How the Abandoned Queen Made That Man Kneel - Chapter 37

The bluish light characteristic of dawn seeped faintly through the thin curtains.

Rose, who had woken up unusually early, quietly gazed at Charlen, who was in a deep sleep, breathing faintly beside her.

‘If only I could get pregnant now, that would be good.’

Rose touched her flat stomach, which showed no signs of life forming.

Though she didn’t show it outwardly, it was true that she was starting to feel impatient.

Despite countless efforts since their wedding day, there were no signs of pregnancy, so rumors might soon start among the noble ministers.

‘I’ve been under no small amount of stress until now.’

But it’s alright.

A child will come eventually, anyway.

It had been several months since Katharine went missing. Charlen was gradually finding stability under Rose’s care.

As proof, yesterday he said he would soon end the search operation that he had been unable to let go of, like lingering affection.

She was certainly dead. Now that the person interfering with Charlen and her solid trust and bond was gone, everything would flow naturally.

Rose felt an inexplicable courage welling up inside her at the thought that she had become Charlen’s one and only existence.

She had ascended to the queen’s position that even her formidable elder sister could not grasp.

Her sister had unfortunately been abandoned due to her poor conduct, but she herself would be able to envision a hopeful tomorrow with His Majesty Charlen.

‘I can become an excellent queen even without my sister’s help.’

The first task that Rose confidently chose, believing this without a doubt, was to widely announce Katharine’s death to the world.

“It’s better to remove the phrase ‘twist of fate.’ Instead, write that it was an unfortunate accident that no one expected. Let’s clearly express that the royal family deeply misses and reveres elder sister.”

Rose covered up the true circumstances of Katharine’s death entirely, and made up a story that she lost her life on the way to meet a gentleman she had an appointment with from the ball.

This was so that the royal family could receive at least a little less criticism.

“Isn’t this tarnishing Katharine’s honor?”

At first, Charlen truly hesitated, wondering if they should handle things this way, but such concerns did not last long.

He couldn’t very well truthfully tell all the people that Katharine had fallen because he pushed her, so he had no choice but to make up some kind of excuse.

But one problem arose.

“Your Majesty the Queen. Some of the people are expressing unease.”

“Unease? What kind of unease?”

“It seems there is talk because the poverty relief policies that Miss Katharine had been promoting on behalf of Your Majesty the Queen have suddenly been halted. Additionally, there are those making absurd claims that without Miss Katharine, the royal family will not function properly.”

Rose, who had completely forgotten about such complicated issues while comforting Charlen and holding memorial services, pressed her throbbing forehead.

“Why do they blame the royal family for becoming poor due to their own laziness? They should be grateful just to have their lives protected from foreign invasion.”

“Haha… Indeed.”

Baron Aster looked down at Rose with cold eyes, laughing soullessly.

“I suppose those born with lowly blood have no sense of shame. Truly, ‘blood’ cannot be deceived.”

At Baron Aster’s words, Rose’s fingertips holding the teacup twitched.

She clenched and unclenched her fist several times as if anxious about something, then suddenly got up and went somewhere.

It was the small study that Katharine had used when she was alive.

Everything was just as it had been on the day she left – neatly arranged pens, books with bookmarks, even a neatly folded blanket – but the owner was gone.

Rose rummaged through a stack of documents her elder sister had left in the drawer, and seemed to find something as she quickly pulled out a few sheets.

“This is it.”

The papers she had fortunately found contained all of Katharine’s plans regarding poverty relief policies.

Rose appropriately pieced them together and adapted them to make it seem like her own ideas, then personally gave a speech in front of everyone.

The people were reassured by the parade of impressive sentences that could not possibly have come without a perfect understanding of domestic affairs, and willingly cheered.

Having succeeded in claiming her dead sister’s achievements as her own, Rose finally relaxed amidst the various tribute gifts pouring in from all over the country.

“The craftsmen’s guild from the port city of Revere has sent a condolence letter along with a top-quality pearl necklace. In addition to fruits and silk sets from the south, about thirty gifts have arrived today alone.”

Baron Aster reported while checking the ledger.

Rose leisurely sipped her tea without even opening the pile of gifts that had taken over the reception room because there was nowhere else to store them.

The tea that Aster had brewed himself was much more delicious than what any ordinary maid could make, so she asked for it several times a day.

“Thanks to our daughter, this mother gets to live in luxury. For the first time in my life, I even get to see the queen’s palace.”

The Roberfon Marchioness fiddled with the Revere pearl necklace and chuckled softly.

Rose spoke as if giving a warning.

“Mother. This is practically an inheritance left to us by poor elder sister Katharine. Don’t appear too excited.”

“Yes. Of course. I’m just so moved to see our Rose settling in well as queen.”

“Mother should get used to it by now. As the queen’s mother and in-law of the royal family.”

The Roberfon Marchioness seemed unable to hide her overflowing joy, as if the dead Katharine didn’t matter at all.

In-law of the royal family. Mother-in-law of the king.

Who would have thought that she, who had been nothing more than a fallen noble on the verge of being thrown out on the streets as a child, would come to live in luxury thanks to her second daughter’s miraculous upward marriage?

“By the way, Mother. There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Yes. Ask me anything.”

“How did you end up meeting Father?”

As soon as Rose asked the question, the Roberfon Marchioness’s face froze instantly and the teacup slipped from her grasp.

With a crash, the sturdy teacup shattered into dozens of fragments scattered in all directions.

The maids who rushed over immediately began cleaning up the mess.

“Mother, are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine. Oh dear. I must be losing strength in my hands as I get older.”

“You should be more careful.”

The Roberfon Marchioness barely managed to pull up the corners of her twitching mouth.

“But why do you suddenly ask such a thing?”

“I have to live as a couple with His Majesty Charlen for many years to come. I want to hear Mother’s story. Did you fall in love at first sight?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

“Don’t be so vague, tell me more details. Come to think of it, Mother rarely tells stories from the old days. What were you like before meeting Father? Did you have a first love, or anyone else you were dating?”

“Oh, you. So nosy.”

“What does it matter when there’s no one else listening? I think Mother must have had many admirers, being so cheerful and pretty when you smile.”

“Well, I suppose…”

Rose pretended to lead the conversation as pleasantly as possible while probing subtly. The Marchioness tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling and trailed off.

Then she glanced at the floor again for no reason.

The series of actions, including touching the bridge of her nose with one hand, were all unconscious habits she showed when lying.

The Marchioness threw her face towards the window with the look of someone who had accidentally discovered an old diary in a drawer, immersed in the embarrassing sentimentality.

“It’s not that there was no one at all. When I was in Saint Field, there was someone who called me Beth. But that’s all in the past.”

With that conversation, the Roberfon Marchioness bid farewell, saying she suddenly remembered somewhere she had to visit urgently.

With that, Rose became certain that Nelson’s words were not lies.

The reason she felt so anxious despite having gained everything – her husband’s favor, the people’s support and trust – was the existence of Nelson, that man who might appear and do something unpredictable at any time.

“Aster. You said you’d grant any request of mine, didn’t you?”

“It goes without saying, Your Majesty the Queen whom I respect.”

“Then find out right away what Nelson is doing and where. If possible, also find out who the shadowy figure backing that man is. Though that might be difficult.”

“I will do my utmost.”

Baron Aster sincerely kissed the back of Rose’s hand, then gathered his identification papers and left the palace.

He headed for the Renel Empire without a moment’s hesitation.

[This is the timeline separator]

「If I ordered you to stay here, would you do so?」

It was a question she heard when they went on their first walk together, held in the emperor’s arms.

In the end, she couldn’t answer that question.

When Katharine failed to open her lips, Farnese soon said with a cynical smile:

「It’s a joke. Don’t take it seriously.」

Was that truly just a joke?

What would have happened if she had answered “Yes” to his words?

Katharine had been pondering various hypothetical scenarios for months.

「Emperor Farnese will surely make you his mistress. Once he satisfies his momentary desire, he’ll quickly tire of you and discard you.」

Katharine tried to banish Charlen’s past words that unconsciously came to mind, and looked at the easel and paint palette placed in a corner of the room.

It was a gift from Duke Ludwig, who suggested she try painting when bored or frustrated.

Katharine carefully used her crutches to ring the bell on the table. She could now walk to some extent if she used crutches.

About five minutes passed.

Two maids entered the room, dawdling.

“Why did you call for us?”

Katharine’s assigned maids changed periodically. For some reason, the two today had faces that seemed annoyed by everything.

Perhaps they had some tiring work.

“I’d like to paint in the garden just outside. If you’re not busy, could you help me move the painting supplies?”

“Ah… Yes.”

Katharine went with them to the small garden that appeared after going down just two steps.

They placed a folding chair, easel, and paint palette around a small sculptural fountain where autumn flowers were blooming.

“We’ve moved everything.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“We’ll be waiting in the corridor, so call us if you need anything.”

The maids curtsied and disappeared into the inner corridor, whispering something quietly among themselves.

“How long does she plan to stay in the imperial palace?”

“Who knows. She’s just a mistress after all…”

So it seemed that in others’ eyes, she appeared to be a mistress living luxuriously by relying on Farnese.

Katharine silently gazed at the blank white paper on the easel.

Silver hair as if covered in frost, deep and exotic features.

A sharp and firmly set jaw visible if one lowered their gaze a bit more.

Eyes that were sharp and insightful, always seeming to see one step ahead of others, like a sea with crushed stars sprinkled on it.

And those stubbornly closed lips…

When she suddenly came to her senses after thinking that far, the blank paper was already being filled with Farnese’s portrait.

‘I must be crazy. How dare I draw the emperor’s noble countenance.’

Katharine was about to paint over the paper in white but dropped her hand.

Like a child hiding a precious object, she flipped the paper over and looked around.

The maids who said they would wait in the corridor had gone somewhere.

‘It’s okay. My leg is much better, so I can do it alone.’

Katharine first gathered the paper with Farnese’s portrait drawn on it and slowly used her crutches.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Your Majesty. You have been looking at the same document for an hour.”

In the emperor’s office, where the scent of autumn flowers drifting in from the garden mingled curiously with the smell of coffee, Duke Ludwig spoke carefully.

As he said, Farnese, who had been staring blankly at the same paper for an hour, threw the pen he was holding onto the desk.

Then he silently rubbed his face with his dry hands.

“Is the work not coming easily to you? This is unlike you.”

“…I cannot shake off distracting thoughts.”

Since brushing off her intentions as a joke after asking about them, an inexplicable frustration would occasionally visit Farnese’s mind.

Duke Ludwig smiled gently, his eyes crinkling.

“Instead of that, why don’t you just go meet Katharine?”

Farnese’s brow furrowed sharply for a moment.

“Why suddenly bring up that child?”

“I have served you for 20 years. How could I not understand the intentions in your noble countenance?”

“…Nonsense.”

Farnese stood up and walked to the window.

Believing that if he cooled his head in the cold wind, her face would no longer come to mind.

But at that moment, what entered his eyes beyond the garden was the sight of Katharine falling with a thud while carrying heavy painting supplies.