She believed there was nothing left to fear. After all, this was her second chance, and all she wanted was for Benate and Donata to be brought down.

Strangely, this determination made her heart feel light.

Consequently, standing before Donata Seidler — the woman who had once destroyed her life — no longer frightened her. She concealed her true feelings behind a gentle smile, thereby stripping Donata of her greatest weapon — her mask.

It was something she could never have imagined doing in her previous life.

She had changed that much.

And yet—

“…”

Why was it that only Benate…

“Will you open the door.”

Ailie swayed, as though pulled by the voice beyond the door. Even if she tried to flee outside, there was nowhere to run.

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

A faint, wavering voice escaped her lips.

Click.

At the sound of the door opening, Ailie lowered her head. She had no idea why he had come, but it was certainly not for anything personal. He was not that kind of man.

He would say what he came to say—briefly—and then leave. There was no reason for their eyes to meet. There was no need to strain her neck to look up.

More than anything… there was no other way to avoid being pierced and wounded by that gaze of ice.

“What brings Your Majesty here?”

She forced down her true feelings and offered him a calm smile. She was already exhausted from dealing with Donata.

But the next moment—

“Do I need a reason to visit my empress?”

Before she was even aware of it, Ailie lifted her head and scanned the Emperor’s face.

Was he angry? Had she displeased him in some way?

Had he overheard her speaking to Donata about a marriage match?

After all, it would be reason enough for anyone to be furious: a nominal empress meddling in the romantic affairs of a man devoted to his mistress.

Yes. Otherwise, there was no reason for Benate to say such a thing.

Hiding her trembling hands behind her back, Ailie looked up at him with steady, pale blue eyes. But in the clear, unflinching gaze that met hers, something faint stirred:

Something that looked very much like concern.

“Well, I did come for a reason today.”

A reason…

Ailie shuddered as a cold tremor ran through her shoulders, and dark thoughts crowded her mind. It must be because of Donata. The moment she left the drawing room, she must have gone straight to the Emperor.

Benate, who adored Donata dearly, had come all the way to the Empress’s chambers in person.

“What… reason is that?”

Her cautious voice quivered at the end. Ailie cleared her throat quietly, trying to hide the trembling.

Benate spoke with effortless calm.

“I called for the physician yesterday. The empress did not seem well.”

“Ah… yes.”

“So I came to ask whether you were all right today.”

“…”

“How is your health, Empress?”

“…”

Ailie froze, unable to answer.

That shameless look of concern clinging to his blue eyes—his voice coated in a warmth that did not belong to him—made her stomach twist.

It felt nauseating.

Why was he pretending to be gentle?

Why was he suddenly acting like this since yesterday?

‘I truly don’t understand.’

Why?

He had never offered her a single kind word in her previous life, when she had so desperately longed for affection.

He had never even met her eyes.

Was he trying to turn her into a liar again?

To deceive the entire imperial palace, to make them believe he had always given her affection first, and she had been the one to reject it?

‘Is he trying to trick me again?’

Ailie stumbled backward.

Benate reached out a pale hand, but she moved away, placing her own hand against the wall to steady herself.

“Your complexion… is not good.”

She felt dizzy. Her stomach is churning.

Benate was nothing like the foolishly transparent Donata. With him, she could never tell what he was thinking or what he wanted. Sharing a room with him was unbearable.

Ailie wanted to run away. Far away. She wanted to bolt out of the palace gates right then and there.

“I should call the physician.”

Ailie shook her head. All she wanted was for Benate to stop paying her any attention. Just looking at him made her feel sick.

She could no longer endure his clumsy attempts at being a husband — this theatre with no discernible purpose.

“…Very well. Rest, then. I’ll take my leave.”

Finally, Benate lowered his head slightly, as if conceding defeat, and took a step back.

Ailie nodded, avoiding his worry-filled blue eyes.

“Yes, please go.”

She swallowed down the sharp retort that had almost slipped out. The thought of him leaving eased her nausea, if only slightly.

“I’ll inform the physician. Call for him whenever you need. Don’t just endure it.”

“…All right.”

When she finally managed a strained reply, Benate’s perfectly aligned eyebrows furrowed. He stood there in silence, watching the Empress as though he were displeased with how things were going.

How long did he stare like that?

The heavy silence pressed down on her.

“I hope you recover soon, Ailie.”

With those words, thud, the door closed.

His slow footsteps grew fainter… until they could no longer be heard at all.

Only then did Ailie collapse to the floor.

“Ailie…”

She murmured her own name under her breath.

Benate had called her that just moments ago. Or had she misheard in her confusion?

A long-buried memory resurfaced.

In the original novel, the emperor — the Benate she had loved before possessing this body — had always addressed Ailie by name in private. But the Benate she had met after her transmigration had never once called her that.

“I don’t know… I really don’t know anything about you anymore…”

If only he had remained indifferent as before, she would have been at peace. Her heart might have broken, but she would not have hesitated.

Staggering, Ailie rose and headed to her bed. If she slept, perhaps this confusion would fade. It was the only hope she had.

***

The following days passed quietly and peacefully, without a single disturbance.

Benate remained shut away in his office, absorbed in preparations for the international conference scheduled for the following month. Meanwhile, Donata — still clearly unsettled by their last encounter — did not once approach the imperial palace.

At last, Ailie found herself with some free time.

During the day, she strolled through the garden with her maid, Breni. Before sunset, she stopped by the archives to select a book for the evening. Then, until nightfall, she would read in silence, bringing her day to a close.

This routine reminded her of those early days after her possession, when time had crept by at an agonizingly slow pace and Breni had always been at her side, before Benate had entered her life.

‘It’s nice and quiet now that he’s busy.’

Ailie sat at her desk, flipping through information about wealthy commoners. With so much free time, the only task she had was arranging a marriage for Donata.

‘Preferably with someone terrible.’

Although her goal was revenge, Ailie couldn’t help but feel sorry for Donata Seidler when she thought about pairing her with an honest young man.

So, Ailie pored over every profile that Breni had gathered, determined to find a candidate with a questionable past.

She found a man who had been stripped of his title after being exposed as a tyrannical lord; yet he still possessed staggering wealth, even after paying enormous fines.

Another had once wandered a neighboring country as a thief, only to have a change of heart and donate a fortune to the empire later in life.

“These candidates are rather impressive.”

Stifling a laugh, Ailie set the documents aside. The list of promising options had already grown to over six.

She was thoroughly enjoying herself when—

Knock, knock.

Her shoulders jumped.

Ever since the day Benate had come to her room, she had become extremely sensitive to the sound of someone knocking.

Even knowing it was likely just Breni or another maid, her palms instinctively grew damp with tension.

Ailie exhaled slowly and waited for the voice outside the door.

“Your Majesty, it’s Breni.”

Thank goodness.

It wasn’t Benate this time either.

Her stiff shoulders loosened. She adjusted her posture and told her to come in.

As soon as she saw the maid’s round face appear through the doorway, Ailie grinned and spread the documents she was holding.

“Thanks to you, this makes things easier.”

“Oh, you’re already reviewing them?”

“Yes. I promised her, after all—Lady Seidler.”

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Upon hearing this, Breni burst into laughter. Previously, before Ailie returned, Breni would have glared fiercely and insisted that having a concubine was out of the question. However, now that the woman in question was the arrogant Lady Seidler, her reaction was entirely different.

After all, Lady Seidler had been insolent to the Empress. Beni had naturally devoted three full days to gathering these documents, insisting that this much retribution was only fair.

Feeling a faint, bitter twist rising inside her, Ailie shook her head to chase the thoughts away.

“Oh—goodness, how forgetful of me!”

Breni suddenly shrieked.

“What is it? Did you forget something important?”

“Well… Her Majesty the Dowager Empress has summoned you.”

“…The Dowager Empress?”

Thankfully, it wasn’t her husband; it was her mother-in-law, of all people.

The fragile peace Ailie had enjoyed over the past few days shattered instantly.

She pressed her throbbing temples.

Everything had begun to fall apart before she returned, when she told the dowager empress about the emperor’s infidelity.

Fortunately, she had returned to a point before she made that mistake, so nothing of that sort had happened this time.

‘It was the biggest mistake I made before my return.’

From the moment the dowager hurled the glass vase, Ailie’s life had spiraled into ruin. She had regretted it countless times. She shouldn’t have gone to her. She shouldn’t have spoken of the emperor’s affair.

“When did she say I should come?”

“She said anytime before sunset would be fine.”

“I see…”

“If Your Majesty would prefer not to go, I can tell her. I’ll say it was my fault for informing you late. Honestly, I did forget…”

“No, it’s fine.”

Ailie firmly refused her maid’s offer of help.

It was fine.

The situation was different now. All she needed to do was keep her mouth shut and be smart about it.

In her previous life, Ailie hadn’t made a single mistake. She had gradually been pushed aside, branded a sinner, and stripped of every foothold until she collapsed completely.

If she didn’t want to face the same future, she needed allies, however few. The more allies she gained, the less ground Benate would have later on.

‘She’ll defend her son Benate to the end… but Donata is different.’

First: don’t make mistakes.
Second: if possible, draw the dowager to her side.

Ailie gathered the documents she had been reviewing and rose from her seat.

“Let’s go now. The longer I wait, the more tangled my thoughts will become.”