Chapter 43 (2/2)

Then, I remembered him telling me about his previous wife. The emperor worried the dowager empress would fill his harem with her assassins.

I supposed it would be harder for me to focus on the dowager empress if I had to worry about other wives as well. The only good thing about it would be that he wouldn’t visit my room so often at night.

Hmm… That actually sounded tempting.

Perhaps, I should really try to convince him to get an empress.

Getting one or two wives from trusted noble families would help his fight. In addition, the emperor really did need an heir as soon as possible.

Of course, I couldn’t talk about this right now, but I decided I should bring it up when I was alone with him.

While I was deep in my own thoughts, the emperor and the dowager empress were carrying on a boring conversation.

I learned quickly that the royal family’s conversations were basically polite garbage. They never talked about anything important.

The room, however, was still filled with tension. Even now, the emperor and the dowager empress were battling against each other with polite words.

Suddenly, the dowager empress turned to me. She looked at me as if I was her prey.

Wait! No! She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at the new face who followed me!

The dowager empress commented, “I don’t believe I have seen her before.”

I tried my best not to grin in satisfaction.

I tried to look protective as I replied, “Yes. She is the daughter of my previously adopted father. She became my maid recently.”

The dowager empress nodded and waved Lisbeth towards her. Lisbeth didn’t seem to understand what was going on until Elza whispered to her what to do. Lisbeth flinched and bowed to the dowager empress.

I was sure she would fall on her face, but thankfully, she walked towards the dowager empress without any incident.

“Greetings to the dowager empress. I am Lisbeth of Aeal.”

“I see…”

The dowager empress studied her leisurely as if she was looking at a piece of meat. I tried to look as if I was hiding my nervousness. The dowager empress glanced at me to see my reaction.

“What a pretty child. Make sure you serve your lady well. She is the only wife to the emperor.”

“Yes, yes… Your highness!”

Being a maid in the castle offered the best chance at becoming the emperor’s concubine. That was why the Duke of Aeal was thrilled when I gave Lisbeth the position.

Of course, I had no intention of making Lisbeth one of Lucretius’s wives. It just wouldn’t work. Based on what I heard from him, she definitely was not his type.

Lisbeth was simply here to become a bait for the dowager empress.

There was a chance the dowager empress wouldn’t take this bait, but I had to try. I had nothing to lose from this anyway.

I also liked having Lisbeth around just to see her suffer. She probably thought she had a chance at Lucretius. Knowing it was hopeless, I enjoyed watching her try and fail.

Whether or not it was true love, it was clear that Lisbeth was in love with Lucretius. To see him every day and not be able to have him will be painful for her. Knowing that I DID have him would kill her.

When the maids brought in snacks, I picked up a raisin cookie and fed it to the emperor myself.

The emperor’s eyes widened, but he was quick. He ate it as if I did this all the time.

Oh, right! The emperor hated peanuts.

“Your highness, here is another one…”

I smiled innocently and pushed a peanut cookie into his mouth. I then looked at him like a good loving wife.

The emperor couldn’t show his displeasure. He had no choice but to eat something he hated.

Those around me either looked at us with a smile or with disapproval.

People serving me and the emperor looked happy to see us get along. The dowager empress’s people were definitely unhappy.

The ones who reacted most violently were Lisbeth and the dowager empress.