The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 95

“You’ll get gifts from everyone.”

“….HUH?!”

Shocked, I unintentionally raised my voice. 

“Just take the dresses I bought for now. It’ll come in handy for plenty of occasions.”

“Exactly, whether it’s tea time or something else, you’ll now have a full wardrobe to choose from.”

The empress and the empress dowager carried the conversation as if in sync. 

“Try out your custom-tailored dress first, if you find that you can’t afford it, just wear dresses the Empress gave you.”

Damian added while nodding satisfactorily. 

The duke also added a few words. 

“You can keep the check I gave you as an emergency fund.”

No, who keeps a blank check as an emergency fund!

Just when I was about to protest.

The four individuals in front of me, had all of a sudden reached a consensus without me as no one else needed to discuss it any further. 

“How about it, Lize?”

“Will this suffice?”

“Yeah, kid. It’s not polite to be rejecting everyone’s generosity.”

“I agree with what the Duke said.”

….all four of them were united on this common cause, there’s no way I could refuse. 

I took a deep breath. 

“Yes, thank you…”

Hum, I don’t know what to say. 

This heart of mine is both overjoyed and burdened, maybe that’s a good thing?

While that happened, the empress dowager didn’t seem as sad as she was before.

Looking over at Damian, she confronted him on his hypocrisy by spilling the beans on her grandson. 

“Besides that, Damian, you said that Charlize was too young to marry.”

In a flash, Damian’s expression became quite rigid. 

The empress dowager spoke in a snarky tone. 

“Did you make her your fiancee because you couldn’t stand it any longer?”

……hold on, Damian. Did you really say that? 

Come to think of it, aren’t Damian and Sienna the same age?

No wonder, to Damian I must have looked like a child to him. 

I was beginning to think that before I shook my head. 

‘No, I’m likely overthinking. We are only three years apart.’

I’m an adult after all. 

I glanced sideways at Damian. 

‘Oh, our eyes met.’

Damian dodged my gaze with a shy expression on his face. 

My heart was somehow pounding so I bit my lip to calm myself. 

 

***

 

That evening. 

Knock, knock. 

I was about to call it a night when I raised my head at the brief sound of knocking. 

“Charlize, are you asleep?”

Oh, the empress’s here?

I got up from bed and opened the door. 

“No, I haven’t gone to sleep yet. 

“I see. I was worried I woke you.”

The empress entered with a gentle gait. 

Her eyes made contact with the doll placed on my bed. 

A shimmering light appeared over her dark green eyes. 

“You still have that doll?”

“Of course, her Majesty herself made it for me.”

I smiled broadly. 

For a moment, the empress’s forehead became slightly wrinkled. 

“The ribbon tied around the doll’s neck….is that?”

“Is that?”

“Ah, that’s the ribbon the Crown Prince gave me as a gift a long time ago.”

“Oh, yes. Right.”

As soon as she heard my answer, the empress had an air of melancholy surrounding her. 

I asked the empress a question. 

“Speaking of which, what brings her Majesty here?”

“Ah, that.”

The empress smiled bitterly. 

“Isn’t there a celebration tomorrow?”

“There is.”

“Then that means…”

The empress looked at me with an affectionate gaze. 

“Tomorrow night, you’ll leave for the Crown Prince’s palace.”

Hearing that, the tip of my nose grew cold. 

“Well, it’s the same palace I’ve gone to ever since.”

I could visit the Empress every day….

“I know. But I can’t help but be upset.”

After a short sigh, she started to caress my hair. 

Just like when I was five years old. 

“This is your last night at this palace, isn’t it?” said the empress, tearful at the thought of it. 

“….your Majesty.”

“So for today, I thought it would be nice to sleep with Charlize one last time….that’s why I came.”

At the Empress’s offer, I quickly nodded. 

“I’d like that.”

 

***

 

I carefully entered the empress’s bedroom. 

‘It feels strange, different than usual.’

Of course, I’ve been in and out of this room several times for cleaning. 

However, this would truly be the first and last time I would sleep in the empress’s bedroom since I was five. 

“Charlize, can you sit here for a second?”

She got up from bed and moved busily. 

She then placed a mug in my hand. 

“Drink it.”

“Oh, this is….”

I looked downwards at the mug and felt an indescribable feeling. 

The mug held warm milk mixed with honey. 

A sweet and savory scent rose up from the mug. 

“It’s the same as back then.”

“You remember?”

“Of course. The day I slept with your Majesty, you gave me the same warm milk, right?” I said with a bashful smile. 

“Oh, and with a spoonful of honey.”

“Yes, because Charlize likes it sweet.”

“Ah, that’s what her Majesty said back then.”

The empress and I giggled, it was nostalgic. 

I took a sip of milk. 

As the warm milk passed my throat, I felt a warm sensation all over. 

“It’s as delicious as it was then.”

“Lucky me.”

The empress with a sorrowful smile sat down beside me. 

“Would you like me to brush your hair?”

“Oh, no. How can I have her Majesty do such a thing…”

“No, I want to do this.”

Well, if that’s the case. 

I left my hair in the empress’s care. 

In the silence, the only sound came from my hair being brushed. 

After a while. 

The empress sighed deeply. 

“If I had known this would happen, I would have never made you the Crown Prince’s exclusive maid.”

“….why?”

“I never imagined that the Crown Prince would whisk you away like this.”

The empress spoke with a heavy tone, expressing her regret. 

“Isn’t it funny? You won’t be going far away, and yet, I feel like an older sister who’s helping her younger sister become independent.”

….an older sister helping her sister become independent, ha. 

My heart was touched. 

The empress who braided my hair expertly and tied a knot, muttered sullenly. 

“By the way, I don’t think you’ve ever called me ‘Sister Rose’ since you came to the palace.”

Oh. 

I paused, involuntarily stiffening my shoulders. 

Ever since I came to the empress’s palace, I deliberately insisted on calling her ‘Your Majesty.’

I was afraid that I might slip up and accidentally mix ‘Her Majesty’ with ‘Sister Rose.’

However….

‘For today only…I don’t think there’s any need for that.’

Then, the empress called me. 

“Say, Charlize.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“I’ve been meaning to…”

After some hesitation, the Empress continued with a resolute attitude.

“I was happy when you called me that back then. I wanted you to feel like I was your sister.”

“You always were.”

“I was?” gasped the empress. 

I looked back. 

The empress was looking at me with wide-open eyes. 

I took a deep breath. 

To say what came next, I needed to muster all my courage. 

“I’ve always admired your Majes-….no, Sister Rose.”

I closed my eyes and ended with a final note. 

“I’ve always thought of you as my sister.”

A brief silence enveloped the room. 

D-Did I?

Did I say too much?

I slowly opened my eyes to find myself looking at the empress’s countenance.  

And. 

“…..yes, my Charlize.”

A smile slowly started to spread over the empress’s visage. 

It was a smile as brilliant as the sun. 

“I’m so glad.”

The empress hugged me tightly. 

I leaned on the Empress like a child.  

It was cozy. 

 

***

 

Right now, I was sitting in a chair, exhausted as a worn-out shoe. 

I had to sit upright. 

I didn’t want to ruin my beautifully braided hair. 

“Wheww…”

I let out a long sigh. 

Sure, there were times I helped the empress get dressed when she had to attend banquets.

But when you’re the one having to dress up….

‘I have so much to do!’ I screamed on the inside. 

My day began early in the morning with my hands already shaking. 

‘Charlize, Charlize!’ murmured the empress trying to wake me up. 

‘….Uhm. Your Majesty?’ I whispered to her, still half-asleep.  

‘You have to get up. Don’t you need to get ready for the banquet?’

W-Wait a minute. 

Doesn’t the banquet start at 7 pm?!

…..even if I said that in defense, it wasn’t going to cut it. 

All day long, I was held captive by maids and more maids instructed by the empress. 

I was given a bath, had grated grains applied to my skin to make it smooth, and even had my scalp massaged. 

I thought I was able to rest up just for a little while after all that, but…

‘I was sorely mistaken.’