Return the Favor Ten-Fold
Evelyn wanted to curse. Why would the Gods ever have the heart to smile upon her?
After Jinx finished cleaning and helping Evelyn make herself presentable, they made their way down the winding halls. They hadn't even left the Rose Palace, the palace belonging to the Empress, before they bumped into a familiar woman who was trailed by several other high-ranking ladies.
"Your Majesty!" The red-haired lady cooed sarcastically. "I didn't think I would run into you so soon after the wedding. Are you headed off somewhere?"
Evelyn scoffed. What sort of braindead person did this woman think she was dealing with? Isn't it inevitable to run into the owner of the house at some point? Besides, the direction the group of women were headed in was towards a section of guest bedrooms that only she occupied.
It was quite obvious that this shameless woman deliberately wanted to run into her.
Evelyn's lips curled. Let's play this game, shall we?
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Her head tilted slightly in confusion.
One of the high-ranking ladies giggled before she quickly covered her mouth.
Since she wanted to be remembered so badly, being forgotten would surely hurt her pride, wouldn't it?
Like a charm, Freya's fingers gripped the fan in her hand and she shot a nasty glare in the giggling noble lady's direction. She forced a pretty smile, "We met briefly last night. I'm sure you wouldn't have forgotten so easily."
"Mm.." Evelyn pretended to think long and hard and then eventually shook her head and let out a sigh of defeat. "Do forgive me but as you know, yesterday was my wedding day. As the star of the show I was a little busy meeting dozens of people and it's quite difficult to remember every passing face. Surely you won't hold it against me, Lady?"
She smiled sweetly, a secret provocation between the two of them.
In truth, her heart still ached. Before yesterday, she firmly believed that her life would change for the better. After all, she would be the mother of the most powerful empire in the world. Her husband was not only handsome and powerful but he was said to be extremely gentle as well.
Right now, she was supposed to be filled with bliss, her life was supposed to do a complete 180. Instead, she was disrespected in this worst way on her wedding night and the other woman had the gall to stand in front of her like this.
Evelyn hated it.
In fact, she despised it. She hadn't forgotten how she wanted to urge the Emperor to force her to remain in the room while they spent the night together. It was clear that Freya wanted to humiliate her.
She couldn't possibly be blamed for wanting to return the favor ten-fold, could she?
"Of course not, Your Majesty. How could I hold something so minuscule against you?" Her eyes glinted with slyness. "In fact, I would be surprised if you had the energy to remember anything considering the fact that your wedding night might have been a bit…overwhelming."
Her words clearly hinted at the events that transpired between them last night but the noble ladies that trailed behind her had differing thoughts. Their ears tinted red and one of them even began to fan themselves dramatically.
"Lady Freya.." One of them, the young brunette girl who giggled loudly before, trailed off.
It was to be expected, they were all unmarried aristocratic women after all. It was considered quite a taboo to even insinuate something so carnal.
Even Jinx, who was a commoner without education, felt a bit flustered.
Freya just waved it off as if she didn't care. Her gaze was mocking as she spoke with newfound confidence, "I hope you don't take offense to this, Your Majesty, but your husband was once the most sought out bachelor in all the land. It's well known that His Majesty is quite an experienced man so don't take it to heart if you felt overwhelmed and unable to perform well on your wedding night. I heard he's an extremely hard man to please. I'm sure you'll get it in due time."
Her words were truly nothing more than a brag, a subtle provocation.
What she was really saying was:
'The Emperor is so experienced with me, his real lover. How embarrassing it must have been when your husband had to be pleased by another woman on your wedding night. Maybe he'll through you a bone eventually though, okay?'
The hallway dropped into a heavy, suffocating silence.
They may all be high-ranking noble ladies but none of their ranks were higher than Freya's. Even if they found her speech to be uncharacteristically vulgar, they were in no position to say anything or to reprimand her. They were her followers because she gave them power - not because they actually cared about her.
In the silence, Freya believed she had the upper hand and smirked with triumph.
Serves her right. How dare she take her place and pretend she didn't know her?
She wanted to replicate that look of agony, of pure and utter humiliation from last night. She wanted this good-for-nothing Empress to be crushed under her feet like an ant!
In contrast to the look of utter despair and fury, she expected to see though, Evelyn looked quite calm. Her gaze was steady and controlled, almost as if Freya's impolite words couldn't possibly be directed at her.
It made the ladies behind Freya only feel even more suffocated. In this obvious battle of power between these two high-ranking figures, there was absolutely no room for them to impede.
All they wanted was to escape.
"What's your rank?"
"Ah, I'm sorry?" Freya seemed caught off guard by the sudden question. She expected the Empress to instantaneously lose her composure and become furious considering the humiliation she experienced last night.
Wasn't her pride and dignity as a princess going to flare up any time now?
Evelyn nearly rolled her eyes in annoyance but somehow managed to keep a straight face. It seemed she was repeating herself a lot lately. Was this a Tor tradition she was unaware of or something? It was ridiculous.
"Your rank, Lady Freya," She repeated, slowly this time. "What is it?"
Freya blinked in confusion, "I am the second daughter of Prime Minister Sinclair. My official title is Lady Freya Marie Sinclair. But why is Your Majesty…?"
She had no idea what Evelyn's motive was for asking but she figured this was her chance for bragging anyways. She assumed it would put a bit of fear into Evelyn's heart after hearing that her father was the second most powerful man in the empire, only falling short to the Emperor.
'Shouldn't you be scared silly now?' She thought tactlessly. 'Not only is my father powerful but the Emperor favors me over you!'
Her thoughts were beautiful but unfortunately, the reality is cruel.
Evelyn's words cut straight through her with a scoff, "A mere Prime Minister's daughter dares to speak to me so imprudently?"
"Your Majesty…?"
The Empress didn't sound scared at all! In fact, her voice was extremely fierce and unwavering. Just what was going on?
During this interaction, the women had been speaking with a comfortable amount of space between them. At this moment, Evelyn took a large stride forward until she was directly in front of Freya's face, causing the other women behind her to stumble back in fear.
Freya's hands tightened around her fan so much that she felt it snap in half and she stumbled backward as well. "I fear this is inappropriate, Your Majesty!"
Evelyn brought forward an oppressive air as she glared harshly, her gaze sweeping over the group of women. The lesser-ranked noblewomen promptly cast their eyes to the ground, not even daring to look at her.
The Empress smirked at the sight and took her time as she spoke.
"Inappropriate? Lady Freya, I fear you do not thoroughly understand the meaning of the word 'inappropriate'. If you had, as an unmarried woman and more importantly a noblewoman, you wouldn't dare to utter such filthy words about your own nation's rulers. Is the Emperor a man you can speak so freely about? Am I?"
Evelyn's gaze firmly washed over each and every one of them. She wanted to not only remember this group of women but also crush them with this absolute authority.
She may not be favored by the Emperor but if it was one thing she learned during this conversation, it was that no one else other than Freya and those two maids from the other night was aware of her position. Freya so stupidly confirmed that herself just now when the other ladies were too scared to participate in her obvious bullying tactic. To them, it probably looked as if she was just a jealous woman whose crush had gotten away.
"On account of your father's great contributions to this nation and your young age, I'll overlook your rudeness towards my husband." She made sure to emphasize the word 'husband' purposefully. Wasn't it like a wound in salt when a mistress was reminded that the man she loved belonged to someone else?
"Please learn from today's mistakes, Lady Freya." Evelyn reminded lightly. She then motioned for Jinx to move forward and the pair soon disappeared around a corner, leaving behind a group of trembling women.
Freya watched their backs as they disappeared and swore to record this humiliation in her heart. As she heard the ladies insulting, hushed whispers float into her ears, she cursed silently.
'Just you wait, Evelyn Glanndor! I'll make you pay for this disgrace!'