Chapter 16

Lionel looked down at his hand, which was burned as if by fire, slowly clenched it into a fist, and raised his head to look at where the empress had disappeared.

The distorted and disheveled face of the empress, who always presented a perfect appearance, lingered in his mind like an afterimage. A tree that stood straight and took the full force of the storm seemed noble from a distance, but up close, it was mercilessly swaying and bending.

'She used to smile so brightly.'

Every time he saw her, forcing a smile to cover her wounded face and straining to straighten her slender shoulders, his heart ached. But he soon shook his head with a self-deprecating expression. He felt that his sympathy for the empress was truly futile. ＊ ＊ ＊ He had no idea how he managed to arrive at the empress's palace. Adel climbed into bed without taking off her clothes. The sound of Lady Giggs dismissing the maids came from a distance. Adel pulled the blanket over her head and curled up. She noticed a smell from the blanket that she had never felt before. It was not the usual scent. Her nanny always dried the blanket in the sun. The crisp blanket that had absorbed the sunlight, the faint smell of soap mixed with the air, the scent of the sun. It was something that could not be described in words. It was something her body remembered and her heart cherished. Tears streamed down and soaked the blanket. She did not cry when she gave up her position as princess. She did not cry when she crossed the strait, leaving behind her long-time friends, though she missed them. She just felt that way. Adel was not one to shed tears easily. But what was this? Tears welled up in her wide, blank eyes and overflowed before they could gather. She was angry that such a trivial matter could make her cry. But the tears would not stop, so Adel just stayed still. It felt as if a large hole had taken root in her chest, a deep and vast hole that was ready to swallow her at any moment. Her toes touched the edge of a cliff. If she stumbled, she would fall into a deep, deep abyss. Adel looked down into the deep, dark hole. A strong wind was swirling up from the bottomless pit. Life was relentlessly pushing her slender shoulders. The witch of Gotrop, the black panther of Gotrop. Did the people who gave her those nicknames know about her trembling, slender shoulders in the face of this vast and profound emptiness? A vast and boundless space where the directions of east, west, south, north, heaven, and earth had disappeared. The sorrowful cry of someone who had lost what was right and which path to take. Her soul, violently shaken, trembled until the moon set in front of the black hole, not knowing what to do. Time walked slowly. The heavy darkness also walked and walked with time. The night seemed eternal. But even that would pass. A faint light began to follow the steps of the night that seemed to go on forever. The light that gradually brightened followed closely behind the darkness, pushing it away with all its might. The day broke. Adel, who had lain like a corpse, got up in the early morning. She thought she did not know whether she had slept or stayed up all night. She filled the bathtub with hot water and immersed her body. She rubbed off the makeup on her face with her hands and washed her body for a long time, then muttered to herself.

"Come on, nanny. Tell me what to do."

When she closed her eyes and pictured her nanny in her mind, her wrinkled eyes curved like the moon. Whenever Adel clung to the old nanny when doing something against her mother's advice, the nanny would pull her into her warm embrace and comfort her.

"If you want to be comfortable, it's better to follow the emperor's opinion."

"..."

"Don't be angry with me. If you're going to do that, why do you ask me? You've already made your decision."

The nanny gently stroked Adel's hair.

"Walk the princess's path without asking. Are you afraid of regretting whether a better result would have come if you had taken a different path? But, life is a process, not a result. The lives of great people are packaged as results, but that's because they are dead. But we are alive. Whether it's a process or a result is a choice for the individual."

The nanny hugged Adel tightly and whispered.

"Do what you want, but humbly accept all the consequences that follow. That is the fate that princesses like you must bear. And the world is changed by princesses like you."

Her hearty laughter echoed in Adel's ears. Suddenly, a laugh bubbled up from deep within her chest. The low, eerie laughter that echoed off the bathroom walls made the maids outside shiver.

"Scary..."

A young maid muttered without realizing it, but the other maids did not scold her. They had come to one conclusion. The empress, whose anger had reached her hair, was truly scary.

"Really scary..."

It gives me the chills. Not for myself, but for the people around me. ＊ ＊ ＊ After soaking her body until her hands and feet turned white, Adel came out with a clean face and reviewed the current situation. First, the emperor was angry about calling Baron Calvin, but as the empress, giving the gold to the baron was not a mistake. I need to find out the reason for the inhumane and unreasonable act of leaving dying people to die. Second, the damn first night can go to the dogs. If you want to hug, you hug? If you want to kiss, you close your eyes? The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I will never wear makeup again for the rest of my life. Third, Diane Poitiers. It became clear yesterday how she perceives me. Whether as an empress or not, it feels like she has taken away the palace and the emperor that I already had. I respect that feeling. Yes, you can. Even a puppy will show its unformed teeth if it feels its food bowl is being taken away. But 'Oh, I see. Then I'll step aside.' is something I refuse to do. I don't know what's going on, but showing leniency is for those who are friendly, not for those who are openly hostile. Anyway, the conclusion is.

"I need to strengthen my own power, separate from the emperor's."

I can't bear to prettify my face to win the emperor's favor and compete for love with Diane Poitiers. Adel took a deep, long breath. After making the decision, the turmoil in her chest began to calm down. She suddenly raised her hand and touched her shoulder. Lionel Valdr. The strong and gentle force that supported her shoulder and the firm palm came to mind. If he hadn't caught her, she would have tumbled down the stairs in a sorry state. Lowering her eyes and remaining silent, Adel buried her face in her hands and sighed.

"My luck in marriage is really bad."

The fortune-teller who was favored by her mother had told Adel this.

"Princess Adelaide, you were born with good luck. Your luck in marriage is greater than your luck in parents, and your luck in children is excellent. Of course, your luck in parents is also great."

Shaking her head and clicking her tongue, Adel finally muttered sarcastically.

"See? A complete fraud."

＊ ＊ ＊ Last night, the empress's face was pale when she returned to the palace. Her already pale complexion had become even whiter, making the hearts of those who saw her sink. Lady Giggs had worked as the chief manager of the palace for a long time. Although her influence over individual maids had diminished, there were still her longtime colleagues in the palace. Lady Giggs hurriedly went to them and asked what had happened, and she learned the whole story before dawn.

"When she came out after seeing His Majesty, her expression was already bad, and she was properly humiliated by Diane Poitiers. Then, the Minister of Defense caught her when she almost fell down the stairs."

Lady Giggs was worried that Adel might fall ill, but it turned out to be a false alarm. The empress, who got up in the early morning and washed up, started eating breakfast heartily as if to show everyone.

"Take your time."

"Hmm."

The empress nodded but did not stop her hands or mouth. Well-done bacon, a sunny-side up egg that oozed a rich yolk when touched, and fresh fruit juice. Adel continued eating until she was full, savoring the flavors of the food. Just as she was about to lift the strong coffee she had ordered for a palate cleanser, a servant came to see her.

"Is something the matter?"

In response to Lady Giggs's question, he bowed respectfully and took out a red envelope from his bosom.

"It's about the supplementary budget you mentioned earlier. The emergency supplementary budget has been completed, and you are asked to check it."

When Adel put down the coffee cup she had not touched, Lady Giggs quickly took the envelope from the servant and handed it to her. Inside the red envelope was a single sheet of stiff paper. Adel unfolded the paper and checked the budget for the empress's palace.

"..."

Everyone in the room watched the empress's face. Despite her gaze moving from top to bottom, her doll-like expression remained unchanged. The servant who had brought the document fidgeted with his fingers, feeling uneasy. After a while, the empress raised her head and asked Lady Giggs.

"Do I have the authority to view the total budget of the palace?"

"Yes, you do."

"I want to see it, so go and get it."

Lady Giggs bowed respectfully.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As Lady Giggs turned to leave, the empress dropped the paper to the side and elegantly lifted her coffee cup again. She then asked the servant, who kept nervously watching her, in an indifferent voice.

"Where did this document come from? Did the emperor send it?"

"No, no. It came from the Ivory Palace."

"The Ivory Palace... I see, they handle such matters there."

"That, that is..."

"Wait here. Give him a waiting room and have him wait until I call for him."

"Yes, I understand."

The servant, startled, hurriedly answered, and the maids took him out, hurrying along. Adel took a sip of the bitter coffee and glared at the paper lying on the side. After a good breakfast, she felt bloated. Predators catch their prey when they are weakened. Since she had been hit hard yesterday, it seemed she wanted to finish her off today.

'I never thought an emperor would entrust the emergency budget of the empress's palace to a concubine. Today, I'm seeing a rare sight.'

An amount that did not even equal the price of a horse. That was the total amount of the emergency budget that had been allocated. After a while, Adel coldly checked the total budget list that Lady Giggs had brought.

"How could the amount written here be..."

Lady Giggs tilted her head and asked, and Adel picked up the paper she had put down and handed it to her.

"Take a look. What do you think?"

Lady Giggs, squinting due to her old eyes, stretched her neck to check the content and took a deep breath as she looked at the empress.

"Your Majesty, this is!"

"Isn't it less than the price of a horse? Not even a fine horse, just a common one."

Adel, who was already on her third cup of coffee, took another sip and muttered. With her left hand, she slowly flipped through the book containing the entire palace budget, checking the allocated budget on the other side. Her gaze fixed on one point and did not move. Clack, Adel put down her cup, pushed it aside, and pulled the book closer. She read the calmly written details with her right index finger and, at some point, let out a sigh as she leaned back in her chair.

"By my standards, the amount allocated to the Ivory Palace should be the amount allocated to the empress's palace. Since you've been at the Ehmont Palace for a long time, take a look."

When Adel pushed the book towards Lady Giggs, she tilted her head to check the details.

"It exceeds the level of the amount allocated to the empress's palace."

Adel nodded and said in a cold tone.

"Call the servant who came in."

＊ ＊ ＊ Diane Poitiers nodded calmly as if she had expected it.

"So, you want me to revise it?"

"Y-Yes, Your Highness."

The servant realized he had made a mistake. He was in a perfect position to be a scapegoat between the empress and the palace mistress. He had heard countless stories of seniors who had gone to ruin by taking on such roles. How could he get out of this? Was there a way? Should he wet himself and collapse...? As he was thinking all sorts of things in despair, Diane scribbled something, stamped it, and handed it to him.

"Here, I don't know if this will satisfy you."

"R-Really?"

"Would it take a whole day?"

Under Diane's urging, the servant quickly took the envelope.

"Take it to her now. Understand? Now, immediately."

"Y-Yes."

The servant bowed with a trembling heart and turned around. His hand, clutching the envelope, was wet with sweat, so he hurriedly put it in his bosom. His mind was in turmoil.

'If I respond so quickly to a request for an increase, she'll think I could have given more from the start. She smiled coldly as if she had just risen from a tomb... Is this... a proper increase?'

He closed his eyes tightly and took a step forward. ＊ ＊ ＊ If the increase had been sufficient and the empress had said, "This is enough," how wonderful it would have been! But the poor servant's ordeal was not over. As he had expected, the empress was angry that it had returned so quickly. Of course, she did not take it out on him, but for the servant caught in the middle of a conflict, even that was scary.

"Arriving so quickly means the emergency budget approval authority is with the Ivory Palace, doesn't it?"

Adel seriously wondered if the emperor was in his right mind. Then, she was furious at the amount written in the second draft. The empress ruthlessly threw the paper away and ordered the servant.

"Go back again."

"Y-Yes..."

The servant, with his shoulders drooping, trudged out of the empress's palace.