Lady to Queen

Rosemond panicked. There had never been a situation like this. Rosemond's word had been the law for Lucio. He loved her like he was her father. He forgave her for any wrongdoing and even forgave her for any action she had taken. But this time why..? Lucio sighed as Rosemond's eyes trembled in confusion.     

"Are you really in the right, Rose?"     

"…If I say no."     

She asked him back with a hurt look.     

"If I say no, would you forsake me?"     

"Rose."     

"Your Majesty, do you not love me?"     

She asked in a crying tone, and Lucio felt his head begin to hurt. But he did not express this, and he comforted Rosemond.     

"It is not like that, Rose. But this issue..."     

"SOB."     

She just sat down on her spot and decided to cry. In this kind of situation, tears were the best. The fact that Lucio was vulnerable to her tears was something she knew better than anyone else. He looked taken aback as she had expected.     

"Rose."     

"I'm… SOB, I thought if it was you, then you would understand me."     

"I would?"     

"SOB… If it was you..."     

"Rose, I can understand anything else, but this is related to the Empire. If it affects things even outside of the Empire, then even I would not be able to do anything."     

"Your Majesty."     

Rosemond felt her hair stand on end. He already knew everything! Rosemond looked at him with shocked eyes. He was approaching her with a complicated expression. Rosemond looked up at him. He reached out his hand to her, and without realizing, she stood up holding onto his hand.     

"Your Majesty…"     

"Rose, I love you."     

"…"     

"But this time… I really do not know."     

"Your Majesty?"     

Rosemond looked at him with surprised eyes. He still had a look of dismay in his eyes. Sudden anxiety came over her.     

Why was Lucio looking at her like that? At least he, of all people had to understand her. At least he had to love her. As she had understood and loved him, shouldn't he do the same for her? That was love. Returning what you had received.     

"You were the only one to have understood and comforted me, so I loved you, and tried to understand everything you did. But… Really not this time. It was dangerous. I do not know what kind of chaos would result if this was to be publicized. If the Empress decides to expose this to the surface, you will be finished. You have exceeded the limits that I could protect you."     

"Your Majesty, but this was the only way to become Queen."     

"Making you into the Queen did not entail this in the least. There were many nobler methods than that. A way everything could be quietly resolved without anyone getting hurt. What is the reason you used this method?"     

"This was the fastest way to be a queen."     

She swallowed her tears and replied. There were many other good methods, nobler ones that he had mentioned. But those kinds of methods were not enough. She had needed one of the biggest opportunities, but it was difficult to include a nobler way in there. She laughed with a bizarre expression.     

"How long did you think you were going to keep me in the position of Baroness?"     

"…Rose, everything has a step to it."     

"So you would have made me Queen just before I died of old age?"     

"Rose, you know this best, but the Empress is infertile. With that excuse, I would have been able to take care of everything quietly. Can you not even wait until that? Even the Emperor would need a good enough reason to bring down the Empress, it would be impossible to do so without such a cause."     

"…"     

All of his words were true, and Rosemond understood all of this with her head, but not with her heart. By the time it would be revealed that the Empress could not give birth to a child, she would already be old. At that time, it would be uncertain whether or not a child could be born from her as well.     

However, following his words, it would not be an easy feat to dethrone the Empress without any legitimate cause. So that is why she had created this scheme... She bit her lips without realizing she was doing it.     

Yes, she admitted that this had been a bit irrational. As he had said, it was a matter of possible diplomatic dispute.     

But it was rare to have such an assured opportunity such as this. But first, she apologized to him with sunken eyes. At least for now, this was the time to fold.     

"I am sorry."     

Even with her broken voice, his expression remained unchanged. He was not sure whether his feelings were really right for her now. She was the only one who understood and embraced him. He believed that it was true love since he wanted to repay the favor and give her everything she wanted.     

But even this... was it really true love? He felt that his essence was being threatened by materialistic goods. So Lucio... felt skeptical about his relationship with Rosemond for the first time. He had never felt any suspicion and frustration like this before.     

He was afraid. Was this relationship that he had believed to be true, getting defiled? In this way, this relationship he had with her, a bond people that did not know about, was possibly breaking.     

"…"     

He stared at her. She was looking up at him with tears in her eyes. It instantly came to his mind that he could not look at her face right now. Eventually, he walked a step or two towards her with a painful expression and left a small kiss on her forehead. He hesitated for a bit, then turned around, and left her place.     

Rosemond was left alone after he left, and her expression quickly became cold, as if she had never been in tears moments before. She distorted her face with an expression of frustration. A rough curse exploded out of her mouth.     

"Sh*t."     

Somehow, she did not have a good feeling.