The Queen Who Deserves To Be Tainted - Chapter 37.1

Robert took a deep breath and then asked Illene about how she had been.

“So, how have you been?”

“I’ve been doing very well. What about you?”

“Are you serious? You’re spending time tending to that barbaric queen?”

Illene was taken aback by his remark, her eyes darting around the room. Fortunately, Elfreda was nowhere in sight, but she still felt uneasy.

What came next, however, was even more outrageous.

“The king is being unreasonable. Serving that barbaric queen is nothing short of disgusting.”

“Is that what you wanted to say after meeting me again?”

Illene couldn’t hold back her retort.

“You’re clearly more clever than most ladies in the social circles, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It means you have a knack for pretending to care while scratching someone else’s wounds.”

“Me…?”

Robert was taken aback because he had genuinely meant his words of concern.

This wasn’t the response he had expected. He had intended to persuade the king to let her return to the central palace as soon as Illene expressed that she was struggling.

“Uh, what do you mean?”

“Exactly this, pretending not to know anything and asking innocent questions.”

“No, what on earth did I do?!”

“Shut up! Don’t talk about barbarians in front of me. If Queen Elfreda hears that…”

“Oh, was I interrupting your conversation?”

Just then, Elfreda’s voice suddenly chimed in, causing Illene to jump and quickly cover Robert’s mouth.

Robert’s face flushed red at the sudden contact, but Illene, not giving it a second thought, turned to Elfreda with a calm smile, pretending everything was perfectly fine.

“Oh. Sir Robert was just praising how wonderfully you delivered the speech today, Your Majesty.”

“Oh my.”

“He kept going on about it. I was just hinting that he should tone it down in front of others.”

“That’s right. Good comments should be made in moderation. Otherwise, he might get called out for being oblivious.”

Suddenly labeled as clueless, Robert looked at Illene with a mix of indignation and embarrassment, his face still flushed.

With a glint in her eye, Illene smiled and quietly threatened him to be quiet. Finally, she released him and turned her attention back to Elfreda.

“Then, shall we head back to the Solar Palace?”

“Oh, wait. I have something to discuss with Sir Robert.”

“…Hic!“

Feeling flustered, Robert unexpectedly let out a hiccup. Illene shot him a sidelong glance as if to say he should behave himself.

* * *

A little later, Elfreda held a tea gathering with a few noblewomen in the reception room. Officially, the gathering was meant to prepare for the king’s upcoming birthday celebration. However, being the first meeting, the conversation mostly consisted of casual chatter rather than solid planning.

As this was Elfreda’s second tea gathering since becoming queen, and the number of attendees had notably decreased, the noblewomen approached with a more cooperative attitude than they had the first time.

“Your last speech was quite impressive.”

One of the noblewomen at the gathering honestly said.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to do so well.”

The following comment felt genuine and not feigned, making Elfreda happy, and she responded sincerely.

“I’m glad it was received well, despite my limited abilities.”

“If you’ve only been learning for a few months and can manage that, then your efforts certainly deserve recognition.”

“It seems I worked hard just to hear such praise.”

Although she had successfully delivered her speech at the opening ceremony in Ancient Machi, it didn’t significantly change the way people viewed her. Some still regarded Elfreda with hostility, which she had expected. She hadn’t anticipated a sudden shift in perception.

‘It’s probably too much to hope that a single event could erase such negative views.’

However, it was still meaningful to show her sincerity toward the country she had come to, proving that her affection was not just words.

At that moment, another noblewoman glanced around before speaking.

“By the way, the Solar Palace looks a bit emptier than before.”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but half of the ladies-in-waiting have been sent away.”