One month later, Westalia awoke in the westernmost corner room of Le Chantier Palace. The room was filled with tasteful white furnishings. Her ladies’ maids opened the curtains to let sunlight into the room, quickly prepared breakfast, and got Westalia ready for the day.
While she was eating her bread and vegetable soup, one of her maids held out an envelope and said, “There’s a letter for you, Lady Westalia.”
“From whom?” Westalia asked.
“Felix Nezeroa, crown prince of the Kingdom of Lhumzia.”
“I see. Thank you, you can leave it on the table.”
Westalia had plans for the day. After finishing breakfast quickly, she put Felix’s letter in her pocket and left the room.
Westalia walked through the large garden. Past the rose beds soaked with morning dew, she found Leonardo in a stone gazebo. It was still early for their rendezvous, but he had probably arrived ahead of Westalia so as not to keep her waiting. She quietly approached him from behind as he read a book and, with just a hint of mischief, she covered his eyes with her hands and whispered, “Guess who?”
Leonardo turned around on the bench he was seated on and pulled her closer to the railing of the gazebo. She let out a shriek.
“That voice... It must be my empress,” Leonardo replied, a charmed look in his eye as he closed the distance between them and brought their faces close together. Westalia brusquely pushed his forehead away with her index finger.
“I’m still just a candidate!” Westalia corrected him. She walked into the gazebo and sat down next to him. As it turned out, no final selection had been made for empress. Instead, Westalia and Elizabeth had become the two official candidates for the position as recognized by the emperor.
On the day of the final screening, after a discussion among the royal family members, Westalia and Elizabeth had been summoned back to the audience chamber and told that the decision on who was to be empress had been put on hold and that the pair of them would be reevaluated in six months. In summary, Westalia was to be Elizabeth’s rival for another half year. The decision was more than unprecedented.
The Reyn family had strongly protested and pressured the royal family, having naturally assumed that Elizabeth would be chosen. They’d unilaterally denied Westalia’s candidacy and were apparently furious, wondering what was lacking in Elizabeth. But the emperor had been adamant and would not reverse his decision.
The next hurdle is taking on the corrupt Reyn family, Westalia thought. She was being tested. She had to prove that she was worthy of being empress. The Reyn family would not back down unless she could convince more people that she had something more than Elizabeth, the daughter of the most powerful man in the country.
Westalia interpreted the next six months as an opportunity to silence the Reyn family and their forces. If they didn’t accept her, she would be hindered and not allowed to operate freely, even if she became empress. It would be just like when she was imprisoned in the royal villa.
However, it was also rumored that the Reyn family was completely ruthless, and that they would do anything for power. Would they really stand by and do nothing during the six months of the candidacy period? Although Westalia now lived in the coveted Le Chantier Palace, she was still on her guard.
“Don’t get too down about that,” Leonardo said.
“Why should I be depressed? I still have a chance. My dream isn’t over. I’m grateful just for that.”
“I heard from your knight that you were crying in private.”
“Paige!” Westalia stood up angrily. She couldn’t believe Paige had betrayed her secret to him. Her confident face turned bright red.
This isn’t a good look for me at all, Westalia thought. Just when her dream was about to come true, it had once again slipped out of her reach. It was understandable to be shocked at being put off for six months and to feel anxious about the uncertain future. It was acceptable to feel depressed in the privacy of one’s room.
“And then she grabbed me, assuming I had done something to make you cry,” Leonardo continued.
“Paige...” Westalia whispered. Paige hated Leonardo because he was a good-looking man, and even when she found out that he was the crown prince, her attitude remained the same.
I’ll talk to Paige about this later, Westalia thought. She gave a polite cough and sat back down.
“I was only depressed for a little while. But I’m already looking ahead, so don’t worry!” Westalia guessed that the decision meant that she still had to grow and develop to become a person worthy of the position of empress. She intended to take this ordeal as an opportunity and to work hard, greedily, and sometimes even in an unrefined way to make her dream come true.
“Well then, good.”
Westalia averted her eyes from Leonardo’s worried look and pulled out the letter from Felix from her pocket. She’d been too busy in the morning to read it, but it might be urgent, so she asked Leonardo if he didn’t mind if she looked through it.
First of all, it contained a thank-you, followed by the compensation requests for Felix’s help in proving Westalia’s innocence. Ultimately, the goal was peace between the Kingdom of Lhumzia and the Archaites Empire, but Westalia hadn’t even become empress yet. However, Westalia had purchased the medicinal herbs for the epidemic—by throwing away all the private fortune she’d once had as the Duchess of Lejainne. It had been fortunate that she hadn’t told anyone where she’d deposited her money so that her family couldn’t take it from her. Felix expressed his gratitude that this had saved many lives.
“I admire your philanthropy with your private fortune, but I see that your cooking skills are the same as ever. You’ve made something terrible again. What’s this supposed to be?” Leonardo asked.
“It’s chiffon cake, for all intents and purposes,” Westalia replied.
Looking down at the dark object on the table, Leonardo let out a sigh. Westalia was still not very good at cooking, and she still turned all her creations into charcoal.
“It’s looking quite pitiful. Wait a minute. You’re not going to make me eat it, are you?” Leonardo asked.
Westalia had baked it last night for Leonardo, but, well, it had ended up looking pretty pathetic. She forced him to take a bite anyway, and as expected, his face turned pale as he choked the piece down. Leonardo covered his mouth with his hand and said with a doubtful look, “This is going to be a new kind of chemical weapon.”
Westalia pretended not to hear him and looked back down at Felix’s letter. It also contained the latest news. Lily, who had been the next candidate to be his fiancée, had fallen out of favor, and so he had been looking for a new fiancée.
“I wish him happiness,” Westalia said.
Leonardo noticed the change in her expression and muttered, “Do you have feelings for Felix?”
“Not like that. Why?”
“You were engaged for a long time. It wouldn’t be strange that some kind of affection developed between you two. I’ve been concerned about it for a long time,” Leonardo said, his face serious.
“He’s like an older brother. There’s nothing for you to be concerned about. Are you jealous?”
“Of course. I want the person I love to only have eyes for me. Even if you don’t feel that way, I wonder how he feels?”
“Oh please, he never thought of me like that.”
Leonardo cornered her against a pillar with a sullen look on his face. “I’m not sure if you’re smart, obtuse, or an idiot.”
“An idiot?! What do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said.”
“I swear...” But Westalia was just teasing him because he was jealous, and with a small laugh, she put her hand on Leonardo’s cheek and brought his face close to hers. She stroked his porcelain-smooth cheek with her thumb.
“Look closely. You’re the only reflection in my eyes, aren’t you?” Westalia asked.
Leonardo’s own face was the only thing he could see in her eyes. He intertwined his fingers with Westalia’s and pulled her even closer.
“I can’t tell. You’ll have to come closer.”