Chapter 269: Like Father, Like Daughter (1)
I could see Charlia’s face turning pale.
Of course, she would be embarra.s.sed. She had wanted to look good to me, and her plan had backfired.
The same went for the two maids. They had no idea what the h.e.l.l was going on.
In the first place, there was nothing they could do except to tremble.
Charlia tried to open her mouth to see if she could fix this somehow, but the situation was so strange for a proper excuse to come out.
The circ.u.mstance was obvious to anyone, and she was between the devil and the deep blue sea.
“S-so, this is… this is…”
“Oh, I don’t care. You don’t have to explain. As I thought about it, it was just time to eat, so I just wondered if we could have dinner together. First of all, you shouldn’t let this stay like this, so it would be a good idea to clear the room a little. Please also clean up outside the door. Before entering, I used a little rough method…”
“Ah…”
“And I sincerely apologize for the rudeness a while ago, Your Majesty. I think it would be a good idea to reveal each other’s inner feelings a little more when having a deeper conversation. I thought it couldn’t be helped.”
“No… No…”
“I will serve Your Majesty, so I would like you to prepare the dinner.”
When I lifted the two maids who were still lying on their faces, I saw them hesitate.
They were watching out for Charlia, but she nodded quietly, and I saw them disappearing outside.
“The tea was delicious.”
“T-that’s fortunate.”
“Your Majesty Charlia, you don’t have to be so embarra.s.sed.”
“Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung-nim, just now, that was…”
“I know everything. You were correcting the underling’s mistake.”
“Ah… Yes. Yes. That’s right.”
“I said it before, but it’s understandable enough. You may be upset because there is a disruption in your guest service. If I had been in your position, I would have been angry, too.”
“Yes. You’re right.”
“In the first place, there are humans who understand even you speak to them once, and there are humans who do not. It’s not unusual for them to be punished since they did not listen to the words of Your Majesty…”
“Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung-nim is…”
“Yes?”
“You really understand me.”
“Yes. Didn’t I tell you earlier? We are the same kind.”
I could see her thinking hard. She had only noticed that I was armed with goodwill rather than evil will.
She seemed to think that it was now okay to be a little more honest. I felt her glancing at me carefully.
“There are many who lack a little.”
“That’s it… they are different from the Princess.”
“Most are stupid…”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Where is that descent going…? Once I say it, they can’t understand it properly. I always get stressed because they’ve annoyed me more than once.”
As she spoke excitedly, her face looked like she had met an old friend. I nodded, going along with her words.
“Hmmm. You can… Of course, you can think like that.”
“Of course, it hurts me to do this, too, but in order to discipline them…”
“It is necessary… necessary. It can’t be helped.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
However, this didn’t mean that Charlia dropped all her pretenses.
It seemed that she was trying to go with the ‘correcting the discipline’ topic, but she was at least honest enough that it could not be compared to before.
Meanwhile, dinner began to be prepared.
Since I told her in advance that we would eat here, not a restaurant, the appetizer had come, with the maids looking extremely tense.
They were different people than the ones from before, but their hands were also trembling.
However, they thought it was fortunate that the Princess had on a big smile.
“Actually, I heard about you from my father.”
“I’m curious about what he said. I am worried that His Majesty might have said something about me again.”
“Ah! Nothing like that. That you defended my mistake… that… what happened that day…”
“Haha. The word defense is not appropriate. I just said the right thing.”
“I don’t know if it’s because of that, but my father asked me several times.”
“What…”
“Make sure to make a time to apologize to Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung… Of course, it wasn’t because of my father that Lee Kiyoung was brought here. At that time, I wanted to talk to you about my mistakes once again, and most of all, my personal curiosity toward Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung was big…”
“Aha…”
“I feel like you’re a better person than I first thought of, seeing you in person like this.”
This line sounded a bit ominous. It was especially embarra.s.sing to hear that the Emperor had talked about this with Charlia first.
Of course, it should be done, but I was worried that he might think differently inwardly.
“I wonder what kind of curiosity you have. But I understand. Most n.o.bles are also very interested in us, summoners, especially now that I was appointed as one of the Eight Imperial Seats. Maybe an adventure journal…”
“As a matter of fact, I was able to read the journal from the Blue Guild for a moment yesterday.”
“Hahahaha. That’s an honor. By the way, this is really a coincidence. In fact, I also wanted to see Your Majesty Charlia.”
“What?”
“I wanted to see what it would be like to chat, but who knew that the opportunity would come in this way? Haha.”
While we were talking, the meal continued.
When I stopped talking for a moment and looked at the maid, I saw those who opened their mouths as if they were waiting.
It seemed like they were waiting for the right timing to continue to say something, and I guess I had just helped.
“Er… Your Majesty, the steak.”
“Rare.”
“I would like the same thing as the First Princess.”
“Okay.”
“You can bring dessert an hour later. I think the conversation will take a little longer.”
“Yes. I understand.”
In fact, although I liked it well-done, I wanted to give the impression that I was like the Princess.
When the barely-cooked red meat came out, I was a little embarra.s.sed about how to eat it.
Blood was gathered on the plate of the Princess, who was familiar with the cutting.
I didn’t know if it was because of my mood, but I found the sound and the texture grotesque. Still, I pretended that this was nothing.
Charlia, who had cut a piece of steak like that, opened her mouth again after the maids left.
Seeing that the cuts weren’t taken to her mouth, it seemed that she was curious about the story from before rather than in the food.
“Er… Excuse me, but can I hear what you want to talk about?”
“Haha. It’s not a big deal. Actually, this is something about the imperial family…”
“I’m sorry?”
“I hope you listen without misunderstanding. Charlia-nim, I don’t want this summoner to judge or gossip about the imperial family. I just want to hear what you think of the Second Princess Charlotte.”
“What do you mean…?”
“I’ve heard that the Second Princess is secretly dominating this Holy Empire.”
“Who said such thoughtless words?!!!”
“It seems that the great and wise Emperor left many things to the 2nd Princess after his health had deteriorated. Influential aristocrats also were seen moving with the Second Princess. Although she is actually outstanding in her abilities, no, I am afraid that I might sound like blaspheming the imperial family.”
“No, Honorary Bishop. You can keep talking.”
“Ahem… Actually, there have been many proposals for us, too…”
Of course, it was a lie. No proposal has ever come our way.
“C-can you tell me in details? When you say us…”
“Oh. It was only secretly said to a few members of the Eight Seats, but after the Emperor dies, it seemed that she wished for us to be on her side. I don’t know if I can say this, but… it feels like she is being hostile to you.”
I wasn’t wrong, though. This would definitely happen sooner or later.
It seemed that the Princess in front of me also had no intention of revealing what the truth was. In fact, she wouldn’t even have the ability to uncover it for herself.
When I saw her muttering ‘Charlotte… Charlotte,’ it seemed that her anger toward her younger sister had filled her head.
“So, the answer is…”
“It is still on hold, but in fact, in our Eight Seats of the Empire’s case, we are refraining from entering the politics of the Holy Empire as much as possible. Foreigners have foreigners’ lives. However, Her Majesty Charlotte did not seem to like us very much for keeping a lukewarm att.i.tude. I don’t think she has a bad temper with the stories that are going around in public, but it’s hard to believe it because there are many fake stories these days.”
“Yes… Yes. You’re right. The Second Princess Charlotte… No, the evaluation of that sneaky wh.o.r.e has already been fabricated. Yes. Absolutely. Everyone is being deceived.”
“What?”
“It’s embarra.s.sing to say, but she’s a b.i.t.c.h with bad demeanors. We shouldn’t have accepted her as a Princess since she was born an illegitimate daughter after eating her mother’s poor blood. It was something everyone was concerned about. Yes, it was. I knew that her greed would reach the sky, but as soon as she became a member of the imperial family, she showed off her ambition by bewitching my father.”
“Hmm…”
“She says she is not interested in men, but my ears hurt with her voice that I hear every time I pa.s.s by the place where she lives as she brings several men to the palace. Blood cannot be deceived. Yes. Absolutely. She always smiles in front of people, but you don’t know how much dirty stuff she does in the back… I can’t even explain everything in words.”
I expected it, but once she started to talk about Charlotte, it felt like she wasn’t paying attention to me.
It was natural that a short mealtime was not enough for her to vomit resentment for the Second Princess. I couldn’t help but smile.
This was because it sounded like the saying, ‘the pot calling the kettle black.’
“That d.a.m.n b.i.t.c.h. A loach is defiling the imperial family and damaging its authority. I cannot see the faces of the ancestral emperors. And my father, my father is my father. How, how can he… value that dirty… more than me…”
Not only was her fist trembling, but she was biting her lips tightly.
The pleasant atmosphere from before now felt like a lie.
She had bloodshot eyes and was shedding tears from how resentful she was. Of course, those tears weren’t pure tears that truly worried about the imperial family.
These tears stemmed purely from jealousy.
It was full of anger, obstinacy, and malice toward Charlotte, who had what she could not have. Her resentment was this big.
It was no wonder that I sneakily gave her a handkerchief. As she wiped the tears, I could see her leaning back as if she was surprised.
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“Lee Kiyoung-nim is… kind.”
‘What?’
It was a line that sounded dangerous for some reason. As I felt like she would use this opportunity to have an intimate moment with me, I pulled back immediately.
“It’s nothing. I couldn’t even dream that such a thing was happening. After all, it seems that there are more lies than truth in the words of the public. Haha.”
“What?”
“In fact, I have heard rumors about the First Princess… Yes. Definitely, most were bad reviews. But looking at you like this, you seem to be quite different. You are more than anyone else who thinks about the imperial family and is intelligent, and you are beautiful, gentle, and strong. The wisdom, words, and actions you have made me feel like I’m seeing the incarnation of the G.o.ddess Benigore…”
“Ah…”
“I dare say…”
“Yes…”
“I feel like you are really close to the next Empress.”
As I took a bite of the cut meat, I felt the taste of raw meat that had not been cooked properly.
Charlia, who has heard me and was smiling widely, quietly nodded, and swallowed the food.
I didn’t know if it was because of the sweetest flattery in the world or because the cold meat tasted better than she thought, but I could see Charlia shivering softly with pleasure.