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-Angelica's Dress, Hairstyle and Accessories-
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-In The Small Ballroom/ Hallway/Duke Ergi's Room-
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-Third Person POV-
'After Rashta's condition improved, Sovieshu hosted a party to cheer me up since Rashta forced him to be with her while she recovered. Rashta decided to join as well. Although it was meant to be small, quite a number of people came...As it was a party hosted by the Imperial Family and you didn't need an invitation to attend.' Angelica thought as she sat down next to Rashta talking to some nobles Diane and Cecilia stood next to her on the couch while Rashta was conversing with some nobles "This young lady recently moved to the capital from a provincial area far away." A noblewoman said as a young lady Rashta recognized easily walked in front of her "She's such fun and excellent company, so I really wanted to introduce her to you." The Noblewoman said pointing to the girl as Rashta's eyes widened 'Lebetti?!' Rashta thought. Angelica looked over and saw the scene going on but chose to ignore it knowing her Ladies-In-Waiting were listening in for her and would inform her soon "It's nice to meet you." Rashta said with a nervous smile as Lebetti smirked at her which made Rashta bite her lip in anger, Alan quickly went over grabbing Lebetti's hand and taking her away as she complained while being taken away for a 'family emergency' which made Angelica not believe that for a second, soon the nobles talking to her left "Diane, who were those two?" Angelica asked as Diane looked down at her. "That was Lady Lebetti Rimwell and Sir Alan Rimwell. The son and daughter of Viscount Lotteshu. And Alan Rimwell is the father of Rashta's first-born son." Diane said as Cecilia covered her mouth with a giggle as she watched Rashta get up and leave the ballroom "Looks like Lady Lebetti doesn't like Rashta very much. We could use that to our advantage, My Lady." Cecilia said making Angelica nod as she stood up "My shadow will listen to them and on Duke Ergi and Rashta's conversation." Angelica said as her shadow followed Rashta secretly.
Rashta opened a door and she peeked around before closing the door and quickly walked away 'How could she make me face Lebetti on purpose and act like nothing was wrong?' Rashta thought and as she was walking she spotted Alan standing in the hallway waiting for her, once he spotted her he walked over to her making her stop and flinch back "Rashta. Father told me that I should pretend not to know you, but I thought I should at least tell you about Ian." Alan said making Rashta confused at the name 'Ian?' Rashta thought and remembered that was her son's name.
Rashta glared at him and quickly covered Alan's mouth surprising him at this action"Are you trying to blackmail me right now?!" Rashta asked quickly as Alan removed her hands from his face shaking his head "It's not like that." He said Rashta looked up at him "You're telling me this even though you know that I'm His Majesty's Mistress. But you still want to pretend you're not blackmailing me?" Rashta asked in an annoyed tone "I heard that you bought a mansion in the capital for Ian." Alan said. 'So that's what Viscount Lotteshu told him? Well, I suppose he didn't want to tell his children that he blackmailed me to get it.' Rashta thought as she crossed her arms and looked at Alan unamused "So?" Rashta said in a sassy tone as Alan looked down at the ground with guilt "I'm sorry for what I did. I was just too scared back then. You had nothing to lose, but that wasn't the case for me. To throw everything away and choose you was-" Alan said facing Rashta again, but she cut him off from speaking. Rashta turned her body away from him closing her eyes "I don't want to talk about the past." She said and opened her eyes turning to him and giving him a smirk "I also have a lot to lose now. I'm sure you understand since you felt the same way before. You said your Father told you that you should pretend not to know me. Do as he says. And tell that rude sister of yours to behave herself." Rashta said and walked past Alan who looked down filled with guilt, Rashta clenched her hands together as she could hear her heart beating so fast.
'I can't believe I was able to tell off someone that I used to call Young Master like that. It feels incredible. But I regret reacting so heartlessly towards the baby...' Rashta thought with a small nervouse smile.
Rashta walked over to Duke Ergi's room and burst in seeing him at a window with Bluebird next to him neither one of them noticed the Shadow Angelica hiding in the corner of the room watching them, Rashta heard Duke Ergi cuss under his breath and she walked over while the bird flew away "Duke Ergi? Did you receive some bad news? You were cursing." Rashta said as he turned his gaze onto her smiling at her "No. I was just worried that my friend lost his senses." Duke Ergi said making Rashta stare at him confused "What?" Rashta asked. "Just pretend you didn't hear that. What brings you here tonight?" Duke Ergi asked as they walked over sitting down at a table while Rashta took a sip of tea and laid the teacup onto the table "You said that Viscount Lotteshu ordered that bastard called Alan to pretend he doesn't know you. That means the Viscount also wants things to be as they are now. He'll keep his children in check." Duke Ergi said making Rashta exhale with relief "That has to be the case." Rashta said, "Is that what you came here to discuss?" He asked and Rashta shook her head.
"Um...Did you...Know that someone put an abortion dug in my food?" Rashta asked looking at Duke Ergi "I think everybody must have heard about that by now. I also heard that thankfully there were no serious problems. Is that not true?" Duke Ergi asked, "It's true. But...A few days before that happened, I promised myself...That I would keep myself and my baby safe on my own." Rashta said as Duke Ergi gave her a smile "That's a good decision." He said. "The problem is, as soon as I promised myself that, I discovered that I had been ingesting abortion drugs. I'm scared that things like this will keep happening to me. Do you have any ideas how I can avoid that?" Rashta asked placing a hand on her stomach "There are two ways." Duke Ergi said gaining Rashta's attention "Two...?" Rashta asked, "One way is asking the Emperor for his help. You don't have to handle it yourself. Just keep telling him that you're scared. He'll do anything for you." Duke Ergi said
'He hasn't shown me any love these past days. All he cares about is Angelica...I can't trust him until I know his love belongs to me and me alone...' Rashta thought.
Rashta looked down with a sad look "What's the other way?" She asked her tone not so happy anymore "Get rid of anyone who might attack you before they strike." Duke Ergi said as Rashta shook her head and looked up at him "But...My enemy is of higher social standing, has more power, and has a lot of money. Will I really be able to get rid of them?" Rashta asked making Duke Ergi quickly figure out who she is talking about "Are you talking about the Empress?" Duke Ergi asked with a small smile. "At first, I wanted to become closer to her. Everyone praises her, so I thought that she would love and care for me, too. But now...I hate her. She scares me." Rashta said looking down "There's only one way you can stop the Empress from attacking you." Duke Ergi said and looked at Rashta with a smirk "You need to become the Empress." He said, Rashta looked at him horrified "Y-You can't be serious!" Rashta exclaimed in horror "It's not hard, My Lady. Empresses change surprisingly frequently." Duke Ergi said with a small laught. Rashta trembled at the thought "But I wasn't born a noble..." Rashta mumbled, "You can reinvent your ancestry. Picture this. Your parents have spent years looking for their lost child." Duke Ergi said leaning close to Rashta making her look at him nervously "Then, after you became the Mistress of the Emperor of the Eastern Empire...Rumors of your beauty spread far and wide, so they come to see you, just in case." Duke Ergi finished speaking. Rashta was dazed at the story he said and her cheeks turned red a little "That sounds like a fairytale..." Rashta mumbled with a dazed look as Duke Ergi leaned back into his chair and stretched his arms "Yes it does. That's why people will like it. Do you have any family?" He asked making Rashta shake her head no quickly "That's fine then. There are a number of poor nobles who can pretend to be your parents. However, people might catch on if they are from the Eastern Empire, so I can introduce you to nobles from my Kingdom." Duke Ergi said.
"Fake parents..." Rashta mumbled looking down 'If it's this easy to change my social status...Then why didn't His Majesty help me?' Rashta thought and soon was brought out of it when Duke Ergi snapped his finger in her face gaining her attention and making her look up at him "My Lady?" Duke Ergi called out to her "Ah, sorry." Rashta said, "I made it sound easy, but it's actually quite risky. But I feel that this is the only way you can protect yourself from the Empress. What do you think? Do you want to give it a try?" Duke Ergi asked making Rashta nod her head "Yes, I do." Rasht said. "Alright. There's something you must promise me in return...Don't agree to a paternity test no matter who tries to persuade you to do it. Because then the truth will be revealed." Duke Ergi said and Rashta beamed with happiness "I promise." She said in a happy tone "Alright then...What happens after I reinvent my parentage? It's not like I will become an Empress simply because I become a Noblewoman." Rashta said looking at him "You mentioned you couldn't read. Do you know how to now?" Duke Ergi asked "I...I can read simple books now. and I can write." Rashta said with a small pout. "Keep studying. And you'll need to take various classes." Duke Ergi said with a nod "Classes?" Rashta asked in a nervous voice making him look at her "Why? Do you hate studying?" He asked and Rashta shook her head nervously "No, It's just...This doesn't feel like a very effective way to go on the offensive..." Rashta said as Duke Ergi chuckled "It can't be helped. Empress Navier has a peerless reputation and is known far and wide." Duke Ergi said, "She's just good at putting up a front." Rashta grumbled with a pout.
"It doesn't matter if she's putting on a front or not. There will be consequences if you attack her outright. So your priority is to make people's opinion of you as positive as their opinion of the Empress. You need to reach a point when you can face her as an equal." Duke Ergi said, "But the nobles look down on me. It's clear they are biased against me. Will they change their ways just because I studied a little?" Rashta asked with a small pout as she kept blushing at Duke Ergi "Not really. So you have to appeal to commoners instead. You know that half of the council members are commoners, right? Make them your supporters" Duke Ergi said, "How?" Rashta asked. "The Empress is very popular but she's the very embodiment of a noble. After all, she was born into a prestigious noble family and she became engaged to the Crown Prince at an early age. Then she became the Crown Princess even before she made her debut into society. No matter how well the Empress treats the commoners, they will still feel there is an invisible wall between her and them. You can take advantage of that. Because you were born a commoner like them...You can make yourself look like someone who understands them and sympathizes with their needs." Duke Ergi said, 'Duke Ergi is right...' Rashta thought.
Shadow Angelica smirked 'My Mistress will love to hear this information.' Shadow Angelica thought.
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