“Miss Melanie, what is this disrespect in front of Her Majesty the Empress!”

Lady Catherine admonished me as she was conscious of Miss Melanie.

“Oh, it’s not a secret, is it? It’s a fact known to those who should know, and it’s just something Her Majesty the Empress will soon know, so I just told her in advance.”

Miss Melanie refuted Lady Catherine with an innocent expression.

“I heard it for the first time!”

At that time, a tactless lady broke in, her eyes wide open.

“Me too! Lady Catherine, is it true that you and Her Majesty have been engaged since childhood?”

Interest exploded here and there in the intriguing story.

Contrary to Miss Melanie’s words that it was a fact known to all who should know, it seemed that the fact that the two were engaged was information known only to a very few among the nobles.

With the excitement of the other ladies, Miss Melanie reluctantly opened her mouth again.

“Lady Catherine, since when were you and Her Majesty engaged? I heard it from my father, but I forgot because I have a bad memory.”

“It’s just the past. What use is an old story now?”

Lady Catherine glanced at me and responded to Miss Melanie.

“Even if being engaged is a thing of the past, it’s a different story if the heart is present progressive. Isn’t that right?”

Miss Melanie pointed out quite sharply, blowing her nose.

“Oh my, God! Then Lady Catherine could have been the Empress… Oh, I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

Lady Persilini of the Duke of Asto, who was sitting next to Miss Melanie, belatedly closed her mouth, showing awkward acting.

I didn’t react to Lady Persilini’s verbal slip, and just took a sip of tea.

“I babbled because I was surprised by the amazing facts. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Lady Persilini bowed her head to me again in a nasty voice that I didn’t want to forgive at all.

I sent her a gesture that it was okay.

Almost pointing with my middle finger.

Now all eyes were on Lady Catherine, who was most likely to become the Empress of the Lapion Empire.

Despite knowing that she was the center of attention, she pretended not to know and bit a cookie.

A small bite of a onebite cookie… Oh my God!

Lady Catherine put the rest of the cookie on her tea saucer with a full expression.

Then she played innocent as if this disturbed atmosphere had nothing to do with her.

What would she have thought, having witnessed the wedding of the emperor who had been engaged since childhood?

I now understood the cold gaze of Lady Catherine that was especially cold when I entered the reception room.

I’ll step down from this position as a proxy empress, but what will happen to Princess Resilia, who will become the remarried empress after Lady Catherine becomes the harem?

‘Zelda, let’s be honest. You’re more curious about something else, aren’t you?’

My inner avatar asked me in mockery.

‘Aren’t you more curious whether that damn handsome emperor will keep visiting the Queen’s Palace? Even if the old fiancée becomes a harem.’

Shut up.

I yelled at the avatar in my heart.

After the fact that Emperor Rinel and Lady Catherine were engaged was exposed, the noble ladies began to comfort me, the empress.

Their comfort continued without getting tired, like a revolving song.

Actually, it was confusing whether it was a revolving song or a mocking song.

“Your Majesty the Empress, you must be upset, but since it’s the will of His Majesty, we have no choice but to follow.”

“Yes, traditionally, there were many harems in the Lapion royal family.”

“That’s right! Isn’t the current emperor also a child of the third harem?”

What? Rinel is a child of the harem?

“Did Your Majesty the Empress not know this fact?”

Seeing my puzzled expression, Miss Melanie asked as if wondering why I had married without knowing such a thing.

Yeah, I didn’t know. So what?

Do you think the only thing I didn’t know was that?

“There’s no way you didn’t know.”

However, a lie came out of me on a highpitched voice without me knowing it.

“Really, Your Majesty the Empress?”

Lady Catherine asked with a squinted eye.

“Of course.”

I was so calm in lying that Lady Catherine, who was flustered, was the one who was flustered.

Ah, I’m tired.

Facing each and every noble lady and sending a smile was more physically exhausting than I thought.

The only place I could hide my tired expression in this spacious reception room was when I brought a small teacup to my mouth.

I looked at the faces of the noble ladies one by one.

The fifteen beauties all had pretty appearances, but they were no match for Princess Resilia.

If Princess Resilia had been sitting on this Empress’s throne instead of me, the confident glances of these beauties would have lost their luster against the princess’s beauty.

The teatime, which held no meaning or value to me, slowly passed by with the hypocritical laughter of these beauties.

When I subtly glanced at Sharon, she seemed to read my mood and approached me.

“Your Majesty the Empress, it is time for you to go to your office.”

Sharon’s words sounded like salvation to me.