“What’s that supposed to be?”

“Umm… it’s a greeting that the imperial family recites to the new empress, and it’s very long. The problem… is that…” The noble glanced at Apollonia, but she didn’t seem to notice and kept talking as if she was chanting a spell.

“…O, you who wear a silver laurel wreath and smile next to the sun, may you bring prosperity to the empire with your…”

Catherine got anxious and rushed the noble to keep talking as she didn’t understand a single word that Apollonia was saying. “What’s the problem? When will this greeting end?”

“There are some parts where the empress has to reply…”

The Declaration of the Empress was the most complicated, boring step of courtesy in the empire’s traditional investiture ceremony. It was long and fancy for no reason and not only did the person reciting it have to memorize the entire thing, but the new empress would have to continue and answer appropriately in the middle. That was the first test of becoming an empress, and it was also a type of oath. Women who were to become empress took their time memorizing the declaration since they wouldn’t be acknowledged if they didn’t answer correctly.

“So, what the princess is doing right now…”

“That’s right. She’s showing courtesy to the empress.”

Catherine frowned. She didn’t want Apollonia to take it so seriously that she showed her that much courtesy, she just wanted her to greet her properly! Not only had she not memorized the Declaration of the Empress, but she didn’t even know that such a thing existed. If she were to get it wrong, it would be disgraceful.

“The most important of those virtues being…” Apollonia trailed off and looked at Catherine after speaking with courtesy for a long time. This meant that the line was supposed to be finished by Catherine.

“The most important… so, the most important virtue is…” Catherine stuttered and looked around to see if anyone would give her a hint. However, since none of the servants had cared about memorizing the impractical greeting, they couldn’t help her out. She had to use her common sense to think up an answer. “E-elegance and humility?”

Apollonia lowered her gaze as Catherine answered without any confidence.

“It’s persistence.” Maya interrupted to fix her answer, which made Catherine frown even harder.

However, Apollonia acted as if she didn’t hear anything and kept muttering. “…As the only one who can face the Sun, shall swear an oath to be together, and to…”

She lifted her head again to look at Catherine.

“To… love each other?”

“It is to respect one another.” Maya interrupted again.

Catherine noticed that a few of the people looking at them trying to hold their laughter in. She was as angry as she could possibly get, but she couldn’t stop now. She just had to hope that the ridiculous declaration would end soon.

“Like a servant who serves their lord, like a child who serves their father…”

“Serve your husband! That’s what comes next, isn’t it?”

Catherine had a feeling she knew what the answer was, so she quickly interrupted Apollonia to answer, unaware that she was being impolite in doing so.

“So you are aware,” Apollonia answered in surprise. Seeing as she had gotten up, it seemed like the greeting was finally over.

“How could anyone not know the Declaration of the Empress? I simply couldn’t remember some parts properly!”

“Your Highness…”

Maya couldn’t hide the fact that she was surprised as she spoke. Catherine scowled as if she didn’t want her to say anything, but she ignored her and continued anyway.

“The Declaration of the Empress had already ended. What Her Highness said just now was a proverb from the East.”

“Wh-what?” Catherine shouted out in embarrassment.

“It’s our tradition to end the courteous greeting you wanted, with blessings…”

Those around Catherine started to laugh, and she went red all over. Among those people, she saw Apollonia smiling at her, even if it was only for a moment, and that made her tremble in fury.

“Maya, do not be so rude.”

What angered Catherine the most was that Apollonia was the only one who didn’t laugh at her so openly. Apollonia clearly used the attendant to embarrass her and acted like she didn’t do anything. That hidden side of her made Catherine shudder.

“Now if you would please excuse me. I am in need of some rest.” Apollonia smiled and turned around. She could hear the spectators murmuring among themselves. Everything they said was hurting Catherine’s pride.

“Oh my, looks like she couldn’t get a shred of her pride.”

“The princess only did as she was demanded to, too.”

“She got what she asked for. I knew this would happen when she tried to start a fuss.”

Catherine gnashed her teeth. She couldn’t believe that she was being treated like that just because of a little girl and didn’t want it to end there. She had to get payback in any way possible, that was all she could think about.

Rip-

“Get some good rest, Prin… oh dear, my bad.” She said goodbye to her awkwardly as she stepped on the skirt of her dress. She just wanted the girl to take off that disgusting mask of hers and maybe stumble a little.

The skirt of Apollonia’s dress tore slightly, just as Catherine wanted, but a bigger problem came just after that.

Crash-!

In her nervousness at the small victory, she knocked a porcelain teapot off the table as she was just about to leave in a hurry. That teapot had to fall and shatter right in front of Apollonia, who even fell over onto the shards.

“Oh…” However, Apollonia did not scream, she didn’t have time to.

“Oh, dear! Are you okay, Your Highness?”

“Show me your wounds, Your Highness! You’re bleeding!”

“Someone call a physician!”

People were surprised by the commotion and gathered around to see what had happened. Catherine took a step back as she was just as surprised as them. Maya, who was right next to Apollonia, quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around her bleeding arm.

“I’m okay! I’ll go and get treated in my room, so please return and enjoy the banquet, everyone.”

Contrary to what she said, Apollonia was not okay. In fact, this marked the first time that she had gone so pale this evening. She had long forgotten about Catherine, and the pain in her arm wasn’t the problem either; she had to hurry up and hide this wound.

Apollonia tightly wrapped a handkerchief around her arm as hot tea and blood dripped from it, looking around in a hurry. That person wasn’t here yet, so she had to flee this place quickly. She grabbed Maya’s arm and quickly headed towards the door of the banquet hall. However, she was too late; just as she was about to leave, a familiar silhouette stood in her way.

“Oh my, Your Highness. What happened to your arm?” came a voice, sounding rather indifferent contrary to the contents of the words.

In front of Apollonia was the woman who practically ruled this empire.

“Aunt…”

Petra Liepherr, the woman with black hair tied up into a perfect bun and golden pupils beneath her arrogant-looking eyebrows, looked down at Apollonia as though staring at prey. Not a trace of worry could be gleamed from her face.

‘Haa… I’m doomed.’

Apollonia bit her lip so hard that it began to hurt. She never took the spat she had with Catherine seriously, not because she prioritized the empire’s rules or how such tiny struggles for power between meant nothing to her, but because Catherine Roenheim could never take the reins in the palace. Only Catherine herself and a few of her close aides were unaware of this fact, having only recently come to the capital.

“I heard that there was a commotion, and it seems to be true.”

The palace already had a residing mistress, and it was none other than Duchess Petra Liepherr, the owner of the ice-cold voice and the younger sister of the emperor.

Emperor Gaius trusted his sister Petra a terrific amount. She resembled her brother in the sense of her boldness of actions and her intellect and was perhaps beyond him in the prospect of cruelty and meticulousness.

Thanks to her talent in conducting business, she had managed to single-handedly found a small merchant organization—Ruwan—that traded silk and accessories ten-something years ago, and raised it to the status of the highest-class luxury brand in the empire in less than five years. She also did not hesitate to invest her earnings to increase the influence of the Liepherr family, who were a mere local heavyweight back then. There were rumors that it was even her who introduced Gaius to Elenia in the first place.

And now, she, who also displayed considerable talent in politics, was throwing her weights around the affairs of the Samara imperial family after Princess Elenia had died.

“Is it because the servants didn’t serve our guests well enough?”

The servants nearby froze up just hearing those words, indicating just how significantly they acknowledged her power. Apollonia broke out into a cold sweat when she saw Petra’s gaze heading back toward her. She recalled what Petra had whispered to her during the funeral of Elenia and the late Emperor seven years ago.

-Live like you don’t exist. If you don’t want to die, you shouldn’t stand out one bit.

After that, she walked away, looking like a benevolent mother. Since then, Apollonia had followed that advice to the fullest.

“Show me your arm,” Petra demanded

“I’m not injured that badly.” Apollonia hid her arm behind her back.

However, her efforts were futile as Petra snatched her wrist and dragged it towards her without batting an eyelid.

“Looks like your wounds aren’t that deep considering all the bleeding,” Petra said. Her words seemed to be out of relief, but her eyes contained puzzlement.

Apollonia gulped in nervousness. Petra leaned over to Apollonia, keeping a firm grip on her wrist and whispering to her so no one could hear. “So curious.”

“The blood spread all over because I wrapped a handkerchief around my arm. The bleeding isn’t that severe either,” Apollonia hurriedly answered and pulled her arm out.

She then immediately ran to the hallway. Contrary to her answer, her complexion had turned dead pale. Seeing her wounds, which had already turned quite faint, only one thought ran through her mind.

‘Did she find out?’