The Evil Empress Adores Me-Chapter 48
The Duke curled his lips into a sly smile and asked me in a teasing tone.
"What are you staring at?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
"Well, I suppose I am quite handsome."
The Duke said it without even raising an eyebrow.
Ha, seriously.
I clenched my fists tightly.
I was furious! Furious that I had to acknowledge that the Duke was, in fact, good-looking!
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Well, considering he was the spitting image of the world's most beautiful woman, the Empress, it was only natural.
But still, it pissed me off!!
"The tea... it's passable, I suppose."
After a moment, the Duke set down his teacup and offered his assessment.
"At the very least, you're earning your keep as a maid in the Empress's palace."
Huh? But I didn’t even do anything to that tea.
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I blinked wide-eyed.
Had he eaten something strange before coming here?
Why was he suddenly giving me praise?
But the Duke’s odd behavior didn’t stop there.
He jerked his chin toward the sofa across from him.
"Aren’t your legs tired?"
"Huh?"
"I'm telling you to sit."
Oh my god. Did the Duke just offer me a seat?
I stared at him, blinking in disbelief, before quickly snapping back to my senses.
"I'm fine. How could a mere maid sit directly across from you?"
"Are you trying to get me killed, kid?"
"...Excuse me?"
"Don’t you get it? If I leave you standing like that, Rose will come back and try to murder me."
The Duke smirked.
...Hmm, if that was his reasoning, then I could accept it.
Satisfied, I took a seat.
Then, the Duke pushed a plate piled high with financiers toward me.
"Eat."
"What?"
"Do I need to remind you how terrifying Rose can be?"
And just to be extra aggravating, he added:
"Besides, I hate sweets."
Ah, yes.
I quietly pulled the plate toward me.
As I chewed on my snack, the Duke, who had been watching me, suddenly turned his head away and spoke.
"Hey, kid. There's something I want to say to you."
"Eh?"
My response came out muffled, probably because my mouth was stuffed with financiers.
The Duke hesitated for a long moment before furrowing his brow and speaking.
"So... before, I may have been... a little too harsh on you, considering you're still just a child—"
"Charles!"
But I never got to hear the end of his sentence.
Because at that moment, the Empress burst into the drawing room.
I instinctively shot up from my seat.
"Your Majesty!"
Oh no, I was so happy to see my Empress that I almost teared up!
The Empress strode over to me in quick steps and pulled me into a tight embrace.
Then, she shot a sharp glare at the Duke.
She looked just like an enraged cat, puffing up all over.
"Brother, you haven’t been bullying her, have you?"
Well... he hasn’t exactly bullied me.
Objectively speaking, he's actually been rather kind.
But emotionally? It was still exhausting...
Suppressing my urge to complain, I simply smiled sweetly.
"Of course not. He’s been very nice to me."
"...My brother? Being nice? That’s impossible. You can be honest with me, Charles."
"I'm telling the truth."
Even though I reassured her, the Empress still eyed the Duke with suspicion for a long time.
After a while, she suddenly asked:
"So, what brings my brother to the Empress’s Palace today?"
"What, am I not allowed to visit my little sister?"
"...."
The Empress’s face scrunched up so hard that she practically managed to curse him out without uttering a single word.
Something felt strange.
The last time the Duke visited, she hadn’t been this hostile.
As I tilted my head in confusion, the Empress tightened her grip around me and questioned the Duke again.
"You didn’t mistreat our Charles, did you?"
"I already said I didn’t."
"But just thinking about all the awful things you've said about her before..."
The Empress narrowed her eyes at him.
...Oh. Was she being like this because of me?
For some reason, my nose started to sting.
I glanced up at the Empress.
And just then—
"Rose, the Margrave of Antes entered the Imperial Palace today."
The Duke dropped a bombshell in a perfectly indifferent tone.
...Antes?
My shoulders stiffened.
According to the empire’s founding legend, the first Emperor, Karpel, had pushed the demonic beasts to the far north with the help of the Divine Beast, Aurelia.
That land became the modern-day County of Antes.
A frozen wasteland, covered in eternal snow and ice, where demonic beasts constantly roamed.
For generations, the empire granted the title of Margrave to the lord of Antes, entrusting them with the duty of keeping the beasts at bay.
And there was one person in Antes—someone deeply connected to Diamid’s future.
"...What did you just say? And why haven’t I received any news about this?"
The Empress’s sharp voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
R-Right, I needed to focus on the situation at hand.
I quickly shook off my distractions.
At that moment, the Duke’s cold response rang through the air.
"Because His Majesty the Emperor refused to grant him an audience."
...What?
Both the Empress and I were stunned.
The teasing glint in the Duke’s eyes had vanished completely.
He wasn’t joking.
"Is... is that really true?"
"It is."
The Duke gave a small nod.
'...The empire's border lord requested an audience, and the Emperor denied him?'
Was the Emperor out of his mind?!
My jaw dropped.
The Duke, rubbing his temple as if he had a headache, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ continued.
"The Margrave of Antes declared that if the imperial family continues refusing aid, he will abandon his territory and withdraw."
"Antes is the empire’s first line of defense against the demonic beasts! And you’re telling me it’s been receiving no support?"
"Correct. Antes has sent multiple requests for aid, but His Majesty has rejected every single one."
The Duke's tone carried undisguised frustration.
"Since Antes serves as a shield against the beasts, it receives a 50% tax reduction—"
"W-Wait, don’t tell me..."
"Yes. His Majesty expects them to compensate for their shortages using the money they saved from the tax reductions."
The Empress’s face twisted in disgust.
"How does he expect them to survive without supplies?! This is madness!"
"I know. But there’s no reasoning with His Majesty."
Letting out a long sigh, the Duke pinched the bridge of his nose.
"In any case, we can’t ignore the Margrave, so we’ll need to at least host a formal banquet to show our respects—"
"Should I host it in my name as Empress?"
"That would be best."
The Duke nodded, his voice heavy.
"Not that a banquet will do much to soothe his resentment, but it's a start."
"And His Majesty... I assume he won’t be attending?"
"You wish."
The Duke scoffed at the Empress’s cautious question.
Then, he abruptly stood up.
"Sorry, Rose. I have no choice but to rely on you for this."
"Don't apologize. It’s my duty as Empress."
The Empress's firm response made the Duke’s lips curl into the faintest smile.
"Then, I'll take my leave. You’ll be busy preparing for the banquet, after all."
Before he left, the Duke did something unexpected.
He actually bid me farewell.
"Take care, kid."
"Huh? Oh—Goodbye, Duke."
I watched him leave, still a little dazed.
After he was gone, the Empress gently patted my shoulder.
"I’m sorry, Charles. That was a lot for you to hear."
"It’s fine, really."
I smiled.
The Empress smiled back, but her expression remained troubled.
"This is a problem."
"A problem?"
"If His Majesty refuses to attend, the Margrave may feel slighted..."
She trailed off into deep thought.
And in that moment—
'...Wait a second.'
A new idea popped into my head.
Did the Emperor really need to attend?
As long as we could show that we respected the Margrave...
The Empress glanced at me.
"Charles? Do you have something to say?"
"N-No, nothing."
I quickly shook my head and slipped out of the room.
This wasn’t something I should decide alone.
‘Maybe I should ask Diamid for his opinion.’
And besides...
‘He needs to know about Antes.’
Because there was someone in Antes...
The heroine fated to be with Diamid.
Sienna Antes.
