5 CHAPTER 3 (1). TABOO NAME

"Lady Rafaella of Marquis Bringston, Lady Greta of Count Arzeldo, Lady Barbara of Marquis Divar, Lady Patrizia of Marquis Grochester, and finally Lady Trisha of Duke Vashi."

"...So, who told you about that?"

The man spoke in a disapproving tone and when the woman heard those words, she smiled seductively and asked him a question, "Why? Can't I know?"

"What would you do if you knew?"

"So what?! Shouldn't the side chamber know the names of the candidates for the main chamber?"

Although the words were spoken calmly, Emperor Lucio heard steel in her voice and his forehead wrinkled. 'My Rosemond always whispered sweet words in my ears but sometimes she turned sharp and biting like this. This kind of whim is part of her charm.' Lucio smiled softly and soothed her, "Why, are you jealous?"

"What if I am? Anyway, I'm... just Your Majesty's mistress without a name."

Rosemond pursed her lips and grumbled. She had remained at Lucio's side for nearly a year as the Emperor's woman but wasn't even recognized as an official mistress because the Empress' seat was vacant. Lucio told her in a voice that showed he understood her feelings, "After the Empress is determined, I will give you a position. Then will you be satisfied?"

"...I don't know."

Truthfully, she had already let it go and was feeling better but chose to act as if she was still upset. Perhaps she might get a bit lucky. Soon after she heard Lucio's affectionate voice, "You know you're the only one, right?"

"I don't know. You need to express it for me to know."

Rosemond, who had been continuing with her upset tone, changed her attitude that moment and began complaining to Lucio, "Your Majesty, Lucio. Now even the maids ignore me. They say I receive Your Majesty's holy orders but still haven't received a position yet. You're not going to just leave me this way, are you?"

At those words, Lucio's facial expression quickly worsened. He asked as if he was picking a fight, "Who said that?"

Rosemond smiled brightly. 'It was a lie.' There weren't any high-ranking maids in this Imperial Palace who would give such an insolent response to her who had tended to the Emperor for a year or so. Before anyone could, she would have made sure their heads were chopped off. Of course, Emperor Lucio wouldn't have known that. Soon, Rosemond changed the topic, "Are you promising me a position? I was so sad when I was being looked down on."

"Don't worry, Rose."

Lucio muttered in a low voice as he gently stroked Rosemond's hair which gleamed in pink color, "Start as a Baroness, but the end will be the Queen."

"Oh my."

'The results were better than expected?' Rosemond pulled up the ends of her mouth high and laughed. 'I thought I couldn't even mention the position of a Queen. It was unexpected.'

"Aren't you affirming this too easily, with the Queeness candidates already being confirmed?"

"Although, I have no choice with the Queenesses, but I am the one that decides who will be the Queen. At the moment it is difficult, but someday, surely."

He began to blatantly grope Rosemond's body and Rosemond groaned loudly to get him excited. It seemed to work as Lucio's touch became more intense.

"I will put you on the bed of the Empress."

'Oh! It was exciting to just imagine it. How exciting would it be to share love with him in the bed of the Empress.' Rosemond burst into cunning laughter and held onto his hard shoulder.

"We have arrived, Lady Patrizia."

As she was escorted by the coachman out of the carriage, Patrizia expressed her gratitude with a kind smile. "Thank you."

"You can follow me from here."

Like a ghost, a servant from the Imperial Palace had approached her carriage and she nodded without an alarmed look. Soon this servant would lead her to the room which she would reside for a week.

She began to walk behind the servant without speaking but the more she walked on, Patrizia's facial expression seemed to worsen.

"..." 'I kept thinking. When Nilla was finally determined to be the Queen, she invited me and Mother into her room where she had been staying. I am walking the same path as that time.'

Due to the intriguing discomfort, she slightly frowned but soon her expression returned to the way it had been. 'There was no point of being caught up in the past when the present is reality.'

She returned to her usual calm self and stood in front of the room the servant stopped at. A woman was waiting for her and as soon as she checked her face, Patrizia almost burst into empty laughter. 'Mirya.'

"I am Mirya and I will be serving Queeness Patrizia starting today."

'Mirya was my sister's maid. She was a pitiful woman who claimed Nilla's innocence until the very end before she disappeared.' Patrizia felt a deep discomfort in her chest and yet, it was difficult to explain such weird feelings. 'This poor woman, who was my sister's maid in the past, now became my own maid.' Recognizing that fact gave Patrizia grief for some unknown reason, "Nice to meet you, Mirya." 'Of course, I shouldn't show any of this externally. To these people, I wasn't the 22-year-old Patrizia from the past, rather the 19-year-old Patrizia who just became the Queeness. It was dangerous to act awkward.' As Patrizia stepped into the room, the maids helped her change into a dress dedicated to a Queeness. During that time, Mirya introduced a brief schedule, "Queeness will stay here for the next week and take part in the competition. At the end of a total of three competition courses, the Queen will be selected, and the first course takes place tomorrow. Do you perhaps have any other questions?"

"No, Mirya. Thank you."

'Because of the experience from the past, there was no curiosity nor desire to ask about anything.' With Patrizia's light reply, Mirya walked out of the room with the maids. She left with words expressing and understanding about her being tired from moving.