chapter 3. who is the deceiver

Rondimio truly came late to the empress’s palace every day.

He would briefly visit the empress’s palace around lunchtime to apologize for not being able to have dinner together, eat with Louise, and then head back to the emperor’s office.

She had long wished to see him diligently attending to Araceli’s state affairs.

But it felt not just curious but strange that someone who had only known Louise was now living such a regimented life.

“Margaret. About the drought that’s hit the west recently. Is the damage really serious?”

“Is His Majesty the Emperor busy handling that matter?”

“Yes. I don’t know the details, but he seems busier because of it lately. The west has many territories belonging to major nobles, so perhaps he’s paying more attention to it…?”

“While it’s true there’s a drought in the west, it’s not an important grain-producing region, and it’s not something that can be resolved by the emperor’s intervention.”

“Then why is His Majesty repeatedly busy with this matter?”

Splash.

Louise, leisurely enjoying her bath in a tub full of soft bubbles, scooped up handfuls of the rich foam and blew them away with a gentle puff.

Margaret was deliberately attending to her bath to talk about Rondimio and the nobles preparing for rebellion. Although it was a bit embarrassing to have her watching, the bubble bath she was trying for the first time was fun.

Except for the period when she had been avoiding Rondimio for the past three years, it had always been Rondimio who attended to Louise’s baths.

Though whether it could be called “attending” was questionable.

Unlike today’s lengthy bubble bath, they never took long, and usually consisted of him simply washing away the traces of the previous night with warm water infused with fragrance.

Still, Louise greatly enjoyed Rondimio’s bath attendance.

The way he would massage her beautiful platinum blonde hair with his large hands as he washed it.

And if she fell asleep wearing her bath robe, he would dry her hair completely and even change her clothes for her.

Unlike the baths attended by other maids in her childhood, she felt no embarrassment showing her n*ked body and felt most at ease.

“I should suddenly visit His Majesty’s office during the day. I might discover something unusual.”

“That’s a good idea. If you find out any information, please be sure to tell me.”

“Mmm. But why are you looking at me like that…?”

“Because I can understand why Your Majesty the Empress was called the lovable princess by everyone in Araceli.”

Louise looked at Margaret, who had brought a bubble ball emitting a sweet fragrance and hot water. Despite this being a bath attendance for the empress, it wasn’t something that Margaret, a marquis’s daughter, should be doing.

She could have simply joined Louise, who was floating in the warm bathtub, discussed their secret matters that no one should know about, and quietly left.

But fascinated by the bubble ball Rondimio had gifted her, she had ended up asking Margaret to actually attend to her.

“It’s because… this is my first time trying a bubble bath.”

“Last time when I just added fragrance to warm water and left, you stayed in the bathroom for two hours. Can’t you bathe by yourself without someone attending to you?”

“No….”

How could I, raised as Araceli’s precious princess, possibly bathe alone?

Louise, covering her chest’s curves with her hair that had darkened from being soaked in water, watched Margaret who kept sighing deeply throughout the bath.

Louise also felt somewhat sorry for Margaret.

“I know you hate me, Margaret. But please acknowledge that I’ve also joined the nobles’ rebellion.”

“How could I dare hate Your Majesty the Empress? The bath attendance is just a bit strenuous… I didn’t mean to.”

As Margaret poured hot water into the tub, the bubble-filled bath instantly became warmer.

Louise habitually placed her hand on her lower abdomen where the child was growing, then finally brought up what she had wanted to ask Margaret.

The nobles’ rebellion could only begin after the two princes imprisoned in the underground dungeon were rescued.

That meant it could only be realized next month when the child in Louise’s womb would enter a stable period.

“Could it be… that His Majesty is busy because he’s noticed the nobles’ plot for rebellion?”

This might be treading on dangerous ground for the nobles who had been preparing for rebellion long before Louise knew about it.

But finding it difficult to bear this worry alone, she cautiously brought it up to Margaret.

If Rondimio had indeed noticed the nobles’ rebellion plot, they would need to devise countermeasures.

“The nobles, including my father, have thoroughly prepared for this rebellion. It could have been realized immediately even without Your Majesty the Empress’s cooperation.”

But Margaret’s answer was cold.

More than cold, she seemed angry. As if her pride had been violated and she felt indignant.

“If Your Majesty the Empress hadn’t disclosed anything, His Majesty the Emperor would have no way of knowing.”

“Are you doubting me now…?”

“I’m just telling you that we prepared thoroughly.”

Realizing she had misspoken, Margaret lowered her voice. Louise had clearly approached the nobles saying she wanted to escape from Rondimio, whom she “didn’t love.”

The nobles must have realized that Louise had, to some extent, once held Rondimio in her heart.

But they would also have realized that if she truly loved him, she would never have pointed a knife at him through the nobles’ rebellion….

“I want His Majesty the Emperor to step down from the throne. I asked to be allowed to give birth to the child in my womb… because I want to take responsibility as a human being. Not because I love His Majesty the Emperor.”

“…..”

“If it’s discovered that I’ve joined the nobles’ rebellion plot… no matter how much His Majesty the Emperor loves me, he would never forgive me.”

Louise tried hard not to reveal that she had loved Rondimio for a long time, and perhaps still truly loved him.

“Since His Majesty the Emperor loves Your Majesty the Empress enough to commit treason for you, I think he might forgive you even if he discovered you had joined the nobles’ rebellion.”

“That’s impossible….”

Louise raised herself from the soft bubbles she had been immersed in and looked at Margaret.

Though it might be Margaret’s personal opinion, Louise felt like she was being interrogated and monitored by the nobles every day.

She was a little afraid that they might be regretting having drawn the empress into the rebellion.

No. The nobles would think that Louise’s cooperation as empress had actually helped, since without it, the nobles’ rebellion would have had to wait for the First Prince Berus’s young illegitimate child to grow up.

“The nobles are also closely watching His Majesty the Emperor’s changed behavior lately, so I’ll tell you if anything unusual comes up.”

Margaret, who had visibly tired in just a few minutes, added more bubble ball to the tub and asked about the conversation Louise had with Rondimio in bed last night.

In truth, this was just a formality.

In bed with Louise, Rondimio only talked about how lovely she was, whether she had eaten well, and if anything had happened during her day.

If there had been anything unusual, she would have told Margaret as soon as she entered the bathroom.

Louise had also tried to extract some information from Rondimio, who had been showing a changed demeanor for several days, but with no particular success.

“I also don’t understand why His Majesty the Emperor committed treason because of me….”

“Your Majesty the Empress is the most beautiful person in Araceli. You possess beauty rumored to be worth selling a country for, and you have a beautiful body too.”

There was nothing more to say to Margaret.

But perhaps feeling sorry for her earlier slip of the tongue, Margaret soaked a soft sponge with fluffy bubbles and attended to Louise’s bath, running it over her elegant curves.

“Ah, I left the hair oil outside the bathroom. I’ll bring it right away.”

Saying she would even touch the hair that only Rondimio could satisfy.

Margaret, who had gone to get the hair oil, didn’t return to the bathroom right away for some reason.

Louise, looking at her fingers that had wrinkled from bathing longer than usual, suddenly fell into thoughts about Rondimio.

No matter how busy Rondimio was with state affairs, by now he should have come to the empress’s palace.

Since the child had been conceived, he had slept in the empress’s palace bedroom, carefully embracing Louise.

While she was lost in these thoughts, the bathroom door opened and it seemed Margaret had entered. Louise, keeping her gaze fixed on the bathtub, handed her the sponge.

“Dad must be waiting. What should I do? I need to leave soon.”

With her hand on her lower abdomen buried in soft bubbles, Louise whispered softly to the child growing vigorously in its mother’s womb.

Though still in early pregnancy with no visible bump, placing her hand on her belly had become a habit.

And at the same time, a large hand overlapped Louise’s.

“Mom doesn’t need to hurry. Dad can come find Mom.”

“Rondimio?”

The large hand and familiar voice.

Only then did Louise realize that it was him, not Margaret, who had entered the bathroom.

Why had he come in here?

“Because I want to attend to your bath.”

“Your, Your Majesty….”

Before she could voice that question, Rondimio rolled up the sleeves of his neat shirt, as if he had just finished work with the nobles, and ran a soft sponge over Louise’s n*ked body.