Nadia smiled, but there was a certain sorrow to it. Her maid Sandra’s brow remained furrowed. A small table was set up by the hedges, and Sofie would later tell me that its position hid the empress’s person among the trees, hiding her from peeping eyes. Nadia put the roses in a vase, then plucked a petal from one and rubbed it between her fingers.
“I know I should have at least put on some lipstick for you, but I’ve never been much of a fan of makeup. That, and I’m just not in the mood today, I do hope you can forgive me for being so rude.”
“I understand all too well how annoying makeup can be,” I said. “Consider the matter forgotten. I saw you were caring for some roses of your own just now. Do you grow them yourself?”
“Indeed I do. And not just roses. I look after all the plants here. I had the gardener show me how, and I simply fell in love with it. I’ve been doing it myself ever since.”
At a closer look, I saw that Nadia’s fingernails were dirty and that she had a few hangnails, but clearly she loved the work. She told me that she grew vegetables and that she would give me some to take home. I wasn’t sure whether or not that was acceptable, accepting such a gift from none other than the fourth empress herself, but she made a case that was difficult to decline.
“We try to consume what we grow on our own, but it’s just Sandra and me here,” said Nadia. “Everything leftover gets thrown out, and while I realize there are no other options, it still breaks my heart.”
“It’s all just disposed of? But you go to all the trouble of growing them. Nobody else can eat them?”
“They look fine, and they taste quite good too, which is why I inquired with the kitchen staff to see if they could make use of them. Unfortunately, they turned me down. The empress told me to throw my leftovers away, but oh, how I wish I didn’t have to.”
“The empress said that...?”
“Here in the inner palace, her word is law. You didn’t know?”
“No, I didn’t. It must be so hard keeping up with all the different rules. Still, if that’s the case, then I’d be happy to take some home. We’ve many vegetable lovers, and they’re bound to be happy to see more.”
“Ah, in that case, how about I prepare more than just the leafy greens? Some of it was harvested last year, but the taste is still delectable!”
“It would be my pleasure. But I must ask... You really don’t have anybody else you can give them to?”
“Sandra and I take care of our home ourselves, and anybody we call here we get to help out in the fields, so the maids don’t like coming. I only ever really call on outside help for events like your party recently. All my outfits and jewelry are stored in other rooms in the palace, so that’s when I call on assistance.”
“Oh, you’re allowed that luxury?”
“Live here long enough, and they’ll allow you small indulgences.”
I was shocked, and this seemed to puzzle Nadia.
“It’s your first time to the inner palace, yes? I daresay it’s rather mean of the prince to let you visit such a dangerous place without giving you a little more warning. I thought I knew the young man, but I must say he could do to be a little kinder.”
It was all I could do just to smile politely in response. Nadia was older than Reinald, but she had a youthfulness to her that made me think of them as being similar in age. Still, it was strange for her to be so open and so welcoming. I wondered why. Her fingertips went slightly purple as she toyed with the petal in her fingers.
“And how are things outside?” she said, still smiling her kind smile. “I understand that the situation isn’t good, but not everyone has been caught, I assume?”
Huh?
I understood each word, but not what any of them meant.
“Lady...Nadia...?” I asked.
“He has long feared rebellion, and he now has a chance to stamp out his enemies by his own hand. It would seem there are no easy paths any longer.”
I felt a swirl of emotions in Nadia’s statement—sorrow, frustration, annoyance. It was hard to tell if one among them stood out, but I knew that they came from the heart and she felt compelled to give voice to them. Sandra, who clearly felt the same, closed her eyes in anguish.
“Were I to speak up now, I would only be suspected of collusion. And if it is discovered that I am aiding the rebels, I will be put to death, regardless of my position. That is why His Highness is keeping his distance, and why I follow his judgment. But when I hear that my beloved people are suffering—that their lives are in danger because of it—I cannot remain silent.”
“Er, a moment, if I may...?” I uttered.
“Please, pass this along to the prince,” Nadia said, as if she didn’t hear me. “Tell him that the thoughts and feelings of a fallen nation are not something to be ground under—”
“Lady Nadia!”
Finally, my shriek brought the fourth empress to silence.
“I apologize for raising my voice, but...er... I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about...”
“Oh?”
“Not the rebels, or the beloved people, or the aid...”
Lady Nadia and Sandra stared at me, eyes wide and mouths agape. Then they looked at one another in disbelief.
“Oh, my. You really don’t know?” Nadia asked.
“Know what?”
“Well, there’s the mountain capital, and then the meaning of these flowers...”
“Er, yes, about that. I was told Reinald wanted you to have them, so I brought them. That’s...as much as I know. The reason I’m here is exactly what I told you when we first met—I’m interested to learn more about the mountain capital.”
Silence took hold of us. Nadia was clearly struggling to grasp the situation.
“So let me get this straight... You’re really here visiting me today because you wanted to learn more about my former home? Really...?”
It seemed that the two of us had entered this conversation thinking we were having it for entirely different reasons. I pictured Six’s smirk and Reinald’s placid smile.
I’ve been played.
When I realized what the two had actually intended, I wanted to burst with outrage. Naturally, I kept it bottled up—it wasn’t very ladylike to scream at the top of your lungs when you were a guest at somebody’s house.
“I understand, finally, what Sir Reinald meant by this,” I said. “However...my business here remains the matter of your home.”
“Y-Yes, I see. I just...never imagined that one day somebody would actually want to learn more about the mountain capital.”
For Nadia, it really was a genuine surprise. And all of it because of Six and Reinald. Sofie, realizing that something was up, asked permission to stroll the gardens. Sandra offered to join her. The two women were nothing if not skilled when it came to reading between the lines.
“I’m so embarrassed,” uttered Princess Nadia, her hands on her cheeks, but her features calmer now. “I was so certain your motives were different. I apologize.”
“I can’t quite believe it. It would appear Sir Reinald has had the last laugh in all of this.”
“It is so rare of him to send somebody without saying a word, but I’ve never thought him to be mean-spirited until now. Lady Conrad... Karen, it can’t be easy for you.”
I’d garnered the woman’s sympathy. With her nerves dissipated and calm settling once more around us, Nadia began serving the tea herself.
“I promise you I meant what I said regarding why I came,” I said. “However, I do not think Reinald gave me those flowers for nothing. I believe, in other words, that he wanted me to talk to you.”
“Yes, I understand the message now. And if someone does genuinely want to know about my former home, I do not want to send them packing. But before that, allow me a question, please?”
Nadia’s gaze brought with a cold chill—a far cry from the kindly, easygoing woman I’d met when I first arrived.
“Why are you allied with the prince?” Nadia asked. “After all, you are the hero of the day. You killed Ern Quach, who made her disdain for the emperor nothing if not crystal clear.”
Seeing Nadia like this gave me an odd sense of the connection she had with Reinald—as though there was something similar about them. I admit it was a relief.
“Allow me to put things bluntly—we both despise the same person, you and I,” I replied. “If you’re asking exactly how far my own hatred goes, then I’d say as far as wanting nothing more than to see his smug face crushed into dust.”
I held Nadia’s gaze, though I was unsure if I had passed what felt very much like a test. Still, the answer didn’t come in words—instead, I felt the tension in the air fade and dissipate.
“I apologize for asking such an odd question,” said Nadia. “I should have known, given that the prince himself entrusted you with that bouquet of roses.”
“No, I’ve heard about your past, and I understand. I don’t blame you for being cautious.”
The first order of business between the two of us was sorting out our misunderstanding of the topic at hand. Nadia started by telling me where it all began. It was an ordeal not unlike something straight out of fiction.
“How long has it been, now...?” she mused. “How long since I was whisked away and brought to the capital like the victim of a kidnapping...? Ever since that moment, I simply can’t muster even a single shred of love for Karl...”