Official Duty (2)

When Mirabilis was still a Princess, there was hardly any such thing as official business, but after being formally titled as a Princess, ‘business’ truly began. Holding tea parties with daughters from noble families and attending social gatherings were things she had done even as a Princess, but after receiving the title, she had to do other things concurrently. Of course, it wasn’t a position with real power, but more like a symbol, yet the symbol had the power of a symbol.

One of the duties assigned to her as a Princess was meeting foreign envoys. The Emperor would only meet envoys if they were important enough, but when it was too much to leave to just the diplomats, a Princess or Prince would step in. If it was more important, the Crown Prince would meet them, and if it was really important, the Emperor would personally receive them.

Of course, there was no way a Princess could handle lengthy diplomacy, so usually the Minister of Rites, or a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Rites, would accompany her to prevent unexpected situations and adjust the details.

It could be dismissed as a ceremonial decoration, but its importance could not be ignored. Even if it was just decoration, the fact that a titled member of the Imperial Family received foreign guests meant that the other party was recognized as worthy of such treatment. Whether or not there was a member of the Imperial Family at the welcoming ceremony was a matter to be politically calculated in itself.

If the envoys from a country that the Princess used to receive were later only received by the Ministry of Rites, the other party might think that the Empire did not recognize their importance, which could lead to diplomatic problems. Also, for the Princesses, it was an opportunity to build connections with important foreign dignitaries, which, even if it wasn’t direct power, was too good to miss.

“Princess-nim, are you nervous?”

Echiamus, the Vice Minister of Rites, suddenly spoke to her. The Vice Minister of Rites was the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites, under the Minister of Rites. Within the Ministry of Rites, he was a sufficiently high-ranking official. He noticed that Mirabilis was clenching and unclenching her fists and fidgeting with her fingers.

“Yes, Vice Minister of Rites. I don’t know about Padrentia, but this is my first time. It’s nice to be titled as a Princess, but I’m nervous about actually doing this kind of work. Moreover, I have to appear before foreign envoys.”

Echiamus calmly reassured Mirabilis.

“It’s not a difficult task, so you’ll get used to it after doing it a few times. I’ll speak from the perspective of an official of our Ministry of Rites. It’s not good to only shrink back like a turtle, nor is it good to only rush in like a wolf, but if you have to choose one, it’s better to be like a turtle, hasoseo.”

Mirabilis cast a glance at the high-ranking official advising her. As her green eyes, filled with anxiety, looked at him, Vice Minister of Rites Echiamus felt a thrill, as if an arrow had pierced through the aorta of his throbbing heart. The eyes full of uneasy light, the voice lowered with worry, and the figure standing straight in formal attire as a Princess seemed to draw the surroundings into a momentarily hazy heat. A strange allure was so full it felt like you could touch it.

“Because if I’m too proactive, it might be difficult to clean up the mess later?”

Echiamus was startled and nodded a beat late, adding an explanation.

“If Your Highness is passive, those in charge or others can chime in appropriately and lead the conversation. However, if it’s the opposite, it would be really difficult to handle the aftermath if you were to say something you shouldn’t or make a promise you can’t keep. Moderation is best, but it won’t be easy for Your Highness, who is receiving envoys for the first time, to judge right away. However, after doing it a few times, you will be able to easily guess the appropriate level.”

Although she heard that it wasn’t difficult, it wasn’t much comfort to Mirabilis, who was still hesitant because she had never experienced it before. It would only be resolved after she actually went through it.

― My body belongs to Serina-nim, my soul also belongs to Serina-nim.

Mirabilis unknowingly muttered a small sentence. Echiamus heard the sound and turned his head.

“Princess-nim? What did you say just now, isiyeo?”

“Yes? I didn’t say anything.”

When Mirabilis asked back with wide eyes, Echiamus tilted his head. He thought, ‘Did I hear wrong?’ but Mirabilis didn’t even know what she had said. No, she didn’t even have a memory of saying anything. In a tense situation, she had simply recited the sentence that Serina had often instructed her to repeat without thinking. It wasn’t strange that the ‘fake’ one didn’t remember.

“The envoy from the Muriel Kingdom has arrived!”

“Tell them to come in.”

While waiting in one part of the Main Chamber, a lower-ranking official announced the arrival of the envoy Mirabilis had been waiting for in a loud voice, and Mirabilis replied. As the guards opened the door, people wearing foreign attire entered the palace.

Upon seeing the Empire’s Princess, the foreign envoys stood straight, placed their right hands on their chests, and bowed slightly. If they bowed too much, their home country’s reputation would be damaged, and if they didn’t show enough respect, the Empire would be angry. They followed the established customs for which bow to give.

“In the name of Awimika, I welcome the guests from Muriel. I am the second Princess of this country, ‘Mirabilis Bilendiensis’.”

Mirabilis Bilendiensis.

It means ‘Mirabilis from Bilendia’. It was a shortened version of the title she received when she was titled as the Princess of Bilendia. Even though it was an abbreviation, it was the first time she had said the title she received as a Princess to a foreigner in a public setting. Her voice trembled and cold sweat flowed down her back, but on the one hand, she felt a sense of pride. But the envoy just blinked, looking blank, and didn’t say anything.

Since receiving Serina’s orders, Mirabilis had a new black dress made. The outfit she was wearing now was also newly tailored, with the decorations minimized to show off Mirabilis’s figure well. She wore a circlet made of red Myo Bloodstone sent by Padrentia on her forehead, a black dress, long black gloves, and a golden necklace around her neck. The necklace was ornately decorated with crystal-clear jewels.

The jet-black dress, as if cutting out the dark blue night sky, was embroidered with gold thread like a yellowish crescent moon. Each stitch sparkled like gold dust, forming yellow vines on the black background, rippling like waves whenever the Princess moved. It was not an ominous abyss, but a peaceful darkness like the rest of the night. Winter sparkled clearly among the transparent jewels that had formed like frost on the necklace.

Mirabilis’s golden hair, white skin, and dark green eyes, adorned with black clothing and red and transparent jewels, created a contrasting and captivating beauty. It was so intense that it instantly blew away any awkwardness created by her trembling tone or tense expression. Mirabilis seemed to drive her surroundings into an unreal fantasy.

When Mirabilis turned her head and looked at Echiamus with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘What should I do?’, he swallowed hard but tried to calm himself.

“The envoy from the Muriel Kingdom, pay your respects to our Princess-nim.”

Echiamus opened his mouth and urged the other party. Only then did the other party seem to snap out of it and shake his head from side to side.

“I am sorry, please forgive my discourtesy, Princess-nim of Bilendia. I am Count Beowulfs Airimum, the chief envoy of the Muriel Kingdom’s delegation.”

Mirabilis, whose face had been stiff, let out a small chuckle. Only then did her expression relax and a natural smile spread across her face.

“Even someone as experienced as the Count makes mistakes. I was also very nervous because today is my first time.”

An embarrassed look appeared on Beowulfs’s face, and it turned slightly red. Echiamus, who was next to him, was flustered, but fortunately, the envoy didn’t seem too displeased. Rather, the Princess and the envoy spoke in a much more relaxed tone.

“I have nothing to say for failing to meet expectations. I was so distracted by your blinding beauty that I couldn’t come to my senses. Please, Your Highness, generously forgive my mistake.”

“Count, you are exaggerating in your praise of me.”

But Beowulfs slowly shook his head.

“It is not empty flattery. Upon hearing the news that the second Princess-nim was titled in Awimika this time, and that she would be receiving our country’s envoy, I prepared gifts accordingly. But I am worried that they will not be able to match Your Highness’s beauty. Still, please open it and take a look.”

When Beowulfs raised his right hand, an attendant who had come with him handed him a gorgeously decorated wooden box. As if they had prepared it with determination, the box was made of luxurious ebony and coated with resin, making it shine brightly. On the top of the box, Mirabilis’s coat of arms was engraved in relief. Even if they had started preparing as soon as they heard the news of the title before the delegation departed, the time would have been quite tight.

When Mirabilis opened it as she was advised, there were six pairs of transparent diamonds, blue aquamarine, and green deep green stones inside. It seemed that they had made them in pairs with the consideration that they could be processed into earrings.

The jewels in the wooden box were large and the surfaces were clean without any blemishes. A greasy luster flowed, emitting a brilliant radiance. It seemed that they had been preparing for quite some time to prepare something like this. With this level of quality, they were among the highest-grade jewels Mirabilis had.

In fact, they were jewels that had been prepared in advance in preparation for Mirabilis being titled as a Princess. The title was delayed longer than expected, so they had to be stored for a long time, but upon hearing the news that she had finally been titled, they immediately made the box and put the jewels in it.

Jewels were the easiest gift to give, as they were easy to obtain at the national level and were the best to give to a foreign Princess, and it was easy to show off. In this way, the gift that the Muriel Kingdom had been preparing for a long time finally fell into the hands of the person who had belatedly intended it.

****************

Mirabilis was in a very good mood. Receiving the envoy was easier than she thought, and Vice Minister of Rites Echiamus also praised her, saying that things had gone really smoothly thanks to her. She thought that she might have just been giving herself credit as a Princess, but it wasn’t bad, so she was happy to think that he had said it even if it was just empty words.

As a matter of fact, things had actually gone well. Echiamus was seriously considering the impact of the Princess’s beauty on receiving the envoy, but Mirabilis’s thoughts didn’t reach that far.

As she leisurely returned to the palace, it was getting dark as dusk was setting. Who should she share this pleasant feeling with? Mirabilis naturally thought of Serina and was about to call her. But right then, the area below the palace became noisy. Uneasy voices and murmurs surrounded and spread around the Rose Palace like waves.

“What bastards are you!”

Mullaba held a wooden staff taller than her own height and issued a stern order. It was the staff that she would lean on when trying to assert her authority in front of the palace staff, a staff that had been passed down to the head maids of the Rose Palace for generations.

This staff, made by cutting a long, wriggling shrub, peeling off the bark, and trimming it ― like the scepters that the heads of convents held to show their authority in front of the nuns under their command ― was a symbol of authority for the head maids of the Rose Palace. It had become dark and mottled from years of handling, but it was still light and sturdy. The old head maid stubbornly grabbed the staff that she hadn’t taken out for a while and stepped forward.

Behind Mullaba, the other palace staff of the Rose Palace gathered and murmured. However, the palace staff were mostly ‘fresh youngsters’, as she would say. The old head maid standing in front of the palace staff had decades of dignity, but she still looked lonely and shabby in front of the group confronting her.

She held the staff in her hand and stubbornly stood her ground, glaring with a knife in her eye. Recalling the image of the previous head maid she had seen in the past, she tried not to be intimidated by the momentum in order to fulfill her responsibility as the current head maid.

In front of the Rose Palace’s ghost, there was a crowd of men. Skilled technicians in fighting, hitting, and suppressing in a different way than the knights who came in and out of the Rose Palace. Among them were those who intentionally did not remove the scars on their faces and used them to intimidate their opponents, and the palace staff were frightened just by looking at their faces. Only Mullaba seemed to be fearless, shouting and blocking their path.

Most of the people working in the palace where the Princess was the owner were naturally women. Usually, the only men who could enter the Rose Palace were male members of the Imperial Family, a small number of people who had received duties such as the Librarian, or invited guests. But this time, those surrounding the Rose Palace were trying to enter the interior by asserting their official authority.

“We are not here to fight the Rose Palace. We just need to take one suspect.”

A middle-aged man pushed his way through the middle of the group and walked out, standing in front of Mullaba and speaking. He was skinny but not weak, and rather had a fierce impression. Shadows were cast in his sunken eyes, but there was a strangely sparkling light, and a faint yet mocking smile never left his lips.

As someone who had been appointed to a high-ranking position, he wore a ceremonial robe adorned with gold-embroidered decorations, and he carried an unspoken sense of intimidation like a fog, flaunting his presence in all directions. Mullaba, who had been glaring at his face for a moment, suddenly burst out in anger.

“Changwei’s Widok! Why have you set foot in the Rose Palace again, isiyeo?”

“This is my first time entering the Rose Palace. Just hand over the Rose Palace’s maid, a child named Serina, to our Changwei.”

Mullaba glared at Mirten, the head of Changwei, with blazing eyes. Mirten tilted his head because of the extreme hostility, and he opened his mouth.

“First time, you say? It’s just the first time you’ve come since you became Widok, isn’t it? 34 years ago, when Changwei people violated the Rose Palace after being falsely accused of being involved in a plot of treason during the reign of the late Emperor, I remember you were next to the Widok at the time.”

Mirten smacked his forehead with a sound. It was an attitude of recalling something he had forgotten, but it was impossible to know whether it was real or acting. He wriggled and twisted, and answered exaggeratedly.

“Ah, could it be that the youngest palace maid involved at that time was you? I also heard the news that only one of those involved was safe, but I never imagined that you would become the head maid in charge of a palace!”

Mullaba raised the staff with both hands and struck the ground with force, making a thudding sound as the staff swayed and bounced. Her wrinkled face turned red with anger, but she forcibly suppressed it. Each time the old head maid’s chest heaved, a rough breath rattling deep in her throat flowed out in a dark color.

“If I, the maid who served Peydemia-nim, hadn’t been there on the day the group of traitors contacted the Rose Palace people, could I have come out of your clutches unscathed? Thanks to her testifying that I was with you, I was able to clear my name unusually quickly.”

Even as he listened to Mullaba’s resentment, Mirten’s face remained as unchanging as a rock. He just waited silently with a smile still on his lips, as if saying, ‘Say everything you want to say.’

“Among my colleagues and senior palace staff who were caught by Changwei at that time, only one was truly guilty. Even the Widok at the time admitted it, so you can’t deny this fact. But all the palace staff except me died or became disabled and left the palace in tears, and most of those who left did so voluntarily. Because of you!”

But even in front of Mullaba’s harsh protest, Mirten’s attitude was still confident and his momentum did not diminish in the slightest. He glared at Mullaba, who was blocking his path with sharp eyes, twitched his cheeks, and brazenly mocked her.

“Of course, it’s unfortunate that innocent people are created, but it can’t be helped. Our Changwei’s purpose is to find and catch even one worm hidden in the shadow of a traitor resisting His Majesty’s reign, even if it means shedding the blood of ten unlucky people. We caught a criminal hiding in the Rose Palace, so even if there were minor sacrifices in the process, we must bear them.”

The Widok did not back down even a single word. The reason why Changwei could enjoy such power was right there, they never took responsibility even if innocent victims were created. Mullaba swallowed her resentment and clenched her teeth tightly. The muscles in her jaw bulged. The bitterness that had been so sharp that it seemed to tear his clothes in the past, still cut cruelly into her chest with a blue edge, even after a generation had passed.

“Arrest that bitch!”

When Mirten ordered, those who had followed him scattered like spiderlings in all directions of the Rose Palace. Mullaba shouted to stop them, but the Widok also raised his voice and shouted to his subordinates.

“Ignore the head maid’s words! Arrest that bitch!”

It was right then.

“Can you ignore my words too, Widok?”

A cold voice with thorny joints rang in the ears of the crowd. Mirten turned his head and knelt down upon seeing the other party. Everyone else who had followed him also knelt down. It was because the owner of the palace had stepped forward in person.

Mirabilis stood straight and looked down at them with eyes that were about to be bloodshot. She had not yet taken off the ceremonial robe she had worn to receive the envoy from Muriel. So, the authority and dignity filled with the Princess heavily weighed down on the crowd. Her sharp voice, filled with hostility, echoed off the walls of the Rose Palace and flowed far away.

“Widok, a titled Princess resides in the Rose Palace as the owner. Why are you so outrageously commanding your subordinates without my permission? Are you trying to trample on and mock my dignity?”

Mullaba hurriedly told Mirabilis the situation.

“Princess-nim, Changwei is trying to take Serina away.”

Then, Widok Mirten shouted first before Mirabilis could even react. Even though he was in a hurry, it was a very polite and formal tone.

“How could we violate Your Highness’s authority? We have only come to arrest a criminal after hearing a report that someone who committed a crime against the forbidden law is in the Rose Palace. Perhaps Your Highness may have been harmed, so please be generous and understand!”

A crime against the forbidden law, a charge of performing forbidden magic, and the most bloody charge except for treason. It was easy to frame someone because it was difficult to prove that they had not done it, especially when Changwei brought it up. The Princess’s green eyes shook back and forth with anxiety.

“A crime against the forbidden law, do you have any evidence?”

“We plan to find evidence from now on. First of all, it is only natural to catch that person since we have received a report.”

A few of Mirten’s subordinates grabbed Serina and dragged her over, but they knelt down upon seeing Mirabilis, but everyone stood up when the Princess gestured.

“Princess-nim!”

Mirabilis’s heart ached when she saw Serina, with her hair disheveled, being held by the hands of strong men. For some reason, her heart ached deeply as if she had been hit by a sword.

But even if she was a Princess, it was difficult to stop Changwei, who was trying to come in with justification. If it had been other people from Changwei, she could have stopped them by asserting the Princess’s authority, but if the Widok had stepped forward himself, she could only buy some time. The reason why Mirten himself had participated in the arrest of the suspect was precisely that.

“Widok, we found a magic doll in the criminal’s room.”

The man on the right among those who had dragged Serina over showed Mirten a crude doll. There was golden hair stuck in it. As the Widok’s eyes wrinkled with a sinister line, Serina opened her mouth in a pleading tone.

“It’s a false charge. Why would I curse Princess-nim for any reason?”

“Shut your mouth!”

The person next to her shouted and slapped her face with his fist, and Serina collapsed to the side. In that short moment, the area around her cheekbone swelled up red, and a dark blue bruise faintly appeared. As a man who was strong and skilled at hitting people swung his hand, there was no way Serina could withstand it.

Mirabilis was startled and tried to rush over, but Mullaba grabbed her wrist and forcibly stopped her.

“Princess-nim, you must not act rashly against Changwei.”

As Serina, who had fallen, made eye contact with the Princess, Mirabilis had a face as if she was about to burst into tears and tore at her chest with one hand. The old head maid silently gripped the young Princess’s other wrist tightly.

Mirabilis endured the surging pain and took a deep breath with difficulty. Mirten stood in the middle of the maid and the Princess, looking around at both of them. As he saw the two exchanging glances as if they were embracing each other, a bitter smile spread across his lips.

“I understand Your Highness’s affection for this bitch. However, we must interrogate her, so please allow us to take her away from this place.”

He could have forcibly dragged her away, but it was better to get permission since a member of the Imperial Family had stepped forward directly. It was not Mirten’s wish to directly build a bad relationship with the Princess, but he had to make up for his previous failure by making achievements here, so he couldn’t help it.

The Widok’s tone and expression were polite, but his eyes were fiercely sharp. Serina looked at the Princess and nodded faintly. Feeling a pain as if her flesh was being cut, Mirabilis closed her eyes tightly.

“Take her away.”

Permission fell from the mouth of the owner of the Rose Palace. Changwei’s agents had thought that Serina would beg the Princess to save her, but she was dragged away too calmly after exchanging glances.

As Changwei rushed in and out like a storm, Mirabilis lost strength in her legs and hugged Mullaba next to her. The head maid had to lean on the staff and bear the weight of both herself and her owner. The staff felt heavy on this day.