I’m Sorry I’m Not Qualified to Be Empress - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: You have to be willing to die to survive.

“Miss! Please open the door!”

“Kwangkwang!!”1

“Please Miss! If you continue like this without taking a sip of water all day, you’ll faint for sure!”

As Natalie shouted outside the door, Rosé turned her head and spoke in her direction from inside the bedroom.

“Leave me be, Natalie.”

“Are you sick? Should I call for a doctor?”

“No…no it’s not that. I just want to be alone for a bit.”

“Then I’ll leave this in front of the door. It’s bread and lamb soup, you should have a bite. Please.”

Natalie motioned for a maid to leave the tray of food at the door. Worried about Rosé, she lingered near the bedroom for awhile longer.

Exactly why has she been like this the entire day? 

Miss Rosé had muttered some strange things in the morning, and after looking at the dress for the ball, had run back to her room without so much as touching it.

The Prince His Majesty will be coming tomorrow. Is she like this because she’s nervous about that?

Natalie sighed and left.

Rosé wandered around the bedroom anxiously, like a rabbit stuck in a trap.

Why did she come back the day before the prince’s marriage proposal? If she had the time, she could have come up with a better way to avoid him.

She had to come back at a time when she had already confessed to Cassiax. They had in fact danced several times together, gazing and each other with affection throughout. She had already exchanged whispers of love with the prince several times.

All that was left was his marriage proposal.

How could she naturally avoid his proposal in this situation?

First, she had to somehow stop him from saying the word “marriage.”

Should she pretend to be crazy? Or have a disease? Follow her brother Hans and run away to a foreign country?

No no no.

Rosé shook her head hard. Those were just temporary solutions.

What Cassiax wanted to obtain through this marriage was the Etoile family, not Rosé. She was just bait for fishing in the Etoile family.

I’ve got to stay focused. This is my last God-given chance. Don’t make a mistake this time! You can’t lose your family again.

Rosé calmly recalled the time she spent in the imperial family. It was full of painful memories, but within her experiences lay the key to solving her dilemma.

She anxiously paced the room. Then, her feet suddenly stopped as though they were nailed to the ground. Some brilliant plan seemed to form in her mind as her purple eyes sparkled.

Maxim Lankert!

This name popped up in her mind.

The Emperor of Helavant, the land of the northern barbarians. The only man who could make Cassiax anxious.

This emperor had never made an official appearance, and rumors about him in the Solstern Empire only grew wilder as time passed.

That he was half wolf and half a devil. That he was a monster who made clothes from human skin.

Rosé recalled some faint memories she had of him.

That’s right. At this time in my last life, while I was ecstatic about Cassiax’s proposal, Muriel had been sent to the north as his bride. 

But Lady Muriel had died even before she arrived at Helavant. Fearful and frightened, she had drunk poison while in the wagon and committed suicide.

She remembered the serious conversation she had overheard her parents sharing in the reception room. The man she had met at the door was certainly Marquis Montenegro, Lady Muriel’s father.

And there was one more thing. A returned corpse had revealed bite marks of a beast.

Lady Ariela!

When her corpse, instead of the self-determined Lady Muriel’s, had been sent to the Solstern Empire, the royal family and citizens were shocked and appalled.

It was an insulting act that almost destroyed the alliance between the two empires, and at that time, Cassiax became extremely sensitive. Unlike the emperor, he had taken it as a war notice from Maxim Lankert.

And it was at that time that the cold war between Cassiax and her father began. 

Rosé held the beautiful purple dress that she wore the day Cassia proposed to her in her hands.

There was no choice. You have to be willing to die to survive!

After making some decisions, her heart was at ease.

**

In the center of the rose garden, a gigantic marble fountain spouted water that seemed to fly into the sky. The musicians set a cherry atmosphere for dancing and the clowns performed brilliant stunts. In the garden, red roses were scattered by the wind, and noble ladies and gentlemen walked in groups.

“The party is so beautiful.”

“I truly appreciate you coming today.”

“Rosé will have to meet a good partner.  I heard the Prince His Majesty is attending the ball?”

“Oh dear, but she’s still so spoiled and unmannered that I’m ashamed. Hohoho.”

Countess Audrey, the social butterfly, made pleasant talk as she waded through the guests like a fish in water.

As the Countess of the Etoile family, she gracefully hosted her daughter’s birthday ball.

**

“Miss, the ladies have arrived”

Rosé sat back and looked in the mirror.

“Ladies…?”

The maid was embarrassed when Rosé asked for clarification on who had come.

Yes? Yes, the ladies. Err…The Lady Eliza and Lady Tra-”

“Ah, right. Escort them in.”

**

After the maid bowed and left to escort the guests inside, Rosé recalled the two names that she hadn’t heard in a long time.

Eliza and Tracy.

Until she got married and entered the palace, she had spent time with them like they were her sisters.

She enjoyed teatime with them every day, and the three were close enough to know small details about one another. Those two had been precious friends who helped her survive the lonely imperial life shortly after she married.

At least, she had thought so, until her family’s downfall. When her father passed away and her brother Hans was reported as missing at sea, they completely turned on Rosé.

And one day, she met Eliza and Tracy again in the palace. But now, as Sasha’s companions, they had stood behind Sasha.

Giggling, Eliza and Tracy entered Rosé’s room with smiles.

“Rosé, Happy Birthday.”

“Happy Birthday, my love.”

The two kissed her cheeks in celebration, one on each side.

Rosé lowered her eyes slightly and quietly received their loud birthday wishes.

Though they had a friendship intimate enough to have been called sisters, their actions now looked frivolous. Rosé felt a little sick at the sight.

Helen?

Rosé’s eyes shined as she noticed someone standing at the door. Having followed Eliza and Tracy, Helen stood quietly behind them.

Knowing Rosé had seen her, she smiled shyly and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Happy Birthday.”

Rosé pulled away from Eliza and Tracy and happily approached her.

“Thank you so much for coming, Helen.”

When she lost her family members, couldn’t save her family house from being destroyed, she had lost everything. Only Helen had visited her at the royal palace. When all the other aristocrats avoided Rosé, trying to stay on the good side of the imperial family, only Helen had visited her in the end.

Helen prayed with Rosé for her father to be able to live the day the count was beheaded, and she hugged the crying Rosé when it was reported that Hans was missing.

Perhaps only Helen cried for her when she fell from the tower and died.

Helen, who looked timid and always stepped back, was the most courageous woman Rosé had known. As Rosé embraced Helen’s shoulder, Helen looked flustered and didn’t seem to know what to do.

She was a shadowy existence that seemed invisible among the ladies.

“Ah. Hans Oppa brought these blue diamond earrings from Porpottia. They don’t look good with my red hair, but it’ll look pretty with Helen’s blonde hair.”2

Rosé lied to Helen.

It’s not that the earrings looked bad on her. Rosé actually avoided wearing those earrings because they were too beautiful and precious to put on.

As Rosé pulled Helen’s hand and brought her to the dressing table, Eliza and Tracy revealed ugly expressions.

“Oh my goodness!”

“Wow!”

When she opened the white velvet box, Eliza and Tracy’s eyes seemed to pop out as they looked at the earrings that looked like drops of water.

Though they were noble ladies and had a number of fine gems, this was the first time they had seen such a brilliant blue.

Even blue diamonds were rarely produced in Porpottia, which was famous for producing high quality jewelry.

Moreover, it held a special meaning that Hans Etoile had brought this gem.

Rosé knew for a long time that these three people like Hans.

Eliza and Tracy always actively asked about Hans, and Helen would quietly blush just by listening to Hans’s name.

“Look at that. I knew it would look good on you.”

Rosé smiled at Helen, who seemed to be struggling whether to accept the earrings Rosé was giving her.

“But still, these earrings were something Sir Hans brought for you, Rosé…I couldn’t possibly take it…”

“Even better things than these earrings aren’t a waste on you, Helen. After all, I’m giving these to my favorite friend. I hope Hans gets to see Helen’s beautiful appearance today.”

Helen blushed, and Eliza and Tracy’s faces darkened as they saw this scene.

“I hope Hans oppa directly presents a gift to Helen next time. You never know, maybe Helen will become my sister-in-law~~”

Rosé looked at Helen and smiled widely. At the word “sister-in-law,” Helen looked as if she was on the verge of fainting.

Clap clap!

Natalie suddenly appeared, and the ambiguous mood in the room lifted.

“I knew it would be like this. Only our Miss Rosé is not ready. All the other ladies are so beautiful today. I’m so lucky to see what kinds of great men these angels will end up with.”3

Eliza and Tracy laughed and smiled, as if they had put on gentle masks on their hard faces. They sat Rosé on a chair and held hair combs.

“Okay. Rosé. How long did you anticipate seeing His Highness Lord Cassiax today? I’ll decorate your hair perfectly and beautifully,” Eliza said.

“Who knows? Perhaps you’ll receive a marriage proposal from the Crown Prince? Hohoho,” Tracy followed.

“That piece of crap.”

At Rosé’s words, Tracy dropped the comb she had been holding in shock.

The room became quiet again.

“Ro-Rosé? What did you just say…”

Tracy asked, doubting her ears, and Natalie stepped up to shoo the ladies outside.

“Now, now. We can’t have our Miss Rosé looking any worse than the other beautiful ladies. We really need to get her ready for the party now, so please wait outside.”

As the other maids stepped into the room, Eliza and Tracy smiled back as they left.

“Alright. We’ll go out and look for Lady Muriel. She’s been so depressed lately that her face is a total mess.”

“Oh my gosh. And who wouldn’t be? If I were told to go to Helavant, I would have already died of a heart attack.”

“Stop it. Who would listen to you then. We all know that. God, please look over and save poor Muriel’s soul~~”

As Tracy pretended to pray, Eliza grinned and took Tracy out of the room, giggling. Helen quietly followed behind them.

While the maids were busy dressing up and grooming her hair, Rosé drifted off into her own thoughts.

Had she misjudged how dangerous of an adventure it would be to go to the north? Her thoughts became complicated.

“Good heavens! I should’ve tipped the dressmaker’s shop more. For one to be this beautiful…!”

Hearing Natalie’s high praises, Rosé looked at herself in the mirror.

The purple dress was innocent and beautiful, appearing as if it existed only for her.

I feel like a moron!

To wear a dress like this, have her hair styled, and smile the most lovely smile in the world for a man like Cassiax, she thought it was so stupid she gave a hollow laugh.

**

The setting sun was a red carpet.

The noble’s carriages flocked to the front of the grand Etoile Castle, red roses wrapped around its walls.

The golden imperial carriage arrived, escorted by guards dressed in white, adding solemnity to the splendor of the ball and creating a rare scene.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!”

***