The Evil Empress Adores Me

Inquiring about the memorial service, I went to see the Empress.

Your Majesty, the Empress!

Youre here, Lize?

The Empress immediately welcomed me while glancing at Damian with strangely squinted eyes.

But why has the Crown Prince come to the Empresss palace?

Its only natural for the thread to follow where the needle goes.

Damian shrugged his shoulders with a cheeky face.

My fiancee is going, so of course, I have to go with her. Wouldnt you agree?

.really, youre beyond me.

The Empresss brow became wrinkled.

Come on, Charlize. And your Highness

The Empress, whose words had become blurred at the end, turned around as a cold gust of wind blew by.

Please step inside.

I, the Empress, and Damian sat with steaming teacups in front of us.

I started the conversation slowly.

Well, your Majesty, the Empress. This time, his Majesty has entrusted to me the responsibility of organizing a memorial service.

Yes, Ive heard of it.

Across the Empresss fine forehead was a deep crease that dug itself in.

Its likely his Majesty, the Emperor, did not bestow you the responsibility in good faith.

I agree with that.

The Empress and Damian reached a consensus not long into our conversation.

And I agreed with them both.

To be honest, its obvious, isnt it?

Perhaps he knew I wasnt adequate yet to host an official imperial event and so intentionally entrusted this task to me.

The mistakes I make will be directly correlated to Damians reputation.

When I thought of those circumstances, my heart felt heavy like a hefty rock had been placed on top of it.

Above all, entrusting the memorial service to Charlize itself is

The Empress looked at me with a visible hint of concern in her eyes.

in the eyes of the public, theres a chance that Charlize would be seen as receiving preferential treatment.

Oh.

I blinked both eyes.

Its possible.

This wouldnt be a problem if I was appointed as the Crown Princess, but right now, Im just his fiancee.

Besides, due to my humble origins as a commoner maid, I wouldnt be acknowledged by everyone.

But anyway, its true that Im the princes fiancee, so the nobles have to treat me, a commoner, as their superior.

Its only natural that the nobles despise me for that.

However, to find out Im suddenly hosting a large-scale memorial service?

Theyll more than likely think that Im getting special treatment.

I bit my lip.

The Empress let out a short sigh at the same time.

Aside from that, its an inopportune time to hold a memorial service.

Inopportune time?

Yes. Its still midwinter.

Those dark green eyes anxiously looked at me.

Not only is the ground where the memorial grounds are located frozen and blanketed in snow, but the soil there is also exposed. Wouldnt that seem negligent to those thatll attend?

Not expecting that, I dropped my shoulders.

The Empress shook her head at the situation.

If you dont do well, youll be cursed at for not taking proper care of our veterans despite the hard work youve given.

I see.

Even so, I believe Ive managed to survive in the Empresss and the Imperial palaces for quite some time, where challenging issues are perpetually present.

Theres always been something lurking around the corner, just waiting to happen. That said, the Emperors evil machinations are endless.

Feeling somewhat downcast by it all, I didnt say a word, remaining silent.

Restless, the Empress and Damian spoke to me.

Charlize, are you all right?

I know its a heavy weight to bear, but you dont have to be discouraged.

The Prince is right. Ill help you somehow

Ill also support you as much as I can.

Charlize, dont you trust me?

Both the Empress and Damian tried to comfort me.

Listening to their encouraging words one after the other, I slowly lifted my head.

Two sets of worried-looking eyes were fixed on me.

In the end, I dont want to cause those two to worry about me.

I smiled.

Sure.

Well, I cant just keep sulking like this, now can I?

I opened my mouth with a lively expression.

Her Majesty, the Empress, and His Highness, the Crown Prince, are with me.

Of course. You have our support.

Yes, well come up with something!

The Empress and Damian nodded with enthusiasm.

Then they stared at each other.

Both of them wore disgusted expressions upon being lumped together under the word we.

At that sight, I burst out laughing.

The two of them turned their heads towards me to hear me now wheezing.

Lize, youre laughing? Youre laughing!

Thank God. Charlize looks better with a smile on her face.

It warmed my heart to see the two of them talking to me at the same time.

I nodded.

Well, Im going to do the best I can.

Yes, now thats our brave Charlize.

The Empress replied in a voice conveying relief and warm approval.

As I said before, I help you as much as I can, so you wont have to worry much.

Thank you, your Majesty.

Yes, the Empress is with me.

I had a radiant expression.

Meanwhile, Damians gaze alternated between me and the Empress with a dour look.

Then he muttered coldly.

Somehow, I feel strangely left out.

Hey, what are you talking about?

I hurriedly tried to appease Damian.

But then, the Empress poured cold water onto Damian with a victorious smile.

Haha, Prince. There are certain things that only women can talk about with each other.

Um, your Highness?

Damian turned his head the other way without giving a response.

is it just me or does Damian seem to be sulking a lot lately?

Either way, its going to take a lot to get Damian out of that mood.

Well, anyway.

Whatever comes next, lets do our best.