I didn’t expect Lisbeth to be smart, but this was beyond anything I could imagine. How oblivious could a girl be?
I asked coldly, “So Orlean told you this?”
“Yes! She told me the truth.” Lisbeth looked straight into my eyes and continued, “I am more beautiful than your highness, so once his highness notices me, you will lose your position in power. That is why you kicked me out from the emperor’s office yesterday!”
She was shouting by the time she was finished. Everyone stared at her in disgust.
When no one said anything for a while, Lisbeth must have thought she won. She looked confident as if she was sure she was right.
I stood up quietly and walked towards her. She flinched at first, but quickly straightened her shoulders.
I smiled and asked, “You are saying I’m jealous and afraid of you?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s why I kicked you out yesterday?”
“Yes, that’s what you did.”
“And Orlean told you this?”
“Yes. Orlean is older and therefore wiser.”
I laughed at her quietly. The other maids followed suit and did the same.
I suddenly stopped laughing and asked simply, “Was Orlean there in the emperor’s office yesterday?”
“… n, no.”
Lisbeth’s voice weakened.
“Then wise Orlean made up a story without witnessing the event. She basically told you a lie about me and my thoughts. Well then, she needs to be punished.”
“Pardon?!”
“Orlean didn’t follow us into the emperor’s office yesterday, right?”
Samantha answered quickly, “Yes, your highness.”
“And who asked everyone to leave the office yesterday?”
“The emperor, your highness.”
I continued, “Then Orlean lied about something she knew nothing about. Or… You, Lisbeth, told her a lie so she makes a wrong assumption.”
Lisbeth jumped.
“Pardon?!”
I smiled kindly and asked her, “Which is it?”
Lisbeth’s eyes widened as she realized her mistake.
She now had to make a choice. Either Orlean or she herself had to be punished for lying.
“Th, that is…”
While Lisbeth stammered in shock, I asked Samantha casually, “Samantha, what kind of punishment is given in cases like this?”
She answered coolly, “For a servant, a whipping. For a maid, she will be locked in her room for a number of days, your highness. The amount depends on the amount of time served in this castle.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
I continued to smile at Lisbeth and asked, “So which is it? I need to know, so I know who to punish. Is it you or Orlean?”
“T, the thing is…”
Lisbeth became pale and she started to shake. She looked pathetic, but no one showed any sympathy towards her. She has been causing everyone so much trouble that she was disliked by all.
As the silence continued, Agnes stood up, making Lisbeth jump.
“Why can’t you answer? Is it because it’s you who fed lies to Orlean?”
“N, no!” Lisbeth screamed.
Agnes then smiled kindly and replied, “So it’s not you then.”
“Yes, that’s right. It wasn’t me!”
“Then it’s Orlean who needs to be punished.”
“Pardon? B, but…!”
When Lisbeth tried to protest, Agnes glared at her and asked again, “Then was it you, Lady Lisbeth?”
“…”
“If it was you who told Orlean these lies, then you will be punished.”
“No, it wasn’t me!” Lisbeth answered as she continued to tremble.
Samantha ignored her and asked me, “It appears Orlean is the one who needs to be punished, your highness.”
I answered, “Indeed.”
“How many times should she be whipped?”
I looked at Lisbeth and replied decisively, “30. And for three days, she will be given only one meal a day.”
“Yes, your highness.”
Samantha left with a smile to carry out my order.
While all this happened, Lisbeth didn’t once defend Orlean.
If Lisbeth was punished, the worst would have been for her to stay in her room for a few days. However, for Orlean, she was to be physically punished. Lisbeth knew this, yet she threw Orlean under the bus.
She was a selfish little girl.
I sat down on my chair again. Lisbeth looked around at everyone hoping to ask for help, but it obviously wouldn’t work. When everyone looked at her coldly, Lisbeth seemed to give up.
“…”
Normally, I wouldn’t have done something like this. However, today, I was angry.
I was very angry.
Lisbeth made a huge mistake in picking a fight with me today.
I opened my mouth and said sweetly, “Lisbeth.”
“Y, yes?” She looked up in fear.
She was truly a beautiful girl, but I felt nothing for her. The more Lisbeth hated me, the better chance I would have in the dowager empress becoming interested in her. I had to give Lisbeth as many reasons as possible to hate me.
“Let’s not fight anymore.”
“Pardon?”
I smiled kindly and confidently as I continued, “His highness will be visiting me tonight. You should dress up like yesterday and wait with me. Let’s see if it was really me who kicked you out yesterday or if it was his highness who just wasn’t interested in you. This will be a good test to find out who was mistaken, right?”
***
I sat alone in my reception room. I had a lot to think about, so I asked all of my maids to leave. I needed to be alone.
I made Lisbeth leave even earlier.
I told her, “Make sure you look your best and come tonight to my room.”
I meant to arrange a surprise blind date between the emperor and Lisbeth.
I didn’t understand what I was feeling. I was still angry about the fact that Lucretius was spying on me.
I already knew he didn’t trust me just as I didn’t trust him. We had a purely business relationship.
It made sense that he was spying on me. I shouldn’t be feeling angry about it.
Yet…
“[Why am I so angry?]” I murmured quietly in my own language.
I put down the book I was holding and looked out the window.
‘Why do I feel so angry?’
Who was I angry at?
One thing was certain. It was him. I was angry at my husband.
Why?
Because he carelessly let me know he was spying on me.
“…”
However, it didn’t make sense. I already knew how our relationship worked.
I wasn’t making any sense. I was being unreasonable.
I felt frustrated. I bit my nail out of an old habit.
I hated this feeling.
‘Call me by my name.’
Suddenly, I remembered his voice.
I blushed instantly! I felt hot.
I knew. I knew why I felt angry. I wanted to ignore the truth, but it was right in front of me.
“[He said he liked me, yet this is what he does to me…]”
He claimed he had feelings for me, but he clearly didn’t trust me. That man!
This was why I was angry.
Secretly, I must have wanted to believe he meant what he said. I did believe him because I couldn’t find a reason why he would lie about it. He would have gained nothing from it.
“[So why… why would he…]” I was furious. “[Why did he do this to me…!]”
I couldn’t calm down.
When he first told me how he felt, I wanted to tell him I didn’t want to know about it. I wanted to ignore it.
Why wasn’t I happy that he didn’t trust me? Spying on me meant he clearly wasn’t truly in love with me. I should have been relieved.
One possible explanation popped up in my mind.
Did I like him too? Did I start having feelings for him? Was that why the fact that he didn’t trust me bothered me?
“…”
I hated this. I shouted out loud.
“[This can’t be!]”
How could this be!? Was this really true?
No! This didn’t make sense. There had to be a more logical explanation.
I tried to organize my thoughts better.
What about Lisbeth?
A beautiful girl. She could have been Lucretius’ wife instead of me if things worked out differently.
I had to admit it. I didn’t like her. She made me feel insecure. Imagining her with Lucretius made me feel upset.
But…
“[It’s because Lisbeth doesn’t suit him!]”
So this meant…
“[I have to find a more suitable woman for him!]”
Lisbeth was just a bait to get the dowager empress. Once I went back home, Lucretius would be wifeless. He needed a woman.
What I needed to do was to find him a good woman.
Lisbeth was definitely not an empress material.
This must be it! I was angry because someone like Lisbeth was trying to get a guy who confessed his feelings for me. I must have been just annoyed!
When I imagined Lisbeth becoming the empress, it made me angry again.
Yes! This explained everything.
I knew what I had to do.
I had to find a great girl for Lucretius. Definitely not Lisbeth. Then I would leave this world.
It was a perfect plan.
“[Perfect! It’s a solid strategy.]”
Once I came up with this conclusion, I felt lighter. I knew it didn’t make perfect sense, but I ignored the nagging feeling.
Just then, the door opened, and someone walked in.
