Lady to Queen

As Lucio recovered from the state he had been in, Patrizia spurred on with her work. When he had been unconscious, she had only been in charge of a portion of the work anyways, but she wanted to pass on the work in the most suitable way. She was going to do her best so that he could return to his work after one week had passed without any issues. Her hard work had paid off, as Lucio returned to his duties without any awkwardness.     

Considering she had returned to being an Empress from the Regent, her workload had lessened only by a little bit. She still hadn't finished the most important work of all. Patrizia drank the still steaming cup of tea as she waited for someone to arrive. A maid announced his arrival.     

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Witherford has arrived."     

"Escort him in."     

At those words, he walked in full of confidence. She greeted him with a bright smile.     

"Welcome, Duke. It has been quite a while."     

"Yes, Your Majesty."     

Truthfully, it hadn't been all that long, but this was just said out of courtesy. Patrizia looked at him with amused eyes and asked him a question.     

"So, you wanted to meet with me?"     

"Indeed, Your Majesty."     

"I thought there would only be one reason for why you would want to meet with me, correct?"     

"It is as you had expected, Your Majesty. A confession has been procured."     

"Who is it?"     

"A maid that served in the Vain Palace, Your Majesty. I have chosen a smart child who is good at judging situations. She will testify with the evidence that has been moderately fabricated."     

"The afterwards?"     

"I offered the conditions while putting her family back in her hometown on the line, so she will not try anything foolish. Please put down your worries."     

"Sounds good. Who else knows of this fact besides you and myself?"     

"As of right now, nobody else knows. I plan to announce the results at the advisory council meeting tomorrow."     

"It is done. You have worked well, Duke."     

"Not at all, Your Majesty. I am only apologetic that the results took this long."     

At the Duke of Witherford's words, Patrizia smiled contentedly. Whether it had taken a long time or not, if the results were the same, she didn't care at all. She spoke to the Duke of Witherford in an unusually bright voice.     

"Anyways, the important part is for this to be completely finished."     

The next day. Patrizia headed towards the Loen Palace to completely bring this case to a close. At that place, the witness' testimony would take place, and the punishment would be decided on. She walked with a fairly tense expression on her face when by chance, she discovered Lucio who was also heading in the direction for the Loen Palace. Patrizia preferred not to run into him and tried to turn around to avoid him, but it was already too late. He had discovered her first.     

"Empress."     

He called out to her and headed towards her direction. Patrizia wondered why he didn't continue on his way and had to stop, and secretly made an unwelcome expression. But soon, she showed no signs of that as she headed towards him and bowed her head in greeting.     

"I greet the Emperor. Glory to the great Sun of the Empire.     

"Were you on the way to the Loen Palace?"     

"Yes, I am."     

She answered shortly. After that, a shocking reply came in response.     

"Let us go together."     

"…"     

Was there anyone in this Empire that could dare show any signs of rejection to that? To dare with the request from the Emperor of this Empire. Patrizia sighed inwardly and responded that he should do as he pleased. To be honest, it was quite an uncomfortable situation, but there was nothing that could be done about it.     

"…"     

The two of them were walking together, but there were absolutely no words exchanged between them. Patrizia preferred to save her words, and the reason for that was because she worried she might slip up and ruin the crucial moment that lay ahead. Lucio was not aware of this situation and continued to only think that she just hated him. So he only said these words.     

"Today is the day that the investigation comes to a close."     

"Yes, Your Majesty."     

"So a witness has appeared."     

"Yes, Your Majesty."     

"Will you be putting her to death?"     

"Yes, Your Majesty."     

HALT. Lucio stopped his footsteps. Naturally, Patrizia's footsteps ceased as well, and she looked at his face for the first time. He stared at her with a face that was hard to read, but it wasn't a look of resentment or hate. He just blatantly stared at her.     

At that moment, Patrizia felt that his gaze was like that of a small child, and she subtly turned away, as the gaze felt like a burden.     

Patrizia wanted to ask him exactly why he had looked at her that way, but she couldn't bring up the courage to do so. And so, the two of them began to walk again without any words.     

"His Majesty and Her Majesty have arrived."     

The door opened along with the servant's words. Patrizia stared with emotionless eyes at the heads that were bowed towards them. She walked along with him to the area that had their thrones and took her seat next to him.     

Only the Empress of the Empire could have this privilege. This was probably the first time that she sat alongside him like this. Patrizia was about to open her mouth first and felt she would be acting overboard and stopped, as he spoke to her first.     

"Empress, you are in charge of this whole thing, so why not start this?"     

"Gratefully, Your Majesty."