Chapter 19 (1/2)

Chapter 19

TL: Zimmings

“But I wanted to put your opinion into consideration.”

“Ah…”

“I also don’t want to give you a hard time…”

The empress continued to quibble about it. Despite her grouchy face and her grumblings, I felt the warmth from her gaze, as she acted so out of concern for me.

I smiled radiantly in response.

“Then, I’ll do my best to be acknowledged by everyone!”

“…Yes Charlize, if that’s what you want.”

The empress nodded, though she looked a little hesitant.

Right now is the best time to ask naturally. I need to snatch this opportunity without fail!

It is the best time to get some information about Damian, the crown prince.

“By the way, Your Majesty. There’s another thing I want to ask you about.……”

“What is it? Tell me.”

The empress stared at me with an amiable smile on her face.

Alright, the atmosphere’s nice.

I asked her innocently.

“I heard something about a desolate palace near your residence…”

“Ah… what about it?”

“Is it because of the crown prince that they avoided the palace?”

When she heard my question, the empress’ face darkened slightly.

Huh? Why did she look like that?

I was perplexed.

“Why are you asking about the crown prince?”

“I wondered why everyone avoided him.”

I could see a frown on her face as I answered. Hence, I continued without waiting for her response.

“By any chance, You Majesty… do you hate him?”

“No, that’s not it.”

What? I tilted my head at the unexpected answer.

The empress, who seemed to be agonizing for a while, continued,

“The crown prince… He’s a pitiful child, actually.”

“You pity him?”

“Yes. That child was deprived of his rights by the emperor.”

Gasp! But the emperor is her husband!

Are you saying that the emperor is a bad guy?

“I-is it okay to say that?”

“Well, it’s not like I’m the only one who said so… I occasionally heard of people cursing the emperor when he’s not there.”

The empress shrugged lightly.

Is that… is that so?

“But why does the emperor hate the crown prince?”

“I have no idea. We often have conflicting opinions.”

The empress answered sullenly.

As she lowered her eyes, I could see complex emotions in her countenance.

That’s…

It was guilt.

‘No way, did the empress feel sorry for the crown prince?’

I hold back my thoughts from coming out.

In fact, if the empress had common sense, it was obvious that she felt sorry for the crown prince, as the emperor forcefully took away his rights.

And the empress I know is a person full of kindness.

After a while, the empress continued.

“Ever since the beginning, I didn’t really want to come to places like the Imperial Palace.”

There was a deep remorse in her voice.

Come to think of it, the two of them had just been married. To be exact, the current emperor married the empress after he seized the throne. So she didn’t want this marriage from the beginning?

It was slightly different from the original, so I felt a little bit confused.

“Lize, you didn’t need to care about the emperor.”

Her Majesty looked at me and said determinedly.

“…Huh?”

“There’s no need for you to care about that old man.”

Ah, of course!

The one I’m interested in is the empress, not the emperor!

Do I have to appeal to her again?

I stared at her and said with a cute voice.