Duke Tessa couldn’t be unaware that Hilane knew Lady Nigel’s weakness. There would be no better opportunity to silence him effectively.
“I heard that the second princess is returning. Lady Nigel must be pleased.”
“……”
“It must be delightful to see her daughter after such a long time.”
Hilane suppressed a smile.
“So you heard everything.”
Duke Tessa spoke a beat slower, narrowing his eyes.
“I warned you, didn’t I? Not to touch my daughter. If you heard that, you should have told your daughter as well.”
Hilane neither raised her voice nor filled her words with anger.
“…Your Highness.”
In a monotonous voice that gave nothing away, Duke Tessa grew visibly nervous.
“Could you perhaps consider it as advice given to a subordinate just this once?”
He seemed very unsettled by Lady Nigel’s drug use being discovered. His usual negotiating demeanor was gone.
“Servants from Remir Palace and Tisonne Palace overheard.”
Hilane scoffed as if finding it ridiculous.
“And you’re mistaken, Duke. I am not a subordinate of the empress. The honorifics were out of respect for my father.”
“……”
“Lady Nigel is not above me, who carries royal blood.”
Technically, even the empress wasn’t clearly defined in the empire’s law.
“The same goes for Chevelyn , who officially holds the title of princess.”
Lady Nigel’s position was merely an honorary one given to avoid making her a mistress or the mother of an illegitimate child.
“Lady Nigel cannot use Peztaine as her surname.”
So, strictly speaking, Lady Nigel wasn’t considered a member of the royal family.
“I would appreciate it if you never again spoke of my daughter as if she were a subordinate.”
“…I was thoughtless. Please forgive me.”
Duke Tessa, overwhelmed by Hilane, apologized promptly.
Finding no point in dealing with him any further, Hilane nodded her head to the side.
“Move.”
Duke Tessa hesitated for a moment, biting his lip.
“Your Highness!”
Duke Tessa managed to speak with difficulty.
“Lady Nigel is not well.”
The head maid, who had been watching from inside, approached.
“Lady Nigel wishes to see Princess Hilane in the drawing room.”
“Lady Nigel wishes to see me?”
“Yes… Duke.”
“…My apologies. Please, go ahead, Your Highness.”
Though clearly reluctant, Duke Tessa sighed and stepped aside.
Following the head maid, Hilane glanced at Lady Nigel in the drawing room.
“Lady Nigel, it has been a while since the New Year Festival.”
“……”
Ordinarily, Lady Nigel would have demanded proper etiquette, but she remained silent.
The teacup in her hand kept rattling.
“…Indeed. What brings you to Wins Palace?”
Hilane, not wanting a long conversation, got straight to the point.
“I came to hear why you humiliated a five-year-old child in front of everyone.”
At her words, Lady Nigel’s breath trembled.
“Servants from Remir Palace and Tisonne Palace saw it. It will soon reach the third and fifth empresses.”
Hilane recounted the situation as Elisha had told her.
“That! What more can I… do?”
Lady Nigel, who had instinctively raised her voice, quickly responded more kindly.
“You must take responsibility as the first empress.”
Hilane watched her closely and demanded.
“…Responsibility as the first empress?”
Lady Nigel echoed, as if not understanding what Hilane meant.
“As the first empress, you must ensure that no one gossips about my daughter.”
In other words, she was to handle the situation so that the rumors didn’t spread.
“Alright. Do not worry about the third and fifth empresses… This person will handle it well.”
Lady Nigel replied in a seemingly forlorn manner.
Was she always this submissive?
Lady Nigel had always held her head high beside the emperor.
Despite seeing Lady Nigel’s subdued demeanor, Hilane didn’t feel any pity.
‘She’s just bowing her head temporarily because I have her weakness.’
Without the leverage, there might have been a lot of arguing.
“Your Highness, this will not happen again. Please be understanding.”
Lady Nigel pleaded desperately. She was asking Hilane not to mention what she had seen and heard today.
“I must go tend to the frightened princess.”
Not wanting to hear any more of Lady Nigel’s insincere voice, Hilane turned to leave, but Lady Nigel quickly grabbed her.
“Your Highness!”
“?”
“What you saw earlier, I’ll explain it later. So please, don’t tell anyone.”
Hilane pried Lady Nigel’s hand off her arm.
“Lady Nigel, just keep quiet for the next two months.”
“…”
“It’s not a difficult thing, is it?”
Hilane murmured softly, facing Lady Nigel closely.
Without waiting for Lady Nigel’s answer, Hilane left the drawing room.
“Duke Tessa.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
“Go and look after your daughter.”
Duke Tessa, who was standing in the hallway, bowed his head toward Hilane and entered the drawing room.
“Argh! How dare she! How dare she humiliate me like this?”
Exactly three seconds later, Lady Nigel’s furious cry was heard.
“Your Highness! Lady Nigel, please calm down! Quickly, calm her down!”
“Yes, Duke!”
Duke Tessa urgently tried to calm down Lady Nigel.
Hilane had no intention of announcing or revealing that Lady Nigel was using drugs right away.
You have to keep an enemy’s weakness in your hands to pressure them.
‘Don’t feel too wronged. The Duke did the same to me first.’
Hilane quickly turned her gaze away from Wins Palace.
* * *
Back in Largon Palace, Hilane sat in a rocking chair to rest for a while.
Soon, Chevelyn , who had been crying earlier, came running with a storybook, and Hilane lifted her onto her lap.
“Up you go, my dear. What should we read today?”
“Cherry wants this one!”
“Shall we?”
Chevelyn shook the storybook she was holding tightly.
As Hilane opened the cover of the book, Chevelyn perked up her ears.
“Whose yellow boots are these?”
“…”
Seeing Chevelyn already engrossed and excited made Hilane feel proud.
“First, they’re not the rabbit’s, nor the cat’s. Judging by the back, they’re the dog’s.”
As Hilane clapped her hands and continued reading, Chevelyn suddenly shook her head vigorously and pointed at the dog in the picture.
“No, it’s a cat.”
“…But this is a dog.”
“Look at the next page, Mom. You said to look at the back.”
Just as Chevelyn said, when Hilane turned the page, the dog on the previous page looked like a cat.
“Lyn, how did you know?”
Chevelyn’s nose twitched slightly.
Her cheeks twitched as she tried to suppress her good mood.
Most children would have just accepted it, but Chevelyn easily grasped the hidden meaning the book was trying to convey.
‘Isn’t her observation skill better than most adults?’
Chevelyn gently shook Hilane, who was lost in thought.
“Mom, Mom.”
“Hmm?”
“Cherry wants pudding.”
Hilane slightly turned her head at Chevelyn’s sparkling eyes and pleading look.
‘At times like this, she’s just an innocent child.’
Hilane laughed softly and gently stroked Chevelyn’s hair.
“Did you want pudding?”
“Yeah~ A lot~!”
Chevelyn made a big circle with her arms.
“Elisha. Go to the kitchen and bring some pudding.”
Hilane instructed Elisha, who happened to be entering the room, to bring the pudding.
Nodding, Elisha reported the outside situation.
“Your Highness, the head maid of Wins Palace is here.”
“Elisha.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Tell the head maid of Wins Palace to wait a moment. I’m a bit busy right now.”
* * *
Much later, when Hilane finally met the head maid, she smiled slightly.
“I made you wait.”
“Greetings to Your Highness.”
The head maid of Wins Palace bowed deeply without any complaints.
Since the head maid had brought the drugs to Lady Nigel, she was also an accomplice.
If Lady Nigel were to be punished, the head maid would not be safe either.
“Lady Nigel… mentioned that she made a mistake with Princess Chevelyn.”
“Mistake?”
When Hilane responded in an annoyed tone, the head maid trembled.
“L-Lady Nigel is speaking with the third and fifth empresses.”
Although she didn’t want to accept the apology, dragging it out any further wouldn’t look good.
Out of courtesy, Hilane fabricated a response.
“Tell Lady Nigel that I appreciate her apology.”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
After the head maid of Wins Palace left, the rumors began to spread quickly.
♡♡♡
If you want to support the translation and the translator, please buy a coffee ♥︎
