than ever.

A long sigh mixed with the spring air.

"I wanted to see you smile without a care, like the other children."

"That means..."

"But I shouldn’t have built that relationship on a lie. I’m really sorry, Charles."

The Empress bowed her head deeply, apologizing to me.

I was startled.

"Y-your Majesty, please, you shouldn’t bow your head to a maid...!"

"No, this is clearly my fault."

"Bu-but..."

"I don’t want to lose you. If that’s going to happen, a sincere apology comes first."

The Empress’s response was firm.

I blinked in confusion.

Am I allowed to be like this?

A mere maid, sitting dumbfounded while watching the Empress bow her head?

"The, the apology."

But my lips were already moving of their own accord.

I carefully nodded.

"...I’ll accept it."

As soon as I said that, the Empress immediately lifted her head, her eyes gleaming with joy.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Charles!"

The Empress pulled me into a tight embrace.

O-oh my.

Your Majesty, I can’t breathe!

But instead of pulling away, I burrowed deeper into her arms.

Her warmth felt so comforting that I almost wanted to cry.

"I also... I like you, Your Majesty. A lot."

I whispered it with all my heart.

At that moment, the Empress stiffened slightly.

Huh? What’s going on?

As I tilted my head in confusion...

"When we’re alone from now on, call me Rose Unni."

"Excuse me?"

"And don’t use honorifics."

The Empress said with a sharp look in her eyes.

Her voice was so firm and filled with sincerity that I instinctively shrank back.

No, but still, how could a maid not speak respectfully to the Empress?

"But, but if the titles get mixed up, it’s scary..."

"Still!"

"Then... can I at least use honorifics?"

I glanced cautiously at the Empress.

No, this isn't right.

What if I suddenly speak informally during an important event?

Imagining myself accidentally speaking informally, I felt a cold sweat run down my back.

The Empress asked again, her voice soft and slightly disappointed.

"Do you really have to?"

"Yes, if I make a mistake, it would be a big problem..."

In response to my worried words, the Empress nodded slightly.

Though her expression was clearly displeased.

"Still, I won’t let go of calling me 'Rose Unni.'"

"Okay, then."

Well, that’s not too difficult.

I gave a small smile.

Then, the Empress asked me a question.

"By the way, have you been applying the ointment regularly?"

Ointment?

I flinched.

I hadn’t been applying it due to my complicated feelings toward the Empress.

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"Y-yes..."

"Really? Then why is it healing so slowly? It’s frustrating..."

With a look of concern, the Empress gently brushed the back of my hand.

I smiled awkwardly.

Well, now that the misunderstanding between the Empress and I was cleared up, it was all smooth sailing, right?

...Or maybe not?

A chill ran down my spine, and I swallowed dryly.

‘No, this doesn’t seem right. There’s more to this...’

I quickly retraced the current situation.

Our Empress truly is like an angel, but let’s put that aside for now.

‘According to the original story,’ the Empress was playing the role of the ‘villain.’

This meant that the Empress was in direct opposition to the protagonist of this world.

And the protagonist of the original story was...

The Crown Prince, who had been stripped of his title by the Emperor and imprisoned deep within the palace.

The rightful heir, 'Daimid Carfel de Windsor.'

‘Until now, I hadn’t really paid much attention to this part.’

It made sense, though, because I had always believed that there would be no way I’d get involved with the Empress.

But now, the Empress was someone incredibly important to me.

Suddenly, I got goosebumps.

Wait, in the original...

‘The Crown Prince seeks revenge on the Emperor and Empress! And in the process, the Empress is killed!’

As I imagined the horrific future, I felt my mouth go dry.

At that moment, a soft hand brushed against my cheek.

Snapping back to reality, I saw the Empress looking at me with concern.

"Charles, your face is pale. What’s wrong?"

"N-no, nothing."

As I leaned into the warmth of the Empress’s hand on my cheek, I made up my mind.

I can’t let this happen as it did in the original.

Rose Unni, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you!

We’ll walk down a path of happiness together!

That evening.

After returning from the palace, I collapsed onto the bed.

The soft mattress gently shifted beneath me.

The pleasant sensation was there, but unfortunately, I wasn’t in the mood to enjoy it.

Sigh...

I exhaled deeply and reflected on the current situation.

To be honest, my ambitious survival strategy was practically ruined.

I couldn’t even avoid the Empress, who was going to kill me in the future, and now I’m working as a maid under her.

I buried my face in the pillow and suddenly sat up.

‘No, instead of wasting time feeling sorry for myself, I have to solve this problem somehow.’

Then, my goal is...

‘To make sure Rose Unni doesn’t get killed and lives happily as Empress until the end.’

After all, I really like Rose Unni.

It’s only natural to want the person I care about to live a happy life.

But there’s also a more realistic reason why I have to protect her.

‘Because I’m now a maid in the Empress’s palace.’

If Rose Unni is secure in her title as Empress, my neck will stay safe too, right?

With a determined expression, I sat down at the desk and took out my cherished notebook.

I carefully wrote the Crown Prince’s name in crooked handwriting.

He was the only direct heir, the firstborn of the late Emperor and Empress, and had inherited the name 'Carfel' given to those who would succeed the throne.

Of course, now he had been stripped of the throne by his uncle, Vincent.

Yes, Vincent.

That man is now the Empress's current husband and, in the future, the one who will make me his mistress.

I frowned.

<The protagonist of this novel, the Crown Prince who awakened the power of the divine beast.>

I began writing down the details I knew about Diamid under his name.

The power of the divine beast.

That rare power, passed down from the divine beast Aurelia who helped the founding Emperor build the empire.

In other words, Diamid was a special existence who awakened the divine beast power after a hundred years.

After all, if you're the protagonist of a world, you need such a buff, right?

I picked up the pen again.

<The power of the divine beast is a double-edged sword?>

I finished the sentence with an ugly question mark and sank into deep thought.

First, the fact that Diamid had inherited the divine beast’s power proved his legitimacy.

That was why Vincent, fearing the opposition from the people, had taken the throne in the form of a regency.

He had claimed that once Diamid grew up, he would return the throne.

So Diamid kept his status as Crown Prince...

‘But because he # Nоvеlight # inherited the divine beast’s power, he must have been suffering greatly from it since childhood.’

The power of the divine beast was a power forbidden to humans.

While the founding Emperor, Carfel, had made a contract with the divine beast, passing this power down to his descendants meant that the ‘unbroken contract’ was forcibly activated.

It was a powerful but difficult-to-control force, one that had tormented Diamid since he was young...

‘He’s probably eight years old now, right?’

Since he’s three years older than me, that should be right.

Then, what do I need to do? It’s simple, right?

I grinned confidently.

I just need to manipulate the Crown Prince so he doesn’t kill Rose Unni!

And while I’m at it, I can become close with the protagonist.

Dealing with an eight-year-old shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

I felt like all the problems had already been solved, and after throwing my pen down, I eagerly climbed into bed.

...Little did I know at the time.

How painfully that ungrounded confidence would come back to haunt me.