How the Abandoned Queen Made That Man Kneel - Chapter 30

“I told you not to come here on your own.”

While the nobles were arriving one after another in carriages to spectacularly burn the last of the spring social season,

Rose dragged Nelson to a corner of the garden, a shaded area not easily visible to people, rolling her anxious eyes back and forth.

Fortunately, it seemed no one had seen them, and as she was sighing in relief, Nelson began to laugh frivolously with a giggle.

“What’s wrong with a father wanting to see his daughter’s face?”

“Who are you calling father as you please? I told you. I never had a father like you.”

“Unfortunately, blood ties aren’t something you can change just because you don’t like them. The fact that you and I are father and daughter connected by thick blood will never change.”

Rose clutched her head as if she couldn’t stand the sight of Nelson’s face, squeezing her eyes shut.

Normally, she should have been leisurely preparing for the ball by now, being attended to by maids in the dressing room.

But Nelson, whether he had bribed a court servant or somehow managed it, would often leave secret notes under meal trays to summon her separately at every opportunity.

Even though he was just a temporary gamekeeper, and even if it had been a highly trusted position, frequently entering and exiting the place where a foreign queen was staying as if it were his own home was bound to arouse suspicion from others.

“I gave you a diamond bracelet a few days ago. What more do you want?”

“Ah, that. I put it to good use. When I took it to the jeweler, his eyes widened this much and he said, ‘Oh my, where did you get such a high-quality item?’ while his hands trembled.”

Rose venomously looked Nelson up and down, who was dressed in expensive clothes in a clumsy attempt to imitate nobility despite not having an ounce of refinement.

Though she desperately wanted to report him, there was one thing that bothered her.

How on earth had this man been able to find her and approach her here?

Considering that he had said he didn’t know her mother’s real name until recently, and that contact had been cut off until now, it was certain that there had been a perfect opportunity to acquire information about her recently.

From his temporary position as a gamekeeper to his approach without a hint of hesitation.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some untouchable backing watching over him.

“Oh, by the way. I happened to see your elder sister recently.”

“What?”

“Her name was Katharine, right? She was pretty. It’s obvious at first glance that she doesn’t share a drop of blood with you. There was something about her, how should I put it, an indescribable grace? That’s what flowed from her.”

He saw my elder sister?

Rose struggled to fix her eyes, which were shaking violently as if about to roll back, on Nelson.

Clinging to Nelson’s clothes with her pale, cold hands, she asked urgently.

“You didn’t say anything foolish to my elder sister, did you?”

“I thought about approaching her casually and hinting at your secret, but I held back for now. It wouldn’t be fun if I did that already.”

“You bastard!”

“Tut-tut, is that any way to speak to your father who is like heaven to you? You won’t gain anything by getting on my bad side now. You don’t think I’m doing this without something to fall back on, do you? I’m sorry, but I’m not that stupid.”

Rose swayed slightly, clutching at her skirt with trembling hands.

If her elder sister were to hear that she was the daughter of a lowly mercenary, everything would be over that very day.

If it were Katharine, she would immediately forget about sisterly affection and run to Her Majesty Sharen to tell her everything.

Saying, ‘Rose has deceived the royal family about her birth, so she should not only be dethroned but also sentenced to death.’

“What are you so anxious about, my daughter? If you help this father a little, there’s no chance your identity will be revealed.”

You know what I mean, right?

Nelson patted Rose’s shoulder with a benevolent smile.

Rose lowered her head, unable to shake off her father’s grimy hand.

Someone was shouting in her head.

No matter how despicable and humiliating it may be, she must not defy this man in front of her right now.

“What… do you want?”

“Your dad still has some debts to pay off. Prepare a thousand gold coins by tomorrow.”

Rose shook her head with bloodshot eyes wide open.

It was an amount beyond imagination, shocking even to Rose who had lived her entire life without want.

“Even for me, there’s no way to prepare such a large sum of money right away!”

“Then I have no choice but to go meet your elder sister right now.”

“W-wait a moment!”

Rose desperately clung to Nelson’s clothes as if grasping at the last straw.

A vile smile appeared on Nelson’s lips.

“Then at least wait until I return to the Kingdom of Khan. This is the Renel Empire. I can’t prepare such a large sum right away.”

“Well, alright. As father and daughter, I should show that much consideration. But give me a down payment instead.”

“What?”

Nelson silently pointed to Rose’s body with his chin.

The sapphire necklace glittering so brightly it could blind, the heavy rings, and the brooches hanging like uninvited guests on her already luxurious dress were his intended prey.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut and handed over all the jewelry she was wearing to him.

“Good. How nice it is to be obedient. You’re being filial to your father, and your father is paying off his debts. It’s mutually beneficial, right?”

Now free from debt in an instant, Nelson bit down on the sapphire with his molar.

Feeling the hard and cold sensation, he was beside himself with joy, shaking with ecstasy for a while.

“Use it well in a good place. Let’s meet next in the Kingdom of Khan. I’ll have someone contact you secretly. Until then, try to get on the good side of His Majesty the King and get some pocket money.”

Nelson disappeared into the bushes in an instant.

Rose, having lost most of the jewelry she had on her, staggered and sat down on the spot.

At this moment, the most miserable thing was not anything else, but the fact that if it had been elder sister Katharine, this would never have happened.

Elder sister, born inheriting the noble bloodline intact from her father, who was a renowned scholar, and her mother, who came from a prestigious family of three generations.

Compared to her elder sister who endlessly indulged in greed despite having everything, she could not help but be the pitiful heroine in a tragedy.

“Was that person just now your father?”

It was then.

Rose jumped up startled by the black shadow looming over her head and looked up.

A strange man was standing there.

With a peculiar smile on his lips, as if he had heard all the conversation with Nelson.

“W-what is it. Who are you?”

“Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty the Queen of Khan. My name is Aster.”

“Aster?”

“You probably don’t know, but I’m the heir to the Aster family, which has studied pharmacy and medicine for generations. My grandfather had some connections with the Renel Imperial family in the past, so I was invited here like this.”

Aster family.

Rose thought for a long time, wondering if she had heard it somewhere before, and surprisingly, she realized that the name remained in a corner of a very old memory.

Though it wasn’t clear because she was young, it seemed that a man with the surname Aster had once visited their home as a guest of her father.

Her father was also a person who liked to study various disciplines, so it seemed they had made a connection somewhere.

“Whether it’s a visible wound or an invisible one, I’ve inherited blood that can’t just pass by when I see someone who’s hurt. You might think it’s meddling, but please don’t be too wary.”

He helped Rose up himself.

He had reddish-brown hair tied loosely in one bunch, and was dressed in a plain noble male attire without any special decorations.

When he smiled, his two eyes folded surprisingly long and thin, as if looking at a sinister snake.

It wasn’t a face you could see commonly, but strangely, it was a face that was easy to forget what it looked like once you turned away.

“Just in case, I’ll tell you this, but the man who just disappeared was just a mentally unstable person. Father, I wish you wouldn’t say such terrible things, even as a joke.”

“You don’t have to try so hard to lie. Of course, I’ll keep it a secret to the grave. I’m a gentleman, you see, I don’t go around carelessly spilling ladies’ secrets.”

Rose, who was about to turn away ignoring Aster, stopped in her tracks.

She looked at Aster with shaking eyes.

“…What are you?”

“Well. How about if I say I’m an apostle of justice who came to meet you?”

[This is the timeline separator]

“It’s not here.”

Katharine’s hand rummaging through the drawer became increasingly urgent.

However, what rolled out of her hand was nothing but useless odds and ends.

“It’s nowhere.”

It was the afternoon of the day of the ball when she realized that the lapis lazuli hair ornament, which had been carefully sealed and stored deep in the drawer, had disappeared without a trace.

She stood there blankly for a while with a dumbfounded and dejected face, then rushed out, thinking she couldn’t just stay like this.

It was the first and last parting gift from Farnes.

She had to find it no matter what.

It was then that she hurried her steps, thinking that if she said it was an item bestowed by the Emperor, surely the imperial side would actively help.

“Are you looking for this?”

In a corner of the shaded corridor, a familiar blue light was seen pitifully twinkling.

The owner of the hand clutching the fragile butterfly’s wing was the one Katharine knew all too well.

“…What is this about?”

Katharine approached with big strides, unable to hide her rising anger, and reached out her hand, but Sharen consistently maintained an attitude so leisurely it was vile, putting the hair ornament in his inner pocket.

As if daring her to take it if she could.

“It’s too precious an item for a mere lady-in-waiting to possess. As the king, I’m just holding onto it for a while, so don’t get so excited.”

“It’s an item bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor. Please return it at once!”

“You’re treating me like a thief. When did I say I wouldn’t return it?”

Sharen paused for a moment before speaking.

“Don’t go to the ball today and have dinner with me. Come to the dining hall later. Then I’ll return this item safely to you.”

[This is the timeline separator]

“What is the meaning of this?”

“What do you mean?”

Sharen asked back nonchalantly while carefully chewing small pieces of white fish terrine.

In the dining hall she had visited thinking she would just get the hair ornament back and return immediately, Sharen was sitting alone without any servants attending.

“I clearly came here hearing that we would have a meal.”

“I didn’t say I would serve you a meal. Come over here and attend to me. That’s why I called you.”

“Is it not enough that you entered my room at will and stole my belongings, now you intend to treat me like a maid?”

“So, are you refusing a royal command?”

Katharine felt her vision blur.

Just how much more would this man torment and humiliate her before he was finally satisfied?

Was it so hateful and resentful that she had once carried a royal child but miscarried due to an accident?

“My wrist is especially sore today. Won’t you come here and pour some wine?”

“……”

“If you just fill the glass with wine, the hair ornament will safely return to your pocket. Are you saying you can’t even carry out that simple order?”

While being so special and kind to Emperor Farnes.

Sharen muttered in an almost inaudible small voice.

Katharine stood stiffly in one place for a while before slowly approaching him.

“You say I treat His Majesty Farnes specially kindly? No. You’re wrong.”

“What?”

“Unlike someone, he sees me as the human Katharine. He’s someone who wonders not which dress I look prettiest in, but what food I enjoy eating, what books make me happy.”

“……”

“There’s no reason for me not to have a positive affection for the only person in this world who sees me as a person.”

Katharine ended her words like that and poured the wine not into Sharen’s glass, but over his hand.

Her gaze, so cold it seemed it would sting if touched, was like a spy pouring poison into an enemy’s wine glass.

By the time the sweet and sour scent faintly rose and the dark red liquid had half-stained the tablecloth.

Sharen, who had been silent while tightly gripping the knife, suddenly swept the plates and utensils to the floor, and roughly pulled Katharine onto his lap.

“Katharine.”

“Wait, what is this…!”

“Become my mistress.”