The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 57

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 57
“Your Highness, if you do this…….”
Rhea watched the Hall Attendant fumble as he clung to the woman before him.
The noblewoman, who appeared to be in her twenties, was dressed as lavishly as though she had just stepped out of the Banquet Hall.
She was a considerable beauty, with golden hair streaked with brown.
“Hall Attendant. I’m only stopping by to say hello. You know I can’t resist my curiosity.”
The beauty caught sight of Rhea and broke into a bright smile.
“It’s good to see you.”
Then she collapsed onto the sofa as though it were her own chambers.
Rhea suppressed her alarm and spoke to the Hall Attendant.
“It’s all right. You may go.”
The Hall Attendant bowed and left with the other attendants.
“Peni. We have a guest.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Peni, who had been standing with a bewildered expression, moved at once at Rhea’s word.
Rhea settled into the seat across from the unexpected visitor.
“It is an honor to make your acquaintance.”
“Hmm. Do you know who I am?”
“Are you not Her Highness the Princess? I am Rhea, Princess of Zephyros. My respects to you.”
Though Rhea could not claim to know the entire Imperial Genealogy, she had heard from Veronica Velua enough to recognize the appearance of the Empire’s only princess.
The sole daughter who held the Emperor’s official recognition.
Her background was unusual.
All five princes were born to mothers of royal or noble lineage.
Yet the origins of the Princess Jacomo’s mother remained shrouded in mystery.
She had died immediately after giving birth to the princess, and the Emperor himself had brought the child back from outside the palace.
Jacomo examined Rhea with impertinent frankness, then spoke.
“I thought the rumors might be exaggerated, but you are beautiful. Your golden hair especially—I envy it. I wish my own were a brighter shade.”
“Your Highness is also lovely.”
“Me? You’re not denying that I’m a beauty.”
“Excessive modesty serves no one better than honesty.”
Jacomo studied Rhea for a long moment, then spoke.
“I’m sorry for barging in like this. They said you hadn’t left your chambers all day, so I had no choice but to come find you myself.”
“It’s quite all right. I was growing bored, if I’m honest.”
Jacomo’s expression turned wry.
“You mean to use me as amusement?”
“Is that not why Your Highness came? Welcome.”
“I expected to find you trembling in the heart of the Imperial Palace. What gives you such confidence?”
“Your Highness, what purpose would I have had in coming to present a Surrender Document if not this? A person with nothing to lose fears nothing.”
Jacomo’s eyes widened, then she burst into delighted laughter.
Though they had exchanged only a few words, Jacomo found herself drawn to Rhea.
Most people who met her fell into one of two patterns.
They either prostrated themselves before the princess, or they disapproved of her freehearted manner.
She had never encountered a peer who neither envied nor feared her.
Rhea maintained an air of composure, but inwardly she was tense.
She recalled what Veronica Velua had told her.
Her Highness the Princess enjoys putting people in difficult positions. If you encounter her, be careful.
The princess before her now seemed merely unbound by formality—not unkind.
“Out of curiosity—which one are you supporting? The Fourth Prince? The First Prince? Or are you still sizing up both sides?”
Peni set down the teacup and her eyes darted about in dismay.
Ordinary aristocratic conversation typically began with pleasantries about the weather before proceeding to cautious reconnaissance, but Jacomo’s manner of speaking was decidedly unconventional.
Rhea was unfazed.
If anything, she was far more skilled at crude conversation than Jacomo was.
“I’m not sizing anyone up. The First Prince is absolutely not to my taste.”
Jacomo’s eyes went wide.
“Then the Fourth Prince suits your taste?”
…….
Rhea brought the teacup to her lips without answering.
Had she felt nothing, she would have answered casually, “Yes, he suits me.” But she could not.
Rhea steadied her restless heart.
Jacomo pressed forward with a knowing expression.
“What’s so appealing about the Fourth Prince? Isn’t he rather dull? I doubt he has much to say.”
“A man’s charm doesn’t rest solely on his words.”
“My, my.”
Jacomo’s eyes glimmered with delight.
Behind her, Peni’s gaze wavered.
‘Did our princess just make a joke like that?’
“I’m not one to hold my tongue. If word spreads that the First Prince isn’t to my taste, would that trouble you?”
“That would be preferable to baseless rumors taking flight.”
Jacomo grinned.
The thought of proud Enoch’s expression twisting in displeasure already amused her.
The two women chattered for quite some time.
Fortunately, Jacomo preferred talking to listening, which allowed Rhea to conserve her words.
“I can’t remember the last time I’ve spoken so freely. Today was genuinely enjoyable.”
Jacomo appreciated that Rhea neither offered blanket agreement nor reacted with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“I enjoyed it as well.”
“May I call again?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“Shall we arrange meetings with some pleasant company? Staying in my chambers alone is suffocating.”
“In truth, Your Highness, there is someone I should very much like to meet.”
“Who? I’ll help you.”
“I wish to meet the Empress.”
Jacomo fell silent for a moment, then furrowed her brow.
“The Empress is rather a different matter altogether.”
She spoke with a slight smile.
“Still, since I’ve promised to help you, I shall. But whether the Empress will receive you depends entirely on her. I can’t persuade her.”
“If you would merely convey this: I wish to meet her because I do not desire to disturb the order of the Imperial Palace.”
Jacomo let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re far more intriguing than I expected, princess.”
Watching Jacomo turn to leave, Rhea reflected that the feeling was mutual.
‘So the princess isn’t quite as thoughtless as one might assume.’
* * *
The following morning, the Empress’s attendants came to the Yeongbin Corridor.
“Her Majesty the Empress has granted you an audience.”
They escorted Rhea to the Garden Terrace within the Empress’s Palace.
Empress Helena was arranging flowers, trimming stems with her own hands.
“I pay my respects to Your Majesty. I am Rhea, Princess of Zephyros.”
The moment Rhea began to lower herself in a formal bow, Helena spoke.
“There’s no need. Rise.”
“I am honored.”
“Do you care for flowers?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I enjoy…observing them.”
Helena laughed softly.
“I don’t merely observe—I cultivate them. There is profound satisfaction in turning soil with my own hands, sowing seeds, and witnessing the slow unfurling of growth.”
The Empress’s voice was gentle and serene.
Rhea recalled what Nella had told her.
“The Empress…”
Before speaking of Empress Helena, Nella had worn an peculiar expression.
“She bore no children, and the Emperor kept not one concubine but many—yet she held her position without wavering. A remarkable woman, truly. What’s more, the Empress maintained excellent relations with the Emperor’s concubines. No one dared slight her. She was precisely what an Empress ought to be.”
Drawing on Nella’s account, Rhea began to analyze Helena’s character.
Childless herself, her husband lay with other women.
She had long since abandoned hope for the simple domestic contentment of raising children and growing old beside her husband.
The struggles among her husband’s offspring—born of other women—over succession must have felt as distant as tales from a foreign land.
Perhaps the title of Empress was, for her, the very meaning of her existence itself.
In this chaotic Imperial Palace, she had established her own order, maintained the center, and justified her place.
“Thank you for receiving me on such short notice, Your Majesty.”
“A leisured woman scarcely finds it difficult to spare time. Besides, I’ve been curious about the princess whose name is so much on everyone’s lips.”
The Empress handed the vase of flowers to an attendant.
The attendant set a fresh vase upon the table, and Helena selected new blooms and began trimming the stems.
Through her silent actions, the Empress made clear that this audience was not particularly welcome.
She had no intention of relocating to a proper sitting room, offering tea, or engaging in leisurely conversation.
Had Rhea simply requested a meeting, she would have received a polite refusal wrapped in courtly evasion.
But her words about not wishing to disturb the order—those had piqued curiosity enough to warrant an audience.
“Your Majesty, I came seeking your counsel, hoping to benefit from your wisdom. Forgive me for speaking so freely at our first meeting.”
“You’ve chosen poorly, then. I’m hardly the font of wisdom you imagine. What troubles weighs on your mind?”
“As one born to a small kingdom, I find myself unable to bear the weight of the Imperial Palace. I beg you to show me the way to depart from here.”
The Empress slowly lifted her gaze to meet Rhea’s.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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