I’m Sorry I’m Not Qualified to Be Empress - Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – [Sponsored Chapter – Jutsu]

Rose, who had been writing a letter to send home, stopped and looked out the window.

Whoosh

A strong cold wind blew the curtains and swept into the room.

As thick raindrops started falling out the window frame, Rose put down her quill pen and headed towards the window.

‘Looks like there will be heavy rain today.’

At that moment, a flash of lightning painted the dark sky, white.

Everything outside became clear for just an instant, and something moving caught her attention.

‘What was that just now?’

A tremendous roar followed by lightning struck the ground.

Rose stuck her head out of the window trying to find traces of what she had just seen.

The black shadow had disappeared in a flash.

Closing the window, she paced around the room with her arms crossed.

‘I did hear that the building next to this was a chapel, then what I saw, was that a priest?

Ever since they arrived here, besides the maid who served them three meals a day, they hadn’t seen anyone else.

Rose did ask not to be detained, but she didn’t think that they would just leave them like this completely unattended, not even a guard was sent to keep watch over them.

And seeing wolves wandering around the castle as though they belonged there, Natalie and Rose decided not to even try going out the door.

Since Maxim Lancret had arrived, Rose thought that he would send for her. However, there wasn’t any news from him even after a few days of his arrival.

She didn’t know if he was deliberately ignoring her or if it was just his way of ridiculing Solstern, but she couldn’t just sit around and wait any longer.

Whether the shadow she saw was a priest or that butler who had been here once, it didn’t matter, for now, she just needed to meet anybody. And if that didn’t work out, then she would go outside and create a big fuss, a fuss just enough to reach Maxim’s ears.

Upon deciding what her next steps should be, there was no hesitation in her movements that followed.

‘I cannot just sit here like a living corpse!’

Without any further delay, Rose put on the robe that was hung on the wall.

After finding out that Maxim Lancret was a human just like us, Natalie had been quite relieved, so relieved that now she can fall asleep easily while snoring in her room across the hall.

Thanks to that, Rose could move easily. Looking around, she came out of the building and walked quickly under the rain.

She was a bit reluctant to be going out alone, but what could happen to her in a sacred place like a chapel?

Creak

The heavy black door of the chapel creaked as Rose pushed it open and went inside. In the midst of the silent chapel, there was only a single candle placed on the altar that provided a little source of light.

“What….there’s nobody here.”

There weren’t any people, let alone ants.

‘So where on earth did that shadow disappear to?’

Using the lamp in her hand, she looked around at every nook and cranny of the empty chapel.

‘Oh, what is that?’

There was a small entrance on one side of the chapel that had a stone staircase leading to a level below.

Should I go back or should I go down and explore?

Rose, who was hesitating at the entrance, found herself walking down the steps of the stairs before she knew it.

Reaching the end of the dark and humid stone steps, Rose could see a long corridor. Underground passageways that connect to other buildings were a common thing among aristocrats, so she wasn’t surprised seeing this.

‘Ah, looks like there is nothing here too.’

At the end of the corridor, a chamber could be seen. That chamber was a place where the bodies of this castle’s ancestors were usually enshrined. Even though Rose had already died once and came back to life, she would never walk into the place where the graves of the ancestors were placed, so she turned on her heels and walked the other way.

‘I must have mistaken something flying in the wind for a person’s shadow.’

She decided to stop this ridiculous curiosity of hers and head back up the stairs.

‘Oh, that’s!’

Rose’s amethyst-like eyes sparkled as something caught her attention.

TL/N: thought you were going back up? No? Okay then….

The corridor had uniformly spaced large portraits that hung on the wall.

‘The audacity, how could anybody hang such important portraits in this dark and gloomy basement?’

She murmured to herself as she lifted the lamp, curious to see the faces of the great ancestors of the Lancret family.

Hugos Lancret, the King of Helevant, was one of the many kings that participated in the war protecting the continent from the immigrants. He was also the very King who threw the title and sword given to him by the King of Solstern on the spot, laughing like a mad man while declaring to everybody present.

‘The Lancrets obey no one! I will not recognize you as an Emperor! So if you want to declare war, then war you shall get!’

After saying those words, he led his army and returned back to Helevant in one night. The anecdote was widely spoken about everywhere.

‘Let’s have a look at the famous Hugos Lancret.’

Looking at the people inside each portrait, it was clear to see that unlike the rumors surrounding them, the Lancrets weren’t monsters nor beasts.

Pale skin that is a definitive trait of the Northern people, and golden eyes that seem to hold such arrogance and aloofness. High nose bridge and stubborn lips, there was no denying that the people carrying the Lancret bloodline were all very attractive.

Rose tried to recall the time she saw Maxim Lancret’s face from afar.

‘He’s definitely a Lancret alright.’

Shaking her head, she moved on to the next painting. This time it was a portrait of a woman.

As soon as she saw the portrait,

Ah!

A sound of recognition escaped her lips.

The woman in the painting was the youngest daughter of Duke Hanmakers whose household was part of the Solstern royal family.

Rich blonde hair with a reddish hue, styled elegantly upwards, blue sapphire-like eyes that reminded Rose of Cassiax’s eyes, suddenly giving her goosebumps.

Her beauty was commonly talked about in the Solstern society and looking at her portrait now, she was more beautiful and looked nobler than Rose had imagined.

The emptiness in her eyes somehow resembled the atmosphere around Maxim Lancret.

‘She was a distant relative of the royal family, so her son Maxim Lancret must have a little bit of that blood flowing through his veins.’

Rose felt strange at that thought.

Because it meant that Maxim and Cassiax have the same blood flowing in their bodies.

It’s a harsh reality where parents and children created blood baths while fighting over power and wealth. So in such a world, the relationship between direct cousins and third cousins was worse than strangers. Therefore, neither Maxim nor Cassiax can exist together under the same sky.

Somewhere in the near future, the two will be pointing swords at each other’s necks.

Imagining that moment happen, Rose smiled remorsefully lost in thought when suddenly a gruff voice of a man was heard.

When Rose had heard that story from her father, she had a strange curiosity about the eccentric Lancret family, and every time she would imagine the situation, she could just see how shocked the faces of the aristocrats and Emperor were and it would make her laugh.

“Looks like there is a cat that has sneaked in.”

Rose froze for a moment, then she slowly turned looking to where the voice had come from.

There stood a man leaning against the wall. The dimly lit wall illuminated his large silhouette making him look like some kind of demon.

It was definitely Maxim Lancerte.

“Aren’t you a fearless lady?”

Moving away from the wall, he stood straight, crossing his arms as he approached Rose slowly.

The buttons on his black shirt were undone mid-way, giving view to his decadently muscular broad chest with each moment he took. Tight black leather trousers showed off his long and elegant legs with thighs as solid as that of a black horse.

The neurons all over Rose’s body were buzzing, signaling to her that the man walking towards her was dangerous.

She didn’t want to show him that his unexpected sudden appearance had shaken her. Rose did not step backwards, rather she stood straight, raising her head in defiance.

“I saw somebody entering the chapel, so I followed.”

“Didn’t anybody tell you not to walk around because it’s dangerous?”

“I wanted to meet you, so I had no other choice.”

He reached and stood right in front of her, barely leaving any space between them.

Standing this close to her, Rose could see that the man was much, much bigger than she had imagined. She had raised her head trying to look him in the eye but could only see his chiseled chin.

“You wanted to meet me?”

“Yes. So when are we going to hold the wedding?”

Rose didn’t beat around the bush and asked straightforwardly.

One side of Maxim’s lips curved upwards, while his golden eyes shone with a moment of curiosity.

“The situation has gotten this far, so shouldn’t you be taking some responsibility. If you didn’t want any alliance with Solstern, then you should have made it clear from the very beginning by sending a special envoy or a letter.”

“Ha! What allies with Solstern!”

He sneered the word Solstren as though he found it revolting.

“If you hate it so much, then why don’t you just declare war then?”

Maxim’s eyebrow went up after hearing the word war.

“That you can prevent those poor women from dying. You know it would be simple if you were the first one to break this bizarre alliance between Helavent and Solstern.”

“You’re an interesting woman.”

TL/N: Thanks for stating that captain obvious -.-

He hasn’t opened the letter that was sent with her when she first arrived. Initially, he thought if he’d leave her alone for a few days, she would use that opportunity to escape from the castle, get bitten by a wild animal, or throw herself in the river.

However, now Maxim is beginning to wonder who this woman is, and what her real intentions were in coming here.

“I’ve seen your army coincidentally, a very brave looking bunch.”

“…..”

“Though I don’t think you’re raising such an army just to protect the castle.”