ENCHANTED | Ergi .C

Chapter Twelve | Next Concubine

It seemed that Navier dropped her handkerchief when she pulled out her pen yesterday. I help her searched all over her room last night, but we couldn’t find the handkerchief she usually carried with her. We went to work as usual at the central palace, then I headed to the western garden during lunch.

"It’s alright. The Empress won’t be here at this time."

"Does the Empress really own the entire palace? Only the Empress's bedroom is hers."

"The Empress often visits here too, so why not Miss Rashta as well?"

As I approached Navier's nest chair with plan to look for her handkerchief, I heard laughter and conversation. I somehow had a bad feeling that something annoying is going to happen so I stopped right before the bushes to observe what was happening.

The sight the welcome me almost make me spit blood out of anger.

Rashta was sitting in the nest chair while a maidservant pushed it like a swing. The other maid had brought a table and was even cutting fruit.

"…"

Hot anger seared through my chest. Did the concubine still not know that the Western wing was the domain of the Empress? No, she must know if she was avoiding Navier. I could barely tolerate the fact that someone both Navier and I didn’t like was enjoying themselves in Navier's secret hideout.

"Well, the Empress would never come to such a small place. If Rashta doesn’t sit in it, the chair will be lonely, right?"

"Miss Rashta…you adorable little thing."

"You are so different from the other young ladies. You are so innocent."

"Why? What about the others?"

"Well…nobles make their debut in society at the age of seventeen. After that, they need to be cunning."

"There’s a lot of fighting and backstabbing involved."

"Miss Rashta, don’t get involved with them, or they’ll eat you alive."

Rashta smiled, then turned and suddenly caught sight of me.

"A-ah, Y-Your Highness!"

Rashta trembled and jumped to her feet. Good. It seems she'd at least learned to stay away from me.

The maids, who had been speaking ill of the nobility, also stepped back in surprise. Two new ladies-in-waiting were nowhere to be seen. Supposedly they did not get along with Rashta, and they must have been sent back by Sovieshu or the maids.

I pushed aside a few stems and approached them, my eyes fixed on the nest chair. When Rashta stood up, I spotted Navier's handkerchief behind her dress. She had used the handkerchief to sit on the nest chair. When Rashta saw the direction of my gaze, she spoke up hurriedly.

"This isn’t trash, Your Highness. It’s very beautiful."

"Did I allowed you to speak?"

Rashta flinched at my clipped tone. I mentally counted from one to hundred backward in the old language. That chair was Navier's cherished possession, and this was her secret place that even I pretended unaware of it and never touched out of respect until she personally brought me last night. I was definitely angry that Sovieshu’s concubine invaded her precious spot.

"Veena? What are you..."

As if me alone being angry wasn’t enough, Navier arrived. Her expression hardened once she saw the situation and crosswd her arms.

"B-Big sister... I-I mean Your Majesty."

Rashta’s voice was short on breath, but Navier couldn’t open her mouth to reply. It was not forbidden for anyone else to be here. While she never saw other people with her own eyes, anyone else could have used this chair.