The Queen Who Deserves To Be Tainted - Chapter 34.2

“Why not?”

“After all, you successfully completed today’s opening ceremony.”

Marchioness Magnum pretended to offer her advice with concern for her.

“It’s really not worth making a fuss over. There’s no benefit in creating unnecessary noise.”

She wasn’t wrong. If the content had been explicitly meant to embarrass her, that would have been one thing, though this situation seemed too trivial for a formal complaint.

Most would likely assume someone had switched out the original speech to avoid the spotlight, which might only serve to emphasize her own fragile dignity and difficult position. Because of this, Elfreda had originally intended to let it go.

“Just conduct an internal investigation within the Solar Palace. I’ll take responsibility for finding out what happened.”

“Considering this is no trivial matter, documents stored in the Solar Palace have been tampered with by someone.”

If someone hadn’t gotten hurt in the process, she would have gladly done that.

“Doesn’t that imply that other confidential documents could also be at risk, Marchioness Magnum?”

“…That’s true.”

“If someone here dislikes me enough to want to see me humiliated, then this is what they would do.”

Elfreda sighed dramatically, lamenting her situation.

“Who would want to serve under such fear?”

She took the speech from Kasina and stepped outside, with Illene giving Marchioness Magnum a cold glare before following her.

* * *

“May I see His Majesty the King?”

It was Elfreda’s first time visiting the Central Palace alone. Robert nodded in surprise and then led her to Ejnar. As they walked together, she parted her lips.

“Is His Majesty doing okay?”

“Pardon? What do you mean…?”

“His finger. He cut it, remember?”

“Ah, that…”

Robert was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected question. It made sense; after all, both Ejnar and Robert had thought it was just a minor cut.

Of course, Robert didn’t like that Ejnar had bled, even a little for Elfreda’s sake. In fact, he found it utterly incomprehensible. Letting her face embarrassment wouldn’t harm the royal family. If anything, the more her standing declined, the better it would be for them.

Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Ejnar offered a brief explanation.

“You know how much I’ve been looking forward to this opening ceremony.”

It was Ejnar’s way of saying he didn’t want to ruin the event just to humiliate the queen.

To Robert’s ears, it sounded as though Ejnar didn’t consider the queen valuable enough to warrant such an action. Of course, today’s opening ceremony was the culmination of Ejnar’s long efforts to preserve Machi’s history since his ascension to the throne, so Robert understood his reasoning. Thus, he didn’t press the matter further.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder whether the queen understood the king’s noble sacrifice. Even if she didn’t, he was curious about her stance on the situation.

“Yes, he’s fine. It’s nothing to worry about.”

He added a question to ease the tension.

“Were you concerned about His Majesty?”

“…Pardon?”

Elfreda was momentarily startled. If she answered yes, it might seem like she was overly concerned. If she said no, it would come off as too cold.

She wanted to be a queen who didn’t love him, not a heartless queen. So, after a brief silence, she mumbled.

“I have something to discuss.”

“I see.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear he’s okay. I thought he might have lost too much blood earlier…”

…It wasn’t that serious. Were they even in the same place at that moment?

Robert felt a bit conflicted. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, it seemed the queen had been worried about the earlier incident and was relieved by his response.

For a brief moment, seeing her genuinely consider the king caused a slight crack in his heart’s defenses. However, the reality of who she was and the purpose that ultimately brought her here quickly resurfaced, allowing his heart to regain its calm.

After all, what mattered was that if the queen had developed positive feelings for the king—regardless of the truth behind the incident—it certainly wasn’t a bad thing.