TVWRL Chapter 62

Chapter 62

If I had moved just a little more, our lips would have touched. That was how close we were.

Now, it wasn’t just my ears—something near my heart kept tingling as well.

Even up close, his face remained flawless.

He was seriously handsome…

A sigh of admiration escaped me.

Ilias gestured for me to continue speaking, and I barely managed to part my lips while suppressing my trembling. In the meantime, my lips felt oddly dry.

“Are you well-versed in the teachings of the Myaria religion?”

“As a prince, it was a subject I was required to study, and I also had a personal interest in it. So, I studied it quite deeply.”

“That’s perfect.”

I clapped my hands in delight and naturally stepped away from him.

“Let’s keep things like that for when we’re alone. Just the two of us.”

I spoke as if we had just been whispering sweet nothings, as if we were planning to do even more scandalous things later. Enough to make any onlookers misunderstand.

We had to maintain our image—one that screamed love, not politics.

“Oh, Your Highness, is there anything you wish to ask me?”

“What is it?”

When I asked him something I was curious about, he even drew pictures to explain it to me.

“Thank you. Your Highness, I have some things to take care of today, so it would be great if you returned to the palace a little later.”

“I’ll do as you wish, Lin.”

Ilias stood up and gently lifted my chin, locking our gazes together.

Why was he so dedicated to this act? He could just leave.

No—masters of their craft pay attention to the details. That’s why the Empress had no choice but to believe him.

Ilias was a master of acting.

“Alright, Adeline. It seems you have a lot to do. Don’t overwork yourself. I’ll see you tonight.”

Even though I knew it was just an act, watching him walk away still left me feeling a little disappointed.

—

By the time I returned to the palace, the sun had already begun to set.

I wanted to keep reading, but there were too many things to take care of at the palace.

As I stepped inside, I saw the chief chamberlain and the head lady-in-waiting standing at the front, with a line of palace attendants behind them.

Their posture was proper, but something about it felt off.

The chamberlain and lady-in-waiting were looking at me with defiance in their eyes—an expression I recognized immediately.

As I coldly met their gazes, a tense silence spread through the palace.

The very thought that this situation had become so tense only made me angrier.

They must have felt emboldened because they had the Empress’s backing.

Nowhere in the imperial palace should a power struggle between the royal family and the palace staff exist.

Such behavior could be considered an insult to the royal family—punishable by execution.

But I had no desire to stoop to their level.

So, I spoke as indifferently as possible, my face unreadable.

“Is the cleaning done?”

“No. It has not been done.”

“What did you say?”

“Your Highness, we are properly appointed palace attendants who passed official examinations. We only follow rightful orders.”

It seemed that while I was away, they had reported to Empress Sierra and received orders to ignore me.

Sierra had little interest in palace affairs or the condition of Ilias’s residence, so she likely had no idea how bad things had gotten.

If I let this slide, I would be seen as weak. And I had no intention of being treated like a pushover.

“Your words are quite insolent.”

“Pardon?”

They were trying to tame me.

‘They must think I’m powerless. That I’m just a temporary princess who could disappear at any moment.’

And since Ilias had never touched the Empress’s people before, they must have assumed I wouldn’t dare to either.

But they were mistaken if they thought I would let this go.

“Are you saying that because I was not formally brought into the palace, my orders are not legitimate?”

The chamberlain’s pupils quivered slightly with unease.

“T-That’s not what I meant…”

“If that’s not what you meant, then what? Do palace attendants now have the right to pick and choose which imperial orders to obey? Do they only do the tasks they feel like doing?”

“No, Your Highness, that is not the case.”

“Then was my order to clean this filthy palace unreasonable?”

They had no response.

A heavy silence settled over the palace.

Just then, a commotion arose outside, and the voice of the gatekeeper rang out.

“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”

The doors swung open, and Empress Sierra entered.

Behind her, a noticeably larger number of attendants than usual followed.

She had come here deliberately, fully prepared.

‘Oh? So, the mastermind behind these palace attendants has finally decided to show herself.’

I gracefully lifted my skirts and curtsied to the Empress.

“I greet the Mother of the Empire.”

After finishing my formal greeting, I rose and met Sierra’s gaze.

“What brings Your Majesty here at such a late hour? If it were urgent, you could have summoned me instead.”

Sierra smiled kindly, her expression one of gentle concern.

“I happened to be passing by and heard loud voices. I was worried, so I decided to check in. Is something the matter?”

Her intentions were all too obvious. And the expressions of the palace attendants, as if they had gained a thousand reinforcements now that Sierra had arrived, only irritated me further.

Wouldn’t it be natural for me to provoke them just as much as they had provoked me?

I looked at Empress Sierra with a concerned gaze.

“Your Majesty, have you been feeling unwell lately?”

Sierra’s face twisted into an expression of utter bewilderment.

“What nonsense is this?”

Ignoring her reaction, I continued to look at her with a worried expression.

“Is that not the case? There are only myself and the palace attendants here, so how could there have been loud voices? That would mean the attendants were yelling at me and openly defying me. If so, that would be a grave crime—an act of treason against the imperial family, punishable by execution. And if no less than Your Majesty yourself heard it…”

At my words, the atmosphere among the palace attendants shifted.

“So, I must ask—did Your Majesty truly hear shouting?”

I could see Sierra hesitating, torn between her pride and the need to protect her people.

The attendants sent her desperate looks. In the end, she squeezed her eyes shut briefly before opening them again.

“I must have mistaken the sound of the wind.”

I smiled brightly, as if relieved.

“Of course! Lately, the wind has sounded so much like human voices. It’s quite eerie.”

But Sierra was not ready to give up just yet. She immediately tried to nitpick again.

“But, Princess Consort.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Why have you made the attendants stand here like this? It hasn’t been long since your marriage, and you’re already trying to impose discipline? Loyalty from subordinates is not something to be forced—it should come naturally. Tsk, tsk.”

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. I widened my eyes as if I had been wronged.

“Imposing discipline? That’s preposterous.”

“Then what exactly are you doing now?”

“I was, of course, educating them.”

Sierra immediately raised an eyebrow, thinking she had caught me.

“Educating them? What kind of education? Are you suggesting that my education has been lacking all this time?”

She feigned an offended look.

“Of course not.”

I turned my gaze toward the palace attendants, my expression turning cold.

“Have you all taken advantage of Her Majesty’s kindness? How could you bring disgrace upon the Empress’s name?”

The attendants stood there, bewildered. Sierra immediately interjected.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I had hoped to spare Her Majesty from the distress, but given the circumstances, I must speak the truth.”

“Go ahead. Say whatever you need to.”

Thinking the situation was now unfolding in her favor, Sierra’s expression relaxed.

With a grave yet sorrowful tone, I spoke.

“Your Majesty, the Imperial Prince’s Palace has been neglected for quite some time. But more than that, the attendants themselves have been abandoned.”

Sierra’s face darkened at my unexpected words.

“Princess Consort, what do you mean?”

“The palace was in such disarray that I ordered a thorough cleaning before leaving. But upon my return, I found them refusing to follow my rightful orders.”

As a true-blooded member of the imperial family, Sierra swept a cold gaze over the attendants.

“Nonsense. The palace wouldn’t have been neglected. These attendants were selected for their competence. I personally assigned them here, and they have been diligently fulfilling their duties.”

I looked at Sierra with an expression of pity. Then, as if holding back difficult words, I bit my lip and averted my gaze.

“Princess Consort, what is it? If you have something to say, speak.”

Sierra’s voice softened, thinking things were going as she had planned.

“What use are a hundred words? It would be better for Your Majesty to see for yourself.”

As I took a step forward, Sierra followed. I could sense the attendants struggling to suppress their smirks.

I headed toward the reception room I had pointed out in the morning. But just before reaching it, I turned and opened the door to the room across from it instead.

This room, nominally a study, had been abandoned for years. It had turned into a storage space, filled with piled-up junk, and even cobwebs could be seen.

Earlier at the library, when I met Ilias, he had explained everything about the palace—the spaces that were in use, those that weren’t, and their intended purposes.

At the time, I had asked him just in case, though I hadn’t fully expected this outcome.

When I arrived at the palace and saw how confidently the chief chamberlain and head lady-in-waiting spoke to me, I knew my suspicions had been correct.

If the attendants had plotted this with Empress Sierra, then they would have made sure the areas I had criticized in the morning were thoroughly cleaned.

‘They were planning to embarrass me in a spotless room so that I would never dare to command them again.’

As I opened the door, a cloud of dust rose into the air, and Sierra waved her hand in irritation. Her face twisted in anger.

I, too, kept my expression icy.

“This is why I ordered a thorough cleaning of the palace. Would Your Majesty like to inspect further?”

“I have seen enough.”

“These lazy individuals have exploited Your Majesty’s generosity. I believe this, too, is an insult to the imperial family.”

Sierra glared at them, and the chief chamberlain and head lady-in-waiting lowered their heads as if they were criminals.

“When I gave them work to do because they were neglecting their duties, they turned on me instead. It seems that disrespect toward the imperial family has become a habit for them.”

“No, no! That’s not true! This is a misunderstanding!”

I heard the chief chamberlain’s voice behind me.

“Look at this. Even now, while I am conversing with Her Majesty, they dare to interrupt.”

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