Tak.
The door closed quietly behind Elisha's back.
She confirmed that the child had fallen asleep, and would wake him up in about two hours.
After passing through the empty corridor, Elisha came out of the annex, ignoring the knights watching her.
She walked past the central building to another separated building on the other side.
It was where the maids in charge of the 2nd Palace, and Mrs. Suaré, the nanny of the prince, stayed.
This was her first time entering this building, but Elisha was not lost.
It was because she could hear the squeaking sound from the slightly open door.
"I will never forget this disgrace! There are so many people in the social world who want to entrust their children to me, and if I say even just one word, the 2nd Empress Palace will be a mess!"
"Madam, you should save that for later. The 2nd Empress' anger right now…"
"Hmph, what anger? What can she do? Spitting out cold wind blowing harsh words while holding that pretty face?"
Hearing this, Elisha opened the door wide and went inside.
"Hiiiiy!"
Mrs. Suaré and the maid from the annex before opened their mouths wide in surprise.
In particular, Mrs. Suare's, who had just pretended to be proud in front of her maid, hands were shaking at this moment. This is because she realized that Elisha's warning, which she had received before, was real, not an illusion.
"L, Look…"
The moment when Mrs. Suaré opens her mouth.
Slap!
Mrs. Suaré's face fell to the side.
Mrs. Suaré, who did not realize what had happened, raised her face again to face the person who was approaching her.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Mrs. Suaré's face was veered to the left, to the right, and to the left again.
Plop!
Red drops of blood formed on the tip of her nose, and then scattered all over the place.
"N, Nosebleed!"
The maid, who had been watching with a pale face, cried without realizing it. But upon receiving Elisha's indifferent eyes, she closed her mouth.
She seemed to be able to understand the stories of her fellow maids, who said that serving this empress was simply difficult in the past, but now it is difficult and terrifying. She didn't know what to do.
The maid Jean-Marie and the other maids ran to see the commotion, but they froze at the sight in front of them.
Mrs. Suaré, who was stunned by the violence she had experienced for the first time, came to her senses and shouted the words she had been wanting to say.
"Your… Majesty. What is this, what a futile thing to do."
Her maid, Jean-Marie, sensed the unusual atmosphere, quickly tried to cover the madam's mouth, but Elisha raised one of her hands to stop her.
"Hiiy!"
The response came not from Marie, but from Mrs. Suaré.
Mrs. Suaré was startled by Elisha's movement and trembled with her arms covering her face.
But Elisha did not feel pity or compassion.
Rather, she looked straight at Mrs. Suaré, who lowered her arms and raised her eyes fiercely, thinking that Elisha was making fun of her.
Elisha raised her hand again.
"Hiiiiiy!"
Thud!
Disregarding her own commitment to not react even if the same thing happened again, Mrs. Suaré hurriedly pulled her upper body back and landed on her buttocks.
Elisa looked down at her arrogantly and parted her pale pink lips,
"Mrs. Suaré has a bad habit. When she sees her superior, instead of bowing her head, she starts lying down."
With those words, Elisha turned her outstretched hand slightly, and Marie came up to her and wiped the blood off Elisha's fingertips with her handkerchief.
The face of Mrs. Suaré, who was looking up at Elisha, whose hand was being carefully rubbed by Marie, was horrifying.
"That's an ugly face I never wanted my child to learn from. Never come close to my jewel again. If you want to get a letter of recommendation, move on to another noble family."
"Y- Your Majesty!"
"What is it? Are you trying to threaten me that you can ruin the 2nd Empress Palace, which is already a good gossip topic, with a few tongue teasing? What can a powerless subject like you do? Fine, if you want to do it, do whatever you want. Just remember this."
Elisha pulled Marie's handkerchief, which was still at her fingertips, and threw it toward Mrs. Suaré.
The handkerchief flew away and covered the face of Mrs. Suaré, which is located below.
"If we ever face each other like this again, then, instead of covering your face with a handkerchief, I will let your face be the cover of the official gazette. You should be thankful that today is my child's birthday, and be grateful that my child has such a kind personality."
You have to be very, very grateful.
With these words, Elisha left Mrs. Suaré and the maid she had attached to help her and went out.
Marie quickly caught up behind Elisha, and the maids went back and forth without a sound, and as the morning dawned they scattered to do what they had to do.
"M- Madam. What now?"
When the maid touched Mrs. Suaré, who seemed to have gone mad, Mrs. Suaré stood up in shock.
The handkerchief that covered her face, smeared with her blood, fell to the floor.
Mrs. Suaré didn't even look at it, and she frantically packed her belongings at once.
The maid, who was still looking at her, recalled the eyes of the 2nd Empress, and without even realizing it, began to help her with packing.
"Marie."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Attach some people. To avoid troublesome things."
"… Yes."
In the Palace of the 2nd Empress, where there is no separate taxation, money was needed to hire people.
Marie replied a little late as she remembered the poor financial situation of the 2nd Palace.
Elisha, who was ahead, stopped walking.
Marie bowed her head, wondering if her answer had offended the empress.
"I know you are suffering. I will increase the finances of the palace soon," said Elisha.
In the past, Elisha thought that Marie was a mere maid, and had never cared much about her. But looking back, it was Marie who knew the overall flow of the 2nd Empress's Palace.
If Elisha had given Mrs. Suaré full authority over Leon and had not drawn a line with Marie, she wouldn't have known what had happened in the 2nd Palace.
Never once did Elisha think in her mind that Marie would have ignored Leon's abuse had she known about it.
Aside from the fact that she thought she had no special abilities, Marie's credibility was already proven by the trajectory she drew in her past life.
And Elisha now is different from back then.
She gave a very high score to Marie's sincerity and stubbornness as a maidservant who was willing to do whatever it takes to do her job even if she did not give her allegiance.
"If we can afford it, you can do whatever you want in this palace, and decorate it to your heart's content."
"Thank you."
"Since there is no Mrs. Suaré in the future, Marie, you have to take care of the prince. Do you understand?"
"Me? Since there were problems with Mrs. Suaré, a new nanny should be called as soon as possible."
"Yes, you. What is the role of a maidservant? Isn't it to take care of the owner so that they can stay in the palace in peace?
Rather than offering any compensation, it would be best to raise Marie's position as the chief of the maidservants.
"I will keep that in mind."
Only after hearing Marie's confirmation did Elisha proceed and head back to the central building.
***
Before the banquet started, there were many things to prepare.
"Hahaha, congratulations."
"Thank you for inviting me!"
As the name suggests, the Silver Hall, the third largest hall in the Imperial Palace Barossa, glistened everywhere as if it had been melted and painted with silver.
It is quite inferior to the Platinum Hall, which is considered the first in Barossa, and the Golden Hall, which is second. But it is comparable to the banquet halls of any large aristocratic family.
Elisha, who had almost no personal taste, was actually reluctant to use the Silver Hall.
It was because the light that filled the hall was the same color as Elisha's hair, so just standing there made it feel like she was a part of the decoration. She felt funny.
Therefore, Elisha had wanted to borrow the Platinum Hall or at least the Golden Hall, even though it is no exaggeration to say that those are exclusively used for the Emperor and the Crown Prince only.
In the past, the banquet itself did not go well as there were no guests.
Hence, this time, Elisha accepted the Silver Hall with ease, and instead focused on the parts that could be easily changed.
"Thank you for coming, Earl Morell, Baron Hauser."
At Elisha's greeting, the two men who were facing her nodded their heads.
Elisha lightly touched Leon's shoulder, who was wearing a dark blue kite robe next to her, and Leon opened her mouth,
"Thank you for coming. I hope you both have a good time."
When Leon spoke confidently, the count and baron also said a few words of kindness and then went inside.
The mother and son greeted more and more guests at the entrance.
The guests who just arrived and the guests who had gone in were all thinking about the same thing.
'Isn't this Elisha, who was judged not to be a good fit for this gorgeous Barossa, because she has nothing but her beauty? Elisha, who acts frivolously and cannot read situations?'
However, the Elisha they saw today was novel enough to silence all those stories.
"Mother."
"What's the matter, Leon?"
"Everyone's looking at you."
"Is there something on my face?"
As she tilted her head, Leon looked up at her with eyes wide open.
"It's not like that. It's because Mother is so beautiful."
Her hair, which had always been left as it is, was braided with a blue silk fabric similar to Leon's eyes, revealing an elegant, slender, white neckline.
The rich silver eyelashes that hung over the sky blue eyes fluttered like a butterfly flapping its wings, curling up instead of stretching out to cast the shadows.
Her pale lips were as red as if she was biting a pale pink petal, and her dress, although was not the most luxurious, suited her just fine.
Nothing was overdone and it was perfect.
If only the appearance had changed, people's surprise would have ended in surprise.
However, Elisha, who had been sitting in the top seat fighting the Emperor Kaiden in the past, also exuded pressure.
"Leon is right. You look beautiful today."