Episode 164
Brianna and Arcian, the two beastmen, spoke passionately with Asil between them.
Ever since their last fight, they had insisted on conversing only with Asil or Snowa acting as a buffer.
Since this was not a new occurrence, Asil simply ate the strawberries she had brought as a snack and dozed off.
It was only after the carriage stopped and Todori, inside her pocket, pulled on her clothes to signal their arrival that she rubbed her sleepy eyes.
“I’ll be back.”
“Alright, Asil. Mommy will be following you, so don’t be too scared.”
They had decided only one person would go since the snake might notice if both Brianna and Arcian went, and it seemed Brianna had emerged victorious.
Asil hopped down from the carriage.
She was on her way to meet the person suspected of being the escaped snake, but she wasn’t worried or scared at all.
This was because Todori was hidden in her left pocket, Baem-baemi in her right, and her mom said she would follow.
Her dad had also said he would support her with magic from a distance.
Just then, a tapping sound came from the carriage floor.
Tap, tap, tap.
Asil looked in that direction.
Snowa, in the form of a leopard, was hiding under the seat and tapping the floor.
Snowa had also received an invitation, but had been told to stay home because he wasn’t used to noble society; it seemed he had followed anyway.
His low growling sounded like he was telling her to be careful.
‘Yes, I know. I’ll be back!’ Asil clenched her two fists toward Snowa.
At that moment, Arcian also discovered the hiding Snowa.
“Snowa!”
“Kyaoo!”
A startled Snowa tried to run away quickly.
However, Arcian swiftly caught Snowa and tucked him firmly under his arm.
This tea party was larger in scale than ever before.
Those who had been excluded from invitations after misspeaking and falling out of the Empress’s favor, or those who couldn’t attend due to low rank or reputation, were gathered in the tea party venue.
Asil blinked as she looked at the noisy interior.
The Empress had always held tea parties in the garden. It was to show off her tulips.
However, although this place was luxuriously decorated, no garden was visible at all.
Furthermore, there were far more guests than usual. It felt like a banquet.
“If the fellow really transformed into the Empress, there will definitely be something different from usual.”
The words she heard from her mom and dad just before coming here came to mind.
While she was observing the surroundings carefully with those words in mind, she saw Lilibet waving from a distance.
“Asil!”
It seemed Lilibet had come as well, since invitations had been sent to all children of nobles of Count rank and above.
Not only her, but there was also the Young Duke of Starafit, Cedric, and Starafit’s divine beast Fear, who seemed to have followed Cedric reluctantly.
Fear, who had been grumbling about it being boring, flinched upon spotting Asil while trying to set fire to a passing young nobleman’s hair.
‘You shouldn’t do that.’
Asil clenched her fist to signal that she would scold him if he caused a disturbance.
It was then that the gatekeeper’s shout echoed through the hall.
“Her Imperial Majesty the Empress enters!”
Soon, the Empress entered with her maids. Her face looked very haggard, perhaps due to the grief of losing her son.
“I greet Her Imperial Majesty the Empress.”
“I greet Your Majesty.”
“Yes. Everyone, please take your seats.”
The tea party venue had assigned seating.
Asil flinched as she tried to sit in her allocated spot.
Since gifting the tulips, she had always been seated closest to the Empress during tea parties, but today she was the furthest away.
“Kkoo-reuk….”
Baem-baemi, hiding in her right pocket, felt dejected.
He had intended to identify the opponent by scent, but it was impossible to catch the scent from such a long distance.
‘It’s okay.’
Asil patted Baem-baemi’s head and sat down for now.
Looking around, she saw that everyone who used to be close to the Empress had been assigned distant seats, just like her.
It was as if they were being excluded intentionally.
Instead, the seats close to the Empress were occupied by those attending a tea party for the first time, or those who had not been close to the Empress before.
In Asil’s original seat, none other than the Princess of Sunrise, Mariange, was sitting.
As soon as Mariange met Asil’s eyes, she shrugged with a teasing expression.
Then, the moment the Empress opened her mouth, she returned to the appearance of an elegant lady and sat quietly.
“Thank you all for coming. As you all know, my heart is very empty, so I called you here to soothe it.”
“You did well, Your Majesty.”
“Sorrow is halved when shared.”
Those next to the Empress flattered her, thinking this was their chance.
Even though the Crown Prince was dead, the Empress’s power was still not to be ignored.
Thus, they strove to receive the Empress’s gaze even once more.
Among them, naturally, was Mariange.
“How great must your heartbreak be after such a noble person passed away? Having lost my family not long ago, I also know Your Majesty’s sorrow well. Whenever you feel empty, please call me, and I will fill Your Majesty’s heart, though I may be lacking.”
“Thank you. I shall not forget your offer, Princess.”
The Empress smiled kindly.
At this, the nearby nobles competed to appeal to her, claiming how well they could comfort her or how good a conversation partner they could be.
It was while Asil was watching that scene blankly.
“You know.”
The lady next to her tapped Asil.
She was a Marquis’s daughter who had been a favorite of the Empress after Asil, but had been cast aside today.
She whispered softly so as not to be heard by those around them.
“Doesn’t Her Majesty feel a bit different today? Is it because it’s right after she received a great shock?”
The lady tilted her head.
“It seems her makeup method has changed, and her dressing style too…. Her Majesty originally never wears gloves. She said they get in the way when tending to tulips.”
Looking back, the Empress was wearing pitch-black gloves on her hands.
It could simply be to mourn the Crown Prince’s death, but the design made the intention to hide her hands look greater.
Above all, they did not match the dress she was currently wearing at all.
Asil stared intently at the Empress’s unnatural gloves.
‘Surely there isn’t a wound from Baem-baemi’s bite under there, is there?’
It was around then that the Empress, who had been chatting with those around her, stood up.
“I didn’t know I would connect so well with the Princess of Sunrise. If it’s alright, why don’t we move and talk privately?”
“It—it is an honor!”
Since it was an opportunity to monopolize the Empress’s favor, there was no reason to refuse. Mariange, her complexion brightening, stood up abruptly.
The Empress’s maids tried to follow behind her.
However, the Empress dismissed them all. And she left the tea party venue accompanied only by Mariange.
While sighs of regret broke out here and there, Asil swallowed hard.
‘If the Empress really is a snake….’
She had to follow them.
However, there were too many eyes to follow them right now.
So, Asil secretly took Todori out from under the tablecloth.
“Todori.”
“Kkyuuuuu!”
“Follow those two. Baem-baemi, go get Sister Lilibet.”
It would be much more reassuring to be with Aunt Aether.
The two animals nodded reliably and moved while avoiding people’s eyes.
“Kkyu!”
“Kkoo-reuk!”
A short while later, Todori returned and informed her that the two had gone to a deserted lounge.
“Where is that?”
“Kkyuuuu!”
Todori gestured with his front paws for her to follow him.
Asil quietly followed Todori, avoiding people’s eyes.
The Empress and the Princess of Sunrise were not far away.
Thanks to Todori cleverly wedging something in the door crack, Asil was able to eavesdrop on their conversation through the slightly open gap.
The atmosphere inside was warm.
Even though it was likely their first time meeting alone, they were conversing intimately as if they were in a long-standing relationship.
“It is an honor to serve Your Imperial Majesty like this.”
“Yes. How old did you say you were this year, Princess?”
“I am sixteen.”
“Sixteen… you must be quite healthy.”
“Pardon?”
“No, nothing. It must have been very hard for you to lose your parents at a young age.”
“How could it compare to Your Imperial Majesty, who lost a noble person.”
The Empress smiled kindly.
“You have a truly gentle personality. I have always wanted a daughter with a warm personality like the Princess.”
“I am overwhelmed by your undeserved praise.”
“No. Why didn’t I realize before that the Princess was the owner of such a warm heart?”
At the consecutive compliments, Mariange’s cheeks flushed red.
She was losing her senses at the explosive interest from the Empress, which she had never received once since Asil appeared.
The Empress grabbed Mariange’s hand firmly.
“I have lost a child, and the Princess has lost her parents. If the Princess is alright with it, I am thinking of taking the Princess as my adopted daughter; how about it?”
“A—an adopted daughter? Me? Her Majesty the Empress’s?”
“Yes.”
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