[TN*: The title of the chapter is an idiom for people who constantly spend small amounts carelessly, leading to an overall large amount of money wasted. Meaning that even a small thing, in large doses, becomes a large amount.]
That morning, Tanya boarded the carriage and set off for the palace. She had no intention of rushing. Among the twelve candidates, Tanya held the most powerful lineage, and she had confidence in her ability to win the emperor’s heart. She believed that she could change his mind while staying at the palace.
So even after getting off the carriage, she walked into the palace with the confidence of someone who had entered as an empress, not as a candidate.
“Welcome, Princess Gennant.”
The servant, who came out to greet her in advance after receiving a word, greeted Tanya politely. Tanya tilted her head slightly and received the greeting with a rather arrogant attitude.
“Come this way.”
The allocated palace was known only after arriving at the palace. Tanya followed the servant with considerable anticipation.
She didn’t doubt that she would be assigned to a palace quite close to the central palace, even if it wasn’t as grand as Camer Palace.
“Here we are, princess.”
But when Tanya found out which palace she had been assigned to, she almost screamed in that moment.
“Shrun Palace!”
It was because the Shrun Palace was quite far from the Central Palace. Tanya protested with a voice that said she couldn’t accept this.
“I will talk to my father. How could they assign Shrun Palace to me?”
But the servant couldn’t understand Tanya’s reaction.
“Princess, the palace you have been assigned to is the largest and most spacious among the palaces of the other Empress candidates.”
“So what! It’s far from the Central Palace. Are you joking with me?”
Tanya continued to express her anger as if that wasn’t the main issue.
“I demand a change! I cannot stay in this faraway palace from the Central Palace. Immediately!”
“I’m sorry, Lady, but that is not possible. Once a palace has been assigned, it cannot be changed.”
“Hah! Shall I contact my father? Will that really be the case?”
“Even if you are the daughter of Duke Gennant, you cannot disregard the laws of the palace.”
The servant warned Tanya sternly.
“If His Majesty finds out about this, he will not be pleased.”
“…”
In response to those words, Tanya’s lips shut like a clam. She knew that to be noticed by the emperor in her pursuit of being assigned to a palace close to the Central Palace, she must not do anything to disturb his emotions.
Tanya ultimately decided to take a step back in order to move one step forward.
‘Well, whatever. I will still have the opportunity to see His Majesty frequently if I am around the Central Palace.’
What mattered most was being comfortable during her stay here, wasn’t it? Plus, she would be using the largest palace among the other candidates. Tanya calmed her anger and turned away from the prince, then walked into the Shrun Palace with her ladies-in-waiting.
“Well, it’s nice.”
Perhaps it was not a lie that she was using the best palace among the 10 candidates, the Shrun Palace had a fairly large and majestic atmosphere. Tanya slowly began to look around the palace with a satisfied face, as if she had never been disappointed. The servants, who were assigned to each palace, bowed to Tanya.
Tanya began to feel intoxicated by the feeling of being an empress. With a contented smile, she asked her ladies-in-waiting.
“What should I do from now on?”
“Well, there’s only one thing.”
The maid gave a difficult answer.
“You should go to the Central Palace as often as possible and leave your mark in front of His Majesty. The more the emperor sees you, the more interested he will be in you, my lady.”
“Alright, I should take a carriage since the distance to the Central Palace is quite far, then.”
“My lady, within the palace grounds, only the emperor and empress are allowed to ride carriages.”
At that moment, one of the palace attendants in the Shrun Palace interjected. Tanya’s expression immediately turned sour. When she turned her head, she saw a middle-aged woman standing there with a rather stern expression.
“Who are you?” Tanya asked.
“Nice to meet you, my lady. I am Irene Bertha. I am in charge of managing the affairs of the Shrun Palace.”
“Madame Bertha.”
Tanya opened her mouth with an irritated tone.
“Remember this if you want to stay with me from now on. First, don’t speak impudently towards me. Second, if you have something to say, say it as politely as possible.”
“…”
“Third, no matter what actions I take within this palace, just observe and let it go. Got it?”
Madame Bertha did not answer, but Tanya spoke to the maid behind her, as if it was seemingly irrelevant.
“Well, let’s go change into a dress so we can greet His Majesty.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
At the same time, the herbal garden.
“What are you making, countess?”
Since that morning, Pristin had been engrossed in making something. At Welsh’s question, Pristin smiled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Oh, this.”
“Yes. I saw a lot of lavender earlier…”
“You saw it correctly. I’m making lavender candles.”
“Lavender candles?”
“Yes.”
“But why are you suddenly making them?”
“Ah…”
Pristin thought for a moment and replied.
“It’s because His Majesty has been suffering from insomnia lately.”
“Ah, did His Majesty give the direct order?”
“Um… no. I received a message from the Central Palace.”
“Directly to the countess? It would have been fine for them to contact you through the herbal garden. Why go through all this trouble?”
“The distance between Camer Palace and Central Palace is close.”
Pristin made an effort to downplay the significance of her words.
“That’s probably the reason. Anyway, someone among us had to make them.”
“If that was the reason, I could have helped. I could have found more herbs that are good for insomnia.”
“No, it’s almost done. I just need to let them set…”
“Countess.”
Then, someone came up to the place where the two of them were and called Pristin.
“A maid from Camer Palace came.”
“Camer Palace?”
Pristin went out, wiping her hands on the apron with a puzzled face. There was indeed a maid of Camer Palace waiting for Pristin. Pristin asked the maid with a puzzled face.
“Is there something wrong with Camer Palace?”
“Countess…”
The maid said to Pristin in a small voice.
“I think you should come and see for yourself.”
“To Camer Palace?”
“Yes.”
“What’s going on…”
“You’ll find out when you come.”
It was perplexing for someone to demand her presence without explaining the reason, but it was also close to lunchtime, so Pristin didn’t probe further and followed the maid.
And finally, when they arrived at Camer Palace, the place the maid led Pristin to was the dining room of Camer Palace. Pristin furrowed her brow and asked.
“Why the dining room all of a sudden?”
“Actually…”
The maid seemed to finally be able to speak.
“Someone is waiting for you inside.”
And as soon as Pristin heard those words, she quickly realized who the “someone” was.
–Thud
As the doors of the dining room opened and Pristin stepped inside, the person she expected without a doubt revealed themselves.
“Pristin.”
…It was Jerald. Pristin stared at Jerald with a bewildered expression. Jerald, on the other hand, seemed completely nonchalant.
“What is this, Your Majesty?”
“First, please have a seat.”
Jerald casually motioned for Pristin to take a seat.
“You must be hungry. It’s lunchtime, after all.”
“You want me to have lunch with Your Majesty?”
“You often have it with Claret, why not with me?”
“Of course.”
Pristin retorted in a dry tone.
“There’s no gossip about having meals with the princess, but there would be if it were with you, Your Majesty.”
“No one knows that I am here. Therefore, there is no reason for rumors to spread. Just sit and relax.”
“…”
“It’s a token of gratitude for what happened last night. Sit down, Pristin, unless you intend to ignore my sincerity.”
Pristin looked at Jerald for a moment and eventually sat opposite him. Only then did a satisfied smile hang over Jerald’s mouth.
“It’s hard to have a meal with you.”
“Did you sleep well yesterday?”
“Oh, yesterday.”
Jerald nodded and smiled.
“I slept well. Thanks to someone.”
“…The scented candles seem to have worked better than I thought. It’s a relief.”
“Scented candles alone wouldn’t have worked very well.”
Jerald touched his chin and looked at Pristin with a knowing smile.
“It was possible because you stayed by my side until I fell asleep.”
“…I was just on my way here from the herbal garden making the candles.”
Pristin tried to ignore Jerald’s words and lead the conversation.
“You can use it whenever something like yesterday happens.”
“It would be great if you could come to my room every time something like that happens.”
“…That’s not possible. Not now and not in the future.”
“Just kidding. It’s difficult for that to happen yet.”
“It’s not ‘yet’, it will still be difficult.”
“Enough talk, shall we eat?”
Intentionally ignoring Pristin’s words, Jerald casually picked up his fork and knife. Pristin silently observed his actions and then let out a sigh before following suit with her own utensils. Jerald’s assurance that there would be no rumors put Pristin’s mind at ease, at least for the moment.
“Is the food to your liking?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Good. I was worried you might not enjoy it.”
With those words, Jerald smiled alluringly, and Pristin’s resolve wavered.
He was dangerous, his every action and charm eroding the walls she had been trying so hard to rebuild.
If leaving the palace was difficult, then Pristin determined that she would have to minimize the number of times she came face to face with Jerald to fully preserve her heart.
‘…But wouldn’t one meal be okay?’
It was just one meal, after all. Pristine reassured herself, trying to regain her composure.
Little did she know that she was already soaked in the rain without realizing it.
