chapter 122………………………………………………
Bittersweet End (1)
“Huh?”
How could there be nothing to worry about when the enemy had already reached just below the chin? What did that mean?
Puzzled, Adel lowered her head and rolled her eyes.
Hildegard, alarmed by the news, had summoned Duke Side, but the duke didn’t show up, citing that he was in a council meeting.
“How dare he!”
Enraged, Hildegard threw things in a fit of tantrum, but no amount of that would make Duke Side, a man not to be trifled with, come running.
Even if she had inherited the emperor’s authority by virtue of being his fiancée, there were clear limits. The gap between privately ordering a steward and commanding Duke Side to mobilize troops was as vast as heaven and earth.
Frustrated anew that Duke Side would not bend to her will, Hildegard stormed off to the place where the emperor was having his drinking party.
And yet… nothing had happened? Adel, forgetting her usual caution, looked at Hildegard with bewildered eyes.
Hildegard must have noticed Adel’s gaze, yet she maintained her elegant composure, smiling at the emperor.
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
The emperor, preoccupied with lifting the skirt of his mistress, only vaguely nodded. Half-lidded eyes suggested he didn’t even understand the question. At Hildegard’s signal, the mistress let out a coquettish laugh and pressed herself closer to the emperor.
It all looked so filthy and grotesque that Adel instinctively turned her gaze away.
“Your Majesty, I have a request.”
The emperor, face buried in the courtesan’s neck, mumbled with a crushed pronunciation.
“Speak quickly and leave. Can’t you see I’m very busy right now?”
“Give me command of the army.”
Hildegard’s voice, as sweet and coquettish as someone asking for a new dress or ornament, sounded almost flirtatious. Adel had to question her ears, momentarily doubting if she had heard correctly.
“Duke Side is being troublesome. He mocks me and refuses to obey.”
Though she held her chin high and her back straight, her words were essentially a petulant plea, like a child whining for attention.
“He’s always been troublesome. He was like that before and will be like that in the future.”
The emperor mumbled in response.
“Do as you wish. You know where the imperial seal is, don’t you?”
A brief smile of joy spread across Hildegard’s face, but only for a moment. She quickly restored her usual composed expression and nodded toward the emperor.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“I should be the one thanking you.”
The emperor was almost on the verge of closing his eyes. Judging by the number of wine bottles scattered around the table, he had drunk quite a lot.
There was no need to summon attendants. Though the emperor was not small, the number of courtesans scattered around the greenhouse was more than could be counted on fingers.
At Hildegard’s gesture, they moved in perfect synchrony, lifting the emperor by his arms, legs, and hips onto a bed set up in a corner of the greenhouse. Then, as if they had never been there, they disappeared without a trace.
Hildegard approached the bed slowly and stood by the sleeping emperor, quietly looking down at him. Perhaps from excessive drinking and indulgence, the emperor’s pale face was deeply shadowed under his eyes.
Hildegard suddenly thought of Duke Side, who had always carried shadows under his eyes too.
The difference was that the duke’s shadows were from overwhelming work, while the emperor’s worn-out appearance was the result of excessive indulgence.
Shaking her head at the futile habit of comparing Duke Side and the emperor, Hildegard thought, what a pointless reflection at this moment.
“We should head back.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Adel responded quickly, eager to leave the filthy, disgusting place as soon as possible.
Stepping back, waiting for Hildegard to go first, Adel thought, Is this really the right thing to do?
She had hoped that if Hildegard Crow became empress and she became her closest maid, it would be good for their family and she might meet a fine husband. She had done everything possible to please Hildegard.
But judging by the current situation, it felt like stepping into mud.
As they exited the greenhouse, the sun was setting behind the crimson-stained sky. The wind that seeped through their thin summer dresses was chilly. Adel draped a shawl over Hildegard’s shoulders.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“How many days left until the wedding?”
“Less than a week. But are you really going to have it on that date?”
Hildegard’s gaze turned toward Adel.
“What do you mean?”
Hesitating under Hildegard’s cold stare, Adel finally spoke, having made up her mind.
“To hold a wedding when the eastern rebels are almost at the capital… Lady, wouldn’t it be better to postpone it? Perhaps after we quell the rebellion and the empire has calmed down, we could choose a better day for the ceremony…”
“Adel.”
“Yes… my lady.”
“When will it ever be calm? The east is noisy now, but when the weather turns cold, the northern lords will be whining and coming after me. Even the kingdoms lying silently along the eastern border won’t stay still if the empire grows restless. I also heard last year’s flood damage in the south has yet to be repaired.”
“….”
“There will never be a quiet time. Everyone tries to take something from me. That Davi has never pleased me from the start, but at least he chose the wedding date well. Perfect timing. Perhaps that’s all he’s good for.”
Though it sounded like praise, everyone in the palace knew that Hildegard despised and scorned Davi, who pressed close to the emperor. Even the emperor, who once sheltered Davi, now turned a blind eye to Hildegard’s tyranny.
So soon, that remarkable Davi would also be chased out of the palace.
What a pity, for someone so capable.
Interrupting Adel’s thoughts, Hildegard spoke again.
“Though His Majesty granted me command of the army, has there ever been a history of empresses wielding military power?”
Adel hesitated. Not because she didn’t know, but because she feared how Hildegard would react to her answer.
“Huh?”
Yet she couldn’t keep avoiding Hildegard’s prompting and said, reluctantly,
“I don’t think there has been such a history.”
“Exactly. Smart girl.”
Contrary to Adel’s expectation of anger, a bright smile appeared on Hildegard’s face.
“Command of the army is the emperor’s absolute symbol. Even the empress could never dare to control it. But if I, who have not yet been wed, issue orders just because His Majesty has permitted it, will anyone obey? That’s why we must hurry with the wedding.”
“But you just said that military authority is His Majesty’s prerogative, and the empress can’t intervene.”
“That’s how it’s always been… If His Majesty cannot handle state affairs, what choice do we have?”
Adel’s eyes widened at words that no bride should ever speak. She glanced back at the greenhouse they had just left.
No way…?!
Before she could calm her racing heart, Hildegard moved first.
“It’s chilly.”
It wasn’t the weather that was chilly, but Hildegard’s attitude.
Adel vividly remembered how Hildegard had treated her like a younger sister when she first entered the palace. Yet now, she handled Adel as if she were merely an extension of herself.
Perhaps it was natural, but Adel felt uncomfortable and displeased by Hildegard’s subtle change in attitude. Respect for a noblewoman from a count’s family had long vanished.
She wondered if, later, she would ever receive proper treatment as Hildegard’s closest maid.
“Why are you standing there? Hurry up and follow.”
“I’m sorry, my lady.”
Adel bowed her head at the sudden reprimand, biting her lip. She knew, with certainty, that something had gone terribly wrong.
