The Queen Who Deserves To Be Tainted - Chapter 45.2

“Actually, I owe you an apology.”

Rachela said, turning back to her. Elfreda’s face grew puzzled.

“I must apologize for not attending your wedding. At the time, well… I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yes, I really wanted to attend, but the palace didn’t recommend it, and I ended up making a mistake by not attending.”

“Since Machi and Giver are neighboring countries, it’s not exactly a short journey, so I completely understand. Don’t worry about it.”

“Still, as a way to congratulate you on your wedding, would it be alright if I offered you a drink? I have a rare wine that I brought with me for the Queen.”

“Of course. There’s no reason to refuse.”

Rachela smiled brightly at Elfreda’s permission, then took the expensive-looking wine from one of her attendants. She poured it carefully into Elfreda’s glass.

“Though it may not compare to the famous wines of Makaeri, it’s a renowned wine from Giver, so please accept it…”

“Ah!”

Both Elfreda and Rachela gasped in surprise.

With a misjudged pour, the red wine spilled down Elfreda’s gloved hands in a stream. She looked at the mess with a distressed look. Thankfully, she had quickly avoided most of it, and her dress wasn’t heavily affected.

Looking shocked, Rachela hurriedly asked,

“Are, are you alright, Your Majesty?”

“Ah, it’s fine.”

“I’m so sorry for such a mistake… What should I do?”

“It’s fine. The gloves can be changed easily.”

Seeing Rachela so flustered was hard to watch, so Elfreda tried to reassure her. She then turned to Ejnar and spoke.

“I’ll just change my gloves for a moment.”

“You don’t have to. You can just have a maid do it.”

“Well, it’s not just the gloves… I think it got on my dress too.”

“I think it’s fine. It doesn’t look like much.”

“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. I should’ve been more careful with the angle when I poured the first glass…”

Rachela continued to act as if she was about to die from embarrassment. Elfreda reassured her, saying it was fine and quickly disappeared. Ejnar watched Elfreda leave, his eyes following her for a long time.

Rachela, who had been observing him, shifted her expression into a faint smile and spoke.

“You’re very kind, Brother.”

Ejnar looked at her as if to ask what she meant. Rachela added, with a slightly awkward look,

“I didn’t expect a king to be so kind to his queen. You’re usually so blunt.”

“Is this considered kindness?”

“Well, I’ve seen Brother since you were a child.”

She said that, but she probably didn’t know what he had been like when he was ten. It was amusing that she spoke as if she knew everything about him, but Ejnar didn’t feel the need to correct her, so he just gave a neutral smile.

Rachela observed him for a moment before asking,

“I actually had a question about the marriage.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you choose Makaeri instead of Giver?”

“‘Choose’ makes it sound like I betrayed Giver.”

“No, we understand perfectly. With the peace marriage with Makaeri, trade will begin, and you’ll gain significant economic benefits… and you’ve received an official apology for the actions of the past. It’s clearly a win. Giver is already an ally of March, so we don’t feel any resentment over being pushed out. But I do wonder why you didn’t choose Giver…”

Rachela’s voice became more cautious as she asked Ejnar.

“Does it have anything to do with the regret over what happened in the past?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I was wondering if you might blame Giver for the deaths of the late King and Prince Anders.”

Ejnar frowned as though he truly didn’t understand what she meant.

“That’s not the case. If we hadn’t gone to Giver’s aid at that time, Machi would have been in danger too.”

Since Machi and Giver were connected by land, if Makaeri had successfully invaded Giver, they would have continued their advance toward Machi. Machi’s ability to protect its land during the last invasion was largely thanks to Makaeri’s sea-based attack, so from Machi’s perspective, it was essential to push Makaeri out of Giver.

“My uncle and Anders didn’t just protect Giver—they died protecting Machi as well. I don’t blame Giver for what happened. They didn’t cause their deaths.”

“…I see.”

Rachela lowered her head while looking bitter.

“I’m sorry. I must have seen Brother in a narrow way.”

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”

Ejnar replied thoughtfully, then suddenly changed the topic.

“I think it’s time we stop using that title.”