Chapter 10
“…I wish to see His Majesty, the Emperor.”
Azelina greeted him, hiding her surprise.
Iaana, who had been lost in thought, jumped in alarm and bowed quickly.
However, whether Iaana’s greeting was late or not didn’t matter to Rashid.
Once again, all of Rashid’s attention was focused on Azelina.
“…As expected, just as I thought. You pretend to be indifferent to me, yet have you already forgotten that resolution of yours?”
Rashid muttered quietly, glaring at Azelina.
But judging by the fact that Azelina had heard every word, it seemed he had no intention of muttering secretly.
Azelina quickly shook her head.
“That’s not… I didn’t come to the garden to see Your Majesty.”
“Ah, so you’re saying you didn’t expect to run into me even though you knew the Rezzley Palace is so close to the Emperor’s Palace. And now you want me to believe that…”
Azelina frowned, frustrated at Rashid’s uncharacteristic lack of awareness today. What made him so confident in saying such things?
“I said I didn’t come to Rezzley Palace to see Your Majesty! I don’t care whether You come here or not.”
Azelina said bluntly and turned to leave before Rashid could even respond.
“Hah…”
Whenever Azelina argued with him, she always raised her voice, trying to win.
Each time, Rashid would act completely differently from her expectations, teasing her—like ignoring her completely and leaving the room before she could finish speaking.
But this time, the situation was slightly different. It wasn’t Azelina who started the conversation first—it was Rashid. And it wasn’t Rashid who walked away first—it was Azelina.
“…Just for a mere Empress.”
By the time Rashid had suppressed his complicated emotions and regained his composure, Azelina had already become a distant dot in the garden.
Early Morning
“Your Highness!”
Azelina immediately recognized the voice outside as Iaana’s, sounding frantic.
If it had been Eve, she might not have been so worried—but Iaana, who rarely panicked, sounded agitated, sending a wave of unease through Azelina.
“I-I just heard… th-that tomorrow, the First Princess of the Ophelia Kingdom will be coming to the Egretta Imperial Palace with her delegation!”
“…Is that so?”
Azelina asked, and Iaana looked at her as if regretting having told her. Surely, she thought, Azelina wouldn’t be able to stay calm after hearing this.
Unexpectedly, Azelina’s expression remained calm, which startled Iaana.
‘She’s arriving earlier than I remembered,’ Iaana thought.
Melisina Az Ophelia, First Princess of Ophelia Kingdom.
Even before Azelina’s time loop, Princess Melisina had visited the empire multiple times over border disputes.
Because the previous Empress was as selfish and disgraceful as rumors said, Azelina had been extremely jealous of Princess Melisina. It wasn’t anything major—she had simply been envious of the Emperor’s gentle smile, which Melisina could see every time.
But Azelina had never harmed Princess Melisina.
She had never tripped her, poisoned her food, or done any of the things people whispered about.
Yet when she saw Rashid getting along comfortably with Melisina after a few months, Azelina’s jealousy boiled, and she occasionally tried to pick petty arguments with the princess.
‘Looking back, why was I so narrow-minded?’
Then, an incident occurred.
Princess Melisina had poisoned Rashid’s half-sister, the Second Princess Shulia.
Azelina had seen Melisina put an unknown white powder in Shulia’s meal, so she knew it was the princess’s doing.
Melisina didn’t stop there. She even cried while accusing Azelina of killing the Second Princess…
Even now, Azelina shook her head in disbelief.
“But… how did you know the First Princess of Ophelia Kingdom was coming to Egretta?”
“Oh, a maid from the Emperor’s Palace told me.”
“A maid from the Emperor’s Palace?”
Iaana’s unexpected answer made Azelina suspicious.
Given the tense relationship between Azelina and Rashid, it was natural that the Selina Palace maids and the Emperor’s Palace maids didn’t get along either.
Yet somehow, a maid from the Emperor’s Palace had kindly informed Iaana that the First Princess of Ophelia was coming. That seemed odd.
‘…Could it be that His Majesty is testing me?’
However, Azelina quickly dismissed her curiosity. Whatever Rashid’s intent was in having the maid inform Iaana, Azelina had no desire to repeat past mistakes. That was enough.
As she slowly got out of bed, she suddenly noticed a sharp gaze from the door and turned her head.
There stood Eve, looking unusually angry.
“…Since when has she been like that?”
Azelina quietly asked Iaana.
“She’s been like that for a while, didn’t you notice?” Iaana replied, genuinely puzzled.
Azelina looked again. Eve was biting her white scarf with a somewhat pitiful expression.
Unfazed, Azelina continued to watch Eve.
Finally, Eve seemed to calm down slightly and approached Azelina.
“…Your Highness.”
Azelina swallowed nervously at Eve’s unusually serious demeanor. What could her adorable Eve be trying to say?
“Iaana unnie has spent more time with Your Highness than I have… so, you like her more, right?”
“…?”
Azelina was taken aback at the cute reasoning and couldn’t respond.
“I-I will spend more time with Your Highness too! I’ll always be Your Highness’s maid!”
Eve had been worried that Azelina might return to being Empress like before.
But it seemed impossible that Azelina would actually go back.
Until a few days ago, Eve had thought these promises were temporary, just like the others.
Yet a simple act of pretense couldn’t change the tone of her voice or the way she looked at the maids.
Iaana probably understood that too. That was why she had grown closer to Azelina these days.
It was on this impulse that Eve spoke out.
“Ah…”
Azelina replied awkwardly,
“No, you… you like me too.”
“R-Really? Really?”
Eve brightened up.
“Yes, don’t you know how much I care about you?”
Just a few days ago, Eve could hardly speak to her.
And now, she truly believed that Azelina had changed.
Azelina, though a bit flustered, smiled faintly at Eve, thinking that if it made her happy, that was enough.
At that moment, Mabel approached quietly and handed Azelina an invitation.
Azelina took the invitation and examined it slowly.
The antique golden eagle seal in the center was particularly beautiful.
Seeing the family crest, Azelina immediately recognized that the letter was from one of the few young ladies she was close to, Rosenna Evangelich, Marchioness.
[To Her Majesty the Empress,]
The weather has been truly wonderful lately. I used to spend this time with Your Highness, but now I rarely can, which I regret.
Rosenna’s elegant handwriting sprawled across the ornate stationery.
Azelina was briefly pleased to receive the first invitation since her return, but her expression stiffened as she read further.
**[There will be a tea party at the Evangelich Marchioness’ residence with other young ladies, and I would be delighted if Your Highness could attend and enjoy the tea party with us.
I hope your reply is positive.
Sincerely, Rosenna Evangelich.]**
Had it been just Rosenna, Azelina would have happily accepted.
But with other young ladies attending…
“…Why the long face?”
Iaana asked cautiously.
“Hmm… I don’t want to go… but I suppose I should.”
Opportunities like this must be attended. She had to maintain good relationships with the young ladies at all costs.
While the chief maids, Iaana and Eve, stayed with her all day, the young ladies outside the palace were a different story.
They sometimes made truly rude remarks, and Azelina couldn’t punish them for disrespecting royalty, which frustrated her.
Especially since they leaned on the sweet and sociable Second Princess Shulia—just like the last tea party incident.
Emperor’s Palace
“What chaos happened yesterday?”
“…Chaos?”
Ellen tilted his head at Rashid’s sudden question.
“At Selina Palace.”
When Ellen asked for clarification, Rashid added calmly:
Rashid expected that Azelina had thrown quite a scene by now.
After all, he had personally informed the maids at the Emperor’s Palace to tell Selina Palace that Melisina, First Princess of Ophelia Kingdom, would visit the Egretta Empire.
Even though Azelina had changed recently, she wouldn’t let something like this pass easily.
