The Evil Empress Adores Me

t, I turned down Her Majesty’s offer. 

“No, that’s all.”

The Empress raised an eyebrow at my reply. 

Of course, I wanted the same thing. 

But. 

“I cherish the crown prince as much as her Majesty, the Empress.”

“….Charlize.”

“To have the crown prince and the Empress dowager meet is one thing, but preventing the crown prince from going…”

I bit my lips.

“That’s something else.”

The former was the deep bond between family members, it could be excused. 

The latter, however, could be deemed as rebelling against the Emperor. 

And since Damian mentioned he wanted to avoid causing harm to anyone.

“His Highness seems to have made up his mind.”

“…..is that so?”

“Yes.
He’s leaving…just like he said.”

It felt like something pierced my heart upon saying that, but I managed to keep it together. 

“So I just…I’d like to give both of them the chance to finally meet.”

“…..yes, I see.”

The Empress who had been looking at me for a while nodded.

***

The next day. 

Having spent the entire night wide awake, I went to the Empress dowager’s palace as soon as dawn broke. 

Her Majesty greeted me with a warm and pleasant smile. 

“Oh my, Charlize.
What’s going on?”

Seeing her peaceful face, I felt my heart throbbing.

….maybe, she doesn’t know anything yet. 

It was difficult to tell her, to get the words out of my mouth.  

“Well, your Majesty, the Empress dowager.”

“Go on.”

“The crown prince….he’ll soon be heading to the northern plains of Kier.”

“….what?”

In an instant, the Empress dowager’s smile vanished, replaced by a rigid expression. 

“You can’t mean…the Kier plains?”

“It’s….”

I explained the whole story. 

That Damian had been given an order yesterday. 

I told her how the Emperor had sent for Damian to leave within a week after being notified. 

The schedule itself hinted at its urgency. 

Lastly, for this undertaking, there wouldn’t be a guarantee when Damian will be back. 

“…no, no.”

The Empress dowager who heard my recollection shook her head with a weary expression.