Petronilla kept her promise to her sister. Just before the sun had set, Petronilla came out from where Patrizia was staying.
Because her sister’s room was located near the center of the Imperial Palace, she had to leave at least at this time to get home before the sun set completely.
The path from Patrizia’s room in the Imperial Palace led up to a small garden. Petronilla had merely glanced at the beautiful place the first time. The bright sunlight and the romantic glow on the flowers made from the difference in the lights gave a different charm.
Petronilla smiled and snapped a flower stem from the flower bed. The red rose in her hand was a burning red with the glow from the light.
“If I lived here, I’d see these flowers every day.”
Petronilla, who had quietly murmured to herself, carried on with her steps. But not a few steps had been taken, did her feet stop again. Petronilla looked appalled at the random sight before her eyes.
“What the…?”
She hid her body nearby without realizing it. Then she pulled out her neck and stared at the pair of a man and woman walking towards her. And in the incredible sight that she encountered, Petronilla completely hardened with a look of dismay. His Majesty The Emperor, and… a Lady.
What… was that rumor really true? Petronilla looked at the Emperor and his lover with puzzled eyes. It was like they had been a married couple for a long time. The Emperor’s side belonged to her sister, and why was this unknown woman standing by him instead. She hadn’t put too much care when she had first heard about the rumor, but when she witnessed this with her own eyes, Petronilla was shocked.
“Oof!”
The pain of the momentary bodily pain caused Petronilla to crumple down. Petronilla, sitting on the floor, clenched her neck and suddenly started choking.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. Why she felt so sad. Her sister’s husband, so her brother-in-law openly cheating before his marriage wasn’t the only reason. It was shocking enough, but to feel this… it was not appropriate for her to feel so breathless and miserable.
Petronilla felt tears flowing from her eyes regardless of her will. At the same time, a sob came from her mouth.
“Sob, aahh…”
Sad. Miserable. Wanting to kill. Strange emotions swept through her head. Petronilla was dominated by these sentiments, without knowing why. Unknown feelings and unknown pain, everything was strange. She choked a few more times, then finally lost her consciousness and collapsed completely.
Patrizia ran and ran. Since she was born, she never ran so hard like this. When she turned the corner, she finally saw the palace made of white marble. She was wearing high beyond high heels, and without hesitation picked up the speed.
“Ugh.”
Then her ankle finally folded. She lost her balance and fell in place. Thud, there was a loud noise. She saw Mirya, who wasn’t able to match Patrizia’s speed. Shocked, ran within her.
“Lady Patrizia!”
Mirya quickly looked over Patrizia’s condition and realized through her swollen ankles that she had sprained her ankle. She spoke while being flustered.
“I’ll bring a maid over.”
“No.”
Patrizia refused. The only thing that mattered now was not herself.
“It’s fine, Mirya. Instead please help support me.”
Patrizia, who had taken the action to get up, was quickly backed up by Mirya. She bit her lips strongly to stop herself from crying out. My lips were red as if they were bleeding. Patrizia stammered, and said, “I have to go, Mirya.”
Patrizia, who said so, moved her foot forward, with her poor, swollen ankle dragging along. She shouldn’t have ran so she could have arrived faster. Patrizia barely reached her destination while cursing at her foolishness. She opened the door with a hurried look.
“…”
And she met not one person, but two people. Patrizia was embarrassed at the moment but soon opened her trembling lips to show respect.
“I greet the Great Sun of the Empire. Glory To Your Majesty The Emperor.”
“Is this your sister?”
Lucio asked a short question instead of accepting the greeting. Patrizia then moved her gaze to her sister. When she saw her sister’s pale face, Patrizia wailed without knowing.
“Ah, agghhhhh.”
Lucio was heartless as he could have comforted Patrizia, who was crying with her face wrapped up, but he did not try to appease his future wife. He looked at Patrizia with an emotionless glance and soon explained the situation.
“The gardener found that she had fallen unconscious in the garden of the Imperial Palace. It’s not a serious problem, it’s just a sudden shock.”
“Ugh, ugghh.”
With his explanation, Patrizia sobbed more. It was against courtesy to show tears in front of the Emperor. But when she saw Petronilla lying on the bed, Patrizia felt her own grip on her mind break.
She moved her foot to the bed where Petronilla was lying, but soon felt a great deal of pain and fell to the floor.
“Ah!”
She writhed in unparalleled pain and gripped her ankle. The ankle was redder than it had been before. Lucio, who saw it, slowly approached her.