Although Louise had never thought she would become the empress of Araceli, it wasn’t difficult to imitate the elegant empress of Araceli.

After all, Louise was the lovely princess of Araceli who had grown up seeing her mother, Lepida, the owner of this position until just three years ago, every day.

“His Majesty the Emperor had to inevitably inform the maids of the empress’s palace… but I’m a bit worried if it’s alright to announce this fact to everyone. I say this sincerely.”

“Are you afraid that if it becomes known that I’ve finally become pregnant with His Majesty’s child, someone might harm me and the child in my womb?”

Margaret’s eyes narrowed as she watched Louise, who was still holding the teacup filled with warm water with both hands without losing her elegance.

She had no doubt that Margaret had just spoken sincerely, but usually, not only the maids of the empress’s palace but also most of the servants of the empress’s palace didn’t welcome Louise.

Rondimio had become the emperor of Araceli very quickly and had left the major nobles of Araceli who had sworn allegiance to him in their positions rather than dismissing them.

Even those nobles who had clearly uttered worthless lies for the sake of their families, assets, and the safety of their families.

They tried their hardest not to be caught by Rondimio, who was called the only tyrant in the history of the Araceli Empire, but that wasn’t the case before Louise.

Louise was a much weaker being compared to Rondimio, and they felt betrayed by the attention and love they had poured on Louise until now.

“I believe Your Majesty knows better.”

“You’re not saying you’ll protect me and the child in my womb. I understand. It’s all because of what I did.”

Louise looked at Margaret, who had slightly bowed her head, and smiled without malice.

Then she poured the almost cooling warm water into the teacup and drank it all without spilling a single drop, as if clinging to it. Somehow, she felt a burning sensation inside.

The lovely and beautiful Princess Louise, who had received the attention and love of all the members of the imperial family, nobles, and countless imperial citizens in the Araceli imperial family.

To think that such a Louise had fallen in love with a mere illegitimate prince of an enemy country, causing the death of her parents, the emperor and empress of Araceli, and selling out the Araceli Empire.

Even though Rondimio had abducted Louise and married her, everyone in the Araceli Empire knew that Louise had loved Rondimio from before.

Not only that, but also the fact that Louise had stolen the key to the underground prison of Araceli to help Rondimio escape, and that she still loved him even after losing her parents and family at Rondimio’s hands.

The imperial citizens who had loved Louise more than anyone had now completely turned their backs on her.

She still vividly remembered the imperial citizens she had encountered when she went outside the imperial palace with Rondimio. They had thrown rotten eggs at her and hurled all sorts of jeers.

A filthy woman who had sold her body and heart to an illegitimate child of an enemy country.

She remembered being called a woman who wasn’t even human, mixing bodies every night with the man who had killed her parents.

Unlike when she was a child and went outside the imperial palace holding her family’s hands, when everyone would offer freshly picked flowers and say, “Be happy! Princess Louise!”

Louise had no intention of denying her wrongdoings to them. Even Louise herself was regretting those wrongdoings.

“I should never have met Rondimio….”

Louise tightly gripped the now cold teacup and whispered so softly that Margaret, who was in the bedroom, couldn’t hear.

She had always thought she shouldn’t have met Rondimio, but…

At the same time, she thought that if she hadn’t met Rondimio, who was being abused in the underground prison, Rondimio might have died at the hands of her family by now.

If she hadn’t met Rondimio, who had given her more love than anyone and received even more love in return, one of the major reasons supporting her life would have disappeared.

“What should I do from now on…?”

“Are you… speaking to me, Empress?”

Margaret tilted her head at Louise’s sudden question.

Yes. What was certain was that she should no longer love Rondimio, nor feel guilty toward him who killed her parents and was trying to kill her brothers.

She wanted to safely give birth to the child in her womb, place the child in Rondimio’s arms, and then completely leave Rondimio’s embrace.

“Margaret. His Majesty the Emperor promised to let me meet my brothers in the underground prison once the child in my womb enters a stable period. Isn’t that wonderful news?”

At Louise’s second sudden statement of the day, Margaret’s thoughts, the maid who didn’t like Louise, silently tumbled in her head.

Louise knew that Margaret’s father, Marquis Miko, didn’t particularly like Rondimio. And also that he didn’t yet have enough power to kill him.

Louise was planning to eventually leave Rondimio’s embrace completely. If possible, together with her brothers imprisoned in the underground prison.

Rondimio was extremely perceptive, so she had to be careful with all her actions.

So that she would always appear as the lovely empress in his eyes.

* * *

Louise ran to Rondimio, who had returned after finishing the imperial grand council that had been postponed for a day, and embraced him with a bright smile like before.

For breakfast, a salad with tangy lemon dressing and freshly baked warm cinnamon rolls. For lunch, a sandwich with only lettuce and bacon.

For dinner, she had decided to eat sweet chocolate fondue with Rondimio in the bedroom, which genuinely made her feel good, but what made her feel even better was that she had made her future plans more concrete.

She planned to meet nobles who would help her brothers escape before meeting her brothers in the underground prison. So she needed to somehow get closer to Margaret and meet Marquis Miko as soon as possible.

Rondimio seemed to like Louise’s unusually more affectionate behavior, as he kissed her forehead with an expression as if he would die of lovesickness.

“They say pregnant women develop cravings. If there’s anything you want to eat, tell me like you did today. I’ll get you anything.”

“Your Majesty has always gotten me whatever I wanted to eat, even before I was pregnant.”

“That’s true…. Ah, Louise, what more should I do for you and the child in your womb? I’m so happy I don’t know what to do.”

Rondimio, who had brought plenty of bright red strawberries despite it not being their season, deeply dipped a strawberry into melted chocolate with a small fork and then pulled it out.

Louise, who was munching on the strawberry chocolate fondue that Rondimio had fed her, didn’t avoid Rondimio’s touch as he approached her.

“Today, may I kiss you, Louise?”

“Yes.”

Louise didn’t avoid but swallowed Rondimio’s lips as he tried to kiss her, which they couldn’t do yesterday. The sweet chocolate melting on the tips of their intertwined tongues somehow tasted only bitter.

Just like Louise’s feelings toward Rondimio.

“I love you, Your Majesty.”

From now on, I will thoroughly deceive you, Rondimio.

Louise smiled brightly at him.

* * *

The next morning.

“Congratulations, Empress!”

Hiding her bitter feelings at the belated congratulations from the imperial physicians, Louise smiled brightly.

Even though Louise had clearly said she had received a pregnancy diagnosis from the empress’s palace physician, Rondimio had insisted on getting another diagnosis from a different imperial physician, creating the current situation.

The empress’s palace physician was the former emperor’s person, not Rondimio’s.

Yet the reason Rondimio hadn’t dismissed him until now was because he was extremely skilled as a physician.

Despite everyone’s opposition, Rondimio thought Louise needed a competent physician and had allowed him into the empress’s palace, but….

The empress’s palace physician had recommended medicine to terminate the child to Louise.

Could it be that Rondimio found out about this and dismissed the empress’s palace physician?

Just yesterday, the empress’s palace physician dedicated to Louise had been replaced with someone else. The imperial physician who had long attended to the former emperor and was one of Louise’s few remaining people had disappeared without a trace.

“Even though I told him I was pregnant with a child….”

I told you, Rondimio, without hiding the fact of my pregnancy any longer… but you’re always so harsh to me.

Louise, who had been hanging her head low with a gloomy face, drove the imperial physicians who had confirmed her pregnancy for the second time out of the bedroom.

She was curious about exactly when the child in her womb had been conceived and when the stable period that Rondimio had promised to let her meet her brothers would be, but she couldn’t know exactly even if she asked the imperial physicians.

Louise typically had very irregular periods. And since she had s*x with Rondimio almost every day, there was no way to gauge which day the child had entered her womb.

It was strangely fascinating that she had a thoughtless past where she truly loved Rondimio, the enemy who had killed her parents, and desperately wanted a child who resembled him.

At that moment, Rondimio gently wrapped his arms around Louise’s slender waist as she was recalling memories of the past.

“I’m not doubting you. Since they mentioned having difficulty conceiving for a long time, I thought it would be a good idea to get a thorough evaluation.”

“You know how much I love Your Majesty.”

“Yes. That’s why. I don’t doubt you, Louise. There’s no chance that you’re carrying another man’s child.”

Completely enveloped in Rondimio’s large embrace, Louise blinked, wondering if she had understood correctly.

I resolved to no longer love you, Rondimio, whom I once loved, but that doesn’t mean I would love another man.

Because you, Rondimio, will forever be my first and last love.