Chapter 49
If one intended to completely leave high society, then it wasn’t a bad method. But if one wished to remain a noble, cleaning up after it would be quite troublesome. It might feel refreshing inside, but in a situation like this, there were more losses than gains.
I ignored the First Prince’s concubine and turned my gaze to the First Empress. She was watching us with the face of someone enjoying an entertaining play. It looked as though she intended to slip in when my quarrel with the concubine grew heated, and then use the chance to press me down. For now, I decided to go along with her plan. The result, however, would turn out very different from what she imagined.
“How dare you… The fact that you can’t even choose the right words shows you still need lessons in the Imperial tongue.”
I shifted my eyes from the First Empress back to the concubine. Her face flushed red as her lips quivered. Before she could fully open her mouth to speak, I quickly cut her off.
“Concubine, how dare you—without permission—interrupt a conversation between Her Majesty the Empress and myself?”
“W–what!”
I looked her up and down, from head to toe, as she sat. Her face was turning red and blue as though it might burst. I drove the wedge in deeper.
“Do you realize that your behavior right now is an act of insulting Her Majesty the Empress?”
At that moment, silence blanketed the surroundings. Even if the Empress was powerless, if she was officially insulted, things were entirely different. To insult the Empress was tantamount to insulting the Imperial Family itself.
If this were officially brought up, not even the First Empress could easily smooth it over. No matter how lightly handled, the concubine would still be expelled from the palace on charges of insulting the Empress. What’s more, I had the ability to escalate this matter—both officially and unofficially.
“Isn’t that right, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“I… I…”
As every gaze suddenly turned to her, the Empress, flustered, looked toward the First Empress. A faint frown creased the latter’s brow. It was obvious: I had asked the Empress where my seat was, and it was her place to answer. The concubine had clearly intruded where she shouldn’t have.
Normally, considering the Empress’s weak standing, it was an issue that might have been brushed aside. In fact, the First Empress often ignored her openly without hesitation. The concubine may have been ignorant of etiquette, but more likely, she had simply followed the example of the Empress being disregarded again and again.
From the concubine’s expression, she still didn’t fully grasp how her actions amounted to insulting the Empress. Had I not pointed it out, no one here would have even noticed. That was how far the Empress’s authority had fallen.
“The concubine has not been in the palace long and seems unskilled in Imperial etiquette. This is my fault for being lacking in virtue, so I beg Your Majesty to be understanding.”
“O–of course, of course. If she’s newly entered the palace, then she cannot yet be expected to know all the rules.”
The First Empress spoke to the Empress, though her eyes never left me. The Empress hastily echoed her words.
“Concubine, apologize to Her Majesty.”
“B–but—”
“Concubine!”
The concubine’s mouth twisted with dissatisfaction. The First Empress’s sharp gaze fell upon her, and the concubine flinched, shrinking her neck.
“Apologize.”
“…Forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Reluctantly, the concubine rose and bowed her head toward the Empress.
“It is fine, Concubine. If you do not know, such things can happen.”
The Empress’s words, meant to excuse ignorance as no sin, only made the concubine’s cheek twitch with resentment. I, however, had no concern for whether the two women’s relationship was good or bad. I turned instead to the First Empress.
She too was staring at me, her gaze sharp like a honed blade. I smirked.
I am no saint generous enough to treat with kindness those who show me hostility. If the First Empress regarded me as an enemy, then I had every reason to do the same. Especially against an opponent as formidable as she, I could not afford to yield an inch.
“I had not realized My Lady was so well-versed in Imperial etiquette.”
As Empress for eight years and Crown Princess before that, she had spent over ten years in the palace. Whether she liked it or not, Imperial etiquette would have become second nature.
“Since I will soon be entering the palace as the Crown Princess, it is only natural I should be well-acquainted with it.”
At my words, the First Empress’s brow twitched upward. Clearly, the word “soon” had pricked her. I had chosen it deliberately to provoke.
My entering the palace meant becoming Crown Princess. That in turn meant the First Empress’s long-monopolized inner court would be split apart. My words were nothing less than a challenge.
“If things turn out as you say, that would be good indeed.”
The First Empress smiled meaningfully. Whether she had already laid some trap to block my entry or was merely bluffing, her expression gave nothing away.
“I’ve already come of age. It can happen at any time.”
“The Crown Prince’s marriage is not something arranged so hastily.”
“I agree, just as Your Majesty says. But His Majesty the Emperor insists so strongly that he wants the ceremony held as soon as tomorrow, I scarcely know what to do.”
I smiled shyly, as though embarrassed but delighted. If my years of sparring with the Crown Prince had taught me anything, it was acting. And if one had learned it, one might as well put it to good use.
Though fleeting, I saw the First Empress’s lips stiffen around her smile.
Anyone with even a hint of perception would grasp my meaning. I had spoken innocently enough, but the implication was clear: it was not I but the Emperor who was impatient for the marriage. In other words, the Emperor himself stood behind me.
I felt the stir of whispers around us. People had heard rumors of the Emperor’s wishes, but to hear it confirmed—even indirectly—was a different matter. I had deliberately declared before them all that the Emperor was my backing.
“No matter His Majesty’s wishes, there are laws in the palace. The Crown Prince’s marriage cannot be conducted so lightly. I trust you know that much, My Lady.”
Her tone was that of a mother gently scolding a spoiled child. She meant to cast me as a thoughtless girl without sense. I had expected as much. With a troubled expression, I replied:
“I told His Majesty the very same thing. But as Your Majesty well knows, His will is quite unyielding…”
I trailed off bashfully and watched her expression. Her lips trembled faintly. With a sigh-like voice, I added:
“How could I possibly refuse His Majesty’s will? Forgive me, Your Majesty.”
With that one line, the “thoughtless child without sense” was no longer me, but the Emperor himself. The First Empress’s eyes glittered sharply as she glared at me. I simply smiled back.
Once our exchange ended, silence settled over the gathering, broken only by the sound of breathing.
“…I see. If it is His Majesty’s wish, then of course My Lady can only obey. I understand.”
At last, the First Empress broke the silence, flicking open her fan. Her lips curved upward, softening the atmosphere at once.
A few noble ladies sighed in relief. With just a shift in her mood, the entire air of the gathering changed. It was proof enough—this was the First Empress’s domain.
“Come to think of it, My Lady has been standing all this time. Why not take a seat?”
She spoke as if the thought had only just occurred.
“Would Your Majesty show me where my seat is?”
She glanced around the pavilion as though to indulge me, her eyes settling on a lone empty chair at the far end. She narrowed her gaze and waved her fan delicately.
“Oh my, it seems only one seat remains.”
She sighed as though regretful.
“If only you had arrived a little earlier, My Lady. How unfortunate.”
Her intent was plain. Sitting at the lowest seat would be presented not as anyone else’s doing, but my own fault. Even if word spread later, none here could be blamed.
She must have planned this with the Emperor in mind. Though such skirmishes among women would never be grounds for official censure, privately it could certainly bring reproach.
Even if I were seated not at the lowest seat but on the floor itself, I would not go whining to the Emperor or Crown Prince. The me of the past, perhaps—but my current pride would never allow it.
“I had not realized seats were given in order of arrival. Your Majesty must have come quite early.”
“Of course. It is an Imperial event.”
She fluttered her fan again, and the noble ladies around her giggled. Clearly, she had returned to her original plan from before my interruption.
The lowest seat was for the lowest-ranking person present. For a high noblewoman to sit there at such a grand gathering was an extreme humiliation. What she wanted was to see me disgraced.
Truthfully, I had not been blind to the possibility of such territorial bullying. But unlike before, I had no faction here, no allies to speak for me. Even those who might have supported me were avoiding me, wary of the First Empress’s eye. The situation was worse than I had expected.
Until now, I had neglected social ties for one reason: I had no intention of marrying the Crown Prince. If unnecessary, why burden myself by drawing these women into my circle? But I had miscalculated.
At most, I thought they would treat me as if invisible. I had not expected such blatant, childish hostility. And now that I had been subjected to it, I found it far more offensive than I imagined.
If I had known it would be this unpleasant, I would have built my own position here—whether I married the Crown Prince or not.
