Chapter 6

Chapter 6

At the Empress's shout, Riena's eyes filled with tears again, and her entire body began trembling.

The sight was so pitiful that sighs of sympathy spread throughout the banquet hall.

Then her tiny lips parted carefully.

"Mother, I only gave Lady Trinia one baby blan..."

Her timing was perfect.

And so was the moment she cut herself off.

Riena suddenly collapsed to the floor.

"!"

In an instant, the banquet hall descended into chaos, filled with screams and hurried footsteps.

Cries of alarm and angry voices erupted everywhere.

Naturally, the criticism directed at Trinia grew even harsher.

"I'm telling you, she must be trying to keep the young princess in check."

"K-keep her in check? A common-born mistress trying to compete with an Imperial Princess? Don't make me laugh. That's not even funny!"

"Come now, she's hardly just some common-born mistress. She's His Majesty's first love, isn't she? Ha. Perhaps this is exactly why the late Emperor left orders not to allow Trinia into the palace as a mistress. There are limits to how far His Majesty should defend her."

"Lower your voice!"

Unable to say a single word, Trinia stood there and endured the nobles' whispers and hostile gazes with her bare face.

This was exactly why she had been even more careful about her behavior ever since giving birth to the prince!

I won't let this go, you sly little fox!

With everything she had worked for threatening to collapse, Trinia could only bite at her innocent lower lip.

"Trinia, you are confined to your quarters."

Trinia's head snapped up.

For a moment, she thought she had misheard.

But the voice belonged to Emperor Francio, one she knew far too well.

She slowly shook her head in disbelief.

"Y-Your Majesty...? B-but I...!"

She looked at Emperor Francio with desperate sorrow in her eyes.

What she received in return was a gaze filled with contempt.

It was so sharp that it almost felt as though he were cursing her with his eyes.

"But? My, my. Talking back to His Majesty? Do you have ten necks to spare?"

Even as the nobles mocked her, the Emperor merely clicked his tongue and rose irritably from the throne.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Majesty the Empress. I don't believe there is any need for great concern."

Francio, who had been rubbing his face with both hands, nodded.

His only daughter had collapsed in the middle of an official event.

He glanced sideways at the Empress.

"Don't blame yourself. Riena is no longer a baby. She must learn to distinguish between public and private matters."

"The Empress is right. But if you rebuke her so openly, what happens to Riena's dignity?"

"She isn't yet at an age where she needs to worry about preserving her dignity. When discipline is necessary, it must be given firmly. Otherwise, people will whisper behind her back."

She was right.

Far too right.

Francio frowned.

Had Chernuier ever actually said something unreasonable?

Hiding his irritation, he gave a quiet snort.

"Please comfort the princess. She must have been terribly frightened if she fainted right there."

"Your Majesty should return to the banquet hall. I will stay here."

"Very well."

Francio swallowed his irritation and turned toward the door.

Just then, a knock sounded.

"Enter."

The door opened, revealing the ladies-in-waiting assigned to Riena.

They bowed deeply, wearing miserable expressions.

"We greet His Majesty the Emperor."

"...And Her Majesty the Empress."

The Empress didn't even turn around.

Her eyes remained fixed only on Riena.

"It was our fault."

The Emperor tilted his head at the sudden confession.

"What exactly did you do wrong?"

"When Her Highness said she wished to present a gift, we should have stopped her."

"If we had, none of this would have happened...."

Their voices trembled badly.

The Emperor sighed and waved a hand.

"This was not your fault. The problem was not that she presented a gift in the first place."

He narrowed his eyes and stared into empty space before clicking his tongue again.

"If we must assign blame, then it was Trinia's mistake. I didn't take her for that kind of fool."

Mistake?

The Empress's golden eyes flashed coldly.

Still, she swallowed the sigh rising in her throat.

There was nothing to gain from clashing with him over Trinia.

"Then take good care of the princess."

"Yes! Your Majes..."

"Close the door. I wish to be alone with the princess for a while."

The Empress cut them off immediately and ordered the door shut.

The thick door slowly closed.

It was practically an open insult, and the Emperor snorted.

What a personality.

He glared at the closed door, clicked his tongue several times, then resumed walking.

Riena's quiet room was filled with the sweet scent of chocolate and flowers.

The Empress gently played with the loose strands of hair framing Riena's face and stroked her pale cheek as carefully as though she feared it might wear away beneath her fingers.

"Do you have any idea how frightened I was...? When you collapsed, I nearly jumped straight down from the platform in this dress."

Beneath her thick lashes, golden eyes trembled.

The Empress couldn't bear to watch her precious daughter being scolded by the Emperor.

That was why she had raised her own voice first.

"...Mother."

Riena's bright golden eyes opened.

The Empress's shoulders twitched.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. I was just a little startled."

"Haah...."

Only then did the Empress release the breath she had been holding and rub her chest.

"I feel as though I've aged ten years. Riena, don't involve yourself with Trinia again. Do you understand?"

"Yes...."

At the sight of the princess pouting with those tiny lips, the Empress finally burst into laughter.

How could anyone look at those adorable lips and soft cheeks without smiling?

"Come here."

She lifted little Riena in one smooth motion and hugged her tightly against her chest.

Only after holding her greedily close, almost tight enough to make it hard to breathe, did she speak.

"Open the door."

The heavy doors opened.

The pale-faced ladies-in-waiting were lined up outside.

"Your Majesty.... We..."

"You did nothing wrong. Do you think I don't know how hard you work? Continue guarding her side as reliably as you have until now."

At last, the ladies' faces brightened.

"Yes! We will remain faithfully at Her Highness's side so Your Majesty need never worry!"

"I must leave now, so stay with the princess."

With a faint smile, the Empress rose and stepped outside.

But she kept turning back to look at Riena several times before finally forcing herself to walk away.

"Your Highness, are you truly all right? Shall we bring you some warm cocoa?"

"...I'm sorry. I scared all of you because of me, didn't I?"

"Please don't say that! We were frightened, but the palace physician said you were fine, so we're fine too."

"That's right. But Romi was incredible earlier."

"Seriously, how can a twelve-year-old be that strong?"

Romi scratched her head with an embarrassed grin.

The moment Riena collapsed, Romi had been the first to reach her.

She had hoisted the princess onto her back in one motion and carried her all the way back to the Imperial Princess's Palace.

That alone said everything.

"Romi, do you exercise every day? I was really, really surprised."

"I was just so worried about you, Your Highness...."

Riena took Romi's hand tightly.

Whether it was Romi from her previous life or Romi in this one...

She had always been on Riena's side.

"Romi, thank you."

Instead of answering, Romi merely nodded with her cheeks flushed pink.

Then, where no one else could see, she gave Riena a tiny smile.

A smile promising that she would keep their secret to the very end.

"By the way, what will happen to Lady Trinia?"

"She's under confinement, so she'll remain confined until His Majesty allows her out again."

"But using Her Highness like that was really unexpected. I mean, she's always behaved quietly until now, hasn't she?"

Countess Sertua furrowed her brows.

"We can't know that for certain. If Her Highness had prepared the gift alone, she might have been falsely accused without a single witness to defend her."

As expected, she was sharp.

"Her Highness did absolutely nothing wrong! From now on, please don't go near Lady Trinia."

"The Harvest Festival became rather noisy, but at least we learned what kind of person she truly is. Isn't that fortunate?"

Everyone nodded together at those words.

Every step carried heavy anger.

The Emperor's rough footsteps echoed through the palace corridor.

"Your Majesty, Lady Trinia..."

"Do not even mention her name for the time being. Honestly, how can someone be that stupid?"

The person who was truly furious wasn't the Empress.

It wasn't Riena.

It wasn't even the nobles.

It was Emperor Francio.

Because he rarely revealed what he was thinking, the aide walking beside him lowered his head in confusion.

"Separate Prince Turio from Trinia immediately. Or discuss it with the Empress and place him in her care."

"!"

The aide's expression stiffened.

At this rate, Trinia wouldn't merely be confined to her quarters.

She could even be thrown out of the Imperial Palace, and no one would have any grounds to object.

"I told her to be careful and live as quietly as a dead mouse until the right time came...! Yet she couldn't even wait and caused this disaster."

His hand curled into a fist.

His knuckles turned white, and the veins stood out beneath the skin.

His heavy anger brought silence to the entire corridor.

Then, as they approached the far end, loud voices began echoing toward them.

"I-I clearly told you not to use it! Lady Trinia was the one who ignored me...!"

Francio frowned and looked ahead.

Slap!

Trinia's black hair whipped through the air as she struck her maid across the face.

The maid collapsed to the floor.

"How dare you talk back to me? Do you think I'm a joke too...?"

"I told you not to use the blanket with that crest...!"

The maid tried to finish what she was saying.

A vicious kick struck her instead.

Even as the maid screamed, the kicking showed no sign of stopping.

Then someone suddenly grabbed Trinia by the wrist.

"How dare you! Wha...!"

Her rose-colored eyes shook violently.

"Were you always like this...?"

"Y-Your, Your, Your Majesty...?"

As though he had heard enough, the Emperor called over another nearby maid.

"Take my son out of this woman's room immediately. Now."