I’m Sorry I’m Not Qualified to Be Empress - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Pieri let out a suffocating sigh as if he didn’t understand.

“Even so, she’ll end up like Olivia,” Katrina snorted.

“It’s like a young child cleverly trying to win the favor of lowly things by offering cheap kindness.”

Katrina’s anger surged as she thought of the humiliation and shame she had been subjected to over the past few days. This castle, which had been constructed piece by piece under her control, was changing day by day. After that Stern fox came, the castle had changed to a frivolous and despondent state, and even one of the maids was running wild.

How much time, effort, and devotion did she have to put in to correct the dignity and hierarchy of this castle that was lacking a hostess! Katrina couldn’t stand it.

When they met in the kitchen, stable, and the hallway, the sight of the maids and servants laughing at each other felt like hallucinations cackling at her. At the end of every spoken sentence were the words─ My Queen, Our Queen, and Her Majesty.

When Katrina heard the words of praise for that Stern fox, she wanted to run to Rose right away, grab her hair with all her might, and beat her to the ground. What a sight it was for Katrina to see the servants that used to tremble in front of her in fear now run to Rosé Lanckert and say hello to her with a smile. Katrina watched all the changes with dread.

“I’m going to have to use a definite method now.”

She spoke again, as if she was making a final decision. Prime Minister Pieri looked at his wife, startled.

He hurriedly approached her, checking if there was anyone around.

“A definite way?! What do you mean by that? You don’t have to do it again!”

Instead of answering, Katrina lowered her eyes as if in thought. She had a solemn expression on her face. Pieri knew. She made that face every time she thought hard.

“No. Don’t be silly! The situation is completely different from what it was with Olivia Lanckert.”

“I know. It’s even worse.”

“You don’t have to do this. Let’s just let it go for the time being. He’ll get tired of her and throw her out anyway.”

“I know. She’s going to be dumped by him in the end and become a cold backroom scarecrow.”

Pieri and Katrina, who had seen Maxim grow up from young, knew his temper well. He hates being constrained and becomes bored quickly. Once he gets tired of someone, he will be as cold as a knife.

The Prime Minister and Mrs. Katrina believed that Maxim Lanckert’s interest in her would not last long.

“So, stop playing dangerous games. If something goes wrong, we might all die together.”

” …”

Katrina did not respond to her husband’s words, but looked out the window at Rose with cold eyes.

*** 

“Ah….. Yes. Ah…..”

A moan escaped from Sasha’s mouth as her body became entangled with Cassiax’s. As his hand slid under her skirt, Sasha tilted her neck and clung to him. She spent days and nights in the bed in the Prince’s villa on the outskirts of the capital, but doing it in the moving carriage gave her another kind of pleasure. At that time, the inside of the carriage heated up with the excitement of the two of them.

Clip-clop! A loud sound of hoofs came from outside the carriage.

Cassiax’s lips, which had been kissing Sasha’s neck, quickly left it. Sasha, who had shut her eyes and focused on his caresses, opened her eyes. As soon as Cassiax pulled his body away, cold air rushed between the two of them. Sasha, who was lying in a cushioned chair, got up and picked up her clothes.

“Your Highness……?”

Cassiax poked his head out the window angrily. Other wagons were running behind them. He narrowed his eyes to see if it was familiar. Judging from the coat of arms of the carriage, it seemed to belong to the Etoile family.

Receiving his words, the carriage that was running hastily stopped. This quiet forest road was at Solstern’s border and was the only way to the Crown Prince’s villa. Cassiax wondered where the wagons were coming from. The guards read Cassiax’s intentions and quickly blocked the way of the carriage.

“Your Highness, what’s going on?” Sasha asked, looking at Cassiax with anxious eyes, but he didn’t answer.

Cassiax tidied up his hair that had become messy and stuck to his back and buttoned up his shirt.

“Your Highness, I have stopped the carriages that followed us.”

As he looked out the window at the words of the guard, the servant of the Etoile family had already come down and bowed to greet him.

“I greet the Crown Prince.”

“What is the Etoile family’s carriage doing here? This is the road leading to the border.”

“I went to Hellavant under the orders of Count Jared.”

“Hellavant?”

“Yes. I am to deliver Miss Rose’s items.”

“Rose Etoile?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The servant lowered himself as much as possible, fearing that he might offend the prince, and answered politely.

“I volunteered to go to the north, but now it seems that there are a lot of things I regret.”

He raised one corner of his lips as if to sneer.

“Yeah, how did she look?”

“The lady was not feeling well.”

Cassiax giggled as if it was worth it, then quickly changed his expression and spoke with a worried tone.

“The Count of Etoile must be very worried about their only daughter.”

The servant, who accepted his ridicule as worry, quickly shook his head and opened his mouth.

“I was worried too, so I asked her. She said she had a fever for a while, but she’s recovering.”

As if he was unsure, Cassiax furrowed his brows and the servant quickly added words.

“You look so comfortable and your servants are so polite. Your Highness must have been treated well.”

Cassiax’s face turned cold.

“Yeah. Have you seen that guy named Maxim?”

He asked in a low voice, trying to calm his anger.

“I haven’t seen him. I left the moment I dropped the luggage and delivered the letter.”

Sasha, who was sitting with Cassiax in the carriage, had a pale face. Cassiax was smiling bitterly, clenching his fists and crushing the grapes on the silver tray. The crushed grapes in his hand flowed out of his fist like blood.

“Give them my regards.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

At Cassiax’s words, the servant bowed his head deeply and obeyed the order.

“Start moving!”

Cassiax ordered the guards and quickly closed the window.

“Your Highness… Your hand….”

Sasha quickly pulled out a handkerchief, and Cassiax grabbed it from her and wiped his red-stained hands.

“Rose Etoile… In the end, you and that bastard… ran away from me and are living well.”

He made a scary face and mumbled. Sasha turned her head away from him with a sulky face. Cassiax didn’t seem to care about the woman sitting right next to him. When the name Rose Etoile came out of his mouth, Sasha felt like she was being ignored.

*** 

The castle had been busy since early morning.

The hands and feet of the servants were busy moving as they prepared for the King and knights to go hunting for several days. Besides, this time, the Queen was going with them so there were more things to prepare.

“Are you ready?”

Finally, Maxim, riding on his black horse, looked back. Among the knights and soldiers participating in the hunting competition, Rose stood out. Riding on a gentle brown horse, she waited for him to signal the departure, her heart pounding. Her purple eyes, which had a mixture of excitement, tension, and a little bit of gratitude, gleamed as she looked at him. The look of those pure and clear eyes was deeply etched in his chest, but Maxim deliberately turned away from her gaze and began to ride his horse.

*** 

Cassiax, who returned to the imperial family, visited his father, the King, first with a hardened face.

“What are you doing here?”

The king asked sternly, without even looking at his son properly. He was on the sofa, lying on his side, spending some leisurely time. Next to the king was Marquis Trisha, who was gently rubbing his shoulders. When she saw Cassiax, she bowed her head slightly and greeted him from her seat.

‘Huh!’

Seeing her sit gracefully with her white, powdered face, Cassiax felt like vomiting. It was disgusting to see her sitting close to his father. Cassiax’s mother, the real Queen of Solstern, was hated because of the estrangement between her and the king, her husband. She was now living in a monastery. In fact, it was like being imprisoned in the monastery, but his mother had wanted it too, since she didn’t want to blame her husband.

Cassiax was grateful that she gave birth to him, but just because she was his mother did not mean that he has special feelings for her. If a man and a woman disliked each other enough to lose their minds and become enemies, it was better not to see each other. In that regard, Cassiax thought that his parents’ decision was rather wise.

However, the woman who hid a hundred-year-old fox inside did not look pretty. It must have been the fox’s scheme to send Sasha to his side. Well, it didn’t matter. It’s fun to have the cute Sasha by his side and find out what’s inside of that fox. If it’s annoying and useless, it’s enough to catch the two foxes together. Cassiax smiled charmingly, as if he was wearing a mask, and said to her.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to Your Majesty alone. Would you mind leaving your seat?”

The King snorted and let out a strange laugh, perhaps because of his polite words. Cassiax’s face hardened coldly.

“Of course I’ll leave you. Then, Your Majesty, I’ll leave.”

When the Emperor raised his hand, Mrs. Trisha quickly left her seat with an elegant gesture.

“I don’t know how lucky I am to have Mrs. Trisha. She can relieve your loneliness, so please grant her a title.”

Cassiax said to the emperor again with a charming smile like before.

Cassiax was saying something he didn’t like, and the King knew it.