Published at 19th of July 2019 02:45:05 PM
Chapter 24: 24
Chapter 24 – I Already Knew The Truth (1)
The eyes of my ladies-in-waiting turned to me at the same time .
“Hm? What is it?”
Princess Soju noticed their gazes and turned to me . I knew that my ladies-in-waiting believed the “anonymous friend” that Prince Heinley was looking for must be me .
My thoughts were the same . Was Queen’s owner…Prince Heinley? It could be a coincidence, but the chance that it was not was high .
The ladies-in-waiting hesitated for my answer, but when I remained silent, they pretended not to know and turned to other things . Princess Soju’s attention was caught elsewhere, but Laura leaned over to me .
“Your Majesty, that bird looks like a hybrid of an owl and an eagle . Do you think its owner might look like Prince Heinley?”
Countess Eliza nodded .
“I agree, Your Highness . I think this rumor might be about you . ”
The other ladies-in-waiting also looked at me with their eyes shining expectantly .
” …I think so too . ”
The ladies covered their mouths and exchanged excited glances . But when I added, “I’m not going to come forward,” they all turned crestfallen .
“Your Majesty, wouldn’t it be a good idea to be friends with someone as beautiful as Prince Heinley?”
“Prince Heinley would love it even more if he found out that his letter partner was the Empress . ” .
“Didn’t he ask you to dance?”
I shook my head .
“I want to stay a friend whose name or face he doesn’t know . ”
“But…”
Laura sounded dismayed, but a glare from Countess Eliza quieted her . The Countess nodded as if she understood my thoughts .
“Prince Heinley has many scandals involving women . He has the reputation of a womanizer, and if his private correspondence turns out to be the Empress, everyone will give her strange looks . ”
Countess Eliza gave a cold stare towards Rashta and Grand Duke Lilteang . The Grand Duke was standing in front of Rashta and laughing loudly .
“We will have many enemies in the future, and they may think to spread malicious rumors . It’s best to be cautious . ”
It wasn’t until Countess Eliza finished talking that Laura gave a small “Oh,” and nodded . .
“But I am a little sad…”
“Sending letters when you don’t know their identity is so romantic . ”
“Is that true? There are so many strange rumors about Prince Heinley, so it’s hard to believe anything, right?”
“But if he’s lying, then he won’t find his ‘friend’ in public . ”
“We don’t even know if the person is a friend or lover . ”
“I don’t know, maybe the other person is married . ”
“I think it’s a woman, but wouldn’t it be fun if it was a man?”
The words were met with an outburst of laughter at Rashta’s salon . Rashta lounged in her soft purple chair while she listened to the nobles’ chatter . Cherily sat next to her, cooling her by waving a fan . As Rashta listened wordlessly to the conversation, Prince Lilteang gave a hearty chuckle and turned to Rashta .
“Why are you so quiet, Lady Rashta? You’re not the one who wrote those romantic letters, are you?”
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“It’s not Rashta . ”
“Really? Don’t you think Miss Rashta’s sweet tongue would be enough to enthrall Prince Heinley?”
Rashta smile and shook her head, and encouraged the party to continue on with their conversation . She thought nobles only told solemn stories, and she found it interesting that both slaves and aristocrats indulged in the same kind of provocative gossip . She sat there drinking her tea, but she noticed that Viscountess Verdi had not said a word .
“Viscountess Verdi? What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
Rashta spoke to her gently . Viscountess Verdi gave a start, but then shook her head and smiled .
“Do you want to go back to the Empress?”
The nobles suddenly stopped talking and looked at the woman .
“That will not happen . ”
The Viscountess offered another smile and shook her head .
“Now I serve Miss Rashta . ”
The rest of the nobles turned their conversation back to Prince Heinley again, and the lady-in-waiting gave a small sigh .
Rashta tilted her head and studied the older woman’s profile .
“Viscountess Verdi, if you want to return to the empress, you can be honest with Rashta . ”
Eventually, Rashta spoke to her again after all the other nobles had left and there was only her and the two maids .
“I don’t want to return, really, Miss Rashta . ”
Viscountess Verdi answered her quickly, but Rashta was not convinced .
Viscountess Verdi, who had taken up the position as Rashta’s lady-in-waiting through Baron Lant, was someone who had stood steadfastly by the Empress’ side ever since she took the throne . For this reason, Baron Lant chose Viscountess Verdi, who was dire in need of money . When a former lady-in-waiting of the Empress becoming Rashta’s lady-in-waiting, Rashta’s reputation rose .
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But even Rashta was not overly familiar with Viscountess Verdi . The lady-in-waiting was here because of money, and was not as reliable as Cherily or Kisu . Maybe Viscountess Verdi noticed the slight air of distrust, but she made excuses while having the eyes of a startled rabbit .
“It’s not because I want to go back to the Empress, Miss Rashta . ”
“But it seemed like…”
“When they were talking about Prince Heinley, I…I just remembered something about the Empress . ”
Rashta’s look of distrust vanished .
“There’s a rumor about Prince Heinley, but what does it have to do with the Empress?”
Rashta had already been rejected by the Prince twice . Viscountess Verdi nervously fidgeted with her teacup, but she had already started speaking and Rashta was staring at her with bright eyes .
“The…”
She had no choice but to confess .
“The letter acquaintance that Prince Heinley is looking for . It’s Her Majesty the Empress…”
Rashta’s eyes rounded . Cherily, who was fanning Rashta, looked on in surprise .
“Really?”
Viscountess Verdi replied with a quick “Yes” to Rashta .
“But the Empress won’t come forward even if the letter acquaintance is Prince Heinley . She is very proud . ”
Cherily gave a giggle .
“Are you sure the Empress and the Prince Heinley exchanged letters without knowing each other?”
“The Empress knows now . But she didn’t at the time . ”
Rashta’s curiosity was aroused, but she didn’t say anything and contemplated the information carefully . Viscountess Verdi glanced towards Rashta to see if she had said something offensive . After a long moment, Rashta finally spoke .
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“Then Viscountess Verdi knows a little about the letters that the Empress and Prince Heinley exchanged?”
“I…yes?”
Viscountess Verdi’s voice quivered, and a playful smile spread across Rashta’s face .
“Can we make it so it looks like the letter acquaintance is Cherily?”
“I’m sorry? You want to deceive Prince Heinley?”
Viscountess Verdi burst out angrily . Rashta gave a peal of laughter and held the hem of Cherily’s dress .
“It’s not deceiving . I’m just playing around . ”
“But…”
“You said it yourself, Viscountess . The Empress would never come forward . ”
“But…you would still be deceiving a member of the royal family…”
“Do you know the contents of the letter?”
“I don’t know about any recent ones, Miss Rashta . Prince Heinley might ask about it . ”
“He may not ask . ”
“But…”
“How did they exchange letters? Even if they passed it through someone in the middle…huh, I wonder . ”
“But Miss Rashta…”
“If he finds out, we can say it was a joke . If things go well, the Prince will fall in love with Cherily . Right?”