Chapter 74
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Rozanne's Downfall
Philomel stepped out of the office and left the imperial palace with relatively light footsteps.
"There were some unexpected incidents, but..."
Things seemed to be going far better than she had anticipated.
She had restored a measure of her honor and amassed a fortune. It was hard to deny that both were thanks to the emperor. Perhaps Justis liked her more than she thought.
"Maybe all those efforts over the years are finally paying off?"
Still, she had no clue what Justis had meant earlier by that "confession."
At that moment, a shrill yell snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Why won't you let me in! I want to see His Majesty!"
It was Rozanne, the same woman she had seen before entering.
She was still fuming, shouting at the captain of the guard.
The captain looked troubled as he replied,
"As I said... Sigh. How many times do I have to explain? His Majesty isn't someone you can just meet because you show up unannounced."
"Tell His Majesty that Rozanne is here! He'll see me then!"
Philomel stared at her in disbelief.
"She's still hanging around here?"
What incredible stubbornness.
"You!"
Rozanne suddenly spotted Philomel and glared daggers at her.
"You're not trying to rile me up, so why do you keep going in and out of here?"
"Where else should I come and go through if not the front gate?"
"You might look down on me now, but..."
"You're taller than me, so how could I look down? I'd have to look up."
Rozanne growled in frustration at Philomel's unflinching retorts.
"With such a nasty personality, you must have suffered pretending to be a kind princess all this time. Does His Majesty know your true nature now?"
In truth... that was something Philomel herself had noticed. Her true self, suppressed under the facade of a good girl, was starting to emerge lately.
Whether it was because she was no longer playing the princess, or because she had grown accustomed to the rough banter with her father and brothers, she wasn't sure.
"Does it matter?"
Philomel nonchalantly tapped her forehead with her finger.
"Hey, Lady Rozanne. If you have a brain in that head, how about using it to think for once?"
"What are you on about?"
"Why won't His Majesty see you? Why didn't you dance with him then? And why hasn't he contacted you even once since?"
It was an explanation even a child could grasp, but Rozanne tossed her head back defiantly.
"Because His Majesty is a shy man!"
...Shy?
"He must have gotten flustered when all those eyes turned to him at the ball and left without dancing! That's why he hasn't reached out personally since. He's the type with a delicate heart beneath his strong exterior."
Who was she even talking about?
Philomel wondered if there was another emperor in the empire besides Justis.
The expressions on the faces of the nearby captain and guards were priceless.
Realizing Rozanne's delusions wouldn't shatter with a few words, Philomel shook her head.
"Forget it. Never mind."
"How arrogant! Just you wait. When I become empress, you'll be the first to go!"
"How exactly? Want to recreate what happened at the debutante ball?"
As Philomel wiggled her hand, Rozanne's face drained of color.
Terror of that branded slap made her tremble like a leaf.
Philomel almost felt like the real thug here.
"I'm a pacifist unless the other side strikes first with violence."
But nothing was as immediately effective as the threat of force. Rozanne finally turned on her heel.
"Think you can stay cocky forever? My world could come tomorrow—wait and see!"
She made bold declarations despite fleeing with her tail between her legs.
Unfortunately, contrary to her boasts, misfortune struck Viscount Manon's family the very next day.
Viscount Manon's residence.
Early in the morning, Viscount Manon burst into Rozanne's room in a panic.
"Rozanne! Disaster! Absolute disaster!"
Still groggy with sleep, Rozanne snapped irritably,
"What's the big deal?"
"Investigators have swarmed our house!"
"Why?"
"They say our family committed tax evasion! Even the purchase of this mansion involved illegal dealings! And there's more... A whole lot more!"
Rozanne's eyes flew wide open.
"Did you really do it?"
The viscount stammered,
"Well, yes, but... Argh, everyone bends the rules a little! We're about to become the imperial family's in-laws—why shouldn't we?"
That was true enough. Regardless of the viscount's guilt, punishing the future empress's family would be blatant disrespect.
Outraged, Rozanne stormed out of her room.
Investigators were ransacking the viscount's study and the entire mansion.
Rozanne blocked one who was carting off a pile of documents as evidence.
"How dare you rampage like this in our home!"
She mustered as much imperial dignity as she could muster, but the investigator replied indifferently,
"This is by His Majesty's order. Interfere, and we'll add obstruction of official duties."
"W-what? His Majesty would never!"
"Believe it or not, doesn't matter."
He brushed past her.
The other investigators were just as insolent, ignoring her scoldings, shouts, or attempts to physically block them as they carried out their work.
When the investigators finally left with their evidence, only a wrecked mansion remained.
Rumors of Viscount Manon's family undergoing a harsh investigation for illegal activities spread like wildfire across the capital.
It was unthinkable if Rozanne was truly set to become empress.
Next came the creditors.
Sensing the family's downfall, they descended on the mansion.
"When are you paying back the 100,000 bel you borrowed?!"
"Give me my money!"
Amid the furious creditors, Viscount Manon sweated bullets.
"Come on, gentlemen! Why this now? I'll pay once my daughter becomes empress!"
"Empress, my ass!"
"You've been dodging with that excuse forever!"
To buy the capital mansion, the viscount had emptied his coffers and even mortgaged his territory for loans.
Stopping there would have meant just handing over the territory. But to indulge his daughter's vanity, he borrowed even more from acquaintances.
They had lent substantial sums based solely on the newspaper stories about Rozanne.
In the end, Viscount Manon collapsed in defeat.
"Argh! I don't have it right now! Take whatever you want if you're so eager!"
"No money? Then we'll search the house and take anything of value!"
At someone's shout, the creditors trampled the viscount and flooded the mansion.
Every valuable item in the viscount's household vanished.
Rozanne's brothers called for the security forces, but the responding officers made a half-hearted show of stopping the creditors before leaving.
Viscountess Manon fainted from the shock.
As the creditors somewhat retreated, merchants filled the void—owners of the boutiques where Rozanne had splurged just yesterday.
They camped out front, demanding payment.
Under their watchful glares, no family member could step out freely.
Finally, the mansion's servants went on strike.
"It's been three months since our last pay!"
"My kids are starving at home!"
It was the viscount's fault for withholding wages to hoard money.
The household ground to a halt, and the family couldn't even manage proper meals.
Knowing the family's finances inside out, the servants ransacked hidden emergency funds and jewels before fleeing.
The entire house was in chaos.
Viscount Manon, nearly in tears, pleaded with his daughter,
"Darling! Go to His Majesty right away. This must be a mistake! Head to the palace and tell him of our humiliation!"
Rozanne picked the best remaining dress, took two maids who had nothing left to lose, and boarded a carriage.
Even sneaking out the back door, the creditors and merchants spotted her.
"There she is!"
"Rozanne's in the carriage!"
Rozanne whipped the coachman,
"Go! Hurry!"
The coachman, lingering for similar reasons as the maids, whipped the horses.
Up until then, Rozanne still clung to hope. Hope that seeing the emperor would solve everything.
"This can't be happening! I'm definitely going to be empress! Because I'm special!"
She had believed it since childhood. She was different from others. So when the emperor asked her to dance, she never doubted her ascent to the top.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the palace.
Recalling the persistent pursuers who had tailed her, Rozanne dashed inside.
The problem arose as she tried to enter the inner palace from the outer grounds.
"No entry. Please leave."
"Good grief, last time she was so brazen we let her in, and it got us in trouble."
Unlike yesterday, the inner palace guards—now properly warned—refused her.
Yet heaven hadn't completely abandoned Rozanne.
"What's going on here?"
The emperor himself appeared before her.