Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Embrace or Submission
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After their mutual confessions, the two of them grew busy once more. Carnivella finally became aware that she was now a true member of the imperial family. She had no desire to embarrass him when the time came for her to stand by his side in her real self.
And so, she decided to learn and take over the duties related to the crown princess consort from the empress. Until now, she hadn't paid it much mind, but the moment she resolved to approach it seriously, she went straight to the empress.
From then on, she was swamped without a moment's rest. The perfunctory studies of the past vanished, replaced by full-fledged on-the-job training. Rainen, too, had no time to spare, as he was the chief overseer of the grand ball commemorating the emperor's birthday.
Thus, she learned her duties in the empress's office. Yet the mental exhaustion she felt there was immense.
*I never imagined people could be this childish...*
It was fine that the servants were loyal to the empress. She was the matriarch of the palace and an imperial consort, after all. But if she was to become the next empress, she needed to earn their loyalty. And they, in turn, had to serve as her hands and feet.
However, she was an imperial consort unrecognized by the imperial family. Subtle disdain came her way. In the past, she would have scoffed and ignored it, but the situation was different now. This title of crown princess consort was no longer a facade—it had become real.
*People are the same everywhere, it seems.*
She thought cynically. The empire was no different. The maids' veiled contempt grated on her nerves.
Of course, compared to her time in the Rasone Kingdom, it was mild, but she was no lowly figure to be dismissed even by a mere maid.
"Hey, you."
"Yes?"
"Are these the documents I need to handle?"
The emperor oversaw the entire empire, while the empress managed everything within the palace. Of course, Rainen avoided the empress and went to the emperor even for palace matters, but that was an exception. As the crown princess consort who would one day inherit the empress's duties, she needed to familiarize herself with them. Yet the moment she started, the agenda items piling up were absurdly trivial.
[How to Find Nancy's Dog]
[How to Fix the Shoes at Build's House]
[How to Trim the Gardeners' Street Trees]
These weren't even matters for the relevant departments, let alone fit for an imperial consort. It was blatant contempt, a clear invitation to eat dirt.
"......"
She could sense the empress's intentions all too clearly and clicked her tongue inwardly. It was repulsive how Rainen ignored her entirely, yet the empress played the benevolent mother alone—and irritating how she resorted to such childish pranks.
"How do I look to you?"
"The crown princess consort, Your Highness."
"And yet you treat me like some errand runner for trivial tasks."
"N-No, pfft, Your Highness."
The scornful gaze and mocking laugh. At the maid's insolence—unthinkable toward imperial blood—she slowly released the killing intent she had honed over the years.
"Shut your mouth. How dare a mere maid listen to an imperial consort with such a rotten attitude?"
"Y-Yes? What?"
The low voice unlike her usual tone, the sharp eyes, the icy words.
Until now, no matter how they had dismissed her, the crown princess consort had shown no reaction, making it boring. But now she bared her fangs. The maid felt as if she stood before a ferocious beast.
"I'll ask again. Do I look like an errand runner to you?"
"N-No... Your Highness."
"Answer properly."
Her hatred toward the masked assailants who had shattered her happiness and the Muila family that had tormented her mind ran deep. That emotion had fully transformed into killing intent. Combined with the aura honed through sword training, her presence sharpened even further.
No mere maid could withstand the thick killing intent laced with her grudge and aura. Trembling in fear, the maid answered in a tiny voice.
"No... Your Highness..."
"Then take these back right now and bring me whoever gave them to you. I need to reprimand them."
"Y-Yes! Right away!"
Terrified by her ominous tone, the maid fled. From her seat at the head of the table, where she had been handling documents, the empress spoke softly.
"Crown Princess Consort, don't scold her too harshly. The girl is new to the palace—such mistakes are forgivable."
"Your Majesty is far too gracious. I'm truly in awe; I could learn a thing or two."
Even at the sarcasm dripping from her words, the empress chuckled lightly. Carnivella could sense that while the empress hadn't orchestrated it herself, she had actively condoned it. It was utterly loathsome.
"But regrettably, I'm not so lenient. It's been a full month since she was assigned. She should be accustomed by now. And I don't see this as a mistake. It's clearly deliberate."
"Deliberate... Are you so certain?"
"If the head of this place doesn't even consider this a mistake, then the maids' quality is poor. If it is deliberate, then it's a blatant insult directed at me."
"Are you saying... I'm the one insulting you?"
She had indirectly mocked whether the empress, who ultimately oversaw these maids, stooped to such low and petty antics. And the empress fell right into the simple provocation. Carnivella smirked inwardly.
*Truly, pathetically childish.*
"I've never insulted Your Majesty. Of course, you oversee everything, but managing the maids is the strict duty of the head maid. Since the head maid failed to manage them properly, preventing me from properly beginning my duties as crown princess consort, I believe punishing her harshly will ensure this never happens again."
"No matter how much authority the head maid has over the maids, she can't manage every single one personally. It seems Your Highness doesn't understand palace protocol."
"Of course, one head maid can't oversee all the maids. But there are supervising maids who manage the ones assisting with imperial duties—and this is squarely their failing."
"Pardon the intrusion."
Just as her words ended, the head duty maid entered the office. Her expression and posture were subtly defiant. Carnivella rose with a smirk.
"Who are you glaring at like that?"
She approached the maid and kicked her shin. The maid crumpled in pain. The moment the young maid had left, Carnivella unleashed her restrained killing intent once more. The head maid felt her legs buckle from the pain shooting through her entire body.
"Get up. Are you sitting in front of imperial blood right now?"
At her words, the head maid scrambled to her feet. Her bruised shin throbbed, but the crown princess consort's expression terrified her more. Staring into the head maid's eyes, Carnivella growled like a beast.
"I asked why your face looks like that. Do you know who stands before you?"
"......"
"Answer me."
"The crown... princess consort..."
The head maid, body trembling, forced down her fear and replied in a quavering whisper. Carnivella sneered at the response.
"And yet you treat this crown princess consort this way... Do you not know your place?"
"N-No, I do."
"I'm a foreigner of unclear origins, but I'm the crown princess consort, formally wed to His Highness the crown prince—and I swore it before the heavens. Whether you accept it or not, that's the truth! And you dare play these games with me?"
Under her ferocious presence, the head maid felt her body might collapse. Meanwhile, Carnivella's venomous words continued.
"I might have overlooked it for a day as amusing, but a whole month? You've insulted me all this time, so I have no reason to forgive you."
At those words, the head maid feared she might slaughter them all and nearly lost her mind. Desperate to live, she begged. Carnivella chuckled softly, locking eyes with her and speaking gently.
"Why would I kill you?"
"T-Then..."
"But I have no desire to keep incompetents under me. So pack up you and your subordinates and get out of the palace by tonight. If I see any of you tomorrow, I'll kill you for real."
"Y-Yes! Understood!"
The head maid bolted from the office. After the commotion of her exit, the office filled with stunned silence.
"......"
The empress realized she was no pushover. She had sensed something unusual at the previous banquet, but this girl was truly difficult to handle.
It had been a sly prank and exclusion. A demonstration: we don't accept you as crown princess consort. Yet she had scoffed it off and crushed them with overwhelming charisma.
It was baffling why she hadn't reacted to the exclusion until now.
"Then, once this is all sorted, I'll resume learning my duties. Excuse me."
"......Very well."
Carnivella left the empress's palace with a light heart.
*The empress won't underestimate me anymore.*
She had fired the head maid and her subordinates right in front of her. And unleashed killing intent. They were probably packing frantically by now.
She had no interest in matters already settled. But no servant in the palace would dare take her lightly after this. The story would spread from maid to maid.
And her prediction proved spot on. Within a day, rumors spread like wildfire. Fear replaced disdain on the maids' faces. Those who had subtly belittled and treated her as an outsider now fretted over being noticed and expelled.
"What do we do, Eora? If you mess up today, you might get kicked out!"
"Hey, stop saying that! I'm scared too!"
"Ray, aren't you scared?"
"If we don't poke her temper, maybe it's okay...?"
At the empress's not-so-subtle directive, Carnivella—who had never had dedicated maids before—finally received some: Eora and Ray, both utter rookies new to maid duties. It was the empress's petty revenge against the one who had been trampled in front of others.
Assign clumsy maids to make her build a bad reputation herself.
Knock knock.
"Who is it?"
"Your newly assigned dedicated maids, Your Highness."
"Come in."
The room was sparse. A large bed took up half the space, with a small dressing room, bathroom, tea table, and a big desk for reading. They wondered if a crown princess consort's room should really be this empty.
*She really stepped back from duties temporarily, huh.*
The fact she was reading instead of taking lessons at this hour was proof. Ray thought idly. Meanwhile, the crown princess consort spoke.
"Introduce yourselves."
"I-I'm Eora of the Eils Barony, newly assigned as a maid."
"I'm Ray, also newly assigned as a maid. My family name? Sold it off to a merchant guild—gone now."
"As you can see, not much to do. Just handle whatever I ask."
And she dismissed them. With instructions to amuse themselves unless called for something.
Eora teared up, saying she must have displeased the crown princess consort and what now. Ray replied,
"She's really telling us to relax. Seems like she has no ulterior motives."
"R-Really...?"
Eora remained uneasy at Ray's words, but time passed without the crown princess consort summoning them. Fetching books from the library she wanted or bringing tea and snacks for occasional visits from the crown prince—that was it.
It was truly leisurely. Almost too good to be true. And the pay was generous—enough to swim in gold coins.
So when other maids asked what tyranny the crown princess consort had wrought, they had nothing to say. Little work, good pay, and she wasn't the type to beat or berate them.
Sometimes they were ignored entirely, but the crown princess consort looked after them in her own way. She mediated unfair treatment and bought them desserts after dates with the crown prince.
Thus, they became fervent devotees. They trailed her everywhere she went and bragged about the occasional gifts from her to other maids.
*She doesn't just beat maids willy-nilly.*
*Those ones must've really messed up to get fired!*
Even the maids who had only feared the crown princess consort were drawn to her consistent demeanor. Rumors spread that she was curt and indifferent but endlessly fond of her own people. The empress thought this wasn't right, but it was already done.
She had unwittingly turned rookies into fans. Of course, many maids still followed the empress and shunned the crown princess consort, but the empress sensed her capabilities were no joke.
The person herself had no such intentions.
*Eora and Ray as my dedicated maids—I figured I'd win them over...*
Winning over the other maids too was unexpected. She was confident in subjugating foes but not in embracing them.
*Still, it's a relief.*
She apparently had more leadership than she thought.
* * *
She headed to her personal library, which Rainen had built, after a long while. In the meantime, it had been completed, steadily filling with books of all kinds—so many she'd never finish in a lifetime.
Yet Rainen still ordered more, fearing shortage, to the point books now piled on the floor for lack of shelves.
"We greet the crown princess consort!"
The guarding knights saluted loudly. The maids' power struggle(?) had become the palace's hottest topic, and the knights had come to think well of her. Unaware herself, she merely admired their discipline.
As she entered and read, moonlight pouring through the window snapped her back.
*I need a hug tonight.*
She missed Rainen's embrace. They hadn't met lately amid his busyness. So when he arrived, she clung to him.
"I missed this embrace all day today."
He said the same, and they lay in bed. They shared stories of their days, unwinding.
"I'll sleep first."
Exhaustion overtook her, and she drifted off quickly. Finding her adorable in sleep, he poked her cheek. She frowned and turned away, as if it hurt even in dreams. He laughed at how cute it was.
But once she slept, he always had to rise. Perhaps from past deprivation of affection, she burrowed into his arms every night, and he, aroused, had to do nocturnal exercises.
Thus, he was perpetually tired and started taking naps he once skipped. Though Kashan and his aides eyed him worriedly, how could he admit staying up for desire? Unintentionally, only his swordsmanship improved.
And as he suffered thus, an official(?) palace event to fulfill his desires approached.