Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

“I see you, Your Highness the Empress.”“Welcome.”The call from the Empress to meet had come the morning before.The Empress’s handwritten message, given by the Imperial servant who visited the mansion in person, contained a very polite request to see her face when the time came.I had no reason to meet her and I had no desire to meet her, but I couldn’t refuse the Empress’s orders, so I was just getting ready to go out and enter the palace.As I entered the drawing room, the Empress, who was sitting on the sofa, got up and greeted me.I quietly bowed my head.“You must have had a hard time coming here in the hot weather. Come on, sit down.”The Empress’s kind attitude was somehow suspicious.“Go ahead and give the Duchess something cool.”“Yes, Your Majesty.”As if the maids were waiting, they served iced tea and ice cream.I picked up the teacup with an undesirable feeling.‘Why did you ask to see me?’No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out the reason, so I look into her eyes.“I’m sorry about last time.”“… Yes?”The Empress gave an unexpected apology.“I was talking too much, right? At that time, there were so many upsetting things that I lost my mind.”The Empress lowered her gaze with an impassive expression.‘What happened all of a sudden?’I didn’t know that the Empress, who was famous for her arrogance and pride, would apologize to me.Of course, it has a different purpose, but it was surprising to hear that she was sorry.“It’s okay. It’s all in the past.”“Thank you for saying that.”The Empress smiled and spoke.“I think I was just overly sensitive that day, with Fred being the heir to the throne and so many guests.”“…….”“Even for young master Escalium, it shouldn’t have happened.”I know, right. It was too much to question a six-year-old like that.The words I wanted to say filled my throat, but I held back and answered calmly.“I was a little surprised that day, but I’m sure Escal has gotten over it.”“That’s good, then. How’s young master Escalium doing?”“Good.”The Empress held up the teacup with a more relaxed expression.Relieved as if she had passed a big hurdle, she took a sip of tea and changed the topic.“A few days ago, Dillua, no, I heard that there was an opening ceremony for the Felixium Academy?”“Ah yes.”“The wives who have been there say it has been very successful.”“There were a lot of people who were interested in the Academy, thanks to Grand Duchess Crawford in charge of it.”“The Grand Duchess is so virtuous, so it’s worth it.”The Empress’s lips trembled slightly as she said that.“Still, I think the common people would have flocked to see the Duchess.”“Yes?”“The Duchess worked hard in many ways for the children of commoners… I also heard that you invited the parents of the victims of the children to give them a meaningful gift.”“It’s not a big deal, but the rumors seem to be exaggerated.”Somehow, the childless Marquis of Kensington was at the opening ceremony.It seemed that he had inspected the scene and reported it to the Empress.“It’s a great thing. It’s impossible for me and Your Majesty to do. Thanks to this, the troubles are gone, and the Imperial capital is quiet, so I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”“… Trouble?”“Oh, no. I mean, that’s what the soldiers said.”The Empress stuttered and waved her hand.In the eyes of the Empress, those people just looked like ‘a troublesome’.I wanted to tell her not to talk like that, but I couldn’t do it when the Empress bent her pride and held out her hand, so she sighed.“Uh, anyway, I hope the academy will be established successfully and nurture a lot of good talent.”“Yes.”After a short answer with a displeased face, the Empress presented three checks for 10,000 gold.“This is the donation I promised a while ago.”“It was ten thousand gold, Your Majesty.”“To run an academy, there must be a lot of places to put money, so can you keep 10,000 gold, please take it.”“Uh….”It would be nice to have a lot of money, but I was a little worried that they might try to interfere with the operation of the academy after giving this money.Still, it’s the price of one of the Empress’s earrings.“I will be grateful.”I took the check as if I couldn’t win. The Empress smiled wryly.“If you need help, you can tell me anything.”“I will.”“Thank you for coming today. Perhaps you can catch me sometime and bring the children to meet you. My Adela would like to see the young master Escal.”I don’t think she’ll want to see Escal.“Yes, let’s do that.”I replied simply and stood up.“I’ll take my leave.” ***** “Hmm.”As I climbed into the carriage after the meeting, I fiddled with the check the Empress had given me and pondered.The fact that the Empress handed me a donation with an apology meant a lot.‘She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would bow down to me.’All this time, the Empress had secretly looked down on me, the daughter of a Viscount and the second wife of Helios.The reason she was angry at me in such a public place on her birthday was because of my poor family, and watching the Duchess of Eaton when she was rude to me at the Honor Society must have been her intention to use her to discourage me.But now you come and reach out to me?There must be a reason why. And maybe that’s why…‘It must be because of Prince Frederick.’Although Prince Frederick was appointed as heir to the throne, his position was not strong.The Emperor’s falling out with the nobility had left him in a bad light.Count Turner was writing a report for the nobility, and it was heard that the Marquis of Hallstein, who was in charge of preparing the succession ceremony, was not very active.In addition, since the popularity of the Imperial Family has fallen to the bottom due to the Duke of Eaton, it was certain that she reached out to me while looking for a family that would strengthen the position of Prince Frederick.That’s probably why Princess Adela added that she wanted to see Escal.Even in the original story, there was a conversation between Escal and Princess Adela.“Hmm.”Escal already has a pretty girlfriend named Tiaris Hazel.Leaving the nice and pretty Tiaris behind, how dare I introduce the naughty princess to my son…“Oh.”Come to think of it, I decided to buy some candy when I went out.Recalling the promise I had forgotten, I knocked on the middle window and said to the coachman.“Let’s stop by the candy store before we go.”“Yes, madam.”The coachman who was heading to the mansion turned around and headed for the city.The carriage stopped in front of a small candy store. I got off the carriage and entered the store.“Welcome.”The shelves were full of colorful candies.The sweet smell emanating from the colorful candy that dazzled my eyes made me salivate.“What can I give you?”They all looked too delicious to choose one, so I thought about it for a while before answering.“Give me everything here.”“Yes?”“I want every single one of them.”“Oh, yes. All right.”The owner tilted his head over and put the candy in the bag.The kids will love it. Oh, by the way, will the teeth be okay?I left the store with two bags full of candies, thinking that I had to hide it and give only one a day.The coachman loaded the candy bags onto the carriage with wide-eyed eyes.“I’m coming here to see one more thing, so please wait here.”“Where are you going?”“There is a clothing store over there.”I answered lightly and headed to the clothing store I had been eyeing for a while.Children’s dresses hung from the window of the clothing store. It was a cute little dress that Tiaris would fit perfectly.“Welcome.”Entering the store, greeted by a young man who appeared to be an employee, I looked around the small clothing store.The clothes hanging on the hangers were all children’s clothes.Although it is a ready-to-wear, the design is pretty and the fabric is soft, so it looks good for children to wear.‘If I buy too expensive clothes, Baron Hazel will refuse.’“Could you show me the pink dress hanging on the window over there?”Pointing to the dress and bringing it over.“Here is the dress you mentioned.”The more I looked at the dress, which was the exact same color as Tiaris’s hair, the better I liked it.‘If Tiaris wears it, she will look like a doll.’I looked carefully at the dress and thought of Tiaris.When Baron Hazel came to the mansion, the only things he brought were two large bags.With the small luggage, Tiaris had only a few clothes, and even those were too plain and simple for a noblewoman.Money is money, but it seems that it was because she was in the forest and focused on warmth and activity when choosing clothes.‘Still, it was too much for a girl.’The Baron should know how much Tiaris’ eyes twinkle every time she sees my dress.With that in mind, I picked out a pink dress and three more outfits that match Tiaris.“Please count all of this.”I wanted to buy a few more pairs, but children grow up day by day.The moment I bought a dress and left the store with a proud heart.“Ah!”I bumped into a man who was passing by on the street.Frowning at the throbbing pain, the man bowed his head.“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”“Yes, I’m fine… ah?”“Huh?”