This Villain Wants To Be The Empress
- 06 -

After the banquet ended, most of the participants who did not escape returned to their respective homes and some stayed overnight. Estera was among the people staying at the palace.

It is now in the palace garden. Look at the night with mixed feelings. The wind blew as if to make Estera's feelings more mixed.

Occasional breaths came out of Estera's small lips.

"Huh.today there were a lot of surprises. What the hell are you planning to do to make me a waitress?".

Estera closed her eyes and let herself feel hit by the cold night wind. The dream did not last long.

"This, wear".

Someone was talking to Esther in the back, but Estera turned and glared at the person who had just spoken behind her.

"Her Majesty the Emperor C-cassius." replied Esther with a slight stammer.

Cassius smiled faintly. Esther looked at her waist and saw an Emperor robe tied around her waist and covering her back.

"You seem to be coming. Wear it first, after that you can wash it" said Emperor Cassius, who seemed to be aware of what Esther was thinking.

Estera gulped, "thank you, your majesty, I will return this as soon as possible".

"No need".

Silent.

"Your majesty? Don't you want to go back? The temperature has started to fall. It is quite cold here." said Estera, glancing at the Emperor who was taller than him.

"No, then what about you?"

"I'm not what noble is".

Emperor Cassius glanced at Esther from top to bottom like he was identifying someone. "Do you look like someone I know?" ask Cassius.

"Ah, that, I am Afta Dervixon of the Baron Dervixon family. Perhaps you mean, the person you know is my father. It just so happens that my father often gets customers from the imperial family." Estera replied in detail. I hope Cassius isn't so suspicious of Esther.

"fast. But.your fragrance is no stranger to me. Looks like I smelled the same scent six years ago".

It seems like Cassius is starting to realize who I am! Holy hooch! The instincts of an emperor were very strong.

"Eh? Maybe you mean a noble debutante?" reply Estera pretended innocently did not understand the direction Cassius said.

Cassius scrunched his forehead and stared a little suspiciously. His expression returned to its original state after a few seconds.

"Ah, maybe? You smell like Estera..."

Degs...

Estera grew wide in shock and immediately stared at the floor below. He was surprised that Cassius suddenly brought up his name without a clear signal.

That bastard! How'this!? He remembered me!? So why did the promise he made not one bit remember!? Inner Estera.

Cassius then moved to the position right next to Estera. Cassius stared at the vast garden and exhaled slowly. He also occasionally blinked his eyes quickly and then massaged his temple.

"You may not know him. You tau? She was a sweet girl, I knew her because her mother was an Augur in the temple of the capital. And you know what? His father was a bandit, his father was very bad to him, so I helped him as a sign of gratitude to his mother who always interpreted the dream through birds for the imperial family." obviously Cassius who then looked at Estera with a genuine smile.

Nah! Not so! How manipulative of you Cassius! If I really were Afta then I would believe your immoral words, but I am the one you told me that you helped him! Where is your brain actually!? Inner Estera.

Esther kept beating Cassius with her harsh words. This is strange, he who likes it also feels annoyed.

"It's night. You better go to the room. It's orders".

Hearing the command line, Estera immediately greeted and left without saying anything to Cassius about the story of 'Estera' from Cassius' own point of view.

"Why is he silent? Does he know anything? I am very familiar with this fragrance, not many who use this fragrance because it is very difficult to get Camelia flowers or even the perfume in the capital. But Esther had a father who was a descendant of Barckif, in her native place a lot of Camellias. No doubt, Mr. Baron must be very rich, I must immediately meet Viktor" said Cassius before he finally went somewhere.

...***...

Before going to bed Esther took a peek at the window, just in case 'she' sent something to Esther. "Seems not? I have to go through everything as usual".

One room occupied by these participants contained four individual mattresses. Esther returned to her bed and realized something. There was something shiny like glass from the sidelines of his bag.

"I forgot something". Esther wanted to take her bag.

"Afta! Can you help me?" greet the one who made Esther undo her intentions.

Esther turned to look at the person who called her. Cessa...

"What can I do for you, Cessa?" ask Estera to Cessa.

"Look, I really want to eat pumpkin pie. Can you ask the waiter to get it for me?" he asked with an expression of compassion.

Crazy, you came at an inopportune moment.

"Why should I? There's Anin and your brother Secca".

"But Anin has a night prayer schedule, my brother would have gone berserk if I told him to. Not to mention my leg still hurts from the tweezers. I beg ya??"

For this time only. Inner Estera.

Estera nodded and went back to the kitchen to pick up the pie Cessa asked for.

Chequek.

Cessa watched the door close slowly. Then he turned and approached Esther's bed. He crouched down and grabbed Estera's bag.

"I'm sorry Miss Barckif, but not this time" he said, who then reached into the bag and took cyanide in a glass bottle.

Cessa shook her head. "You're so careless, miss. This time I won't let your hands get stained".

Cessa hastily cleaned up her container and put another liquid in a new glass bottle. He put the new liquid in Estera's bag. Cessa went back to her bed and hid the cyanide.

Meanwhile someone was eavesdropping on Cessa from behind the door. "What the fuck? What's so sloppy?"

The sound of the door knocking made Cessa get up from her bed and open the door for the person who stopped by her room.

"Eh? You who?" cessa asked confusedly.

"Oh, sorry before. Introduce me Perlaa Wrington, I am the personal servant of the Queen Mother." the girl introduced herself and greeted Cessa. Inevitably Cessa also gave greetings back to Perlaa.

What are the subordinates of Empress Dowager Elua here for? inner Cessa.

"I'm Cessa Ye Virgilla. From your margin... are you Adnan's sister?"

The girl named Perlaa nodded, "really, I am Adnan's only older sister. Do you know him?"

"Sure! Hey, tell your sister don't be so rude to me!" annoyed Cessa with a joking tone.

Peraa laughed. "You're not polite to Miss Barckif, are you? What did you just do inside?"

Degs...

"What do you mean? Miss Barckif? Who's she?" Cessa pretended not to know Miss Barckif, when she had clearly discussed it.

"No need to pretend to be stupid. What's your relationship with Miss Barckif?" ask Perlaa again.

Cessa scrunched her forehead. "You came in the middle of the night just to ask me if I knew anyone I'd never even heard of".

"Did? Who are you really following? Brigitta's? Dante's? Oho! Or Maya's consort?"

SLAPPY!!

"So, watch your talk." Cessa's emotions began to be unstoppable until she was willing to slap the person she first met.

Perlaa smiled in satisfaction and felt a slap on her cheek. "It looks like I managed to find a spy. What gift will I get? If I manage to hold you hostage because you've been spying on Miss Barckif".

Cessa grits her teeth. "If I spy on him, then what right do you have to hold me back? Are you Dante's subordinate!?"

"It's a pity, sweet lady. That son of a bitch Dante has nothing to do with me. Guess which side I'm on?".

"You guessed it, I don't care. But this is it..." Cessa took a swing and pulled her dagger out of her pants pocket, "you have no choice to live"

"Woah, calm down, you're overreacting, haha".

"Why? Are you afraid of Miss Perlaa?" sneered Cessa.

Perlaa shook her head and glanced towards the passageway. "You better hide that thing. Miss Barckif is on her way here".

"What?" Cessa hurriedly put her dagger back in and sure enough, Estera began to be seen walking in the hallway towards her room.

"I'll be back again. You better shut up, I know your dark secret."

Perlaa finally went in the opposite direction carrying a million questions in Cessa's head. But in the end Cessa did not want to think about it anymore, after this she had to report to her superiors.

If after this he will often meet with me and Miss Barckif, my plans and superiors may fail. I must tell this to you immediately. Inner Cessa.

"The cessa? Hey Cessa?"

"Oh! Afta! Sorry I was daydreaming. Seems like I'm starving, my eyes are empty".

"Here you go, eat fast, because it's still warm. I met Anin on the street, it seems like she finished her evening prayer. He should have gotten here, but why is it just you?"

Cessa shrugged her shoulders and entered the room leaving Esther alone at the door. You don't know yourself, Estera thought.

Fortunately, I went to get a pie. So I had a reason to take the letter near the lake of the palace. After all, the careless bird just casually entered without any protection magic. Huh. inner Estera.

...***...

"Horse path. Checkmate. I won again".

"That's it, Dante. It's already midnight".

"Whose evening is this, Wirra?"

Duke Rigvsen then sipped his black coffee accompanied by a satisfied look at his victory in this chess game.

"Why are you so proud?" ask Wirra cetus.

"I'm happy to beat you in a brain game. Don't you accept your defeat?"

"Ish, you're so annoying to Dante. If only this wasn't a region without magic, I might have cursed you into a frog." lamented Wirra who did not accept his defeat in this game.

Duke Rigvsen again sipped his black coffee. "You know. This region was made anti-magic because of the previous empress. And until now it is still maintained so that the previous empress does not destroy this region".

"What is the speciality of this region?"

"This was the first region of the Cransrifgh imperial family. But they were not the first to come here, there was a family who had occupied this territory first. Without a long warning, the Cransrifgh family slaughtered the family who were said to be the ancestors of this previous empress. But until now there has been no certainty of the family name of the slaughtered, which is clearly a circulating and reasonable story. The face of the previous empress is somewhat similar to the skull of the family that had been slaughtered by the Cransrifgh family".

Wirra nodded, "the seizure of territory can make anyone lost sense will be done in an unreasonable way".

"True, let alone us including people like that".

Wirra fell silent then asked Duke Rigvsen something. "If Empress Maya had that much magic, she should have survived until now, right?".

"I think so too. But all this time there were no signs or witnesses who had seen it directly after the incident".

"Oh? Flori moarte's? What happened to this region".

"Yes, let's go back, I smell someone else around here." Duke Rigvsen.

"You do have a very keen sense of smell, Dante. I salute you".

...TBC...