Chapter 30
“Speak comfortably, Your Majesty.”
Sophia read her intentions and responded with a smile.
The Empress asked her some questions she was curious about.
There were some questions that she could answer with a simple self-introduction, and some that she had to ponder and answer quite seriously.
And questions from the articles were not left out.
“I also saw the corrections that came out this week. I think you have a lot of stories…”
“Ah, that…”
For a moment, Sophia’s head turned quickly.
‘I must not look too unhappy in front of the Empress.’
Sophia knew how to distinguish the time and subject.
The woman in front of her was the Empress.
She should not just trust her gentle expression and act without thinking.
Sophia knows what a written engagement means without looking at her face.
And while her misfortune buys sympathy, also the fact that her unhappy daughter-in-law is not welcome.
‘A contract is made when there is something we want to achieve from each other.’
There is a reason why the Empress arranged the engagement between Sophia and Killian.
She wanted the Frauss, not Sophia specifically, for the imperial family. That’s why she pushed for the engagement even though she didn’t know Sophia very well.
But what if Sophia revealed that she has no influence in Frauss?
From the imperial point of view, there would be no reason to have her engaged to Killian. Read only at pm tl.
‘At least in front of the Empress, I should be seen as a useful hand. But not too clever, so that I look useful.’
Sophia quickly opened her mouth after thinking.
“It is true that after my mother passed away, everyone neglected me… But now it’s okay. I’ve moved to a better room, and my brother Ian was also worried about me because I was sick…”
Sophia smiled weakly.
She had to look moderately pitiful, in order to be okay.
“Oh… I didn’t even know there was such a thing happening, sweetheart.”
There was a little compassion in the eyes of the Empress.
“It wasn’t a bad thing to take care of the housework though.”
“It wasn’t bad?”
“Watching the housework, I was able to get a detailed understanding of how my family works. What kind of trade was being done with the upper ranks of the south, and how the family’s property is managed… Things like that.”
Then, the Empress’s blue eyes lit up.
“You mean you learned that?”
“I also organized the library, so I had a lot of opportunities to learn over my shoulder. I was even entrusted with the simple finances.”
It wasn’t a lie.
According to Sophia’s diary, Sophia managed part of the family’s finances as well as housework.
Count Frauss had a lot of work as he monopolized trade with the South. He also had a large warehouse and a trade system.
The Count was always tormented by his work.
In the season when the weather is good and trade is favorable, the heavy work that could not be handled even with the help of the vassals was concentrated.
However, Ian, who should help Count Frauss, was always in the Knights Templar.
In the end, the Count’s only hand was his daughter, Sophia.
Since neither the maid nor the gardener knew about the family’s situation, the Count summoned Sophia to deal with the small trade-related affairs.
Fortunately, Sophia had been interested in trade since her mother was alive.
Sophia – like a heroine – was clever and did what she was asked to do.
She said that at first she only took care of the minor chores, but as the years went on, she took on more important tasks.
‘Of course he didn’t do it out of respect for Sophia…’
Since she was such an easy-going child, he naturally made her do more things.
Count Frauss had never once praised Sophia for a job well done.
He rather used to relieve his stress from the busy work on Sophia.
‘It’s as if I joined the design team, but I feel like I’m accepting the hysteria of a bad-tempered boss after letting me do accounting and sales management… Besides, it’s unpaid work, and the lodging that they said was the worst! Crazy and vicious Frauss!’
While riding in the flow of thoughts for a moment, the anger surged.
‘No. There’s nothing to be angry about now…! Calm down!’
Sophia controlled her temper with a deep breath.
“Because I’m also Frauss, I think I should do that for my family.”
Sophia calmed her mind and smiled shyly.
Then there was a satisfied smile on the face of the noble middle-aged woman.
“Yes. If you neglect your own family affairs, the roots will be shaken.”
As the two chatted, the maids tied the last ribbon on the dress.
They backed away without a word so as not to interfere with the conversation.
“Oh, Sophia. It’s really pretty. This dress shines because of you.”
The Empress stood up from her seat, admiring Sophia’s change of clothes.
Sophia looked at the full-length mirror that the maids had brought.
Unlike when she wore a red dress, the coral-colored ribbon dress gave off a lovely and cute vibe.
She was not a fan of what she usually wore, but it suits the docile Sophia’s looks very well.
“Would you like to go and show it to others? I will look at Elizabeth and go out.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As Sophia greeted her, the maid led her back outside.
~*~
After the rest of spring training, Ian Frauss returned to the Frauss Mansion.
Unlike the last time, it was a scheduled return home, so Frauss’s servants were all ready to welcome him.
He returned after only a few days, but the Countess did not neglect to welcome him.
The vase was full of fresh flowers as if it had been picked, and the wooden floor was smooth as if it had been waxed yesterday.
When he entered the dining room, as usual, he was greeted with a rich table setting.
This time, he had buttered lobster topped with fresh caviar, scallops, oysters and rosemary, and a salad with lemon.
Ian thought they had gone too far as he looked at the sumptuous table again set up for him.
He went out for a few days in the Knights Templar, and every time he came, it was a riot, he got tired of it.
Ian looked around the large table and found that Sophia’s seat was still empty.
He moved her room to the main building, so they might have dinner together…
He was a little concerned, but he sat down anyway because it was natural for her not to be at the table.
When the meal began, the Count gave the usual compliments today.
“Was the spring training results excellent?”
The shoulder of the countess, who smiled happily, is proudly spread out.
Ian missed three days of training because of Sophia. Nevertheless, he did not miss out on Ruchtainer’s top spot.
“Looking at our Ian, I want to know who’s Ruchtainer’s best knight in the Empire? Everyone is so far behind…”
“…There has been no change in being the number one in the Knights Templar, Mother.”
Ian stopped his hand while eating at Madame Rubisella’s excessive fuss and raised his head.
It was true that he was exceptional even within the Knights Templar, but he was proud of being a member of the Ruchtainer.
Degrading the level of Ruchteiner was also unpleasant for him.
As Ian hardened his expression, Rubisella smiled awkwardly and nodded her head.
“Yes, right. My son is only the best of the best.”
Rubisella corrected herself and raised her eyebrows.
They kept talking as if all they had to do was praise Ian.
Ian thought that he wanted to eat quietly. He wanted to stop hearing repeated compliments, so he brought up another topic.
“I saw an article about Sophia in the weekly magazine this week.”
As soon as he brought out Sophia’s name, Rubisella’s expression hardened and she rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache.
“I had hoped you wouldn’t mention her name on a day like this, Ian.”
Rubisella let out a deep sigh and cleared her plate as if her appetite had gone down, and she drank the water.
He knew his mother didn’t like Sophia very much as usual, but she had never reacted like this.
Ian looked at the Count as if something had happened, and Count Frauss clicked his tongue.
“The day you went back to the training camp, something happened.”
“What happened?”
“The Archduke took Sophia.”
“…What do you mean he took her?”
For a moment, Ian stopped eating and his face hardened.
His father licked his lips bitterly, unwrapped the napkin from his chin and set it down on his lap.
“Ah, well, he said he couldn’t leave Sophia in our house, and he took her to the duchy.”
“The girl said strange things to Lady Chanelia, so there was a strange article in the weekly magazine this week. The Archduke looked at me as if he was going to kill me with what I was doing for that matter!”
Rubisella trembled and vomited her injustice.
Sophia’s domestic discrimination article in this week’s magazine was a disgrace to the Frauss.
So Ian thought she would at least lecture Sophia.
But someone from another family intervened just like that?
“I don’t know what that bitch Sophia did to the Archduke, but it seems the Archduke is obsessed with her.”
Rubisella laid in bed for several days after that day.
Count Frauss was also contemplating what to do with his relationship with Killian, because he couldn’t decide whether this situation was in his favor or not.
It was a good thing he didn’t know Sophia, who was so useless, had the talent to lure the Archduke.
Because winning Killian’s heart can develop into a stronger relationship than a political engagement.
But on the other hand, he was worried that Killian would have a bad image for Frauss because of Sophia.
So it would be difficult if Sophia told Killian bad stories about the Frauss family and used it only to her advantage.
