The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 109

Hey, is that?!

I couldn’t hide my surprise.

Mr. William, the representative of the bereaved families, walked forward, breaking through the crowd.

“I’m utterly disappointed with the way the media has been putting out biased articles.”

He expressed his disappointment with determination.

*Sigh* Could I even say something like that?

I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.

“The press portrayed Lady Charlize as if she didn’t care about the memorial service.”

Mr. William was wide-eyed as he continued.

“If she genuinely didn’t care for us, why would she send each of us invitations for the memorial service?”

“Is that true?”

“But I’ve never seen an article reporting about that…”

The mourners began to gather and fuss.

At that moment, Mr. William hit the nail on the head with vigor.

“As the representative of the bereaved families, I was invited by Lady Charlize to meet her and his Highness, the Crown Prince.”

The eyes of mourners widened in amazement at that revelation.

“My God, Lady Charlize did that? But…”

“You received a personal audience with his Highness, the Crown Prince?”

“If it’s true that’s quite the story, why didn’t the newspapers report about that?”

With all the gossip, the reporter’s face began to contort as an uneasy feeling set in.

“Why do you think we were able to attend the memorial service?”

Mr. William snapped at the reporter.

“It was all possible because Lady Charlize paid for our transportation and accommodations!”

“It sounds more like Lady Charlize squandered the budget given to her, am I not mistaken?”

As soon as the words ‘transportation and accommodation expenses’ came out, the reporter who was driven on the defensive began to argue he was right.

Mr. William’s face became flushed red with anger.

“Reporter, why say something so heartless?”

Mr. William raised his voice.

His eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

“We were the ones who sent our own flesh and blood, brothers, children, and grandchildren to fight the beasts! How could you say such a thing…”

“I think I can answer that question.”

I spoke up, unable to bear this any longer.

All eyes were on me.

Normally, I’d feel pressured by everyone’s gazes but…

‘What did that reporter just say right now?!’

Unfortunately, I was so mad that my attention was completely fixed on him.

That reporter’s talking through his hat, I felt like punching a hole through his face!!

I spoke coldly.

“I’ll be explaining the transportation and lodging expenses from this moment onward.”

I guess my expression was fierce because the reporter’s face turned pale.

“As you all know, the memorial service was held during winter, leaving the bare ground frozen all over.”

I continued, keeping myself composed.

“And given the cold weather, planting grass itself would be next to impossible.”

“Is it that hard to have grass planted?”

“Yes. Even if you’re lucky enough to obtain grass, it’ll succumb to the cold and perish.”

Hearing my answer, the gathered mourners quietly nodded their heads.

“Well, no doubt about that.”

“Because of weather concerns, memorial services are usually held in spring.”

“But since the service was held during winter…it couldn’t have been a worse time.”

Huh…

It’s the first time I’ve seen the mourners or rather nobles agree with me.

“With the memorial service in that situation, the cost to have grass planted would have been an astronomical amount.”

“Still, you planted grass, didn’t you?! That in itself is wasteful…” added the reporter.

“I didn’t.”

I shook my head firmly.

“The green crops that cover the ground now were actually barley seeds that were grown by the bereaved families.”

“Barley?!”

“You mean this isn’t grass?!”

The mourners exchanged baffled looks with each other.

As if nature was making fun of all those mourners, the barley shoots swayed in the wind.

Well, it was an unconventional solution.

In order to make the ground green, we used barley shoots. There aren’t any laws that demand it has to be grass, now are there?

I shrugged.

At the same time, Mr. William added with a weeping voice.

“Lady Charlize is right.”

Commoners often cultivated barley in the winter.

In cold and food-scarce seasons, barley served as a useful provision.

When I stumbled upon this by chance, I asked the bereaved families whether they were willing to sell any barley seeds.

It was something I had to buy anyway, so I wanted to help the bereaved families even if it was just a little.

“Lady Charlize bought the barley seeds from us at a reasonable price.”

The choked-up voice continued slowly.

“It’s thanks to her payment, we were able to spend the winter in warmth.”

At the same time, sniveling could be heard all around.

Some of them came from the bereaved families I had invited to the memorial palace.

They struggled to hold back their tears as they grasped the hem of their ragged clothes.

…I didn’t mean to make them cry.

I pursed my lips slightly and listened on.

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“Above all…it was a very admirable thing for us.”

Mr. William couldn’t control his emotions as he looked at the bereaved families, clenching his fists.

“On this cold winter day, even if it’s just for a moment, I can warm the ground where my family rests…I’m so, so grateful….”

Unable to finish his words, Mr. William cried a stream of tears.

“Oh my God, that’s…”

“I thought this would be too drastic to share but this is our story.”

The atmosphere was somber.

After some time.

Wiping away the tears, Mr. William concluded his speech.

“Lady Charlize also promised that the barley shoots will be replaced with grass when the weather gets warmer.”

“Now, are you going to repeat what you said before?”

Mr. William looked at the reporter, his eyes still puffy.

Not knowing what to do, the reporter looked around him, noticing the atmosphere created against him.

I looked at the reporter with a cold gaze.

It must have been convenient to write articles that stirred public opinion and create commotion through your newspapers.

But what you’ve done will come back to get you someday.

‘You should have been conventional in your reporting.’

After Mr. William spoke, I opened my mouth.

“No matter how pricey the barley seeds were, we were able to save much more with that than purchasing off-seasonal grass.”

“Well, then what…”

“What we saved was used to pay for the bereaved families’ travel and lodging expenses.”

I raised my head, looking the reporter straight into his eyes.

“I think that resolves your question of whether the budget was wasted. Which is why-”

As if beaten by a whip, the reporter flinched as his body stiffened.

I spoke calmly.

“It’s your turn to take responsibility for the rude remarks you made earlier.”

“Er, take responsibility?”

“Of course. Did you think you would get away scot-free after grieving so many people?”

I asked the reporter back.

His face turned red.

“Apologize to the bereaved families right now, then have an apology placed on the front page of the news.”

“An apology?!”

“Furthermore, there are several things that must be stated in your apology.”

As soon as he heard that, he looked at me with his eyes squinted.

Goodness, why is he looking at me like that?

I offered for him to just give me a written apology, shouldn’t he be thanking me instead?

Though I was frowning on the inside, I kept a calm facade on the outside.

“First, clarify what wrongs you committed towards the bereaved families.”

“What do you mean? Wrongs? I…”

“Please write only objective facts, excluding your personal feelings.”

In the silence, only my voice resounded.”

“Second, ask the newspaper head office to take measures to prevent a recurrence of this discourteous incident. And state the consequences in your apology as well.”

The reporter now seemed hesitant to say anything further.

I pushed the tips of my lips upwards.

“Third, this goes without saying but a sincere apology in order, all right?”

“Lady Charlize!”

“Even though I’ve given you a lot to do if the apology doesn’t appear the next day-”

The reporter tried to protest but I cut him off mid-sentence

“We’ll regard it as an insult to the veterans and the royal family, and we will respond sternly.”

***

And like that, the memorial service which was full of endless talking and headache-inducing problems was over.

Exhausted, I plopped onto the sofa, lying there motionless.

“Haaa, I feel like I’m going to die…”

The respect I had for the Empress since then grew immensely.

How on earth did the Empress manage and tend to all the affairs of the royal family until now?

I feel like the bones in my body are going to give way from hosting an event just once!

“Oh my, Charlize. You look very relaxed.”

Just then, a playful voice reached my ears.

“Wow, your Majesty, the Empress?!”

Surprised, I sprang up to my feet.

Behind the smiling Empress, was her Majesty, the Empress dowager as well.

“I’m here too.”

“Oh my God, please sit over here!”

I hurriedly offered them both seats.

A tea table was set.

After taking a sip from her teacup, the Empress opened her mouth.

“The memorial service went better than I expected.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course. You’ve been receiving favorable reviews in the newspapers about yourself every day, right?”

The Empress gave me a round of compliments.

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Well, it was slightly embarrassing but…

I smiled happily.

‘Well, the Empress isn’t lying.’

The previous headlines, from how, could anyone believe in the fiancee of the Crown Prince, me being a commoner maid, or that I wasted the memorial service’s budget because I was ignorant of such things….

The newspapers that had been pouring out all sorts of nonsense for the longest time suddenly changed their tune like the snap of a finger.