Chapter 190: CHAPTER 95 (2) – However, I Have No Regrets

“Marchioness Ethyller, are you saying that you will not admit to your crimes?”

“I did nothing wrong! Everything was the work of the wicked Empress in order to trap me!”

“…”

It seemed words would not be enough for her. Patrizia let out a sigh and addressed everyone with a question. “I will ask the nobles gathered here. The crime of trying to assassinate the Empress is definitely the worst kind of felony. Imperial law also states that such a crime should be given the death penalty. I plan to punish her for daring to ruin the Imperial Family by sentencing her to death, and so she can serve as an example to everyone. Are there any nobles who oppose this?”

“…”

No one came forward. Patrizia accepted the silence as a sign of consent and asked Lucio with a dry voice, “Your Majesty, none of the nobles seem to be objecting to my opinion.”

“…”

“I am going to order the execution of one who was once most favored by Your Majesty, as she dared to assassinate the Empress. Will you grant your permission to do this?”

“… I will grant it.”

“Your Majesty! How dare Your Majesty do this to me…!” Rosemond seemed to have completely forgotten what she had said to Lucio the other day, as if she was a heroine of misfortune who had just been discarded.

Lucio recalled the events of that day and felt extremely bitter about the current situation, while Patrizia just wanted the situation to be over as soon as possible. She declared in a solemn voice. “Then, in the name of the Empire, the death sentence is imposed on Rosemond Mary Rune Ethyller. The execution will take place two days from now. Also, she will not be able to use the Ethyller name from this moment onward, and if the Efreni family does not break ties with her, the Efreni family will also not be able to escape punishment.”

Patrizia then instructed Mirya to find out the position of the Efreni family regarding this issue. The trial ended with that. Rosemond was sentenced to death, and two days later she would disappear like the morning dew from the execution grounds. Rosemond screamed as these facts sank in. “Kyaaaa! No! No, it cannot be!”

She had to become the Empress. No, she had to become the Empress Dowager. In doing so she had to make sure no one would be able to take advantage of her. Disappear like the morning dew? That future did not belong to her! That was for Patrizia! She pleaded to the end with a facial expression full of regret. “It is unfair! I said it is unfair!”

But her cries were meaningless now. The trial had already ended, and everyone just watched the villain continue to make a scene. Two guards held her back and pushed her into the carriage. She was now officially on death row. Patrizia watched Rosemond being dragged into the carriage and then let out a sigh with a tired expression.

—

Meanwhile, Petronilla visited the Duchess of Efreni, instead of going to watch Rosemond’s trial at Gervianen Plaza. Nothing seemed to have changed within the home, and Petronilla thought she would not even have noticed something had happened to this household if she had not heard from Patrizia that the Duchess had filed for divorce this morning.

The butler brought her into the drawing room, and soon the Duchess of Efreni appeared. Petronilla quickly rose up and greeted her, “Duchess Efreni. It has been a while since we last met.”

“Lady Petronilla.”

Despite the fact that they had actually seen each other just a few days ago, Duchess Efreni’s face had worsened considerably during that time.

Petronilla asked with a sad face when she took in the Duchess’ appearance, “Are you alright? You seem to be going through a lot more than you did before.”

“There has been a lot to deal with lately.” Duchess Efreni responded calmly, and then asked the maid for two cups of tea. It was a sweet orange milk tea, not the usual type that Duchess Efreni preferred, as she only drank tea that was bitter.

Petronilla realized that the Duchess pretended to be fine while she was in a state of turmoil, and just nodded to herself internally. -She should be like this. What woman would not have complicated feelings over the fact that her husband raped her to get married to her?-

“Your face looks bleak as well.”

“I applied for a divorce this morning.”

“Oh dear.” Petronilla acted as if she had no idea, and asked nonchalantly. “How did such a thing happen?…”

“It is a long story to tell.” Duchess Efreni avoided sayingany more than that. Of course, Petronilla knew what the Duchess of Efreni had not mentioned, but decided to keep her mouth shut. Every human being had a skeleton in the cupboard that they did not want to be exposed, and Petronilla already knew about the secret. It would also be quite cruel to keep asking and get it out of her, especially to someone who already had a huge wound to her heart from the fact.

“Then the Duke will…”

“The application for divorce will be processed quickly. The maid told me earlier that His Majesty is reviewing it positively. That man has left for his younger brother’s estate.”

He would not have left of his own accord, and the Duchess of Efreni must have driven him out of the house. The Duchess continued, “The next in line to be the Duke of Efreni will be my cousin. There is much talk of his intelligence and overall excellence in the family, so I am sure he will do well.”

“If so, will you be retiring as the Lady of the household?”

“Yes. However, I have no regrets.” She continued with a bitter look on her face, “I cannot marry another man at my age, and my only son is already dead and buried in the cold dirt.” As the Duchess spoke, her emotional state appeared more stable than earlier, but Petronilla was saddened as she caught on that her heart was like a wasteland. The Duchess of Efreni noticed her expression. “I am not alright, Lady Grochester. But if I consider that it was all inevitable, I feel a bit more comfortable with that.”

“…”

“I always do my best. I have always done my best with my marriage to that man and the relationship I had with my son. The results for both of them ended badly, but it is not solely my fault.”

“Duchess…”

At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the drawing room.

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED

Chapter 191: CHAPTER 96 (1) – Do You Actually Like that Man?

The voice of a maid rang through the door, “Duchess, someone from the Imperial Palace has arrived.”

“Who is the person?”

“The Lady Mirya Prinski.”

“Marchioness Prinski has come? What is the reason for her visit?”

“She says that she came on behalf of the matters of Lady Efreni.” Duchess Efreni frowned slightly at her words. She asked Petronilla for her understanding, “It seems that Her Majesty sent a man.”

“Her Majesty probably sent Marchioness Prinski due to something related to the disowning of the once Rosemond Efreni.” Petronila did not seem surprised. “It would be best if I took my leave now. Her Majesty should be looking for me.”

“Yes, Lady Petronilla. I hope you will visit again soon, since I am all alone now.”

“I will make sure to do that, Duchess Efreni.” Petronilla politely bid farewell, and then opened the glass door of the drawing room. As she walked out her eyes fell on Mirya, and gave her a nod as they exchanged glances. Petronilla drew a small smile at the sign that everything was proceeding well.

It was extremely unusual for Mirya to leave the Imperial Palace unless it was part of her duty in assisting Patrizia, but she directly carried this task out this time due to the situation.

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Duchess Efreni caught sight of Mirya and told her. “Welcome Marchioness Prinski. It seems like I have not seen you for a very long time.”

“Yes, Duchess Efreni, Your Grace. I hope you have been well?”

Mirya took a seat elegantly, and soon the maid took away everything Petronila had used, and brought over an orange milk tea for her. Unlike with Petronilla, Duchess Efreni jumped right into the occasion of her visit. “What is the reason for your coming?”

“The former Marchioness Ethyller’s trial ended a short time ago. Her title of being the Marchioness Ethyller has been taken away, and in two days she will be executed.”

“Everything seems to be progressing very quickly.”

“There is no reason to delay the punishment of a treasonous criminal. I heard you also had some matters to attend to…”

“Let us not discuss that any further.”

“Yes, Duchess. I did not come here because of that. I am sorry if I have offended you,” Mirya politely apologized and then proceeded to inform her of the purpose of the visit. “Her Majesty has been greatly angered by this situation, and warned that if Lady Rosemond was not disowned by the Duchy of Efreni, then the household of Efreni would also find it difficult to avoid punishment with the maintained connection of family ties.”

“As you may know, Marchioness Prinski, my husband will soon no longer be the Duke of Efreni. It was purely my husband’s will to bring in the Lady as a daughter of this house. She has absolutely nothing to do with me.”

“Duchess, then your words must mean…”

“I have no intention of being on the receiving end of the Empress’s wrath, so I, and the Efreni family, have no plan to back up or protect Lady Rosemond, Marchioness. I will disown her from the Efreni name. Is the procedure complicated?”

“Not at all, Duchess. The complexity of the procedure is not so important, as you have granted your permission. I will make sure to relay Duchess Efreni’s account to Her Majesty well.”

“Yes. Please take some care for me, Marchioness. I heard that James Headwick has interfered a lot and disturbed Her Majesty’s mental state, and I am worried that Her Majesty has certain feelings for the rest of our family, because of someone that is no longer a member of our family.”

“If I make sure to relay that to Her Majesty, she will understand, Duchess. Please do not worry too much.”

“Thank you, Marchioness Prinski.”

“Then I will be taking my leave now.” Mirya had finished what she set out to do, so she stood up quietly. Duchess Efreni stopped her to show her manners.

“Already? You have not even emptied your cup of tea yet.”

“Her Majesty cares a lot about this current incident. I have to go swiftly and let her know the results.”

“That is true. I guess that is the case.” The Duchess of Efreni nodded her understanding. “How is Her Majesty doing?”

“She has recovered from many of the wounds she suffered from the attack. Thank you for your concern.”

“That is fortunate. Sooner or later, I will send some good medicinal herbs through a maid for healing wounds. Her Majesty was harmed by that wrongfully adopted daughter.”

“Thank you for your thoughts, Duchess. Then I will leave now…” Mirya headed back to the door with an elegant pace, and silently opened the door and stepped out. Only the Duchess Efreni remained in the drawing room, still in her seat as she emptied all the milk tea that had already cooled down. Even if she left this room immediately, it would not change the fact that she would still be alone.

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Mirya returned to the Imperial Palace and immediately shared the conversation she had with the Duchess to Patrizia . When Patrizia received the answer in the desired direction, she finally felt relief wash over her. Now she could really see the end.

Mirya asked her, “Lady Efreni… No, Lady Rosemond, should be informed about this?”

“She should be. How is she doing now?”

“It is serious.” Mirya sighed and shook her head. “Very serious. She continued to make commotion upon commotion, saying that it is unfair and that she is being wronged. Eventually, the prison guard could not take it any longer and hid sleeping pills in the food she ate so that she would finally fall asleep.”

“She will probably behave like that until the moment she dies, that woman,” Patrizia muttered in a soft voice, and then slowly stood up.

Rafaella asked. “Lizzy? Where do you plan to go?”

“It would be better if I convey the news. I have some final things to say, as well.”

All contact with a criminal sitting on death row was prohibited the day before the death penalty was to be carried out, so today was the only opportunity she would have to talk to Rosemond. She thought she should at least have one conversation with her in the end. Of course, Rafaella and Mirya were unable to understand her intentions when she explained this to them. After everything Rosemond had put her through, what last discussion was there to have with her? In response to their reactions, Patrizia told them that she was also not sure, and could only laugh weakly.

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED