She looked at him with a relaxed, victorious smile, silently pressuring him to approve her life extension.

“You’ve made it impossible for me not to listen next week.”

He was about to leave but stopped at the door.

“I acknowledge the empress’s exceptional talent.”

“What?”

She was dumbfounded, not understanding the situation.

But he left like the wind.

“Kyaa!”

After he left, she jumped, rolled around, and screamed with excitement.

She had received her first compliment from him.

Though it was after the halfway point of a 130-episode drama, she felt happy.

It felt like she had gained recognition, and from such a difficult person at that……

She felt rewarded for all her life-risking efforts.

High on praise, her energy overflowed, enough to surprise the attendants who came to dress her in the morning.

“Why is the empress in such a good mood today?”

“Her Majesty shared a bed with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Kyaa, it’s clear that the two love each other so much.”

“Our Empress captured that crazy—no, that frightening person. She’s truly amazing.”

Once again, the whispers of the attendants reached her ears, distorting the facts, but none of their words bothered her.

Sure, you all can talk~ I’ll go my own way.

She judged that such positive distortions wouldn’t be bad for her public image, especially given her goal of survival.

* * *

Returning to his palace, Charte fell into deep thought.

His face showed flashes of anger, slight smiles of satisfaction, and expressions of curiosity, disappointment, and frustration.

Finally, he seemed to be pondering something intently.

Though brief, his face had displayed a range of emotions.

Surprised by Charte’s unusually varied expressions, Viscount Catano and Imperial Guard Commander Rad looked at each other and began mouthing words.

‘I can’t tell what His Majesty’s mood is today. His expressions are unpredictable. No, it’s surprising that his expressions are changing at all.’

‘He definitely changes after sharing a bed with Her Majesty the Empress. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a bad sign.’

Careful smiles appeared on the faces of Viscount Catano and Commander Rad as they watched Charte.

Of course, Charte didn’t notice their gazes as he was too busy thinking about the next part of ⟨The Seduction of the Marked Wife⟩……

He suddenly felt tempted to move up their next bedtime, but decided to be patient for now.

If the empress realized how much he enjoyed the story, she might unnecessarily stretch it out, making it less entertaining.

Or she might become arrogant and create the story without putting in proper effort.

* * *

“Your Majesty the Empress, did you sleep well? I’ve brought tea.”

“Mary! How was your first night in the palace? Do you like it?”

“Of course, I slept soundly for the first time in years without nightmares.”

Mary quickly covered her mouth, looking troubled as if she had made a mistake.

How much bullying—no, abuse—must she have endured to find comfort in a strange place?

Looking at Mary with sympathetic eyes, she could sense her discomfort.

“That’s good. This is your home now, so don’t worry about anything.”

She pretended not to notice, sensing Mary’s desire to protect her parents despite the abuse she had suffered.

“By the way, isn’t it difficult doing work you’re not used to?”

“Not at all! Not at all! These are things I’ve always done. I’m good at cooking, cleaning, and laundry.”

Her face changed again to one that said, ‘Oops! I made a mistake.’

It seemed Mary had suffered more than just mental abuse.

She was clearly a real-life Cinderella.

The real version of Cinderella who was mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters.

She hoped Mary’s life would have a happy ending, just like Cinderella who married the prince and became queen.

Seeing her speak as if entering the palace was tremendous happiness made her feel sympathetic and pitiful.

While she was immersed in the sentiment of becoming a true older sister to Mary, her benefactor, Madam Peggy entered.

“Your Majesty the Empress, you need to attend a meeting regarding the charity auction event this morning.”

“Ah! That’s right. I forgot. I need to hurry and get ready.”

As Peggy led Yun-ah out, she gave Mary a disapproving look.

Mary’s face momentarily showed defeat, but once Yun-ah and Peggy left, it changed to one of resentment.

She then sat in the exact spot where Yun-ah had been sitting and drank Yun-ah’s tea.

“This is nice. I really like this position.”

Her face, smiling coldly, was filled with desire.

* * *

After finishing her preparations, she went to the meeting room where the charity auction event organizers had gathered.

It was the first meeting of a special team formed by people from three departments: Welfare, Economy, and Culture.

Since this was also her first state affair as empress, she sat down with slight nervousness.

I sat in the center seat, with Ivester in the first seat to my right.

Usually, department heads don’t join such special teams, but this damn Ivester had accomplished this difficult task that no one else had done.

Though Ivester’s affectionate gaze was burdensome, she focused on the meeting.

The meeting definitely felt different from the previous diplomatic delegation party.

While social duties were also important for an empress, having prepared for civil service for a long time, she found this kind of work more interesting and participated enthusiastically.

“Have we collected many items?”

“Your Majesty the Empress, though the cause is good, most nobles find this concept too unfamiliar and are reluctant to donate their cherished possessions. The few items they have provided are too insignificant to be of much help.”

“Then I’ll be the first to quickly provide an item.”

Though she ranked second in protocol order, her influence in social circles was not yet significant.

The staff members’ expressions remained gloomy, perhaps thinking that expecting a big response from the nobles was unrealistic.

Noticing this fact, she quickly looked at Ivester.

“Wouldn’t it help if Minister Pahorder also contributed quickly? The staff should lead by example.”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress, I will prepare something promptly.”

“Besides introducing the material value of the items, if we also collect stories about why these items are cherished and how precious they are, and share those stories at the auction, wouldn’t that increase their value?”

Everyone agreed it was a good idea.

After the meeting ended, as she was returning to the palace, Ivester chased after her, almost running, abandoning the dignity of the Minister of Economy.

“Your Majesty the Empress, I have something to discuss with you.”

While Ivester was indeed a helpful presence, as a friend who knew Leila well, he was more of a burden to her.

Especially in moments requiring private conversation rather than official business. It gave her more tension than a pressure interview.

Hiding these anxious feelings, she managed her expression and looked at Ivester.

* * *

After the morning meeting ended, Charte’s face was full of irritation as he worked in his office.

The words on the documents didn’t register at all.

His mind was completely filled with thoughts of ⟨The Seduction of the Marked Wife,⟩ driving him crazy.

He couldn’t think of anything but what would happen to Eun-hee after she moved into Gyo-min’s house.

But if he showed these feelings, the empress might become arrogant or deliberately stretch out the story to make it boring in order to live longer.

All morning he told himself to be patient just a little longer, but it wasn’t working.

As time passed, his curiosity only grew stronger.

‘Should I go see her tonight?’

After thinking it over, he felt he couldn’t wait until night.

He decided that if he was going to hear the story anyway, it would be better to hear it sooner.

‘Why am I being so cautious? I can just go. I’ll just extend her life by another week as per our contract.’

But somehow, saying that he wanted to hear the story quickly felt particularly difficult.

Strangely, it felt like losing, and his pride was hurt.

He also didn’t want to see the empress become arrogant.

But after struggling between his pride and his burning thirst for the story, he sighed in frustration and called for Viscount Catano.

“I will have lunch with the empress.”

“What?”

When Viscount Catano looked at him with a surprised face, he frowned, feeling awkward.

“What are you doing just standing there?”

“Ah, nothing. I’ll prepare right away.”

Since Yasrin’s departure, this was the first time Charte had dined with someone outside of official events, so Viscount Catano was beyond shocked, he was astonished.

But being a born aide, rather than collecting himself, he urgently sent word to the Empress’s Palace and prepared for the move.

* * *

Despite our distant relationship, to Ivester we were infinitely close, making our relationship something that I was always both grateful and uncomfortable with.

Hiding her feelings and wearing the mask of an empress, she looked at Ivester.

However, Ivester didn’t notice her anxious feelings at all and began the conversation with a bright, happy face.

“Leila, I was thinking about donating the birthday gift you gave me last year. Would that be okay?”

“Huh?”

“I think it could fetch a large sum…… I felt almost sorry for receiving such a wonderful gift back then.”

“Um…… that thing I gave you.”

‘Sigh, what could it be? What kind of gifts do friends exchange here?’

Realizing she wouldn’t find the answer by pondering alone, she quickly started thinking about how to escape this crisis.

“Yes, that one. When I received it, I had no idea a situation like this would arise.”

“……”

“You don’t actually forget what it is, do you?”

She looked at Ivester with an awkward smile.

“Ah, no. It’s not that, it’s just that I feel a bit sad, like a precious memory is disappearing.”

Ivester’s face was filled with apology.

Seeing Ivester’s reaction, she seized the opportunity and quickly changed the subject.

“As empress, I shouldn’t prioritize personal matters over public ones. I’m still so immature.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize for making such a thoughtless remark without considering the giver’s feelings.”

Ivester made a sincere apology with a face full of regret.

When Ivester apologized because of the words she had thrown out to escape the situation, she felt sorry instead.

So she smiled brightly at Ivester.

Because that was all she could do.

When she smiled widely, Ivester’s expression changed to one of being dazed.

Why is he acting like this?

Just then, a sharp voice was heard.

“It seems I’m interrupting.”