How the Abandoned Queen Made That Man Kneel - Chapter 15

The postponed celebratory ball for the festival was suddenly just around the corner. The upper-class figures gathered in the Renel Empire, regardless of gender, were busy adorning themselves like flowers.

Of course, among them, the one who was putting in the most money and effort to appear beautiful was undoubtedly Rose.

Recently, due to various incidents, Casaline’s relationship with Rose wasn’t like before, but still, as a maid in name, Casaline went to her to fulfill her assigned duties.

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

It was when she greeted her in a natural tone as if nothing had happened and picked up the comb.

Rose, with her gaze fixed on her reflection in the mirror, casually raised one hand.

“I don’t need your help. Wait over there.”

It seemed that being publicly humiliated in front of the distinguished guests during the recital had been quite a blow to Rose.

As if she was still not over that incident, Rose had been childishly venting her anger like this for days.

Casaline nodded nonchalantly as she put down the comb.

“Call me if you need anything.”

Casaline went to stand on one side.

For the couple of hours Rose was being groomed, she kept Casaline standing like a decoration, neither calling her once nor dismissing her.

Then, as if she just remembered, Rose opened her mouth towards Casaline.

“I’ve brought in a new maid.”

Rose said that abruptly and then quietly observed Casaline’s reaction from the corner of her eye.

Casaline nodded without much thought.

As if it wasn’t the reaction she had expected, Rose looked slightly flustered before deliberately composing her voice to sound relaxed.

“Ah, here she comes now.”

Casaline turned her head towards where Rose’s fingertip was pointing.

A woman with dark brown hair braided in a slightly outdated style, with somewhat cautious eyes and freckles lightly spread across her entire face, was entering.

She looked at most a year or two younger than herself, and overall had a modest impression that seemed far from the stern court life.

“Ah, hello. I’m Lauren Rogia of the Viscount Rogia family.”

The Rogia family, if she remembered correctly, was originally a family that did dairy farming in the countryside, and had bought their title after unexpected success in the milk business.

Unlike the Renel Empire, which maintained a strict and traditional class structure, in the Khan Kingdom, one could become a lower nobility if they spent a large sum of money.

Of course, people who entered noble society in such a way were openly ostracized in social circles.

She wondered purely why, out of all the noble ladies, the Viscount Rogia’s daughter was chosen as a maid.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Casaline Roberfon. Let’s work well together from now on.”

Casaline greeted her back in a cheerful voice.

At that, Rogia couldn’t hide her expression of great curiosity as she glanced this way.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“I-I’m sorry if I offended you. I’ve just always wanted to meet you.”

“Me?”

“Ah, well, I can’t enter high society circles, you see. I’ve only heard rumors about a lady of great dignity. I-I think it’s truly an honor to meet you like this…”

It was when Lauren Rogia, who clearly lacked eloquence, was giving a lengthy explanation.

Rose’s sharp voice, tinged with irritation, rang through the room.

“Hey, Rogia! Come here!”

“Ah, yes!”

“It’s not polite to go and greet someone else first when your superior is sitting right here. You know it would be a big problem to act like that in high society, right?”

“I-I’m sorry. I was thoughtless. Please forgive me.”

“Alright. Since you’ve acknowledged your mistake, it’s fine. Rogia, since you seem to be unfamiliar with noble etiquette, I, as the queen, will teach you one by one from now on.”

Rose was making a mistake right now.

In Shallen’s absence, she didn’t even try to hide her arrogance and haughtiness, and naturally spoke down to maids and servants.

If she continues to act like this, she will never be able to make true allies.

Casaline considered politely advising Rose but ultimately kept her mouth shut.

The consequences of treating others carelessly will be entirely for her to bear when it snowballs into something much bigger later.

[This is the timeline separator]

‘There’s still some time until the ball, but it’s better to finish preparations early just in case.’

After finishing her maid duties and leaving the room, Casaline headed to her dressing room to change into her evening gown.

Thinking she should dress neatly just enough to be formal, Casaline opened the door and was dumbfounded for a while at the unbelievable sight before her eyes.

The dresses she had neatly arranged to wear during this social season were all torn to shreds and strewn about.

“What is this…!”

Who could have done such a terrible thing?

Could it be Rose?

Venting her anger or seeking revenge for the past incident?

Even the spare outfits she had kept in her bag were meticulously ruined, showing that whoever did this was clearly determined.

‘It’s okay. Let’s think calmly.’

As she helplessly gathered the tattered pieces of cloth, all sorts of thoughts flashed through her complicated mind.

At that moment, a single strand of mysterious auburn hair caught Casaline’s eye distinctly.

She picked up the hair and went to the window where the sunlight was shining brightly.

‘Wait a minute, this hair color is…’

Goosebumps rose on her skin.

To the sharp-eyed Casaline, it was all too clear whose it was. Holding the auburn hair in her hand, Casaline took a deliberate, calm breath.

Suddenly, what Rogia had said in the dressing room about an hour ago flashed through her mind.

“Um, Lady Casaline. Is it alright if I step out for a moment?”

“That’s fine, but what’s the matter?”

“His Majesty the King is calling for me. It seems he has an errand for me. Well then, I’ll be back shortly.”

.

.

.

Casaline, who left the dressing room, crossed the corridor too calmly for someone who had suffered an injustice.

She approached the room where Shallen was staying and asked the attendant to convey that Casaline was requesting an audience. After a while, the attendant approached, shaking his head apologetically.

“He says he’s busy now, so please come back later.”

It was just as she had expected.

Shallen was someone who would always allow her in a hundred times out of a hundred if she requested an audience, no matter how busy the situation was.

But now, it was clearly strange that he, who would at most be sitting in front of a mirror getting his hair groomed, was refusing her audience without reason.

“Then, could you convey this message this time? Tell him I have an urgent matter to discuss regarding the dressing room.”

“The dressing room…? What does that…?”

“You don’t need to know the details, just relay it exactly like that, no more, no less.”

The attendant tilted his head but soon nodded in understanding and went inside once more.

Had she counted exactly five seconds in her mind?

Shallen came out in his socks, as if he had something to be guilty about, and stood at the doorway.

He might have thought it was a perfect scheme, but Casaline had been watching him for ten miserable years.

There was no way she couldn’t notice his way of acting, the unconscious expressions on his face, or the fragments of emotion.

“What do you want to say, coming here so suddenly?”

“Why did you give such an inappropriate order to young lady Rogia?”

When Casaline questioned him directly without beating around the bush, a strange light that he couldn’t hide in time appeared on Shallen’s face.

But who was he?

If you can’t cover the sky with your palm, you can cover it with a parasol – wasn’t he a man born without conscience?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Ah, is that so? It seems that I, in my inadequacy, must have been mistaken. In that case, I’ll have to entrust the investigation to the Imperial Security Management Bureau. I hear the Renel Imperial Security Management Bureau has a reputation for not missing even the slightest trace.”

Casaline said this while deliberately dropping the auburn hair in the air for him to see.

Only then did Shallen seem to realize that his lies would no longer work, and he shed his pretentious expression.

“So what?”

“So what, you ask? Haven’t you forgotten something? You should at least explain why you did such a thing.”

“Think about it logically. How desperate must I have been to do such a thing? If I let you attend the ball, it’s clear you’ll run straight to Emperor Farnese and try to flatter him again, isn’t it?”

“When have I ever flattered His Majesty the Emperor?”

He burst into laughter, as if mocking.

“Don’t play dumb yourself. On the day you left me alone in the room, a servant saw you entering a secluded bedroom alone with the Emperor.”

“His Majesty the Emperor gave me a new guest room, and I merely thanked him for it. And even if I met with him briefly, would that be wrong?”

“You are the chief maid of the queen and the face of the queen! You’re not in a position to act like a vulgar mistress!”

Vulgar mistress.

Hearing those words, Casaline felt as if she was about to lose all the patience and composure she had built up until now. Finally, she felt all her emotions explode as if the wound firmly knotted in her chest had been pricked and burst open with a needle.

When she came to her senses, her hand was striking Shallen’s cheek.

Even though she knew she should act rationally, this time she just couldn’t hold back.

Shallen, who had been slapped by Casaline, touched his own face as if he couldn’t believe it, then widened his eyes white.

“You dare to lay hands on the face of me, the king?”

He raised his hand in the air threateningly, breathing heavily like an excited beast.

“Y-Your Majesty! No! You must restrain yourself!”

If Rogia hadn’t rushed in to stop him, Casaline could confidently assert that he would have certainly hit her.

At Rogia’s restraint, Shallen barely calmed down and lowered his hand with difficulty. But he was still trembling all over, with strength in his fist.

Looking back, Shallen had always been like this.

Usually acting gentle as if he were the world’s best benevolent ruler, but easily raising his hand at the slightest twist of his mood.

To think she had once wanted to spend her life with such a man.

Casaline keenly realized how foolish a person can become when blinded by love.

“I apologize for daring to lay hands on your face. There’s no room for excuses, so I’ll gladly accept punishment when I return to the Khan Kingdom. However, I believe Your Majesty should also offer me at least a minimal apology.”

“What did you say?”

“If you disliked me attending the ball so much, you should have calmly said so. And calling me a vulgar mistress also crossed the line as one human being to another.”

“You’ve become quite arrogant these past few days since Emperor Farnese has taken your side. How nice it must be to have such a strong backing from the hegemon of the Western Continent.”

It was truly puzzling.

Why did he keep bringing up Emperor Farnese, who had no relation, trying to somehow link them together?

And why did he dislike her meeting with the Emperor so much?

“Is it so difficult to just say that your thoughts were short-sighted, even a single word…?”

Casaline’s voice, which had barely maintained composure, broke miserably upon seeing Shallen’s face, which showed no understanding of what he had done wrong until the end.

She wasn’t asking for much.

Just one word of sincere apology.

That was all she wanted, then and now, but he showed no sign of remorse and instead arrogantly lifted his chin.

“Why should I apologize when I’ve done nothing wrong? Rather, you should be on your knees begging me. Didn’t you dare to strike my face?”

“……”

“As much as I’d like to severely whip your legs right now to firmly correct that insolent behavior, I’ll forgive you just this once since we once shared affection. But there won’t be a second time.”

If you understand, leave with that maid immediately.

Shallen spat out the words as if doing her a favor, while at the same time, hastily drove the two women out of the room, trembling with the shame of having all his actions so easily seen through by Casaline.

[This is the timeline separator]

“L-Lady Casaline. This, well…”

Rogia, with a pale blue face, didn’t dare to make eye contact and didn’t know what to do.

She was visibly flustered, constantly fidgeting with her clasped hands and not knowing where to put her eyes.

Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, she seemed to feel more guilty about this incident than one could have imagined.

“There are many ears listening. The weather is nice, shall we talk while walking?”

“Pardon…?”

Casaline deliberately linked arms with Rogia and went outside.

At this, Rogia’s face turned so pale it was almost comical, and she hung her head low and trembled like a puppy caught misbehaving.

The soles of Rogia’s shoes dragging on the dirt ground spoke for her state of mind.

‘There’s no guarantee this won’t happen again. I need to teach her a lesson to ensure she never does such a thing again.’

To do that, there were mainly two methods.

Although she knew it was somewhat inappropriate to use such terms for a person who wasn’t an animal, these methods were the so-called carrot and stick.

Of those two means, Casaline was certain that the carrot would clearly work better on Rogia.

For such a weak-minded person who couldn’t hold onto her mental fortitude at the slightest misdeed, wielding the stick recklessly could backfire.

“Why aren’t you angry with me, my lady? Why don’t you scold me or reprimand me harshly?”

“Why should I do that?”

“I did a very bad thing. Of course, it was because His Majesty the King ordered it, and I had no choice but to follow out of fear that he might behead me if I refused, but still…”

“The reason is simple. It’s not your fault.”

Slowly raising her head, Rogia trembled as if she couldn’t believe the answer Casaline gave.

Her eyes were glistening with moisture, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“You’re just a powerless maid. How could you have refused when none other than the King of the Khan Kingdom gave you an order to your face?”

“My lady…”

Now, go ahead and tell me.

What is Rose’s or Shallen’s next plan?

What childish means are they planning to use to put me in a difficult situation? They must have told you in advance.

“We’re already here. Now go in and rest.”

“Wait a moment, my lady!”

It was Rogia’s urgent cry that caught Casaline’s ankle as she turned around, pretending there was nothing more to say.

Casaline gave a slight smile of satisfaction before turning her head, pretending to know nothing.

“What is it?”

“I have something to tell you.”

Rose. Your bringing this child in as a maid was a mistake.

You might have thought she would obey unconditionally because she’s naive and docile, but that also means she can break away from bad influences at any time.