Lady to Queen

"It is an exact hit, Your Majesty!"     

Rafaella yelled excitedly next to her, and Patrizia laughed as if she was just embarrassed. Fortunately, her archery skills had not been rusted yet. Patrizia shook her head, muttering that she would be able to catch one rabbit at the very least.     

"I guess my skills did not die yet."     

"Oh my, yes, Your Majesty. Anyways, you are too humble."     

Rafaella laughed with a "hoohoohoo" sound with her praise, and Patrizia blushed. At that moment, Patrizia caught sight of Petronilla walking towards her from a distance. Patrizia smiled.     

"Nil is coming."     

She was holding a freshly baked pie in her hand that actually looked pretty big. Patrizia asked Petronilla with a slightly surprised look.     

"What is that pie for?"     

"Walnut pie. You like this."     

Petronilla responded casually to Patrizia, then lifted a piece and put it in her mouth. The crispy texture spread all over the body. Patrizia, with a pleasant smile, brushed her mouth clean and said in a soft voice, "It is delicious. Surely, the chef's skill is excellent."     

"Right? Should I bring you something to drink?"     

"Can I request a strawberry latte?"     

"Of course. By the way, tomorrow is the hunting contest, have you fully prepared yourself?"     

"It is complete. As long as there is no big twist, it will probably be held successfully and completed with great success. I'm confident."     

"I'm looking forward to it since you're saying that. I hope you go in this competition and enjoy yourself a little. It's been so long since you rode a horse and shot an arrow with a bow. After we got older, it was a harder thing to do."     

"To be honest, I am looking forward to it. The hunting grounds are really wide."     

"That's good."     

Petronilla smiled at her slightly and tried to get out of her way when she remembered something that she forgot to deliver in her head.     

"Oh, the palace stablehand came from the Imperial stables earlier and said Sally had finished with training. Now there won't be another horrible situation of biting your hand."     

"Oh, yea? That's a relief. Got it. Thanks, Nil. You can take your leave."     

"Okay. Keep up the good work."     

Petronilla nodded her head and then disappeared towards the Empress' Kitchen. Patrizia gazed at the retreating figure, then turned her head back again to focus on her archery. Patrizia was pulling her bow tightly with a serious face until she thought of Lucio at the moment.     

'I wonder what "that man" said to Rosemond?'     

The hand pulling the bowstring stopped. The bow remained tense, and Rafaella, who was by her side, stared at Patrizia with a surprised look but said nothing when she saw her face was deep in thought. Patrizia continued to dwell in her thoughts.     

She knew nothing, but she knew at least that the relationship between the two was special. The two certainly had a close bond due to the time they had spent together.     

Therefore, the relationship between the two would not immediately be displaced by the words that she had left behind. Actually, she didn't even really want the relationship between those two to be distorted... but if that would somehow help her, it wasn't such a bad thing.     

"Your Majesty."     

At that moment, a voice carefully called out to Patrizia. Patrizia let go of the bowstring without realizing she did. The arrow fell lifelessly, and Patrizia's hand dropped. Rafaella was looking at her with a worried expression, and Patrizia smiled nonchalantly.     

"Suddenly, my hand seems to have lost power. I am okay, Sir Rafaella."     

"Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere? Tomorrow is the hunting competition ... Will you be okay?"     

"I am okay, Ella. I just felt a bit numb for a second."     

When she smiled to show nothing was wrong, Rafaella then made an expression of relief. She then asked, "Would you like to practice some more? It's been two hours already, and I think it would be better if you went back inside."     

"Just 30 minutes more. Is there a lot of work left, Mirya?     

"No. You are fine. You can do this for around two more hours."     

As soon as she finished speaking, Patrizia drew her bow after placing an arrow accordingly. With the sound of the wind sharply blowing, an arrowhead inserted itself into the target plate. It was exactly in the middle.     

"It's a hit again."     

Patrizia laughed with a satisfied expression.     

That night, Patrizia heard a strange sound.     

"Hm…"     

Patrizia, who continued to be restless for a few minutes in the noise, but eventually couldn't stand it, and quickly got up. As it was, she had a hard time falling asleep at night, but the noise made it even more difficult. She called out to Mirya, trying to hide her nervous expression.     

"Mirya, Mirya."     

"Yes, Your Majesty. What is the matter?"     

"What is this sound?"     

"Sound?"     

Mirya entered the room with a puzzled look. No sound could be heard in this room right now, but she was mentioning somehow. She said to her, in a confused state, "Your Majesty, nothing can be heard in my ears."     

"I am a little sensitive to hearing. Make sure you're quiet and listen carefully. Can you not hear something?"     

"..."     

At Patrizia's words, Mirya held her breath and focused all her attention to her ears. But Mirya's ears really could not hear anything. Mirya made a helpless expression and told Patrizia.     

"Your Majesty, I am sorry but I do not hear anything."     

"Hm…"     

Patrizia made this noise with a strange expression. Apparently she heard the sound, but Mirya said she couldn't hear it, so she was frustrated. It was a small sound, and just barely enough to be heard in her ears. Perhaps it was just that she was too sensitive. She sighed inwardly and said to Mirya, "I am sorry, Mirya. I guess I was being too sensitive."     

"It's because you haven't been able to sleep these days, Your Majesty. You've exhausted yourself having too much to prepare for the hunting competition."     

Mirya spoke in a tone as if she was going to die from her being so unfortunate, and Patrizia smiled awkwardly while shaking her head.     

"No. Anyways, I am sorry, Mirya. I just troubled you for no reason."     

"Not at all, Your Majesty. After a few hours, you will have to take part in the competition, so go to sleep quickly. You will be tired later."     

"You are right, Mirya. You can leave now."     

"Yes, Your Majesty."     

She bowed her waist down politely and left the room, and when Patrizia was left alone, she sighed briefly and went back to her bed with a dazed look.     

Yes, she may have been pushing herself too much these days.     

Anyways, after a few hours, she had to shoot a bow while riding a horse. Patrizia quickly closed her eyes to try to fall asleep. She just wished she could get a little more sleep before she had to wake up in the morning.