Chapter 376. Secret Intruder (1)

Translator: Aura / Editor: HB168

Usually, the nanny was chosen from among the ladies-in-waiting. However, I had fewer ladies-in-waiting than when I was in the Eastern Empire, and the only married woman among my ladies-in-waiting was Countess Jubel.

However, Countess Jubel was not suitable to be the nanny of the first child of the Western Imperial Family, as her family, her husband and herself were from the Eastern Empire. Besides, she played the role of head lady-in-waiting.

My child would most likely become the successor. The people of the Western Empire might worry that the successor would be too influenced by the culture of the Eastern Empire, with both a mother and nanny from the Eastern Empire.

On the other hand, since a nanny could have as much influence as the parents, I was reluctant to place my child under the care of someone I didn’t know well.

In the end, after I consulted with Heinley, I decided to invite several noblewomen who raised their own children to discuss the choice of nanny.

So, under the pretext of tea and conversation, I called six noblewomen who lived nearby. The noblewomen have been friendly to me lately, so naturally we began to talk about various topics.

We talked about the weather, the controversies in the Eastern Empire and the latest events in high society. As a result, the topic of the Zemensia Family casually came up.

“Your Majesty, did you know that Duke Zemensia, his wife, and his children were kicked out of the family mansion?”

As I thought about how to introduce the nanny issue, I shook my head a little in surprise at the unexpected news. The noblewomen began to speak all at once, since it’s fun to share gossip with someone who still doesn’t know anything.

“Your Majesty. It is said that Old Duke Zemensia kicked out his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren empty-handed. I was able to corroborate it because the sister of one of my maids works in that mansion.”

“Really? He kicked them out empty-handed?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Duke Zemensia only inherited his father’s title, not his wealth. All his wealth belongs to Chri…”

The lady paused and looked me in the eye.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

When I indicated that there was no problem, the lady was relieved and continued,

“All of his wealth belongs to Christa. So Duke Zemensia had to leave empty-handed.”

“Why did Old Duke Zemensia go so far?”

The noblewomen looked at each other with awkward expressions. It seemed they were wondering who brought this uncomfortable topic up, and wanted to scold the culprit.

When I indicated again that there was no problem, one of them reluctantly explained.

“When the Emperor invited the noble children to the Imperial Palace, he left out the two children of the Zemensia Family.”

‘So Heinley really did it to irritate Old Duke Zemensia.’

“It seems that Duke Zemensia complained about it to the Old Duke, and during the argument he spoke very badly about Christa.”

“I also heard that his words about Christa were very harsh.”

“Of course, he must think that his future, and his children, are more important than his dead sister.”

This time, all the noblewomen spoke sadly.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. But Christa was too good to her family.”

“They had always been very close siblings, and Christa took good care of her family even after she became Queen.”

Suddenly my brother came to mind. Now, he took good care of me and put me first, but if he married Princess Charlotte, or even if he married someone else and had his own family, would he change his priorities like Duke Zemensia?

If Koshar’s family and I had a conflict, would my brother also choose his wife and children?

What about me? Who should I choose if my brother and Heinley were to have a conflict?

“Duke Zemensia intends to get it all back, even if he has to file a lawsuit. I think there will be many problems among that family in the future.”

It was interesting to hear about the rise and fall of other people, but at the same time it was unpleasant. Especially since I knew that my marriage to Heinley had caused that family’s downfall.

Of course, it would be even more unpleasant if that family lived happily after what they did to me.

In any case, I didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so I cautiously brought up the reason for the invitation. Since I only invited married noblewomen who had children, they probably all had an inkling already.

It was an honor to become the prince’s or princess’s nanny, but it was a great responsibility and required a lot of time. Naturally, many would not want to do it. It was not good to impose unwanted responsibilities, so I had to ask carefully.

When I brought up the topic, the noblewomen were ready to answer.

Some of them recommended someone else, some expressed their opinion on parenting methods, and some were interested in the position.

I also asked for their opinions about other noblewomen I planned to meet with tomorrow.

However, when I mentioned the fifth noblewoman, everyone’s expressions turned strange. They seemed to be surprised that I had invited her.

What’s wrong?

When I stopped talking in confusion, one of them smiled awkwardly and said,

“Your Majesty… that noblewoman was the concubine of the former king.”