Countess Patrí could not forgive the young daughter of Count Freyr, who dared to compare her to Marquise Garniar. Due to the current predicament, even such trivial words could not be brushed off easily.
“No matter how ignorant one is, how can one say something like that? This is not something she simply said without thinking. She intentionally compared the two of us. This is unbelievable! My situation has become quite ridiculous. Now, even my companion mocks me in the face like this.”
Countess Patrí, who had been biting her lip so hard that she was worried about leaving a scar, nervously twisted the fan in her hand. The luxurious fan decorated with expensive ivory and ostrich feathers was twisted by rough hands and was gradually losing its shape.
Viscountess Wemmel, watching the scene, cautiously took the fan from the Countess Patrí. It was because she was afraid that if she broke that and injured her hand, another rumor would sweep over the court.
“Please. You are well aware of what she is like. She is a naive and thoughtless kid in everything. Do not think too deeply about such meaningless blunders, Countess.”
“But sister-”
“Hush. Do not make too much noise. The ladies-in-waiting may not be here, but this is the court. Even the walls have ears.”
Viscountess Wemmel, who had made the ladies-in-waiting retreat beforehand upon seeing the unusual appearance of the Countess, whispered quietly and stroked her sister’s hair.
Countess Patrí, trembling from the rising anger and humiliation, barely managed to control herself, and took a deep breath in to regain her calm.
“… I never want to see that stupid chick, sister.”
After a while, Countess Patrí had finally regained her composure, and whispered softly, rubbing her forehead against the Viscountess Wemmel’s shoulder as if she were a child. It was an innocent gesture like a child, but the emotion mixed in the words was a raw, sharp hatred.
Viscountess Wimel pressed her shoulder without much reply. Countess Patry opened her lips again and vomited out a charred, venomous sentence.
“I do not want to keep around a child who does not even know what to say. She should have died in place of Louise Dumont.”
Viscountess Wemmel, hearing her cruel murmur, closed her eyes in silence.
Unlike Countess Patrí, Viscountess Wemmel didn’t like having Louise Dumont as a companion. She also quarreled with the Countess for this, not quite because of the reason the courtiers murmured behind turned backs, which was that the best room was taken away from her. But in reality, it was because she knew that this act would do nothing to affect the Countess’s position.
Countess Patrí, the longest-loved concubine among all, yet unable to establish her political position as entrenched as one would expect, attempted to bring Grand Duchess Alienor into her faction to overthrow the unfavorable position. But in the eyes of the Countess’s sister, Viscountess Wemmel, this attempt was far too reckless.
Grand Duchess Alienor was Ebroin V’s greatest enemy, no matter what anyone said. Everything that Countess Patrí owned had come from the Emperor, so what good was the support she had gained from the Emperor’s greatest enemy?
However, despite Viscountess Wemmel’s countless attempts to persuade Countess Patrí, she would not listen. Contrary to her always confident attitude, the restlessness that built up little by little as the years passed clouded her intelligence.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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A series of failures and setbacks left the Countess anxious. She became impatient to make up for her past failures and began to hate herself for not meeting the expectations of the Emperor and her own.
And then it finally got to this point. The whole situation was unbearably painful for Viscountess Wemmel as she had to watch up close as her younger sister, who had once shined as a much-coveted rose, gradually fell apart.
Thanks to her sister, she became a Viscountess, and her family received great help, but the Countess herself did not gain anything. Rather, she was only losing her true self in this harsh court.
I would rather give up, Adelaide.
The words she had wanted to say for the past few years, but never been able to say, once again lingered in her mouth. She would do anything if she could stop Adelaide’s futile struggles now, but sadly, there was nothing Viscountess Wemmel could do.
The only thing that could stop her was the understanding that it simply cannot be done anymore. But Marie Adelaide was foolishly unable to let go of her last hope that the other concubines had long abandoned.
“Do not say that. Count Freyr was the chief lord of our family. Moreover, her grandmother came from a long line of venerable nobility, the Counts of Laforet, and she herself was a Lady of Balustre. You know very well how valuable she is to us, those who have no central connection.”
There was a reason why the young daughter of Count Freyr, who was raised as a noblewoman, lacked tact, and did not know how to please others properly, was brought in as a companion.
Unlike the high society where it was just a matter of meeting like-minded friends, in the courtroom, even choosing a lady-in-waiting, as well as a companion, required thorough political calculations.
Viscountess Wemmel chose her next words carefully so as not to offend Countess Patrí.
“This is not for her. It is for you. You do know, right? Who the one I cherish more than anyone else is.”
Countess Patrí leaned her forehead and listened to Viscountess Wemmel’s whispers. Viscountess Wemmel was much older than her younger sister and was also the one who raised her in place of her mother, whom she had lost at a young age.
Countess Patrí quietly closed her eyes as she felt comforted by the loving kindness of a woman who was both her sister and mother and asked what she wanted to hear more than anything else.
“His Majesty cannot forsake me. Unlike other concubines, I was told that he waited seven whole years for me. I still have a chance, sister. Right?”
“Of course, Countess. Your Majesty cannot easily abandon a woman as beautiful and clever as you.”
“There is no way he could have been attracted to someone like Baron Amieux. Unless there is a reason or a misunderstanding, it would just be a short play with fire. He is not one to care about personal feelings. His Majesty embraces only those who deserve it.”
The Emperor’s favoritism was both love and hate at the same time. Countess Patrí who knew Ebroin V better than anyone else, even when he was dealing with his concubines as the Emperor in his own right rather than as a man, did not acknowledge the possibility that he might be swayed by Baron Amieux.
He was equally kind to all and therefore was also equally heartless to all. Neither the witty Marquise Merlin, the graceful and virtuous Marquise Lamott, nor even herself was a desirable woman to him. Such a person could not suddenly engage in a relationship made entirely of personal desire. His Majesty The Emperor was too objectively cold to act that way.
“I do not want to be conscious of an insignificant paramour that I cannot connect with nor can sit next to His Majesty. No, I do not want to pay attention at all. Even the fact that I care about such a person is pathetic.”
Countess Patrí, repeating to herself continuously as if invoking an incantation, finally removed her forehead from the shoulders of Viscountess Wemmel. She sat down in front of the dressing table with tears in her large eyes and a lovely smile to get ready for the evening, albeit belatedly, at the urging of the Viscountess.
Viscountess Wemmel, who watched her dab a handkerchief around her eyes, pulled the string and called the ladies-in-waiting. Soon after, the ladies-in-waiting returned to the room, and Viscountess Wemmel led them to help Countess Patrí dress up for the evening.
The outfit specially prepared for this evening was a peach-colored silk gown that accentuated her white skin. Countess Patrí even matched jewelry for this beautiful gown, featuring the dazzling arabesque motifs characteristic of the Eastern Empire.
The Countess’ hair was turned into an up-do, in which was inserted a fine hair comb made of ivory and coral, adorned with lace, allowing delicate ribbons to run down her shoulders.
Coral earrings paired with a headdress were hung on the ears, and powder was applied over the skin to highlight the voluptuous white breasts, and then a little black beauty mark was applied. The lace choker worn instead of a necklace to emphasize the long and elegant neckline was a delicately woven piece of silk ribbon and lace.
“Are you not hungry? There is still a lot of time left before you leave for the ball. Would you like a light snack?”
“No need. You know I prefer not to eat anything before I go to a ball. In that case, I would rather tighten my waist.”
The Countess replied, moving her lips carefully so as not to disrupt the hands of the lady-in-waiting putting on makeup. The lady-in-waiting, who had pressed the wisps of her hair hanging around her ears with a hot iron, looked in the mirror and awaited Countess Patrí’s approval. Turning her head to both sides, she looked at herself and nodded with satisfaction.
Even with the help of skilled ladies-in-waiting, it would take a lot of time for a lady to dress up properly. They began preparations later than expected due to personal reasons, so she had limited time to get ready. This made Countess Patrí more and more restless.
It started late in the afternoon, but as the sun went down, the ladies-in-waiting lighted the candlesticks on the candelabrum while she fixed her outfit. They had lost track of time in their frantic fiddling with the ribbons on her robe, straightening them to make them look just right, and matching the patterns on the undulating lace.
Countess Patrí, looking in the mirror, suddenly remembered that she should have been contacted by now, and asked Viscountess Wemmel a question over her shoulder.
“Oh, I forgot to check in advance, but what time did His Majesty say he would come to meet me today?”
Viscountess Wemmel, who was helping her, tilted her head and answered.
“Come to think of it, I have not received a message yet. Shall we send someone to the Imperial Household Office?”
“Do so.”
Viscountess Wemmel chose one of the most carefree ladies-in-waiting and sent her to the Imperial Household Office. It was the primary court attendant’s duty to serve the Emperor, but adjusting the Emperor’s schedule fell within the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Office.
The lady-in-waiting, who had left for the Imperial Household Office at a brisk pace at the Viscountess’s orders, returned with a very strange expression shortly thereafter. She, with a subtle expression that seemed somehow startled and a little frightened, approached hesitatingly as if she was unwilling to do so and cautiously bent her knees to tell her what she learned.
“Okay, so what did the Imperial Household Office say?”
“… Um, about that.”
“You have to follow the rules when speaking. What is this shameful act of muttering in front of the one you serve?”
The young lady-in-waiting’s shoulders flinched at the harsh rebuke of Viscountess Wemmel. Countess Patrí, who observed this scene through the mirror, looked back at the lady-in-waiting with an eerie sense of anxiety.
“Th-They said that His Majesty has already decided who he will escort today. So, the Countess must move individually if she is to attend the ball of the Marquise of Bertin-”
“What did you say? What on earth are you talking about?!”
“I am telling you exactly what I heard from the Imperial Household Office. The Chamberlain himself said that tonight His Majesty will attend the ball with Marquise Merlin.”
The lady-in-waiting, who merely relayed what she had heard, bowed her head pitifully in despair as the lightning struck.
The startled Viscountess Wemmel, speechless, turned to look back at Countess Patrí. Countess Patrí, who had been sitting blankly with a pale, ashen face, shook her head belatedly as if denying what she had heard.
“No, that cannot be….His Majesty always accompanies me on important events like these.”
He is said to be an Emperor who treats his concubines as fairly as possible, but that does not mean that he did not express his favoritism. Other concubines would take turns to accompany him to private events, but she was always the only one standing by the Emperor’s side for important or official events.
Not only at the Soirée of the Sky but also at the Grand Feaute, at New Year’s balls, and at Marquise of Bertin’s annual balls, His Majesty always took her with him, teaching her what it meant to be by the Emperor’s side.
Why did the person who always cared for her and showed her affection all of a sudden, why…
Countess Patrí bit her lip, unable to hide her confusion.
“You must have heard it wrong. If not, then the Chamberlain must be mistaken about something. There is no way His Majesty would do so without mentioning it to the Countess.”
Viscountess Wemmel was disconcerted by this news in a different sense than Countess Patrí. The Emperor was the sovereign of all people and the master of the empire, but he was not careless. Even if he were to lose his affection for her, he was not someone who would treat his woman roughly, and she did not understand the fact that why such a person did this without even notifying her in advance.
honestly give up already countess and dont tell me she killed Louise
Thanks very much for the chapter!! Have a wonderful day<3
<333
Oopsie daisies~
You called me ? 😂
LMAOOOOOO YOU’RE SO FUNNY
I’m looking forward to the eventttt~
I’m also looking forward to the Ball event. I feel like something crucial will happen there.
Thank you so much for the update <3
Although I sympathize with this Lady but she has been flying on cloud nine for such a long time, now it’s time to touch some Grass woman !
The sooner you accept the better.
And stop calling Eugene an insignificant person !!!
Sometimes extreme favour floods brain turning it into mush , giving you that narrow vision.
Thankyou for posting dear. You have no idea how much I adore this novel. It always keeps me wanting more 😘
To put her in her place, obviously….. Nah.. I’m just kidding, of course she hasn’t yet fallen down low enough to reach her place.
Thank you for the upload!
Ooh my god, the ball scene is coming 🤭
The emperor is going to be so jealous~
The Ball event bites nails nervously-
Ooh dear this does not bode well…thank you for the chapter Mimari!!
I can’t wait for the next chapter 😍😍