Six months ago.

“Where have you been until now? Didn’t you receive the message that His Majesty would be visiting today!”

As soon as Aristie entered the room, a thunderous scolding flew at her. Duke Yentrice had been anxiously waiting for her arrival. His furrowed brow and glaring expression showed quite an angry demeanor.

It’s understandable. Despite receiving prior notice, she dared to keep His Majesty the Emperor waiting.

“I’m sorry, Father. Some of the items I ordered arrived late. I was delayed waiting for them.”

Aristie hurriedly took off her shawl and sat in front of the mirror. The maids who followed her attached themselves to her sides and began to touch up her makeup with practiced hands.

Despite her apology, the Duke’s face reflected in the mirror was even more enraged than before. Following the fact of her tardiness, the reason for it was also displeasing.

“Did you go to the merchant guild with the servants again? I’ve told you so many times that the secretary is in charge of that side of things, so you don’t need to worry about it! You should just be diligently taking your bride lessons……”

“I am taking my bride lessons well.”

Aristie sharply cut off her father’s words without thinking.

Realizing her mistake, she continued in a much gentler tone.

“You can check with Marchioness Hildeber if you’d like. I’m diligently attending my studies, various events, and even social gatherings.”

Even as she answered like this, the Duke’s expression only grew more and more severe.

Just as he had always been dissatisfied with whatever she did.

“Please try to understand just a little, Father.”

Even knowing it was pointless, Aristie pleaded with her father in an attempt to persuade him.

“Managing the merchant guild is also part of my education. It will surely help in managing the imperial finances when I become Empress in the future.”

She knew why her father disapproved of her involvement in the merchant guild.

His wife, who had been active in expanding the business, lost her life in an accident while inspecting the guild, and now his daughter was acting exactly like her mother, so how could he view it favorably?

But her mother had passed away when she was seven years old, and a long time had passed since then. Although Aristie usually obeyed her father out of fear, at times, it was hard to endure when he tried to control her by overlapping her with her mother.

“Imperial finances? Hmph, you can only take charge of such things after safely getting married.”

The Duke coldly mocked his daughter as she finished her makeup and stood up.

“Do you know how much the nobles ridicule your brother’s stupid way of speaking behind his back? They’re even saying that you, who have been designated as the future Empress, should be replaced with a new candidate because of it. They ask what if the future prince happens to inherit your brother’s stutter.”

Aristie was shocked at these terrible words.

“What? That’s absurd! Brother just has an accident-induced……”

“I know! Why wouldn’t I know!”

Her small rebellion became the fuse that set off the Duke’s shouting. The Duke yelled at the top of his lungs as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Yes, Aiden’s stutter isn’t hereditary! But that doesn’t matter! After all, what people believe isn’t the truth, but plausible lies!”

The Duke’s enraged finger pointed violently out the window.

“Their goal is to make Aiden’s flaw the flaw of our family. And is it just Aiden? Until the marriage, all sorts of rumors and slander will circulate. To bring you down!”

“……”

“Yet you, far from being cautious, keep stirring up trouble. If you give them any excuse, how will you take responsibility!”

“……”

Aristie kept biting her lips to suppress the rebuttal that was trying to burst out. It was too cruel a statement, but on the other hand, it was an undeniable reality.

The small spark of rebellion quickly died down. She lowered her gaze and neatly clasped her hands together, answering in her usual submissive attitude.

“……I’m sorry. I’ll be mindful from now on.”

“……”

The Duke’s cheek twitched.

He wanted to lecture her to the point of brainwashing, but he couldn’t delay any longer as an important guest was waiting.

Still, his mood wasn’t improved, so he shot out his words as sharp as a knife.

“Let me tell you what you need to keep in mind. Never be late for an appointment with His Majesty the Emperor again. You will obey His Majesty’s words unconditionally, and you must never show even a moment of carelessness at any time. Do you understand!”

“Yes.”

“Go now. His Majesty is in the garden.”

***

Aristie, who had left the mansion, headed towards the rose garden as instructed by the maid.

There are a total of three themed gardens in the Yentrice ducal estate, among which the rose garden was renowned for its splendor and beauty.

That’s why it was customary to escort distinguished guests there when they visited. In other words, it meant that the rose garden wasn’t a particularly peaceful place for her.

Because it was a place where she had to put on a smile for long periods of time while dealing with difficult people.

On days like today when the Emperor visited, she felt even more uncomfortable. But that wasn’t because of the Emperor, it was entirely because of her father.

Her father wanted to restore the family’s honor that was tarnished by her brother through her marriage. Due to her father’s interference and surveillance, obsessed with that single-minded goal, she came to increasingly avoid meetings with the Emperor.

‘It’s suffocating…’

Aristie entered the garden, agonizing inwardly. At the entrance, two knights, known respectively as the Emperor’s ‘Lion’ and ‘Hawk’, stood guard.

“You have arrived, my lady.”

“We greet you, my lady.”

“You always work so hard.”

As the knights offered their polite greetings, Aristie returned them lightly.

Rhion and Zephyros. The captain of the Kirvatan, the Emperor’s direct knight order, and the personal guard of the Emperor belonging to the Imperial Guard.

Surprisingly, they were twins.

The strange thing was that while they clearly had the same appearance, their impressions were distinctly different.

Rhion exuded an unapproachable solemnity and restrained beauty, while Zephyros was, how to put it… light yet somehow seductive.

That difference was probably due to their eyes. Zephyros’s alluring blue-violet eyes were often a topic of conversation among the young ladies.

In fact, their faces should be even more talked about. If only their lord, the Emperor’s radiance, wasn’t so overwhelmingly brilliant.

“Please enter. His Majesty is waiting.”

The two made way and ushered Aristie inside. Aristie walked down the elaborately decorated flower path, hiding her uncomfortable feelings with a smile.

Where the diverse flower fragrances reached their peak, there was a man waiting for her.

It was Khalid Arcadian Isha Ferzen, the Emperor of the Great Ferzen Empire and her fiancé.

“I greet the sun of the Empire.”

Aristie paid her respects to the Emperor with impeccably graceful movements.

Khalid, who had been sitting leisurely with his long legs crossed, waited for her to raise her head before reproaching her.

“I told you to stop with such stiff greetings, yet you insist every time.”

“It’s the proper etiquette that I should observe as Your Majesty’s subject.”

‘…That’s the excuse, but if I make even a small mistake, I’ll suffer at the hands of my father.’

Aristie inwardly added while closely observing the maids bringing in tea. They were all women with lively personalities who usually followed her well.

But which one of them could be reporting her every move? Without an informant, there’s no way her father could be so clearly aware of her minor mistakes.

‘Are they being paid? Or perhaps out of jealousy towards me…?’

Though it might sound like an overinflated sense of self-importance, Aristie pondered seriously. Having been subjected to numerous instances of envy and slander throughout her life, it was a reasonable suspicion for her to have.

There were various reasons. Beauty, status, wealth, and power.

But what made most women most envious of her was…

“Sit down. I want to talk comfortably with you.”

None other than Emperor Khalid sitting in front of her.

Khalid. He was truly a man who could only be described as perfect in every aspect. Even the past emperors, all praised as handsome men, could not have anticipated that such a masterpiece would be born from the imperial bloodline.

His jet-black hair, though neatly combed, hinted at wildness, and his golden eyes, catching the light, emitted a mysterious radiance that mesmerized onlookers.

Though he appeared slender due to his tall stature, Aristie knew that solid muscles were tightly packed beneath his stylish formal attire.

She had realized this when she once saw Khalid immersed in sword training with his upper body bare.

Broad shoulders tapering to a tight waist. Countless muscles ceaselessly undulating, drenched in sweat. His body, which she had accidentally witnessed, was so sensual that it made her lower abdomen feel hot just by looking at it.

“The tea tastes good.”

“……”

Of course, it’s not just his appearance that’s being referred to as a masterpiece. Aristie gazed at the Emperor, who was smiling gently while holding his teacup.

Meanwhile, she was inwardly recalling one historical fact that he had accomplished.

The incident where an enraged Khalid erased an entire kingdom from the map.

Originally, the Ferzen imperial family was known to be of dragon lineage. Based on that bloodline, they had conquered the continent early on and established a great empire.

Although the empire had enjoyed peace and prosperity under strong imperial authority, there had been a crisis in recent years, namely the war with the Kingdom of Cordio three years ago.

Upon hearing news that the Emperor was ill, the King of Cordio harbored ambitions and invaded the empire.

—Pathetic fools. I’ll annihilate them.

The retribution was thorough and merciless. Khalid, who was the Crown Prince at the time, immediately led the army and set out, decimating the Cordio royal army in a matter of months.

Not content with that, he beheaded the enemy king, subjugated the kingdom, and placed his uncle on the throne of Grand Duke to rule.

Now, the name ‘Cordio’ could not be found anywhere on the continent. Only the vassal state of the empire, transformed into the Grand Duchy of Brighton, remained.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”