Chapter 163: Live to Sienna Pt.163

The knife that Bluebell was holding slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

“Oh my! Empress Bluebell, you dropped your knife!”

It was just a knife, but Arya was making a big deal out of it. Sienna, who was not paying much attention to Bluebell’s mistakes, rather turned to Bluebell because of Arya’s voice.

Bluebell’s hands were shaking. It looked like a symptom of low blood sugar. It was probably natural for her hands to tremble and feel weak because she couldn’t even drink water for days and days to wear the dress Arya gave her as a gift.

Bluebell looked embarrassed as if she had done something wrong. Only then did Sienna know for sure what Arya was trying to do. She was sick and tired of the cruelty of Arya.

Arya was trying to undermine Bluebell’s reputation, compare her with others, and harass her mentally so that she can influence Bluebell to her heart’s content. It was something that Sienna herself had also been subjected to in the past.

‘I was afraid this would happen.’

In the past before her return, when Sienna entered the castle, everything was hard. It was difficult to have no one to rely on, but the biggest problem was Arya, who deftly gnawed at her self-esteem.

Arya used to come around often saying that she had been worried about bad rumors about her and kept telling her about rumors Sienna never knew about. Gradually, to Sienna, it felt like that Arya was the only person who reached out to her in this isolated castle. Although in reality, Arya was driving her into isolation.

Ever since Bluebell entered the palace, Arya has been consistently creating a competitive spirit between them. She compared Sienna to everything with Bluebell, even saying that Carl chose Bluebell, not Sienna.

Sienna began to think that her foundations were falling apart. When she thought that there was nowhere to set foot, Arya extended a helping hand. But it was actually the worst option that would destroy her, and everyone else.

And she was doing exactly what she did to Sienna to Bluebell this time. To isolate the young Bluebell and play with her like a pawn. The puppet she chose this time was not herself, but Bluebell.

Sienna had no intention of watching it.

Clang-!

This time it was a glass of water. She pushed her glass of water with the back of her broken hand and dropped it to the floor.

“Sorry, I must be nervous.”

“No, it’s alright.”

Bluebell looked at Sienna with relieved eyes, and Arya laughed with a look of condescendence.

“Now that I see, all three of us are disciples of Madame Kitroll. We’ve all had our etiquette training with her.”

Kitroll nodded in answer. Sienna, who knew that Madame Kitroll had long been a teacher of etiquette in the imperial family but did not know whether she had taught up to Arya, looked at her with a look of light admiration.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask which student was the best?”

Arya’s question was a difficult one for Kitroll, for she had all her students in front of her. However, Kitroll answered skillfully, saying, “I think all three of you here were great students. Her Majesty the Empress, Her Majesty the First Empress, and Her Majesty the Second Empress. It was an honor for me to teach all of you.”

“Is that so?”

Arya nodded with an unsatisfied look as if she had not received the answer she wanted.

Meanwhile, Bluebell looked depressed. Because Sienna and Arya have already completed all of Kitroll’s training, but she was the only one who is currently in progress.

It was quite a burden to not be able to meet anyone outside until she completed all the etiquette classes. That’s why the training period felt longer than it actually was. Bluebell also thought her education period was getting too long.

“So the Queen Sienna’s education period was very short, right? She must have been a pretty good student.”

“Oh, I was pretty surprised about that, too.”

Kitroll answered in a bright voice, and Arya’s expression also brightened. This was clearly the answer Arya wanted, Sienna thought.

“I think she was probably the fastest student in the history of the Empire.”

“How short was it? I guess I’m getting older. I can’t remember…”

“It only took 44 days. It was also delayed because of dance education, otherwise, it would have taken less than 30 days. It was really amazing.”

“…it’s an honor for you to compliment me.”

Sienna grudgingly responded to the compliment.

“44 days! That’s really great. It took me 50 days, too, and Empress Bluebell…It’s been two months now, right? Of course, I’m not saying that Queen Bluebell’s education is slow.”

“Of course. The Second Empress is learning fast. You’ll be able to finish your education soon because you’ve got the aristocracy in your body.”

Arya, who would normally have attacked Sienna, rather praised Sienna.

“The more I think about it, the more amazing it is. 44 days.”

“I was also very impressed while I was teaching.”

“I’m definitely too slow then, right…?”

When Bluebell asked in a self-conscious voice, Sienna replied.

“Of course not. Empress Bluebell, you’re not too late.”

It was true. No, it was rather quick. It took Sienna a year to finish it the first time. She was actually amazed that Empress Arya had only taken 50 days.

“Of course. Empress Bluebell is just average. It’s just that Empress Sienna is so outstanding. She mastered so many things so quickly… it’s really great.”

Bluebell’s head was filled only with the word “normal” that Arya emphasized. Her pride was hurt more than it usually was if she was directly cursed. Her ordinary self, being compared to the outstanding Sienna, felt pathetic.

“Sienna is really great. How did you finish your education so quickly? You must be very smart.”

Sienna was embarrassed when Bluebell praised her in a weak voice.

“No, I’m not outstanding.”

“Oh, if Sienna isn’t outstanding, then I and the Empress Bluebell are less than plain?”

“No, that’s not… Because I’m in a different situation…”

It wasn’t until Sienna said that she felt like she made a mistake. She meant that her experience would have been easier than Bluebell because it was her second time, but now it could be seen as a pride to those who did not know about it. As expected, Bluebell’s sharp voice came out.

“Sienna is not in the same terrible situation as I am, but in a different dimension. I still haven’t seen the end of the education in two months.”

Arya nodded with a satisfied look at her response.

‘Damn it! She’s a wicked woman like a snake!

Sienna felt like she played up to Arya’s plan, but now it was too late to patch things up in a clumsy way, so Sienna shut up. The atmosphere has subsided further.

“I think both of you are outstanding. Second Empress, don’t look so down. You have other outstanding traits instead.”

“Of course. To be honest, the reason I ended my education early was because of the tight schedule of the banquet. If it wasn’t for that, I’d still be in dance training.”

Sienna looked back at Kitroll with a look of consent. Kitroll nodded.

“I’m telling you, honestly, when I was teaching dance to the First Empress, I was really in the dark. Even wooden sticks wouldn’t move like that.”

Kitroll said, with a wink to Sienna. It could have been a shameful story for Sienna, but she could feel Kitroll’s trust that Sienna would understand everything. Sienna nodded and said, “Hahaha, frankly, I still don’t have any talent for dancing.”

Arya stepped up to Sienna’s words and said, “Why do you say such a modest thing? The dance at the previous banquet with the Emperor is being talked about in social circles.”

“I’ve heard of it. I’ve heard that you were so good at dancing that it looked like two people’s feet were tied to each other like a heavenly couple…”

Kitroll, who knows better than anyone how poorly Sienna was at dancing, tilted her head as if she could not believe it. Then Arya spoke to her in an excited voice.

“Didn’t Madame Kitroll see it in person? That’s too bad. It was a very impressive dance. You must have danced with the Emperor for the first time that day, but how were you so good at it? I thought it was meant to be.”

Arya was once again eager to praise Sienna. Sienna looked at Bluebell. As expected, her face looked uncomfortable.

“It’s clear that our dance will be forgotten at Bluebell’s debut banquet. I heard that the Emperor himself taught Bluebell how to dance when she was young. His Majesty said that if Queen Bluebell made her debut at the banquet, she would be noted for her best dance performance in the Empire.”

Bluebell glared her eyes at Sienna’s words. Then she said in a confident voice, as if she had forgotten about her insecure self just a moment ago.

“Yes, I took social dance classes with Carl when I was a kid. The steps were difficult, so I stepped on Carl’s foot a lot. Carl kindly made me put my feet on his feet and taught me how to dance.”

“It’s really like a fairy tale. I envy you. Your Majesty Bluebell and His Majesty seem to have a lot of memories.”

Sienna said she would like to hear the memories of Carl and Bluebell to help her feel better.

“There aren’t that many, really.”

Bluebell waved her hand and said, but Kitroll nagged her.

“But if there are any interesting stories between the Second Empress and the Emperor, could you tell us?”

Bluebell began to unravel her stories with Carl one by one, as if she was finally relieved now that she was in the spotlight again.

“When he came to my castle, I once begged him to go see rainbow trout by the river.”

It was a story that both of them almost drowned after sneaking out of the castle due to Bluebell’s immaturity.

“…our clothes were soaked in water and my hair was messed up, so I was embarrassed, and I cried because it was so cold. He comforted me and even carried me back to the castle.”

Sienna envied the memories of the two while thinking that the innocence of the children were cute. But it wasn’t like before, when it was unbearable and resentful. As much as Bluebell, she also had built up many memories with Carl, and she no longer doubted his love.

It felt like she was getting to know about Carl’s childhood, so Sienna even thought it was a little pleasant. It seemed to fill in the blanks of his personality other than what he had shown her.

Perhaps because Sienna and Kitroll listened attentively to Bluebell’s stories, most of the stories during the meal were filled with fairy tale childhood stories of Carl and Bluebell. Bluebell checked Sienna’s expression from time to time, but Sienna didn’t notice her gaze.