Lady to Queen - Chapter 2 - I'll Be The Queen Candidate Instead Of My Sister

Chapter 2 – I’ll Be The Queen Candidate Instead Of My Sister

Patrizia couldn’t explain it with any knowledge she had, but this was reality. She had returned to the time when she was nineteen. Her sister was standing undeniably before her, very much alive and breathing. Petronilla’s eyes were as clear as a lake and filled with worry.

Patrizia was momentarily reminded of the last memory of her previous life. Her dear sister Nilla, dying in both misery and love. If this really was a new life…then God had pitied the sisters and given them another chance…

Then she would…

“Elder sister,” Patrizia said.

“Hmm? What is it, Rizi?”

“We don’t have to draw lots.” Patrizia would not allow the tragedy of the past to repeat.

“Why?” Petronilla said innocently, but Patrizia only gave a bitter smile.

“It will be me.”

She would be queen instead of her sister.

“I will be the queen candidate.”

Petronilla could not understand her sister. Yesterday, Patrizia had clearly stated that she did not want it. Now it was as if she had changed into a completely different person! It was a reversal that Petronilla did not understand, but she was glad that she wouldn’t have to be queen herself. She didn’t know how to pivot her words, however, so she tried to make certain.

“Really?” Petronilla asked.

“Yes.”

“You won’t change your mind?”

“I won’t.” Patrizia’s voiced firmed. “I won’t change it. Ever.”

“Yay!” Petronilla looked on eagerly at her sister. “Let’s go to the study and talk to Father.”

*

Marquis Grochester was a man of forty-two years of age, and presently, he was in deep thought over which of his two daughters should be sent for the queen selection process. Petronilla’s lively personality was not likely to fit in with the royal family, while Patrizia was better suited with her quiet composure.

As he continued to deliberate endlessly on the issue, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“It’s Nilla, Father.”

“Ah, come in.”

He welcomed his two daughters into his study. He wondered why they came to visit him so late, but he prepared some tea first without prying. After he set down a pot of warm Assam tea, he finally spoke.

“Why are you up so late?” he inquired.

“We have something to tell you.” Petronilla’s face was lit with excitement, and the marquis guessed that something good must have happened.

Petronilla took a couple sips of her tea first before speaking. “Rizi wants to do it. Be the queen candidate.”

“…Is that true?”

“Yes, Father,” Patrizia replied quietly, setting down her own cup on the glass table with a calm expression. “It will be me.”

“Well…”

That was good news. Although the marquis had long agonized over his decision, in truth, Nilla’s character was unsuited for the strict and authoritative life of the Imperial Palace. He kept his face smooth when Rizi said she would be queen instead, but inwardly he was pleased the decision had worked out.

“Are you volunteering?” he said gently to Patrizia.

“Yes.”

Upon hearing Patrizia’s answer, Marquis Grochester looked at away for a moment, then turned back to her. “That’s great. Nilla, it’s late, so you should go to bed now. Rizi, you stay for a while.”

Petronilla nodded. “Yes, Father. Good night, Rizi. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She then left the study with a lightness in her step, leaving only Marquis Grochester and Patrizia in the room. The marquis finished his hot tea and removed his lips from the cup.

“Are you really volunteering, Rizi?”

“Yes, Father,” Patrizia replied in a level voice.

“I’m wondering why you changed your mind so quickly,” he said, his gaze fixed on his daughter’s black eyes. “Is there a special reason?”

“…None at all. I just thought that if either of us were to be queen, I would be better suited.”

Imperial law stated that the queen must come from a family from at least the rank of marquis and be between 18 and 20 years of age. Because Marquis Grochester’s children were eligible, he was required to produce a candidate.

Patrizia was suddenly struck by anxiety. “Or did you want it to be my sister?” she asked, but fortunately the reply was not unfavorable.

“No,” Marquis Grochester said, shaking his head, “Actually, I was hoping it would be you.”

“…I see.” Patrizia understood why without asking. From her father’s perspective, he may have felt more reassured sending the quiet daughter. She would not have any complaints or sadness of the situation.

“Then a week from now, I will go to the palace,” Patrizia said resolutely.

Five queen candidates would gather at the Imperial Palace for a week-long series of tests. After that, only one of them would be chosen as queen.

The marquis nodded, then spoke in a quavering voice. “You seem quite calm, Rizi. I know you usually keep a cool head, but somehow…you act like you’re already used to this.”

Patrizia smiled at her father’s words. It was a painful memory that she desperately wanted to change. However, she could not tell the truth.

“I had a dream,” she lied.

“I see.” He gave a small chuckle.

“‘I’ll come back, Father.”

There would be five queen candidates, but there would only be one queen. The other four candidates go back to their original lives and be free to marry another noble, just as Patrizia’s mother did.

Even in the past, Patrizia held no dreams of holding such a lofty position as queen, but she was even more determined not to in this lifetime. Even if it was just a memory, she did not want to marry the man who was her brother-in-law either. That wasn’t morally right.

She tried to give her father a bright smile. “Do you dislike it?”

“No, please return safely.” He kissed his precious daughter lightly on the forehead and whispered, “I don’t want to give up my princess to anyone else just yet.”

*

Patrizia returned to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed. It had been less than two hours after she had returned to the past, and she had already massively shifted her future. Originally, Nilla had drawn the lot and told their father that she would be the queen candidate. Patrizia bit her lip.

Neither of them had wanted to be queen. Patrizia had read in history books what a double-edged sword queenship was, and what terrible dangers the position held. The terrible tragedy of the past only further cemented that line of thinking.

And, well, Nilla was always a dreamer. She longed for a fairy tale life and wanted prince charming on a white horse. The position of queen, realistically, was closer to a life of political maneuverings and backstabbing, and was hardly attractive to a young woman like Nilla.

So in the past, the two sisters decided to draw lots, and the ultimate result was in Nilla’s death. As Patrizia recounted this information, her lips started to bleed from how hard she was biting them.

She had returned to the past and already changed the future by choosing to be the queen candidate instead of Nilla. Perhaps then the tragic past where she and her family were killed would not be repeated.

Just because she was the queen candidate, it didn’t mean that she would become queen. And even if she did, she could still live a different life. Anything would be a hundred thousand times better than the nightmare of her last one.

“That was three years from now.”

The future was malleable, and she would change it for sure. It was difficult to imagine what the future would be like, but at least she could avoid past tragedies. She would try her damnedest to stop it from happening. Her sister could have the happy ending she deserved.

“I will make it that way,” Patrizia vowed. She would be the queen candidate, and possibly even queen, and wipe out the scars from her memory.

*

A week later, the five queen candidates were all finalized. They were—Lady Raphaela of the Marquis Bringstone, Lady Greta of the Countess Arjeldo, Lady Barbara of Marquis D’ival, and Lady Tricia of Duke Vasi. And finally, Patrizia herself. In her last life, it was expected for Lady Tricia to become queen, but somehow Petronilla had surpassed her in the last life. Meanwhile, Patrizia wanted to avoid becoming queen as much as possible.

When it finally came the day when Patrizia would leave for the Imperial Palace, Petronilla tightly grasped Patrizia’s hands.

“Rizi, I don’t ask for anything else, but just be careful, alright?” Petronilla said with tears in her eyes.

Patrizia’s gaze softened as she looked at her sister. Three years ago, she had done the exact same thing. She had held Petronilla’s hands tightly before she left for the Imperial Palace, and told her to take care of herself. Petronilla had come back safe, thankfully, but this time she was queen.

Patrizia offered her sister a gentle smile. “I will miss you, Nil.”

“As will I, Rizi. We’ve never been this far apart this long before…”

It had been nineteen years since they shared the same womb, and they had been inseparable ever since. Other people might tut and say, “It’s only a week,” but this was a first for the two sisters. Patrizia took Petronilla in her arms and held her like a baby.

“…You cannot come to the palace, understand?” Patrizia said.

It was a warning based on previous knowledge. In the last life, Petronilla had insisted that she didn’t want to be queen, but fell in love with the Emperor at first sight. She had made every effort to be his wife ever since. Of course, Petronilla was not a candidate now, but it paid to be cautious.

Petronilla gave a small chuckle. “Do you think me stupid? I have no intention of disgracing you or the family name, so don’t worry.”

“…Yes.”

Patrizia gave Petronilla one finally pat on the back, then turned towards her parents.

“I’ll return.”

“Yes, Rizi. Just be careful, as your sister says.”

“I know you’ll behave well, my daughter.”

Patrizia almost wanted to cry at the concern in her parents’ voice, but fortunately she was saved by a maid that appeared at her elbow. She gave a brief hug to her parents, then finally boarded the carriage to the palace.

It was the beginning of a changed past.