I’m Sorry I’m Not Qualified to Be Empress - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I’m sorry I’m not qualified to be Empress Chapter 16

Pierre, who was taking a stroll with the elders, saw someone and tensed his face.

Ahead, Katrina was heading somewhere with a terrifying spirit.

“Well, I’ll excuse myself,” Worried, Pierre left his seat in a hurry and ran to Katriana.

When he grabbed her arm from behind and spun her around, Katriana returned his gaze with a fierce glare of her own.

As soon as she saw it was her husband, she continued on as if she hadn’t seen him in the first place.

“You! What the hell are you doing? And what are you talking about? Where are you going now?” Interrogated Pierre.

“What do you mean where are we going? To meet the king!” Katriana exclaimed.

Pierre quickly got a sense of why Katriana was so excited.

“Let’s not get over excited. Let’s walk over there and talk amongst ourselves first.”

“Get off me! Do I look like I’m too excited?”

“Honey!”

“Do you think this makes sense? How many sacrifices have we made for it all to be for naught!”

“Stay calm and listen to me.”

“You’re just going to spend a year doing nothing. While, my niece, Ayla, has been treating me as if I’m an invisible person.”

“Give up on Ayla. It’s already been decided. There’s nothing we can do.”

“This is completely disregarding and insulting!” Katriana said, referring to Rose moving into the main building.

Katriana had her niece, Ayla, in mind as Maxim’s spouse.

‘I’ll send a woman from Solstern, but ignore her and she’ll get herself killed. Since I’ve even been planning other ways to get rid of her if she doesn’t get rid of herself on her own. That was the plan with the goal, to get my cute niece sitting next to Maxim!

My adorable niece will drive away remnants of the old hostess, making her the perfect match for Maxim.

“I’ll go to his highness-ah!”

“Tch!”

Pierre hid himself and Katrina behind a large tree holding her to prevent her from leaving

“What are you doing now?”

Pierre dissuaded her and pointed his head toward the garden, which several people were walking across in particular, Rose. The couple stared at Rose, who glanced at the trees.

Unlike the slim, cold-looking northern woman, she looked like a southern woman, small, warm, and lovely.

As soon as Pierre saw her profile, he could see her face overlapped with Olivia’s, who was Maxim’s mother.

“That’s the little Solstern girl,” said Katrina, glaring at Rose fiercely as she gritted her teeth in frustration.

Unaware that the two were watching from afar, Rose followed Freddy diligently to the main building. She could feel people giving her strange looks, and gossiping about her every step she took.

‘Solstern people are treated like freaks here.’

They think of each other like monsters and are impatient to eat. Such a funny thought flashed through Rose’s mind, causing a slight smile to form around her mouth.

Unaware of the meaning of the smile, Mrs. Cartiana saw Rose smiling, and her anger grew even more.

‘Let’s wait and see how long the smile will last.’

Rose was a little nervous, but she tried to be confident, so as to not lose her dignity. Even if she regretted it, she couldn’t go back to Solstern anymore. Rose had no idea what else would happen when she stepped into Helabant territory. She’d thought that perhaps, more dangerous and painful things might unfold here than in the Solstern imperial family.

‘It’s the process necessary to get rid of Cassiax, and no matter what else happens, I have no choice but to overcome all obstacles one by one.’

“What’s that?”

Rose and Freddy turned to Natalie who pointed at something with her finger.

A young woman dressed as a maid stood uneasily on top of the stone wall, looking down below to the rocky path, without any other way to get down.

The maid wobbled, barely managing to regain her footing on the stone wall.

“Ehem,” Freddy coughed deliberately.

However, being too absorbed in her own thoughts the maid didn’t hear him.

“Ehwm!” Freddy coughed loudly again, and as he approached the wall, the maid staggered and fell.

“Ah!” The maid screamed.

‘Oh no!’ Natalie and Rose frowned together, imagining how hurt she would be when she hit the ground.

“What the hell were you doing up there?” Freddy attempted to ask after catching her while keeping a dignified expression, but the red-faced maid covered her mouth and began to beg desperately.

“Please, please wait!”

She looked more embarrassed and surprised than hurt, even though her knee was badly scraped and bleeding.

Rose wondered what this was all about, and saw three or four young men turning the corner of the road, leaving the one which the maid had just been spying on. In the middle of the group was a shrewd-looking man with dark chestnut hair, and when he spoke the rest nodded.

The way they passed, the situation below wasn’t visible, but nonetheless, the maid was embarrassed as if she’d been caught cheating.

Rose looked alternately between the smart, neat, young man and the maid, who was glancing up at the sad man.

‘This scene. I’ve seen it before.’

As soon as she felt such a sense of deja vu, a person who had done such things before came to mind.

‘Yes, as I thought it’s the same look Heren had when she watched Hans secretly.’

Then Freddy’s reproach was heard. “What the hell is this? What were you peeking at in hiding!”

“I-I’m so sorry. I-I w-won’t do that again.”

When she stuttered heavily, Natalie looked at her with a conflicted face, as if she wanted to say something.

The maid had big, clear eyes, with cute curly platinum hair that drooped downwards. Her face was red to the ears, showing how frightened she was.

‘I think I’m about to burst into tears at any moment’ Thought Rose.

She looked pitiful, like a puppy that had lost its owner.

“Be careful in the future. Leave now.”

The maid ran limping on her injured leg, before Freddy’s mind would change.

The three started walking again as if nothing had happened. Rose thought of her friend, Herren, in Solstern and turned around to look back at the maid.

At the entrance of the castle was a line of people, who had come out to greet her.

The first person to take a step forward, and introduce herself was Miriam, one of the maids.

“I’m Miriam, the maid in charge of maid care, and miscellaneous things in the castle.”

As soon as Rose saw her, a senior nun from convent boarding school came to mind

‘I don’t know if I’m going to like working with her, she gives the impression of a cold, and heartless woman.’ Thought Rose as soon as she got the first impression of the maid, but she quickly changed her mind. She had fallen in love with Cassiax from just his first impression.

Hadn’t she ever experienced how dangerous such prejudice was?

‘Let’s not make a rash judgment.’ She thought.

Rose smiled and gave Miriam a nod.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“I’ve been informed that you’ve come here in a hurry, so I prepared a room in advance. I’ll show you around the castle.”

Miriam took the lead, then Rose, Freddy, and Natalie followed.

Freddy had already entrusted Miriam with the room arrangements.

Rose wondered if she’d prepared the room benefiting her skill as a maid.

“No way!”

Freddie’s face turned pale from the sight of the far west room.

“Who the hell do you think you are to do this?” He glowered at Miriam angrily.

Miriam looked at his bewildered eyes and acted with composure as if nothing had happened. Then with a faint smile on her lips, she approached Rose.

“From generation to generation, the hostess of Helabant Castle has used this room as their private quarters.”

“Yes.” Rose responded.

Freddie and Miriam started bickering, but Rose looked around the room with a naive look, not knowing anything.

It was an antique-looking room, with a magenta theme, and golden accents. The arched window occupied an entire wall, giving off the aura of a small chapel.

There was a feeling of peace in the old quality antique furniture.

Though somewhat distant from the splendor seen in the extravagant Solstern Imperial Palace, or Etoire Mansion, Rose could feel the dignity of the traditional castle that had been kept for hundreds of years.

‘It’s an elegant room.’

Rose thought what her mother, Mrs. Audrey, would have said if she was here.
“What an old-fashioned place! This isn’t even a room, it’s a monastery!” She would’ve grumbled.

It would take a month for the room to be redecorated, and when Rose pictured her mother sighing as she fanned herself, a smile came to her lips.

“I especially like the window.” Rose said, thinking of how the sun would shine through the arched window, making the carpet look golden.

As Rose approached the window, Freddy now looked at Miriam with open dissatisfaction.

Miriam wanted to say something, but Rose was standing in front of her, thus she couldn’t say a thing, which frustrated her.

“It’s been empty for quite a long time. Please let me know if you need anything.” Miriam finally managed to say in a soft voice.

“I will.” Answered Rose.

“Ella. Molly!” Miriam shouted, and shortly after two maids stood behind her.

“These are the girls you’re going to be with. Come on girls, say hello.”

“It’s Ella.”

“It’s Molly.”

They answered in turn, curtseying as they gave their greetings to Rose.

They were like soldiers wearing dark black maid uniforms, encompassing the maid’s slogan to a tee. Glancing down at them, Rose looked at the maid who introduced herself as Ella.

The maid, skinny, with a face full of freckles, was completely different from the Ella that Rose knew before, who had betrayed when she was part of the imperial family.

When Rose recalled her old maid’s name, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She was aware it was a completely different person, yet she was still somewhat reluctant knowing she had the same name as the maid who once betrayed her.

The memory of being betrayed by the person she trusted most made Rose unwilling to trust anyone again.