The carriage, which had never stopped since leaving the duke’s mansion, arrived at the northern garden of the palace after some time. Despite having seen the northern garden only once during the previous hunting competition, it felt somewhat familiar with many familiar plants and flowers.
As I stepped out of the carriage, one of the queen’s maids was there to greet me. “Welcome, Lady Rosentia. Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for you in the garden. Please follow me this way.”
“Yes.”
I followed the maid into the garden. The garden seemed a bit more splendid than before, probably rearranged for the tea party. As I strolled, admiring the rare flowers blooming here and there, I noticed the queen seated on a bench, immersed in contemplation.
Seemingly sensing my presence, her gaze turned towards me. I quickly approached and respectfully bowed before her.
“I greet Her Majesty Monica Royden, the noble moon of the Royden Empire.”
“Welcome, Lady Rosentia. Please rise.”
“Thank you.”
At the queen’s words and gesture to stand, I straightened my back, lowering my gaze slightly.
“Thank you for inviting me today.”
“No need to thank me. I’m even more grateful to the one who came. Moreover, you came so early just to see me, didn’t you?”
“I was so pleased with the grace of remembering me and inviting me that I couldn’t just wait quietly until the appointed time. Since I came all this way, is there any way I can assist with the tea party?”
“Being a guest and offering to help like this, Lady Rosentia’s generosity truly touches my heart. Then, could you take a look at the garden? I’ve arranged it, but I wasn’t sure if it’s suitable, so I’ve been thinking that it would be nice if someone else took a look.”
Upon the queen’s words, I once again walked around the garden.
“It’s already perfect as it is, but I want to boast a bit during the tea party that I’ve contributed something to Her Majesty. Can I slightly touch up some areas?”
“Lady Rosentia always speaks words that please me. If it’s your help, you are welcome to touch and rearrange anything at any time.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I started working with some servants, as I did at Countess Melison’s mansion last time. However, to avoid making too many changes and possibly hurting the queen’s pride, I made subtle adjustments, adding new flowers to some key areas instead of completely overhauling the garden.
The queen sat on a bench, watching my every move.
I felt her gaze and intensified my efforts in tending to the garden.
“Oh?”
Suddenly, Urencia with blue petals caught my eye.
Indeed, Urencia was here as well.
Since I expected the queen who handles Asdel to be growing this flower, it was not surprising. When I finished placing Urencia in the appropriate location, it had already been about two hours without the queen blinking once. I took off my gloves and handed them to a maid before approaching the queen.
“Your Majesty, it’s all finished.”
The queen nodded and rose from the bench. With eyes that seemed to inspect my work, she looked around the garden.
“Oh, the praise for Lady Rosentia’s skill wasn’t exaggerated; it was rather understated.”
“You’re too kind.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Not at all.”
“In 30 minutes, the tea party will begin. Other guests will be arriving, so could you leave now and return on time?”
“Huh?”
For a moment, not fully understanding the queen’s words, I asked for clarification. The queen simply gazed at me, her eyes filled with a smile.
Only after seeing her expression did I understand the meaning of what the queen had said to me.
“Oh, yes. I understand. I’ll see you later, then.”
“Yes, please.”
After bidding farewell to the queen, I turned to leave the garden.
“Oh, by the way, Lady Rosentia.”
Just as I was about to take a step, the queen suddenly called me again.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Turning back to look at the queen, she spoke with the same smile as before.
“Look forward to the tea served at today’s tea party; it’s exceptionally delicious.”
“Ah, yes. I’m really looking forward to what kind of tea it will be.”
“As someone who knows about plants, Lady Rosentia will surely recognize the tea.”
“The tea I know?”
“Yes.”
After saying that, the queen closed her mouth as before.
Reflecting on what the queen had said, I left the garden. Then, I returned to the carriage and waited in a place separate from the northern garden until tea party time.
‘Well.’
The sight of her acting like this made me chuckle involuntarily. She probably wanted to hide that she received help. It wouldn’t do to reveal in front of everyone later that I had done it. Well, I don’t know if everyone will pay attention to me praising the queen.
‘By the way, what’s the reason for bringing up again what was already hinted at in the letter?’
Unable to shake off the uneasy feeling, I moved the carriage when tea time came.
Arriving again at the northern garden, the queen was welcoming people as we got off the carriage.
“Welcome, Lady Rosentia.”
As if seeing me for the first time today, the queen greeted me first.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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