“Leonora, are you really all right?”

“Yes, Brother.”

After my brief response, I stuffed more meat from the table into my mouth.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t call a doctor?”

Father had visited all morning to check on my well-being, and now my brother was pestering me in the afternoon.

“Yes, of course.”

There was one reason for Father and Brother’s concern.

My food intake had increased enormously since returning from the banquet.

“But Leonora, Sabine and everyone else are worried about you.”

I simply had so many things I wanted to eat, and since I could, I was eating to my heart’s content.

Returning from the imperial palace made me realize how precious my current life was.

Allentain Chadmon, my beautiful and gentle brother, kept looking at me with concerned eyes.

“It’s just so delicious. The doctor who visited the other day said I could increase my food intake a bit more.”

“Is that true?”

I carefully set down my silver fork and smiled sweetly.

“Yes, of course.”

No matter how much Leonora Chadmon ate, she never gained weight.

Her arms and legs were as thin as twigs, her head small, and her torso even more so.

After diligently experimenting since entering this body, I found that neither sweets nor any amount of protein made any difference.

Oh, how wonderful.

“Well, I’m glad you’re eating well. I’m still moved just seeing you walk around, and now you’re eating well and smiling too… it’s just so amazing.”

His face looked like he might cry at any moment.

Allentain was a sensitive and affectionate man.

He loved telling me stories about my childhood—memories I didn’t actually have—and always brought me gifts wherever he went.

I don’t know who he’ll marry, but he’ll make an excellent husband.

Moreover, he was a young gentleman well-respected within the imperial court.

Even when I was Empress, his outstanding appearance made him quite the talk of the imperial palace.

Five days ago, he attended a security meeting in Brotswaf and returned this morning.

But before he could even unpack his gifts, he was already expressing his worries and nagging!

I mixed a whine into my affectionate voice.

“We haven’t seen each other in so long, and this is what you want to talk about?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. But I heard you’ve been asking for foods you normally don’t eat, so I was concerned. You said meat was hard to digest. You used to eat only greens like a goat, but now you’re constantly eating meat.”

I understood why everyone worried about me.

Father and my brothers feared I might lose my health again.

Yes, I should stop this happy… no, this foolish way of relieving stress.

“By the way, Leonora, how was the banquet you attended recently?”

I had just decided to stop eating, but as soon as the banquet was mentioned, I wanted to grab my fork again.

“I hated it.”

“You hated it?”

Women who disliked banquets and social events were rare.

Especially for a woman who had spent her entire life bedridden and had just begun to be active.

My brother blinked his large eyes, apparently finding my answer unexpected.

“Yes, the women who dressed bizarrely like peacocks trying to impress the Emperor were horrible, and I felt like I would suffocate from the excessive perfume they wore.”

“Oh my.”

It really was like that.

Do they all not understand what becoming Empress means?

Do they not know how barren and desolate that position is, how lonely and empty it feels unlike how it appears from the outside?

Why don’t they understand that being Empress means losing your life as a woman, with only the title of “Mother of the Ostrin Empire” remaining?

“But surely that wasn’t the only purpose of the event.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t just women in attendance.”

Of course not.

But my twisted heart found everything surrounding the Emperor irritating.

Just then, my brother softly whispered to my sullen self.

“So that’s why you wore that ash-colored dress alone.”

He revealed his white, even teeth in a bright smile.

“How did you know?”

I couldn’t help being surprised that Allentain, of all people, would say such a thing.

Surely the rumor about my bizarre dress hadn’t spread all the way to Brotswaf?

Such trivial stories wouldn’t be discussed at diplomatic tables.

“Even in an ash-colored dress, you must have shone alone.”

Ah, that kind of rumor I would welcome.

Not wanting to discuss the banquet or the dress, I quickly changed the subject.

“Brother, what did you buy in Brotswaf this time?”

I pointed to the large box visible behind him, and my brother smiled brightly.

Nothing was more effective at calming my agitated mood than Allentain’s lovely smile.

Well, except for the steak I’d eaten earlier.

“That isn’t something I bought in Brotswaf.”

“Then what is it?”

My brother stroked his chin a couple of times and made an awkward expression.

I knew that look well.

It was the same expression he had worn in front of the shop when he missed the limited-edition collection shoes I had desperately wanted.

“After finishing my schedule, I visited the imperial palace this morning. After meeting with His Majesty, as I was about to head home…”

“……”

“His Majesty asked me to give this to you.”

My brother stood up, picked up the enormous box from the floor, and approached.

As the box grew larger with each step, I couldn’t help but shrink back, feeling as if Ainberg himself was approaching.

“From His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Yes, though I don’t know what it is.”

After placing the box on the table, my brother smiled contentedly.

I looked up at him with an expression that could neither smile nor cry.

“Brother.”

“Go ahead and open it. I’ve been terribly curious about what’s inside all the way home.”

“But…”

I didn’t want to open any gift from the Emperor.

The Emperor wasn’t inside the box, but I disliked even looking at it or having it in my room.

“Leonora, you don’t look pleased.”

“Brother, do I have to accept this gift?”

“What?”

“Do I have to check what’s inside? Since it was given to me, couldn’t I just throw it away?”

Though I knew it was absolutely impossible, my mouth was running wild.

When I said that, my brother’s face turned deathly pale.

“No, Leonora. Anything given by His Majesty must be acknowledged.”

Of course, I knew that.

No one knew imperial norms and etiquette better than I did.

“Then go ahead and check it.”

With those final words, Allentain quietly left my room.

Talk about bad karma.

I had vowed to do whatever I wanted in this life, to see only good things, and to form bonds with those I truly loved.

So why was this wretched Emperor appearing again to bother me?

Yes, I was the one who died and came back, but still!

This is so infuriating!

I began tearing off the paper wrapping with rough movements.

The elaborate rose pattern only fueled my anger.

“What on earth is this?”

As I unwrapped it, something neatly covered with soft fabric appeared.

After a moment’s hesitation, I lifted the fabric.

“What is this?”

Inside the box was a flowing dress.

I pinched the hem of the dress between two fingers as if picking up garbage and lifted it.

It was a dress made of satin material with delicate lace decorations all over, completely pink as if embodying the essence of loveliness.

“What is this?”

It was a beautiful dress.

For just a moment—really, just a moment—I felt the urge to admire the abundant rare pearl decorations in the sunlight.

But I didn’t want to receive anything from the Emperor.

“Sabine, Sabine!”

As if I’d seen something I shouldn’t have, I carelessly threw the dress onto the table and called for Sabine.

“You called for me?”

Since it was close to tea time, Sabine entered immediately upon my call.

With a slightly flushed face, Sabine alternated glances between the dress sprawled on the table and me.

“W-what’s the matter?”

“Sabine.”

My hand gripping the dress hem tightened.

“Bring me scissors. The sharpest and most precise ones.”