Chapter – 05
The Envoy from Mother’s Country (2)
“I can persuade them enough.”
What bothered her slightly was the attitude of Count Molina, who had been going back and forth as an envoy of the Mun Empire all this time. He belonged to a vassal family under the Duchy of Trinidad, the very title Princess Ana Rosa had received in order to become Empress.
That was why he was the perfect person to be chosen each year as an envoy traveling to the Mun Empire. He was intelligent enough to learn the Mun language to some extent in just one year, and he always had business to handle because of matters related to the Trinidad territory.
Above all, his duty had only been to confirm the current state of the alliance. It was a task even someone as unremarkable as Count Molina could carry out.
But now, things were different.
“Count, you met Her Highness the Princess every year, didn’t you?”
At Count Menios’s question, Count Molina frowned slightly.
“It would be better to say Her Majesty the Empress.”
“We are among ourselves. She is not even twenty yet—what Empress…?”
“You should be careful. This is the imperial palace of the Mun Empire. Not Casas.”
Count Molina shrugged, as if to say he had already given his warning—if they failed to understand, that was their fault.
Count Menios glared at him. In Casas, this man would not even dare to act familiar in front of him. But here, because he was close to the Empress, he behaved as if he were someone important.
“Fine then. How has Her Majesty been lately?”
“In what sense?”
“Well, her health. Or her condition? Her mood?”
“She has been well in all respects.”
Ah, this man truly has no sense. Just as Count Menios was about to show his irritation, Manuel La Repo, Count Casella, stepped in.
“We will see when we meet her. More importantly, Count Molina, is there anything we should be careful about regarding the Mun imperial family? This is my first visit here.”
Count Molina glanced at Count Casella. Casella seemed to think he was far better than Menios, but in Molina’s eyes, they were the same.
Yesterday, Count Casella had met his eldest daughter, Blanca La Repo, for the first time in seven years. Yet instead of showing joy, he did not even ask her a simple question about whether she had been well.
They are all the same kind of men.
Count Molina was sick of it, but he did not show it.
When they entered the Empress’s palace, Count Molina naturally handed a small pouch to each guard. The other two found it strange, but Molina did not care.
Every year when he came to the Empress’s palace, he showed kindness to many people. It was the Empress’s secret order. Each year, she told him what to bring—things difficult to obtain in the Mun Empire, such as clocks or eyeglasses.
He also brought small gold nuggets instead of money. The little pouches he gave to the guards contained those small pieces of gold.
Because Count Molina brought these gifts every year and changed the atmosphere, the entire imperial palace held deep favor toward him.
“I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”
When Count Molina knelt, Counts Menios and Casella looked down at him in disbelief. Ana Rosa gracefully moved her fingers, signaling for Molina to rise. A court lady approached and helped him up.
“Sit.”
As soon as the Empress invited them, Count Menios strode forward. He naturally thought he should sit opposite the Empress—but he was mistaken. The court ladies calmly blocked his path.
‘Mere palace servants…!’
His eyes flashed angrily, but Ana Rosa did not even smile.
“Count Molina.”
She clearly indicated who was to come forward.
Count Molina carefully walked over and sat in the seat opposite the Empress.
“Y-Your Majesty, you have mistaken the representative of the delegation. You are still young, so such a mistake is understandable.”
Count Menios forced something like a smile onto his lips.
Ana Rosa looked straight at him. When she first came here at twelve years old, she had been quite afraid of Menios.
His eyes have not changed at all since then.
Ana Rosa smiled brightly on purpose.
“You are the one who has forgotten who I am.”
Count Menios’s eyes widened. The Empress had answered him in the Mun language. He had no choice but to turn his gaze to Count Molina, who served as interpreter.
“Her Majesty says you should remember her noble position.”
“How dare she.”
That little girl who entered to warm an old man’s bed—how dare she? His eyes burned coldly.
Watching him, Ana Rosa gave a short laugh. She looked at Count Menios and then at Count Casella behind him.
“How dare you? Insolent men who dare to look down on the Great Mun Imperial House have crossed the threshold of my palace! Guards!”
That single word was enough.
The court ladies stepped back, and the guards took their place. Guards also moved to stand beside Count Casella.
Count Menios’s eyes darted around, searching for a way out. But he could not even understand the Mun language. In the end, his gaze landed on Count Molina, who was seated calmly.
Before interpreting, Count Molina glanced at the Empress. Her eyes blinked once—as if giving a nod.
He was just about to open his mouth.
“It is only right that those who are rude to the Mun imperial family be expelled. My Empress is, as always, clear in judgment.”
“Your Majesty the Emperor—!”
Everyone immediately threw themselves to the floor. Even Ana Rosa, the Empress, clasped her hands and bowed respectfully according to etiquette. Molina greeted the Emperor with the courtesy due to the King of Ausis.
Only Count Menios remained foolishly standing. Though a bit late, Count Casella followed Molina’s example and paid his respects.
“Hah.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Rise. I see that foolish face again. Has it been seven years?”
As Count Molina stepped back, a court lady quickly removed his cup. Ana Rosa moved to Molina’s former seat, and the Emperor took the seat of honor. The table setting changed in an instant.
At the same time, Ana Rosa stretched out her white arm, like the first snow melting, and gracefully wrapped her hand around the Emperor’s.
“You are truly wise, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor frowned at her overly charming gesture.
“What nonsense are you up to now?”
“Your Majesty should not use such vulgar language. How many times must this wife of yours bear the scolding instead?”
“‘Bear the scolding’ sounds quite elegant. Ana, stop. When a child acts like this toward me, it gives me goosebumps.”
The age to become a court lady was sixteen. Ana Rosa was nineteen—already an adult. But the man she was acting sweetly toward was seventy-six this year, an Emperor who had met every beauty in the empire.
Moreover, the Emperor preferred older women. From the first time they met, Ana Rosa had been far too young for him. After seven years, she was more like a granddaughter—or the first disciple he had raised.
And in the Mun Empire, the relationship between teacher and disciple was regarded as equal to that of parent and child. If a teacher and disciple became romantically involved, it was condemned as incest.
So whenever Ana Rosa acted like this out of necessity, the Emperor had to endure the discomfort and goosebumps rising all over his body.
“If you do not endure it, I will order them to remove the licorice from your medicinal decoction starting today!”
The Emperor suffered from ailments of old age and had to drink herbal medicine daily. Naturally, the medicine was bitter, and licorice was used to soften the taste.
The moment Ana Rosa said she would tell the Imperial Medical Bureau to remove the licorice, the Emperor—who had been clearly displeased—straightened his back and subtly held her hand.
“Damn it, why did you never learn the concept of filial piety? …Does Ausis not even have such a word?”
To Counts Menios and Casella, it looked as if the Emperor favored his young Empress. But from Count Molina’s perspective, who understood the Mun language, it was pure comedy.
When the corner of Molina’s mouth twitched, the Emperor noticed at once and scolded him, asking why they had sent her off in marriage without teaching her filial piety.
Molina answered carefully.
“I am deeply ashamed. Around the time she would have learned such virtues, there was a great change in her life, and her tutors were replaced. I humbly ask for Your Majesty’s broad understanding.”
The “great change in her life” referred to Ana Rosa’s marriage.
In other words—
She came to your country at the very age she should have learned it.
He had simply wrapped that meaning in polite words.
