Chapter 2 – Part 1 (You Come Too.It’s your first time in the empire, right?)

Rohayden van der Helvern was handsome.

As his surname suggested, he was an emperor. The young ruler of the Helvern Empire, rumored to be as beautiful as a god. He was twenty-seven years old this year and, as was widely known, had yet to start a family.

A young, capable, unmarried, and handsome emperor.

Nobles with marriageable daughters were in an uproar, popping champagne in celebration. It was a subject no longer worth discussing.

Even people from other continents envied the idea of such a suitor, wondering where they could find one like him. There was no need to nitpick. He wasn’t just a concubine prospect; he was the legitimate spouse-to-be.

There was no need to worry about the emperor siring a slew of illegitimate children, given his disinterest in women. Once married and with a son, that child would naturally become the next emperor.

The eyes of married nobles, eager to become royal in-laws, widened with expectation as they gathered their daughters.

“Listen, girls, understand? You need to marry well for our family to thrive.” Their daughters, mostly in their late teens, responded half in compliance and half in rebellion. “Yes, I understand. I’ll keep it in mind.” “No! I’ll marry someone I love!”

In the meantime, an imperial portrait of the emperor began circulating in secret. No one knew how it ended up in circulation, but curious young noblewomen, after hearing their parents’ urging to become the empress, secretly purchased it.

Though expensive on the black market, pooling their money together made it manageable. They would bring the portrait to their gatherings and pass it around.

And soon, the daughters were in an uproar.

No matter how skillfully painted, portraits rarely captured a person’s full likeness. Usually, capturing even half of someone’s looks was considered a success. Yet, this portrait was astonishingly handsome. From a mere painting!

If the portrait was this good, what would the real thing be like?

The half who had declared they’d marry for love quickly changed their tune. “Actually, I’ve always loved His Majesty.” And so, Rohayden became the most sought-after groom in the empire. This all happened not long after he ascended to the throne.

With a goal set, the next step was action. Both parents and daughters spared no effort in their pursuit of the empress’s title.

The first strategy was simple: physical.

Though the young emperor had little interest in women, he was no eunuch. Nobles even held a lottery to decide whose daughter would be the first to sneak into his chambers, beautifully dressed, at night.

The family chosen wept tears of joy, uncorking a bottle of wine passed down through generations.

But what they received was not favor, but fury.

The emperor was livid. “If you want to see me reenact what I did when I ascended the throne, go ahead and try that again,” he coldly retorted.

To claim the throne, the emperor had walked a path soaked in blood. The nobles, concerned for their own necks, thought to themselves, “This method won’t work.”

Failing on the first try didn’t mean giving up right away. That would show a lack of perseverance. Next in line was the second attempt.

One well-known romantic in high society claimed that fate, not force, would win over the emperor. “Even someone like him, who doesn’t have a taste for casual affairs, must long for love,” he argued.

Thus, a flood of “accidental” meetings began. Beautiful women would bump into the emperor around every corner, drop handkerchiefs as they passed by, or “mistakenly” run into him on the terrace.

While the emperor took walks outside, women would faint before him regularly. Sometimes, several at once.

The emperor endured this for a year, half out of pity for their efforts and half out of curiosity to see how far they would go. Occasionally, a woman would push things too far and irritate him, but that was rare, and most stayed within acceptable bounds.

After all, the goal was to make him fall in love, not to earn his ire. So they persisted, carefully.

By the second year, however, the emperor became suddenly very busy. Burdened by his duties, he had no time for romantic games, and the chances of an “accidental” meeting grew slim.

How could they approach him when he never showed his face? With the emperor confined to his chambers, buried in work, the noblewomen were left frustrated, helpless, and anxious. They couldn’t barge into his quarters, only to be thrown out and scorned.

During this period of frustration, a rumor began to spread.

“His Majesty has been frequenting a garden lately.”

Indeed, around that time, Rohayden had taken to visiting the imperial gardens. Not only did he walk through them, but he also began tending to the plants himself. He had recently discovered that the act of gardening soothed his mind.

The garden. It was the perfect space to visit when he needed a break from the stresses of governance.

When the noblewomen learned the rumor was true, they descended upon the garden.

For the first time, the emperor felt dizzy at the sight of women. ‘My precious space. My place of healing.’ The moment a flower, which he had recently succeeded in cultivating, was crushed under a noblewoman’s heel, the emperor finally lost his temper.

He had tolerated them until now, but no longer. The noblewomen who trespassed into the garden and caused damage were punished. Their families weren’t exempt either. Collective responsibility was enforced.

After that sweeping purge, peace finally returned. No noblewoman dared step foot in the emperor’s garden again.

…It seemed that way.

The emperor did not understand women well. Unlike the nobles who had given up after the emperor’s clear warning of “Try that again, and you’ll see,” the women were far more persistent. The peace was only temporary. Soon, they found a new strategy.

‘The emperor tends to his garden, doesn’t he? Then all we have to do is present ourselves as companions who can share that interest.’

Thus began the ‘Great Era of Acting’.

There was acting as if they had lost their way and stumbled upon the garden by chance. Acting as if they were so mesmerized by the beauty of the garden that they simply couldn’t leave. Acting as if they had tended to gardens since childhood, finding joy in cultivating plants every day. They acted as though they loved gardens, adored them, and believed that gardens were the best thing in the world.

Some were awkward in their performances, but a few were true masters, award-worthy in their craft. They were perfect. Even the emperor was initially fooled. He believed, “This woman truly loves the garden. Just like me, she finds peace here.” He was completely taken in, trusting and believing in them.

But no matter how skillfully someone acts, lies cannot last forever. Even the best deception is eventually uncovered, and that’s just how the world works. When trust is betrayed, the anger is often far more intense.

Infuriated, the emperor summoned the nobles immediately and made a proclamation.

“I swear, I will never take an empress from among the people of this empire.”

If an heir was ever needed, he would rather take a foreign bride. That was his decision, and he dismissed them all.

And so, the noblewomen, who had worked so hard to pursue the dream of becoming empress, were collectively left like dogs chasing chickens—hopeless and defeated.

That was already a story from several years ago.

***

“Postpone today’s lunch for a while,” Rohayden said as he placed his pen down after signing the last document. The response came from a young man standing at his right.

“Do you have an appointment?”

The man was well-built, with tanned skin and a balanced physique that signaled his position even more clearly than the sword at his waist. His neatly arranged features gave him a look of straightforwardness, almost rigid.

Rohayden glanced up at the seemingly uptight man and responded leisurely.

“I have someone to meet.”

“A woman?”

“Hmm? What a surprise. Are you taking an interest in my personal affairs now?”

“I recently had my fortune read. They said there’s a warrior destined to save the nation among the women you meet, so I should pay attention.”

“You’re usually sensible, but it’s your occasional belief in strange things that’s a problem.”

Rohayden chuckled softly as he stood up. The time had come. Any further delay would keep the person waiting. As he rose, a servant quickly approached to attend to him. After tidying up, Rohayden casually left the office.

“Don’t be too late. The Marquis of Sozoba is as narrow-minded as his name suggests,” came the young man’s final reminder before the door closed. Rohayden nodded slightly without turning back. He had heard and understood.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories