Remarried Empress - Chapter 449. Brief Farewell (2)

Translator: Aura / Editor: Tiny Zebra

While Navier was torn between desire to comfort her husband and fear to face him due to her worry that he could come to resent her, Mastas met with her brother, April. Together, they went to a secret conference among the Underground Knights. After the conference, as they walked back, Mastas asked her brother with concern.

“What is the word on the street about Grand Duke Lilteang?”

The Grand Duke had been found outside the front gate of the Embassy of the Eastern Empire, so anyone who passed by must have seen his emaciated appearance. Mastas was concerned about how the passersby had reacted.

“Has anything been said about Our Majesty?”

“Do you mean Her Majesty the Empress or His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Of course I mean His Majesty Emperor Heinley. Empress Navier has nothing to do with this.”

“People know that Grand Duke Lilteang was punished because of what he did to Duke Zemensia’s son. They believe that Emperor Heinley must have held the Zemensia Family in high esteem, otherwise he would not have treated a member of a foreign imperial family so harshly. They seemed pleased, since the Grand Duke has never had a positive image in our country.”

Mastas was relieved. But she noticed that April’s expression was somewhat solemn, so she asked, puzzled.

“What’s with that face?”

April answered reluctantly.

“People have a misconception.”

“A misconception?”

“Although the people seem pleased with His Majesty’s actions, Her Majesty’s reputation was affected by this situation.”

Mastas’ eyes widened and she grabbed April by the collar of his shirt.

“What are you talking about?! What did our empress supposedly do?!”

“I am but a messenger! What did I do to deserve to be tugged around with so much violence?”

“Oh, sorry.”

Mastas quickly released her brother. He smoothed the wrinkled collar of his shirt while he huffed.

“As people see it, His Majesty held the Zemensia Family in high esteem, but in the end he completely destroyed them due to his love for Empress Navier.”

“And how else should His Majesty treat a family of traitors?”

“The problem is that some people believe that His Majesty was willing to discard his loyal subjects for Her Majesty.”

“That’s absurd! Those vultures had no understanding of what loyalty means. They targeted Her Majesty first!”

“Of course, most people share your opinion. However, I’m concerned that the bad opinions of the minority will spread. People like to badmouth more than they like to praise.”

“That won’t happen!”

Mastas ruffled her brother’s hair, making it so wild that it looked like a bird’s nest.

As April debated whether to tell his sister about an incident in which Easterners quarreled with Westerners who badmouthed Navier in their presence, he saw someone over Mastas’ shoulder. His eyes widened and he raised his hand in greeting.

“Lord Koshar!”

Mastas flinched and asked under her breath,

“Lord… Lord Koshar is here? Behind me?”

“Here I am, Miss Mastas.”

Mastas became stiff like a wooden doll, frozen in an awkward posture. With her eyes, she asked her brother for help. Mastas didn’t actually know what kind of help she wanted, exactly, but she asked for help anyway.

However, her brother misunderstood her silent pleas for help. He smiled with satisfaction, winked at her, and quickly left.

Confused by April’s sudden departure, Koshar asked,

“Has something urgent come up?”

Mastas clasped her hands tightly and mumbled,

“I… I don’t… I don’t know.”

Flustered, her eyes wandered around the corridor. She couldn’t help it. She had never spoken face to face with a man as handsome, delicate, and innocent as Lord Koshar. In fact, she thought that Lord Koshar seemed as pure as a lily of the valley. Mastas worried that Lord Koshar might faint suddenly, like before, so she wanted to speak carefully.

“Um… Lord… this … um, Lord Koshar.”

“Tell me, Miss Mastas.”

“Um… the weather was bad a few days ago.”

“It was.”

“To avoid catching a cold, one can drink a glass of milk mixed with honey.”

“Is that advice you think I should follow?”

“Since you’re delicate… well, it’s not a bad thing for you to be delicate. I like… Lord Koshar is delicate.. Wait, that doesn’t mean I like… Uh, I don’t dislike you either… What I mean is, with your delicate constitution, you can easily catch a cold from bad weather. It would do you good to drink warm milk mixed with honey.”

Mastas realized that it was very difficult to deal with a delicate man. She struggled to choose the right words so as not to hurt him.

Since she lowered her head in embarrassment, she didn’t notice Koshar’s gaze on her as he held back his laughter.