Chapter 11 – Part 3

“I wonder if you could help me …… a little.”
 
“…….”
 
“Do you know how the maids treat me? Even a little help would be appreciated.”
 
“Empress.”
 
The voice came from above her head. Beatrice looked up, expecting something.
 
But the face staring back at her was only grim.
 
“What I need is a comrade in arms, not a flower stalk to protect.”
 
“…….”
 
“You’re the Empress, yet you can’t even manage a handmaiden, and you’re asking me for help.”
 
The voice sounded pathetic. Heinrich turned away from her flushed face.
 
“Handle it yourself.”
 
“Your… Majesty…”
 
“I must go to bed; it is late, and the Empress must also go.”
 
What kind of husband would send his wife away like this after visiting him in the middle of the night?
 
Beatrice resented his indifference and callousness, but she could say nothing.
 
His words seemed to poke at the image of herself wanting to be the empress to help him.
 
True to Heinrich’s words, Beatrice took up a pen instead of a needle.
 
The more time she spent in her office, the less she had to deal with the maids, which was a good thing.
 
Although the morning baths continued to be as cold as ice, Heinrich did not do anything.
 
He appointed Isaac Salvatore as the new steward for the empress.
 
Isaac had been drawing attention in social circles for a while, having recently married the Viscountess Hanmihan.
 
The attention seemed to have faded somewhat after Ludwig Evan had recently taken the forest nomad Patrona as his wife.
 
“I am grateful to the Marquis Evan for that, but Isabelle had a hard time with it…….”
 
Isaac was a young man who liked to joke.
 
With red hair cut short enough to barely cover the nape of his neck and fresh green eyes, he made no secret of his fondness for his wife.
 
Whenever he talked about her, Beatrice was a bit amused.
 
‘Well, you said it was a love marriage.’
 
Those who entered into love marriages were required to take responsibility, as they chose the marriage themselves.
 
It was considered a great betrayal to invest in the concubine, and displaying affection for one’s spouse from time to time was considered a great virtue.
 
Even knowing that, Beatrice was a little envious of Isabelle.
 
She wondered if she would have been better off if she had married him, if she would have been happier than she is now.
 
She was not without guilt at the thought.
 
But then she thought of Heinrich, who had appointed the Marquis to be her steward, a man with whom she had fallen before their marriage.
 
After appointing Isaac as Beatrice’s steward, Heinrich soon left for war in a distant country.
 
In his absence, Beatrice grew even more lonely.
 
The maids once again tried to make Beatrice look ridiculous by bringing her dresses that were out of fashion or out of season and jewelry that was out of place, as if they could pull the wool over her eyes.
 
When Beatrice ordered them to bring her another outfit, they would either pretend not to understand or sigh in annoyance.
 
The political meetings continued.
 
“The Empress has proposed an extension to the South Palace, but this must first be approved by the Emperor. The expansion of the orphanage you mentioned is also a good idea, but I’m not sure if…… His Majesty will approve…….”
 
With the ongoing wars of conquest to reclaim territory lost to other nations, the number of orphans and refugees was growing exponentially.
 
The need for a facility to care for them was obvious, but the vassals were unwilling to listen to the empress, who had grown up like a plant in a greenhouse.
 
Heinrich would have glared, screamed, or worse, drawn his sword, but Beatrice had never been taught to deal with anyone that way.
 
She ducked her head to hide her embarrassment.
 
“Then, what about housing orphans and the poor in the Count’s castle and mansion?”
 
“……?”
 
It was Isaac who broke the silence.
 
He had inherited the Marquisate shortly after his marriage and was not afraid to speak his mind, even in front of older nobles.
 
“With so many children who have lost their parents in the war, didn’t you say that no orphanage could be built until His Majesty’s orders were given? The Count seems to agree with the idea, so…… if he takes care of the orphans and the poor, won’t that make everyone happy?”
 
“Marquis, what…!”
 
“Although it is an extremely insufficient number, it would be of some small help if we had 50 people in the Count’s mansion and 100 in the castle. What is Her Majesty’s oopinion? 
 
Isaac asked, looking back at Beatrice.
 
Beatrice glanced around at the blushing Marquis and the silent nobles, all of them glancing at each other.
 
For some reason, she found the sight of them hilarious.
 
“A ……good idea. It will be some time before His Majesty returns, and it would be a great relief to me if the Marquis himself could take charge in the meantime.”
 
“Woe, Your Majesty, how can you…… that many people!”
 
Count Bonnet exclaimed, his face white, at Beatrice’s words, but Isaac smirked.
 
“Wasn’t it you, Count, who told me that I couldn’t spend the country’s money on things I didn’t have Her Majesty’s permission to do?”
 
“Your Majesty!”
 
“But the enlargement of the earl’s mansion and castle does not require the expenditure of the king’s money, nor does it require the king’s permission.”
 
Beatrice marveled at Isaac’s ability to drive the Count away without raising his voice.
 
She felt pathetic that she had allowed herself to be manipulated into something so easily resolved.
 
When their eyes met, Isaac gave her a mischievous glare, then spoke again.

No one answered the question.
 
Only Count Bonnet, who looked as if he had the blame all to himself, made a face.
 
The meeting had been more successful than ever.
 
The vassals who hadn’t even pretended to listen to me agreeing with her in unison, the reddening of Count Bonnet’s face, and the fact that she couldn’t help but laugh.
 
“Very good, Your Majesty.”
 
Isaac grinned as soon as the door to her office closed behind them.
 
It was all his doing, and Beatrice felt a little embarrassed.
 
“I was just echoing what the Marquis said.”
 
As she chuckled softly, Isaac looked at her intently.
 
Had she laughed too loudly? The sound of her laughter was strange, and she was about to be embarrassed.
 
“It’s nice to see you laugh.”
 
“…….”
 
“I used to think you had a beautiful smile, but you haven’t smiled since you entered the palace, and I was beginning to worry.”
 
The soft voice left Beatrice speechless.
 
After a long moment of silence, she awkwardly spoke.
 
“I don’t think a man who has a wife he loves should say such things to another woman, lest he cause unnecessary misunderstanding.”
 
There were many who tried to seduce the lonely empress, unloved by the emperor.
 
Some would comment on her unfashionable dress and say she was beautiful, while others would blatantly ask if she was lonely without him.
 
Each time, Beatrice felt both embarrassed and comically relieved.
 
Even though Heinrich wouldn’t even look at her, she was miserably relieved to have someone who wanted her this much.
 
Even that relief was turned to shame when he saw the coldness in her demeanor the moment she refused.
 
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything else.”
 
Isaac bowed his head respectfully. Beatrice felt a little relieved.
 
But her face hardened again at his next words.
 
“But sometimes…… I wonder what it would have been like if it had been the Empress instead of Isabelle beside me.”
 
“Marquis.”
 
Beatrice said scornfully.
 
“Your wife would be mortified if she knew …… you were talking like that.”
 
Beatrice wondered if that was what he was doing, after all, helping her out just to see if he could get a rise out of her.
 
She was a little disappointed in him, and a little afraid that he might turn away from her in a fit of rejection.
 
But Isaac only laughed bitterly.
 
“I’m afraid I’ve offended the Empress with my words. Please do not be angry with me, for I have no impure intentions.”
 
“I’m not angry, I’m sure every couple has marital difficulties. I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope…… it works out.”
 
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
 
At Isaac’s call, Beatrice turned her head, her dark green eyes watching her.
 
“It’s a private matter, but…… if you’d care to listen.
 
“…….”
 
“I’m a Marquis, after all, and it would be a bit…… undignified to discuss my marital affairs with everyone below me.”
 
Isaac scratched his cheek thoughtfully. He looked so unperturbed that Beatrice wondered if she’d been overly wary.
 
“……If you don’t mind.”
 
Beatrice hesitated, and the corners of Isaac’s mouth twitched up in response.
 
Isaac paused for a moment before launching into a long list of complaints about his life with Isabelle.
 
The lady who had lived on a small estate was inexperienced in managing a Marquis’s household, and his parents considered her unsatisfactory, leading to frequent conflicts.
 
In addition, his in-laws, who were demanding without giving, were gradually increasing the amount of money they asked for.
 
“Of course, there are difficulties even if it’s not a love marriage, but I keep thinking that if I had married someone from a similar family, none of this would have happened…….”

“…….”

“So I briefly wondered what it would have been like if I had married the Empress as my father had wanted. It’s a shame that I’m causing myself so much trouble.”