Chapter 155
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155
Empress Carmi was politely refused an audience.
And it had been happening for several days now.
This was the first time since she had been crowned Empress that the Emperor had repeatedly denied her requests to see him.
“Your Majesty, please do not be angry. High-ranking officials from the military are visiting one after another, and His Majesty simply cannot find the time.”
“Are there hundreds of millions of military officials?! How does it make sense for him to ignore my requests for this long!”
Smash!
Empress Carmi huffed with rage as she hurled her teacup. Every maid in the bedchamber held her breath and pressed her body low to the floor.
But there was nothing they could do.
Whenever Empress Carmi went too long without seeing the Emperor—or more accurately, whenever she felt his affection for her had waned even slightly—she suffered from deep bouts of anxiety.
Because of this, dozens of beautiful maids had been removed from the Emperor’s Palace by her hand over the years.
She couldn't understand what was happening. How could the Crown Prince return so proudly, without a single scratch on him?
Empress Carmi waited for news from the spies she had planted everywhere, but she couldn't stop the fire of unease burning in her chest.
Could there be another woman?
‘Or...’
Has he still not forgotten that dead Empress? Has he finally decided to start treating that crippled son of his properly?
*
The Grand Drawing Room of the Empress’s Palace.
Even though her request for an audience this morning had been rejected, Empress Carmi did not wreck her quarters as she had yesterday.
Today was the day many nobles were scheduled to enjoy a tea party at her invitation.
“Everyone.”
Carmi, adorned as nobly and beautifully as ever, spoke up.
The nobles, who had been chatting amongst themselves, turned to look at her in unison.
“I am so relieved the Crown Prince returned safely from the battlefield. It seems he even achieved special merit in that desolate place; as his mother, how could I not be overjoyed?”
The noblewomen in the Empress’s inner circle exchanged subtle glances.
Some of them were aware that Empress Carmi had been neglected by the Emperor for several days now.
However, no one present dared to show it.
The Empress of the Brillant Empire was ‘still’ Carmi.
“Your Majesty.”
Just then, the Chief Maid approached and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
“A representative from the White Tulip Salon has arrived.”
“Bring them in at once.”
The higher a noble’s status, the more they preferred summoning a salon’s designer to their home rather than venturing out into the streets themselves.
They believed that the power to make anyone come at their beck and call was a testament to their position.
How much more so for the Empress, the mistress of the Imperial Palace?
“I offer my greetings to the most exalted Empress.”
When the Chief Designer of the White Tulip Salon—someone even high-ranking nobles found difficult to see—appeared, the fluttering of the noblewomen’s fans quickened.
Some of the nobles were even as giddy as children.
And for good reason...
“Oh my!”
“Look at all those colors!”
“Heavens, is such a pale violet even possible? And on such delicate lace...”
It was because of the hundreds of fabrics—or more accurately, the ‘colors’—that followed the Chief Designer in a long procession.
The White Tulip Salon, which had always acted with such pride, had entered so respectfully and humbly at Empress Carmi’s summons.
It was only natural for the noblewomen’s eyes to dart around busily as they saw a parade of exquisite and rare colors that had clearly just been developed and were not yet on display at the salon.
And there, ‘it’ was.
“Oh? Isn't that the color of the dress Lady Francoise of Althorn wore?”
The Chief Designer smiled at the noblewoman’s remark.
“You are correct, Countess Widnen. It is a shade called ‘Rose Quartz.’ We received a very small quantity, so I brought it here in haste to show you today.”
A Chief Designer was expected to have the genealogies of most nobles memorized. Countess Widnen spoke in an elated tone.
“Your Majesty. The Crown Prince will surely be delighted.”
“Indeed. How can Your Majesty be so thoughtful and benevolent?”
Empress Carmi scanned the fabrics—precious materials that cost their weight in gold per roll—with a consistent, gentle smile.
That was it.
The reason Empress Carmi had personally invited the Chief Designer of the White Tulip Salon to her palace today was under the pretext of choosing a gift for Ferdinand.
Her own son, the Second Imperial Prince Dave, was somewhat dim-witted, greedy, and arrogant.
Above all, he wore his heart on his sleeve and could not control his anger. To any observer, he lacked the class of Ferdinand.
However, Dave was still an Imperial Prince.
And his mother, Empress Carmi, was by no means an easy opponent.
While pretending to have no interest in the position of Crown Prince, she had used countless schemes behind the scenes to put Ferdinand in jeopardy time and again.
Empress Carmi’s ultimate goal was to one day make that cursed boy, who refused to grow, cough up blood and die.
And so, the one to ascend the glorious Golden Throne of the Brillant Empire should not be of Empress Olivia’s blood, but her own son...
“Your Majesty. Is there a color that catches your eye?”
The Chief Designer’s question cut through her thoughts.
Empress Carmi lifted her head regally.
“I shall take them all.”
“...Pardon?”
“This is a gift for the Crown Prince who suffered in that desolate land. Surely, even giving him everything here would not be enough?”
“B-but...”
“Quickly now.”
At Empress Carmi’s words, the eyes of the gathered nobles widened in an instant.
The White Tulip Salon, which had appeared in the Brillant Empire like a comet, insisted on a sales method completely different from anything seen before.
Absurdly high prices were a given.
Supply was limited.
Furthermore, the more recently a color was developed, the more astronomically high its price was set.
However, if a luxury strategy succeeds, it truly puts one on a throne of gold.
The situation was such that every dye from the White Tulip Salon was sold out as soon as it was available.
In particular, the White Tulip Salon limited the number of dyes a single household could purchase.
No matter how much money one offered, no matter how great the noble, the rule never changed.
Thanks to this, rarity was maintained, and demand overflowed.
It was no exaggeration to say that a third of the gold sleeping in the storehouses of the Brillant nobility was flowing into the White Tulip Salon.
Yet now, Empress Carmi was speaking as if she were completely ignorant of the salon’s rules, ordering every single one of those precious dyes.
As the Chief Designer hesitated, Carmi’s Chief Maid offered a gentle admonishment.
“Did you not hear Her Majesty? Present them at once. The Mother of the Empire herself is saying she wishes to gift them to the Little Sun.”
“I-I understand...”
The Chief Designer moved a beat late, looking dazed.
Naturally, the nobles sitting there were even more shocked than she was.
“Heavens. As expected of Her Majesty’s benevolence...”
“Every single one of them is so beautiful it’s blinding. Even if the flowers of all four seasons bloomed at once, they wouldn't be this diverse.”
“To order such a quantity as a return gift for the Crown Prince, truly...”
“His Highness the Crown Prince will be most pleased.”
“The rumors that the two of them are on bad terms must have been one-sided attacks from those jealous of Her Majesty...”
While Carmi’s close confidantes saw through her intentions, the other nobles were busy marveling and whispering.
She didn't actually intend to buy all those dyes anyway. She expected the Chief Designer’s ‘polite refusal’ to come shortly.
Empress Carmi fanned herself leisurely, calculating the price of the dyes she had ordered ‘only in word.’
Even with the Empress’s Palace’s generous budget, the price of the dyes was so staggering that it would be impossible to buy them all.
She would likely have to sell at least half the treasures piled in her storehouse just to pay the bill.
Empress Carmi turned her gaze toward the Chief Designer with a triumphant expression.
However.
“I am humbled, Your Majesty.”
The Chief Designer of the White Tulip Salon placed a hand over her heart and bowed deeply as she answered.
“I will personally see to it that all the dyes Your Majesty ordered are carefully packaged and delivered directly to the Crown Prince’s Palace by tomorrow.”
“...?”
“Then, as for the payment request... Ah, Chief Maid. Could I speak with you for a moment? Since the amount is such a massive sum, I have specially prepared a new contract. Let us go.”
“...!”
In that moment, Empress Carmi’s eyes flew wide open despite herself.
What?
She’s accepting the order?
Why?
She had expected that even for the Imperial Family, the salon would naturally find a way to decline the order.
It was only natural!
Because the owner of the White Tulip Salon was none other than ‘Tulia Frezier’!
The Grand Ducal House of Frezier certainly had that kind of power!
So she had intended to simply show her kindness as Empress and then express regret when the order was refused, but why!
‘Earlier... how much did that designer say? Surely the amount was...’
Carmi’s hands gripped the armrests of her chair tightly.
Even if she sold every single treasure in the Empress’s Palace storehouse, would it be an amount she could handle?
But these were gifts she had ordered triumphantly with her own mouth, in a place where so many nobles were watching!
She couldn't possibly take it back! Not unless she wanted to drag her dignity as Empress through the mud!
At the same time Empress Carmi’s complexion turned pale...
Though no one noticed, a small star that had been hovering above them like a satellite silently vanished.