I was tense, but also slightly expectant.
The female Alios had a subtly different personality. So, wouldn't Viol have changed too?
I had hoped her rotten personality might have improved somewhat, but apparently not.
Viol Jaden Vium.
The current Emperor ruling this empire, formally known as the 'Jaden Vium Empire'.
And uniquely insane.
At 18, she killed her parents, the previous emperors, and seized the empire.
Since then, she's ruled as Emperor, flaunting her foul personality across the nation.
However, despite her bizarre personality, she was competent at ruling.
So, although the people were dissatisfied, they didn't revolt and left her be… or so the setting went.
Though, even her competence would crumble by the latter half of the novel due to his [Original Viol's] obsession with Ceres (her).
“Hahaha!”
"What could possibly be so funny?"
Alios frowned, looking at the still-laughing Emperor.
Even as the Empire's greatest knight, she held no respect for its ruler.
“I can’t understand what that person is thinking.”
“If we could understand her, we’d be crazy too.”
Whispering so we wouldn't be heard, I watched to see what she would do next.
“Haha…?”
Just then, Viol’s laughter stopped. As if noticing us looking, her gaze shifted towards us.
Our eyes met.
I tensed for a moment.
Unsure how she would react, I raised my guard, but she showed no reaction.
Her smile vanished, she simply looked at me.
“Ceres, this way.”
Presently, Ares blocked me from the Emperor's line of sight with her body, as if to hide me, and led me to another spot.
"Are you alright?"
Once we reached a secluded corner, I asked worriedly.
“That person summoned me, didn’t she? I should probably go over and greet her.”
I didn't want to, but she was the Emperor. And the one who had forced me to come here.
I distinctly remember in the original work, Ares reluctantly introduced them?
“You only became able to walk yesterday. There’s no need for us to approach her first.”
“But…”
“If she has business with us, she’ll come find us herself. Even if we don’t want her to.”
That was true.
Accepting her point, I observed the situation from the corner.
“Your Majesty, thank you for the invitation.”
A noblewoman greeted Viol with a very stiff expression.
As if she didn't want to greet her but had no choice, being a noble facing the Emperor.
Seeing her, Viol’s eyes showed a spark of interest.
“You’re Viscountess Hanasian, aren’t you?”
“You remember me, Your Majesty?”
“You came to the last party. Even then, you spoke to me as if you didn’t want to but had to fulfill your duty as a noble, right? It was quite pathetic, but you were at least somewhat courageous, so you stuck in my memory.”
“I-I see.”
Was that a compliment? Or an insult?
The woman called Viscountess Hanasian replied hesitantly to the teasing words.
However, seeing this, some fool thought it was an opportunity.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty! I am Oliviel, the second daughter of Count Hasent!”
Amidst the terrible atmosphere, a woman named Oliviel stepped forward.
She must have thought that since the Emperor remembered the person who just greeted her, she would remember her too if she introduced herself.
She was mistaken.
“Why are you talking to me? Who gave you permission? How dare the mere second daughter of a Count greet me without leave?”
“B-but the person just before…”
“Just because I tolerated that one, does it mean I have to tolerate you too? Is there some kind of law? Why don’t you become Emperor yourself and make that law?”
“N-no! How could I dare!”
Oliviel looked like she was about to cry.
The nobles, including myself, pitied her.
Perhaps she was from some rural area, despite being from a Count family. It seemed she didn’t know what kind of person Viol was.
She was incredibly fickle; even in the same situation, she’d say different things depending on her mood.
‘Please let me go home now.’
‘Why should I do that?’
‘You said you’d send me back after 30 days!’
‘Hmm, I don’t seem to recall.’
In the original work, he [Original Viol] had tormented Ceres (her) like this countless times.
Usually, someone of the Emperor's stature, even a villain, would have some weight to their words, but not Viol.
To this woman, everything was merely a toy to alleviate her boredom.
And yet, she kept looking at me?
Even while toying with others, her gaze remained fixed on me in the corner.
What was this? If she was interested, she should come over, but she just kept watching.
Could she be waiting for us to approach her?
That didn’t seem like Viol.
"Ceres, stop looking at people like that and try some of this.”
Was she dishappy that I was only looking at another woman? Alios quickly pushed food towards me, trying to draw my attention.
It was then.
Viol, who had been watching me, suddenly narrowed her eyes and approached us!
“I thought I’d die of old age waiting.”
She immediately started picking a fight upon arriving.
“If I specifically invited you to the party, you should have come to see me right away.”
“My apologies. I thought you might not appreciate being greeted presumptuously.”
Ares offered a light bow and made an excuse.
“How could a mere subject like myself dare to address the sovereign so freely? My son is also unwell, so I simply knew my place and remained quiet.”
“You speak well. You’re always like that. Looking down on everyone, even the Emperor, while paying lip service to loyalty.”
Viol looked at Ares with annoyance.
These two really didn't get along.
Viol knew Ares would never be loyal to a lunatic like her.
Still, she tolerated her because she separated public and private matters, but later, they would eventually clash over Ceres, leading to catastrophe.
But that time hadn't come yet, so Viol just glared at Ares for a moment before stopping.
“It’s been a while, Your Majesty…”
“Are you Ceres?”
She ignored Alios who tried to speak. She pushed her aside and spoke only to me.
“It is truly an honor beyond measure to finally behold you.”
She spoke with exaggeration, dripping with sarcasm.
"Truly the Empire's greatest beauty. So difficult to see, even for me, the Emperor.”
“…Until now, I was forced to decline invitations because my body was unwell.”
“Such a lovely voice too! But do you know? You’re not the only one who’s used the excuse of being sick to refuse meeting me.”
Just as expected, she’s picking a fight.
In the original work too, when Ares introduced Ceres (her), he [Original Viol] picked a fight.
I don’t know why.
It wasn't described, but he probably did it just because his personality was rotten, even towards Ceres (her).
“Your words are too harsh.”
“Your Majesty, my son did not do so intentionally.”
As Alios and Ares quickly tried to intervene, Viol looked at them with displeasure.
“Why such an overreaction? Can’t I, the Emperor, even speak a few words?”
“Your Majesty, do not cross the line.”
“…It is you who crossed the line, Ares Whiperion.”
Red madness glinted in Viol’s eyes.
Damn it! I quickly jumped in.
"It doesn't matter to me, so please step back, Mother. Her Imperial Majesty is gracing me with her words. It's an honor for me."
An honor? Yeah, right!
I said something I didn't mean to calm the situation and redirect Viol's attention back to me.
Eventually, my only two allies reluctantly stepped back, leaving me alone to deal with this crazy woman.
“You must be quite happy with yourself. Born beautiful, everyone fawns over you, protecting you even at the risk of their lives, right?”
“I suppose so.”
"And recently, you've even started using holy power? People treat you like a saint, so you must be even more delighted. The world must seem like it's yours."
“I suppose so.”
“You gathered all the villagers and healed them, didn't you? Making a spectacle in front of everyone must have satisfied your pathetic need for validation.”
“I suppose so.”
Viol fell silent, her expression hardening.
She must have wanted some reaction from me, but I had no intention of giving her one.
The original Ceres was frail and quiet, but not weak enough to tolerate blatant insults.
She wouldn’t hesitate to slap someone, even the Emperor.
That action was satisfying, but it ended up fully capturing his [Original Viol's] attention.
‘You’re the first one to do this to me.’
…No joke, Viol really said something like that and started obsessing over Ceres (her).
So, no matter what I heard, I had to stay quiet.
“That Alios wench visits your house every day, doesn’t she? Judging by what you two were just doing, you seem surprisingly loose.”
This level of slander was nothing.
“It doesn’t suit your innocent looks at all. Actually, looking closely, you’re not even that pretty. Your body is too thin, and your skin is too pale. The name Ceres isn’t great either.”
…What did you say?
“Ceres, do you think just tacking on a pretty-sounding name makes you truly beautiful? Ceres, Ceres, it sounds like a randomly chosen, truly foolish name. I can guess your level just from that. Ceres.”
“At least you’re lucky you’re a man. If you were a woman, you’d probably be an idiot like that Oliviell creature earlier. Wouldn’t you be some pathetic wretch who’d just cry if someone hit you somewhere, unable to do anything? A female Ceres, I can easily imagine how incompetent she'd be.”
You…
How dare…
You mock Ceres in front of me?!
I knew she was doing it deliberately because I reacted to the name Ceres, but I couldn't bear it.
Of all people, you shouldn't treat Ceres like a fool!!
I grabbed the nearby spaghetti and flung it right at Viol's smug face!
A spaghetti slap. The surroundings fell silent.
Ares’s eyes trembled.
Alios covered her mouth with her hand.
The other nobles froze.
“…You’re the first one to do this to me.”
Viol, her face smeared with the spaghetti I threw, uttered the line from the original work, then…
“And you will be the last.”
She immediately added a line that wasn't in the original.