Chapter 113 – Another Secret (2)
Rivetti kept changing clothes in preparation for eting with the Empress the next day. Lady Alischute had said the Empress had the iciness of a high noble. What kind of person was that? Rivetti had no idea.
‘I heard that daughters of great esteem may beco ladies-in-waiting to the Empress. Does that an I can’t...?’
Rivetti sighed. Although she lived in a mansion at the capital, she was still a lady from a little country estate. There was little chance that she, a woman who had no connections, could beco a lady-in-waiting.
She continued to scour her wardrobe and try on dresses when there was a knock on her door, and Viscount Roteschu let himself in.
“Father!”
Rivetti hugged the viscount and then let him go.
“How do you like this dress? Does it look good on ?”
However, he was silent and did not give his usual enthusiastic praise.
“Father?”
She looked at him concernedly and sat them both on her bed.
“Rivetti. If you are to et the Empress tomorrow, be careful what you say.”
His expression was unusually grave.
“I see. My father is very worried that I might be rude in the palace.”
Rivetti answered with confidence, misunderstanding the aning of her father’s words.
“I won’t be rude in front of Her Majesty.”
Viscount Roteschu’s expression only turned more serious.
“You have to be more careful.”
“I won’t disgrace myself, Father.”
“No. About Rashta and An.”
“!”
“Whatever the Empress may ask, don’t speak a word about them, or say that Rashta was your brother’s lover. Do you understand?”
Rivetti’s brow crinkled. After seeing Rashta at the party a few days ago and finding out that she had beco the emperor’s concubine, Rivetti had wondered how the slave had risen to such a great position. No matter how much she asked Viscount Roteschu or Alan about it, they wouldn’t answer a peep.
“Rivetti. Do you understand my words?”
“...The Emperor will be jealous if he founds out that my brother was Rashta’s lover and has a baby.”
“Yes. A powerless family like us will be destroyed under the Emperor’s wrath. Be careful.”
“...”
“Why do you think the Empress would suddenly summon a young woman who cos from a weak family, and who has not even made her social debut?”
“It’s because Lady Alischute—”
“No, the Empress wants to use you to keep Rashta in check. Rashta is the Empress’ rival.”
“I’m not being used by anyone!”
“Rember. You’ve never t Rashta.”
Rivetti had a burst of anger, but Viscount Roteschu did not back down. His heart ached at the sight of his daughter’s sullen face, but if things went wrong, there would be more than just that to deal with.
“Act wisely.”
Viscount Roteschu stood up and let himself out of the room.
His daughter may still be immature, but she was bright. She wouldn’t do anything to harm the family.
***
It was the day Alischute would bring Viscount Roteschu’s daughter to the party.
After I finished my audience duties, I toured various departnts to decide where to allocate the national budget and review the progress of various projects.
My work went smoothly, and I returned to the western palace and changed my clothes. eting aristocratic children was nothing new, but today I had a different purpose, and I took more care in selecting my clothes.
After preparing the tea and cookies, Viscount Roteschu’s daughter arrived a little earlier than expected, along with several other ladies that ca to visit.
“Ah, hello—no, how are you, Your Majesty?”
“Welco, Lady Rivetti.”
“You know my na...?”
Her face turned red as she stamred hello. She was far cuter than I expected. I didn’t have much contact with Viscount Roteschu, but sohow his daughter seed to look at with admiring respect.
The party was about two hours, and after it ended, Countess Eliza spoke to .
“Lady Rivetti seems very fond of you, Your Majesty.”
I gave a silent smile, and the countess continued teasingly.
“Her face turned red when she ca in, and she looked quite disappointed to leave.”
Countess Jubel was gloomier though, as if she there was sothing else more important than talking about Rivetti’s character.
“It’s a sha you didn’t ask her about Miss Rashta.”
Countess Jubel seed to have expected to find out more about Rashta’s past. The other ladies-in-waiting nodded in agreent and chid in.
“Why didn’t you say anything about Miss Rashta, Your Majesty?”
“Maybe Rivetti wouldn’t help Her Majesty.”
“I don’t know. I hope we didn’t cause her to be more cautious.”
Even the other ladies-in-waiting started to beco worried. They wondered if Rashta found out that I invited Rivetti, then told Sovieshu, perhaps my husband would beco angry with again. If fact, that was sothing I considered as well.
However, I had invited Lady Rivetti to show Rashta, ‘You cannot attack others with lies.’ I wasn’t going to let myself be the only one to be provoked. But...
“It went better than I thought.”
Yes, was a good thing to call Rivetti... To reassure the ladies, I smiled and took a sip of my tea.
“She gave enough information.”
The ladies-in-waiting glanced at each other in bewildernt. Lady Rivetti was charming, but she hadn’t said a word about Rashta. So ladies wore expressions of confusion, while others smiled widely as realization dawned on them.
Later that night, after most of the ladies-in-waiting left to sleep, Countess Eliza remained. She was one of the ladies who understood , and when it was only the two of us, she spoke quietly.
“Lady Rivetti seems to know ‘that woman’ very well. Right?”
I nodded my head.
Rashta was so beautiful that she was often a subject of discussion, and it was impossible for Rivetti not to hear of her. Nevertheless, Rivetti didn’t say a single word about Rashta. I concluded that she was forced to keep her mouth closed.
“If Rashta was forrly Viscount Roteschu’s slave, she would find both the viscount and his daughter a thorn in her side.”
“Yes.”
Viscount Roteschu had even humiliated Rashta in public, which made it even curiouser that they kept eting in the palace.
Sovieshu must know and accept that Rashta was a slave, despite his attempt to quash the rumors. If Viscount Roteschu was blackmailing Rashta, it was not because of her background.
Taken together, there was only one answer—the secret Rashta had hidden was not that she was a forr slave to the Roteschu family.
“Perhaps Rashta has another weakness she wants to hide.”
And it wasn’t just Viscount Roteschu who knew about the weakness.
“Let’s investigate the surroundings of Viscount Roteschu and Lady Rivetti. There’s nothing wrong with knowing what secret they’re blackmailing with.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)