The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 16

“Remember when I asked you whether working as a maid was hard or not? To this day, your answer is still vivid in my mind.”

 

‘What did I say back then?’ I thought as I went through the sea of memories.

 

But the Empress beat me to it.

 

You said that you were glad you were abandoned at the palace, that you were a lucky girl.

 

“It’s true, for a commoner orphan like me to be given a chance to serve as a maid is an honor…”

 

“That’s also what you said back then,” the Empress said with a sad face.

 

I began to choke up amidst the sorrow.

 

You know Charlize…you were the only one who saw me as ‘Eloise’ and not the Empress.”

 

“I…”

 

When I was with you, I never felt lonely. That’s why I wanted you to be happy.

 

The Empress gently tilted my head up.

 

Her red hair flowed along the zephyr, the wind carried a smell more enchanting than a rose.

 

…it was the scent of ‘Sister Rose’ that I so dearly adored.

 

“Since you’re like my sister…”

 

The Empress’ eyes turned serious.

 

A long sigh could be heard amongst the mild spring breeze.

 

“I want to see you smile like a normal child who is free of any worries.”

 

“Then…”

 

“But whatever the reason is, I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m so sorry, Charlize.”

 

The Empress deeply bowed her head to me.

 

I let out a small gasp of surprise.

 

Your Majesty, even if you are wrong, I won’t tell you off, but…bowing your head to a child like me…!

 

“No, it’s my fault.” 

 

“But, even so…” 

 

I don’t want to lose you, so I want to sincerely apologize,” she said firmly.

 

I blinked my eyes in bewilderment.

 

‘Is it really okay for me to be sitting here while blankly staring at the Empress, who is currently bowing to a maid?’

 

“That…the apology…” before I could comprehend the situation, my lips already started to form an answer.

 

I nodded carefully.

 

“…I accept it. ” 

 

When the Empress heard my answer, she raised her head in disbelief.

 

Her eyes were brimming with joy.

 

“I…really?

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Charlize!” the Empress exclaimed as she rushed towards me and pulled me into a tight hug.

 

There, there. 

 

“Your Majesty..I’m out of breath…!

 

I caught my breath before, encircling my arms around her and hugged her tighter.

 

Tears were starting to fill my eyes as her warmth enveloped my body.

 

“Me too… I like the Empress very much,” I whispered sincerely.

 

The Empress’ shoulders stiffened when she heard my proclamation. 

 

‘Huh, what’s wrong with her? ‘

 

“When we’re alone, you can call me Sister Rose.” 

 

“Yes?”

 

“And you don’t need to be so formal,” the Empress said as she opened her shut eyes.

 

Her voice was full of sincerity, but it still contained authority and dignity. It was so firm that I unconsciously hunched my shoulders. 

 

But how could a maid talk to the Empress casually?

 

“Ha, but I’m afraid that I’ll mix your titles up…”

 

“Still!”

 

“Well…didn’t you say that it was simply for honorifics?”

 

I stared into the Empress’ eyes.

 

‘You did. What would happen to me if I somehow slip up in an important event?’

 

I felt cold sweats running down my back when I imagined the consequences.

 

“Do we really have to?” the Empress dejectedly asked me.

 

“Yes, if I happen to make a mistake, won’t there be a big problem?

 

The Empress slightly nodded her head at my concern.

 

But she was still very displeased.

 

“But I can’t let go of the title ‘Sister Rose’…”

 

“Well, I can still call you that.” 

 

It’s not that hard.

 

I blinked my eyes.

 

Then, the Empress asked me a question. 

 

“More importantly, have you been applying the ointment I gave you to your hands?”

 

The ointment?

 

I forgot about that. 

 

But then again, I was having a hard time with the Empress because of my complicated feelings.

 

“Uh, yeah…”

 

“Really? But why is it healing so slowly? It’s really upsetting…”

 

The Empress brushed the back of my hand with a forlorn expression at my white lie.

 

I laughed when I saw her reaction.

 

‘Now that the misunderstanding between the Empress and I has been cleared, the trouble is over! It’s a happy ending!’

 

From now on, all I have to do is live my life leisurely, right? 

 

I think so…wait.

 

I nervously gulped as I felt a chill ran down my spine.

 

‘No, I don’t think this is it. I think there was something more in this story…’

 

I analyzed the current situation.

 

In the original novel, the Empress played the role of the antagonist, an evil woman.

 

To simply put it, the Empress was in the opposing party against the main character of this world.

 

And the main character in the original was…

 

The crown prince who was confined in the deepest parts of the Imperial Palace after the late emperor lost his throne.

 

He was the Emperor’s Achilles heel: “Damian Karpel de Winsor” 

 

If I were to be honest, I didn’t care that much about him.

 

That’s because I believed that the Empress and I would never have any interactions, let alone come in contact with her.

 

‘But right now, you’re a very precious person to me.’

 

At that moment, I got goosebumps all over my body.

 

‘Whoa, I just remembered what was written in the original novel…’

 

<The Crown Prince avenged the former Emperor! In the process, the Empress was murdered.>

 

My mouth dried up when I thought of the Empress’ terrible future and my fingers started to squirm nervously.

 

When I came to my senses, the Empress was looking at me anxiously.

 

“Charlize, you look so pale. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

 

“Oh no, it’s nothing.”

 

Leaning my cheek against the Empress’ warm hand, I made up my mind. 

 

I couldn’t let the story go on its original path.

 

Sister Rose, I’ll protect you no matter what! 

 

So let’s live happily together!

 

* * *

 

That evening…

 

When I came back from the excursion, I laid down on my bed. 

 

The fluffy mattress bounced under my weight.

 

It was a pleasant feeling, but unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it a bit. 

 

“Ha…” 

 

I sighed heavily as I thought about my current situation. 

 

Frankly speaking, my ambitious survival strategy was as good as a bust. 

 

I couldn’t avoid the Empress who would kill me in the future, and right now, I was even working under her as a maid.

 

With my head buried in the pillow, I jumped out of my bed.

 

‘No, we have to sort this out somehow before the plot begins.’ 

 

My goal is to…

 

‘Let Sister Rose Live A Happy Life As The Empress ‘till The End, Without Being Killed!’

 

First of all, I liked Sister Rose a lot. 

 

It’s obvious that you’d want someone you like to have a happy life. 

 

Besides that, there was another reason to protect my sister. 

 

‘I’m the Empress’s maid. Sister Rose should be holding the Empress’ title in order to ensure my survival.’

 

I sat in front of my desk with a determined look on my face and took out my cherished notebook.

 

<Damian Karpel de Winsor.>

 

I wrote down the name of the crown prince in bold letters. 

 

He was the only direct descendant of the late Emperor and heir to the throne. His middle name, Karpel, was only given to the emperor and his heirs.

 

But since his Uncle Vincent took the crown, he was deprived of the throne.

 

Yeah…Vincent. 

 

He was the current husband of the Empress.

 

I furrowed my brow.

 

<The protagonist of this novel is the crown prince, the person who’s awakened the power of the gods.> 

 

One by one, I wrote down all the information I knew  under the name, “Damian”.

 

God’s Power.

 

The power that was rarely found in the direct lineage of the Imperial Family. It was inherited from the god Aurelia, who helped the founding Emperor establish the Western Empire.

 

In other words, Damian was someone special since he had awakened the power of the gods after a hundred years.

 

Well, it made sense that he had that much of an advantage, being the story’s protagonist and all.

 

I twirled the pen again.

 

The power of the male lead is a double-edged sword?

 

After finishing the sentence with an ugly question mark, my mind was in chaos.

 

First of all, the fact that he was born with the power of divinity itself proved the legitimacy of Damian.

 

That’s also the same reason why Vincent was so afraid of the backlash from those around him that he had to take the throne in the form of “sympathy”.

 

He gave a good excuse: “I’ll return the throne when the crown prince is fully grown.”

 

In a way, Damian was able to protect his status as the crown prince.

 

‘Instead of glory and power, the person who inherited God’s Power would face a lot of pain during his childhood.’

 

God’s Power is something that shouldn’t fall into a human’s hands.

 

The founding emperor, Karpel, signed a direct contract with God. By doing so, the power passed down to his hands was forcibly manifested through a contract that hadn’t been cut off.

 

The powerful but uncontrollable force has been constantly tormenting Damian.

 

‘Right now, the crown prince…should be eight years old, right?’

 

He probably was since he’s three years older than me.

 

‘So what I have to do is pretty simple, right?’ I thought as I laughed confidently.

 

‘All I have to do is educate the crown prince well so he doesn’t do anything bad to Sister Rose!’

 

The first step that I needed to do was get close to the main protagonist.

 

I mean, it’s not that hard to deal with a fat kid, right?