Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress-Chapter 693: Someone to Support
"It’s alright. I’m used to it," Arabella smiled at the panicked Countess.
This reaction was not new to Arabella, after all. Her whole life - the present and the past, Arabella had been gawked at, sneered at, and even more. The Countess’ opinion of her was so much better than the others did and her staring was more polite.
[Her Majesty is used to it?]
Countess Frieda was surprised at Arabella’s response.
[Ah, I see... Even Her Majesty must have experienced a lot of hardships, especially since she is in such a high position.]
The Countess recalled how much she had to go through simply to do what she thought was best for her county.
Frieda had to give up on marriage prospects and had to live being frowned upon and whispered upon when she chose to become a knight. All because she loved her county and their people. And yet, her family who was the ruling household in Morbal did not value her love and dedication.
Instead, they were the first people to condemn the choice Frieda had made and made her a laughingstock. Frieda had to endure much embarrassment and hardship until she was able to prove that she could be an excellent knight.
Once Frieda had proven her worth in battle, the knights recognized her and her family finally toned down in shaming her. However, her family was still against her being a knight and believed that her choice was one of idiocy since she could have lived comfortably if she simply did as her other siblings did.
The Morbals did not value Frieda’s efforts because they did not care much for their people just as she did.
They gave Frieda a lot of scolding even after Ferdinand already declared her as the new ruler of Morbal. They only shut their mouths when Frieda reminded them that it was because of her that their family was spared and she could punish them according to the law even if they were family members.
Because of her actions, Frieda’s family now labeled her an ungrateful and greedy wretch who grabbed the ruler’s seat the instant there was an opportunity. Even if Frieda’s actions saved their household from doom, they still saw her as the one in the wrong.
And yet, Frieda was still determined to show her family, through this opportunity given by Ferdinand, that Morbal could still be changed and improved for the better if they ruled it properly.
It was quite a tragedy to see such a dedicated and determined person be hated this much by her own blood when she only wished for the best for them and their county.
Arabella noted to support Frieda as much as she could so that Frieda could achieve her noble and just goals that could only be seen as a childish dream by the Countess’ own family.
"Congratulations on becoming the Countess. I wish to see what kind of Morbal you will build. When I get some free time, I would love to visit your territory," Arabella intentionally said when she saw from her peripheral vision that Countess Frieda’s oldest brother was on his way here.
Arabella made sure to say it loud enough for Frieda’s brother to hear so they would not impede the developments Frieda had in mind for their county.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It shall be my greatest honor to be graced by Your Majesty. I will do my best not to disappoint you," Countess Frieda responded with a bow and a hand on her chest.
[I have to make improvements much more quickly than I thought since Her Majesty is planning to visit. She did not give any timeframe either so it can be anytime.]
Frieda noted to make as many changes as possible once she returned home with supplies and materials needed for the developments in Morbal.
Arabella then nodded and began walking away. She intentionally did not specify any date so that Frieda’s family would not know when a visit would happen and try to be on their best behavior as often as possible. They might even help Frieda to preserve their family’s honor.
[A visit from Her Majesty?!! Then, that means His Majesty and His Eminence might visit with her too. We cannot let our guard down.] Frieda’s older brother thought.
They have also heard of Arabella’s visits to Prudencia and Safiro so her visit meant that their corrupt practices in Morbal could be revealed to the masses and the rest of Valeria if they do not hasten to make changes so that their corruption would not be obvious.
"Greetings to Your Imperial Majesty," Frieda’s older brother bowed as politely as he could when he reached them.
Arabella smiled at him and nodded at him, and the latter blushed.
[Her Majesty is so even more beautiful when seen this close! She smells so nice too. And she had such a lovely figure already. I wish she was my wife instead.]
Arabella pursed her lips once she had passed by Frieda’s older brother. If she had heard such thoughts from Ferdinand, she would have been happy. But it annoyed her instead when coming from an incompetent and cowardly man who could not even step up to save his family and yet, scorned Frieda for doing it in his place.
After hearing all sorts of thoughts about her, Arabella had already gotten used to hearing men have such thoughts about her and much worse. She usually did not react and simply ignored them all. She even stopped getting offended or annoyed.
But after hearing from Frieda’s thoughts about how her family had treated her, Arabella could not help but get irritated simply by the sight of this man. Not only was he an unreliable and unsupportive older brother, but he was also among those who tormented Frieda the most.
It made Arabella even more determined to support Frieda’s ventures fully.
[Eeek! Her guard knight just glared at me! I was not even staring for long.]
[He is clearly having lascivious thoughts about Her Majesty. Should I punish him?] Rendell wondered and glanced at Arabella.
Arabella gestured for Rendell to simply ignore it. She did not want to cause a commotion especially since she had just been attending the Court Sessions for several days.
