𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐀 ╾╾ THE REMARRIED EMPRESS

III

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    JI-YOON sat at a regal coffee table inside a vine gazebo covered with wisteria, roses and the most beautiful flowers with fragrant smells.

She tried to control herself from taking from the luxurious banquet in front of her, as Sovieshu had conveniently taken her request for food as a chance to announce Rashta's position as his mistress.

'It would've been easier to stop this if I had been reincarnated before Sovieshu and Rashta had made this stupid plan...' Ji-yoon thought as she uncomfortably shifted.

"Now that that is done, let us eat!" Sovieshu cheered, as the other nobles joined in on the feast. As if on command, Ji-yoon dug into the food, plopping a succulent steak onto her plate, along with a bowl of soondubu jjigae, a variety of roasted vegetables, and three types of cake (opera, strawberry and crepe).

Ji-yoon sighed in content, about to dig in until she saw everyone staring at her.

I have...

The biggest portion out of everyone?!

She laughed nervously, her hand gripping the silverware tighter. "Ah..." The blancette looked towards Sovieshu, who ushered the nobles to begin eating.

Ji-yoon's eyes lit up as she began devouring her food. "Sovieshu, please send my regards to the chef!" She exclaimed, covering her mouth as she was still eating. 'I'm so glad I can eat like this everyday!'

Sovieshu laughed. "Of course, Rashta. We can do that together." He said. "Speaking of together, we both have an announcement to make." Sovieshu added, tapping his spoon on his wine glass.

Ji-yoon's eyes widened. 'How long has he been planning out that "speaking of together" line?!' She thought, nervously looking at everyone as she knew what was coming. "Ah, right..."

'I can't believe this is happening...'

"After careful deliberation, I have decided to take in Rashta as my royal mistress." Sovieshu smiled brightly. Ji-yoon shook, looking at all the curious (and disappointed) stares targeted towards her.

He poured some sparkling apple wine into his glass. "A toast, so everything goes well between us!" All the other nobles followed, cheering and clinking their glasses together.

Ji-yoon opted for non-alcoholic wine. She quickly scarfed it down, calming herself down. 'I can't let gossip get to me, not again.'

The blancette exhaled, holding onto Sovieshu's arm. "This is so beautiful, Sovieshu! I'm so happy to be with you!" She smiled sweetly, obviously melting Sovieshu's heart.

"Well, I'm happy too." He cupped her cheeks. " ,my prey."

Ji-yoon ignored the icky feeling she felt when he said that. "Ah, haha..." She smiled at him, and turned back to the nobles. They immediately stopped talking, just staring at their food.

She looked down, gripping her blue lace dress. 'At school, I could just go to the washroom to escape gossiping. But here, it seems to be everywhere...' The girl sighed.

"She's very pretty."

"But why is she so spoiled? I've never heard of a mistress in such expensive fashion."

"I can't stand her."

'Why am I so immature? I can handle this...' Ji-yoon took a few breaths, trying to convince herself to stay seated until the end of the tea party, even with the nobles gossiping loud enough for her to hear.

Ji-yoon exhaled.

"I'm sorry, I need to go." Ji-yoon stood up quickly, her chair falling back with speed. Most of the guests looked up, staring in either curiosity or surprise.

Quickly gathering her skirts, she quickly ran away. Tears flew past her like dewdrops on a clear leaf as she tried to literally escape her problems. Ji-yoon finally stopped near a pillar, panting. "Even in a webtoon, I'm still so sensitive..." She sulked, panting.

'I can't believe I just ran away like that!' Ji-yoon dragged her hands on her face, groaning. She was silently cursing herself for causing a scene.

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Ji-yoon, or Rashta, was the talk of the kingdom after it was publicly announced that she was Emperor Sovieshu's mistress. Despite the occasional gossip, Ji-yoon didn't have to make any more dramatic runs to her bedroom.

"After the prime minister hands His Majesty the notarized document, His Majesty will sign the document first." A purple-haired assistant explained. "And then you should sign below him."

Ji-yoon smiled, nodding. "Alright. I'll do my best." She assured him, trying to look serious.

The man sweat-dropped. 'She realizes this is just a document, not a test, right?'

Ji-yoon was about to do her signature, until she remembered that Rashta didn't have one. "Ah..." Her eye twitched. She quickly just wrote her name in cursive and put a line over it. "D-done..."

"Oh, thank you." He said, collecting the documents.

'Because slaves don't get an education, signing this documents will clear up the runaway slave rumors, right?' Ji-yoon concluded. 'Unless no one else knows about these documents...'

"Oh, that's right. Her Majesty might send you a gift." The man suddenly pointed out.

Ji-yoon raised an eyebrow. "Could you please explain?"

"The royal residence belongs to the empress. So according to custom, the empress sends the mistress a welcome gift to show that she recognizes the mistress and accepts her into the royal household." The man explained.

'I won't get my hopes up, because I'm pretty sure Navier never sends Rashta a gift.' Ji-yoon reminded herself, a bit disappointed. "That sounds nice! But I don't want to seem spoiled by asking Her Majesty about it." She stated.

The man blinked. "Oh? That's nice of you."

After fussing over documents, Ji-yoon wobbled out of the room, frantically holding her skirts to keep from falling.

Ji-yoon looked at a pair of nobles, who were chatting about... her.

She looked down. 'I should probably go get some rest to clear my head.' The blancette entered her bedroom in a daze, forgetting to change and simply flopping onto her bed.

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