How the Abandoned Queen Made That Man Kneel - Chapter 44

The evening sunlight passing through the window drew a lattice pattern on the carpet laid on the floor.

As soon as she was out of sight of the nobles, Katharine, pushed into an empty room, heard Charlen’s thunderous shout.

“Are you insane!”

Pushed against the wall by him, Katharine frowned at her aching bones.

Charlen seemed to have misinterpreted the meaning of that expression.

“In all my life, I’ve never met a woman like you. I’m so dumbfounded I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Shouldn’t you start by apologizing to me, then curse or slap me if you wish?”

“Me, apologize to you? Why?”

Charlen let out a hollow laugh with a genuinely bewildered expression.

Not a trace of self-reproach or regret could be found on his face.

“I almost died because of you, sir. No, I should say I died and came back to life.”

“I know. What happened in the carriage then was my mistake. I’ll admit that.”

Katharine couldn’t believe her ears.

“…A mistake?”

“Yes, a mistake. But what you did this time wasn’t a mistake. Did you come back to make a fuss over some trivial injury? If that’s what you thought, you’re mistaken.”

Katharine gritted her teeth and strode up to him, lifting her skirt to show him.

A deep bewilderment flashed across his face.

“How indecent…!”

Though Charlen said that, his eyes diligently traced down her leg.

When the clear scars from her knee to ankle were revealed under the light, he was momentarily lost for words and closed his mouth.

“Can you see? This is the ‘trivial injury’ caused by your mistake, sir.”

“…It’s worse than I thought. So what?”

“So what?”

“You must have seized the opportunity to cling to Emperor Farnese and enjoyed all sorts of luxuries. Don’t tell me you had some intention from the beginning?”

Her eyes grew hot.

She felt tears welling up from her tattered heart, but Katharine gritted her teeth and held them back.

“Be honest. Did you seduce the emperor by asking him to look at your injured leg? Or perhaps you’ve already formed an improper relationship?”

It only takes a moment to understand a person.

Wasn’t that what Farnese had said before?

“Shall I guess why you appeared before me today? Emperor Farnese disappointed your expectations, didn’t he? He said he couldn’t give you the empress position. So you had no choice but to return to the Khan Kingdom. Am I wrong?”

Perhaps she had been clinging to vain hope all this time.

That if she tried a little harder, he might change for the better.

But now she knew.

That Farnese’s words about it only taking a moment to understand a person also meant that people rarely change easily.

“I will resign from my position as lady-in-waiting.”

There was no point in continuing a meaningless argument where no conclusion or agreement would be reached.

When she got straight to the point without delay, Charlen’s eyes twitched and narrowed.

“What?”

“I wish to quit as the queen’s lady-in-waiting and settle all my affairs in the Khan Kingdom. I’ve briefly returned to inform you of this and go through the necessary procedures.”

“Briefly returned? What do you mean?”

“I plan to immigrate to the Renel Empire. I request approval for my change of citizenship.”

Charlen blinked quietly with his mouth slightly open, then let out a few hollow laughs as if he’d just heard a very funny joke.

Towards the end, he burst into loud laughter as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Immigration? Change of citizenship? Katharine, are you in your right mind?”

“By now, unfavorable rumors must be spreading through the mouths of the capital’s nobles, and if I stay here, you’ll suffer from various gossip too. Think about what’s best for the honor of the Khan royal family.”

“I’m afraid you’ve forgotten that changing citizenship is only possible when marrying someone with that nationality, except in special cases.”

As if mocking her for not even knowing that much, Charlen’s lips curled up crookedly.

When Katharine replied with a meaningful silence to those words, the amused look on Charlen’s face gradually changed to one of suspicion.

“…What’s with that strange silence?”

“…”

He muttered “No way” softly and shook his head.

“Surely you didn’t promise to marry some other noble man from the Renel Empire after your plans with Emperor Farnese didn’t work out? Did you?”

“Who knows? How things might have turned out.”

“That’s impossible. This must be part of your plan too.”

“I am a woman of marriageable age. It wouldn’t be strange for me to meet someone and promise marriage anywhere.”

“Is it those knights who always followed the emperor like shadows? Did they offer to help with your plan? Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly meeting with them too, not satisfied with just the emperor?”

He seemed to be referring to Sir Antonio and Sir Vincent.

Among the many gentlemen she had become acquainted with during this social season, those two were the ones Charlen was most wary of after Farnese.

Sir Antonio and Sir Vincent were gallant, held excellent positions, and even had handsome appearances, so it wasn’t strange for Charlen to think of them first.

Charlen didn’t seem to imagine that she might have received a proposal from Farnese himself.

“You’re wrong about everything. I…”

Just as she was about to open her mouth to tell him why she had come all this way, why our persistent ill-fated relationship must soon end.

“Excuse me for interrupting your conversation. The queen has collapsed from shock and is lying down. I think you should come see her.”

One of the servants Charlen had kept by his side like a shadow since his days as crown prince hurriedly entered and spoke.

His name was Alonzo Raugel, if she remembered correctly.

Looking back, these two were close enough to share even the most confidential information.

Seeing Charlen’s face flushed with excitement, Katharine judged it would be better to leave for a moment to allow him to regain at least some composure.

Saying “Actually, I’ve agreed to marry the emperor” here would only provoke his anger, like shooting a catapult at bare ground.

“I’ll go see the queen. I have something to tell her, and I’m sure she has a lot to say to me as well.”

After Katharine withdrew, the servant Alonzo Raugel crossed the room to Charlen’s side.

Charlen was still breathing heavily, fiercely wondering if Katharine was really going to marry someone, whether she had inappropriate contact with those men like Antonio or whatever.

“The rumors are already spreading uncontrollably.”

After a brief silence, Alonzo broke the ice.

“Thanks to the soldiers’ hard work, the funeral site has been cleared, but the nobles seem to want the royal family to directly explain the truth of the incident.”

“I don’t know what to do anymore, Alonzo.”

Charlen spoke as if pleading, showing a weakness in front of Alonzo that he rarely displayed even before his wife Rose.

Alonzo’s gaze as he looked at him was a complex mix of affection for a long-time friend and loyalty to his lord.

“Someone once said that even the most skilled hunter is bound to make mistakes if he tries to catch two rabbits at once.”

“…”

“What’s more important to you, sir? Giving up Lady Katharine and regaining the nobles’ trust, or fully possessing Lady Katharine even if it leaves a slight blemish on the royal family’s honor?”

Charlen’s eyes glinted with a red gleam in the sunset light.

For someone bearing the heavy burden of being a nation’s king, he didn’t ponder long before giving his answer.

“That’s a meaningless question, Alonzo. Katharine has always been my possession.”

“Then there’s only one way.”

Alonzo continued speaking as if he had long expected Charlen to give such an answer.

“The fastest way is to cover up one incident with another.”

“Why did you come instead of Charlen?”

As soon as she entered the queen’s bedchamber, a pillow flew at her face.

Amidst the agitated breathing, Katharine quietly picked up the pillow that had struck her face and fallen limply to the floor.

Rose had changed quite a bit since they last met.

Her once deep almond-colored hair had turned black as if dyed, and her characteristic bright smile that always seemed to see the world cheerfully was gone.

Though she didn’t know the exact reason, Katharine could sense that many aspects of Rose as a person were changing, and not for the better.

“Have you eaten, my lady?”

Katharine glanced at the tray of food left untouched and cold as she placed the pillow on the sofa.

A scornful laugh escaped from between Rose’s teeth.

“Playing the maid now? Why, did your plan to pick up scraps by the emperor’s side fail?”

“I apologize for appearing so tactlessly when you must have been planning to fully take advantage of my death. Still, don’t get too worked up. You might really collapse, not just pretend like today.”

Though she had merely stated the truth about the surrounding situation, Rose seemed to think she was being sarcastic and tightly gripped the blanket with both hands.

She was so enraged that the thin veins on her forehead visibly stood out.

“You know what, sister? What makes you so arrogant? I’m this country’s queen, and my husband is this country’s king. Do you understand that we could crush someone like you without breaking a sweat if we wanted to? Don’t you think we’ve always been forgiving you out of generosity?”

“Then how about extending that generosity to the end this time?”

Katharine placed the documents she had prepared by stopping briefly at the administration office before coming to the queen’s palace on the side table next to her.

The words “Request for Resignation” written in neat and dry handwriting on the white paper filled Rose’s black pupils.

“Since it seems the timid coward who couldn’t even set foot in a party venue without you by her side no longer exists, I will lay down my duties and withdraw now.”