What a load of crap

Chapter 7. Remarried Empress

"Thank you for the invitation. It's been a while since we've met, and you are as beautiful as always, your majesty."

"Agreed! And to what do we owe the pleasure of your invitation to this magnificent tea party?"

"You are all much too kind. I've invited you all here because I need your help." Navier states.

"Oh, my. Our help?"

"Anything for you, your majesty!"

Those curious happy faces are soon going to be upside down  for sure. You of course knew these types of things. You could see the past and the future, although you might change some of it.

"His majesty is searching for a lady-in-waiting to attend to his soon-to-be mistress."

"Would any of you be willing to become her lady-in-waiting?"

Silence was what followed after.

"Uhm, do you mean lady rashta?"

"To be honest, she's all anyone's been talking about lately. Her and her status as a runaway slave."

"I'd find it difficult enough to agree to become a commoners lady-in-waiting, let alone a runaway slave..."

"I'd die of embarrassment if I had to become a runaway slave's lady-in-waiting."

(Again skipping a few scenes, I'm sorry but I really kind of want to get to the New Year's Ceremony scenes to give Sovieshu karma)

"No matter how much I think about it, there's no one who would benefit more from such a rumor than you."

"Rashta is your love rival, after all." Sovieshu states.

Love rival..?

"...your mistress is not my love rival. You are not my love, so how could she be my 'love rival'?"

"What goes on between you and your mistress is none of my concern. It tires me to even think about it."

"So don't drag me into this anymore." And with that, Navier leaves a glaring Sovieshu behind.

It has been a few hours since you've seen Navier, so you decide to look for her.

You find her crossing her arms on her chair in the secure part of the garden head resting on her arms as if she was sheilding her face from the world.

You slowly approached her, only to hear her sniffles and whimpering as she cries. Not knowing you were there, she slumps her head, sighing.

You couldn't stand seeing her like that. So you walk up for her cowered form and gently hugged her from behind.

She tenses up at the sudden contact, but as soon as she realizes that it's you, she snuggles her head into the crook of your neck.

Soon after that the sounds of flapping wings are heard, and the soft gold feathers come into view.

"Oh!"

"You're so good at finding me."

Navier reaches her hand out for the big bird to land on. Taking the note off its leg, it reads;

Is such a thing needed?
You may name it, if you'd like.

"What an indifferent master." She chuckled.

The bird stares at navier, and she notices.

"Hmm...?"

The staring continues. And then Navier finally got it.

"Aw... did you notice?" She said as she gently petted the bird.

"I'll let you in on a little secret."

"This is my secret place. I sometimes come out here to cry all my feelings out."

The bird reaches one of its wings and pats her cheek. You notice that this actually wasn't a bird, but a human.

"Oh, my."

"Are you trying to comfort me? How kind you are."

You nodded in agreement, Navier gives the bird a peck on the forehead, at this the bird let's out a noise of surprise.

"A kind intelligent bird like you deserves a name which befits your character."

She writes down the name;

Queen

Seeing this, the bird deadpanned while you laughed a bit. Making a mental note to tell her the gender of the bird later.

"So, your name shall be 'Queen.'" Navier says happily.

"Thank you for coming to see me, Y/n, Queen. I'm in good spirits now, thanks to you two." She hugs the both of you.

She looks up at Queen who was flying away, "I hope you will come visit me again."

"Let's go dear" you gently kissed her forehead, making her blush a bit.

"It's cold right now and you need rest, my dear." As gently as you could, you grabbed her shoulders from behind and guided her back to her room.

"My goodness!"

"It's quite all right! The empress never comes at this time of day." The woman tells rashta.

"And it's not like she owns the entire west palace. There's no reason you can't come here too, lady rashta."

You and Navier stand behind the two, you two were out here to get Navier's handkerchief.

As soon as rashta sits down and her lady-in-waiting was about to swing her in the chair, they see you both.

"Y-Your majesty! Goddess!"

"B-big sister... I-I mean, your majesty-" rashta jumps from the chair to try and make an excuse.

"That chair..."

"...is mine"

Rashta starts to panic, "Oh, um...! I-I...!"

"And that handkerchief you were lying on..." Navier glances down at her handkerchief that Rashta was just sitting on.

"...is also mine."

Rashta looks behind her, to see the handkerchief that she was just sitting on, "I-I'm sorry, your majesty. I didn't know. I just happened to come across this chair, so I-"

"It's fine since you didn't know. But you should refrain from coming to the east palace."

"B-But I want to become friends with you and goddess..."

"You can become friends with the next mistress."

Now this time you had to hold your composure, you weren't expecting Navier to say something like that. It caught you off guard.

"...the next mistress?" Now she started trembling.

"Yes, the one his majesty will take in after you." Navier says, now smiling at the smaller girl.

Rashta felt her heart drop at the sound of another mistress coming in.