the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 301: v4 Chapter 2: the life she had chosen II

Marian remained by the door for a moment after Adrian left.

Then she turned back toward the room.

There were still several hours before lunch.

She had no reason to hurry.

With a quiet sigh, she crossed to the adjoining study.

The room was one of her favorite places in the palace.

It was warm in the afternoons, particularly when the sunlight reached the tall windows, and the shelves were filled with more books than she could possibly read in a lifetime.

Marian ran her fingers along the spines before pulling out a novel she had been meaning to finish.

A romance.

Nothing particularly profound.

Exactly what she wanted.

She settled into the armchair near the window, tucked one leg beneath herself, and opened the book.

For a while, that was all she did.

Read.

The palace was quiet around her.

There was always movement somewhere beyond the rooms—the distant footsteps of servants, the occasional opening and closing of doors, the muted sounds of the Imperial Household going about its business—but none of it required her attention.

That, Marian had discovered, was one of the great advantages of being Empress.

Her duties were surprisingly light.

It had been intentional.

Adrian had never expected her to spend her days buried beneath administrative matters.

The Imperial Household had people for those things.

There were officials to manage the palace accounts, stewards to oversee its daily affairs, secretaries to handle correspondence, and entire departments devoted to matters Marian had never cared to understand.

If something genuinely required her attention, it was brought to her.

Otherwise, she was free.

Marian considered this arrangement excellent.

She had no desire to spend an afternoon discussing budgets or deciding which department required additional funds.

There were people far better suited to such things.

And, more importantly, there was no reason for her to do work simply because she happened to hold the title of Empress.

She had other things to occupy her.

Books.

The gardens.

Occasional visits with her father.

The few friends she still saw.

And Adrian.

Especially Adrian.

Her life had become remarkably domestic.

She knew his schedule almost as well as her own.

She knew when he would return from court.

When he was likely to be occupied for hours.

When he would have time for lunch.

She liked knowing these things.

There was something comforting about the predictability of it.

Four years ago, she might have imagined an Empress’s life very differently.

Now she could spend an entire morning reading in the study and consider it a perfectly satisfactory use of her time.

Marian turned another page.

She was halfway through a particularly dramatic scene when there was a soft knock at the door.

She looked up.

Her maid entered and curtsied.

”Your Majesty, your bath is ready.”

Marian glanced toward the clock.

”Oh.”

She had lost track of time.

Then she remembered.

Clara.

”I’ll be there shortly.”

The maid nodded and withdrew.

Marian closed her book.

She had promised Clara she would come.

It was an unusual enough occurrence that the arrangements had already been made.

Even a simple luncheon outside the palace was never particularly simple for the Empress.

There would be an escort.

Guards.

A carriage prepared under the Imperial Household’s supervision.

A carefully planned route.

Attendants.

Marian could not simply decide to walk out of the palace whenever she pleased.

Fortunately, she rarely wanted to.

Most days, she was perfectly content to remain within its walls.

She rose from the chair and carried the book back to the shelf.

Then she glanced once more at the clock.

She still had plenty of time.

For once, she was going somewhere simply because she wanted to see someone.

And that, Marian thought, was reason enough to look forward to the afternoon.

By the time Marian finished her bath, the dress she had chosen for the luncheon had already been laid out for her.

Her maid helped her into it, fastening the back and smoothing the fabric before arranging her hair.

Marian glanced at herself in the mirror.

Nothing elaborate.

She did not need anything elaborate for Clara.

A few final adjustments were made, her gloves were brought to her, and she was ready.

She left her chambers shortly afterward.

The palace corridors were as busy as ever, but Marian barely noticed the activity around her.

She had grown accustomed to it.

By the time she reached the entrance, her escort was already waiting.

Marian accepted her gloves from an attendant and slipped them on as she walked toward the carriage.

She climbed inside and settled against the cushions.

The door closed behind her.

A moment later, the carriage began to move.

Marian looked out through the window as the palace grounds slowly fell behind.

She rarely left the palace these days.

There was no particular reason she could not. If she wished to go somewhere, the arrangements could be made. But over the years, she had simply found fewer reasons to do so.

There had been a time when Marian enjoyed the social functions of the capital.

Dinners.

Luncheons.

Balls.

Receptions.

During the first year of her marriage, she had attended them readily enough. Everything had been new then, and she had enjoyed the attention that came with being Empress.

But somewhere along the way, that had changed.

Not her marriage.

Not her happiness.

Only the way she felt about being seen.

The questions had become more frequent.

More pointed.

And eventually, they became difficult to escape.

Marian had never expected the absence of a child to have such an effect on her life.

Her marriage remained happy.

Her home remained peaceful.

She had everything she could have wanted.

It was simply that one thing was missing.

And the longer it remained absent, the more difficult it became to ignore.

Little by little, she found herself attending fewer functions.

There was no particular reason to force herself to go.

Adrian never pressured her.

If anything, he seemed perfectly content whenever she chose to remain at the palace.

And Marian found that she preferred it too.

She preferred her books.

The gardens.

Quiet afternoons.

The company of her father.

The few friends she still saw.

And Adrian.

She did not miss society nearly as much as she might once have expected.

There were, however, people she still wanted to see.

Clara was one of them.

Marian looked out through the carriage window again.

The thought of spending a few hours with her friend brought a small smile to her face.

It had been a while.

And for once, she was looking forward to leaving the palace.

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Tbc