(2) Living as the Villainess Queen

Chapter 193

When Eugene came down from the bridge, she ran into the chief of staff in the hallway leading to the office. He repeated the king’s words verbatim to her.

Knight Pides. It was her visitor’s name.

Knowing her memory loss, Kasser smartly bought her time by sending the knight to wait in the audience chamber instead of directing him to her study right away.

“Has a knight ever asked to meet me before?” she asked the chief.

“In the year of your marriage, a knight brought a letter of regards addressed to the queen, but the letter was delivered to you via a maid instead. This is the first time anyone, a knight at that, has requested an audience with you alone.”

“What do you think could have prompted the change?” Eugene inquired.

The chief of staff’s face grew serious. He chose his next words carefully, recalling the previous situation. “It is not the same knight that has been coming for years.”

“Then this is the first time you’ve met Knight Pides?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At that moment, a voice from Jin’s memories sounded in Eugene’s head, triggered by the knight’s name:

“Anika, Knight Pides requests an audience with you.”

“Anika, Knight Pides has left you a gift from the Sang-je.”

“Anika, Knight Pides is waiting for you.”

She didn’t know who the voice belonged to, probably a servant, but it seemed that Knight Pides had visited often when she was in the Holy City quite frequently!

“Go to Knight Pides and tell him that I am otherwise engaged. He will have to wait.”

The chief of staff bowed his head. “I will do as you command.”

Eugene went to the office. She paced back and forth as she tried to organise her thoughts. Why did Sang-je send a different knight than usual? Has he noticed that Jin’s soul has changed? If the Sang-je in this world had the same transcendental abilities as the Sang-je in Eugene’s novel, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was able to sense such things from afar.

Although his arrival was unexpected, the knight had come to deliver Sang-je’s message. She had no reason to refuse to see him.

This is the first meeting with someone who knows Jin. Few people in this kingdom knew who Jin really was. That was why, despite Jin having lived in this country for three years, Eugene was able to slip inside her body and assume her identity without anyone suspecting.

‘I can’t always avoid it.’

Her decision was made. She left the office. If the knight noticed something strange, she could claim memory loss or illness. It’s better to conceal the fact that I’m not Jin for the time being. I don’t plan to meet Sang-je just yet.

***

The audience chamber held two desks that faced each other. The king and queen sat behind one of the desks to face the person who had requested the audience. The desk held necessary documents, but also served as a tangible barrier of the impenetrable gap in status between the monarchs and the visitor.