Published at 30th of June 2019 09:12:27 PM
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 – The Issue Of A Lady-In-Waiting (1)
“Your Majesty, the Grand Duke Lilteang has sent you a gift of silk from a foreign land . ”
The ladies-in-waiting had finished preparing me for the day earlier than usual, so I sat with them as I drank my breakfast coffee . In the meanwhile, Prince Liltaiang had sent a servant bearing a gift .
I looked up from my coffee cup and examine the item on the servant’s outstretched hands . It was a gorgeous blue silk cloth that shone like the scales of a cutlassfish .
I sighed and put down my coffee . The silk looked beautiful and expensive, but it was hard to accept it purely considering the intentions of the sender .
Prince Liltiang was Sovieshu’s uncle, and two years older than his nephew . Although he had no desire to be the emperor, he regularly bribed me and asked me for favors since I became the empress . If I accepted the gift, there was certain to be difficult demands attached to it .
“Thank you, but tell him that I cannot accept it because it would cause a misunderstanding . ”
This had happened many times before, and the servant smiled awkwardly as if he expected it too . He murmured a respectful a “Yes” and stepped back .
“The gentleman hasn’t gotten tired yet . ”
When the door closed, Countess Eliza spoke her mind and the others burst into laughter . The atmosphere was so peaceful again .
Quite unexpectedly, a second visitor was announced . I went to the central palace after breakfast every morning, so few visitors came here in the early hours . But two people in one morning? I allowed admittance of the visitor, although I remained curious .
Fortunately, the second visitor was not a servant of a noble who offered bribes, but an official who came to coordinate the day’s agenda . It was not a difficult task, and after exchanging a few words he left .
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To my surprise, a third visitor appeared .
This time, it was Rashta, who I thought I would rarely meet face-to-face .
“Rashta? Really?”
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I looked back at the guard in surprise . He bowed his head and answered “Yes” with a look of contempt . Countess Eliza clicked her tongue again .
“Why does she dare came here?”
The guard did not know; he only stood by the door and announced the arrival visitors . However, it seemed like he felt responsible telling me the news, and he had an embarrassed expression on his face . Countess Eliza turned to me anxiously .
“Will you receive her, Your Highness?”
“Well…”
Frankly, I did not want to meet her at all . Why should I be obligated to see someone that would only hurt my feelings? Someday, I may be able to laugh and talk with Sovieshu even if he has many beautiful concubines by his side . That time wasn’t now, however, and it was still difficult for me to treat Sovieshu’s lover in an easy manner .
However…
“Let her in . ”
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Countess Eliza cried out in surprise .
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“Your Majesty!”
I picked up the handle of the half-full cup of coffee . I did not want to see her, but Rashta was just a concubine, and Sovieshu’s first love…was it love? The first woman he loved . Sovieshu had been chilly towards me since she first appeared, and I did not want to fight with him again . Even if I could not love him passionately, I did not want to be hated by the Emperor . I could tolerate just this one visit .
“This our second time meeting, Your Majesty . I am Rashta . ”
I didn’t know if she was pretending to neither know nor care about the incident Laura, but Rashta greeted me with a bright smile as soon as she came in .
Countess Eliza did not hide her displeasure and sat back in stony silence, while I schooled my facial muscles into something as blank as possible . Fortunately, I had a great deal of practice in hiding my emotions in less than ideal situations .
” …Unlike before, I am sure you are his concubine . Congratulations . ”
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“Thank you!”
I gave a mechanical greeting…what was I supposed to say now? I thought over it for a moment and decided to go straight to the point .
“What brings you here?”
“What brings me here?”
“You and I are like sisters now, Your Majesty . Family . ”
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Countess Eliza was caught by surprise and choked on her cold coffee . She placed her hand in front of her mouth as she coughed and glared at Rashta . I was equally bewildered . What did I just hear? Sisters? Family?
“Family?”
“Because we have the same husband . ”
My smooth face almost cracked . I fought to keep down a twitching nerve . The concubine contract was literally a contract, and they were not recognized as part of the Imperial Family . During the contract a concubine could receive a favorable amount of wealth, but if the contract was not extended, she had to leave the Imperial Palace . The children born by the concubine were not considered princes or princesses, even if they were fathered by the emperor .
Yet now the girl considers us family just because we had the same husband? There were so many errors in that statement that I didn’t even know where to start . As I tamed my thoughts, Rashta gathered both of her hands together .
“May I call you sister?”
The air chilled around me . I pressed my lips down . This was the limit of my generosity .
“No . ”
Rashta’s expression dropped . She blinked her eyes and stared at me as if in fright . As if she never anticipated answer like this . That was more amazing to me . She practically said, “Yes, let’s be sisters . I took away your husband, but can we get along?”
“Is it because you don’t like Rashta?”
Her large, doe-like eyes began to well with tears .
“It’s not a matter about hating you . ”
Of course I hated her .
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“You may have become the Emperor’s concubine, but are not my sister . ”
I tried to explain this difficult truth with a smile, but Rashta only seemed to cry more . She must have thought I was ridiculing her . Smiling didn’t work, so I wiped it away and decided to end our meeting there .
“Leave . ”
After Rashta left, everyone in the room looked around in shock .
“Indeed…I really don’t know what to say about her . ”
Countess Eliza was dumbfounded . And so were the other ladies-in-waiting . Most of them had never met an emperor’s concubine before, let alone one that called on the empress . With a frown, I turned to the oldest lady-in-waiting .
“Is that what a concubine is like?”
Although I had been in and out of the Imperial Palace since I was young, I had never met any of the previous emperor’s concubines while being educated in court . I hadn’t been old enough to debut in society yet, and so I had nothing to do with the concubines of the late emperor .
“Concubines rarely see the empress . It would only hurt each other’s feelings, and the concubines don’t want to be disliked by her . ”
Maybe Sovieshu liked a character like Rashta . Countess Eliza sighed .
“She will need lady-in-waiting sooner or later . The Emperor says she is a commoner, but I am afraid she is not like a commoner at all . I wonder if any young woman would want to be the lady-in-waiting of the concubine…”