The weapon had been too insignificant and not powerful enough, so Divlik’s wound wasn’t very deep. But Finn was furious to the point of seething.

“I should cut off that woman’s head and hang it on the city gate right now to feel better!”

Finn tried to leave the bedroom as soon as the wound treatment was finished, but Divlik stopped him again.

“What reason do you have to stop me this time? This time, I absolutely cannot let this stand!”

“Set up a gallows in the square after the coronation.”

“A gallows? Excellent thinking!”

For the first time since conquering Yarden, Finn found Divlik’s order satisfying.

And in truth, now wasn’t the time to focus on that matter. What was more important was how to successfully conduct Divlik’s coronation. This was the day Divlik would appear before the world as emperor, so there couldn’t be the slightest deficiency.

“Lord Finn, the tailor has arrived. What should we do?”

“Send him in.”

Just then, Andre entered with a knock, carrying the uniform. Finn, seemingly wanting to change the atmosphere, snatched the uniform Andre brought with exaggerated movements.

“You’ve made it properly, right?”

“You can consider that my craftsmen and I poured our souls into it.”

Without even asking if Divlik wanted to change clothes, Finn positioned him in front of the mirror. Up to that point, Finn still seemed angry, but upon seeing Divlik in the nearly completed uniform standing before the mirror, his mood completely lifted, and he kept exclaiming in admiration with shining eyes.

“Now you truly look like an emperor. No, I misspoke. Regardless of what you wear, you are the emperor, Lord Divlik, but wearing that outfit further reveals your imperial nobility and dignity.”

“Are you pleased with it? Even to my eyes as its creator, you look perfect.”

It was no exaggeration that this man was the finest tailor in Yarden Empire beyond Hael. Divlik’s clothes were perfect, from the balance to even the thickness of the decorative threads at each hem. It looked as if the outfit alone had crossed over from some divine realm specifically for Divlik.

“Looking at this, I wonder if Lord Divlik might actually be from a noble family.”

“Me?”

“Seeing how well these clothes suit you.”

It wasn’t just that the clothes were well-made; they suited Divlik exceptionally well.

The fine silk shirt, thick cotton pants, and thin lambskin belt fit Divlik’s body perfectly, as if he had worn such clothes all his life.

One might say his birth appeared elegant, or that he looked like someone of noble blood destined to be emperor from the beginning. It felt completely different from Finn himself, who never looked natural no matter how fine the clothes he wore.

Despite Finn’s praise, Divlik seemed uninterested in the uniform. After briefly scanning his appearance in the mirror, he looked toward the other box held by the tailor’s assistants.

“Did you bring Eva’s dress as well?”

“Yes, Lord Divlik.”

“Show it to me first.”

Andre confidently opened the box and took out Eva’s dress as if this too was a masterpiece, but Divlik frowned as if displeased.

“You seem to have misunderstood my words.”

“What……?”

“A dress this modest for a woman who serves in bed…… Bring scissors.”

* * *

“My goodness, how could such a revealing…… Andre. How could you bring such a dress?”

Hannah’s mouth fell open when Andre, who had visited the empress’s bedroom for fitting, displayed the dress he had brought. It was clearly the kind of dress suited for the women staying in the east annex.

Even the dress Eva had just changed into seemed like it might slip off her shoulders and fall to the floor if she made the slightest mistake.

All the clothes Andre brought were like this. Some dresses revealed not just cleavage but half the br*ast, while others had skirts slit up to the left thigh, allowing a view deep into Eva’s inner thigh whenever she moved her legs.

“I didn’t create these like this, Eva. I went to see Lord Divlik first, and he cut them this way, ordering modifications. Can’t you see the fresh cutting marks? Do you think I would design something like this, cutting the fabric and leaving it unfinished?”

Divlik had said he disliked the clothes Andre had made, Hannah explained. Moreover, not just ordering modifications but tearing them apart with his own hands meant he intended to openly treat Eva like a cheap woman.

“Eva, it looks bad now, but if we finish the cut edges properly, add good lace, and include shoulder straps, it won’t look so terrible to wear.”

But Divlik’s intention slightly missed the mark—Eva didn’t look like a street woman despite exposing so much skin. The fabric used to make the dress was so expensive that most people couldn’t even consider buying it, and Eva had always shone with her own light even when wearing worn-out dresses.

“Even so…… Eva, what should we do? Andre, couldn’t you make something like a cape to wear over the dress?”

“I could make one, but……”

Though his intention hadn’t worked, Eva revealing parts she wouldn’t normally show was so captivating it was difficult to look at her casually.

Andre thought that if Divlik became infatuated with Eva because of this, declaring he didn’t care about the title of empress or imperial consort and wanted only Eva by his side, burying his face in her chest and losing his reason, he as a fellow man would understand. Even Andre, whose professional consciousness had always kept him composed when seeing anyone’s body, was now trembling as he pinned the dress.

“If that’s what he wants, I’ll wear it this way.”

Though Eva felt empty seeing her bare skin reflected in the mirror where fabric should have been, she had no luxury to complain about clothes. She was willing to wear such clothes if they made her appear seductive to Divlik.

“What do you think, Andre? Do I look like a woman you’d want to embrace when I wear this dress?”

“What? No, Eva. How could someone like me dare to……”

Unable to read the desire Andre desperately concealed, Eva ran her finger across her neck and the exposed upper part of her chest.

“You ask me to do something I cannot do, and I feel lost.”

Would exposing her body like this be enough to seduce Divlik? Eva sighed deeply as she looked at herself in the mirror. Had she ever worn such clothes before, or even encountered a woman wearing such clothes?

—Mia. Mia Moore, Eva.

Yes, she had, just recently. Eva recalled Mia wearing clothes similar to what she now wore in the mirror. The other women were dressed similarly so she hadn’t paid much attention, but they were clothes deliberately designed to stimulate men’s desires, with lace covering most of the chest and legs.

—Would you take in the pitiful me, Eva?

Come to think of it, which was Mia’s true self? When Eva first saw her, Mia hadn’t seemed suited to clothes that revealed her figure like Eva’s, but in front of the dining hall, clothes that exposed her chest had strangely suited her well.

As if sensing Eva’s thoughts, there was a knock and the women staying in the east annex appeared beyond the door.

“Excuse me, Eva.”

This time too, Mia was nowhere to be seen among the group.

“We’re leaving the castle early tomorrow and came to say goodbye to you, Eva.”

The women, who had completely lowered their guard after that one reception when Divlik was away from the castle, greeted Eva with the utmost courtesy. Yet they seemed puzzled by Eva’s changed attire, repeatedly scanning her clothes with their eyes.

Even knowing it would greatly damage the dignity she had barely reclaimed as a former empress, Eva barely suppressed the heat rising to her face from shame as she asked,

“Have you…… seduced many men?”

“Seduced?”

“Of course. Our living conditions depend on who we can wrap around our little fingers.”

“But why do you ask? Do you need to seduce someone? With clothes like those……”

Eva couldn’t just exchange greetings and pretend not to know these women who likely understood men better than anyone. With them leaving early tomorrow, this was her only chance to ask.

“How can one seduce a man? How…… can one satisfy him?”

Surprised by this unexpected question from Eva, the three women looked at each other in bewilderment. Watching them exchange glances was extremely uncomfortable for her.

“Since we don’t know Lord Divlik’s preferences, we’ll share what we know.”

Fortunately, the women seemed to have grasped Eva’s situation during their stay. Guessing these skills would be used on Divlik, they answered without hesitation.

“Some men are stimulated by seeing just one leg slightly exposed like this.”

“Others are aroused by dresses that cover everything down to the ankles, not showing any flesh at all.”

“But he’ll probably prefer some skin showing. The dress you’re wearing now will help.”

However, their answers weren’t particularly helpful to Eva. Fundamentally, these women typically seduced men who came looking for such women, and satisfied men who came determined to find satisfaction. Above all, individual preferences varied too greatly.

“For a man’s satisfaction, the most important thing is probably that the woman is satisfied too, wouldn’t you say?”

“I see.”

Eva pretended not to know that a woman’s satisfaction was necessary for a man’s satisfaction, but this wasn’t new information to her. Eva secretly sighed as unwanted memories surfaced.

She had experienced this before. Nights with Fabian who insisted he could only be satisfied if Eva was, who persistently bit her neck and wouldn’t let go until Eva reached her final point.

“You don’t necessarily need to actually reach climax. Plenty of men are fooled by acting.”

If she couldn’t fool Fabian, could she fool Divlik?