“It’ll take time.”

“I’d prefer it to be done as quickly as possible…”

It was merely elevating a slave’s status. At best, she’d become a commoner, or perhaps his concubine if she was lucky. Such a simple matter—how long could it possibly take?

Jenkins’ hand stroked her ear before sliding down to trace the tattoo on her neck.

“Raising your status might be difficult, but I’ll have clothes made for you.”

“…What?”

“Count Scott, who manages the former Astian territories, has requested additional soldiers. He seems to be having trouble with Astian remnants.”

At the mention of Hector, Evelyn’s eyes widened. Her body practically trembled with the desire to ask about Hector’s wellbeing.

“Astian remnants…?”

“Yes. Your beloved Hector Burke.”

It was the moment the Astian Emperor fell to the status of a mere remnant. Evelyn frowned.

“Beloved…? What are you talking about? I don’t love Hector.”

However, Jenkins’ eyes turned ice-cold. Feeling the chill, Evelyn wrapped her arms around herself again.

“It’s true. Jenkins… Ever since I met you, I…”

If Hector had been her first love, then Jenkins was someone her body had responded to from the very first moment she saw him. She wanted to be held by him, to keep touching him. Why couldn’t he understand that?

Though Evelyn shed tears, Jenkins left the room with a cold expression. It was the moment their relationship completely went awry.

* * *

Evelyn wished she could return to when she first met Jenkins. When he had suggested exile, she should have simply agreed. Then none of these misunderstandings would have occurred.

Maids from the imperial palace brought clothes loaded on a carriage. Evelyn’s maids received them and organized them in the wardrobe. The wardrobe contained a dress made by Ian Harper—since she’d only worn it for one day, it still looked brand new.

Looking at that dress, one maid said:

“Lady Evelyn! If we put this dress up for auction, we could get quite a lot of money for it.”

“…Why bother? Since it’s embedded with diamonds and amethysts, we could just remove the gems and sell those.”

“Remove the gems! We should sell it exactly like this. This is the last dress Ian Harper made before he died!”

“…What?”

Evelyn bolted upright from the bed. She said with a shocked expression:

“Ian Harper died?”

“Yes. So many noble ladies wept over it. I guess the rumors about most of his clients being his lovers were true. And he died on Your Highness the Princess’s birthday. When the staff came to the shop, there was a bloodied corpse. ‘Traitor Executed’ was written on the wall.”

Evelyn had some idea of who had killed the traitor. It was probably Hector or a knight acting on Hector’s orders.

“So this will sell for a very high price!”

“…Forget it. Jenkins gave me that dress.”

‘After going through all that just to get that dress…’

Evelyn glanced at the dress that remained gorgeous and beautiful even now. None of the clothes Jenkins had given her could compare to that dress. Because the clothes he gave her were generally…

The maid held up a scrap of fabric.

“…His Majesty the Emperor’s taste is really… These clothes… are incredible.”

It was similar to the strange undergarments he’d given her before. No, were these really clothes? If they were clothes, she should be able to walk down the street without it being strange, but she definitely couldn’t walk wearing those.

“…I’ll just take them off.”

Evelyn clenched her fists. When Jenkins came, she’d give him an earful of complaints, but he never visited this place.

‘Is it because we can’t have s*x?’

The doctor had said it was better not to do it for three months after childbirth.

Though Evelyn felt hurt by Jenkins’ words, she would wake up the next day like nothing had happened. Sulking inwardly wasn’t like her at all. And recently, she was too tired from caring for the princess to have time for such thoughts.

Perhaps because her body was exhausted, her libido naturally decreased, and days passed quickly even without seeing Jenkins.

The wet nurse hurried over to her in a panic.

“Lady Evelyn! Lady Violet is…!”

“What? What about Violet?”

Evelyn quickly grabbed one of the outfits Jenkins had given her and put it on hastily. When something jingled against her chest, she immediately took it off and threw it aside. The wet nurse broke out in a cold sweat.

“Lady Violet’s forehead is burning hot! I think we need to call a doctor.”

“I understand.”

Before Evelyn could even speak, a maid rushed out saying she’d fetch a physician. Violet often fell ill.

Physician Aleina came in with hurried steps, but said she couldn’t use medicine because the baby was too young. So Evelyn and the wet nurse took turns doing everything they could to bring down Violet’s temperature.

They began using cloths dampened with lukewarm water to lower the hot body’s temperature.

“Lady Evelyn, please rest. We’ll take turns doing this…”

Despite the maids’ attempts to dissuade her, Evelyn shook her head.

“No. I’ll do it.”

The maids felt hurt, wondering if she didn’t trust them, but Evelyn paid no attention. Not one of the maids had children. How could she entrust her child to maids with no experience?

‘And I need to keep busy like this to endure Jenkins not coming.’

Evelyn had better stamina than others anyway. She sent the maids away first, then looked down at the baby’s crib where the princess lay. Seeing the princess with silver hair and purple eyes who looked exactly like her, she understood why the Empress Dowager wouldn’t come to see the child.

‘Violet… You are Jenkins’ daughter. A princess of the Peshar Empire. But other people will doubt your parentage. It’s not your fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s because of me.’

If only she had resembled Jenkins, the suspicions would have died down.

Evelyn felt sorry for both herself and her daughter. But what could she do? It was already done. Regret couldn’t undo what had passed.

Evelyn’s eyes gradually closed as drowsiness overwhelmed her.

* * *

Meeting with the Empress Dowager was hardly pleasant. Despite her grandchild being born, the Empress Dowager hadn’t come to see her. She was openly refusing to acknowledge Violet as a princess.

Unable to refuse such an Empress Dowager’s invitation, Evelyn entered the Dowager’s palace wearing embarrassing clothes.

The flimsy fabric revealed her body exactly like it was. Without hiding anything. However, this outfit was still the best among clothes that had holes in important areas.

The Empress Dowager was with Lady Mabel, and she wore a stern expression when she saw Evelyn.

“Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. I heard you summoned me.”

“Sit in front. Evelyn.”

Evelyn sat across from her. When the Empress Dowager nudged Mabel’s side with her elbow, she spoke reluctantly:

“Th-that time was my mistake. Evelyn. …I’m sorry.”

“Ah. You mean when you tripped me while I was pregnant?”

“…”

“It’s fine.”

Mabel’s forced apology was so obvious it was disgusting to watch. However, since the Empress Dowager had pressed for the apology not just for Mabel’s sake, Evelyn had no choice but to accept her apology.

The Empress Dowager sighed deeply, and Evelyn looked at her tensely.

“…Evelyn. The Peshar imperial palace is in chaos right now. The Emperor is also extremely tired. Do you know why?”

“No.”

“Because of Violet’s existence.”

“…”

“Due to the old Astian uprisings, Peshar is experiencing very troublesome situations. Even when we dispatch soldiers, they’re being killed in the former Astian territories. And Astian slaves are escaping…”

“…What does that have to do with Violet?”

Evelyn was very curious. However, the Empress Dowager slightly lowered her eyes. Her gaze seemed to be looking at the tea.

“There are rumors going around that Violet is the child of the former Astian Emperor.”

“What…?”

Evelyn was so dumbfounded she couldn’t speak. Hector was her half-brother. Though there were rumors that he didn’t carry the previous emperor’s blood, he was recorded as her brother in the family registry.

Mabel clicked her tongue.

“That’s what the captured Astian nobles were saying, you know? That you two weren’t just ordinary siblings.”

“…That’s not true. Absolutely not.”

The Empress Dowager set down her teacup with a clink.

“Whether it’s true or not isn’t what matters. Evelyn. Most Peshar people believe it to be so. …I don’t want to see my son cornered any longer. Since you have a daughter too, you’ll understand my feelings.”

Evelyn’s complexion darkened.