Chapter 18: Chapter 17

Evelina looked at Countess Elbain with a bewildered look. Then Countess Elbain looked at her with her eyes wide open as if she had no idea.

The Empress’ duty was to have a child. The duty of most nobles was also to give birth to children and to protect their lineage. Both as an aristocrat and now the Empress, Evelina, had used contraception. In addition, she felt her blood run cold as she remembered avoiding the first night with Kaiden.

“I didn’t know, Your Majesty.”

Kaiden’s expression hardened when Evelina said that in embarrassment.

“M-my mistake! Please kill me! I heard chamomile tea is good for mental and physical stability! I’m the one who recommended the tea because Her Majesty has had a hard time sleeping lately!”

The Countess of Elbain immediately knelt down at Kaiden’s feet.

“If you’re going to punish someone, please only punish me!”

She looked afraid, but she also looked really innocent. Evelina didn’t know if she really made a mistake, but she thought it was entirely her responsibility. If she hadn’t rejected him, Kaiden would have believed this to some extent.

She thought that Kaiden would consider it to be a bad thing. The Empress, who refused the first night, even drank contraceptives. Not only that, but she even said she drank it often.

Evelina didn’t know much about the effectiveness of the tea. She just enjoyed drinking black tea since she was young, and she drank other tea served by the maids.

But it was now entirely her fault. The Countess of Elbain, as Evelina knew, was neither an imperial nor an aristocrat, but a neutral family.

“Lina.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Seeing his expression hardened when she said Your Majesty, Evelina trembled as if cold air was flowing over her cold chest, realizing that she had to call his name, not his title.

“I believe in Lina. It’s not like someone who knows a lot about tea would become Empress.”

“Ah…”

“However, I hope you prefer other types of tea in the future.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

She breathed with relief, clutching her fluttering chest.

“I think I have to go now.”

Kayden rose from his seat, saying coldly.

“Ah… Kaiden.”

Then he looked back at her and he reached out his hand. Evelina closed her eyes involuntarily because his big hand felt threatened. He was the one who easily cut down the maid in front of her.

“I don’t think I can talk to Lina right now. I’m sorry.”

Kaiden sighed, handling Evelina’s stuck out strands of hair behind her ears. Then, as she gently opened her eyes, he looked straight at her with a stiff expression again.

Evelina felt a strange sense guilt because of the tiny sword marks, calluses, and thick veins on the back of his hands. Most of the injuries to his body were probably due to her father.

So when she put her eyes back at her feet, he went away alone first.

“Oh, my. I said something presumptuous again.”

Evelina didn’t know whether or not Princess Elsius had said that intentionally. However, it was also not known whether the Countess of Elbain was hers. But in society, such behavior was largely intentional in the guise of mistakes and ignorance.

“The Countess of Elbain is of no use.”

When Elsius beckoned, the maid of honor of her other confidant came, exchanged Evelina’s glass, and poured her tea.

“This is my maid, Lorella. She knows tea very well and she knows a lot about pregnancy.”

Evelina doubted that this obvious trick was really all it looked like. Was it right that the Countess of Elbain was cut off and the princess used this trick to attach her maid, or was she saying this to cover the act?

Either way, Evelina was no longer going to trust Countess Elbain. But it was stupid to increase the needle in your mouth to two.

“No, people can make mistakes. I want to be a generous person.”

“Oh, my sister-in-law. Aren’t you being too naive? My brother looked very angry.”

It seemed clear that it was Elsius who organized this.

“Why don’t you wait in his bedroom first tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

Evelina asked, pretending to smile, although her interference in the couple’s affairs bothered her.

“That’s right. In order to be a sister-in-law, you have to have the first night and have a child first.”

“…”

“You might be thrown away quickly at this rate. Don’t you think so?”

Evelina recalled that she had a month left in her life due to Elsius’ provocation.

“There are so many beautiful women in the palace. Of course, sister-in-law is the most beautiful woman in the Abelard Empire, but men embrace women who are not beautiful, right?”

Elsius sipped the cold black tea in front of her and was looking to see if Evelina was agitated. Evelina pretended to be agitated, smiled bitterly, and did not touch the tea. She was against an opponent who didn’t know what she was capable of.

“If I were sister-in-law, I think it would be more unfair to lose my older brother to maids who are far worse than you. And as you know, the Emperor was such a person.”

“Do you mean Kaiden is like that, too?”

“No. I’m just saying that most of the royal family do it for their offspring, whether they want it or not.”

Elsius smiled broadly and put down the teacup. Evelina looked straight at Elsius. Elsius’ purple eyes were pleasantly bent as if they had forgotten what happened last time.

“Because my brother cares about my sister a lot these days. Originally, my older brother was very interested in new things.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Princess.”

Then Elsius said, holding back her smile as if she had been waiting.

“I mean, if curiosity about my sister-in-law disappears, you can wither like a flower on the wall. You have to get pregnant when you’re young so you’ll be comfortable.”

“I see.”

Evelina struggled to keep her composure and had to endure such a hellish time with Elsius. There’s nothing she can do right now anyway.

“Does that princess know about that?”

Evelina knew who the Princess would marry later.

“Oh, which one?”

“His Majesty said he was discussing your marriage with the Emperor of Belaus.”

At that moment, Elsius’ face hardened.

The Emperor of Belaus was over eighty years old. Of course, Elsius did not marry him. However, in the original work, it was said at this time that she might marry the emperor of Belaus. Kaiden was delaying it even though he had no intention of handing over his sister, as if he would give her to him because of diplomacy.

“I can’t wait to see which imperial family will marry Emperor Belaus. You’re like that too, right?”

“… Yes.”

“If it is formed through the marriage with Belaus, we will have a strong ally.”

Evelina smiled innocently and laughed at Elsius, who was holding the fan like it was going to break.

~~~~

What Evelina saw when she came out of the palace of Princess Elsius.

“The Dowager Empress is calling.”

“I see.”

She pretended to have fallen down at this time and sighed as she thought of avoiding it. Kaiden said she could ignore the Dowager Empress, but Evelina couldn’t.

In addition, if one thought about the bad relationship between the Princess and the Dowager Empress, one will think that she has teamed up with the Princess if you stopped by the Princess’ Palace but not the Dowager Empress’ Palace.

“Ha.”

When Evelina sighed a little and took a step, Ianathas had Usher Pronen, who was behind her, to escort her and stepped back. Evelina was very suspicious of Ianathas, who followed her and waved back, but she had no mental strength to argue. She had to gather all her energy and see the Dowager Empress.

Evelina felt like she was going to break out in a cold sweat from how ominous it was with Ianathas going strangely toward the Imperial Palace.

“Let’s walk fast.”

“I see.”

She walked hurriedly, looking at the new entourage of the Dowager Empress. Her ankles were sore and stiff, but she ignored it. When she saw the Dowager Empress’ Palace, Evelina suddenly felt like her lifespan had been reduced by 10 years. However, she greeted the Dowager Empress with a smile.

“I see the Empire’s moon.”

“The greeting is still like a vulgara courtesan.”

“I’m sorry.”

After Evelina said that, she smiled and grabbed her skirt. She was wondering if she should say hello again.

“Sit over there.”

“Yes.”

The place where the Dowager Empress moved was the pavilion of a stone building in the patronage of the Dowager Empress. She sat gracefully and looked at the Dowager Empress.

“I heard you drank a contraceptive.”

“It’s a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding or anything, you should check if you are really capable of giving birth.”

“What?”

Evelina had already completed several tests when she entered the palace. But what did she mean, uh, check?

“Why should I do that?”

“Do you ask because you don’t know? How dare you puke at my words when you’ve had contraceptives?”

The knights that appeared before she knew it surrounded Evelina.

“If you want to follow me calmly, I’ll just check it and send it back to you. If not, I’ll leave you to the knights.”

“I’ve already finished the inspection when I entered the palace, Your Majesty the Dowager Empress.”

“That was then, and now is now. The palace doesn’t need an Empress who can’t even have children.”

The Dowager Empress looked down at Evelina with her head up solemnly. Evelina’s heart was beating too fast in this unpleasant situation. The throbbing sound of her heart echoed in her ears and was accompanied by tinnitus. The numbness in her left hand intensified her displeasure.

“If you resist, I’ll examine you here.”

“Hello.”

When the new close maid spoke, the doctors of the Dowager Empress, who were waiting nearby, were coming. Evelina had a terrible headache because the sound in her ear seemed to be getting weird.

“Don’t touch me. This is against the law. I’ll tell His Majesty.”

“It’s funny that you dare to bring the emperor up. Don’t you know whose side the child is on?”

Evelina seemed to have her vision go out for a moment while looking at the smiling mouth of the Dowager Empress.

“His Majesty is coming!”

As Evelina sank to the floor due to dizziness, someone was quickly approaching her. The man was Kaiden, and Ianathas was seen next to him.

The moment she lost her mind, she looked up and saw the Emperor rushing over, and she made up her mind. We should make them both remove each other, not keep it between the Dowager Empress and the Princess. Otherwise, her life might be more short-lived than the month given to her.

She felt like she had regained her cool old self.