The Queen Who Deserves To Be Tainted - Chapter 57.1

A short time later, Elfreda arrived at the central palace and spotted someone pacing in the corridor. She called out to him with a smile.

“Sir Robert?”

After hearing Elfreda’s voice, Robert quickly turned his head and hurried over to her. He glanced around, scanning her surroundings, and then made a disappointed expression. Elfreda found his behavior odd, but she didn’t show it and instead asked.

“Did you come to greet me?”

“What? Oh, yes! That’s right, to greet you.”

Robert slapped his left fist into his right palm, speaking in a somewhat formal tone.

“Did you have any trouble on your way here?”

“No, not at all. It’s a route I’m familiar with. By the way, who are you looking for?”

“Huh?”

“Illene didn’t come with me today. She said she wasn’t feeling well, so she’s resting.”

“Illene’s sick? But she’s so strong, I thought…”

“Well, everyone has their moments of weakness. Anyway, if you were waiting for Illene, I’m sorry.”

“Me? Waiting?”

Robert’s eyes grew wide for a moment before quickly waving his hands.

“Oh, no! Not at all! I was just here to greet Your Majesty, that’s all!”

“Sir Robert, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with His Majesty, heading to the banquet hall?”

At that moment, a servant spotted Robert and hurried over, reprimanding him. Robert’s face turned red with embarrassment, and Elfreda awkwardly smiled, pretending she hadn’t noticed the situation.

“Could I walk with you?”

“Ah, of course.”

Suddenly finding himself walking alongside Elfreda, Robert felt awkward and uncomfortable. Even though Illene liked her, it was still strange.

In fact, Robert couldn’t understand why Illene liked and cared for Elfreda. No, no one in Machi could. Elfreda was the granddaughter of Gunnar, the leader of the barbarians.

And then there was the matter of Machi, who had fought for years against Makaeri and managed to defend their land. Robert felt that it was strange for someone to have any positive feelings toward anything related to Makaeri.

But still, he needed this woman. She was the only way to contact Illene.

“You haven’t visited the central palace much since then, have you?”

He was referring to the time when she had visited him for the first and last time, to resolve a problem. Elfreda blinked slowly and asked.

“Oh, are you talking about me?”

“Yes. His Majesty also feels the same way about that.”

Although Ejnar had never directly said anything about it, Robert went ahead and spoke his mind. However, Elfreda’s response was unexpectedly surprising.

“That’s a nice thing to hear, but do you really think His Majesty would feel that way?”

“Huh?”

“I’m the kind of person who should stay out of His Majesty’s sight as much as possible. He kindly visits me from time to time, but…”

Elfreda gave a bitter smile and met Robert’s gaze.

“You do know that’s not out of affection, right, Sir Robert?”

Robert was momentarily speechless, stunned by how accurately she understood herself. Ejnar treated Elfreda kindly, though only in a distant, formal manner.

Before being a servant of Ejnar, Robert was an individual, so he felt a slight discomfort with that fact, even though he understood it. Moreover, he was secretly worried about what might happen if the princess of the Great Empire, who had conquered the East, gained the king’s favor and became too arrogant.

Even the king himself was far from being debauched, so his favor was something rare and precious. Ejnar had never shown any real interest in women throughout his life.

Yet, it was astonishing that this barbarian queen didn’t seem to give it any meaning at all. As the king’s closest attendant, Robert knew how difficult it was for anyone to gain such indifference.

“Well…”

It was hard to deny it, but Robert couldn’t bring himself to be that shameless. However, he was concerned that admitting it might negatively affect his plans.

He finally hesitated and said just a few words.

“I’m not sure. But it looked like he was a bit regretful.”

“I see.”

Though Robert had spoken those words after a compromise between his conscience and national interests, Elfreda accepted them without much response. But, bluntly speaking, Robert could sense that she didn’t quite believe his words.

He felt somewhat uncomfortable, as if he had tried to use someone but ended up being used himself. Still, to meet with Illene, it would be beneficial if the queen came to the central palace more often.