She had stayed up the entire night.

Her mind was so full of thoughts of Burkhardt that sleep had been impossible.

“Your Majesty, His Majesty has instructed that you are not to come to the office today.”

Thud—

It felt as though her heart had dropped.

Did he no longer even wish to see her face?

Perhaps his absence from their walk yesterday had been an unspoken message—

a warning not to come any closer.

While Elizabeth was tormenting herself with such assumptions, Marianne continued.

“Instead, I was told to escort Your Majesty to the portrait archive.”

“I see… so we’re meeting somewhere else today.”

She still didn’t know the reason Burkhardt hadn’t come to the walk.

But the simple fact that he had summoned her was enough to quiet the anxiety that had plagued her all night.

As Elizabeth stood there in relief, lost in thought, Marianne’s voice came again.

“We should hurry. The portrait archive is quite a distance away, so we must leave now.”

“Ah, yes. Just a moment!”

Since he had invited her to a different place, she wanted to show at least a little extra care in her appearance.

Elizabeth carefully opened the box she had received from Burkhardt the day before.

Once again, she saw the beautiful hairpin that pleased her so much.

Gazing at the roughly cut gemstone with its sheen of black, she was reminded of the hairpin Burkhardt had once splurged on for her at the market.

To think he would prepare a gift identical to that one.

Elizabeth believed that Burkhardt had truly understood her heart.

In return for the sentiment he had shown, she fastened the hairpin in her hair—

hoping he would smile, as he had in the past, and tell her it suited her.

***

The portrait archive was quite a distance away.

As she followed Marianne, Elizabeth took in every detail of the imperial palace’s interior.

She had always had a good sense of direction.

Having roamed the mountains since childhood as a herbalist, this was nothing difficult for her.

At last, Marianne stopped before a grand, old‑fashioned set of doors.

“This is the portrait archive. I’m not permitted to enter, so you’ll have to go in alone, Your Majesty. Inside, please follow the guidance of Duke Giovanni.”

“And Burke?”

“Wouldn’t he be inside as well? I’ve fulfilled my orders by bringing you here, so I’ll take my leave.”

Once Marianne had gone, Elizabeth, her heart trembling, pushed the door open.

Creak—

Pushing against the heavy door engraved with intricate patterns, she heard its deep, dull groan as it swung open.

Unlike the bright corridor outside, the interior of the portrait archive was bathed in a soft violet glow.

It was dreamlike, yet for some reason, Elizabeth felt a chill in the air.

Even so, the single desire to see Burkhardt was enough to draw her inside.

On either side of the doorway stood statues—grotesque in form, enough to inspire fear at a glance.

Some were missing their heads entirely; others were nothing but empty pedestals.

Elizabeth kept her gaze fixed on the floor, afraid of meeting the statues’ eyes.

She didn’t know how long she had walked before the sound of movement made her lift her head.

As Marianne had said, Geraldine stood there, greeting her with impeccable courtesy.

“Your Majesty, it has been a while. Have you been well?”

“Ah, Duke Giovanni—it’s been some time.”

“The approach here isn’t very pleasant, is it? From here on, it’s nothing but portraits, so you needn’t be so uneasy.”

Elizabeth glanced around, searching for any sign of Burkhardt.

Had she expected too much?

The portrait archive held only Geraldine.

Feigning an interest in the place from the start, she hid her disappointment at not seeing Burkhardt.

“That’s a relief. Since it’s a place for storing paintings, it’s quite dark… and a little mysterious, too.”

“Once you see the portraits, your emotions will be stirred even more. This place holds the portraits of every emperor in our history—it’s perfect for learning about the empire’s past.”

Wearing a genial expression, Geraldine led Elizabeth to a large portrait.

It looked to be quite old.

“This is a portrait of His Majesty, the first emperor. When he founded this empire, he possessed an aura no other nation dared to challenge.”

Even as a painting, the pressure it exuded was immense.

Though the colors had faded over long years of storage, the traces of a man who had once commanded the world could not be erased.

Only… there was something that caught her attention.

“Burke looks a great deal like him.”

It had been a quiet murmur to herself, but in the stillness of the room, it must have reached Geraldine’s ears.

For some reason, he brightened at the remark.

“As expected, Your Majesty recognized it at a glance. When I first met His Majesty, I thought I was looking at the first emperor himself.”

“I see.”

Hearing that, Elizabeth found herself wondering how Burkhardt had come to be emperor.

The path from enemy soldier to the throne could not have been an easy one—

nor, for that matter, the path that had led him to meet Geraldine.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Elizabeth asked casually,

“You recognized him so quickly because of the resemblance, didn’t you? To spot it right there on the battlefield… Duke Giovanni, you must have sharp eyes.”

Since Geraldine had already spoken about the first emperor, she thought he might just as easily share the story of their first meeting.

If possible, she wanted to hear about the news from the front as well.

Perhaps then she could begin to untangle some of the deeper issues entwined with Burkhardt.

Surely someone so devoted to him would be eager to boast of his exploits.

But contrary to her expectations, Geraldine’s expression immediately turned awkward.

“I’m afraid that’s a difficult story to tell. Matters concerning the war are treated as classified, so please don’t take it too much to heart.”

Ah… so it would be hard to hear after all.

Elizabeth’s confidence, which had briefly soared, plummeted straight to the ground. Her gaze dropped of its own accord, and her shoulders slumped.

Perhaps she looked pitiable, for Geraldine’s tone softened, offering a subtle hint.

“Who knows? If His Majesty were to grant permission, there’s nothing I couldn’t tell you. For now, I’d say your priority is to move his heart.”

With that, he busied himself explaining other portraits.

He spoke of each emperor’s reign, the members of the imperial family, and the shifting landscape of neighboring nations through the ages.

Though the stories often repeated in theme, his natural eloquence left no room for boredom.

Still, none of the portraits he described left as strong an impression on Elizabeth as that of the first emperor.

“The next sovereign I’ll introduce is the one who first established the position of hwangbi.”

“Ah, so this is…”

“To protect the former hwangbi, he placed an empress on the throne as a decoy, and in the end, it was the hwangbi who bore him a child. As you know, the position was abolished thereafter.”

“Why create a hwangbi at all? Why not simply make the woman he loved empress from the start?”

“When he first ascended the throne, the imperial authority was not so strong. The hwangbi system could only be enforced after first installing an empress and then achieving many accomplishments.”

“So she couldn’t become empress because of the ministers’ opposition.”

“Of course, our present Majesty has the power to overrule the ministers. Had Your Majesty remained steadfast, His Majesty’s strength might have made you empress… it is truly a pity.”

With a completely expressionless face that betrayed no real regret, Geraldine voiced his sympathy.

At that, Beth could only swallow a bitter smile.

Even after that, Geraldine’s explanations continued.

Unlike before, Elizabeth couldn’t focus on a single word, and it wasn’t until they reached the final portrait—standing alone in its frame—that she came back to herself.

It was a portrait of Burkhardt, one that contained no trace of his childhood.

“This time, it’s a portrait of His Majesty, whom you know well, Your Majesty. Capturing his valor in war on canvas was no easy task. As for why there’s no portrait of him as a child… I’m sure you know the reason.”

Unlike the other emperors, Burkhardt’s portraits depicted only his youth and adulthood.

Even the space beside his—reserved for the late emperor—held a portrait of a proud, imposing child. But Burkhardt’s own place for such a portrait was empty.

His childhood, now unseen by anyone, could only be remembered by Elizabeth.

From the day she had resolved to become Burkhardt’s family, she had never once felt curious about his past.

If he had lost his memory and hidden himself away in a poor farming household, then perhaps it was a past better left forgotten.

And so, she had lived without even thinking to ask.

Elizabeth’s world revolved around Burkhardt alone, and she wanted nothing else to intrude.

Yet, far too many unexpected things had forced their way in.

In such a situation, she couldn’t simply cover everything up and pretend not to notice.

“I have something to ask about Burke. If it’s not about the war, I can ask, can’t I?”

Just as he had hidden the story of meeting during the war, she suspected he might also refuse to reveal anything about Burke’s past, claiming it was a secret.

Even so, she didn’t want to miss this chance.

She wanted to understand Burke.

If she could learn even a fragment of his past, it might make it easier to piece things together.

Elizabeth knew she had to ask about Burkhardt’s past, even if Geraldine found it unpleasant.

“Hmm. I can’t promise to answer everything, but I’ll try. What exactly do you wish to know?”

“I want to know how Burke lost his memory and came to our village. Something like that should be recorded in the Clemens Empire’s history books, so you could explain it directly, couldn’t you? If you refuse even this, I’ll have to think you’re deliberately shutting me out.”

She felt they were almost there.

Perhaps her light threat had worked—Geraldine didn’t flatly refuse this time but hesitated.

If she pushed just a little harder, she might be able to get an answer.

“Beth. I thought your daily life seemed dull, so I granted you access to the portrait archive… only to find you harassing my aide?”

If only he had come a little later.

Burkhardt—the man Elizabeth had been waiting for and longing to see—had appeared.