I’m Sorry I’m Not Qualified to Be Empress - Chapter 26

The dead man had his eyes wide open in surprise and died with an anguished look on his face.

He looked resentful, as if he was asking ‘How could you do this to me?’

“It seems that the inside of the castle is not safe.”

“Secretly look for suspicious people.”

“Yeah.”

“When she moves, always have two guards accompany her.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

With cold eyes, Maxim fell into deep thought alone, seeing if there was anything to point out.

* * *

Rose woke up from the bed and tried to get up but she stumbled.

It felt as if her body was made out of soft bones.

“No! No!”

Natalie noticed that Rose was trying to get up and ran to her.

“For the time being, His Majesty said that you should rest and stay still!”

“No. Today… I told the maid to guide me to the castle.”

Rose remembered what she had ordered, and tried to force herself to get up.

“Ahh! That’s not important. You have to get better first and then you can do that. What if you collapse again?”

Rose listened to Natalie’s words and lay back deeply on the bed.

“….How is His Majesty…?”

“He didn’t sleep and kept looking at you until he went out at dawn.”

“What do you mean looking? Who is he looking at?”

“You, My Lady.”
‘What? Me? So you’ve been around the whole time?”

“It’s because I stayed here. No matter how many times I told him to go and sleep, he just wouldn’t budge. He didn’t say anything so it’s uncomfortable being with him. I got nervous.”

Natalie, who was uncomfortable, seemed to have suffered a lot last night……. A dark blue shadow was cast under her eyes. Rose remembered what happened last night, so she quickly put her head inside the blanket and looked under it. She was dressed in white pajamas, which was different from yesterday.

“My… Who changed my clothes?”

“The maids and I came to change your clothes.”

‘Whew….’

She’s relieved. For a moment, Rose recalled the scenes where she threw the brush, kissed Maxim, and went into the bathtub while arguing with him in the bathroom.

She felt ashamed to the point that her hands and feet rolled inwards because she felt like she had been doing something good as she drank alcohol even when she couldn’t eat well.

‘Why did I do that?’

Rose wanted to hide, so she gently raised the blanket up to her face and then lowered it again.

‘Come to think of it, Maxim must have known by now!’

She remembered that she had not yet told Maxim what had happened outside yesterday. Jansen had said that he would tell His Majesty himself, but he did not do so immediately because he thought it would be okay to delay the story by a day or so. Furthermore, Rose’s body was so bad that she didn’t even have time to explain it in detail.

‘It must have been reported by Jansen….’

Rose quietly looked at the grid pattern on the ceiling and thought of what had happened in the past one by one.

The strange feeling started after Maxim had left the castle.

A bizarre, eerie feeling that someone was secretly following her.

A few days ago, Rose was walking by the lake with Natalie. While Natalie was away for a while to pick up a blanket, a cautious black shadow appeared behind her chair. Before she could turn around, the gardener suddenly appeared from a bush and greeted her, and the shadow disappeared without a trace.

Another day, the wolves lost their temper at the sound of a whistle from somewhere and tried to rush at her like wild beasts.

Fortunately, the wolves were barely controlled by the soldiers who rushed in. At first, she thought that Maxim had commanded someone to keep an eye on her. It didn’t feel like she was being protected.

‘Perhaps······!’

Rose was well aware that she’s not very welcome in this castle. Besides, the Helavant people are hostile to her.

What if someone tries to kill her while she is alone? Rose thought that it might be possible to secretly manipulate her death in a way that no one knew about and make it look like she committed suicide.

If that happened, it could be Rose, who was unfairly killed before returning to Cassiax, or the second Olivia, who fell from the window of her room and died. Of course, it’s still unclear how Olivia Lankert actually died.

Rose couldn’t just stand still as a dangerous shadow kept following her. Since Maxim was not in the castle, Rose immediately went to see Jansen.

‘It feels like someone is following me in the castle these days.’

‘What? It is a strange place, so you’re probably sensitive. No one in the castle would dare do such a thing to the Queen.’

At first, Jansen looked like he didn’t believe her.

‘No, that’s not it. But even if I overreacted, I thought it would be better to tell Jansen in advance.’

‘That’s right. Well said.’

‘So, if someone is really targeting me, rather than continuing to be anxious, how about digging a trap first?’

Rose was sure that those who are aiming for her will surely act boldly when they are outside the castle rather than inside the castle.

What if she was left alone? She pretended to sneak a peek outside the castle with Jansen, giving them a chance to show up.

After the conversation on the hill, Jansen and Rose started planning their way back to the castle.

“My Queen, please wait here for a moment. I’ll come up soon. They must have been tired of running all day.” Jansen deliberately spoke loudly and dragged the two horses down into the valley.

Rose pretended to wait for him and was left alone above. Two masked men came out from behind the tree to attack her. Rose didn’t even scream.

Because, on the way out of the castle with Jansen, they had already brought some experienced soldiers.

They followed Jansen and Rose from a distance, escorting them. When suspicious masked men appeared, the soldiers surrounded them at once.

One rebel lost his life by mistake, and the other one, who was killed, was dragged right away by Jansen to the dungeon.

As soon as she returned to the castle after experiencing such a dangerous situation, she heard that Maxim was returning.

Rose quickly changed clothes as if nothing had happened and acted like she had been in the room because she wasn’t feeling well all day.

As the people of the castle gathered in front of the room, Rose caught Lady Katriana’s dismayed expression.

‘Maybe Lady Katriana…’

It was also strange that she kept visiting my room yesterday. Why did she come to recommend tea when she was usually so uncomfortable and cold when we greet each other. Maybe it was because she knew I wasn’t well. That’s what I was thinking.

“Miss!”

Natalie rushed over to the bed because she had something to say.

“Executive Jansen is outside.”

She noticed that Rose was already waiting for him, and wrapped the gown around her shoulders.

“Tell him to come in.”

As Natalie turned towards the door, Rose roughly straightened her hair and leaned her body straight against the head of the bed. Jansen, who was coming in, hurriedly waved his hand and said.

“Just lie down. You must rest.”

“It’s okay. How is he?”

“That’s… He was killed by someone while I was away.”

“Is he dead?” Rose’s eyes widened in disbelief. “In prison?”

Jansen nodded once with a serious face.

Rose was embarrassed, but she tried to stay calm.

“I’m glad, though. Now I know for sure that there are people in the castle who are targeting me.”

“Yes. He must be holding his breath for the time being since His Majesty Maxim also knows. Still, you must be careful until you catch the culprit.”

Rose nodded as if she understood. Who the hell would have done that? Jansen and Rose were thinking deeply, but Freddie appeared with a desperate look.

“The Queen.”

Jansen and Rose looked at Freddie, who was standing in front of the door, wondering what was going on.

It was strange that Freddy wasn’t so embarrassed about it.

“No. It’s not a letter… Actually, a huge number of wagons have arrived.”

“What? What came?”

Rose did not immediately understand Freddie’s words and asked.

“No way!”

Natalie, who was quick-witted, ran to the window to see if what she thought was right.

“Oh my God! The Count and his wife must have sent them. There are three Etoile wagons!”

Even in a state where it was difficult for Rose to move, with Natalie and Jansen’s support, she struggled to walk towards the window.

“What is that…”

Those words came out of Rose’s mouth. The carriage, reflecting the taste of her mother, Countess Audrey, was as dazzling as the Solstern Imperial carriage. When the carriage was in front of the castle, she did not feel its presence at all.

It went so well with the white rose mansion without any incompatibility. However, as it was placed in front of a centuries-old castle built of stone on a cliff, it was a bizarre landscape as if something from another world had been placed mistakenly. The maids came down to see and discover something strange, and people gradually flocked around the carriage.

***

Huge chests were unloaded from the three luxurious wagons. The workers and servants who got off the wagon moved in unison. Large boxes lined with leather and were elaborately crafted, and carefully packaged items like precious objects. A jewel box that sparkles in the sunlight. Fabrics and elaborate rugs that cost more than jewelry. Unidentified exotic ornaments. The finest tea leaves coveted by the imperial family. And Rose’s books, which she enjoys reading.

Seeing the quaint objects placed one by one on the floor, People were puzzled about what was going on, but Rose recalled a scene from her memory. It was exactly the same feeling back then.