I Will Surrender My Position as the Empress - Chapter 44
“Are you out of your mind?”
“I’m perfectly sane.”
“She’s an imperial palace maid, for heaven’s sake…”
“Who’s going to kill her? I told her to take hush money and leave the capital. That should do the trick, right?”
“Sigh…”
Lennox let out a long sigh and shot an irritated glance.
“Don’t worry. If there’s any sign that the Emperor intends to summon that maid to his chambers, I’ll take care of it…”
“No, that’s too late! I mean, we need to act before that!”
Diane couldn’t possibly hold back any longer. His heart was in turmoil, and he couldn’t simply leave things be. Irritated by his obsessive demeanor, Lennox turned away with a disgusted expression.
“Alright, I understand for now.”
“It’s not just for now; you must do it properly. Got it?” Diane’s voice persistently clung to Lennox as they exited the guest quarters.
****
However, Lennox couldn’t grant Diane’s request. No, it had become unnecessary.
“What? Unnecessary?”
“Yes, Your Highness. It seems she’s packed her belongings and fled.”
Loraine still addressed Diane as ‘Your Highness.’ As Diane listened to Loreine’s report, he tilted his head with a strange feeling.
“Suddenly?”
“Yes. It seems she might have been frightened.”
“Frightened?”
Loraine nodded her head. It was a reasonable explanation. When Diane Portier, who had never even seen the maid in question, wanted to make her one of his personal servants, many of the palace staff expressed concerns. Some even went as far as saying, “Blood will be shed soon,” without hesitation, and no one could refute that. So, it was entirely possible that the maid, sensing the situation, had chosen to disappear. Diane, too, fell into thought, closing her mouth in the face of such a plausible story. She could have been scared. Yes, that’s possible. But why did it feel so unsettling?
“Perhaps that’s the case. Regardless, wasn’t it what you wanted, Your Highness?” Loraine gently tried to soothe Diane.
“…Yes, you’re right.”
“Try to relax. You need to be at ease for the baby’s arrival.”
Loraine tactfully aligned with Diane’s mood, and a while later, Diane sighed deeply, slowly pushing thoughts of the maid out of his mind.
***
On that day, as twilight cast its shadow upon the land, a fair-haired maid, who had collected a substantial sum of money, was no longer dressed in her maid’s attire. She had concealed herself beneath a deep hood and hurried away. Two figures, who had turned their robes inside out to hide themselves completely, watched her go. How long had they been waiting there?
“Should we inform them if something like this happens again?” One of them, who had been staring in the direction the woman disappeared, asked in a cautious voice. The others nodded in response.
“Indeed. Another maid like her will inevitably come in.”
“Yes, understood.”
Eventually, the two of them turned and entered the palace.
****
Without warning, the Empress, who had been bedridden for several days, rose from her slumber just as unexpectedly as she had fallen. In the early morning, as Lady Giggs entered the Empress’s room, she was startled to find the Empress seated halfway up in bed.
“Are you awake, Your Majesty?” The Empress’s golden eyes, still clouded with sleep, slowly focused.
“Oh, how long have I been lying here?”
“You’ve been unconscious for two days.”
Adele nodded slowly.
“Would you like me to tidy your hair a bit?”
The Empress’s matted and tangled hair from perspiration had become quite bothersome, so Adele offered her delicate assistance.
“I was about to do it myself… but my hands won’t cooperate.”
“I’ll take care of it for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to sit up a bit?”
As Adele helped the Empress sit up, she began gently brushing out the Empress’s ebony locks with a comb. As the Empress’s hair cascaded down her back, she suddenly asked Adele a question.
“Did I happen to wake up in the middle of the night and summon Lionel Baldr by any chance?”
“Do you remember?”
“…I thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t.”
“During that time, even His Majesty the Emperor came.”
At the mention of the Emperor, Adele instinctively furrowed her brow. Unaware of this fact, Lady Giggs continued to tie the ends of her braided hair while speaking.
“He’s been quite worried. The palace physicians have been called in frequently, inquiring about the Empress’s condition and the treatments they’re giving.”
“…”
Lady Giggs continued to comb the Empress’s hair gently as she remained silent. As the Empress turned her body to sit up against the headboard, her face revealed nothing. Therefore, Lady Giggs shifted the topic back to the Emperor.
“Would you like some light soup?”
The Empress, who had been silently nodding, agreed.
“Just wait a moment.”
As Lady Giggs left the room, Adele began to slowly piece together the hazy memories of the past few days. Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she recalled her actions—her request to Lionel and her subsequent withdrawal of that request.
‘I’m going to build a very wide fence. You belong to me.’
Was that a dream? She couldn’t be sure. Adele sighed deeply and rubbed her face with her rough hands.
When the Empress woke up, the court physicians were ecstatic. They had been incessantly pestered by the Emperor, who had been relentlessly inquiring about the Empress’s condition and the treatments they were administering. Was curing a patient’s ailment ever such an easy task? Although they wanted to shout for him to be patient, they begged earnestly as they were equally desperate as the Emperor himself.
“Please, Your Majesty, grant us your blessings by waking up suddenly without warning. Why did you lose consciousness all of a sudden?”
With the Empress now awake, the court physicians wept with relief, patting each other on the shoulders.
“We’ve done it!”
They rushed to the Emperor to deliver the news that the Empress had finally awakened, reporting that the medication they prescribed yesterday evening seemed to have worked. Meanwhile, Diane, who was on his way to the imperial office, witnessed the scene. She couldn’t even summon the Emperor, who had not seen her, so quickly.
She had been unable to eat properly or sleep for days, her heart racing and cold sweats pouring from her brow. At first, it seemed to be caused by the blonde maid, but even after she disappeared, her symptoms hadn’t improved. Diane felt like she was losing her mind. However, when she saw how urgently the Emperor was heading somewhere, her heart, which had been in turmoil, suddenly began to pound loudly. Her legs wobbled, and she stumbled. Loraine, who happened to be by her side, quickly reached out and supported her shoulder.
“Are you alright?”
“…Why is he rushing off like that?”
At that moment, several people emerged from the Emperor’s office. They were the palace physicians. Diane had already heard the news that the Empress had suddenly collapsed. The fact that the physicians who had been treating the Empress had come to visit the Emperor since early morning… Diane pushed aside Loraine’s hand and walked toward them. One of them greeted her with a slight surprise, but she ignored it and asked directly.
“Has the Empress awakened?”
“Oh, yes. That’s correct.”
“Did you just deliver that news?”
“Yes.”
The immediate response made it feel like the whole world had suddenly plunged into darkness. Diane felt as if her ears were ringing, and the ground was trembling beneath her. She would have nearly collapsed if it weren’t for Loraine’s support. Dian struggled to regain her composure, gasping for breath. But suddenly, her chest tightened, and she began retching.
“Ugh, ugh.”
“Your Highness!”
Loraine called out in alarm, trying to soothe her, but Diane’s retching didn’t stop.
“Ugh, ugh.”
“What are you just standing there for? Hurry!”
Loraine’s sharp words prompted the court physicians to react, and they hurriedly supported Diane, who couldn’t control her body.
“Why are you hesitating? Let’s go!”
They quickly guided Diane to her room.
****
Adele had eaten the light soup brought by Lady Giggs and lightly bathed herself. After Lady Giggs thoroughly dried the Empress’s hair, she braided it loosely to one side. She contemplated getting up but found her body too languid, so Adele returned to her bed. She dismissed all the maids waiting in her room. She didn’t want to see anyone and just wished she could fall asleep for a while longer. Surely, she had told them not to let anyone in, but someone knocked on her door. Adele had a premonition that an unwelcome visitor had arrived. Sure enough, she heard Lady Gix’s voice.
“Your Majesty, the Emperor has arrived.”
“Oh, dear… Ugh…”
Adele sighed tiredly and closed her eyes. Lady Giggs must have conveyed her intention not to meet anyone to the Emperor. Then she heard another knock.
“Your Majesty, I apologize, but I will come in for a moment.”
Adele reluctantly forced herself to sit up. As Lady Giggs entered the room, Adele sensed that something was amiss. Without even looking, she knew that Lady Giggs had informed the Emperor of her decision not to receive any visitors. And now, another knock.
“Your Majesty, the Emperor wishes to meet you.”
“Look at me. Do you think I’m in any condition to meet anyone right now?”
“I apologize. I told them you were asleep, but… He wanted to see you asleep, they said.”
Adele’s face turned incredulous. Her mouth hung open in shock, and her eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“…Is he insane?”
“He said he wanted to see how you looked when you were asleep.”
Adele’s face flushed with bewilderment.
“Seeing me asleep?”
“Yes.”
Lady Giggs couldn’t hide her own confusion. But she quickly regained her composure and offered advice to Adele.
“We can’t keep the Emperor waiting outside forever. You could sit on the bed and greet him for now…”
Adele let out a long sigh and pressed her fingertips to her temples.
“Fine. Just bring me something to cover myself with.”
The Empress rose from her bed with a determined attitude that made her previous lying down seem pale in comparison. Despite feeling dizzy from getting up so suddenly, Adele didn’t show it. Lady Giggs quickly brought a robe and handed it to her, then left the room. Adele, suppressing her emotions, moved to the sofa in a corner of the bedroom. She muttered under her breath, “This is insane, seeing me asleep like this.”
