It Turned Out She Wasn't a Favored Concubine - Episode 12

The imperial palace had established a barrier that prevented spatial movement via Motus. It was a security measure to ensure that forces threatening the royal family couldn’t easily infiltrate the palace using Motus.

At first, I wondered why such a convenient Motus was blocked in the palace, but after hearing the explanation, I understood.

If assassins could use fourth-level Motus to directly invade the Berna Palace, or if third-level Motus allowed dangerous items like explosives to be easily brought into the palace, then such risks had to be eliminated.

Therefore, not only the imperial palace but also the palaces of powerful kingdoms required spatial movement-blocking barriers. High-ranking nobles who often felt their lives were at risk wanted to install such barriers in their own mansions, but unless it was a royal or imperial palace, installation was nearly impossible.

Creating a spatial movement-blocking barrier was no easy feat. Even the initial construction required dozens of renowned Motus artisans working together to barely complete it. To maintain the barrier’s function afterward, Motus artisans had to periodically reinforce it—at astronomical costs.

The imperial palace regularly commissioned Motus artisans to maintain the barrier, always hiring the best artisan of the time. The most recent artisan to perform this task was none other than Perlo Shanaiyer.

The man who had declared in Martavid that he would craft a Motus capable of traveling to another world.

This was my chance. I swallowed nervously and tried to sound as natural as possible.

“The Motus artisan who built the palace’s barrier was Perlo Shanaiyer, right? The one who appeared at the auction? He was quite impressive—I’d love to meet him if I ever get the chance.”

Motus, the barrier, and Perlo Shanaiyer—such a smooth transition.

I had endured the awkward walk with Erich just to find a natural opportunity to say this. Erich stopped walking and turned to look at me.

“That Motus artisan?”

“Yes.”

“Hm, if you need more Motus, I can procure it. Is there really a need to meet that man?”

Was he planning to get a ten-billion Drang Motus this time, after the five-billion one wasn’t enough? I forced a smile through clenched teeth.

“His Majesty’s five-billion Drang Motus is more than enough. I just have a lot of questions about Motus I’d like to ask.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, I’ll summon another Motus artisan affiliated with the palace. Perlo Shanaiyer is quite arrogant—he rarely responds even when the palace reaches out. I heard it took over a month just to get in touch with him for the barrier construction.”

Considering his haughty demeanor in Martavid, that made sense. But a month wasn’t too long to wait.

The real problem was Erich. He kept making excuses instead of simply having a servant send a message to Perlo Shanaiyer. It felt like he was deliberately trying to prevent me from meeting him. His constant deflections were frustrating.

Had I known this would happen, I should’ve approached Perlo directly at the auction, even if it meant revealing my identity.

I wanted to ask whether traveling to another world was truly possible, how long it would take if it were, and whether the research was ongoing.

Even while calculating the reward money for the Arlin Palace servants, my mind was busy figuring out how to meet Perlo Shanaiyer.

So when Rui suddenly asked why I was giving gold bars to the servants, I answered honestly without much thought.

I said it was to reflect on my past cruelty. Rui looked at me with wide eyes, clearly surprised.

Given Arne’s history of committing every imaginable misdeed, just hearing her say the word “reflection” must’ve been shocking.

Rui was so moved she nearly cried. She then helped me wholeheartedly with the calculations and distribution of the rewards.

Usually, such surprise would lead to suspicion, but Rui was different. Even the servants who received the rewards looked at me with wary eyes, as if wondering whether this was some new form of torment. Despite the gold being in their hands.

I still remember the mix of suspicion and wariness in their eyes. The phrase “getting cursed even when giving money” really hit home.

Escaping Arne’s reputation was truly difficult. Still, I had no intention of reclaiming the rewards I gave. Someday, they’d shed their doubts.

Though their suspicion hurt, I found meaning in completing what I’d resolved to do.

I couldn’t stay stuck in one place forever. As soon as the task was done, I looked into ways to contact Perlo Shanaiyer. But as a concubine, I had few opportunities to meet a Motus artisan.

Seeing Perlo Shanaiyer at the auction had been a stroke of luck. Living in the palace, I needed the emperor’s help to meet him.

In the end, everything came down to Erich.

The one who trapped me and the one who could help me—both were Erich.

I sighed at my situation, but there was no other way. So I’d been enduring more frequent meetings with Erich, hoping to naturally bring up Perlo Shanaiyer.

Suppressing my irritation, I asked once more.

“Could you at least try contacting him?”

“Well, who knows how long it’ll take this time. As I said, another Motus artisan…”

“I’m more interested in the best artisan of our time. I really want to meet him.”

I knew I sounded like a child throwing a tantrum, but I didn’t care. Finally, Erich seemed to notice my desperation and asked seriously:

“…You really want to meet Perlo Shanaiyer?”

“Of course.”

I answered firmly. Erich’s gaze lingered on my face.

“Perhaps…”

“Yes?”

It was a crucial moment. I couldn’t afford to upset him by interrupting. But Erich didn’t continue. He just sighed.

“Alright. I’ll try contacting him.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

This time, I was genuinely thrilled. I clapped my hands with a big smile. Erich watched me with a dazed expression. It was understandable—I was acting like a child. I cleared my throat and said to the awkwardly standing Erich:

“Shall we return to the palace now?”

I’d achieved my goal. No need to waste more precious time.

Requesting a meeting with Perlo Shanaiyer had been a success, but saying I liked the walking path was a mistake.

Since then, Erich kept inviting me for walks, and it became routine to walk with him for about half an hour after lunch.

It was quite annoying, but the weather had been perfectly clear with no rain, so I had no excuse to refuse.

That man surely didn’t want to walk with me for fun. It was just for show. He probably didn’t want to come all the way to Arlin Palace, so he used the walking path as a convenient meeting spot…

But really, was it necessary to meet every single day?

As I walked the path, lost in thought, I saw unexpected guests today. I was slightly surprised, and the highest-ranking woman among them bowed first upon seeing Erich.

“Your Majesty, it’s been a while.”

Another woman also lifted her dress slightly and bowed. Erich frowned as he accepted their greetings.

“What brings you here?”

“The weather’s been lovely, so we came for a walk. We didn’t expect to see Your Majesty.”

The First Concubine, Rosadel del Parmati, smiled gracefully as she spoke. She was the eldest daughter of the prestigious Parmati ducal family. For over a hundred years, the Parmatis had been one of the empire’s leading noble families—undeniably the greatest.

They had produced more empresses than any other family in imperial history, so Rosadel had been trained to be an empress from a young age.

She entered the palace expecting to become empress, but contrary to everyone’s expectations, the emperor favored Arne, and Rosadel remained First Concubine for three years.

Naturally, she didn’t look at me kindly, but she hid her feelings behind a composed elegance.

“Lady Arne, it’s been a while. I was worried seeing your pale face during the hospital visit, but I’m glad to see you’ve recovered.”

Her refined tone and greeting were truly graceful, and I responded with a polite nod.

“It’s thanks to your concern, Lady Rosadel. Thank you.”

Rosadel’s eyes widened slightly.

Was she surprised that Arne was capable of a polite greeting?

Arne’s diary contained detailed notes about the concubines who entered the palace before her, and her relationships with them.

Strangely, the diary didn’t express hostility or jealousy toward them. Of course, Arne had received the emperor’s favor, so that was expected—but even a sense of superiority was absent.

It simply described their families, appearances, and personalities. Arne’s attitude toward them could be summed up in one phrase:

A rude junior.

Support