Volume 5, Chapter 15 – The Queen Who’s a Novice at Love

As she said this, Andrea clasped her hands at her waist with an embarrassed look, as if she were feeling shy.

“Could I ask you to open the door, Lady Yisi? Although I know you and Lord Loiswell are on very good terms, if an unfamiliar subject were to see me opening the door myself, it could start unpleasant rumors… I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing. In fact, if you were the one to open the door, Pepe would probably find it unacceptable.”

The queen in Edith’s mind was decisive and far-sighted. If she were to see Andrea actively run to open a door, her reverence for her would probably crumble. Yisi had seen people in the past who were extremely devoted to their idols, only to become dejected when that idol’s public image was shattered. It was perfectly normal for them to lose their appetite for days.

With a soft click, Yisi opened the door.

Outside, Edith’s tense face quietly relaxed after seeing that Yisi was unharmed. Then she snorted lightly.

“You’re doing quite well for yourself, Your Grace, the Duchess. Secretly meeting with Her Majesty the Queen behind my back, you must have received quite a few benefits, haven’t you?”

“The benefits are the least of it.” Yisi habitually reached out to pat Edith’s head, but Edith swatted her hand away with a displeased expression. Yisi gave a wry smile. “Come in first. Andrea will tell you everything, Pepe.”

“You’d better hope she can give me a definitive answer. Arbitrarily snatching someone else’s retainer, even if it is Her Majesty the Queen, I will not show any courtesy. You can only be mine.”

“I would be very happy if you said that when you’re a little more grown-up, Pepe.”

Yisi’s teasing gaze fell on Edith’s chest. When Edith realized it, she threw a punch directly at Yisi’s chest, which Yisi dodged. ¹ pfft

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…

Under Edith’s unfriendly expression and Andrea’s cautious explanation, Edith finally came to believe that the Duchess title was something Andrea had devised to divert the conflict. As for the “royal bloodline,” Andrea explained that it “could be royal, or it could not be.” Bloodline suppression only occurs between high-ranking species. If Yisi was not a lost member of the royal family, then she could only be from another superior species. Recalling Yisi’s Third Form, which looked neither like a dragon nor a beastman, Edith easily accepted this explanation. Her acceptance was so quick that it even surprised Andrea.

Withdrawing the hand that was resting on the arm of the sofa, Edith resumed a formal sitting posture, her gaze fixed directly on Andrea, who was sitting on the sofa opposite her.

“In other words, all of this was just Her Majesty the Queen’s strategy to change the subject, and you don’t actually intend to bestow a territory upon Yisi or grant her a permanent title of Duchess. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m so glad you understand, Lord Loiswell.”

Andrea, with a few beads of sweat on her forehead, nodded quickly. Because Edith had been questioning her in an interrogating tone the whole time, the immense pressure had made Andrea feel as though she couldn’t breathe.

But Edith’s next words quickly stunned Andrea.

“It would be fine for her to keep the title of Duchess as it is.”

“Eh?”

Andrea blinked, puzzled. The majesty she had displayed at the noble council was all an act; as soon as she was in private, Andrea reverted to the appearance Yisi was used to seeing.

“Since it’s a duchy without a territory, merely a title in name, granting it to Yisi only brings me benefits. To speak frankly, Yisi is my future wife. If she has a noble title herself, our statuses will be equal when she marries into the Pescia family, and we won’t be criticized by others.”

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“Eh? Ehhhh? W-Wife? But… but Lord Loiswell and Lady Yisi are both, both girls…”

“Is there a problem? As far as I know, Lord Faite, who is in charge of the Royal Capital’s finances, has a male consort.”

Although she understood what Edith meant, Andrea’s face was still filled with shock. Like a child discussing matters of love for the first time, her gaze shifted cautiously and awkwardly between Yisi and Edith.

“I-I see… Then I wish you and Lady Yisi all the best—”

“Wait, don’t be misled by Pepe, Andrea. That’s her one-sided decision. I have already rejected her proposal. There’s no such thing as an engagement.”

However, Yisi’s words made Edith raise an eyebrow. She turned to look at Yisi, who was sitting off to the side.

“No wonder you rejected my proposal before. So you were secretly hooking up with Her Majesty the Queen and even had her address you with an honorific. I never thought someone who seems so proper would have such interests.”

In Yisi’s eyes, Edith’s gaze was full of disgust, like a high school girl from Earth seeing a pervert.

Having a little girl call her “Lady Yisi” did indeed bring to mind some unpleasant hobbies. Yisi quickly explained.

“I never asked Andrea to call me that. It was of her own volition—”

Before Yisi could finish, Edith cut her off, a provocative smile on her lips.

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“But I like it.”

This time, not only Andrea, but Yisi too was left stunned.

She’s definitely saying that for Andrea to hear, isn’t she? Although Yisi knew Edith’s possessiveness was strong, she hadn’t expected her to see even Andrea as a rival. No matter how you looked at it, Andrea, as the Queen of the Blood Clan, wouldn’t be interested in her. At most, they would just become friends.

From Andrea’s shyness when she heard Edith talk about being her fiancée, one could see that Andrea was not even a novice when it came to love. There was no way she would be interested in an ordinary person like Yisi who, apart from strength and money, had nothing left.

Her cheeks turning the pinkish-red of a ripe apple, Andrea pressed her hands onto her long dress, her ten fingers clasped and fidgeting. Even her speech became stammered.

“L-Lord Loiswell is very bold…”

“Of course. I am always true to myself. I must hold what I like in my hands, and I will erase everything I hate from the world.” Edith glanced at Andrea with a meaningful look. “No matter what it is.”

There’s no need to threaten Andrea.

However, after seeing Andrea’s expression, Yisi, who had originally planned to make Edith back off, closed her mouth.

Unknowingly, Andrea’s eyes had started to sparkle as if stars were about to pop out. Since she was sitting relatively close, Yisi even caught Andrea saying things like, “This is how a queen should be.”

She doesn’t want to become like Edith, does she?

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Just the thought of it made Yisi’s scalp tingle. If someone like Edith were to become the Queen of the Blood Clan, she would surely become a tyrant—although that was what Yisi imagined a Blood Clan queen should be like.

If Andrea were to start idolizing Edith, it would surely be a disaster for the Blood Clan. Yisi used a cough to interrupt the stars that were about to fill the entire room in Andrea’s eyes.

“Ahem. Since the misunderstanding between you and Andrea has been cleared up, Andrea, I brought my companions with me today. May they join the tea party as well?”

“Ah! I almost forgot about the tea party. I’m so sorry, Lady Yisi. I’ll go and prepare right away. You can just bring your friends directly to my bedchambers, Lady Yisi.”

Hurriedly, Andrea stood up from her seat, not even noticing that her pink pigtails had become messy, and rushed out of the room.

Edith put a hand to her forehead and sighed to herself.

“I never thought the queen I admired would be like this. Is she really the same person?”

So Edith found out after all.

Yisi couldn’t help but exchange a wry smile with Refina at her side. Fortunately, from the looks of it now, Edith didn’t seem to be in a situation where she would lose her appetite because her idol’s image had been shattered.

“Well… I guess only Andrea herself knows the truth.”