‘When did I fall asleep?’

I seemed to have slept for quite a while without even dreaming.

My head felt lighter, but my shoulders were somewhat stiff from sleeping in one position for too long.

‘Huh?’

When I came to my senses, the first thing I noticed was a familiar scent.

Opening my eyes suddenly, I saw a face more familiar than the scent.

“Your Majesty.”

It was Ainberg.

He was resting his chin on his hand, gazing at me as if observing me.

My mind snapped to attention as I sat up, and he tilted his head to one side.

“You must have been exhausted.”

I quickly fixed my hair and looked around.

The empty reception room contained only Ainberg and me.

“When did you arrive?”

“Just now.”

Though sleep had long since fled, somehow my body felt weak.

Perhaps facing him brought back the troubles that had plagued me before I fell asleep.

“If, if you had arrived, you shouldn’t have let me sleep.”

Ainberg just looked at me intently without saying anything.

His gaze felt so intense that I unconsciously cleared my throat once.

“I’ll call someone. So please—”

“It’s fine. I prefer it with just the two of us.”

Ainberg rose from his seat and approached me.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

“Yes.”

“Do you perhaps have other concerns I’m not aware of?”

His tone was affectionate and warm, as if soothing my tired heart.

Afraid I might show an emotional expression, I chewed my lip once.

“I heard you knew everything about Lady Viper.”

Ainberg quietly nodded.

“The thought that she must have been suffering makes me feel depressed.”

Even though regret couldn’t turn back time, I kept blaming myself.

“Lord Viper isn’t a good person, no… he’s a terrible person, but Soniel must have complicated feelings. After all, he was the one who rescued her from a painful environment.”

“Yes, she might have had such concerns.”

Ainberg answered with a small sigh.

My shoulders drooped because of it.

“Besides, it must have been hard for her to bear that Lord Viper’s execution and the downfall of his family happened because of me. I should have stayed by her side. To prevent her from having such unnecessary thoughts.”

It was then.

“Sienna, I agree that Lady Viper must have had deep concerns, but.”

Ainberg continued in a gentle yet firm voice.

“Her leaving is not your fault. It was entirely her decision.”

When I lowered my head, he spoke again in a similar tone.

“We’ll find her soon.”

“……”

“Because the Emperor is looking for her.”

At that moment, Ainberg’s warmth was added to the back of my hand.

I couldn’t help but smile softly at his confident voice.

“You’re very reassuring.”

“So leave all your worries about Lady Viper to me.”

I lost my words at his serious gaze.

In truth, from Ainberg’s perspective, it might be much easier if Soniel simply disappeared.

A foreigner taken in by someone who plotted treason.

There would certainly be talk one way or another.

Even I as the Empress felt uneasy, and being an adopted daughter wouldn’t make it any easier to avoid.

Yes, I wasn’t in a position to feel completely at ease either.

Yet he was making such efforts for Soniel.

I almost cried without realizing it.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Truly. I don’t know how to express my gratitude.”

Ainberg stared at me silently for a moment before speaking.

“Because she’s someone you care about.”

“……”

“If she’s your friend, then she’s important to me too.”

I wanted to thank him again, but words wouldn’t come easily.

I didn’t want to cause trouble because of me, but I couldn’t abandon Soniel either.

As I hesitated in my confusion, he spoke again.

“I know what you’re worried about.”

“……”

“But remember just one thing.”

Then, Ainberg took my hand resting on my knee.

“All your concerns and worries, I’ll shield you from them all.”

“You’re very dependable.”

“Of course. Is there anyone who can defy the Emperor’s orders?”

I smiled gently and carefully leaned against Ainberg’s shoulder.

I could feel him flinch slightly.

‘He really does have cute aspects.’

Just as I was repeating thoughts I couldn’t dare say aloud,

“Sienna.”

“Yes.”

“By tomorrow, everything will vanish into history.”

“……”

“And we’ll welcome a new morning.”

I slowly closed my eyes again. My heart swelled at the fact that I had someone to rely on, and that someone was Ainberg.

Only then did it truly sink in that I had completely returned to my place.

❀❀❀

Before noon the next day, Foil Viper disappeared like dew on the execution ground.

After that, time flowed quite quickly.

Ainberg devoted himself to punishing the traitor and erasing his traces.

The officers among Foil’s private soldiers were either executed or imprisoned in underground cells according to the severity of their crimes, while ordinary soldiers were sent to labor camps.

However, quite lenient judgments were passed on his family, which caused much talk.

‘Your Majesty, you shouldn’t show mercy to treason.’

‘You must deliver a fair judgment based on imperial law!’

I understand. The Viper family was banished from the Empire, but I alone was allowed to remain.

Well, in the end, everything was settled as Ainberg wanted.

‘But I didn’t expect the temple to help me too.’

Surprisingly, the temple protected me on the grounds that before being a daughter of the Viper family, I was a child of god with sanctification abilities.

Originally, I hadn’t been on good terms with the temple. I believed Ainberg was obsessed with religious ceremonies, they were too closed off, and they were jealous of my use of sanctification abilities.

But it was all a misunderstanding, and I learned it was to protect me.

More problematic was the changed relationship between us.

‘What on earth happened?’

‘His Majesty wasn’t on good terms with Her Majesty.’

‘Poor Lady Chadmon. She diligently attended to the dying Emperor and saved him, only to be discarded like this. Who would have thought?’

‘I thought Lady Chadmon would naturally become the new Empress because of Lord Viper’s treasonous ambitions.’

It was impossible to completely stop all kinds of rumors.

Perhaps it was natural that there were various stories.

‘Yes, talk all you want.’

In the past, I would have been very concerned, but now it didn’t bother me at all.

Rather, wasn’t it thrilling that only Ainberg and I knew the truth?

However, there was one thing.

There was still no news about Soniel.

Where on earth are you?

“……Your Majesty, how about this color?”

I shook off my thoughts and stared at the fabric placed before me.

“Yes, this one would be good.”

“Very well, we’ll use this fabric then.”

In a few days, a banquet would be held to celebrate my awakening.

“Your Majesty, you’ve chosen a deep, beautiful blue like a lake. You have excellent taste.”

“Your Majesty has fair and beautiful skin, so blue suits you very well.”

“In truth, you look enchanting in any color.”

“Lady Thierry is right.”

I nodded appropriately at the voices coming from all directions.

I knew I should get used to such flattery, but it really wasn’t my style.

‘I know it can’t be helped, but it’s really tiring.’

The maids sat by my side all day, chattering.

I knew this was their job and it was politics.

Frankly speaking, how difficult must it be for them to constantly flatter me?

‘After getting rid of all those tiresome rituals, I should also fix this culture.’

When I was in a coma, the Emperor was presiding over the Empire’s memorial services.

But I knew that after the banquet, everything would be transferred to me.

‘How can anyone hold memorial services twenty times a year? I can’t do that!’

Fortunately, Ainberg planned to transfer full authority over the memorial services to me, so I intended to promote holding them all in one day like a festival, rather than separately observing the death anniversaries of previous Emperors and Empresses.

‘That would be much more economical.’

Of course, there would be fierce opposition, but I wasn’t too worried.

The Emperor would protect me!

Just as I smiled brightly and was about to choose ribbons, urgent footsteps were heard from beyond the corridor, and Oz entered with a flushed face.

“What brings the aide here?”

I asked reflexively, but my heart started racing.

I could guess why he had come looking for me.

“Perhaps.”

As I murmured as if entranced, Oz paid his respects, straightened his back, and nodded.

“Your Majesty, we have found Lady Viper.”