Chapter 11 – Part 5

The sobs of the handmaidens stopped in unison. They stared at the Emperor and Empress in disbelief.
 
Beatrice hesitated, then spoke.
 
“I ordered my maid to do it, but I didn’t feel comfortable, so I ended up doing it myself.”
 
“If there’s something that requires force in the future, call the knights instead. It’ll be hard to hold a pen if you hurt your hand.”
 
The voice was still cold.
 
It was meant not to disrupt her duties as empress.
 
Why did she feel disappointed again, as if she had other expectations from him, who had worried about her hand?
 
“The maids in the palace are under the empress’s jurisdiction. Do not come to me again for such matters.”
 
Heinrich ordered the chamberlain and turned on his heel, just as he was about to leave the Empress’s bedchamber.
 
“Will this be enough for the future?”
 
Beatrice’s question stopped Heinrich in his tracks, and he turned back to her with an unsmiling face.
 
“Why are you asking for my opinion on managing your maids? Handle it yourself, but refrain from killing them.”
 
“…….”
 
“If there’s someone you think deserves death, come to me then. I’ll lend you my sword.”
 
The voice was not warm at all. The maids, who had been holding their breath, sucked in a sharp intake of breath.
 
His words meant he wouldn’t mind if she were to slit all their throats.
 
“Sa, spare me. Help us, Empress.”
 
The maids, who had been looking at the emperor as their lifeline, quickly prostrated themselves on the floor, pleading.
 
Heinrich left the room as if it didn’t matter.
 
The Empress’s court ladies were changed.
 
The existing maids had been severely beaten and sent away without a single letter of recommendation.
 
Furthermore, entry into the palace was strictly prohibited, so they would never work as maids again.
 
Beatrice rested in her room for a day due to an injury to her hand.
 
She couldn’t rest completely because she had to select new maids, but she couldn’t erase the feeling of relief, as if the sick person had finally recovered.
 
When the soreness of her muscles, caused by repeatedly tipping over a heavy basin, had subsided, Beatrice sought out Heinrich’s office.
 
“There are people in my social circle who are behaving impurely toward me.”
 
“…….”
 
“Will Your Highness help me? Or should I handle it myself again this time?”
 
Heinrich asked, his tone still cold.
 
“If, by chance, you end up killing someone, then tell me.”
 
It meant he wouldn’t intervene, no matter what she did.
 
Beatrice no longer tolerated those who disrespected her.
 
She intentionally spilled champagne on the face of a lady who had deliberately spilled wine on her dress several times, and she also embarrassed others by offering dresses that didn’t suit the occasion.
 
The men who approached her, hoping to woo the emperor’s unloved empress, danced with her and stamped on his feet.
 
She was no longer the girl whom her father had protected.
 
She was no longer the lady who was praised for her gentle smile.
 
The more they tried to be cruel, the more she realized how futile it was for her to feel pleasure from them.
 
Heinrich could not comfort Beatrice. He had no interest in her.
 
It was always Isaac who soothed her.
 
“It’s because the Empress has a kind heart, and those who haven’t recognized it have been stupid.”
 
“I have nothing to offer you for taking my side, Marquis.”
 
Beatrice joked, and Isaac slowly approached her.
 
The room was eerily quiet when they were alone.
 
“Are you sure you don’t?”
 
Isaac’s hand gently touched her lips.
 
He moved in slowly, as if testing the limits of Beatrice’s acceptance.
 
Some days his fingertips touched hers, some days he held her hand, one day he interlocked their fingers, and some days he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders or waist.
 
Beatrice grew nervous whenever he wanted her, but she didn’t hate it.
 
At least when he was with her, she wasn’t lonely, and it was comforting to know he had her back.
 
As she kissed Isaac in her office for the first time, Beatrice felt she was taking revenge.
 
There’s someone else who wants her like this, even if the Emperor doesn’t love her.
 
‘So I don’t want your love anymore.’
 
‘If you had loved me, none of this would have happened.’
 
Beatrice repeated it over and over again, as if trying to erase the feeling of emptiness.
 
“I want to have you all to myself, Empress, even if it’s just once……….”
 
Isaac was just the kind of begging man Beatrice needed to satisfy her.
 
Every time he looked at her with such a need, she thought of Heinrich.
 
A man who didn’t give a damn about her.
 
A man who didn’t care if someone attacked her, who didn’t care if she was mean to someone, who didn’t care about anything.
 
“I haven’t bared the crown prince yet, and I don’t want His Majesty to know.”
 
“Why don’t you take some pills?”
 
“…….”
 
“Your Majesty, no…… Beatrice. You know my heart.”
 
Isaac said, tickling her ear.
 
“I’m always there for you, so why do you say no every time.”
 
“This is an imperial palace, Marquis. There are people’s eyes and ears everywhere, so until I give birth to an imperial son…….”
 
“So, if it’s not the imperial palace, it’s…… okay?”
 
Isaac whispered like a snake. Looking into his expectant eyes, Beatrice thought of Heinrich again.
 
He’ll probably never look at her like this in her life.
 
Feeling somewhat moved, she slowly nodded.
 
Soon, Beatrice visited Heinrich.
 
Heinrich was there, as usual, holding a pen amidst the papers, which were laid out in an untidy fashion. He didn’t say hello and didn’t ask her to sit down.
 
Beatrice looked at him without a word of greeting and blurted out.
 
“Please… take a break, even if it’s just for a little while.”
 
“If I don’t feel well, I will rest myself. There’s no need for you to worry.”
 
Heinrich said this without even looking at Beatrice. He was truly a man who didn’t know how to speak nicely.
 
Beatrice stared at him, then opened her mouth.
 
“…… I have been getting a lot of help from Marquis Salvatore lately.”
 
“Is that so?”
 
Tsk, tsk.
 
Heinrich neatly organized the documents he had reviewed. He seemed disinterested.
 
Why did she bring up the Marquis when she knew this would happen, as if she expected a different reaction?
 
“Do you have anything else to say?”
 
It was an invitation to leave.
 
Yes, it was he who appointed Isaac to be her steward.
 
Beatrice bit her lower lip hard.
 
“I’d like to take a vacation.”
 
At that, Heinrich looked up. Beatrice didn’t look him in the eye.
 
“…Because I want to rest for a while.”
 
It was an awkward thing to say in front of someone who worked around the clock.
 
Beatrice considered withdrawing her request, but Heinrich nodded.
 
“Go ahead.”
 
“……yes?”
 
Beatrice was taken aback by his unquestioning acceptance.
 
As she stood there dumbfounded, Heinrich continued.
 
“I have a villa by Lake Zaber on the outskirts of the capital. It’s not far away, the scenery is beautiful, and the food will suit your taste… You can rest there for a few days.”
 
How did he know about the scenery? How did he know what suited my taste?
 
The unfamiliar words sounded utterly strange.
 
But they weren’t intimate enough for her to express her puzzlement, so she simply nodded.
 
Beatrice traveled alone.
 
A trip to a small lake on the outskirts of the capital was all she could think of, but it was enough to excite her, having spent her entire married life in the palace.
 
The cottage was beautiful, with a view of the lake from the bedroom.
 
When she opened the windows, a cool breeze cooled the heat, and at night, she could hear grasshoppers chirping.
 
The food was not overly spiced, which suited her taste as she doesn’t like spicy food.
 
The staff of the cottage were as polite as those of the ducal residence.
 
Beatrice spent most of the day in her bedroom or strolling under the verdant trees with her knights.
 
The peace she found seemed to relax her tense body and mind.
 
Isaac visited her every night, taking up quarters near her cottage and knocking on her window late at night.
 
“Beatrice, my love…….”
 
Isaac would kiss her, whispering words of love that he would have whispered to his own wife many times over.
 
Beatrice jerked awake and pushed him away.
 
“The medicine; you must take it first.”
 
“I took them beforehand; I couldn’t resist after seeing you.”
 
The slimy voice curled around her ankle, coiling around her body like a snake.
 
Words that she had never heard of before rang in her ears.
 
Beatrice was sure his wife had heard the same thing, but she hugged him around the neck anyway.
 
It was early summer, and it was getting hot.
 
Beatrice returned to the palace wearing a turtleneck dress that covered her neck. Isaac had left his mark on her.
 
‘Even though I told him…’ the guy who left marks on his neck and shoulders in the summer laughed out loud.
 
Beatrice hid her resentment and anxiety and went to his office. Heinrich was sitting there, as usual.
 
“You’ve returned.”
 
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
 
Heinrich didn’t ask any questions about the short trip.
 
Beatrice didn’t feel like holding him back and talking to him about this and that.
 
She bowed politely and was about to return to the Empress’s palace.
 
“……It’s getting hot.”
 
At that, Beatrice stopped in her tracks. Turning her head, she saw Heinrich staring at her.
 
“You’re wearing long clothes.”
 
“…….”
 
“Do you have a cold?”
 
Her heart pounded violently at the question. Did he know something? Was he trying to find out?
 
Beatrice opened her mouth quickly to excuse herself.
 
“Well, Your Majesty, it’s…….”
 
“Please rest in your room until you feel better, for you will not be able to perform your duties if you are ill.”
 
With that, Heinrich picked up his pen again. Square, square, the nib scraped across the paper.
 
Beatrice swallowed dryly.
 
“I will.”
 
Beatrice’s heart almost leaped out of her mouth in anticipation.
 
Beatrice bowed once more and fled from the office.
 
Unaware that Heinrich’s gaze followed her.