Refusing the Summons?
The maid answered with a respectful bow of her head.
“I have never heard the knights complain, but I have seen it myself.”
“Then has Her Majesty the Dowager Empress taken any action on such matters?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
The maid answered without hesitation. Sensing Regina’s intent, the others’ eyes lit up as they asked, eager now.
“Shall we look into it?”
“Do so.”
Even after receiving permission, they hesitated, stealing nervous glances at Regina. Seeing that they seemed to have more to say, Regina asked gently, “Is there something else you wish to say?”
“Y-Your Majesty the Empress.”
One of the maids, who had been wavering and glancing around anxiously, stepped forward.
“I think the others in the imperial palace should know about this as well. The people of the Dowager Empress’s palace are especially rude to the knights.”
“Perhaps their ranks are too high?”
“The knights all have titles as well. Once they enter the imperial palace, rank no longer matters, so that can’t be the whole reason.”
Even as she spoke, the maid still looked restless.
“So I think it should be made known.”
To the maid who had summoned her courage, Regina replied, “Then I grant you permission.”
***
“What did you say?”
Chloe was furious when she heard that the person she had sent had been bound up like a criminal and sent back by Regina.
If it had been her usual self, she would have been hurling whatever came to hand, lashing out in a rage. But she endured it.
This was not like when no one was watching. The more she showed on the surface, the more she would lose, so she merely bit down hard on her lip.
“Her Majesty the Empress said to send a servant who actually knows proper etiquette...”
The servant, meeting Chloe’s ice-cold gaze, trembled all over and lowered his waist in a hurried bow.
“You find the servant I sent unacceptable?”
“That is not what I meant, Your Majesty...”
“Then what is it?”
Chloe’s voice was low and ominous, each word ground out between her teeth. Those who caught the edge in her tone fell silent at once.
They knew that if they spoke carelessly now, they might disappear from this imperial palace without a trace.
The reporting servant shrank in on himself and watched Chloe warily.
“What exactly did she say?”
“She said that Her Majesty the Dowager Empress was far too lenient to keep a servant who didn’t know court etiquette in the palace...”
“Is that so? Then what did my servant do?”
“According to a servant from the Emperor’s Palace, he urged Her Majesty the Empress to get up at once and go to the Dowager Empress.”
Chloe could picture the scene clearly. Just as they had with the knights and attendants of the Emperor’s Palace, they had probably acted just as insolently toward Regina.
She had heard reports of what her own servants and maids had been doing, but she had deliberately left it alone.
There was no need to preserve the dignity of people who were not even her own.
The knights were also beyond my reach.
For Chloe, the one area where her influence had always faltered was the knights. At best, she could reduce their pay; she had never once been able to secure their loyalty.
Her son Cain’s swordsmanship was nothing special, and Stella, who was the better of the two, had no interest in the throne anyway.
She had tried to seize control of the knight order, but she had never been able to recruit anyone who could surpass Conrad, a Swordmaster.
The knights, who revered martial strength above all else, acted as though no one existed except Conrad.
If Ferman Empire hadn’t erected that barrier and forced him onto the battlefield, I might never have been able to use him at all!
Countless knights had died dealing with the monsters surging in from beyond the barrier. If not for that, it was obvious Chloe would have had a far harder time taking control of this imperial palace.
Because Conrad had spent so much time away from the palace, she had been able to make her move. But now it was no longer so easy to send him off to suppress the monsters.
Public opinion would turn against her if she drove the newly married emperor into danger.
If she allowed Regina to strut freely through the imperial palace in such a situation, she might lose the influence she had worked so hard to expand.
So she had moved quickly.
“How dare she refuse a summons?”
No matter how grandly she wore the crown of the Empress, the highest authority in this palace was still Chloe.
Regina’s behavior was more than enough to be condemned as a violation of court etiquette.
“It seems the Empress, favored by the Emperor, can’t even see the Dowager Empress anymore.”
“H-how could that be, Your Majesty the Dowager Empress!”
The maids present all dropped to their knees. With Chloe’s remark, the conflict with Empress Regina was now out in the open.
Wanting the Dowager Empress’s anger to spare them, the maids threw themselves into insulting Regina with all their hearts.
“Perhaps Her Majesty the Empress is unfamiliar with palace customs because this is her first time living in the imperial palace.”
The maid who had seen Regina’s graceful bearing with her own eyes tossed out the excuse casually.
“Exactly. She’s not a high-ranking noble, so of course she wouldn’t know any better.”
The head maid of the Dowager Empress’s palace, who had been quietly waiting for an opening, added her voice.
“It seems to have been caused by ignorance, Your Majesty the Dowager Empress. Please calm yourself.”
With great effort, Chloe suppressed her anger and nodded.
“Still, if she doesn’t know better, we can’t simply leave her be. I think she needs to be educated.”
“If it is the Dowager Empress’s instruction, she must of course accept it.”
The head maid added that Regina’s opinion was unnecessary. Chloe, pretending to think it over, let out a deep sigh.
“This is what happens when an ignorant woman sits in the Empress’s seat.”
There was no mistaking the meaning behind the words she murmured like a lament. She intended to use etiquette as an excuse to clip Regina’s wings.
The Empress, once married to the Emperor, was supposed to receive prior instruction in court etiquette before the wedding.
There were dozens of such lessons, and Regina had skipped every one of them, so now it was time to teach her.
The head maid answered quickly.
“Shall we summon the elder nobles?”
“We should.”
Chloe’s muttered complaint followed: what if rumors spread that the Empress was behaving arrogantly?
“I’ll do anything if it eases Your Majesty the Dowager Empress’s worries.”
The head maid’s solemn reply made the corners of Chloe’s lips curl faintly upward.
“Then, first of all, shouldn’t the other nobles be made aware of this situation?”
At the subtle prompting in her words, the head maid nodded.
“Of course.”
“So what should be done?”
“Your Majesty the Dowager Empress should remain still. This is something the maids must handle.”
“Then I’ll trust the head maid.”
“Please do not worry.”
The head maid had long since worked hand in hand with other maids and servants to stir up sentiment throughout the imperial palace. Using the network she had already built, the rumor would spread through the entire palace in one stroke.
And yet the head maid’s expression began to sour that very afternoon.
***
Two days later.
Because of the matter brought before the council, the nobles were divided in their opinions.
“Knights of the Fredericks Empire being looked down on by mere servants!”
One noble administrator from a knightly house bristled in outrage.
“The Fredericks Empire was built on the blood of knights, wasn’t it? And yet such a thing is happening!”
“That is bad enough, but Her Majesty the Empress being summoned by Her Majesty the Dowager Empress...”
Lord Rudvika spoke up, trying to bring the matter between Chloe and Regina into the open.
“Is that really the issue right now?”
But no one agreed with Lord Rudvika’s opinion. What mattered to them was the fact that the empire’s knights had been treated with contempt by servants.
“No wonder the knights standing guard in the imperial palace have looked so displeased lately, I thought to myself!”
“Exactly!”
As they each weighed in, the chief servant of the Emperor’s Palace cried out, “His Majesty, the highest sword of the empire, enters!”
Conrad entered the council chamber in the Emperor’s ceremonial uniform. The nobles bowed one after another, paying their respects.
“Rise.”
Sitting on the imperial throne prepared in the council chamber, Conrad gave a light wave of his hand. The nobles took their seats as well, watching him intently.
“Have you all read today’s agenda for the administrative council?”
“Yes, Your Majesty! It is something that cannot happen in an empire of knights!”
“Indeed, Your Majesty!”