"Then one day, Queen Regina chose to step down on being His Majesty's fiancee and yielded her position," Erin continued her story.

It snapped me out of my daze and returned me to now. I have almost forgotten that we were in the middle of an intense storytelling. Intense in terms of Erin pouring her heart out to extract all this information off of her head. Also, she looked like she's having fun reminiscing about the past. I can clearly see it in her face right now.

Anyway, apparently, Queen Regina was the one who yielded. So the Emperor didn't actually throw her out of the engagement. I don't think it made it fine though. Unless this Queen Regina is a good soul who wants the best for the people around her.

"Yeah! I remembered that! It caused a riot among the citizens, especially the nobles," Mari interjected yet again.

.

"Right. And I remember how everyone kept talking about it like there's no tomorrow," Erin agreed-- "It's mostly positive though. After all, Empress Yulia was very popular in the social circle. Everyone follows her lead," she added, wearing a small smile--"Just like you, milady."

Me? Well, it's kind of true that I am popular and everyone follows my every move but it's embarrassing when you point it out.

"The Marchioness was also popular too! Though she doesn't appear in the social circle that much. When she does, there would always be an uproar," Erin pointed out-- "I have attended a few social events before. During those few times, the two of them, the late Marchioness and the Empress, would appear."

The marchioness... My mother? I mean, in the entire Rosenthal capital, there is only one Marquis. This is one of those few times that my mother is mentioned. How do I feel about it? I don't know. It's kind of complicated...

Though I could honestly feel the longing deep in me but yeah. I don't want to focus on it because I would only get sad.

"What happened afterward?" I uttered, changing the topic.

The atmosphere is pretty good so if I suddenly get all forlorn here, I would only ruin it.

Erin leaned on the railing, "Well, you know. Because Her Highness Regina stepped down, the position for Crown Princess was now opened. His Majesty then asked for Empress Yulia's hand, and then they got together," was her immediate response. "The late Emperor blessed their relationship and they got married soon after."

She pretty much summarized the entire ordeal.

"And then, the Emperor also married Regina as his queen and the rest is history," Freesia suddenly piped in, much to our surprise.

"It's not history yet!" Erin rebuked.

"That's right!" Mari seconded.

Ohh... So that's what happened before. There was so much drama by then huh...

Also, I'm kind of a little sympathetic about the Queen's situation. I mean, your fiance fancies other women so she chose to give up the seat for his happiness-- probably, I presume-- and backed down. I bet the nobility lost its shit when they heard that. They love dramas, after all, they strive for it.

So the backlash must have been too much. Even though she was the one who severed their ties, the nobles must have treated her like she was the one who got discarded.

That's nobles for ya.

"Ah! By the way, a year after the Empress gave birth to the first prince, Prince Ezekiel, Queen Regina also conceived a child," Erin suddenly burst out, looking rather energetic again.

Seeing how enthusiastic she is, I would bet everything I have that Erin must have once belonged to the group of ladies who gossip a lot at parties.

Anyway, Queen Regina also had a child. That's news to me!

"Unfortunately, the child died as soon as it got born," Erin then said the finishing blow, leaving me reeling.

Why would you suddenly open another topic and then follow it up with a tragedy? Dang, that's heavy you know!

"The child died?" Amy gasped in horror.

"Poor child..." Lily lamented.

I looked around and saw the rest's expressions. Upon those two young ladies at the side, they were sporting a look of absolute shock. The same as me. We both just learned about Queen Regina and the past circumstance and then Erin suddenly said that there was also another heir who died.

I didn't know that! I just thought that Ezekiel was an only child. Did the novel mention him having a dead sibling? No! Even if I literally forgot what the whole novel was about, I'm pretty sure such a thing was never brought up.

This is nuts...

"Queen Regina then locked herself up in her own palace for... how many years would it be now?" Erin asked after a while when she can't recall it.

Mari's brows furrowed as she thinks, "9? 10?"

"Let's just say ten years, yes," Erin uttered-- "Everyone was looking forward to having a potential princess or another candidate for the seat but then that happened," she narrated.

So Ezekiel had a brother or a sister. But they died as soon as they came out of the world. This was really never mentioned in the novel. Hmm...

I have no idea that Ezekiel had a backstory that I could never guess. He didn't talk about the existence of a queen either so it's probably not surprising anymore. Still... I can't believe all of that escaped my grasp. Those are important information that I should know!

Erin then looked at me after a while, "But milady. Why did you bring up Queen Regina? No one had really seen her these past few years. She never attended any events..."

With one hand supporting my chin, I answered her while I played with the cup of tea that has long gone cold.

"Well, last night. She attended the Founding Ball and I was so surprised upon seeing her. I never really knew that we have someone like her in the Rosenthal Empire," I answered.

Do I sound repetitive? Well, I'm sorry.

All of them were taken aback and stared at me with widening eyes.

"What? Queen Regina finally came out of hiding?" Erin gasped in astonishment.