From Liliana, the current empress’s perspective, Roshan might be an uncomfortable topic. Although Roshan himself had said he would step down from the position of crown prince if a child was born to her, the future was uncertain.

Moreover, while a select few of the emperor’s concubines repeatedly experienced pregnancies and miscarriages, Liliana had not shown any signs of pregnancy. Because of this, people had much to say behind their backs about the already not-so-good relationship between the emperor and empress.

“Lady Ledis, really. Such things are for men to gossip about.”

Marchioness Davita, who could be considered one of the empress’s people, indirectly rebuked Lady Ledis. The countess finally noticed Liliana’s reaction and closed her mouth.

But surprisingly, Liliana showed no signs of displeasure. Instead, as the conversation about Roshan lengthened, she blushed slightly and her eyes sparkled.

Some of the ladies exchanged uncomfortable glances at Liliana’s reaction. A few who were sitting far from her were even bold enough to whisper to each other.

“Didn’t you know? Her Majesty the Empress was His Highness the Crown Prince’s fiancée for over 10 years.”

“I guess it’s true that Her Majesty the Empress sheds tears whenever His Highness goes to war.”

As the whispers spread, Marchioness Davita looked around and cleared her throat a couple of times. At that signal, everyone fell silent.

“What kind of dress is everyone planning to wear to the winter banquet? I’m thinking of decorating my collar with white fox fur from the north.”

“Oh my. That would be beautiful.”

Marchioness Davita changed the subject with a smile. The ladies close to her followed along, naturally steering the atmosphere.

The tea time between the empress and the ladies returned to a cheerful mood. But at the center of the tea time, at the highest position, Liliana merely stirred her tea with a teaspoon, her face now cooled of its earlier warmth.

* * *

“Your Majesty the Empress. I shall take my leave now.”

Marchioness Davita withdrew. Two of Liliana’s maids accompanied her outside the Ivory Palace with gloomy faces.

“The marchioness?”

“She’s gone. How is it inside?”

“As expected.”

Back inside the Ivory Palace, the atmosphere was tense as anticipated. The two maids who returned and another who had been biting her nails while waiting entered the reception room where their mistress was with nervous faces.

And as soon as they entered, a teacup came flying. Crash! With the sharp sound and flying fragments, the maids almost let out high-pitched screams but covered their mouths.

“You’ve been well trained. I should praise the head maid.”

Liliana spoke softly as she looked at them. Her face, smiling with slightly narrowed eyes, appeared merciful. However, to the maids, the current Liliana was nothing but terrifying. They had recently seen a colleague who had screamed and met a terrible fate.

“Tell the servants to clean that up, and you come help me change clothes.”

One of the three maids, the most perceptive, bowed and hurried out to fetch a servant, while the remaining two followed Liliana with trembling bodies. Soon, a bedroom decorated with all sorts of precious items appeared.

“How suffocating it was. I want to take this off quickly.”

As Liliana muttered while entering the dressing room attached to the bedroom, the maids following her moved their hands swiftly. Their careful manner showed their determination not to upset their mistress’s mood.

When Liliana returned to the bedroom with light steps after changing clothes without incident, Luna, the maid closest to Liliana, entered without knocking as the door opened.

“Luna. You’re late.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

But no one in the room found Luna’s rudeness strange. In a way, it was natural. Luna had been with Liliana since long before she became empress, and Liliana cherished her more than anyone.

“You may leave now.”

At Luna’s appearance, Liliana waved her hand, and the maids withdrew with relief. After watching the maids leave, Liliana sat in front of her vanity. Luna immediately began tidying her hair with a brush.

“So, how is that princess doing?”

Liliana had been on edge since the princess of Sedas arrived in the Empire. Not only was she annoyed by people endlessly praising the princess’s beauty, but it was unbearable when Roshan and the princess were mentioned together.

‘Roshan only went to war as the commander-in-chief…… Why does everyone mention him along with that wench?’

Her displeasure had subsided somewhat when the princess was confined to a tower for being cursed, but it still occasionally irritated her like a splinter under a fingernail. That’s why Liliana had ordered Luna to secretly find out about the princess who had been brought as a prisoner as soon as her name came up during tea time with the ladies.

“I couldn’t see her directly since access is restricted, but I heard she lives with just one commoner maid. Moreover, the supplies and food quantities going in are terrible……”

“Oh, poor thing. She can’t even dress properly.”

“She can’t even dream of such things. Well, that’s natural. She’s a prisoner, and a cursed one at that. It’s already great mercy that she wasn’t killed immediately.”

“……That’s right. Why wasn’t she killed?”

“Pardon?”

After briefly smiling at hearing about Yerena’s terrible treatment, Liliana tilted her head.

“If she’s cursed, they could just kill her. No matter how beautiful she is, if she’s a cursed woman, that fool would surely be disgusted……”

Liliana knew Emperor Kedrick well, who not only blindly believed the high priest’s words but also followed all sorts of superstitions. She looked at herself in the mirror with a serious face and muttered.

“……Is she beautiful enough to overlook that?”

“No woman in the Empire can match Your Majesty the Empress’s beauty.”

“You’re getting better at flattery.”

Luna quickly lavished praise on Liliana’s appearance as she brushed her hair. Although Liliana called it flattery, she seemed pleased as she examined herself in the mirror and smiled. But suddenly, she spoke with a sad expression.

“But Luna. I’m so worried I can’t bear it.”

“……”

“It was His Highness who brought that wench, wasn’t it? If His Highness has been captivated by her face as the rumors say……”

“That’s impossible. Your Majesty knows His Highness’s personality best…… In all these years, the only woman he has shown interest in is Your Majesty.”

A smile brighter than when she received compliments about her appearance appeared on Liliana’s face. Liliana shyly ducked her head and covered her heated cheeks. Seeing her mistress like this, Luna hesitated for a moment before reluctantly bringing up something.

“……But there was one strange thing.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that the prisoner confined in the tower has guards.”

“They must be watchers. Look at the emperor’s filthy wenches. All those brought from other countries as playthings have watchers in the name of guards, don’t they?”

“I thought so too. But among the knights assigned to guard that prisoner wench……”

“Who is it that you’re building such suspense? Hmm?”

“……Sir Frederick is among them.”

“What?”

Liliana’s voice instantly sharpened, and her pure face contorted. She slammed the vanity with her hand, and still not satisfied with her anger, she struck Luna’s hand as well.

“Ah!”

“She really is irritating. That wench.”

The Liliana in the mirror was emanating such malice that it was impossible to imagine she was the same person who had been blushing shyly just moments ago. She gritted her teeth and her eyes flashed brightly. Then, looking at Luna through the mirror, she lowered her voice and commanded.

“Luna. You’ll have to work hard for me.”

* * *

It was a snowy morning. The imperial palace seen from the top room of the tower was completely white.

Yerena sat weakly on the couch. Her face was pale and expressionless, having lost more weight in the past few days. Jane grew anxious whenever the light reflected from the snow outside illuminated Yerena. The emaciated princess seemed like she might melt away in that light.

“Lady Yerena, are you bored? Would you like to thread some beads?”

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Jane spoke with a voice full of concern. But Yerena only shook her head without responding.

After fainting from hearing auditory hallucinations from her family and then waking up, Yerena had been like this for the past several days. She neither ate well nor spoke. Unlike the past month when she had actively participated in training, she now only listened to Alicia’s lessons. She looked as if her will to live had been severely broken.

Jane, who had been watching Yerena, turned her head to look at Frederick standing by the door. He seemed to have been watching Yerena too, as he appeared slightly flustered by Jane’s sudden gaze.

But that was all. Frederick turned his head and said nothing. He had been speaking glibly until just before Yerena collapsed. But for some reason, he too had become silent since Yerena fainted. Not only that, but just as Yerena rarely left the bedroom, he rarely left the doorway.

Jane almost wanted to confront him about why he was acting this way. But despite sharing the same space, the difference in status between them was enormous, so she couldn’t act on her impulse.

“Jane. Could you bring me a book from the bedroom? It should be on the table next to the bed.”

“Yes!”

Just as Jane was pacing around the room with a sad face, Yerena suddenly made a request. Since it had been a very long time since Yerena had spoken first, Jane excitedly ran to the bedroom, but after grabbing the book, she looked perplexed.

There was no way Yerena, who couldn’t see, could read a book. So the only way to read the book would be to ask someone to read it to her.

‘What if she asks me to read the book?’

Jane could read and write the imperial language to some extent. However, the book’s title was in characters she didn’t know. Jane worried about disappointing Yerena as she left the bedroom.

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, Yerena didn’t ask her to read the book. Instead, she took the book, flipped through the pages slowly, and stopped at a certain page.

“Oh? That’s from that time……”

Standing next to Yerena, Jane’s eyes widened when she saw what was between the pages of the book. Red, scale-like leaves. They were three leaves from the Rubeo sacred tree that had been collected while traveling from the Sedas Kingdom to the Empire.

Yerena took out one of the sacred tree leaves pressed between the pages of the book. Then she placed the stem of the leaf between her fingers and twirled it.